Chapter 27
Late Friday afternoon Nancy and Frank limped into the Aloha Hilton. Well, Nancy limped and Frank stumbled. Considering what they'd been through that day it wasn't surprising.
The flesh above Nancy's right knee had begun to swell and throb. She'd expected as much when she saw the bruises developing earlier. Another dose of Advil was in order.
Frank was bone-tired and it showed. He hadn't slept much, or well, the past two nights. His face was drawn and tight. Fatigue, combined with the events of the day had sapped every bit of energy he had. He thought of all the things he'd endured that morning – a fight with the guards, being gagged and bound, then working his way out of the ropes, and just for good measure he'd punched the short guard in the nose. Okay, that felt good at the time, payback-wise, but now his hand was telling him it might not have been a great idea. It felt like he'd dropped a fifty-pound weight on it.
Every part of his body ached. It felt like a Mack truck had run him over, figured it didn't do a good enough job and had run over him again.
Pain medicine – pain medicine, he thought, oh and a cold beer. On second thought make that a cold beer, pain medicine, and another cold beer. Of course with as tired as he was he'd probably pass out after two beers. Actually, at the moment that didn't sound like a bad idea.
"Any messages from Joe?" Nancy asked bringing Frank out of his thoughts. She limped over to a bench in the hotel lobby and sat down. She slowly extended her right leg with the throbbing knee.
Frank eased his weary body down beside her, his phone in his hand. He scrolled through the screen. "Yeah, here's one." He eyed the small screen for a second then said, "He says when Rosita woke up the first words out of her mouth were, 'The evil man is in room ten-thirty.'"
Nancy chuckled. "Wow, that poor woman must've been thinking about 'the evil man' the whole time she was in a coma. That's the Westin's room by the way, so it looks like Chase was the one to borrow Rosita's passkey. I would say this pretty much confirms him as Gwen's killer."
"Yep." Frank nodded agreement. "Joe also says he and Butch have arranged a flight for Rosita's mother for tomorrow. She arrives at four pm."
"Nice." Nancy closed her eyes and leaned back against the bench.
Frank kept reading the messages. "Well, Joe's certainly been busy. He also contacted the Chicago detectives. They've found that a Don West, AKA Chase Westin, did in fact work for Frazer and Frazer at the same time as Gwen." Frank looked over the next message and said, "Joe got a call from Walter. He says the housekeeper positively identified the necklace as Margie Collins'. She said that Mrs. Collins gave it to Diana when she learned her cancer was terminal."
Nancy opened her eyes and sat up. "You know, I bet Chase did take that necklace right off of Diana's neck." She frowned and shook her head at the thought. "Although, I don't think he initially went to her apartment for the necklace."
"No," Frank agreed, "I'm sure he went there looking for money like Mansville said."
"And when Diana refused to give him any they probably had a fight. If she was wearing the necklace he might've asked for it."
"Or demanded it," Frank said.
"Yes, it was just as good as getting money and he probably felt he was entitled to the necklace as much as Diana since it did belong to their mother."
"Sounds like a likely scenario," Frank said. "But of course, we'll never know for sure what happened in that apartment that day." He ran a hand through his hair and let out a tired groan. "Changing the subject, I could use a cold beer and some more Advil."
"Me too."
A dark brow rose in question. "You want a beer?"
Nancy grinned. The look on Frank's face was priceless. "Yes. Why not?"
"I didn't know you drank beer," he said, getting to his feet.
"On occasion." Nancy's grin widened. It was fun to surprise Frank. Almost thrilling, she thought as he slipped an arm under her elbow and helped her up. She really needed to ice and elevate her knee, but a cold beer with Frank sounded like the perfect way to relax and unwind.
They slowly made their way to the Puahlua Bar and Grill.
At six-fifteen, Nancy and Frank were seated at a table for four on the terrace with beers in hand and a perfect view of the ocean. This was their last night on the island and they would finally enjoy a Hawaiian sunset together.
Frank lifted his glass. "A toast to another case solved."
Nancy clinked her glass with Frank's. "And to the sunset."
