Fellowship & Fairydust

On the way home, Hannah stopped at the post office as promised, and Nancy sent off the present to the Hardys along with a little note. For the rest of the ride home, Nancy was looking through the pictures of the clues they had found so far. The second one had been fairly easy, it did pertain to the numbers of Josiah’s safe deposit box at the bank. But she did notice the animals, cat and dog. In the third poem, the first two lines were math problems, and if the previous two had been any indication, the numbers listed had to pertain to a number lock. Or maybe something else clock-related, as Josiah did with the book of poems. Was there perhaps another clock to open? She drummed her fingers on the arm rest while she thought. She might need to know more about Josiah Crowley. 

“What are you looking at?” asked Hannah. 

“The poems we found in the clocks,” replied Nancy. 

“May I hear them?” 

“Of course!” Nancy read them to Hannah, starting with the one they had found at the Turners, since that was the one she had been looking at, and ended with the one they found at Lilac Inn. 

“A hole in one, eh? Kind of like golf?” 

Nancy gasped. “Hannah, you might be onto something!” 

Hannah grinned. “Glad I could help.”  

As soon as they got home, Nancy dashed up the stairs with the costume. She hung it in the closet before dialing Helen’s number. 

“Nancy, when are you going to be back?” 

Nancy chuckled. “A simple hello will do, Helen” 

Helen sighed. “Alright, hello. Please hurry back, Jane’s got us working nonstop!” 

“What?” 

Emily’s voice came on the line. “No she isn’t. You’re just so bored that you’d rather be doing anything but helping out!” 

“Besides,” came Jenny’s voice, “she really needs our help. Business seems to be booming!” 

Nancy gasped. “Really?” 

“Yes!” chorused Jenny and Emily. Helen grumbled. 

“Well, that’s great!” 

“But seriously Nancy, when are you coming back?” asked Helen. 

“Tomorrow morning.” 

“Really?” moaned Helen. 

“Why tomorrow? Why not come back now?” asked Jenny. 

“Well, there are a couple of reasons.” She then told them that her imposter had struck again and revealed everything she had found out at the mall.

“What? Why that no-good, rotten little pipsqueak!” blurted Helen. “I’m going to ring her neck!” 

“Why Helen!” blurted Emily. 

“You can barely pick up a tray of dishes, so how do you plan to do that?” quipped Jenny. Emily and Nancy burst out laughing while Helen grumbled. 

“Guess we’ve found a companion for George in the sarcastic department,” she mumbled. 

“George?” said Jenny. 

Nancy laughed. “George Fayne, she’s a good friend of ours, and yes, George really is her name. There’s a whole story behind it that I think it would be better if she told it. She’s tomboyish to boot, so it fits her well.” 

“Oh! Well, now I must meet this George Fayne so I can hear about the story of her name!” 

Nancy chuckled. “We’ll be sure to introduce you once her family gets back from their family reunion.” 

“I look forward to it.” 

“Great! Now, the other reason why I’m not coming today is because I might have to do research on Josiah’s hobbies .”  

“I beg your pardon?” said Emily.

“I was reading the poems out loud to our housekeeper, Hannah, and she caught something. A hole in one is a golf term!” 

“Wait, what?” said Emily. Nancy read the poem out loud. 

“Oh!” they chorused. 

“You are right! One of Josiah’s favorite places to be was Moonlit Gest Mini Golf!” 

Nancy grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote down the name. “Is there anything else you can think of?” 

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line before Emily replied. “He was a big fan of Shakespeare, mini golf, like I said, cats, poetry, treasure hunts, obviously, radio, well, he liked acting and dressing up of any kind, and he liked us. That’s as much as I can think of.” There was a slight pause. “Nancy, do you think he left a clue at Moonlight Gest Mini Golf?” 

Nancy shrugged. “It’s a possibility. I think we should pay a visit this week. Say, tomorrow, after we take care of the clock at the Topham’s?” 

“That could work, Jane gave me the day off tomorrow.”  

“Us, she gave us the day off tomorrow,” said Helen. 

Nancy laughed. “Oh come on Helen, think of this as practice for when you and Bess open up your own fashion store!” 

