Sorry this took so long to get out. I had family in town and we've spent all weekend painting and working on reconstructing a bathroom. Hard work!

Chapter 7

The next morning, Frank and George head to Mr. Drew's office. After a fitful night of sleep, Frank was more than ready to get some answers. He just hoped they led to Nancy's safe return. On the way to the office, neither spoke much. Judging from the intense look on his face, George knew Frank was determined to get to the bottom.

"Frank, do you have any idea what we're looking for? I agree that Nancy being kidnapped is related to Mr. Drew's case, but we don't have much to go on."

Frank glanced at the rearview mirror as he slowed down. "Well, first, we know who isn't responsible. Roger Harper is in police custody, and Ann is with Mr. Drew. I spoke with Mr. Drew this morning briefly. Apparently, the police still don't trust her, and have an officer following her."

"That's a start, I guess." George looked out the window as Frank parked. "Maybe Kimberly will have more information in that file for us."

When they entered the office, Frank saw a woman, in her late thirties, moving swiftly around the room, straightening chairs and prints, picking up pieces of paper, and running a dust cloth on surfaces.

She glanced up at the door's jingle. "George, dear!" She ran to her and gave her a warm hug. "It's so good to see you! When Mr. Drew called this morning about Nancy, why, I just couldn't believe it!" She turned to Frank. "You must be Frank Hardy. I'm so sorry we had to meet under these circumstances." She gave him a quick hug.

Frank raised an eyebrow at George, and George just smiled and rolled her eyes. When Kimberly released Frank, George stepped in. "Frank, I'd like you to meet Kimberly West, Mr. Drew's secretary."

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. West," Frank replied cordially. This woman was a whirlwind!

"Just call me Kimberly." She walked over to her desk. "I apologize for the mess of things. The police were here earlier this morning and they made a mess doing their fingerprinting and whatnot." Kimberly picked up a large manila envelope and handed it to Frank. "I believe this is what Mr. Drew wanted me to give to you."

Frank slid the contents out as Kimberly explained further.

"I printed out two copies of the contents of the file, which we had updated just before Mr. Drew left. I've included photographs, brief biographies, all the information we have currently."

"And this?" Frank held up a DVD in a slim case.

Kimberly nodded. "That is a copy of a video that was sent to Mr. Drew. Gwen Summers dropped it off here with a second copy. I just mailed it to Mr. Drew the previous day. She wanted to be sure there was an extra copy in case the original didn't make it to Mr. Drew's hotel. You know how mail can be at those places." She gave them an apologetic look. "Unfortunately, we don't have a player here in the office, yet."

Frank smiled and nodded. She may be a burst of energy, but she was thorough. "That's alright. I think I'd like to watch this with Officer Williams. But I really appreciate you getting all this together for us."

Kimberly's smile faltered. "It's the least I can do. Nancy is a wonderful girl, and the pride and joy of Mr. Drew. I hope you are able to get to her in time."

George gave Kimberly a hug. "Don't worry, we will. Frank is the best."

After thanking Kimberly, the duo headed out the door back to Frank's car. "Well, that was interesting."

George laughed. "You just have to know Kimberly. She's a flurry of activity. Constantly cleaning, moving, and organizing. But it's perfect for Mr. Drew. He needs things as organizing, updated, and accurate as possible." She glanced at the manila envelope in her hands. "To the station?"

Frank nodded. "I want to go over this with Officer Williams, Ron. You seem to trust him, right?"

"Definitely. He has helped Nancy on lots of cases. Chief McGinnis is extremely fond of Nancy, but because of his position, he has to go by the book. But Officer Williams has more leeway. He's come through for her before, and Bess and I both trust him."

"That's good." Frank turned down the next street, having been to River Heights Police Department before on cases. "I want to pick his brain a bit. Also, see if he found anything at Mr. Drew's office this morning."

NDHB NDHB NDHB NDHB

"Well, well. No surprises here." Ron Williams stood and shook hands with Frank, then George as they entered his office.

