7. Deadly Puzzles

Bess sat in the stuffy office listening to the tape that had brought Nancy and George out to the middle of nowhere. She could hear Frank trying to warn Nancy. He was giving her the hints that should lead to his whereabouts. Bess had heard the tape so many times that she knew he would never finish the last sentence on the tape.

Mitch sat at his desk, staring at the tape player. He could hear the yelling in the background, the fear and love in this Frank's voice, and the worry. Something serious was happening, but the player wouldn't show him what. Bess was on to something; and for some odd reason Mitch felt like he had to help, wanted to help her.

For the second time in one night, Mitch's office door was flung open without so much as a knock. The young officer working in the receptions area rushed in and began babbling. "Mitch the call just came in. Don't know where. In the town. Someone was shot. They're bringing her in. She said to let you know."

"Slow down Miranda. Now who called and who was shot?"

"The call came from Tracy Whitehorse's phone. She said that one of the girls that was with her had been shot, in some abandoned town. She's rushing the girl to the hospital now. She said you needed to get over there now."

Bess stood up. "What girl? Did she give a name?"

"I couldn't catch it. The phone went dead. Some out of towner. She also said she found the missing persons that we've been tracking for the last day."

"That must have been the-" Mitch stopped himself. Looking at Bess he covered quickly, "I have to go."

"I'm coming with you. And don't tell me I can't." Bess grabbed her purse and raced out of the office ahead of Mitch. Somehow she knew that it was either Nancy or George who had been shot.

Mitch quickly led Bess to his squad car. The hospital wasn't far away. All he could do was meet Tracy there, and hope that the victim wasn't too seriously injured. Mitch glanced over at the passenger seat while he drove.

Bess sat quietly in the passenger seat. She stared straight ahead, as if she could make the hospital appear if she stared hard enough. Mitch could tell just from the look on her face that Bess was upset and worried, though she tried to hide it.

The hospital appeared up ahead and Mitch subconsciously sped up. He was sure that Tracy wouldn't be there yet, but he couldn't be sure. A deep feeling of dread filled the pit of his stomach as he made the right turn into the parking lot. The first parking spot available was next to a small grey pickup. Mitch had pulled into the spot before he recognized Tracy's truck. They had beaten him here.

"Let's go. They're already here. She must have called from just outside of town."

Bess obediently followed Mitch as he rushed inside the large building. The smells of antiseptics and filled Bess's nose, making her worry more. Personnel moved quickly around the service desk and in and out of various rooms. Bess looked around quietly while Mitch questioned a nurse about the shooting victim that had come in.

"Of course, Mitch, right this way. But, ah, I'm afraid your friend will have to stay here."

"Sorry Kelly. She comes with me."

Bess looked at the nurse as she led the way to Nancy's room. Nurse Kelly was older, with a stern look, and perfect posture. She reminded Bess of a school principal. Her graying blonde hair was pulled into a tight chignon. Everything about the nurse spoke superiority.

Bess ducked her head when Kelly glanced back to motion her and Mitch into Nancy's room. Bess got the distinct feeling that Kelly did not like her presence at the hospital at all, though she couldn't figure out why. Bess waited, impatiently, for Kelly to walk away and leave them alone with Nancy.

"Mitch, glad you could make it." an unfamiliar voice brought Bess's head up.

"How is she, Tracy?"

"Better, but something big is going on. I didn't recognize the group, but they are into some serious business."

Bess looked at the doorway where Kelly had been standing and sighed in relief. The older woman had finally left. Bess walked over to Nancy's bed and held her hand. Bess could see the patch of gauze through the bandaging on Nancy's left arm.

"Nancy, its Bess."

Nancy opened her eyes and smiled. She was still tired from the sedative the doctor had given her. Nancy squeezed Bess's hand.

"I never thought you would come rushing out to solve a mystery."

"Someone has to take care of you guys. Especially when you think you have to go out and find trouble. Or go and get yourself shot." Bess tried to keep the mood light.

"At least it wasn't bad. The doctor said I should be out of here tomorrow. Two days at the most. How'd you know where we were anyway?"

