Thanks to all who have followed and reviewed this story. It is close to being completed. I hope that everyone enjoys the last few twists I have in store for Nancy and her friends.
7. Setup
Nancy sat straight up in bed. The scream was such a contrast to the secluded quiet of the house that she was sure everyone else had been awakened too. Nancy climbed out of bed and hurried to her door. Before she could even grab the knob the door flew open.
"Are you alright?" Frank asked in a near panic.
"I'm fine. I didn't scream." Nancy replied.
"Then who did?" Joe questioned from behind Frank. "It was definitely a woman's scream."
"It came from outside because the house is empty except for us. But all the officers from today had left." Nick stated thoughtfully.
"What are we doing standing here talking then? That scream came from someone. Let's find out who." Joe called as he took off down the stairs.
The others followed at a run. Joe led the group out the door downstairs and onto the veranda. A full moon shone through the trees enough to dimly illuminate the area. Joe stopped and looked around.
"Where do we start? There are a million places to hide on this island." Joe commented.
"You're right Joe." Nick confirmed. "But there are only two ways to get onto the island, the dock, and the cliffs at the other end. Since we heard the scream quite well I would say that it came from the cliffs."
Nick took the lead. The trail he took wound around the house to the back. A path was cut through the trees. The group moved down the path for several minutes before they saw the clearing ahead. Just mere yards from the forest edge was a sharp drop-off. Nancy hurried to the edge and looked down.
Another scream pierced the air. A figure was hanging onto a steep ledge several feet from the top of the cliff. What had been a trail, before it had collapsed, could be seen on the other side of the ledge. Nancy guessed the person was climbing the trail when the rocks and dirt slid out from under them.
"Hello." Nancy called.
"Nancy, is that you," called a female voice. "You have to do something. I'm slipping."
"Is that George?" Joe asked.
"Yeah, and the trail is gone so we have to pull her up."
"Here." Nick offered as he pulled a long tree limb over to the cliff. "This limb is strong enough to pull your friend up."
Nick and Frank lowered the limb and waited until George had grabbed ahold of it. Then they pulled until George was able to pull herself the rest of the way up. Once in the clearing George collapsed in a relieved heap.
"What happened?" Frank asked George.
"I came out to find you guys. We got a message saying that Nancy was in trouble. When I asked at the station where you were, they told me to take the ferry. The ferry driver dropped me off the beach down there and said to follow the path up. But there was a rockslide and I fell down the trail and over the edge."
"Wow. Every ferry we've seen has come up at the dock. Why would they come over to this end now?" wondered Joe.
Nancy, who was sitting next to George, replied thoughtfully, "We were told that the ferry was unavailable earlier today. What if the ferry driver wasn't the real driver? Just like our helicopter pilot."
"Then we should get back to the house. We could be sitting ducks here." Nick suggested as he gathered everyone to leave.
Back at the house Nancy was helping to clean the few scrapes that George had received. Frank and Joe had went around the entire house and secured every door and window. Everyone was worried that the person who had set George up to take a fall might try again.
Nick walked into the living room and sat down. He had just gotten off the phone with the police. An officer would be out tomorrow afternoon to investigate the incident. However, everyone knew that until Walker was stopped, they would never be truly safe.
Nick sat studying George as she and Nancy took care of her wounds. With her short, curly hair and athletic build George looked like she enjoyed sports. Nick couldn't deny the fact that George was very pretty, possibly as pretty as Nancy. Nick shook his head. Although he had liked Nancy, he liked George more. Could he actually be in love with her?
"There, I think you're all patched up." Nancy stood back to admire her handiwork.
"Well next time I go rock climbing, I am definitely taking a rope."
"You could probably use some rest after all that." Nick said in a soft, soothing voice. "There are two extra rooms upstairs if you would like to go lay down."
"Thank you, I think I may do just that. What about you Nan?"
"Yeah, this day has completely worn me out. Let me just find Frank."
Nancy and George said goodnight to Nick then walked toward the stairs. Frank and Joe were making their way down the stairs as Nancy and George began their climb up. Frank had a grim look on his face and Joe was frowning.
