Author's note: Thank you to everyone who has been reading, following, and reviewing, especially Cherylann Rivers, max2013, BMSH, and EvergreenDreamweaver who left reviews on the last chapter.

Chapter IX

As Nancy and her friends followed Lynn Morgan into Jim's Grill, Bess froze in the doorway. She was the first after Lynn and so she held the whole group up.

"What's the matter, Bess?" Burt asked. "Just go in."

"There's a black knight in here." Bess pointed into the dim interior, but no one else could see what she was pointing at.

"Oh, that?" Lynn's voice came from inside. "Pretty weird decoration for this kind of place, huh?"

"Nancy." Ned cast her a warning glance.

"We've got to play along," Nancy replied. "It's the only way we can find George."

When Bess finally moved aside so that the others could come through the door, they found that the knight that she had pointed out was a life-size suit of armor standing in a prominent place along one of the walls. Lynn guided the group to a table near it.

After the waitress had taken their orders for drinks, Dave nodded at the armor. "So what's the story there?"

"This place used to be called the Black Knight," Lynn explained. "That guy there was the mascot, I guess you'd call it. But that was a hundred years ago. When Jim bought the place, he wanted to completely lose the whole knight thing, but he couldn't bring himself to sell ol' Blackie or put him in storage. So there he stands to the bewilderment of every stranger who passes through the door of this place."

"I've always wanted to get a close-up look at a real knight in shining armor, even if he's just the shining armor," Nancy said. "Is it okay if I go and take a look at it?"

"You don't see any glass case around it, do you?" Lynn asked. "Jim doesn't mind. People are always looking at it, touching it, opening the visor and seeing if there isn't really something inside after all." The last words held a peculiar emphasis, as if they had a more significant meaning that the words themselves implied. However, Lynn hastened to go on to say, "You didn't come here to look at a rusty old tin man, though, did you? I thought you had some questions to ask."

"So I did," Nancy replied, trying to gauge what her next move was supposed to be and what it should be. She smiled, deciding to go along with whatever Lynn said. "About the whole Robin Hood case. You must have your finger on the pulse of what's happening around here."

"I tend to keep up," Lynn said. "What do you want to know?"

"What can you tell me?" Nancy countered.

"I could tell you a lot of things," Lynn replied, "but I suspect you're only interested in the truth."

"I'll listen to rumors, too," Nancy said.

Lynn smiled, but there was something in her smile that made Bess and the three boys shiver. Only Nancy stared steadily at her, although even she felt a strange dread about this woman.

"Rumors are often more true than what you take to be truth," Lynn said. "Do you really know if anything is true?"

"I didn't come for a philosophical debate," Nancy replied, struggling over the words a little. "Just tell me everything you know about the Robin Hood thefts."

"That's exactly what I was telling you." Lynn paused as the waitress came back with glasses of water or soda for each of them, breaking the spell. Everyone at the table breathed a little easier. When the waitress had gone again after being told that they didn't want to order any food, Lynn continued, "Here is what you think is the truth about this man. You think he robs charities for his own gain, defiling the name of Robin Hood. Here is the rumor – that he really is a Robin Hood. How much of the money you give to charities do you think really goes to whatever cause you donate it to? Much less than you might hope. So much of it goes for pointless things. He takes the money and makes sure that every penny is spent on whatever charitable purpose those who donated it meant it for. How can you track such a man down as if he was a common criminal? Doesn't that make you the criminal, Nancy Drew?"

The others all looked expectantly at Nancy, as if they didn't quite believe she could come up with a response to this.

Nancy took a breath and reminded herself of her main purpose. "He's putting himself and others in danger by doing it. He ought to be stopped for that reason alone. He also takes money that these people didn't intend to donate. Maybe they honestly can't afford it. Even if they can, it's their own money they ought to be able to decide for themselves how they spend it or who they give it to. But before you argue that I'm advocating to help the rich at the expense of the poor, I have another reason for wanting to catch this guy – a personal reason."

"And what reason might that be?" Lynn asked.

"I think you already know." Nancy raised an eyebrow significantly.

"I must confess I do not," Lynn replied. "But be that as it may. Nancy Drew may keep her secrets. I have to go now. We'll meet again."

She took a sip of the water she had ordered and then without another word strode out of the restaurant. When she was gone, it was like a cloud had passed over the sun and they hadn't noticed it until it was gone and the sun shone brightly again.

"She's a creep," Bess said. "What did she mean, 'we'll meet again'?"

"I don't like it," Nancy added. "Nancy, I think you'd better call the police about her."

"And tell them she doesn't think Robin Hood's a villain?" Nancy asked. "They can't arrest her for that, and she really didn't do anything else."

"She obviously is in on it," Ned insisted.