Bess laughed. "I stopped by your house. Nobody was there so I called the Hardy's. Since I found out that Frank and Joe were out solving a mystery, it wasn't too hard to assume you were doing the same. Mr. Hardy said you had been asking about Frank and Joe's location. So I called the airport. I just traced your path from there. Of course the tape from your answering machine was a big help."

"Well, I'm glad you're here. George will be too."

"Bess!" George cried from the doorway. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?"

"Hey guys. It's a long story. Anyway, how is everyone?"

Bess greeted George, Nick, and the Hardy brothers as they came through the door. Everyone gave little cries of joy at seeing each other again. Tracy was introduced to Bess, and after several minutes everyone settled down to enjoy the company of good friends.

George filled Bess in on their adventure, while Tracy and Mitch had a discussion in private. Frank and Joe were telling jokes and talking to Nancy about taking a long vacation. Nick sat quietly next to George, the only one not joining in the conversations.

George noticed Nick's silence and glanced at him. "What's wrong Nick? You're so quiet."

"Nothing, at least nothing much. I still can't figure out why those guys kidnapped us."

Nancy overheard the comment and spoke up. "I was wondering about that too. Did something in your case connect to any kind of organized crime group?"

"No, but even if it did, why grab Frank and Joe too? They didn't see me until we were at the airport. And they weren't a last minute thought. The kidnappers went straight to them."

"What about the case you guys were working on?" Bess asked Frank and Joe. "Would that have led to a criminal group?"

"Hardly. We were called because some young woman thought ghosts were robbing her." Joe snorted.

"It turned out to be some small time thief. But I wonder if she didn't have something more to do with the robberies herself. There were too many odd coincidences." Frank pointed out.

Nancy opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by screams coming from the hall. Bess jumped up and raced to the door, followed by Mitch and Tracy. Bess opened the door and looked out to see thick, black smoke billowing through the halls.

Bess spun around and made her way to Nancy's bedside. She was just about to get Nancy out of the bed when a nurse rushed into the room and took over. The nurse pulled the IV out of Nancy's arm and hustled her out of the room.

Nancy and her friends rushed down the halls and out the front doors. Sirens filled the air outside as the group moved away from the building. Fire trucks raced into the parking area while everyone watched. Finally, after several minutes, Mitch walked over to talk to the Fire Chief.

Nancy watched as the firemen opened doors and windows, allowing smoke to billow out in dark clouds. Puzzled, Nancy walked over to Mitch, who had just finished speaking with the Fire Chief.

"What's going on?"

Mitch looked back at Nancy with a grim frown. "Someone set off a bunch of smoke bombs. My guess is someone knew you and your friends were inside. And they wanted you out."

"But why just scare us? Nothing is making any sense. We could have been sitting ducks in there." Nancy wondered.

"There has to be something we're missing. I just wish I-"

Mitch was interrupted by a loud scream. Tracy, who had been standing on the curb, was being dragged into a dark colored Blazer. A gun pointed out the driver's window held everyone at bay.

Joe flexed his hands several times, trying to keep his anger in check. To see the two men drag Tracy into the backseat of the Blazer infuriated Joe. He had to force himself to stand still so as not to risk someone getting shot.

The back door slammed. The driver pulled his gun in and stomped on the accelerator. Joe and Frank raced to the road, followed by everyone else. Lying on the road, next to where the Blazer had been parked just moments before, was a crumpled piece of paper.

Joe grabbed the paper and spread it out. A simple message, written in block letters, was scrawled across the page. Joe read the message aloud to the gathered group, "Give us what we want or else. Leave the Rosewood land to us or the girl is dead."

Mitch gave a start when he heard the message. "What would they want with the Rosewood place? It's just dry farmland. They have to irrigate their garden now."

Nancy looked at the confused detective. She had wondered the same thing that Mitch had just voiced. Something had to be on that land. And it had to be important enough to kidnap Tracy.

"Hey," Bess spoke up, "if they want the Rosewood place, what's to stop them from kidnapping Mrs. Rosewood?"

Nick turned to Bess. "Your right. How long will it take to get to Mrs. Rosewood's place?"

"Long enough." Mitch answered as he led the way to his car.