DISCLAIMER: I don't own Nancy Drew.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ta ta tata! Enter the hero!

Chapter 17

George and Bess jerked in surprise and Nancy staggered back from the blows that the insane, yelling woman was throwing at her. There were surprised outburst and a scuffle broke out as people ran to break up the one-sided fight.

Suddenly Nancy felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her out of the way of the waving, frantic hands. She was pressed against a broad, lean chest and caught a familiar scent. Nancy looked up, still confused, into Ned's angry, protective face. He was staring at Mrs. Raybolt, holding her tightly to him with one arm and holding another hand out, trying to stop the frantic woman. He had positioned himself in front of the girl's body to take the brunt of the beating. Mrs. Raybolt stopped lashing out with her hands as three officers joined them, but she was still yelling.

"You take that girl! You take her right now and lock her away! She helped that horrible Swenson man kill my husband!" she screamed, pointing.

"You need to calm down, Mrs. Raybolt. I advise you control yourself or you might find yourself in a hospital under psychiatric care," one of the officers, the Captain name Johnson said in a stern voice. "We will handle this case."

Mrs. Raybolt started to say something, but stopped and thought the better of it.

Nancy was just recovering. She shifted gently out of Ned's protective, comforting grip and turned to Mrs. Raybolt.

"I don't blame you for being upset or anything, but you've got to know that people are still out looking for your husband. I'm, sure he's alive and will show up. The fire fighters on the scene said that no one was in the house when it burned so he's got to be around somewhere," Nancy said in a cold, calm voice.

"Oh, yes? Then where is he?" Mrs. Raybolt spat defiantly.

Nancy shrugged. "No one knows," she said, then looked directly at her. "Unless you do."

Mrs. Raybolt jerked surprised and emotion flooded her face. She sank back onto the padded bench and covered her face in her hands. The officers exchanged a glance and waited. George gave Nancy a look and Bess raised her eyebrows surprised. What was the answer?

Nancy knew that the answer should have been a yes, but she knew that as soon as the woman regained her composure, she would deny it. Mrs. Raybolt finally raised her head and she had on a mask of hard stone, nothing like a mourning widow as she stared hard at Nancy.

"This girl is… she's crazy. One of those nosy, know-it-all teenagers. Do me a favor, keep your nose out of other people's business. Why don't you stay out of it? Do I know where Felix is? Do I know?! Of course I don't know, I haven't seen him or heard from him since the fire! He's dead, dead, dead I tell you! Dead!" Her voice ended in a high pitch.

Ned slipped an arm around Nancy again, tense and ready to pull her out of the woman's wrath again. Nancy slid a hand over his and meshed her fingers with his over the back of his hand.

"Sergeant Wilson will take you to your car, Mrs. Raybolt," Captain Johnson said. He turned to Nancy and the girls. "I'd like you to stay a minute please."

Nancy gave a little nod and waited as Mrs. Raybolt left. When she was gone, the Captain asked Nancy why she'd grilled the woman about her husband. Nancy gave a little smile.

"No one I've talked to or heard talk about Raybolt thinks he's dead," Nancy explained. "You know just as well as I do that he made his money by swindling and cheating people like poor Mr. Swenson in there. The guy was a crook and if you ask me, that's a really good reason to disappear. But if you were getting up and out, wouldn't you call your wife?"

The Captain thought about that for a moment and then looked at Nancy admiringly. "You're a smart girl. You take after your father. Believe me we're trying to find Raybolt. We've called hospitals, buses, airlines, hotels… nothing yet."

"Well, I hope you find him," Nancy replied. "Then he can clear Mr. Swenson."

The Captain didn't respond and Nancy looked at her friends. "Come on, we should go."

The others all nodded and walked out of the police station. Nancy hugged Ned tightly and smiled at him.

"Thanks for that back there," she told him, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she stepped back. "And thanks for coming down."

Ned gave his slow, awe-inspiring smile. "No problem. I'm just glad you thought to me with your one quarter. Now that all that is over with, I just want to ask why, why, why are you three stuck in a police station?"

George gave a smirk. "According to Mrs. Raybolt the psycho it's because we're felons."

"Murderers, to be exact," Bess added with a nod, the fear seeping from her body.

Ned made a contemptuous face at them and looked to Nancy for a real answer. Nancy winced like a little kid waiting for punishment.

"Well, it's a funny story," she started. "We were just, you know, trying to help Swenson… avoid arrest." Ned gave her a look, raising his eyebrows and Nancy stumbled over her words. "Not that he knew he was going to get arrested. You see we kind of heard over a police scanner that he maybe was going to get picked up after the whole post office thing…"

Ned gave a sigh and shifted his weight, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her a stern look. Nancy hung her head for a second and sagged.

"Okay, maybe I should start from the beginning," she put in.

"Just maybe," Ned replied.

Nancy related everything starting from this morning. Ned listened carefully, letting her speak and didn't interrupt. At the end the three girls stared at him, waiting for his response and he stood in thought for a minute, looking over the three of them. Then he gave a small, smile of false exasperation.

"Where to now?" he asked and Nancy gave a wide grin.

"I was thinking of heading to Stanford."

"Why would we go to Stanford?" Bess asked, confused.

But Ned had caught on. "You're thinking that maybe Mr. Weston can help you clear Swenson."

