A/N: A million thanks to Caranath, Guest, max2013, zenfrodo, Wendylouwho10, Stork Hardy, Jackie, bhar, Vinsmouse and ILoveMom for reviewing! I love reading what you have to say! And of course, thank you to those reading as well! Only one more chapter after this one.

Chapter 41

Emily was hiding behind a stalactite reflecting light onto the Madonna with Bess's compact, when she heard the commotion.

Simone?

Emily could hardly believe it. How on earth did she get out of the duct tape?

The woman was screaming like a banshee at the edge of the overlook. Emily couldn't even tell if she was wailing in French or English.

Simone's face was bloodied and her eyes were glassy. She was gesticulating wildly toward the cavern.

Clearly…she had lost it.

Emily sneaked along the rock wall, getting as close as she dared, trying to figure out what Simone was saying.

She saw the nun pointing at Frank and Joe.

As Emily got to within four feet of the woman, she finally understood her.

"Tuez-les!"

Kill them.

Emily's heart constricted in her chest.

Simone reached for the pocket of her habit.

Emily saw a flash of metal.

A weapon.

Emily charged.

Slamming into Simone from behind, the two of them fell to the ground.

Simone thrashed and kicked as Emily tried to restrain her.

Where was the weapon?

Emily couldn't see anything and Simone was fighting like a madwoman.

OOOoooOOO

Frank barely had time to get his feet under him before Delacroix spun around to face him.

Frank braced himself, hoping that he could use his body weight to knock the man over and subdue him, since his hands were still tied together in front of him.

Fortunately, the doctor appeared to be under the influence of the mandragora wine, and was stumbling toward Frank, more than running.

Frank sidestepped him neatly, while struggling to remove the zip ties.

He had to get those things off.

He knew he could knock the doctor out with one punch, but not if he couldn't use his hands.

Delacroix stumbled, breathing heavily as he glared at Frank.

"You and your friends are evil sinners! You have polluted this shrine and disturbed the presence of the Virgin. Your being here has desecrated this holy place."

Frank saw Bess snatch up the revolver and turn in Delacroix's direction.

Don't get too close, Bess. If he takes that gun from you, we're toast.

Frank made sure the doctor was focused on him.

"Dr. Delacroix, if anyone has desecrated this mock shrine, it would be you. You've stolen property belonging to another church, kidnapped three people, threatened us with bodily harm and drugged us with poisoned wine." Frank kept his eyes on the doctor's face. "I'm pretty sure you broke at least half of the ten commandments just in the past hour alone."

Dr. Delacroix's eyes bored into Frank.

"You are trying to thwart the will of the Holy Virgin. Anything I do in response to that is justified. She will not be mocked!"

OOOoooOOO

Nancy didn't know what to do. She'd seen Simone screaming on the ledge, and saw Emily tackle the woman. She'd obviously made some sort of threat or Emily never would have done that.

And now Frank was facing Delacroix.

How was he going to take him out with his hands tied together?

Bess was there too, but…

Nancy bit her lip.

She had to go where she was needed most.

She slipped down the tunnel and headed in the direction of the ledge.

OOOoooOOO

Frank watched as Bess sneaked into position behind Delacroix, holding the gun in both hands and aiming it at the back of his head.

"Really?" Bess asked. "Because we're kind of sure the Virgin's on our side in this."

Dr. Delacroix's jaw dropped, and he turned away from Frank to face Bess.

You just made your fatal mistake, jackass. Frank stepped closer to the man, ready to spring for him.

The doctor staggered in Bess's direction.

Frank charged, striking the man square in his back.

Delacroix fell to the floor on his hands and knees and started to scramble away.

Bess moved in closer, releasing the safety on the weapon.

"Go ahead. I dare you."

Frank smiled. Bess was clearly enjoying this.

Delacroix looked around wildly then started crawling toward a nearby tunnel.

Bess fired the weapon into the air.

The doctor stopped immediately and lay flat on the ground.

"That was the only warning you'll get from me," Bess said.

Holy shit, Frank thought. She actually knows how to use that gun.

