The next chapter is up. Sorry for the delay. My updates may not come as quickly as I had hoped, but they will come. So enjoy and I will update asap : )
4. Reunion
Nancy watched Tracy as they walked. She could tell that something was wrong. Was it the capture of that horse? And if so, why? Nancy wished she knew. Just as she wished she knew why Nick and the Hardys were missing.
Nancy sighed. Soon they would all be safe. She just wanted to see Frank again. Nancy glanced back at George. Her thoughts were following the same path as Nancy's. All either of them wanted was to get the boys out safely.
Finally the three girls reached the top of the hill overlooking the ghost town. Several old buildings dotted the landscape. Most of the buildings Nancy saw seemed ready to collapse. Nancy couldn't help but gasp at the possibility of Frank being trapped in one of them.
"There is the hotel." Tracy pointed to the middle of the small town. "And over there, behind the saloon across the street, is the storage building I mentioned." Tracy looked back at Nancy and George. They seemed to be at a loss for words. Tracy could understand how they were feeling. Deep down she feared for Joe Hardy.
"Where do we start?" Nancy was the first to break the silence. "They could be anywhere. And who knows where the kidnappers are."
"I would say that the best place to look would be the storage building. Then we could try the hotel." George suggested.
Nancy and Tracy agreed to the idea and began to slowly creep into the town. There was little cover around the buildings. The trio had to move low to the ground as they raced from shadow to shadow. Every minute seemed to drag for Nancy until the storage building came into view.
Tracy motioned for Nancy and George to wait in the shadows while she snuck over to the tiny stone building. Carefully and quietly, Tracy tried the door. To Tracy's dismay the door began to pull apart in her hands. Nobody could be locked inside. Escape would have been too easy.
Nancy watched as Tracy made her way back toward their hiding place. Her heart had sunk when she saw that the door was in such bad shape. If the guys had been inside they would have tried the door. It would have been ruined if they had gotten out of the building.
"Let's try the hotel. There are a ton of rooms inside. Any one would be good for holding someone prisoner." Tracy whispered as she joined Nancy and George.
Silently they crept across the street to the hotel. The building was old, but still amazingly strong. Nancy still didn't like the idea that they had to go inside. She had a bad feeling about the town. What if someone caught them inside? It wouldn't take much to cause the building to collapse. Nancy shook her head. Thoughts like that would not help Frank.
Inside the hotel Nancy looked at the old furnishings. They were relatively simple to modern standard. But the setup gave off a feeling of quiet elegance, even with the dust of disuse.
George moved past Nancy to get to the check-in counter. Nancy was about to follow when something caught her eye. Nancy made her way over to the object. A lapel pin had fallen to the floor. However, unlike everything in the room, it wasn't covered in dust.
"Look at this, guys. This is a recent item. There isn't any dust on it."
"Someone has been here recently." Tracy announced. "And from the tracks, I would say that there were several people. Look at the tracks that are near the counter. There are at least two pairs of hiking boots, and one pair of boots. And there seem to be at least two pairs of classier dress shoes, but I can't be sure."
"Then I think we found the guys' prison." George guessed. "Where was that secret room you found?"
Tracy moved behind the counter and opened a large door. Inside was empty. Tracy carefully felt along the floor. George watched in amazement as Tracy found the edge of a thin piece of wood and lifted. Underneath the wood was a trap door.
"Nan, come quick. We found the room." George whispered loudly.
Nancy joined Tracy and George behind the counter. George tugged on the trap door but it wouldn't budge. Nancy bit her lip as she continued to watch George pull on the locked door. How could they get the door open? As she thought about the door Nancy caught a faint smell. It seemed to be coming from the floor. Smoke!
Nancy moved up farther, an idea forming in her mind. Carefully Nancy tapped the door, hoping to get a similar tapping sound in response. Finally, after a moment of holding her breath, Nancy heard the response she had been hoping for. Frank was down there!
"Frank," Nancy whispered, "can you hear me?"
"Hey Nan." Frank answered back. "You have no idea how embarrassing it is to be kidnapped in an airport full of people. You think we can get this door open and try the whole airport thing again?"
"Gladly." Nancy almost cried with relief. "But the hinges must be on your side. If we could unhook the hinges, the door should be easier to force open."
"I think we found the hinges, but they have been replaced. They aren't the simple ones that were used when the building was first build. They're too fancy." Joe announced.
Nancy sat back on her heels and looked from George to Tracy. There was no way to simply unhook the hinges. And without a key the lock wasn't even worth considering. George was staring at the door as if she wanted to splinter it into a million pieces. Tracy had raised her head to the top of the counter.
"What is it Tracy?" Nancy questioned, peering over the counter as well.
"The saloon. Three men just came down the stairs inside. See the light?"
"That means we have to get the guys out now." Nancy whispered urgently. "Isn't there a hatchet or something we could use?"
"I have an old tomahawk here. It isn't much but it should get the job done. I keep every blade I own sharp."
Tracy moved over to a small drawer behind the counter. Silently she slid the drawer open and pulled out a small tomahawk. Quickly she carried the weapon back to the trap door and instructed Nick and the Hardy brothers to stand clear. Then she began to hack away at the wood until there was a hole in the middle of the door.
Laying the tomahawk aside, Tracy began to pull at the wood. The weakened planks gave way after a few moments of struggle. While the three prisoners climbed out of their prison, Tracy watched the saloon across the street.
"We have to leave now!" Tracy hissed before anyone could say anything.
Nancy peeked over the counter toward the saloon. The men Tracy had seen earlier were leaving the saloon and walking straight toward the hotel. Nancy recognized two of the men as the ones that had captured the horse earlier.
"Where can we go? If we try the front door we are sure to be caught." George frantically questioned. Nick moved next to George as she talked and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly. George instantly calmed down. Nancy marveled at how Nick seemed to have George's absolute faith, even though they had known each other for such a short time.
Frank came up behind Nancy and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He had waited so long to see her and now they hardly had time to breath, much less talk. But Frank knew he had to get Nancy away from the hotel.
Nick and Frank exchanged looks and both nodded toward the stairs. The only chance of escape, for any of them, was to get upstairs and away from the kidnappers. Gently, Nick and Frank pushed the girls in front of them toward the stairs. Joe was the last to move, watching for the kidnappers. Slowly and silently the group made their way up the rickety old stairs. If they were lucky the kidnappers wouldn't see them and they could slip down the back stairwell outside.
Mitch couldn't concentrate. Tracy was right and it annoyed him greatly. She had said that something was going on when he questioned her about the fire. Mitch knew there was trouble right under his nose. But he wasn't close to the people. Maybe that's why he couldn't seem to catch any of the trouble makers he went after.
"Smart alec woman, thinks she knows everything." Mitch mumbled. "The diner burns to the ground and she can still give a lecture. Oh how I hate that woman. But I envy her skills. Why can't she be like every other girl around here?"
Suddenly the phone on Mitch's desk gave a shrill ring. Mitch grabbed the receiver roughly and growled a response. But the voice on the other end of the line stopped him from making another sound.
"Have you heard from Nancy Drew?" The voice questioned. The young woman sounded timid and nervous.
Mitch sank back in his seat. That name sounded familiar. If only he could place it. He wanted to reassure the person on the other end. Something about the way she had asked made him want to reach out to her. Nancy Drew, Mitch frantically thought.
"She was the one I talked to after the fire." Mitch murmured. As soon as he said the words he mentally kicked himself.
"I'm on my way out there." The voice announced.
Before Mitch could say anything else the line went dead. Mitch stared at the receiver in his hand as he thought about the voice. Annoyed with himself for creating a new problem, Mitch slammed the receiver down.