Also, for those who might be wondering, not all chapters will be just one day's activities. That's simply how it's playing out at the moment.
August 3
"Hello, is this Timothy McGreevy?" Nancy asked over the phone the next day.
"Yeah, it is. But if you're selling something, I don't want it." The voice on the other end sounded bored.
"No, I'm not selling anything. My name is Nancy Drew, and your mother asked me to look into the disappearance of your father."
"Oh." There was a pause. "Well, I don't think I'll be much help. I haven't seen Dad in a couple of weeks."
"Anything you can tell me about your father would be a help, Mr. McGreevy," Nancy said, switching the phone to her other ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Hannah coming down the hallway, with an upset look on her face. Nancy knew what that look was for – she'd skipped breakfast to make the phone call.
I'll make it up to you, she mouth as the housekeeper passed, as she waited for Timothy McGreevy to speak on the other end. "Mr. McGreevy?"
"First of all," he said in a tired voice, "don't call me that. I'm only twenty-six; my father's the Mr. McGreevy in the family. Call me Tim."
"Okay, Tim…is there anything you can tell me about your father that might help explain why he disappeared?"
The young man on the other end laughed. "Of course I could. But it's so obvious I'm surprised you didn't pick up on it yourself. After all, most people who spend more than five minutes with my mother start to feel smothered."
"And you're saying that's why your father disappeared?"
"Well, I wouldn't blame him for it, if it is his reason. I mean, I'm surprised it took him this long. I always figured he just stuck around because of us, so we wouldn't grow up to be like her."
"If that's the case, why didn't he divorce her?" Nancy asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Oh, Dad's the non-confrontational type. And he probably felt guilty, seeing as how-"
Nancy, sensing this conversation was about to go into even more sensitive territory, interrupted. "Shouldn't this conversation be continued in person?"
"Oh, yeah. Guess so. Tell you what…I'll meet you at the Perkins on Fifth Street. And I'll tell my sisters to come along, too. That way you can question us all at once."
"Alright. When would you like to meet?"
"I'll call you when I've figured out a time."
Nancy frowned. She didn't like not knowing when things were supposed to happen; it made scheduling her day difficult. Still, this might be her best chance to interview all three McGreevy children, and she wasn't going to turn it down. "Alright."
"Great! Talk to you later, then." And Timothy McGreevy hung up.
True to his word, Timothy McGreevy called when he and his sisters had arranged a time. And so, at four pm, Nancy was on her way to the appointed Perkins.
When she arrived, she was surprised to find the McGreevy children waiting outside for her. She wouldn't have recognized them at first, but it helped that Tim was holding a sign that said "McGreevy son", and his two sisters were glaring at him.
"Hello," the tall, sandy-haired, green-eyed young man greeted Nancy as she joined them. "I realized that unless Mom gave you photos of us, we'd be a bit hard to recognize. So I thought I'd help you out." He held up the sign. "But now, we don't need it, so…" He tossed the sign into a nearby garbage can, and held out his hand. "I'm Tim McGreevy. Nice to meet you."
"Nancy Drew," she said, taking the proffered hand. "Nice to meet you, too."
"These lovely ladies on either side of me are my sisters, Abigail" he motioned to the woman on his left, who extended her hand as well.
"Call me Abby," she said smiling.
"And Trixie," Tim said, pointing to the woman on his right. Nancy offered her hand, but Trixie ignored it. "Don't worry about that – Trix is shy, aren't you, sis?" Tim asked, giving his sister a one-armed hug. Trixie gave him a tight-lipped smile.
"Let's go inside, shall we?" Nancy suggested.
When they'd been seated and their orders taken, Abby recommended getting to know each other a bit better before Nancy began interviewing them. Everyone agreed, and within a few moments, Nancy had a wealth of information on the McGreevy children.
