A/N: Is anyone else having problems with the site suddenly crashing, or is that just me? :S

I'll be going on a trip for the next few days, so I won't have a chance to update until then, sorry! I'll post two shorter chapters instead. Also, to all the people reviewing, following, and/or favouriting (is that a word?), thanks a bunch! Feedback/comments/thoughts of any kind are greatly appreciated, as always :)

George tried her best to pay attention, but Nancy was the detective, not her. She and Frank continued their discussion, completely immersed in their conversation. And while she could definitely immerse herself into a good mystery almost all of the time, she had to admit that interviewing a kitchen staff just wasn't doing it for her. Hand her a computer to break into, give her an email to track, or ask her to solve a logic puzzle and she could lose track of the time any day of the week, but food poisoning? Not her idea of a fun case.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bess and Joe giggling to each other like a couple of kids and smiled inwardly. The two were sometimes so alike, it was scary, from the way they looked to their inside jokes. As they waited in line for food, they stood huddled together in what they probably considered a subtle way, acting as if they were party to a large secret.

As Nancy got the rundown of the case from Frank, she knew she was smiling like a fool but she also couldn't seem to stop. It had been at least a year since she'd seen the Hardy boys last, but it felt like much longer now. She hadn't realized it, but she had really missed talking to Frank during that time. She had kept in touch with both Hardy brothers through email and phone, a fact which Nancy suspected had bothered Ned slightly, but seeing Frank face to face felt warm, familiar, and inexplicably right. And right now, his warm smile and easy manner made it seem like they hadn't been apart at all.

She listened intently as Frank finished up what he and Joe had learned, which admittedly wasn't much, during their interrogation of the kitchen staff. "All in all, despite all of our questioning, we haven't made much progress," Frank concluded with sigh. "Even the food poisoning just doesn't seem to add up with the rest of it – all the other destruction has been targeted towards the skiers and snowboarders."

"It's still the first day. And it's always hard to track someone down for something that happened a while ago," she said comfortingly. "Speaking of which, when was the last incident? Maybe there's some kind of pattern in the spacing," Nancy speculated, deep in thought as she worried at her bottom lip.

Frank looked at her and was momentarily stunned. He'd always thought she was pretty, prettier than many of the girls he'd met before, and she was definitely smart. He found himself wondering, if Ned wasn't around would it be possible for... Woah. Not a good line of thinking to pursue, Frank. She has Ned, and is perfectly happy with him, he reminded himself firmly. Realizing he still hadn't responded, he cleared his throat and said, "It's a solid theory, but Joe and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary yet. There haven't actually been that many incidents, but the only similarity in time is that each incident was discovered during morning set up. Someone is wandering around during the middle of the night to commit the crime."

That brought Nancy back to the murder. "Speaking of crime, I asked around the crime scene once George and I were finished being questioned about the body. They were reluctant to tell me anything, but I did manage to find out from one officer that the man was a resident at the hotel. In fact, his room is still checked in. The police have already sent a team in to search it, from what I know, so it's scheduled for a cleaning soon. I snuck a peek at his clipboard and caught the room number, though - I was hoping I could sneak in or something, maybe find some clues the police missed."

"I agree, but you'd have to move quickly. Before tomorrow morning, they'll be cleaning the room out, I'm guessing. Without a motive, it'll be hard to come up with the murderer's identity. Right now, anyone could be a suspect, even our boss," Frank replied, "In fact, I feel like it would be a good idea to keep as much as possible a secret from both of the Whites, just for now."

Nancy shot a glance at Bess and Joe, still shuffling through the long line. They'd barely moved since she'd last seen them. While the resort was top-rate, like most other resorts it was perpetually crowded during the winter holidays and she had a feeling that Bess and Joe would be stuck there for a while. Combined with the sabotage, which according to Frank had caused the manager to place more people outside on security, the hotel and lodge would be short-staffed for a while as a result.

"You know, the hotel is only just behind the lodge... I bet we could get into the vic's room before Bess and Joe even came back," she stated conversationally.

"Is that a challenge, Miss Drew?" Frank raised an eyebrow.

Before she could reply, George cut in, startling both sleuths from their banter. Though she didn't want to admit it, Nancy had completely forgotten about her friend's presence while she had been talking to Frank. "Nance, I hope you're not planning on doing anything stupid tonight."