"You'd better do what the lady says, Doctor," Frank ordered. "Stay down and keep your hands where we can see them."

OOOoooOOO

Emily ducked to avoid Simone's flailing arms.

"What in the world are you doing?"

Simone's eyes were flashing with anger and her jaw was tight. Blood was running down her face from her nose and a large gash on her forehead.

"You have ruined everything!" Simone screamed. "Everything!"

Yep. Another insanity case.

Simone reached for Emily with her hands, clawing at her clothes, her arms, and her face.

"Get a grip!" Emily shouted. "You are out of control."

"You and your friends must pay the price for what you've done. You must pay!"

Emily looked at Simone's eyes, and the intense loathing she saw there chilled her to the bone.

Simone suddenly went still. "You are a vile whore who has desecrated the sanctity of the shrine of the Virgin. You will not be allowed to leave here."

"I beg to differ," Emily grated out, her muscles tense and shaking as she tried to keep Simone at arm's length.

This woman wanted to kill her.

She shoved hard against Emily.

Emily held her ground, but she was bone tired. Her injured shoulder muscle was on the verge of giving out completely.

Simone shoved her again.

Where was this woman getting her strength?

The drugs. It had to be the drugs.

Emily tried to sidestep her.

The nun reached out and grabbed Emily, twisting her arm behind her.

"See your poor boyfriend down there?" she hissed in Emily's ear. "I'll bet you miss him."

She gave Emily another shove toward the overlook.

"Let's get you down there with him. The fast way. Right over the ledge."

OOOoooOOO

Nancy hurried through the tunnel. She'd heard Simone screaming almost the entire way, but now everything had gone quiet.

Deathly quiet.

Nancy slowed her pace.

She didn't want to alert Simone to her presence.

Exiting the tunnel, she moved into the open area where the overlook was.

She slipped behind a stalagmite to assess the situation.

Nancy saw Emily struggling as Simone struck out at her. The nun slapped Emily hard across the face.

Emily responded by grabbing onto the veil of Simone's habit and yanking it off her head.

That seemed to enrage Simone, who screamed and pushed Emily toward the overlook.

She was trying to throw Emily off the ledge.

Simone reached forward and scratched Emily across the cheek, then grabbed a handful of Emily's long hair and pulled hard.

Nancy rushed up and grabbed the woman from behind.

"I am sick of you. Do you hear me? Sick. Of. You," Nancy said.

Simone gasped and let go of Emily.

Nancy twisted Simone's arms behind her back and the woman's knees buckled.

"I have had enough of nutso people to last me the rest of my life," Nancy said. "If justice is really served on this case, the courts will throw you, Kathy Martin, Delacroix, and whatever other crazies are involved in this scheme into the same padded cell for the next twenty-five years."

Emily stepped away from the overlook and daubed at the blood on her face with the edge of her shirt. Her hair was a mess, her faced looked like a cat had attacked her, and her clothes were torn. But she seemed relieved. She smiled at Nancy.

"Sounds good to me."

Nancy dragged Simone away from the overlook. "We need to tie her up again. What can we use?"

"Bess left her magic carpetbag up here. Let's see if she has anything."

Nancy could see Emily's hands were shaking as she dragged Bess's oversized purse across the dirt floor of the cavern. Bess's Gucci purse. Good thing Bess was down in the cavern.

Emily rummaged inside and pulled out a scarf. "Will this work?"

"Yeah. Let's tie her hands behind her back and then we can drag her to the cavern. The roll of duct tape is down there."

"She has a weapon in her pocket. I don't know what it is."

"Let me get her hands tied together first, and then we'll check."

Simone spit on Emily as she leaned forward to hand Nancy the scarf.

Emily slapped her across the face.

"Anymore crap like that from you, and I will knock your teeth out."

Nancy smiled.

Sweet, gentle, Emily had just become a true detective.

Joe was going to freak.

OOOoooOOO

Bess quickly trussed Dr. Delacroix with the duct tape, and left him in the middle of the cavern floor.

Frank rested his hands on Bess's shoulder. "Can you stay here and keep that gun on him? I need to find Nancy. One of his goons took her away for some sicko cleansing ritual."