Frank and George sat down in the chairs across from him and Williams settled back in his chair. "I understand you had some people over at Mr. Drew's this morning. Did you find anything?"

Williams sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, the only prints we were able to find were of Carson Drew, Kimberly West, and Nancy Drew."

"Not even a client's prints?" George asked.

"Nope. Apparently, Kimberly keeps things pretty clean. She made a comment to me while we were dusting about spreading allergens and such."

Frank glanced at George with a rueful grin. "Well, she was cleaning pretty heavily when we got there." He looked back at Williams. "Anything else?"

"We're still waiting on the analysis of some fibers and such that we found. Could take a bit of time, but I'll let you know." He nodded towards the envelope that George still head. "You seem to have something, though."

George handed the envelope to Frank, and Frank removed the contents and spread them over Williams' desk. "These are the files that Kimberly gave us, including a DVD that a Gwen Summers had dropped off, and sent a copy to Mr. Drew. We thought you'd like to look at these as well. We can straight here after picking them up."

Williams shuffled through the stack of papers. "This might take a bit of time. You two want anything to eat or drink?"

George shook her head. "Just water, please. Coffee makes me too jittery."

Frank nodded his agreement, and Williams laughed softly. "You two would never make it as cops, then." He called for the drinks and they began sifting through the papers.

Williams took one copy of the files, and Frank and George shared the other copy. There was quite a bit on information, not that Frank was surprised. Mr. Drew kept through checks on all his clients. Even the smallest detail, he had once said, could be the most important.

After fifteen minutes of reading through the information, Frank leaned back and stretched. Williams glanced at him. "Let's stop here and see what we have."

Williams picked up a notepad and began jotting down notes as Frank spoke. "Ann and Roger Harper, married 28 years. Son named David, 25 years old. Roger worked for Wilson Lane, an advertising firm. He was fired for embezzlement after nearly 30 years of employment. Ann still works part-time for Little Feet, a daycare center. Ann began working there when David was 18 and left for college."

Frank skimmed the next section. "David had attended a small college on Florida's coast, but dropped out after the first year. After the first semester, he was put on academic probation and lost half his scholarships. According to Academic Dean, David failed to show up for classes and appointments. The Dean of Student Life indicated that David had been involved in parties where alcohol and drugs had been involved. The file went on to state that David was unable to keep a regular job, although he managed to keep a small apartment right outside River Heights."

"Wait a minute." George glanced down at the sheet. "Isn't it possible that David was the accomplice? For a college dropout who can't hold a job, how is he able to pay for the apartment?"

Williams sat back in his chair and flipped through a few pages. "The records of payment show that dear-old-dad was paying for the apartment. Guess that's where some of the money was going."

"Oh."

Frank continued. "Authorities are convinced Ann was Roger's accomplice in the embezzlement, but Carson isn't' convinced. All evidence pointing towards her guilt was purely circumstantial. A so-called witness, Trevor Jenkins, came forward, claiming to see Ann making an unusual purchase right after the embezzlement was discovered. Trevor had claimed to see her buying a laptop, in cash, priced at over two thousand dollars." Frank stopped, remembering Nancy telling him the exact same thing.

"Why would Ann, a daycare worker, need such an expensive computer?" Williams tapped his pen on the side of his desk in thought. "I agree with Mr. Drew. That smells like a frame-up."

"Maybe we should watch the DVD. I'm not even sure what's on it." Frank popped the disc out of the case and handed it to Williams. "I assume you have a player around here."

Williams smiled. "In the conference room. McGinnis put his foot down when some of the other officers requested players for their offices. Probably a smart move."

NDHB NDHB NDHB NDHB

Elsewhere, and earlier that morning, Bess and Mick sat in a small café, down the street from Mr. Drew's office. George had informed her of the previous night's events, and Bess set out that morning with determination.

