A/N I once again do not own any of these characters. I just enjoy imagining how they would react in different situations and putting that into words. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter Nine

Nancy's POV

The stranger before me was a tall and well-built man in his mid-thirties. He had dark hair that framed a face that was laced with suspicion.

"Who are you?" he growled.

"My name is Nancy Drew," I replied. "Who are you?" I countered.

The man ignored my question completely as he grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the closet I had been hiding in.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he dragged me back into the living room where he shoved me unceremoniously onto the sofa.

"I was returning some clothes I had borrowed from Bella," I lied quickly.

The man's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and I knew that he probably didn't believe me.

"How did you get inside?" he questioned.

"I had a key," I answered.

"Did Bella give you the key?" he asked.

"I... uh... yes," I got out, mentally cringing at how that probably sounded.

"No, she didn't," he responded gruffly. "Don't bother trying to lie to me because I can smell one a mile away."

"Who are you anyway?" I tried again.

Before the man could reply, the front door burst open behind him. Before he had the chance to turn around to face the intruder, he was tackled to the floor by Joe. Frank hurried over to me and gently grabbed my arms and looked me over as if inspecting for any damage.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I replied looking into his concerned eyes. "I honestly didn't expect to see you here."

"When you hung up unexpectedly during our conversation, I got a little worried," Frank explained. "Joe and I decided that it might be nothing but we would drive over here just to make sure everything was okay. We heard you two in here and went for the surprise attack."

"Thank you," I told him.

By this time Joe had the mystery man held down without too much of a fight. Frank took one last look at me before he walked over to Joe and the other guy.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked with anger portrayed in his voice.

The man looked over at all three of us before he decided to answer. "My name is Demetri Costa. I was looking for Isabella Swan."

"Why were you looking for her?" I asked.

Demetri gave all of us another glance as if deciding whether or not he could trust us. "Charlie Swan hired me."

"Bella's father?" I asked.

"Yes," Demetri answered. "We've known each other a long time. When he hadn't been in touch with Bella for over a week, he got worried and called me."

"I don't understand," Frank said with a puzzled look. "Bella's only been missing for a couple of days now."

"Well, it's possible that she was busy or just didn't get around to calling him as often as she normally does," Demetri replied. "All I know is that I'm going to do my best to find her."

"Joe, you can let him go," I said.

Joe released Demetri out of his grasp and moved a few steps away.

"Who are you guys anyway?" Demetri asked.

"I'm Frank Hardy and this is my brother, Joe," Frank introduced. "You've already met Nancy."

"So, are any of you going to tell me why you're here in Bella's apartment?" Demetri asked.

"Her boyfriend, Edward, hired me to come look into her disappearance," I told him.

"Edward Cullen?" he asked.

"You know him?" Joe questioned.

Demetri shook his head, "No, I've never met him. Charlie told me that Bella was dating a guy named Edward Cullen. Charlie's never met the guy, so he wanted me to check him out while I was in the area. How long has Bella been missing?"

"They caught her on camera at her company running out of a back door with another man, Jacob Black," I told him. "This occurred two nights ago. No one has seen her since."

"Do you any of you guys have leads?" Demetri asked looking around at all of us.

"Nothing really," I admitted with a shrug. "I dropped by Jacob's house and checked it out, but there was nothing there to go on."

"What about motels around here? Have you checked out any of them?" Demetri questioned.

I shook my head as my phone rang. I walked a few steps away from them into the kitchen to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Is this Nancy Drew?" came the voice over the phone.

"Yes, this is she," I answered.

"I was calling for Officer Turner to inform you that we got a hit on Bella Swan's credit card," the man responded.

"Where was the purchase made?" I inquired.

"It was at the Blue Ribbon Motel," the man answered.

"Is Officer Turner already headed over there?" I asked.

"He won't be there for at least a few hours due to another investigation that he's currently working on."

"Okay, thanks for the tip," I said before hanging up.

I walked back into the living room where everyone's head turned to look at me.

"What's going on?" Frank asked.

"Bella's credit card was used to pay for a room at the Blue Ribbon Hotel. I figure we can head over there and see if we can find out what's really going on around here," I told them.

All of us left her apartment after locking it back up and drove over to the motel where the charge was made. We got out of the cars and grouped together near the front of the motel.

"We need to find out which room Bella's in," Frank said.

"What if Jacob's in there with her?" I asked.

"We'll just find out the room number and then watch for them to leave," Demetri said. "After all, they'll have to leave at some point to get food. I doubt a place like this really has room service."

I grimaced as I looked toward the motel. The place looked like a dive that was probably infested with all kinds of nasty diseases.

