Post by poeticsoul on Mar 19, 2007 21:19:54 GMT -5
This is an original ND story by me. I would probably rate it... T. There is dating and mild violence, but that is it. I hope you liket it!
Nancy Drew, the well-known teen detective in the town of River Heights, woke up to the sound of her middle-aged housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, knocking on her door.
"Nancy, I know it is Saturday, but it is almost ten o'clock! Come on! Time to get up now!" she shouted through the door. Ever since Nancy's mother had died when she was three years old, Hannah had been like a mother to her.
"Okay, Hannah!" the teen yelled back. She opened her eyes lids, revealing vivid blue eyes that sparkled in the sun that was coming through her window.
"Today is a good day to relax," she thought to herself. "No mystery to solve today!" She had just finished solving The Clues Came on the Wings and was ready for a break.
Nancy rolled out of bed lethargically and dressed in a light violet dress and a pair of white pumps. She then went to the bathroom located next to her room. Nancy put her light, strawberry-blonde hair into a bun and put a very light amount of make up on.
When she was finished in the bathroom, she headed back for her bedroom. She immediately walked over to her oaken jewelry box that her father had given her for her last birthday. In it she kept her most prized possessions; the jewelry she had inherited from her mother. She always wore one piece of it everyday.
Nancy gently pulled open the lid to the box. Once it was all the way open, she screamed! Hannah Gruen was at her doorway in a flash.
"Nancy! Are you all right? I heard you scream!" she asked her charge, out of breath.
"My mother's jewelry! It's gone!"
Nancy collapsed on her bed and buried her face in her hands. Hannah sat down next to her and gently rubbed up hand up and down the girl's back.
"Nancy, you know what you will have to do. You need to call the police right away."
"I know... Hannah," she said between breaths. She was sobbing now. "I'll get right on it."
Nancy slowly stood up and made her way to the hallway where the nearest phone was located. She dialed the number for the police station and waited for the tone. Someone picked up almost immediately.
"River Heights Police Department. What is the nature of your emergency?"
"Hello," Nancy began, trying to hold back her sobs. "My name is Nancy Drew. There has been a robbery at my house and I would like to talk to Chief McGinnis, please."
"Just one moment, please," said the feminine voice on the other end.
Nancy waited a moment for the receptionist to come back. By the time she did, Nancy had her breathing and crying under control.
"Chief McGinnis is not here today," she said, "But I will need to report this."
"Okay, but I would really like to have McGinnis handle this, if it is possible." Nancy had worked with him on other cases and trusted him the most.
Over the next few minutes, Nancy described what had been stolen and finally hung up. The woman told her that she would be notified when Chief McGinnis returned.
Nancy made her way back to her bedroom and, sitting down on her bed, looked at Hannah, her blue eyes still full and shining with tears. The motherly woman looked at her consolingly and put her arm around her, rubbing a hand up and down her back. Nancy hugged Hannah back. She could not remember being this upset since Bess and George had been mad at her during one of her cases, The Sign of the Twisted Candles.
“Hannah?” Nancy asked after about five minutes. “Would you mind if I asked Bess and George to come over here? I think that it would be good for them to be here with me. Maybe they can cheer me up some,” she said. Then she added, “Not that you aren’t doing a good job!”
Both Nancy and Hannah mustered a smile, and then Hannah nodded. The lady stood up and headed for the doorway. When she reached it, the housekeeper turned around and said, “Invite them for brunch. I know you haven’t had breakfast, but it is almost eleven-thirty, after all.” Then the woman left the room.
Nancy stood and made her way back to the telephone to call Bess and George. Out of habit, her fingers automatically dialed Bess’s number first.
“Hello?” came a feminine voice from the other end.
“Hello, Mrs. Marvin,” Nancy replied, mustering a cheerful voice.
“Nancy, good to hear from you! How is Hannah?” asked Bess’s kindly mother.
“She is fine. Dad is doing well, also. May I speak with Bess please?”
