A little short but the next chapter will be longer. Enjoy!

8. Family Secrets

The night was quiet after the excitement at the hospital. Nancy glanced at her watch. Eleven o'clock. Time seemed to drag for Nancy.

"Nothing seems to make sense. Nan, do you have any ideas on this?" Frank asked.

"I wish I did. There must be something that set you and Joe apart; otherwise you wouldn't have been kidnapped."

"All I can say," Joe spoke up from the other side of Frank, "is it's a good thing Tracy keeps a spare key in here."

"It wouldn't have done us any good if Mitch hadn't known it was in here." Frank replied. "I wonder just how he fits into all of this. He seems to handle every case that involves Tracy."

"I noticed that too. He was at the fire at the diner. He was at the hospital. And he knew about the cases that Tracy was working on. But he never seems to accomplish much." Nancy murmured.

"Look, that must be the place up ahead." Joe announced, pointing to a house just ahead.

Nancy turned the pickup into the driveway behind Mitch's squad car. The dust from the driveway settled quickly as Nancy and the Hardys climbed out of the truck. Nick, George, Bess, and Mitch climbed out of the car.

Nancy looked around at the land. The yard was mostly dirt, except for a few beautifully tended flower gardens. The house was a modest adobe building with a small porch. Nancy followed Mitch and the others up to the front of the house. A light shone through the window from one of the back rooms.

Mitch knocked several times at the door. After receiving no reply he tried the knob. The door swung open easily. Inside the room was disastrous. Furniture had been overturned and broken glass covered the floor.

"Mrs. Rosewood? Mrs. Rosewood are you in here?" Frank called.

"It looks like the kidnappers beat us to Mrs. Rosewood." Nick replied grimly. "Maybe there's a clue to where they took her."

"Poor Mrs. Rosewood." Bess murmured. "At least Tracy wasn't here to see this."

"Tracy! Tracy are you alright baby?"

"Grannyma, they got you too? What do they want?" Tracy reached forward, trying to fight the wave of panic threatening to overcome her.

"I don't know, but I plan to go down fightin'. They messed with the wrong old granny."

"We will get out of here. I promise." Tracy replied with more conviction than she felt. "Nobody locks us up and gets away with it."

Mrs. Rosewood sighed. "Tracy baby, there's something I need to tell you. I know why we're here."

"What are you talking about Grannyma? How could you know what's going on?"

"It's been going on for years. It's only ever gotten this out of hand once, with your parents."

Nancy, Frank, Bess, and Mitch searched the interior of the house while Nick, George, and Joe searched around the exterior of the house. The interior was a complete mess. The outside seemed too neat and manicured.

"Arrrgg this is hopeless!" George groaned. "There is nothing out here."

"That's what bothers me. It looks like the kidnappers just walked up and took Mrs. Rosewood." Nick whispered.

"What, like she knew the kidnappers? That is almost too crazy." Joe countered.

"No, wait Joe. Nick may just be on to something. Let's go talk to the others."

Nancy was studying the room when George tapped her on the shoulder. Nancy spun around hopefully. There had been no clue inside the building, but maybe there had been something useful outside. George motioned Nancy toward the door. Once Nancy was away from the others George began to explain their theory.

"That is a stretch." Nancy murmured. "But everything seems to point to that idea."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't back then. It was only after your parents died that I realized what was really happening. The Rosewood land is very valuable. Your parents were killed for it. Even then someone wanted all of us gone. There is a small fortune of gold and silver jewelry hidden somewhere on the land. The whole family knew about the treasure, as did several of the neighbors."

"But I hadn't heard about it."

"Oh but you have. Remember the story of the brave and the maiden?"

"Of course. The brave wins the heart of the maiden with jewels given him from a mighty spirit."

"That was our way of passing down the information. That story was made up by my grandparents. Everyone thought it was just a story, but we knew the truth."

"So to find the jewels we have to know the story?"

"Right. Those jewels have been hidden in the same spot for over one hundred years. But the jewels are special; they are worth about ten million dollars."

Tracy shrugged. "That isn't too special."

Mrs. Rosewood smiled. "It isn't the worth that makes them so wonderful. The jewels once belonged to a great chief. They were a gift for his bride."

"So you're saying that we have been kidnapped so that someone can find the jewels? But who knows about them?"

"There is only one person it could be."