Timothy was the eldest, at the age of twenty-six. As his mother had said, he was a history major who'd decided to spend his time creating scratch lotto games. He was also a runner, which was evident in his lean but muscular frame. His relationship with his parents was fine, provided his mother didn't try to lecture him on changing careers or cutting his hair, which grew to his chin in a messy arrangement.
Abigail and Trixie were twin sisters, Abby being the elder of the two by three minutes. They were twenty-four, and serious professionals. Though they were both dark-haired, blue-eyed, and curvy, Abby taller than Trixie. She stood as tall as Nancy, at 5'7", while Trixie seemed to be about two inches shorter.
Trixie was the family peacemaker, standing between her siblings and parents as necessary. Abby was apparently frequently at odds with their mother, since Mrs. McGreevy often felt the need to check up on her children – something Abigail believed to be an invasion of privacy.
In exchange, Nancy told them of her previous detecting experience and some of her own family history. When she was finished, Tim placed an arm on the table and leaned forward.
"Well, now that all the pleasantries have been exchanged, let's get down to business, shall we?" However, the waitress interrupted, bringing their steaming dishes to the table. Everyone thanked her, though each was quite eager for her to vacate the area.
Once the waitress was gone, Nancy fixed Tim with her best detective gaze. "How about you continue to tell me about what you mentioned on the phone?"
"Well, as I was saying, Dad's probably feeling guilty, which is why he never divorced Mom. See, back when they first got married-"
"Tim, do you really think she needs to know this?" Trixie interrupted.
"Well, she wants to know why Dad's disappeared! This could help!"
"All it does is bring up painful family history!" Trixie shot back.
Abby laid a placating hand on her sister's arm. "Trix, relax. I think we can trust Nancy not to go spilling this everywhere."
"You can be sure I won't," Nancy said as firmly as she could. "If I went around telling everything, I'd be no good as a detective."
"Anyway," Tim continued, ignoring the glare Trixie gave him, "there was another McGreevy child. But when he was born, Mom and Dad couldn't afford to keep him. So they gave him up for adoption. Fortunately, none of the family knew about the pregnancy or the baby, which made giving him up easier.
Mom and Dad never told us or anyone else about him. And Mom apparently wanted to forget, so I guess she and Dad never talked about him in private, either. So he really hadn't been on anyone's minds. But then, a couple of weeks ago, he contacted one of our aunts while trying to dig up info on his biological family. Seems he'll be having his own kid soon and wants medical history. That's understandable."
"Naturally, our aunt assumed it was a hoax," Abby joined in. "But eventually, the whole truth had to come out. When it did, well…things have been interesting since then. Mother doesn't seem to know what she wants from our long-lost brother, so she's been keeping Dad from talking to him as well. And of course, she'd rather we not speak to Kevin either."
"Kevin?" Nancy asked.
"Our brother. Kevin McDonnell, age thirty, married with one kid on the way." Tim supplied helpfully. Trixie, who up to that point had followed the conversation silently, suddenly spoke up.
"She didn't forbid us from it, Abby. She just doesn't want to know if we do. It hurts her too much."
"You mean it messes with her neat, orderly reality that she thinks everyone should adhere to."
"I see," Nancy said slowly. "And you think it's possible your father went off to meet your older brother?"
"Well, it's certainly a possibility, don't you think?" Tim asked. Nancy nodded, her mind already at work on how such a scenario might play out.
"Did he seem interested in contacting your brother?"
"Yes," Trixie replied sullenly. "Even though he knows the pain it will cause Mom." She paused for a moment, eyes flashing. "Of course, it could also be that Dinalto woman."
"What's this?" Tim questioned his younger sister, his eyes wide with shock. Abby, too, looked surprised.
"Well, if you two just listened to Mom and Dad more, especially Mom, you would know." From the tone in Trixie's voice, Nancy got the impression that being the family peacemaker meant Trixie was the one who listened to the elder McGreevys the most, and didn't much care for it at times.
"Sorry, sis. I keep meaning to go over and check up on them, but" Tim shrugged. "You have more patience with Mom than I do, so I find it easier to check with you instead."
