Foreword: I can hardly believe it! I got 28 reviews already, and I haven't even started telling about the mysterious mansion! I'm really grateful to see how many readers are interested in my story. Anyway, the last cliffhanger was more like a double-cliffhanger, since Joe was bleeding badly and Nancy has fainted. Many of you may be wondering, "Why did the pickpocket steal Nancy's purse? Will Joe be alright? What will happen to Nancy?" Well, the questions will be partly answered in this new chapter. Read, enjoy, and review, please!

Chapter 3

The Stolen Pendant

Ned rushed forward and caught Nancy just before she hit the ground. Frank and Callie were running toward Joe, and some passersby were looking at the teenagers. Some were calling the ambulance. In all the excitement, Ned shook Nancy, hoping to wake her up.

"Nancy! Nancy!"

The ambulance came. The men who came out of the ambulance carried Joe into the car. Frank and Callie followed, but Frank noticed that something was wrong with Nancy when he saw her in Ned's arms, unconscious. The dark-haired detective ran toward her.

"What's the matter?" he asked Ned.

"She fainted," answered Ned, still trying to wake Nancy up.

At last, the girl's eyelids slowly opened. Ned sighed in relief. "Nancy, are you all right?" he asked.

Nancy nodded. "I…I thought of my mother. She… She was hit by a car just like Joe. She died instantly, and her death keeps coming back!"

She looked around frantically, as if she had been watched by a killer. "I…I can't stop shivering, Ned. I…I can't put Mom's death away!" Her voice was panicky, and she hugged herself tightly as if to protect herself from the memory of her mother's death. She looked like an infant left in the rain: so helpless, so scared…

The girl detective began to sob. Then, she started to weep uncontrollably. Her entire body was shaking with fright.

Ned hugged his girlfriend gently. "It's okay, Nance," he said soothingly. "I'm sure Joe will be okay. I'm sure this isn't the first time he had been in a terrible accident."

Frank agreed. "He'll make it, I'm sure."

Callie held on to Frank's arm. "Of course he'll make it," she murmured, even though she was quite unsure and doubtful in her heart.

Someone had called the ambulance earlier, and the car came in less than two minutes later. The medics carried Joe away. Nancy, Ned, Frank, and Callie all looked at the detective, whose eyes were closed. His forehead was smeared with blood, but the bleeding wasn't as bad as Frank thought. The medics said that he was still alive but needed immediate medical attention. The other detectives got into the ambulance as well.

The sky was cloudier than ever, and the detectives were worried that the clouds might turn to a storm soon. Then, they waited.

It seemed like an eternity, but two hours later, the doctor came out of the emergency room. He smiled at the detectives.

"Your friend is out of danger now. He had a slight concussion, but no damage in his brain or vital parts of his body," he said. The doctor chuckled slightly. "It was very lucky of him to have such a hard bone on his head. A normal person's head would have cracked open, but this boy is as tough as a bull. He will be all right."

Frank and Callie sighed in great relief. Ned grinned and held onto Nancy, who was steadily recovering. The girl detective was only shaking slightly, but she still needed Ned's support, or she would have fallen on the ground. She smiled weakly as she heard the news.

The doctor added, "But he's not recovered his consciousness yet. I'm afraid he'll have to stay here for a few days before he can wake up." He then looked at the detectives. "Are you his friends?"

"I'm his brother," said Frank.

"Well, you'll need to call your parents right away and let them know of this."

Frank nodded. He dialed home, and after a short summary of what had happened, Nancy could hear Mr. Hardy yelling at Frank. She heard the voice as loud and clear as if she was talking on the phone herself when she was nearly thirty feet away.

"You should have held him down or tackled him, Frank!" exclaimed Mr. Hardy. His voice was so loud it made Callie jump. But Frank was calm and listened. Nancy guessed that he was used to his father's yelling at him like that. "You know that your brother is reckless and needs someone like you holding him down! I'm glad he's not dead! You should know better!"

"Fenton! Fenton! Calm down!" two voices said. Frank immediately knew that they were his aunt, Gertrude Hardy, and his mother's voices. Apparently, Mr. Hardy had been yelling loudly enough to bring those two into the house from the garden.

Frank said, "I know, Dad. I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him, Dad. He just started running as fast as a wild boar!"

"It's okay, dear," said Mrs. Hardy. "Aunt Gertrude is taking your father into his room right now. I just wanted you to know that it wasn't your fault. Besides, Joe should now learn to control his endless energy. Why, I can bet that he would try running from here to the North Pole if he got the chance! Anyway," she stopped and considered what to say, "I'm glad he is okay. You should still enjoy your vacation, though. I'm sure Joe wouldn't mind your spending time with your girlfriend."

Frank smiled, blushing slightly. "Okay, Mom. Bye."

After Frank hung up, Ned looked at him with concerned expression.

"Your dad really got angry at you for that one, didn't he?" asked Ned.