Helen scoffed. “Taking care of clothes is different than serving food, Nancy, by a long shot.” 

Jenny laughed. “I think I agree. But I think Nancy was talking about how to handle certain, ah, um, stubborn people?” 

“I can refuse them service, it’s my business after all,” said Helen with a distinct huff. “Maybe people will learn to be nicer.” 

Nancy sighed. “If that were the case, we wouldn’t be trying to catch my impostor, who’s also a thief.” 

“Oh right! And then you’d have no mysteries to solve! Hmm . . . OK, some people need to learn how to be nice. Criminals don’t have to so Nancy and the Hardys can still solve mysteries.” Emily and Jenny laughed. 

Nancy laughed too. “Oh, thanks Helen.” 

“No problem.” 

“Oh, there’s Jane, we need to go. I’ll see if I can think of anything else Josiah liked. I might have to rummage through my mom’s stuff for some hints.” 

“We’ll help,” said Jenny. 

“Sounds more fun than working with Jane anyhow,” mumbled Helen. 

“Thanks! I hope to have a full report from you tomorrow morning. See you then!” 

“Bye Nancy!” they chorused before hanging up. Nancy bit her lip as she placed the phone on her dresser. She didn’t tell them about her plans for that night. Well, maybe her father and Hannah could help with that. She looked at her dress, and in a way, she couldn’t wait. 

Later that evening, she was sitting in her father’s car, parked in the same place she had parked the night before. She had the whole costume on now, having put a few final touches to it with Hannah’s help. Carson was getting the binoculars focused. 

“There, I think I’m all set now. I don’t see anyone outside just yet.” 

“That’s fine, I’ll still wander around the property for a bit. I’ll move like a real ghost and be as quiet as possible so as not to wake anyone.” 

Carson chuckled. “You’d better, wouldn’t want anyone to wake up and see the whole thing.” 

Nancy glanced at him. “That’s why I’m in costume. Besides, if Helen sees it, she’ll recognize this wig right away. She helped me put it on for Halloween.” 

“Let’s wait a few more minutes to make sure your imposter or that ghost is coming tonight. If not, you can still walk around, maybe get her attention.” 

Nancy nodded. “Alright.” They waited the allotted time before Nancy was dashing quietly across the street. Neither the ghost nor the imposter showed up, though both Carson and Nancy agreed it had to be the same person. Nancy walked around the property, looking for any clues, but returned to the car empty-handed and dejected. 

“Well, so much for that,” she mumbled as her father started up the car. 

Carson shrugged. “You don’t always find them the first time around.” 

She sighed. “I know, but I really don’t have much to go on! Sure, what Miss Walters gave us was great, it still doesn’t provide us with much to go on.” 

“It’s enough for Chief McGinnis to begin a record search. If he doesn’t find anything, then we know this has got to be someone who’s been working under the radar for years.” 

“Then there must be someone somewhere with some information on these guys,” said Nancy. “Especially since they’re acting like they’ve done this before.” 

“They’re acting like they’ve done this before? Nance, they have done this before. This racket is so well thought out that we might not have seen it coming had Emily’s jewelry not been stolen by your impostor.” 

Nancy nodded slowly. “The day we were finding the clues to Josiah’s will.” 

Carson looked thoughtful as he turned on their street. “Hmm, they might be thinking that you’ll find Josiah’s will in no time, and once you do, they’re going to make off with all the money.” 

Nancy pursed her lips and her eyes flashed with anger. “Not if I can help it. I’ll prolong finding Josiah’s will if I have to so we can nab the crooks!” 

“Remember, be careful. It’s because you’ve gotten so far in finding Josiah’s will that they fear you too. They’ve noticed you’re smart, and are doing their best to throw you off their scent.” 

Nancy looked at him, determination and defiance in her eyes. “Well, they can try, but I’m going to hang on tighter than a bulldog!” 

Carson parked the car in the driveway and turned off the engine before looking at his daughter with pride. “Be careful though, they could take you with them.” 

Nancy pulled off her wig and shook her head. “I’d like to see them try.” 

