Fellowship & Fairydust

After calming Hannah down, Nancy finally got the specifics. Hannah had been out visiting a few friends for lunch and getting groceries when the robbery happened. Togo was with her. She didn’t even notice anything was amiss when she returned home until much later, after she had eaten. Carson was staying late at the office, so Hannah knew that she was alone when she heard something fall on the second floor. With a broom in her hands and Togo at her heels, she went upstairs to investigate, and found the second floor in a shambles. She quickly called the police and Carson. The police arrived first and began looking for clues. Carson arrived sometime later, by that time, they had found that several pieces of clothing and jewelry had been stolen. The police couldn’t find any clues besides the fact that Nancy’s window had been pried open, meaning they suspected that the culprit wore gloves. Carson figured it was best that Nancy came home for a couple of days, and Hannah had been trying to get a hold of her since while Carson was in a phone conference with a client.

“I’ll come home right away,” said Nancy. “Let me pack my things first and let Emily and Helen know.” 

“Of course dear, please be careful!” 

“I will. See you soon.” Nancy hung up the phone and went off in search of Helen and Emily. They were waiting for her in Emily’s room. She quickly explained what had happened, and the two jumped up to help her pack. 

“But, what are we supposed to do while you’re gone?” asked Helen. 

“Keep an eye on Jane, and an eye out for that fake ghost, but don’t confront either of them until I return, got it?” 

“Oh don’t worry, I won’t,” said Emily. 

“I definitely won’t,” said Helen, “and I won’t feel safer until you return.” 

Nancy’s eyes widened. “Oh! I have an idea.” 

“What?” said Emily and Helen as Nancy pulled out her phone. Nancy merely grinned as she dialed a number and waited for the person to pick up. 

“Hello? Nancy?” 

“Hi Jenny! Do you have a moment? I have a favor to ask of you.” 

“Of course! Shoot.” 

Nancy quickly explained the situation and asked that Jenny stay the night with Helen and Emily. 

“What?” blurted Jenny. “You’ve been robbed? That’s terrible!! I hope the police catch the culprit and get your things back for you.” 

Nancy smiled. “Thanks Jenny, I hope so too.” 

“As for staying at Lilac Inn, well, let me talk to my parents real quick.” Jenny had apparently left her phone in her room and walked away from it for a few minutes before coming back. “My parents said absolutely yes. My father also said that if your dad needs any banking advice to give him a call.” 

“I will do that, thank you so much!” 

“No problem! I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

“Great, I won’t be here, so, good luck!” 

Jenny chuckled. “Thanks, the same to you!” They ended the call, and Nancy told Emily and Helen about it. 

“Oh good,” said Helen with a sigh. “At least we have one other girl with us. I still won’t feel completely safe until you get back, but at least I’ll feel a little better than before.” 

Nancy chuckled. “Safety in numbers, right? I might even ask Jenny to stay around and help us get to the end of all of this.” 

Emily smiled. “That would be great! Leave that to me Nancy, I might have her convinced by the time you get back!” 

Nancy grinned. “Great! I’d better get going so you can work your magic when she gets here.” 

Emily snorted as she picked up Nancy’s suitcase. “Well, I wouldn’t call it magic. Just, don’t expect it to work out either.” 

Nancy picked up her purse and grabbed her backpack. “Alright, I won’t, but I should get going.” 

Helen rushed to the door and opened it. “Good luck, and I hope that, well . . .” Nancy glanced at her, and saw the look of sad understanding. 

“You hope what?” asked Emily. 

Nancy sighed. “She hopes that none of my mother’s jewelry was stolen, even though it’s most likely that they were. They were pretty valuable, and not just for sentimental reasons.” 

Emily gasped. “Oh no! That’s horrible! I’m so glad my mother’s jewelry is safe with Mr. Archer at the bank. I do hope you get it all back soon!” 

Nancy shot her a sad smile. “Thanks Emily.” She glanced down the hall to the stairs and let out a huff. “Well, let’s find out exactly what they took and see if the police have found anything since Hannah called.” 

Helen and Emily nodded and followed her down the hall. They gave a quick explanation to Jane on the way out, Emily promising to give her the full story once Nancy was on her way. They loaded the luggage into the trunk and gave Nancy quick hugs before she got into her car and drove away. 

