Thank you to all those reviewers I've not been able to show my appreciation to in person via messenger. I love reading your feedback. If you are enjoying the story, please do let me know, it gives me such a warm feeling and makes my day to know I've entertained you. Dawn x
CHAPTER 7
"What do you mean you can't remember Nancy's number, and it's not on your phone?" Joe asked Frank in amazement. "Just how hard did they hit you on the head last night?"
"As I said, we're no longer an item, there's no reason for me to keep it."
"Do you still have Callie's number?"
"Of course I do. What's that got to do with it?"
"Junior! You must know it makes no sense?" Con said. "Why Callie Shaw's number, but not Drew's?"
Frank, feeling pressurized, put his palms up. "Back-off everyone. It probably is to do with the knock to the head. Don't panic, I know how to get the information. If there's one thing I've learned about brains? They're like computers. Get a technician to perform a remote access, and they can download just about anything previously programmed in. I'll sort it."
"You're talking double-dutch." Con turned to the others. "Tell me I'm not the only one here who's confused by what Frank just said?"
"You're not," Fenton said. "Frank, about Callie's number and—"
Frank rode roughshod over his Dad to shut him down. "Let's not worry about that and get practical instead." Frank pointed at his brother, "Joe, get on the phone and find Nancy Drew. Get the code and warn her about the Pandora Posse and the danger she's in. You've got her number, right?"
"Yeah, but don't you want to do it?"
"Me? Why? If you can't get her, try Carson or Hannah - maybe Chief McGinnis. Get her to come here, if you can, or tell her to disappear…whatever works. The Pandora Posse doesn't know for sure she knows the code, but it wouldn't take a genius to work it out. Plus, they may use her as leverage. Out of all of us, Nancy Drew's the most vulnerable."
Joe shot him a perverse look. "You all right, Bro?"
"I am now I can see we're getting a handle on things." Frank turned his attention to Fenton and Con. "There's another couple of issues to sort out pronto."
"What issues?" Fenton asked.
"Mom and Andrea. We need to get them out of Dodge. Fast, quietly and right now. So go and get them and tell them to pack overnight bags and their passports." He turned to Con, "I assume Andrea has an up-to-date passport?"
"She does."
"That's all they'll need. Go together, don't split up.
"I can help you," Collig said. "Bring them here."
"Thanks Chief," Frank said. "Don't pack them off without seeing us kids, or they'll never forgive you."
Joe jumped in, "Ask Andrea to pack a bag for Vanessa too, and don't forget her passport."
Frank shook his head firmly. "Vanessa stays here."
"I want Vanessa to go with them."
"Vanessa stays. We need her computer skills, she's the best I know and I wouldn't trust a stranger's help."
"But—"
"No! She works for us now; she's one of the team. You've got to mentally separate Vanessa as your girlfriend from Vanessa your colleague, or it'll drive you crazy. We can't pack her off every time things get hot. She'd hate it and we'd lose her. She's a great asset."
"I don't like it."
"I don't like anything about what's happening, but we have to make the best of it and, as Dad said, play to our strengths. Without Vanessa, we're weakened. Pandora's a computer program and Vanessa's our tech-head."
Fenton patted Joe's shoulder as he and Con left. Joe wasn't happy.
Frank moved to his jacket, which hung over the back of his chair. He pulled a set of keys from his inside pocket and fiddled with them. He shot Joe a look of regret before turning to Ezra. "Can you spare James to get those prepaid phones from the filing cabinet at the agency?" He took his apartment keys off the bundle and handed the other half to Collig. "I can't imagine he's much help to Vanessa, he can barely turn on a PC, let alone dive deep into a program to interrogate the mechanics of it. Tell him to remember the chargers, they're in there with the phones. I pushed 'em down under the hanging files in a plastic bag, top drawer. And for goodness sake, don't let him go on his own. The last thing we want is another Officer Bach on our hands…poor guy." Frank shook his head in regret. "Oh! And tell James to use the rear entrance."
"You make for a good plan, Kid," Collig said and turned to go.