"On what?" Nancy sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I agree completely, but which case is she in on? Where does she fit? We don't have any real proof. Like I said, we're just going to have to play by their rules until we figure out what's really going on."

"That seems like a dangerous game, Nancy," Burt said. "What if you're putting George in even more danger?"

"Believe me, Burt," Nancy replied, "I'm trying my hardest to keep George out of danger. They won't hurt her until they've finished with her, and they won't finish with her until I've played the whole game."

"But what do they really need her for?" Burt insisted. "Do they need her alive to lure you into a trap?"

Nancy didn't respond, not wanting to put her thoughts into words. She had spent most of the night before pondering that question, and she didn't like the answer she came up with. Either they needed George alive and they would keep her that way as long as their plan was working, or it didn't matter to them. If it was the latter, Nancy had no doubt that they would be too late already, but she didn't see any point in saying so.

Bess shuddered. "Well, if we've got to play along with these maniacs, let's not waste any time. She wanted you to check out that suit of armor pretty bad, Nancy."

Nancy stood up and went to examine the armor closely. She saw nothing on the outside, but then she remembered Lynn's comment about there being something inside it. Standing on her toes to be able to see high enough, she lifted the visor. A rolled-up piece of paper was stuck inside it. Nancy pulled it loose and read it: "To the victor go the spoils, Sir Gareth."

"This has to be what she wanted me to see," Nancy said, returning to the table and showing her friends the note.

"Well, the Sir Gareth part is as much a giveaway as if she had gone ahead and addressed it to you," Bess commented, "but what does it mean?"

The others thought for a few minutes, and then Dave snapped his fingers. "Ned said that Gareth defeated the Black Knight and took his armor, right? Maybe they want us to take the armor."

"We can't just take it," Bess protested, "and I doubt this Jim guy will sell it to us. Even if he did, do you know how much a suit of armor would cost?"

"No," Dave replied. "How much?"

"I don't know," Bess said. "It's probably a lot."

"There's only one way to find out." Nancy caught the waitress's eye and waved her over to the table.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" the girl asked brightly.

"I was just wondering if you knew the woman who came in here with us," Nancy replied.

The waitress shook her head. "I've never seen her before, but that's not too unusual, especially in the last few weeks. There have been a lot of out-of-towners hanging around ever since Robin Hood showed up."

"How do you feel about Robin Hood?" Nancy asked, point-blank.

"Well, I – If –" the waitress stammered. "I guess, if he's giving the money to people who really need it, what's the harm? That's what the charities were going to do with it anyway."

"How do you know that's what he's doing?" Nancy pressed.

The girl looked flustered and began to stutter and stammer around even more. "I – I just assumed –"

"Hey, it's not a big thing," Nancy reassured her. "I was just curious. There's one other thing I'm curious about – that suit of armor."

"Oh, yeah." The waitress glanced over her shoulder at it. She still seemed rather shaken. "Pretty random. What about it?"

"More like pretty cool," Nancy replied. "You don't suppose there'd be any chance of the owner of this place being willing to sell it, do you?"

"I wouldn't know," the waitress said. "You could ask. Jim's here today. I'll go get him."

She seemed relieved to have an excuse to hurry away. A few minutes later, a man approached the table and introduced himself as Jim.

"I hear you're interested in buying the Tin Man," he said.

"Yes, if you're willing to sell him," Nancy replied.

"The old thing's just gathering dust." Jim glanced from the armor to Nancy. "What would you want with a thing like that, though?"

Nancy shrugged and smiled. "Like I told the waitress, it's pretty cool. How much are you asking?"

Jim wrinkled his brow thoughtfully. "I've got no idea what it's worth. Don't you have some idea?"

"I'll check." Bess pulled out her smartphone and typed in "how much does a suit of armor cost" in a search engine. She caught her breath when she saw the prices. "It looks like anywhere from eight hundred to several thousand dollars."

"Of course, those are in better condition than Rusty over there," Dave hastened to point out.

Jim rubbed his chin thoughtfully, glancing at the armor and then back at Nancy. Clearly, he hadn't considered before that he had something of any value in that old piece of iron. Nancy began giving up hope that he would sell it for a price she could afford.

"Look –" Nancy started to say.

"Now, ma'am," Jim said at the same time, and he prevailed. "I can't sell that old thing just yet. If you leave your name and phone number, I'll get back to you when I can sell it."

"I'm afraid I need it right away," Nancy replied. "Isn't there some way you could sell it now?"

"No, sorry," Jim told her. "I'd like to, especially if it's a thousand bucks just sitting around, but I can't just now. I'll call you in a few days."

Nancy sighed. "Never mind. It will be too late then."

"Suit yourself." Jim shrugged and started to walk away, but then he started laughing at his own inadvertent pun.

"What now?" Ned asked.

"I don't know," Nancy admitted, "but I have a feeling they'll let us know soon."