On her way back home, Nancy wracked her brain. Was this robbery in any way connected to her trying to solve Josiah’s clues and/or Helen’s ghostly sightings? If so, was Nancy getting close to something they didn’t want her to find out? She did find it odd that only the second floor was hit, regular thieves would have ransacked the entire house, looking for any valuables. She figured that was the first clue that this might be in connection to Lilac Inn. The police may not have found any clues to the identity of the thief, but Nancy needed to look for clues that would connect the theft to the happenings at Lilac Inn. But she also thought it was odd that they would strike at this moment. Maybe it wasn’t because she was getting close, maybe they just needed her out of the way? But for what? Nancy pursed her lips as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. She knew something was happening, but she didn’t know what, and it was going to drive her crazy. 

All thoughts of connecting the theft to Lilac Inn were thrown out as soon as she parked in her driveway. Now she could only think of her family’s safety. She merely grabbed her purse and her keys, locked the car, and dashed to the front door. 

“Nancy!” Hannah rose from the couch in the living room and wrapped Nancy in her arms. Carson followed with a hug. 

“How’s everything going at Lilac Inn?” 

“So far so good, actually,” said Nancy. “I’ve found three out of the four clues Josiah left, we’re waiting for the Tophams to return from their short trip to look at their clock.”

Carson nodded. “Well, then you have a bit of a break to take care of, well, this.” He indicated the officer standing by the fireplace. 

“Chief McGinnis!” 

McGinnis smiled at her. “Hiya Nancy! Let me just start by saying I prefer coming to your house when you have clues for me, rather than having to come here because you were robbed.” 

“You and me both,” said Nancy with a nervous chuckle. 

“Glad we’re in agreement on that. Now, your father and Hannah have already given me a list of what’s missing, but we wanted to be sure we weren’t missing anything from your room. Your father could only be sure, um, about the jewelry.” 

Nancy gulped, but she nodded. “Alright.” She led them up the stairs to her room. She gasped when she entered her room. It was a complete mess! Books and papers were strewn on the floor, drawers had been pulled out, her closet looked half-empty, and her bed was a pile of blankets and pillows. She pursed her lips and glanced at McGinnis with a look of determination. “Is it alright if I touch everything?” 

McGinnis nodded. “We’ve scoured every room for fingerprints or any other clues.” 

Nancy nodded. “Right, thank you.” She walked in and began picking up things. The three adults soon joined her, and in a  few minutes, the room was clean and Nancy had a better idea of what was missing. As she had feared, her mother’s jewelry had been stolen, along with a few outfits that she had inherited from her mother as well. There was a photo missing, which seemed odd as it was just a picture of Nancy and her Aunt Eloise back when she visited her during Spring Break. To her dismay, she also noticed that several pieces of jewelry that had been presents from Bess and Helen were missing too. But she did notice that everything that had been taken, except for the pearls, had sparkled in the light, whereas some of the more expensive, yet sparkless, pieces had not been taken. She mentioned this to Chief McGinnis. 

He rubbed his chin. “Huh, that is odd.” 

“Very odd, indeed,” said Carson. He glanced between Nancy and McGinnis. “Do you think that they had no idea of what to look for? I mean, I’m sure a couple of the pieces Bess and Helen got you were mere costume jewelry, and that doesn’t bring as pretty of a penny as pearls or jade. And taking that photo is particularly odd. No one would pay much for that, not even for the frame.” 

Nancy nodded. “Which is making me suspect this is in connection to Lilac Inn.” 

“What’s going on at Lilac Inn?” asked McGinnis. Nancy filled in the three on what had been going on and what she had found. 

Carson smiled proudly at his daughter. “You’ll find Josiah Crowley’s will in no time!” 

Nancy grinned back. “Thanks Dad! But we’re still waiting on the Tophams to return on Monday. We’ll be heading over on Tuesday to get the final clue.” 

Carson nodded. “That’s good.” He turned to McGinnis. “Would you like to stay for a little while and get some dessert?” 

McGinnis shook his head. “Nah, I told my mom that I would be home after I talked to Nancy. She does send her condolences and hopes we can return your stolen property to you soon.” 

“That’s very kind of her,” said Hannah as they walked to the front door. “But since you can’t stay tonight, how about dinner with us tomorrow?” 

“If that’s doable for you,” Carson quickly added. 

“I’ll check with my mom tonight and see if she’s up to it. It is getting close to summer now, so her bones should work a little better than they would in the winter. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve gotten her verdict.” 