"Wait," Frank said, and pulled his attention back around. "Do you have contacts in Florida and Washington DC who could help us?"
"Yep, why?"
"After you've seen James, can you come back? I need you to find some volunteers to quickly visit the sites where Nancy Drew and I found the sections of code. I don't suppose the plaques Professor Hope left remain, but it's worth a look. If they are still there, they'll need to be taken down and the numbers noted."
"But—" Collig tipped his head and laid a paw on Frank's shoulder. "Son, don't you remember? You asked me to do that months ago."
"Did I?" Frank frowned and then hit himself in the forehead theatrically. "Oh yes, sorry, I forgot. Duh. What happened to the plaques, the code?"
"You asked me to destroy them." Ezra squeezed Frank's shoulder. "The Doc who comes in to assess our perps is here, can she take a look at you? You seem off to me."
"No, I'm fine. I forgot. A lot on my mind."
"I wish you would, Kid. Do it as a favor to me."
"Please Frank." Joe said.
Frank paused at the sound of Joe's voice and, after a couple of considered seconds, relented. "Okay, I'll see her later. But I need to sort some urgent stuff out first."
"Good decision, I'll let her know, have her wait." Collig slapped Frank in the upper arm and sent him shuffling sideways, then left the room.
"Ouch," Frank muttered and kneaded his arm. "I wish he wouldn't do that. It's like a punch! I'll get the Doc to look examine my arm if nothing else."
"So what urgent stuff will you be doing?" Joe asked his brother.
"I need to sort some stuff out and get me a doctor…a head doctor, not a medical doctor."
"Dude, you worry me when you say stuff like that. A head doctor?"
"It'll make sense later. See if you can find Nancy Drew, I don't feel comfortable with her out there somewhere and vulnerable. Meet you here as soon as you can."
Joe wanted to continue the conversation, but Frank made it plain he didn't by turning away to pick up the phone. Joe opened the door to leave, but Frank's voice caused him to turn back:
"Joe?"
"Yeah?"
"I promise I'll protect Vanessa."
-o0o-
Joe walked out of the room and shut the door. He turned toward the main office area, but pulled up short at finding his Dad waiting.
"Joe," Fenton started, but Con approached and interrupted them.
"James's back in uniform. Ben Wright's going with him to get those phones. They're taking one of the unmarked patrol cars from the underground lot."
"Wise." Fenton nodded and turned to Joe. "Your brother won't purposefully put Vanessa in the firing line. You know that, right?"
"Did it come across I thought he would?"
"Well…yes."
"I didn't mean to. I know Frank wouldn't do something like that. It's my problem not his. I need to wrap my head around working with Van and having her as my girlfriend. I won't let it happen again."
"Bear in mind Frank could've sent her out in the field like us and James, but he's made sure she's office bound."
"I know. It's my issue," Joe repeated. "I gotta go and phone Nancy. Good luck Dad…Con."
"You too, Champ."
"Too old for 'Champ'." Joe entered the main office area and watched through the window as his Dad and Con exited the building. He stayed there until he saw their car disappear out of sight, then fished his cell phone from his pocket and went to find Vanessa. He found her concentrating intensely on a computer screen as her long fingers tapped swiftly against the keyboard. He recognized that look - the 'don't mess with me or you'll get hurt' look. He wisely chose not to interrupt. He perched on the edge of the table behind her, selected Nancy's number and waited for it to connect. A few seconds later, her voice mail kicked in and invited him to leave a message. "Hi Nan, can you give me a call back? It's an emergency, probably as bad an emergency as it gets. Call me. Please Nan, whatever happened between you and Frank isn't important, please phone me. Speak to you soon."
Joe disconnected the call and scrolled for Carson Drew, Nancy's father. 'Huh. No Carson Drew. He considered what to do next and, going through his phone list, he found the number for Hannah Gruen, the Drew's housekeeper and the closest person to a mother to Nancy. 'No idea why I have her number.' He shrugged. Stroke of luck or not, he hit the green button and this time the phone barely rang before someone answered.
"Hello… hello?" asked an excited, female's voice. "Nancy?"