"We already rescued her," Bess said. "She wasn't hurt."

Frank blinked. "You rescued her?"

"Hello? I watch Charlie's Angels every week. I know what I'm doing."

Frank couldn't help chuckling. She was holding the gun exactly the same way as the actresses on the show did. Leave it to Bess.

"Frank?" Nancy called out from the overlook. "We're up here. We have Simone. Take that first tunnel on your left. It'll lead you straight to us."

"Stay here, Bess," Frank said.

He hurried through the tunnel as fast as he could, but holding his legs in the same position for an hour had made his injured thigh muscle stiff and painful. He found himself limping before he made it to the next level of the cave.

As soon as Nancy saw him, she ran toward him and threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh, thank heaven you're all right. I was so worried."

Before Frank could respond, Nancy kissed him full on the mouth, with an intensity that took his breath away.

Emily's voice cut through the haze.

"Is Joe okay?"

Frank broke away from Nancy for a moment. "He's unconscious. He swallowed too much of the wine, but he isn't hurt."

He held out his hands. "Do either of you have anything you can use to remove these? They're cutting off my circulation."

"Simone does," Emily said, coming over to him and holding up a substantial knife. "It's how she got out of her duct tape."

Frank held his hands out, and Emily quickly cut through the plastic ties.

He grimaced as he flexed and rubbed his hands, trying to ease the soreness.

"What happened to the SOB that grabbed you?" he asked Nancy.

"He's in a room in this tunnel." She pointed behind her. "He's still unconscious, so Simone didn't bother to cut through his duct tape. Thank goodness."

Frank reached out and pulled Nancy into him. "I was going out of my mind worrying about you." He kissed the side of her head. "Did he touch you? Did he hurt you? Because if he did, I'll go down there right now and make him sorry he was ever born."

"No. I'm fine. There was no way I was going to let him hurt me."

Frank squeezed her tight. "Geez, babe, you didn't need me on this case at all. You, Emily, and Bess neutralized everyone."

Nancy gave him a smug smile. "So are you going to stop doubting my ability to take care of myself now? And will you quit being so overprotective?"

Frank chuckled. "I never doubted your ability. And no…I won't stop being protective. It's who I am."

Nancy patted his chest. "Good thing I love you just the way you are, Frank Hardy."

"Good thing," he said, kissing her soundly.

Emily interrupted them. "I'm going down to the cavern. I need to be with Joe."

Frank nodded. "Go ahead. We'll follow you and bring Simone with us."

OOOoooOOO

Emily hurried into the cavern, past Bess, who was still holding the weapon on a tied up Dr. Delacroix, and rushed over to Joe.

She bent down next to the slab he was resting on and brushed his hair away from his face as she kissed his forehead.

"Honey, are you okay?"

Joe stirred.

Emily's heart leapt to her throat. "Joe? Honey, wake up. Please."

Joe blinked.

Emily breathed out a sigh of relief.

He opened and closed his eyes twice. "Em?"

She couldn't help the sob that escaped her. "Yes, it's me. Are you all right?"

"Yeah." He reached up and touched her cheek. "But you're not. What happened?"

Emily shrugged. "Just a little tussle with Simone. But don't worry. I won."

Joe struggled to swing his legs off the altar, but he couldn't seem to coordinate his movements. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You slept through the whole thing," Emily teased, as she helped him into a sitting position, then cut through the ties around his wrists. "You missed all the fun."

"Oh, yeah," Bess called out. "It was a blast. Fighting, staging a vision of the Virgin Mary, rescuing Nancy, Simone doing the best Carrie impression I've ever seen, saving your asses…quite a busy day."

Frank and Nancy entered the cavern, dragging Simone between them. They deposited her against a stalagmite and Frank stepped over to his brother with a big grin on his face.

"It was amazing, Joe. The girls rescued us. And they managed to capture most of the bad guys by themselves. They even captured Simone twice."

Joe giggled. "Wow, I'm hearing a lot of words, but none of them are making sense."

"He's drunk," Bess said.