She consulted her notepad, making small notes here and there. "Alright, so of everyone we talked to, only two stores seemed to have cameras that might have a small view of the street."

Mick shook his head. "It's not much to go on. I was really hoping for a camera angle pointed straight at the street."

Bess tapped her chin thoughtfully. "At least we have something. Besides, most businesses are more concerned with their front door and the inside activity, particularly near the cash registers and vaults. We go with what we have."

They had spent the morning talking with managers and the morning shift about possible security cameras. Bess and Mick had been all over the street where the office was, and the street where the gray van had picked up Nancy. Only two businesses had cameras with potential, and even then, Bess had to work her magic to get them to give her copies. Both had reluctantly agreed to hand over copies, which would be ready after an hour or so, enough time that they could make the copies.

Bess had promised to be back after an hour. Besides, all the running was making her hungry. Now, they sat, Bess eating a pastry and drinking tea, and Mick playing with his water.

"But don't forget that ATM. Surely that camera caught something," Mick reminded her.

Bess nodded her agreement, chewing her last bite. "We'll have to talk to the police about that. They'd have to have a warrant for it, probably."

Mick glanced at his watch. "We still fifteen minutes. Think they'd be ready?"

Bess looked at the young man thoughtfully. "No, we give them exactly an hour, like I promised. It was hard enough getting then to do this. I don't want to push it." Besides, she added silently, we need to talk.

He shifted in his chair, under Bess's watchful eyes. He knew Frank did this on purpose. He wasn't afraid of many things, but Bess Marvin was incredibly intelligent when it came to relationships.

Bess leaned forward, gazing at Mick. "So you're here to see Nancy. You came, thinking you would surprise her for a visit. Then you find out Nancy is getting married to Frank Hardy. Nancy is kidnapped and you are staying to help find her. Right?"

Mick nodded meekly. It was true, he thought.

Bess settled back again. "Let me ask you this. What would have happened if Nancy hadn't been kidnapped?"

Mick didn't answer. The truth was, he didn't know about Frank Hardy until right as she was kidnapped. If it had been that other guy, Ned, he would have pursued Nancy. He knew he would still have a shot. But with it being Frank, he really wasn't sure.

"Mick?" Bess prompted softly. "When did you find out about Frank and Nancy? It was right before she was kidnapped, wasn't it?"

Mick nodded. "If she and Ned were engaged, I thought maybe I still had a chance. We have a special connection. And she knows that. There's no way she could have completely forgotten about me."

Bess felt bad for him. He'd come this far for the woman he loved. But he really should have called first, she thought. Being part of a diplomatic family, he had the money, sure. But that wasn't the point. Nancy is going to flip when she finds out he's here. But, then again, she needs to be the one to tell him to back off. Bess sighed to herself. Nancy did tend to lead him on when they were together. "Guess it's partly her fault," she muttered under her breath.

Mick looked at her quizzically, but Bess just shrugged it off.

"Well, here are your options. Once we find Nancy, you can tell her your feelings, and see what happens from there, or you can leave now and let us find her, or you can help us and leave before she knows you're here." She took a sip of her tea. "Either way, someone is going to get hurt, be it you, Frank, or Nancy. And I guarantee that if she sees you, she's going to break someone's heart."

"I would rather hear what Nancy's decision would be. I flew all the way here to see her, and I'm not leaving until we have a chance to talk," Mick said, giving her a determined look.

"I'm just warning you, then. Nancy and Frank are extremely happy. If you do anything to mess this up, I won't forgive you." Bess hoped Frank was up for this challenge. She knew Mick wasn't going to back down.

Before Mick could reply, she stood up. "Let's go get those tapes."

NDHB NDHB NDHB NDHB

There ya go! Yeah.. not much except sleuthing, which is actually pretty important! (Imagine that in a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys fic!) Thanks so much to all my reviewers, yet again! You guys are sensational (Love the Parent Trap!) Until the next chapter, THANK YOU!