They sipped – long, satisfying sips. The sun, a fiery orange and pink ball, descended slowly. The sky was ablaze with color – hues of pink, orange, purple, and red. It slowly changed as they watched. The colors created a path of muted light across the rippled ocean.
"It's gorgeous," Nancy said, "simply gorgeous." She set her glass on the table without taking her eyes off the view.
Frank was to Nancy's left. They sat there for the next ten minutes enjoying the ever changing sky, awed by its beauty. Neither spoke. There was no need. This moment required no words.
At last the sun slipped out of sight leaving a dark purple sky in its place. Frank edged closer to Nancy. He put an arm around her shoulders and leaned over. He kissed her gently on the lips. His jaw throbbed in protest, but he ignored it. The kiss deepened and so did the pain. He ignored it again and concentrated on the kiss. He was doing a good job of it until a voice broke his concentration.
"Ahem," Joe said for a second time, a slow smile creeping across his face. He and Bess stood beside the table. "I really hate to break up this, um, special moment .."
"No, you don't," Frank said and reluctantly pulled away from Nancy.
Joe pulled out a chair for Bess.
The terrace lights came on and cast a soft yellow glow over everything.
As Bess lowered herself into her chair she caught sight of Nancy's knee. "Oh my, is that a bruise?"
Nancy said shifting her leg to the side. "It is."
"Looks like it hurts."
"It does," Nancy assured Bess.
Bess turned to Frank and gasped. "Oh my gosh! Your face. Is that a bruise?"
"You're two for two," Frank said and reached for his beer. He definitely needed it now. His jaw was throbbing full-throttle.
Bess peered at Nancy again. "Nancy? Are those marks on your neck?"
"Yes." Nancy sighed and reached for her beer.
"What on earth happened to you two?" Bess was wide eyed.
"Didn't Joe tell you?" Frank asked.
"We just met up," Bess said. "We came looking for the two of you. This is the first place we looked."
"Lucky us," Frank mumbled under his breath.
A waitress appeared and Joe and Bess ordered sodas. After the waitress left Frank told Bess about his day – the fight, being tied up, and punching out the guard. She found it all very exciting. The waitress returned with Bess and Joe's drinks and Nancy told everyone about her fight with Mansville.
Bess was stunned. "I would never in a million years have thought Mr. Mansville would do something like that. And the fact he murdered Mr. Westin is .. is, well, it's just horrible." She gave a slight shiver. "It's unnerving. You think you know some one."
Nancy had a question. "Were the wives at the fashion show today?"
"No," Bess told her. "Everyone had heard about Mr. Westin's murder so no one was surprised when none of the wives showed. We figured Kate and Paula were consoling Barbara. Boy, do I feel sorry for her. But then I guess Paula and Barbara must've wound up consoling Kate when they heard her husband murdered Barbara's husband. Good grief." Bess shook her head sadly. "Those poor wives. I really feel for them."
"So do I," Nancy said.
Bess took a sip of her soda and turned her attention to Joe. "And what about you? I don't see any bruises or marks on you."
Joe grinned with pride. "That's because, unlike these two, I actually know what I'm doing."
Nancy and Frank groaned, but held their tongues. They couldn't really argue given the visible evidence.
"You know," Joe said warming to his story, "I basically saved the day."
"Oh," Bess encouraged him. She added a flirtatious smile as incentive, not that he needed any.
"Yeah," Joe said, "you see, it was all my great plan. I had the brilliant idea of bringing in Butch as my back up. That guy is so big he didn't even have to throw a punch or say anything. That little guard took one look at him and turned and ran."
Everyone got a good chuckle out of that.
Joe explained, in detail, how he cleverly led the guards to the deserted hallway. They were so dumb he bragged, that they thought they were following him. But he had the upper hand and he knew it. He ducked into a Mens' room and phoned Butch. Once Butch was on his way, Joe came out of the Mens' room and faced the guards. He described their complete shock at seeing Butch and how his perfectly executed kick put the big guard on the floor groaning in pain.
When Joe finished his story Bess proposed a toast. "To another case solved. To Nancy Drew and the Hardys."
