J.M.J.

Author's note: Happy Easter! I'm really glad to be back with another story. It's not a sequel to any existing stories and it's really not the story I've been expecting to write all this time. Actually, the struggle I've had with story ideas and rejecting some and discovering others could be a novel in itself, but I'll spare you the details. At the end of the day, what I really wanted to do was to write something that feels more like the original books, that can stand alone if it needs to or that I can build on if I want to, and that wouldn't be too long. So this story is mainly about Nancy and Carson. Nancy is just about to turn seventeen and she's still in high school (I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've written her in high school, actually). This is at the beginning of her detective career, and so I suppose that technically makes it an alternate universe. She's not dating Ned yet, so he won't be appearing in the story at all. Also, in this story's universe, River Heights is located in upstate New York. There are a few reasons for this that may or may not be evident as the story progresses. It's more something that I wanted to put in place in case I do decide to build on this universe. After all, having River Heights within a few hours' drive of a certain coastal town could simplify a few matters that could come up in a future story. ;) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! I always appreciate reviews, too! Thank you and God bless!

The Seashell

I

The usual rush of students came pouring out of River Heights High School as the school day came to an end. It was the last Friday of April and the weather was sunny and beautiful. Not one of the students wanted to stay inside a minute longer than they needed to. Once out on the school's lawn, the students lingered in little bunches to talk before they started waving to one another and heading home, usually two or three together.

One of these groups of three was Nancy Drew, Bess Marvin, and George Fayne. The three junior class girls lived on the same street and had been the closest of friends their entire lives. At the moment, they were eagerly talking over Nancy's plans for the weekend. It was going to be her seventeenth birthday on Monday, and in honor of the event, her dad was planning to take her to New York City to spend the weekend with her Aunt Eloise.

"Do you think you'll get to go to the theater at all?" Bess was asking. "I suppose anymore you don't have to dress up to go to the theater, unless it's an opera or something like that. That would spoil some of the romance of it, wouldn't it?"

"I'd rather not have to dress up," George maintained. "It's uncomfortable enough to sit in theater seats in ordinary clothes. Just think how much worse it would be in your good clothes."

"Being comfortable isn't the most important thing in the world," Bess replied.

"It's helpful when you're trying to relax and watch a show," George said.

Nancy looked away and grinned. Bess and George were cousins, different as they were from one another. Bess was blonde, stylish, and romantically-minded, being fond of art of all kinds, from poetry to well-made food. Dark-haired George was athletic and practical and more interested in technology and sports. Even so, the two girls were close, and their disagreements, though frequent, were never serious, even if they did occasionally necessitate Nancy to step in as peacemaker, usually by simply changing the subject.

"We won't have time for any shows," she said. "Aunt Eloise has too many other things planned. It's going to be a wonderful weekend! I just wish the two of you could come along, too."

"At least we'll get to see you on your actual birthday and we can have a party after school," George commented.

"But that means you'll have to be in school most of your birthday," Bess pointed out morosely. "It's the worst part of having a birthday during the school year. At least yours is in a beautiful month like April. The only thing romantic about February is Valentine's Day, and of course, my birthday has to be more than a week before that."

"April isn't always that beautiful," Nancy said. "It looks like I'm just getting lucky this time, although even though the forecast is for good weather Monday, it could still change."

"I hope not," Bess replied fervently. "It would spoil all our plans."

"That's the worst thing about spring," George said. "Just when you think the weather's really getting nice and warm, it drops twenty degrees and you're back in winter."

They talked non-stop the entire way home, planning the party they were going to have Monday afternoon. Bess's house was the first of the three along the route and then George's, so by the time Nancy reached her own house, she was walking alone. They lived in a nice, pleasant neighborhood, but Nancy couldn't help thinking that she lived in the nicest house in it. It was old, to be sure, dating back to the early 1800s, but it had been well-kept over the years, with both plumbing and electricity being put in late enough that they were well-done. It was Cape Cod style, set back from the street, and shaded with trees. The flowers planted alongside the foundations and the walkway were beginning to bloom.

Even so, the best part of what she saw was the car in the driveway. That meant that her father was home early this afternoon. That was no surprise, since they would be leaving for New York still this evening, but Nancy was glad to know that they weren't going to be delaying by her father's work. Carson Drew was a lawyer, both dedicated and passionate about his work. Nancy was proud of him for that, but it did mean that there were occasional changes of plans that could be disappointing.

Nancy hurried up the steps and through the front door. Carson was apparently waiting for her in the living room off to the right of the entranceway. Nancy rushed to him and wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm so glad you were able to get away from the office early!" she declared.

Carson smiled in a half-apologetic way. "I'm afraid you might not be when you hear the reason why."

Nancy immediately stepped back and looked at him with an expression of dismay. "Dad! You don't mean that something's come up and we'll have to cancel the trip?"

Carson sighed. "I'm afraid that's exactly what I mean. One of my cases, which I thought was just routine, took a sudden turn this morning, and I'm afraid it won't wait till Monday to deal with it. I'm really sorry, Nancy. I'd say that you could go to the city by yourself, but I'll need my car."