“Why, of course, Hun. Let me get her for you.” Nancy heard the receiver hit the table softly. Then, she listened until she heard another familiar voice pick up.
“Nancy! It is good to hear from you!” Bess said from the other end. “You will never guess what happened today!” The girl sounded excited.
Putting her own problems aside for a moment and playing along with her friend, Nancy said, “Let me guess. That cute guy at the drive-in theater finally asked you out!” she teased. Then she added, “You know, he has been adoring you ever since you drove up for the first time.”
“How did you know?” Bess asked. Nancy chuckled slightly while she imagined her friend blushing on the other end.
“It was just a wild guess,” Nancy said. “However, I have a problem.”
“What do you mean?” Bess asked, surprised.
“You know about my mother’s jewelry, right? Well, it has been stolen!” Nancy struggled to keep her composure as she said the dreadful words again.
“Oh, Nancy, that’s awful!” Nancy could tell she was sincere. Bess had always adored the valuable jewels, but would never have taken them. She had been Nancy’s best friend for as long as either of them could remember. “Did you call the police?”
“Well, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. Would you mind calling George? I would like for you both to come over here,” the teen detective asked.
Bess said that she would call George and that they would get over there as soon as possible. Nancy thanked her more than once, then both girls hung up.
Within the next five minutes, Nancy’s doorbell was ringing. She moseyed on down the stairs and opened the door. “Hello, Be-“ she started to say. However, she could not see anyone at the door. She peered around and suddenly felt a tug on her capris, along with a small, “Ahem.”
Nancy looked down and found herself staring into the sweet, innocent faces of three young girls with girl scout sashes on. Nancy guessed that they were all about seven to eight years of age.
“Hello,” said one with wide brown eyes, her dark pulled back in a ponytail. “I am Michelle. These are my friends, Anna and Ashley,” the girl told Nancy, pointing to each one in turn. “We are from troop 1656 and we were wondering if you would like to buy some cookies!”
Nancy thought for a moment. “I could do with some cookies,” she figured. Then she asked, “How much are they?”
Another one, who the first girl scout had pointed out as Anna, with grayish-teal eyes looked up at her. She had her dark blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, also, and several of the baby hairs around that were not long enough to fit in the ponytail were curling in little spirals. “They are two dollars a box,” she answered.
“Well, let’s see,” Nancy said. “Do you have any new ones this year?’
The last girl with bouncing blonde curls worn loosely around her face and dancing green eyes said, “There is one new one this year! They are called Lemon Drops, just like the candy! The taste like little lemon bites! Except, they are sweet instead of sour!”
Nancy could tell that they had planned out what each girl would say when certain questions were asked. They had obviously rehearsed it, too.
“Well, I always get a box of Tagalongs. So put me down for one of those. Also, I will order a box of Thin Mints for Hannah, and a box of All Abouts for Dad,” she told them.
“Will that be all?” Michelle asked. Being the oldest of the group, it was apparent that the other two looked up to her, although they couldn’t be that far apart in age.
“Yes, that will be it,” Nancy said.
“Now, all we need is your name and address,” requested the one named Anna.
“Nancy Drew,” she told them. “N-A-N-C-Y D-R-E-W. My address is 1272 Blue River Drive.”
As Michelle started to write it down she, along with the other two, looked up into Nancy’s eyes, their own wide with amazement.
“You’re Nancy Drew! You are the one who has solved all of those mysteries! You are amazing!” Ashley exclaimed. “Hey, girls, I have a brilliantly fantabulous plan!” she addressed the others. The three girls huddled together and finally broke apart. All had wide grins on their faces.
“Nancy,” Anna started. “We would like to know if you would come speak to our girl scout troop sometime! I think that all of the other girls would really enjoy it! How about, oh, Saturday? Would that work?” All three gave pleading eyes.
“How can I resist?” Nancy thought. “Well, I guess I could!” she told them.
All three girls gave a cheer and thanked her. Michelle told her where and when to come on Saturday and the girl scouts thanked her and left.