"Come on, Trix," Abby coaxed her twin. "What about Dad and Mrs. Dinalto?"
"Well, for starters, it's not what you think. Dad would never cheat on Mom. But…he owes Mrs. Dinalto money, or at least she claims he does. Lots of it. Says he gambled with her husband and lost the bet, then never paid it after Mr. Dinalto died."
"Dad would never! He hated gambling!" Tim protested.
"And even if he did gamble, he wouldn't skip out on a debt!" Abby exclaimed. Trixie regarded her siblings carefully.
"Are you sure?" she inquired slowly. "You two hardly ever visit Mom and Dad anymore…and Dad's been acting edgy about the whole thing lately."
"Well…he seemed okay to me, when I last saw him…" Tim mumbled.
"You last saw him three weeks ago, Tim, what would you know?" Trixie snapped. "And Abby, it's been even longer for you!"
Both siblings shifted in their seats uncomfortably. "Sorry, sis," they mumbled in unison. Nancy wondered how many times they'd had this argument before.
"Well," she broke in carefully, "If your father does owe money to Mrs. Dinalto…about how much would he owe?"
"One hundred thousand dollars," Trixie stated flatly, as her siblings looked at her with open mouths. "More than Mom and Dad could easily afford to pay back."
"Is there any reason your father would gamble such a large amount of money?"
"There's no reason for him to gamble at all!" Tim burst out angrily. Trixie looked at him coolly, before turning her gaze back to Nancy.
"Dad never cared for gambling. But if he did gamble, it'd probably be just so he could get away from Mom now and then, without her knowing his every move. But I don't think he'd gamble more than he could afford."
"Gambling can become an addiction, sis," Abby said softly. "Maybe Dad…got hooked."
"What, so now you're willing to believe me?" Trixie rounded angrily on her twin. "Five minutes ago you swore Dad would never gamble!"
"I thought you wanted me to at least consider the idea! So that's what I'm doing!"
More trouble in paradise…Nancy thought to herself wearily. Although the McGreevy children seemed far more likeable than their mother, she was becoming exhausted with the bickering.
"Whether your father would gamble or not is an issue we can visit later," she interrupted quietly. "What will help me find him is figuring out what he would do if he did gamble and did owe such a large debt. You've given me two possible reasons for your father's disappearance. I'd like you to tell me what you think he would do under either set of circumstances."
"Well," Tim began slowly, "if he did owe money…he'd probably go to the bank first, without Mom knowing, to see if he could get a loan…there's no way our parents could afford such a debt otherwise."
"And after that?" Nancy prompted.
He shrugged. "No idea…maybe go talk to Mrs. Dinalto?"
"And if your father went to speak to Kevin, instead?"
"Well….Kevin lives in Omaha, Nebraska. So it would take Dad most of a day to get there, probably. And knowing Dad, he'd take the trip in two days, just to make sure he was alert the whole time."
"Yeah," Abby put in. "Dad's always been a cautious driver…but neither scenario explains why he hasn't gotten in touch with Mom."
Nancy frowned, considering the situation. What Abby had said was true. Well, that's something I'll just have to keep in mind…
She was about to ask another question, when Trixie checked her watch. "I've got to go." She stood up, tossing a few bills onto the table. "That should cover my meal and share of the tip. Nice to meet you, Nancy." With a nod to all at the table, Trixie turned on her heel and left the restaurant.
"Well…" said Tim, "I guess…that's all for now. I should probably be going, too."
"Same here," Abby chimed in.
"Alright. I'll call if I have any further questions," Nancy replied. The three stood up, each leaving behind a small amount of money on the table, and moved toward the cashier. Tim insisted on paying, and wouldn't let Nancy give him money to cover her share.
"After all," he told her as she insisted yet again that he let her pay her share, "you're going to find Dad. It's the least I can do."
Resigned, she let him pay the bill. As she walked to her car, she hoped that she could do what Tim McGreevy seemed so certain she would.