"I'll go and see if I can find out the room number," I decided.

Frank acted as if he wanted to come in there with me, but didn't pursue it after I gave him a look. I wasn't about to be coddled.

I left the boys coming up with unknown strategies and walked inside the motel. The inside might have actually been worse than the exterior. The blue paint on the walls had peeled off so much that you could barely tell what color it should be. The carpet on the floor contained huge holes in it along the way to a tiny desk in the centre of the room.

An elderly lady was behind the desk smoking a cigarette. I found this ironic since she was also hooked up to an oxygen tank.

She looked at me before showing a wide grin with several missing teeth. "Would you like a room for the evening?"

I smiled pleasantly. "Do you have many rooms available?" I asked.

"Oh yes, there happens to only be one other room occupied for the evening," she told me. "I can make sure you're far away from the young couple."

"Which room is this young couple in?" I asked her innocently. "I would really hate for them to disturb my sleep later tonight."

"They're in room 112, but I can put you in room 223," she told me. "That way you'll not only be on the other side of the building, but you'll also be on the top floor. You can have your own little midnight snack without anyone bothering you," she replied with a wink.

I was starting to be nauseated at the idea of anything like that happening in a run-down place like this.

"Well, I'm going to head out for some dinner, but I'll probably come back to get that room you offered," I said as I backed out of the entrance.

After escaping the lobby, I walked over to the guys.

"Did you find out what room they're in?" Frank asked.

"Room 112," I said exhaling heavily.

I watched as Demetri and Joe quickly got into their vehicles and drove around the side of the motel to park out of sight from the room where Bella and Jacob were staying.

"You seem flustered," Frank observed quietly as we walked toward my car.

"That noticeable?" I asked frowning.

"What happened in there?" he asked.

"Let's just say that the old woman working behind the desk in there told me I could have my own 'midnight snack' in one of the rooms," I stated.

"Huh?" Frank asked confused.

"You really don't want to know," I replied with a shake of my head.

Suddenly, Frank's eyes widened with the realization of what I was talking about. By this time we had already reached my car and I moved to open the door and get in.

Frank was standing right beside me and leaned down to softly speak in my ear. "A midnight snack like that might be pretty tasty in a very different environment."

I looked up into his eyes, which were sparkling with mirth over the whole thing before he gave me a wink and walked over to the passenger side of the car. We both finally got into the car and I drove around toward the back of the motel.

I found a shaded spot underneath some trees that would provide a little cover for us as we watched the room in question. I wasn't sure how long we would be here, so I settled back in the car and got comfortable.

Soon, darkness settled over us. I glanced at my phone to see what time it was and saw that it was nearing eight in the evening. Even though Frank and I were sitting together in the car, we had both been quiet for the past few hours. The only noises that came from us were from shifting in our seats to get more comfortable. It always amazes me how many people out there think detective work is exciting. Granted, there are times when you'll definitely have your adrenaline pumping through your veins, but mostly the work is just like today. A whole bunch of phone calls, going through paperwork, and sitting in a car for hours on end waiting on something that may or may not happen.

"Look, the door's opening," Frank pointed out to me quietly.

I leaned over toward the passenger seat where he was sitting to get a better view of the room. I could just barely make out the door opening in the darkness. I held my breath to see who came out of the room.

I watched as a tall male exited the room and closed the door behind him. It was hard to see his features in the darkness, but I was pretty sure this was Jacob Black.

"We need to see if Bella's in the room," I said.

"I'll grab Joe and we'll follow Jacob," Frank replied. "If it looks like he's headed back too early, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out something to delay him."

"Okay, be careful," I told him. "Don't let Joe do anything too risky."

Frank smiled at me before promising, "Don't worry, I'll keep him in check."

Frank quietly got out of the car and tapped on the window beside where Joe was sitting a few yards away. I watched as Joe got out of the car and the two of them walked off trailing behind Jacob at a reasonable distance to keep from being noticed too easily.

Once Jacob was out of sight, I stepped out of my car and started making my way toward the room where we thought Bella was in hiding. Demetri followed along beside me with his eyes glancing all around. I was pretty sure that Demetri might have a trace of paranoia to his personality, but I suppose that doesn't really hinder a guy who tracks down people for a living.

When we reached the door to the room, I looked over to Demetri with questioning eyes. I wasn't sure how we should approach this situation.

"Do you trust me?" he asked softly.

I wasn't really sure that I did, but I decided that I would go along with whatever he had planned for the time being. He shuffled me back a few steps so that I was now standing behind him. After another look around, he kicked in the door.