"What's wrong guys?" Nancy asked with concern.
Frank held out a piece of paper. Nancy took the paper and read it quickly. It was a warning. Nancy studied the writing carefully. There were no hints as to who had written the note.
"Where did you find this?" Nancy questioned.
"Taped to your window. George was set up from the beginning." Frank commented.
"What do you mean?" George asked in alarm.
"The note says 'next time we won't fail to achieve our goal'. You were meant to come here only to frighten me." Nancy explained.
"Suddenly I'm not so tired anymore." George muttered.
Nick walked over to the group. "What's going on? I thought we were all going to get some sleep."
Nancy handed Nick the note. Nick read the paper with an unreadable expression on his face. A muscle in his jaw was the only hint of his anger.
"This has gone too far. Innocent people are being hurt. Something has to be done soon." Nick ground out through clenched teeth.
"But what can we do? I thought nobody could get close to this guy." George objected.
"Well there's nothing we can do tonight. Let's get some rest. We can get to work on this first thing in the morning." Joe observed.
Agreeing with Joe's logic everyone bid each other a goodnight and went into their bedrooms. George, who had chosen the fourth room, closed her door tightly behind her and jumped immediately into bed. She extremely disliked being set up the way she was, and now she was in this case just as deeply as the others. Nick's words about innocent people being hurt still chilled her. Finally, after forcing herself to calm down, George drifted off into a fitful sleep.
The sun shone bright in the late morning sky when George opened her eyes. She sleepily crawled out of the bed and made her way to Nancy's room. George had lost her bag in her fall the night before, so she had no clean clothes to wear.
Nancy was just out of her morning shower when she heard a tap on the door. Wrapped in her terry robe Nancy made her way to the door and pulled it open. George was on the other side, looking very tired and sore.
"Do you have any extra clothes Nan? I lost my bag last night." George explained.
"Sure, come on in and I'll get you something."
George went over and plopped down on Nancy's bed with a sigh. Nancy rummaged through her bag until she pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of pants. Tossing the clothing to George, Nancy smiled. George was curled up like she would never get up again.
"Come on sleepy head. We have things to do." Nancy joked.
"Urrgh." George replied with her head still buried in the blankets. But she got up to go change anyway.
Finally George came out looking somewhat more awake and recovered. She followed Nancy out into the hall. Nancy stopped by Frank's room while George went and knocked on Joe's door.
"They must be downstairs already." Nancy surmised from behind George.
Just as the two girls were making there way down the stairs Frank and Joe came running up them. Frank and Joe nearly collided with the girls as everyone came to a sudden halt.
"What is going on with you two?" George questioned in surprise.
"It's Nick. He's gone." Joe panted, holding up a folded piece of paper.
I had to leave. This has gone too far, the note read. When your friend was brought into this, Walker crossed the line. So I will take the fight to him!
Nancy gasped. "He's acting like a vigilante! We have to stop him."
"He must be heading to the dock now. Let's go!" George took off down the stairs.
Everyone ran out the door and through the forest, following the trail to the dock. Nancy knew that it would be by sheer luck that they caught up with Nick in time. However, if they didn't try, Nick might just make a huge mistake.
When they got to the dock the group looked around. A small boat was racing away from the dock at top speed. Nick Dumont was at the controls. Nancy and George began screaming and jumping wildly. Nick seemed not to notice them.
"He can't go alone. He may be killed." George said in dismay.
"We won't let that happen. Let's get back to the house and get a ride off this island." Joe replied.
Everyone was about to turn back when a boat motor sounded around the side of the island. As the group watched the water a black boat raced into view. The boat was traveling close to the island. There was no way to tell who was controlling it.
Suddenly a long rope came flying from the craft. At the end of the rope was a loop. Before anyone could run out of reach the loop settled over George. George let out a startled gasp before she was pulled off the dock, out of Nancy's hands.
"George!" Joe screamed as he and the others watched George get pulled into the disappearing boat.