"Just an idea," Nancy said with an impish grin. "What do you think, Frank?"

"If you're planning on doing anything stupid you can count on me sticking right by your side while you do," he replied easily. "I'll have you know I've got plenty of experience with stupid things thanks to Joe."

"Well, there's no better time than the present. We better hurry before the other two do get back here. I'd say we have..." she twisted in her seat to see the two blondes, tilted her head in thought, then turned back to Frank for confirmation. "30 minutes?"

"At the very least," he replied, after momentary consideration.

"Then George, we'll be back in 30 minutes - promise. And if Bess and Joe do get back first, which I doubt considering the length of that line, you can start eating without us." The brunette was slightly reluctant to let the two wander off on their own, but she trusted their instincts. If they thought they should check out the room now, she would have no arguments. And if Nancy did try to do something reckless, which was extremely likely, she knew Frank would keep her safe. George watched the two hurry off in the direction of the hotel, already making a plan.

AaA

Frank wasn't even really surprised when he found himself in the elevator of the hotel barely five minutes later, having jogged the distance to the hotel with Nancy. When Nancy Drew wanted something, she wasn't the type to wait around for it. It was just one of the many things he admired about her.

"Let's see... the room number was 404, so it's probably going to be on the fourth floor. I'm hoping we might find a maid around who can let us in," Nancy said.

"The old, 'I'm so sorry but I left my pass in my room and I really need to get inside so do you think you could possibly please unlock it for me because it would be such a big help' act?" he asked.

She blushed, but he was spot on. It was actually a pretty good impression of her, although she knew Frank hadn't been trying to mock her. Honestly, if that plan didn't work out she was going to have to get creative to find a way in. It was a shame hotel rooms only used pass keys, or she could have just picked the lock to the door. "I take it you have some experience with the process," she said to Frank.

"It may be simple, but it works. A tried-and-true method, I guess you'd call it," he replied with a small shrug as the elevator stopped on their floor, the doors opening with a 'ding'.

The two sleuths exited, looking for an indication as to which way they should go, left or right. The hotel was large, but it was easy enough to locate room 404. They followed the numbers up to 404, making their way down the hallway. It turned out they didn't need to wait for a the cleaning staff after all. As they approached the room, they were knocked aside by a guy about their age, talking animatedly to who they presumed were his parents behind him. They appeared to be in a rush, probably eager to get to dinner then hit the slopes.

The hallway was otherwise empty; everyone had already gone down to dinner in either the lodge or the hotel basement, based on their preferences. The three strangers were too absorbed in their conversation to glance back and notice Frank casually wedging the tip of his boot between the crack in the door frame, holding it open until they were completely gone.

"Nice job, Hardy," Nancy complimented him. "I'm guessing you also noticed the balconies when we came in?"

He grinned and nodded in affirmation. Their thoughts were usually in sync, and tonight was no exception. The outside of the hotel, which was a grand, old looking building, had balconies running along the walls and almost definitely continuing around the back of the building. With a quick glance around, they opened the door fully and crept in, 20 minutes remaining in the total 30 they had promised George. They made their way quickly to the balcony, uninterested in the occupants of this room. As long as the adjacent balcony door was unlocked, they were in the clear. The only remaining obstacle otherwise was the gap between the balconies.

Frank stood next to Nancy on the balcony, evaluating their options. On the on hand, they might be able to just jump and make it, but the railing was slippery with ice. While he was willing to break into a hotel room, he wasn't intent on falling four stories down and breaking his legs, or worse.

The other option was to climb along the wall ledge, made of ornate stone with a wide edge just below the balconies. Unfortunately, the snow made it equally dangerous.

"What do you think, Nan?" he asked. She had come to the same conclusions as him, and screwed up her face in thought. She decided quickly, picking the second option as the less dangerous choice.

"Okay, here's the plan. I'll climb down - ah, no buts - and get onto the ledge there," she started, shushing him as he tried to protest. "I'll be fine, Frank, you don't need to worry. I can probably make my way across in two steps, grab onto the railing, and make it up just fine."

"Look, Nan, you know that I know you're a fantastic detective and all, but this is really risky. If anyone should cross it, it should be me - it may be part of my case in the first place, remember," he said. If Nancy got hurt investigating when he was with her, he'd never forgive himself. "Besides, my legs are longer and I can cross it faster."