Nancy went back into the house and made her way into the kitchen where Hannah was preparing lunch. “Yum! It smells amazing, Hannah!” Nancy praised the woman. Hannah’s cooking always made her feel better.
“Thank you!” Hannah said, turning away from her cooking for a moment. “Are the girls not here yet?” she questioned.
“No, not yet,” Nancy replied. “But they should be here soon.”
Just as she said it, the doorbell rang. “I will get it,” Nancy told Hannah. The girl walked back to the front entryway and answered the door. Nancy grasped old fashioned, gold plated handle and twisted it, pulling the door ajar at a moderate rate, just enough to make it squeak as its hinges swung open. Once it was open all the way, Nancy came face to face with her two greatest friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne.
As Nancy invited them into her two story home. On the outside you could see that there were full-size floor-to-ceiling windows. Neat read brick lined the outer walls up and down with only half and inch worth of mortar showing in between. The Drew lawn was nicely trimmed and square hedges lined the driveway and the walls. A huge oak tree stood to one side of the house, in the center of the yard. The Drew’s back yard was lined with a four-foot brick wall, making it tough to see the back yard from the front. All that was visible over the divider were sunflowers and bluebells that Nancy had planted there with her mother as a little girl.
As Nancy closed the large white door with the small stain glass window at the top, she heard George ask, “Nancy, Bess said that you sounded frantic on the phone. She said you told her something about your mother’s jewelry. What was it? Tell, us, Nancy,” the girl requested.
Nancy opened her mouth to speak, but her housekeeper joined the three teens at just that very moment. While she dried her hands on a dishrag, she said, “Oh, good, you are all here now.” She smiled and nodded at the two newcomers, who frequently visited the household anyway. “I have a brunch ready for you gals in the kitchen if you would like some.” And, with that, she nodded and receded back into the kitchen.
“I will tell you both all about it later,” Nancy whispered to the girls in a hurried tone of voice. “I don’t want Hannah to be anymore upset than she already is. For now, let’s just go and enjoy our meal.” The two other girls nodded and followed Nancy into the kitchen.
Chapter 1: Missing Mementoes
Nancy Drew, the well-known teen detective in the town of River Heights, woke up to the sound of her middle-aged housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, knocking on her door.
"Nancy, I know it is Saturday, but it is almost ten o'clock! Come on! Time to get up now!" she shouted through the door. Ever since Nancy's mother had died when she was three years old, Hannah had been like a mother to her.
"Okay, Hannah!" the teen yelled back. She opened her eyes lids, revealing vivid blue eyes that sparkled in the sun that was coming through her window.
"Today is a good day to relax," she thought to herself. "No mystery to solve today!" She had just finished solving The Clues Came on the Wings and was ready for a break.
Nancy rolled out of bed lethargically and dressed in a light violet dress and a pair of white pumps. She then went to the bathroom located next to her room. Nancy put her light, strawberry-blonde hair into a bun and put a very light amount of make up on.
When she was finished in the bathroom, she headed back for her bedroom. She immediately walked over to her oaken jewelry box that her father had given her for her last birthday. In it she kept her most prized possessions; the jewelry she had inherited from her mother. She always wore one piece of it everyday.
Nancy gently pulled open the lid to the box. Once it was all the way open, she screamed! Hannah Gruen was at her doorway in a flash.
"Nancy! Are you all right? I heard you scream!" she asked her charge, out of breath.
"My mother's jewelry! It's gone!"
Nancy collapsed on her bed and buried her face in her hands. Hannah sat down next to her and gently rubbed up hand up and down the girl's back.
"Nancy, you know what you will have to do. You need to call the police right away."
"I know... Hannah," she said between breaths. She was sobbing now. "I'll get right on it."
Nancy slowly stood up and made her way to the hallway where the nearest phone was located. She dialed the number for the police station and waited for the tone. Someone picked up almost immediately.
"River Heights Police Department. What is the nature of your emergency?"