“Tell her I’ll be backing my famous peach cobbler,” said Hannah with a wink. 

McGinnis laughed. “That sounds very tempting Hannah, but her bones have the final say.”

Carson chuckled. “Sounds good. Thank you for everything, Patrick.” 

McGinnis shook hands with Carson. “Anything for our best lawyer and his detective-in-training.” He grinned at Nancy. 

Nancy chuckled as she shook hands with McGinnis. “Thanks Chief.” 

“Well, if I don’t see you tomorrow, and despite what happened today, you three have a wonderful weekend.” 

“We will!” the three chorused as McGinnis walked to his car. They waved at him as he pulled out of the driveway. It was once they closed the door that Nancy realized something. 

“Hannah, where’s Togo?” 

“Oh, I had to put him in the back, he was going back and forth between greeting every police officer and protecting your room from them. Simply put, he was getting under their feet, and on all of our nerves.” 

Nancy laughed. “Oh man, I wish I could have been here to see that!” 

“Yeah, sure,” mumbled Hannah as they walked to the back door and let the little Scottish terrier in. He greeted his mistress joyously before running around her in circles a few times and giving her a good sniff down. 

“You smell all those lilacs on me, don’t you boy?” Nancy knelt down and petted him. 

“Well, I don’t know about you two, but as soon as Patrick calls, I’m heading off to bed,” said Carson, glancing at his watch. 

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to make sure every window in this house is secured.” 

“I’ll help you, Hannah.” 

“I’ll find something that will keep Nancy’s window closed,” said Carson. Nancy and Hannah went around the house, making sure every window was secured, while Carson found a few supplies and fixed Nancy’s window, at least until they could get someone in to fix it right. 

Once that was all taken care of, and Hannah had locked both doors, the family found themselves sitting on the sofa, waiting for McGinnis’  call. 

“So, Nancy, have you found any clues as to deny or affirm Emily’s suspicions about Jane?” 

Nancy shook her head. “I’ve been focused on getting Josiah’s clues together and, well, this happened, so I couldn’t focus on taking a good look into Jane’s character. I mean, so far she seems alright . . .” 

“But what does your instinct tell you?” asked Hannah. 

“That something’s off about her,” said Nancy slowly. “I do think the Tophams were trailing us at the mall at her request.” 

“But she hasn’t done or said anything since then to make her seem suspect?” asked Carson. Nancy nodded. “Well, this might be a tough nut to crack.” 

“Oh dad, speaking of, could you possibly look into the backgrounds of Jane and the Tophams?” 

“To see if they are the real deal, or if they’re in financial troubles?” Nancy nodded with a pleading smile. Carson chuckled. “Oh, alright, I’ll see what I can do. I can’t guarantee getting the results quickly, but I will look into their backgrounds.” 

Nancy hugged him. “Thanks Dad! You’re the best!” The phone rang. 

“Ah, that should be Patrick.” 

“I’ve got it.” Hannah quickly rose from the sofa to answer the phone. 

“Hello? Oh hi Patrick! . . . She said yes? That’s wonderful!” 

Nancy grinned as she gave her father another hug. “Well, I’m heading to bed.” 

Carson kissed her forehead. “Alright, good night.” 

“Good night Dad.” Nancy rose from the sofa and waved to Hannah. “Goodnight Hannah!” 

Hannah waved back before turning to talking on the phone again. 

“Come on Togo.” Nancy and Togo walked to her room, and Nancy got ready for bed. “You know Togo, I should call Bess and George and see how they’re doing.” She stifled a yawn. “Well then, guess that’s what I’ll be doing tomorrow afternoon then, try to work on the three poems we’ve already found and talk to Bess and George. How’s that?” Togo huffed from his bed. Nancy chuckled. “Alright, yes, I need to sleep too. Good night.” She turned off the light and crawled into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. It almost seemed to Nancy that she was being woken up only a few minutes later by the sound of her phone ringing. She yawned and stretched before grabbing the phone off her nightstand. She glanced at the caller I.D. and answered it. 

“Helen, I haven’t even been gone for twelve hours,” said Nancy groggily. 

“Well, these jerks seem to be working overtime!” 

“The ghost came back?” 

“Worse. Nancy, one of the tellers who works for Mr. Archer says you checked out all of Emily’s jewelry!” 

Nancy’s eyes popped open and she sat straight up in bed. “Say what?”

 

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