"Erm, Hannah? Its Joe, do you remember me? I visited once with—"
"Joe? Joseph Hardy? Frank's brother?"
Joe blinked, she sounded frantic. "Everything okay there, Hannah?"
"Wait, wait, Joseph. Please don't hang up."
"Hannah? Hey Han—" Joe stalled. She wasn't there anymore, her voice replaced by the phone as it dropped forcefully down. He thought he heard her move away. He looked up, expecting to see the rear of Vanessa's head, but she'd spun around on the swivel chair, casually listening to Joe's end of the conversation.
"What going on?" she asked.
Joe shrugged. "Dunno, I…wait...I can hear someone." Sure enough, he heard the sound of running steps and a few soft sounds as someone picked up again. "Hannah?"
"Joe? You still there?" asked a male voice this time.
"I'm here. Who am I speaking to?"
"It's Carson. Is Nancy with you?"
"Sir, isn't she with you?" Joe almost shook himself. "Sir, what's happened? Don't you know where she's at?"
"We've heard nothing from her for two nights. We're worried sick. We've left numerous messages. It's not like her."
"Why didn't you call us?" Joe asked, tried not to make it sound accusatory. Vanessa now sat next to him, more curious about what happened to Nancy than her computer task.
"I thought her and Frank were no longer a couple."
"What does that have to do… it doesn't mean we don't care about her."
"She told us not to call him."
"Why?"
"She didn't want us to bother him anymore."
"Don't you think it's strange they—" Joe caught himself, decided Frank and Nancy's old relationship had nothing to do with him or Carson. He forced himself back to the original reason for the call. "You sure Nancy's not working undercover? Gone off grid for a while?"
"Even when undercover she finds ways to let us know she's all right. This is the longest she's ever been out of touch, at least not by her own volition."
"What's she working on?"
"A case she got through Chief McGinnis. Stolen antiques. He recommended her to an auction house as a good PI, and they hired her. He's not heard from her either."
"I could be wrong, probably am, but what's happened to Nancy could potentially be linked to something happening here. Let me talk to Chief McGinnis so we can share intel. Try not to worry, we're on the case."
Joe heard a shaky sigh from the other end of the line. "Thanks Joe. To know you boys are on the case makes me feel a little better. What's happening? What's my daughter's connection?"
The noise built up behind Joe to reach a rude pitch. He stuck his finger in one ear to carry on his conversation with Carson. His brain tripped up to try to think of an explanation which wouldn't cause wide swept panic in the Drew household. "It's an old case we investigat—" Then he saw the look on Vanessa's face, her eyes wide as saucers as she looked over his shoulder. He turned and saw officers run backward and forward, strapping themselves into body armor and readying weapons. "What the…?"
Collig moved about them and shouted orders to, "Get out there boys, pronto!" as a sea of blue stampeded for the doors.
Joe's phone arm dropped slightly as he forgot about Carson for the moment. "What's going on, Chief?"
"Police business, I'll tell you later," Ezra said dryly. He glared sideways at Joe and returned to his trashed office.
"JOE!"
Carson's yell reawakened Joe's awareness. He pulled the cell to his ear. "Sorry Sir, got distracted. An old case has reared its head, a case Nancy helped us with, and some strange stuff's going down. I wanted to check something with her, a detail. Try not to worry. I'll speak to Chief McGinnis. I'm sure between us, we'll figure out where she is. She's most likely following a fascinating lead, lost track of time. If she's on a case in River Heights, I can't see what connection it can have to ours."
"You're probably right. Will you keep us in the loop?"
"Goes without saying. I'll speak to you soon, Sir. Pass on my love to Hannah."
"I will. Bye Joe and say hello to your Dad." Carson hung up.
"What's happened?" Vanessa asked.
"Nancy's AWOL. Gone for two days."
"No!" her hands flew to her mouth.
Joe put his arms around her waist. "Doesn't mean anything happened to her. She's one of the smartest people I know. If she got one single sniff of something Pandora related, she will have gone to ground. I need to speak to Chief McGinnis and find out what she's investigating, something antique related apparently, but we need details."