"I appreciate your concern, really, but the longer we wait here the more likely cleaning staff will arrive. If you think about this logically, I'm the best person to do this. No offense or anything, but I'm not confident that I can support your full weight from this balcony, and it won't be safe if we're only holding on to the railings. I trust you to be able to give me a hand up if I slip - which I won't - or catch me if I fall - which I also won't. But just in case, you'll be strong enough to do that while I'll be balanced enough to make it across."

Frank wanted to argue further but she was right on two counts: firstly, time was ticking and it would all be for naught if they got caught in the act. Secondly, she was much lighter than him, and he knew he wouldn't let her fall. "Okay," he said, holding up his hands in mock defeat, "you win. But we'll do this slowly and carefully, alright?"

Nancy smiled, glad he'd come around before she'd really had to persuade him. Years of experience solving mysteries had made her pretty good at trusting her gut feelings, and she knew this would be the safest way across. They exchanged places on the balcony, Nancy standing closer to the railing than Frank. She took off her gloves, not wanting to lose her grip on the railing or Frank, and carefully lifted one leg up and over the railing, followed swiftly by the other. Standing on the opposite side of the railing, not really wanting to look down, she grasped Frank's hand firmly and slowly lowered herself onto the ledge. Luckily, Frank was almost tall enough to reach her hand comfortably, and Nancy slowly edged her way down holding on to the railing with one hand and Frank's hand with the other.

At the halfway point, she was too far from Frank to hold on but close enough to make a grab for the balcony of room 404. She let go quickly, lamenting the loss of warmth for a second, and then smoothly placed a foot on the edge of the balcony and hauled herself up.

"Okay?" Frank asked, the worry evident in his voice.

"Okay," Nancy replied with a reassuring smile, getting onto the inside part of the balcony. She tried the door, and found it unlocked thankfully. Four floors up, there wasn't much reason to lock it at all - who would be crazy enough to try to break in this way other than her and Frank?

"You have just over 10 minutes to look around, then we should head back before anyone gets worried. In the meantime, open the door from the inside and I'll meet you in the hallway."

Nancy hurried inside and quickly unlatched the doorway, checking through the peephole first to make sure no one else was around. After their ordeal getting in to the room, she would be devastated if they were caught by a maid walking past. Satisfied that no one else was around, she opened the door exactly as Frank walked out of the other room. They decided it would be smarter to place someone on guard, just in the off chance the room was scheduled to be cleaned right now.

"Kick the door once if someone's coming, twice if they look like they want to stop, and three times if I need to hide, fast," Nancy told him. It was standard practice for guard duty, and he knew it well having done it with Joe in the past. She left him leaning casually against the door under the pretense of waiting for a friend and started with the bedroom first. She was running out of time, and although her idea had only been half-formed at the table, pushed into action with the help of Frank, she still hoped she could find something to help their investigation. Nancy had searched many a room in her life, and she went through her usual routine of all the classic hiding places.

A couple minutes later, she was still empty-handed and getting frustrated. The safe was open, but empty. The bed was rumpled, but the blankets and mattress yielded no secrets. The desk drawers were an appropriate depth, meaning no hidden bottoms, and an empty suitcase, a black European model, lay on the floor, likely dumped out by the police. A quick search yielded a tag stating the trunk belonged to a Jake Haines. Hanging in the closet was a heavy winter coat, contradicting the under dressed body she and George had found in the snow.

Overall, although the room hadn't been cleaned yet, she could find nothing that indicated where he came from or why he was here. Hopefully, the short-staffed hotel would take some time before sending someone up to do the job. Before then, she needed to find a clue. But nothing told her why he was here or why someone had wanted him dead. She heard a kick on the door and hurried up. Chances were the person would walk right along, but if not, she didn't want to stick around.

Nancy entered the bathroom and gave it a cursory glance, opening the cabinets and checking the toilet tank. She made her way back into the bedroom, checking the drawers of the dressers, the lamp shades, and all the hidden places you could find in a hotel room. The person outside had probably passed completely by now, but she wasn't taking the chance of being caught snooping. As well as potentially tipping off the murderer themselves, she could risk being kicked off the resort completely. Which would really put a damper on her vacation with Bess and George. Making her way along the desk, feeling the undersides for anything odd, she suddenly froze then sprang into action - Frank had kicked the door three times.