Frank nodded again. "Well, Joe was always the aggressive and the short-tempered one. Dad says I should've stopped him before he got hit by that truck. I guess it is my fault."

"Nonsense!" Callie defended. "Joe always got himself in trouble many times before this, you know that! You don't have to be so hard on yourself!"

Frank smiled. He then looked at Nancy. "So what was in your bag?"

Nancy answered, "Nothing precious, actually. I just had my make-up kit, my cell phone, my detective kit, my notebook, and..." She stopped. "…A pendant with my mom's picture in it."

"Your mother?" asked Ned.

Nancy nodded. "I didn't wear it much, but I always carried it with me because—well—she's no longer alive. That pendant was the one she gave me when I was three, and to think that I lost it…" A drop of tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't believe I lost it."

"But what about your wallet?" Frank asked.

"I had my wallet in my pocket, so I didn't lose it."

After exiting the hospital, Callie looked at her watch and gasped. "You guys! We're going to miss the last bus to the hotel!" she exclaimed. "And if we don't get on now, we'll have to wait here for two days for another one to come!"

Hurriedly, the detectives went to the bus station. They were not a second too early, for the bus started just as they took their seats. Ned looked around. Besides the four detectives, there were five other people on the bus. There were three women and two men. One was an Asian woman with dark hair and a pair of glasses. She was carrying a canvas and a toolbox. She seemed to be an artist or a painter.

The man who sat behind her looked European. He had blond hair and hazel eyes. He seemed to be from a German origin. Because he was constantly typing on his laptop, Ned deduced that he must be a businessman, a journalist, or a writer. He seemed to be in his forties.

There was another woman sitting right across the aisle from him. She was a young woman, probably in her early twenties. She had brown hair and dazzlingly dark eyes. She only had a briefcase with her, like everyone else in the bus, but didn't seem to be indulged in any activity during the ride.

Another man was on the bus. He looked very foreign. He looked French to Ned and had blond hair and blue eyes. He was in his mid-twenties and was fairly handsome. He seemed to be reading a book. From what Ned saw, the book's title was French, which confirmed his guess.

The last guest, who sat on the last row of chairs, was a woman in her early fifties. Ned took a sneak peek at her belongings and distinguished the camera which professional photographers used hanging from her neck. Ned knew that she was a photographer. He then sat back and sighed. Turning to his right, he saw Nancy, who was staring out the window at the Atlantic Ocean.

Callie and Frank were sitting right next to each other. "Well, what did Chet tell you about this mansion?" she asked. "Is it a romantic place?"

Frank grinned. "Depending on where you're looking at. If you look at the seemingly never-ending ocean, then yeah, I guess it's a romantic place. But if you look at how it's now allegedly haunted, then I think not."

Callie smiled. "Any place where you are can be romantic, Frank," she said. She gave Frank a short hug. The detective's face turned a little pink.

After two hours of bus ride, the detectives and the five other passengers arrived at Hotel Piermont. Callie looked up at the century-old mansion and gasped. "Frank," muttered she, "it's beautiful!"

She was right; the place was neat and well-designed. The hotel's walls were painted white, and that helped the hotel glow. The house, oddly enough, was built right on the edge of the cliff. The view was splendid; the detectives could see miles and miles of open sea. It was the perfect image of a paradise. The only thing that prevented that place from being so was the ugly weather. The clouds were getting thicker and darker. More rain seemed to fall.

Upon arrival, Callie looked at the beautiful mansion and sighed happily. "I guess the airfare was worth it," Callie said teasingly, hugging Frank.

"Okay, okay," Frank finally said, prying his girlfriend off. "Let's go in."

The inside of the hotel was nothing less beautiful than the outside. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a staircase made of marble leading from the grand lobby to the second floor. From the dining room next door, a woman in her early fifties appeared. Her hair was grayish brown. "Welcome, everyone!" she said, smiling brightly. "Welcome to Hotel Piermont! I am the owner of the hotel Edna Kempton. I'm very pleased to see all of you! Please come in!"

And behind her, a stout man in his mid-fifties appeared. He seemed to be the most unfriendly man the detectives ever saw, for his jaws were set firm and his eyes were piercing.

"This is the caretaker Xavier Churchill," Ms. Kempton introduced. "And over there," she pointed toward a young man coming down the stairs, "is the cook Derek Ogden. He's a marvelous chef, and even though he may be young, his dishes are culinary pieces of finest art."

The young man, who seemed to be in his mid-twenties, smiled and bowed to the guests. He was a dark-haired man with dark-colored eyes, but his personality seemed quite bright.

"Edna," the Asian woman who Ned thought was a painter asked, "is it true that your hotel has been haunted by an evil presence?"

Ms. Kempton smiled uneasily. "Yes, quite. But I do hope that won't drive all of you away. After all, this hotel is one of the best there is in the state of Maine."