"Just a little bit." Joe held up his forefinger and thumb.

"See if this makes it any clearer." Frank grinned as he put his arms around Nancy and Bess. "Once upon a time there were three little girls who went to the Police Academy. Two in River Heights, and one in Bayport. And they were each assigned very hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that. And now they work for me. My name is Charlie."

Joe blinked. "Bess, Nancy and Emily are really Charlie's Angels?"

"I'm Farrah," Bess announced, tossing her hair. "And Em is Jaclyn Smith and Nancy is Kate Jackson."

Joe giggled again. "Em can't be Jaclyn Smith."

"Why not?" Emily asked. "She's my favorite."

"Because," Joe said. "Frank kissed Jaclyn Smith. So that's not going to work if you're Jaclyn Smith, is it?"

Nancy stared at Frank. "What on earth is he talking about?"

"I have no idea," Frank said. "Must be the mandragora."

"Pffft," Joe waved his hand in the air. "You kissed her, Frank. You told me all about it. Well, I guess she kissed you, didn't she? And then you told her you wanted to discuss spending the rest of your life with her."

"Now I know it's the mandragora," Frank said.

Nancy crossed her arms. "I'm not so sure. I think I may have another mystery I need to get to the bottom of."

Emily smiled. It sure sounded like there was a story there. And as soon as Joe was sober, she was going to get it out of him.

Bess handed Frank the gun. "Here. I've had enough fun with this today."

Frank grinned at her. "I had no idea you knew how to shoot, Bess."

Bess rolled her eyes. "Please. My best friend is Nancy Drew. I'd be an idiot not to know how to handle a weapon. She can get into trouble on a quick trip to the mall."

"Now that's an exaggeration," Nancy said.

"I wish it were." Bess's eyes widened as she looked at Simone. "What did you tie her up with?"

"Um, just a scarf I found in your purse," Nancy said.

"That is not 'just a scarf.' That is an Hermes scarf. Are you nuts?" Bess ran over to Simone and reached for her hands. "If she got blood on this, I swear I'll kill you. I need to get this off her now."

Shouts echoed from one of the tunnel corridors. Frank shooed the girls behind some stalagmites and hurried to get Joe on his feet.

"Arretez!" called a police officer entering the cavern with his weapon drawn.

His partner appeared next to him, with his gun extended as well.

Better late than never, Emily thought as she stepped out and spoke in French, providing the barest of explanations for what had happened.

The officers lowered their weapons.

Father François appeared behind them and hurried toward Emily.

She smiled at him. "Father, we found her. We found the Madonna."

Relief washed over Father François's features, as Emily led him over to the statue.

"I'll phone the monastery at St. Sylvie immediately. They will be so pleased to know she is safe."

OOOoooOOO

Frank pulled Nancy into his arms as they waited in the cavern for the police to take their statements. He was so relieved to have her safe and unhurt. The worry he'd felt when Delacroix's goon had taken her away had been almost paralyzing. He hugged her close and made sure his voice was steady before he spoke.

"Well, it looks like we've wrapped up both of our cases in the past twenty-four hours."

Nancy sighed as she snuggled into his embrace. "And I can't thank you enough for your help."

"My help? You saved me, babe." Frank kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for that."

"And you rescued me from a dungeon last week. I'd say we're even on this case."

"How about we both stay out of situations where we need to be rescued for a while?" He glanced over at Delacroix, who was being dragged out of the cavern by the police. "I could use a break."

"Me, too." Nancy smiled up at him. "What would you say to a little vacation? Right here in our cabin."

Frank grinned at her. "I'm with you on that one. And honestly, I think Senator Martin could be persuaded to pick up the tab for it."

"If he knows what's good for him. I mean, we have Bess as a witness to everything his daughter did. And if Senator Martin doesn't want the whole world knowing by tomorrow morning…"

Frank laughed as he glanced at Bess flirting with the French police officers.

"Yeah, I'm betting we have an all-expense paid two week vacation in Europe coming right up."

"And I can't wait." Nancy squeezed him tightly. "Now about Jaclyn Smith…"