In spite of her disappointment, Nancy managed to muster a rueful grin. "You'd be nervous about me driving your car that far by myself."

"Maybe just a little," Carson conceded. "Less about the driving than being by yourself, though. Especially once you get to the city. But really, I do need my car. You see, I'm still going to have to go out of town over the weekend."

"Really?" Nancy groaned. "This just keeps getting worse and worse. How far do you have to go?"

"Up to Fort David. It's a little town on the shore of Lake Ontario."

"Oh?" Nancy asked, an idea forming in her mind at once. "What sort of case is it?"

"It started out simple enough. A young man up there engaged me to defend him on burglary charges. He was caught in a house during the night, but he says that he had a very good reason for being there."

Nancy raised an eyebrow skeptically. "It must have been a very good reason for you to take a case like that."

Carson chuckled. "It is, flimsy as it sounds when I put it that way. The house was his grandmother's, who passed away about a year ago. The house has been empty since then as the family fights over who is to inherit what. The grandmother changed her will at least once, or so the family members favored by the new will claim. The ones favored by the old will insist that the new one is a forgery."

"Sounds like a fun situation."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, the family doesn't get along very well. There are two brothers, their wives, and their children, and apparently the brothers had some kind of falling out in early adulthood. They've barely spoken since, and from the sounds of it, each of them tried relentlessly to have his brother written out of the will."

"The poor mother, getting caught in the middle of a mess like that," Nancy commented.

"No kidding. Anyway, the older brother has a son in college, who's my client. He says that he always got along very well with his grandmother, and she told him that there were a few personal belongings that she wanted him specifically to have. Nothing of great value, other than sentimental. However, she didn't specify it in her alleged later will, which leaves everything but an insultingly tiny amount to the younger brother. My client tried to claim the items that his grandmother had tried to give him, but his uncle wouldn't allow him in the house. There were rumors, at least, that items were disappearing from the house, and so my client was eager to rescue the items he believed belong to him. Being a bit impulsive, he decided to sneak into the house at night, where a watchman he didn't know about caught him. His uncle is charging him with burglary, even though he didn't take anything. However, the uncle is strongly insinuating that my client is responsible for all the missing items."

"When it's probably the uncle who's taking them," Nancy said.

"There's no evidence of that," Carson cautioned her. "Don't forget one of the first rules of investigation."

"Never make an accusation without proof." Nancy nodded. "You're right. So what happened that's so urgent now?"

"My client's uncle claims that someone sent him a threatening message in the mail. He's accusing my client of doing it to get back at him for the burglary charges—my client is out on bail at the moment, of course. Like I said, my client is impulsive, and I don't want him to do anything stupid. I need to get up there right away, before the situation escalates."

"It sounds like a rather mysterious case," Nancy commented. "And Fort David must be in a lovely area, right on Lake Ontario like that. It sounds like it could shape up into an even more interesting weekend than we would have had in the city."

"'Interesting' might be an understatement." Carson gave her a curious glance. "This isn't a roundabout way of asking if you can come long, is it?"

Nancy grinned. "You can read my mind. Could I? I might even be some help on the case. I've worked out a few puzzles for you before. It sounds fun to work on one on the front lines, so to speak."

Carson was trying to look serious, but Nancy didn't miss the slight upturn of the corners of his mouth. "It could be a little risky, if someone is sending threats."

"It was an anonymous threat, wasn't it?" Nancy asked. "Was it written down or emailed or how was it sent?"

"Anonymous and emailed from a burner email account," Carson confirmed.

"In that case, you've said yourself that the sort of people who send messages like that are cowards who don't really mean to go through with it."

Carson laughed. "All right. Convicting me with my own words again. But it's true, and you're right that Fort David is a beautiful area. If you get tired of the case, we can see about renting you a sailboat and you can try some sailing."

"I can't lose then." Nancy grinned.

Considering they had already been planning on a trip, there were very few arrangements to make. Carson had already called Aunt Eloise to tell her that they wouldn't be able to come and he had gotten a reservation for himself at a hotel in Fort David. It was a simple matter to add another room. Fort David was also a good deal closer than New York City, and so they would arrive earlier in the afternoon, allowing them more time there. It also gave them a chance to linger a little while before leaving and have the snack that Hannah Gruen had made for them with her.

Hannah was the Drews' housekeeper, but she seemed more like part of the family than an employee. Both Nancy and Carson would have been more than happy to have her accompany them, but Hannah wasn't fond of traveling or being away from home. All in all, it worked out well for Carson and Nancy to go away for a weekend or so and give Hannah some time to herself when she could have a break from some of her usual duties, even if she did get a bit lonely sometimes.

Nevertheless, she could say with perfect truth, "I'm so glad you won't be missing out on a trip altogether, Nancy. I know you've been looking forward to this, even if Fort David isn't quite the Big Apple."

"It will be an adventure, even if we don't get to see Aunt Eloise," Nancy said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.