"Hello," Nancy began, trying to hold back her sobs. "My name is Nancy Drew. There has been a robbery at my house and I would like to talk to Chief McGinnis, please."
"Just one moment, please," said the feminine voice on the other end.
Nancy waited a moment for the receptionist to come back. By the time she did, Nancy had her breathing and crying under control.
"Chief McGinnis is not here today," she said, "But I will need to report this."
"Okay, but I would really like to have McGinnis handle this, if it is possible." Nancy had worked with him on other cases and trusted him the most.
Over the next few minutes, Nancy described what had been stolen and finally hung up. The woman told her that she would be notified when Chief McGinnis returned.
Nancy made her way back to her bedroom and, sitting down on her bed, looked at Hannah, her blue eyes still full and shining with tears. The motherly woman looked at her consolingly and put her arm around her, rubbing a hand up and down her back. Nancy hugged Hannah back. She could not remember being this upset since Bess and George had been mad at her during one of her cases, The Sign of the Twisted Candles.
“Hannah?” Nancy asked after about five minutes. “Would you mind if I asked Bess and George to come over here? I think that it would be good for them to be here with me. Maybe they can cheer me up some,” she said. Then she added, “Not that you aren’t doing a good job!”
Both Nancy and Hannah mustered a smile, and then Hannah nodded. The lady stood up and headed for the doorway. When she reached it, the housekeeper turned around and said, “Invite them for brunch. I know you haven’t had breakfast, but it is almost eleven-thirty, after all.” Then the woman left the room.
Nancy stood and made her way back to the telephone to call Bess and George. Out of habit, her fingers automatically dialed Bess’s number first.
“Hello?” came a feminine voice from the other end.
“Hello, Mrs. Marvin,” Nancy replied, mustering a cheerful voice.
“Nancy, good to hear from you! How is Hannah?” asked Bess’s kindly mother.
“She is fine. Dad is doing well, also. May I speak with Bess please?”
“Why, of course, Hun. Let me get her for you.” Nancy heard the receiver hit the table softly. Then, she listened until she heard another familiar voice pick up.
“Nancy! It is good to hear from you!” Bess said from the other end. “You will never guess what happened today!” The girl sounded excited.
Putting her own problems aside for a moment and playing along with her friend, Nancy said, “Let me guess. That cute guy at the drive-in theater finally asked you out!” she teased. Then she added, “You know, he has been adoring you ever since you drove up for the first time.”
“How did you know?” Bess asked. Nancy chuckled slightly while she imagined her friend blushing on the other end.
“It was just a wild guess,” Nancy said. “However, I have a problem.”
“What do you mean?” Bess asked, surprised.
“You know about my mother’s jewelry, right? Well, it has been stolen!” Nancy struggled to keep her composure as she said the dreadful words again.
“Oh, Nancy, that’s awful!” Nancy could tell she was sincere. Bess had always adored the valuable jewels, but would never have taken them. She had been Nancy’s best friend for as long as either of them could remember. “Did you call the police?”
“Well, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. Would you mind calling George? I would like for you both to come over here,” the teen detective asked.
Bess said that she would call George and that they would get over there as soon as possible. Nancy thanked her more than once, then both girls hung up.
Within the next five minutes, Nancy’s doorbell was ringing. She moseyed on down the stairs and opened the door. “Hello, Be-“ she started to say. However, she could not see anyone at the door. She peered around and suddenly felt a tug on her capris, along with a small, “Ahem.”
Nancy looked down and found herself staring into the sweet, innocent faces of three young girls with girl scout sashes on. Nancy guessed that they were all about seven to eight years of age.
“Hello,” said one with wide brown eyes, her dark pulled back in a ponytail. “I am Michelle. These are my friends, Anna and Ashley,” the girl told Nancy, pointing to each one in turn. “We are from troop 1656 and we were wondering if you would like to buy some cookies!”
Nancy thought for a moment. “I could do with some cookies,” she figured. Then she asked, “How much are they?”