Everyone clinked glasses.
"So," Bess said setting her glass on the table and looking at everyone, "I have two pieces of good news for everyone."
"What's that," Joe asked.
Bess leaned on the table. "Mr. Airedale has offered to pay for the four of us to spend another night in Hawaii. It's his way of saying thanks for finding his wife's killer and clearing his name."
"Wow," Frank said, "That is great news. I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that. With the way I'm feeling I could definitely use an extra day to recuperate before facing the long flight home."
"Me, too," Nancy said.
"Make that three," Joe said. "Not that I need to recuperate, I'm just happy to have another day in Hawaii. What's the other good news?"
Bess smiled, clearly delighted with her next bit of news. "Mr. Airedale is giving an after-party tonight here at the hotel. There'll be plenty of food and drinks – all free – plus a band for dancing and we're all invited. It starts at eight."
"Well, you can count me out," Frank said, his voice weary. "I'm in no shape for a party. Right now I need more pain medicine, ice, and a good night's sleep."
"I'm afraid you'll have to count me out, too," Nancy said. "I need to stay off this knee tonight. It's already telling me I should have it elevated and ice on it."
"Well, gee." Bess let out a disheartened sigh and her shoulders slumped.
"Hey," Joe said and bumped Bess' shoulder, "don't forget about me. I'm fine and I'm hungry. Dancing sounds great, too." He flashed one of his famous smiles and his eyes twinkled in the soft terrace lighting.
Bess brightened. "Thanks, Joe. I didn't want to go alone."
"This'll be fun," Joe said. "This is finally feeling like a vacation."
Bess checked her watch. "Okay, well I need to freshened up a little. I can be ready in forty minutes. Pick me up then?"
"You got it." Joe drained his soda.
Soon, Frank and Nancy found themselves alone again.
"Well," Frank said. "I'm hungry, but we both need more Advil and ice. What would you say to room service in my room in half an hour?"
"I'd say that sounds great. I'll bring the pain medicine."
# # # #
It was two in the morning when Joe crept into his and Frank's room. The TV was on and it cast a blue glow over the room. The sound was muted. Joe gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkened room then peered at Frank's bed. Yeah, that was what he'd expected to find, Nancy and Frank sound asleep in Frank's bed.
Joe crept closer to the bed. No, it didn't appear as if there'd been a romantic lead up to sleeping together. They still had their clothes on, shorts and t-shirts. It simply appeared they'd fallen asleep while watching TV and icing their wounds.
Poor guys, Joe thought.
A bottle of Advil was on the bedside table along with a half empty glass of water. Another bottle of Advil was on the glass table.
Nancy was on the side of the bed closest to Joe. Frank was on his back and Nancy was curled toward Frank, her head resting against his shoulder. A damp towel lay on the floor at Joe's feet. It had fallen off Nancy's knee at some point. Joe picked it up and an ice pack fell out. The ice it once held was now warm water. Joe walked around to the other side of the bed and found another towel and ice pack on the floor, the one Frank had used for his jaw. A damp towel was draped over Frank's right hand.
Joe gathered up the ice packs and laid them on the glass table then gathered up the towels and took them to the bathroom. He tossed them on the counter and grabbed his toothbrush and shaving kit.
He took one last glance at Nancy and Frank and quietly left the room.
In the hall he hit the redial button on his cell phone. Bess answered before the first ring ended.
"We were right," Joe said, "Nancy's safe and sound with Frank."
"Thank goodness," Bess said.
Joe was at the elevators. "You sure you don't mind if I bunk with you tonight?" He paused, waiting for Bess' answer before he hit the 'up' button.
"Of course not. Nancy's bed's available. Besides, what are friends for?"
"I'm going to owe you big time for this Bess Marvin," Joe said as he pushed the 'up' button. "Without you I'd probably be sleeping on a beach chair tonight."
A/N: Just in case anyone is wondering, no, Bess and Joe aren't romantically involved in this story. They are just good friends. There are three more chapters to go. Thank you all kindly for the reviews. :)