"Wait, what about your dad, Nancy?" George asked, looking back at the police station door.

Nancy glanced at the door a moment, the severity of the situation falling over her again and she thought before she spoke.

"My dad's with his client. He'll call me when he's done and we can found out went on in there later. We should just go," she told her friends and they started off.

George demanded to drive Nancy's car and have her go with Ned. Nancy blushed, but let herself be pushed into the decision. Once in the car with Ned she rummaged through her purse to find her cell phone. She dialed 411 and asked for the number to the Weston Electronics factory. As the phone rung, she bit her lip nervously and squeezed the edge of her seatbelt in a nervous fist.

Ned looked over her anxious, tense frame and unclenched the stressed fist, slipping his hand into hers. She met his gaze, a little surprised and he smiled comfortingly. She felt the butterflies rise in her stomach and she gave a smile back. After a few minutes she got Weston's secretary on the phone. Weston had left, but after being told that it was urgent, she gave Nancy his home number. She got in contact with him a few minutes later and asked if he would see them, at the spur of the moment and he said there was no problem.

They drove into the impressive Weston estate. It was a huge house with gigantic grounds. They were invited in enthusiastically by Mrs. Weston and Nancy introduced Ned to the jumpy nervous little man and his charming wife. Ned gave her an amused look, but said nothing at all. Nancy explained the situation to Mr. Weston and the man was obviously shocked. He stuttered, more than usual anyway, and said that he would call Swenson's manager to find out if there was anything they could find.

A minute later he turned back to the teenagers, a dejected face and shook his head. "Unfortunately, there's nothing… not a… nothing that can, uh, help. However, I'm certain that he couldn't have done the atrocious things he's charged with."

"How's that?" George asked. "Didn't he just start working here like three weeks ago?"

"Yes, yes, yes indeed… but, in that short time, Mr. Da-" Weston stopped himself and amended, "Swenson has been a great worker. In, in, in, in fact… I have a request for a promotion from his manager for Swenson here. Here, right here on my desk. Uh, yes, my desk."

"So you don't think Swenson is guilty?" Nancy asked.

"I'm sure of it. Swenson was a kind man and an ethical person. He showed us all that on a few occasions."

"So, if Swenson is cleared, will you let him have his job back?" Bess asked eagerly.

"Absolutely. Oh, yes, absolutely," Weston said and it sounded like the only thing he'd ever said that was as sure.

Nancy smiled. "You're a saint."

Mrs. Weston absolutely insisted that they stay for dinner and after a little prodding, the group agreed. They were served a four-course meal, which was cooked by the Weston's chef and conversation was light and pleasant. After dinner the girls and Ned said goodbye and went on their way. Out at the car, the girls lingered to talk to Ned.

"So, what do you think so far, Nance?" Bess asked. "This whole thing kind of sucks, huh?"

"Totally," Nancy replied, running a hand through her hair. She looked at Ned and he smiled knowingly.

"What would you have me do, oh great detective Nancy?" he said in a teasing tone.

Nancy laughed. "Well, you're a lot closer to Mapleton and you'd know anything before I ever do…"

"I'll see what I can find out from behind the scenes. I'll even go visit Swenson to see how he's doing and, how great am I, there's an 'and'?, I'll even go take his wife and kid over to see him."

"Oh Ned, you're so dreamy," George mocked, batting her eyelashes at him and cupping her face in her hands. "You're the best. You're my hero, Ned."

Nancy slapped her arm and rolled her eyes. "Get out of here."

Bess and George laughed.

"See you later Ned," Bess said.

"Yeah, don't strain your jaws or anything," George provoked and Nancy aimed a punch at her, but missed as she scampered away to the car.

Ned rolled his eyes at Nancy. "I really like your friends."

"You do?" Nancy asked. "Because I don't. Anyway, thanks again. It was really sweet what you did back at the station."

"Yeah, well, you can't let a perfectly good face like this get all scratched up, can you?" Ned asked, tilting Nancy's chin up.

Nancy caught her breath and closed her eyes as Ned pressed his lips to her. She responded to the kiss and after a minute they pulled away from each other slowly. They looked at each other in silence for a moment, then jumped as George honked the horn. Nancy glared at the cousin's as they burst out laughing.

"Yeah, I don't like your friends as much anymore," Ned told her.

Nancy just shrugged and said goodbye to him. He drove off and Nancy dropped the cousins off at their houses. She waited an hour until she heard her father com through the door and then sat to talk things over with him. They had incarcerated Swenson, but Mr. Drew told his daughter that he knew the man wasn't guilty and if they went to court, the prosecutions case wouldn't hold up and the police knew it. Nancy promised to find a way to get Swenson out of it and told her father about Ned offering to bring Swenson's family to see him. She then told her father about what had happened with Mrs. Raybolt. Mr. Drew fumed at the account, angry with the woman, but Nancy brushed the incident aside.

"What I want to know is where Raybolt is," Nancy pondered out loud. "I'm sure that his wife knows where he's hiding."

"I think so too," Mr. Drew said with a hint of a smile.

Nancy looked at her dad for a moment and then asked, "What are you hiding?"

"I happened to be given some interesting information today that can help us prove that Raybolt is hiding. I thought you might like to follow it up, seeing as you are personally interested in finding the man… and proving that stupid wench wife of his wrong."

Nancy sat like an anxious little kid, waiting for her father to continue.