"Oh, no!" the woman said with a smile. "I'm a painter, after all. I like somewhere with air of creativity."

Ms. Kempton looked around and noticed the detectives. She hurriedly told them to come to the dining room after the guests left. After handing out their keys, she motioned for the four detectives to come.

"Oh, I'm really thankful you came here!" she said gladly. "But… Where is Joe? I thought Chet said that there were going to be five people coming."

Callie explained, "Well, he's in the hospital right now."

"Oh, my!" exclaimed the woman. "Is he okay?"

The detectives assured her that he was going to be fine. She then explained them what had happened so far. "There were many strange happenings during the nights. Sometimes, I would find that the pictures hanging from the walls had been switched or disappeared. Then, I heard the sound of water hitting the waves during the nights when the moon was full. It was really strange, since the sound seemed to come from the corridor! And you know the incident where I saw a ghost disappear into thin air, don't you?"

"Yes, Ms. Kempton, but I…" started Nancy.

"Oh, you can call me Edna," Ms. Kempton interrupted. "You're my guest here, so you don't need to call me so formally."

"Yeah, 'Edna'," Nancy said, "what about the guests and the rest of the staffs? Do you think they could be responsible for this?"

"I simply don't know. Well, as you can see, we have five guests excluding you and three staffs. I know most of the guests from what they have told me. That Japanese woman whom you saw talking to me just now was Amy Takahashi. She's a renowned painter who is famous for painting pictures with ghostly images and other apparitions.

"The German man was Gary Friedrich. He's a writer who is famous for his horror novels and thrillers. You know, he was the one who made the script for the movie 'Whom the Dead Despised'."

Frank gasped. "Really? That movie was said to be the most horrifying film in the history of horror movies!"

Edna grinned. "Yes, dear. And he speaks English better than he speaks German. Let's see…the other guest I know is June Quinn. She's a famous photographer who claims that her photographs all include ghostly figures and faces."

"What about Norma Yale?" asked Nancy.

"She is a journalist. Well, she isn't a journalist for a newspaper but for a magazine that talks about the supernatural. I read one of the issues before, and believe me, that was one of the most bizarre magazines I've ever read! But she seems more down-to-earth than the other quests in here."

Callie winced. "Seems like all these people are attracted to a haunted hotel like this!" she muttered.

Edna smiled. "But I'm a little baffled about the other one: Henri LaSalle. He is French, and that's all I know about him. Also, he came from Quebec. I must admit, he seems quite strange, if you ask me. For example, he said he just came to United States a few years ago, but when he spoke to me, I noticed that his grammar was correct, his accent very slight, and his speech very fluent! It seems like he has been here longer than he said he was."

Frank remembered the tape that captured the ghost. "Edna, could you tell us where the ghost actually disappeared?"

The hotel owner nodded. "It's on the second floor," she said. The detectives went up the stairs and got to the second floor. The mansion had two stories total, and each floor had seven rooms. Therefore, there were thirteen rooms altogether. Rooms one to five were located on the first floor and rooms six to thirteen were on the second floor.

Frank noticed that there was another room right next to the room with the number 13 carved on the door. Because the door didn't have anything written on it, he asked the owner of the hotel, "What is this?"

"That's the linen room," Edna answered. "I store the linens there. Also, there are some spare lamps just in case the ones in the hotel rooms break."

"Hm…" Frank muttered.

The detectives and their guide then went out to the main hallway on the second floor. Then, the hotel owner led them to a particular wall. Frank noticed that the mysterious corridor led to a dead end. Touching the walls, the detective concluded that the walls were solid and no trapdoors could be found.

"That's strange," Callie muttered, feeling the walls. "Usually, the trapdoors are located here. I don't see any!"

Ned looked up at the ceiling. "And I don't see any trapdoor up there," he added.

At that moment, the five people heard a piercing scream downstairs. They immediately ran down the stairs. Upon reaching the first floor, Edna asked what the scream was about. The painter, earlier introduced as Amy Takahashi, was standing in the dining room holding her mouth. She was trembling in fear.

"What happened?" Frank asked. He immediately stopped when he saw what Amy saw.

On the table in the dining room, someone had written a message in dark red ink.

No, Frank thought. That isn't red ink.

"That's blood!" gasped Callie.

The detectives stared at the message in awe.

"The Magician is awoken."

Postscript: Here is another double-cliffhanger! Who is the mysterious Magician? Who wrote the sickening message on the table?

Don't forget about the other mysteries. What about the owner of the mysterious engagement ring that was left at the Drews' residence? And why does Nancy have a feeling that she had seen some of the hotel guestsbefore when she obviously hasn't met any of them in her previous mysteries?

For those of you who are concerned about Joe, he will make appearance later in the novel, but for now, it's just Callie, Frank, Nancy, and Ned who will tackle the mysteries at the haunted hotel.

Coming up next: Into the Night -- The mystery deepens even more...