Another one, who the first girl scout had pointed out as Anna, with grayish-teal eyes looked up at her. She had her dark blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, also, and several of the baby hairs around that were not long enough to fit in the ponytail were curling in little spirals. “They are two dollars a box,” she answered.
“Well, let’s see,” Nancy said. “Do you have any new ones this year?’
The last girl with bouncing blonde curls worn loosely around her face and dancing green eyes said, “There is one new one this year! They are called Lemon Drops, just like the candy! The taste like little lemon bites! Except, they are sweet instead of sour!”
Nancy could tell that they had planned out what each girl would say when certain questions were asked. They had obviously rehearsed it, too.
“Well, I always get a box of Tagalongs. So put me down for one of those. Also, I will order a box of Thin Mints for Hannah, and a box of All Abouts for Dad,” she told them.
“Will that be all?” Michelle asked. Being the oldest of the group, it was apparent that the other two looked up to her, although they couldn’t be that far apart in age.
“Yes, that will be it,” Nancy said.
“Now, all we need is your name and address,” requested the one named Anna.
“Nancy Drew,” she told them. “N-A-N-C-Y D-R-E-W. My address is 1272 Blue River Drive.”
As Michelle started to write it down she, along with the other two, looked up into Nancy’s eyes, their own wide with amazement.
“You’re Nancy Drew! You are the one who has solved all of those mysteries! You are amazing!” Ashley exclaimed. “Hey, girls, I have a brilliantly fantabulous plan!” she addressed the others. The three girls huddled together and finally broke apart. All had wide grins on their faces.
“Nancy,” Anna started. “We would like to know if you would come speak to our girl scout troop sometime! I think that all of the other girls would really enjoy it! How about, oh, Saturday? Would that work?” All three gave pleading eyes.
“How can I resist?” Nancy thought. “Well, I guess I could!” she told them.
All three girls gave a cheer and thanked her. Michelle told her where and when to come on Saturday and the girl scouts thanked her and left.
Nancy went back into the house and made her way into the kitchen where Hannah was preparing lunch. “Yum! It smells amazing, Hannah!” Nancy praised the woman. Hannah’s cooking always made her feel better.
“Thank you!” Hannah said, turning away from her cooking for a moment. “Are the girls not here yet?” she questioned.
“No, not yet,” Nancy replied. “But they should be here soon.”
Just as she said it, the doorbell rang. “I will get it,” Nancy told Hannah. The girl walked back to the front entryway and answered the door. Nancy grasped old fashioned, gold plated handle and twisted it, pulling the door ajar at a moderate rate, just enough to make it squeak as its hinges swung open. Once it was open all the way, Nancy came face to face with her two greatest friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne.
As Nancy invited them into her two story home. On the outside you could see that there were full-size floor-to-ceiling windows. Neat read brick lined the outer walls up and down with only half and inch worth of mortar showing in between. The Drew lawn was nicely trimmed and square hedges lined the driveway and the walls. A huge oak tree stood to one side of the house, in the center of the yard. The Drew’s back yard was lined with a four-foot brick wall, making it tough to see the back yard from the front. All that was visible over the divider were sunflowers and bluebells that Nancy had planted there with her mother as a little girl.
As Nancy closed the large white door with the small stain glass window at the top, she heard George ask, “Nancy, Bess said that you sounded frantic on the phone. She said you told her something about your mother’s jewelry. What was it? Tell, us, Nancy,” the girl requested.
Nancy opened her mouth to speak, but her housekeeper joined the three teens at just that very moment. While she dried her hands on a dishrag, she said, “Oh, good, you are all here now.” She smiled and nodded at the two newcomers, who frequently visited the household anyway. “I have a brunch ready for you gals in the kitchen if you would like some.” And, with that, she nodded and receded back into the kitchen.
“I will tell you both all about it later,” Nancy whispered to the girls in a hurried tone of voice. “I don’t want Hannah to be anymore upset than she already is. For now, let’s just go and enjoy our meal.” The two other girls nodded and followed Nancy into the kitchen.