Carson chuckled. “I’d like to see them try too. Come on, you have a busy tomorrow, best get up bright and early.” 

Nancy’s eyes sparkled as she shot her father a grin. “I can’t wait either!” 

Nancy was back at Lilac Inn early the next morning. Helen, Emily, and Jenny ,practically toppled her over in their relief to see her. 

“I’m so excited! Today we get the final clue to Josiah’s will!” Emily squealed. 

Nancy laughed. “I’m glad that’s put you in such a chipper mood this morning!” 

Jenny scoffed. “Are you kidding? She’s been chipper all weekend! The news about her mother’s jewelry toned it down.” 

Emily pursed her lips. “Yeah, that, that really dampened the mood.” 

Nancy placed a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll find your mother’s jewelry, and mine. We have to.” Emily nodded with determination. “Now, let’s see if we can’t find that will!” 

The girls quickly sped towards Josiah’s house in Nancy’s car. Jenny complimented the car the entire way, while showing disappointment that she didn’t have one yet, but showing anticipation that she would on her sixteenth birthday. But then her attention was drawn towards Josiah’s house when Nancy pulled into the driveway. Nancy and Helen in particular oohed and aahed over the Victorian structure. 

“It looks like the Tophams spiced it up a little,” said Emily as they got out of the car. 

“Oh yeah,” said Jenny. 

“What do you mean?” asked Helen as the group began walking towards the front door. 

“Oh, there’s more color in the garden. Josiah paid more attention to other things than gardening, obviously,” explained Emily. She turned to Nancy. “Sorry about not finding anything else in my mother’s things.” 

Nancy shrugged. “It’s alright, we might find more here anyway.” She stepped forward and rang the doorbell. Isabella opened the door and smiled warmly at them. 

“You’re just in time, perfect! Oh, hello Jenny!” Jenny waved. “Why are you here, if you don’t mind my asking?” 

Jenny shrugged. “Well, I had nothing else to do, and this seemed exciting, so here I am.” 

Isabella nodded. “Fair enough. Come on!” She led them into the living room. “Father, they’re here!” 

Richard Topham rose from a chair with a great big grin. “Ah, thank heavens! Finally, we can find Uncle Josiah’s will! I sometimes feel like Uncle Josiah sent you to us, he was so tired of waiting!” he said as he grasped Nancy’s hand. 

Nancy chuckled as she shook hands. “I wouldn’t be surprised.” She glanced at the mantle. “Is that the clock?” 

Richard walked over to the clock and took it down. “Yes, it is. Eager to get to the bottom of this, I see.” 

Nancy’s eyes sparkled. “Oh yes, treasure hunts are such fun! Besides, the faster I can find the will, the sooner money can be given to the people who desperately need it.” 

Richard nodded. “Good point. Here you go.” He handed Nancy the clock. 

Nancy turned to Emily. “Numbers please.” 

Emily pulled the poem book out of her purse. “Seven four eight three seven.” 

Nancy rotated the clock hands for each number and the secret compartment popped open. She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Richard. “Would you like the honors?” 

He smiled. “My pleasure!” He took the paper and opened it up. He blinked a few times before clearing his throat. “I am so glad you’re here to solve this. I can’t make heads or tails of this!” 

“If it’s anything like the others, well, yeah, that’s apparently Josiah’s way,” said Helen. 

Richard shrugged. “I guess so. This just seems harder than his previous treasure hunts.” 

“What does it say, Daddy?” 

“Oh good ones do not reprehend; Else five and eight a liar call; Naught but dreams at nine o’clock; So goodnight unto you all.” 

“OK, yeah, this one takes the cake,”  said Helen. 

Richard glanced at Nancy. “What do you think?” 

Nancy’s mind was racing. There were the four numbers for the safe in the house, but, should she bring that up if they didn’t quite trust the Tophams? But then another thought hit her and she snapped her fingers. “Shakespeare!” 

“What?” the others chorused. 

“This kind of sounds like Shakespeare! I think, I’m not quite sure, it’s been a  while. Josiah liked Shakespeare, right?” 

“That he did!” said Richard, impressed. 

“Yeah, I told you that yesterday,” said Emily.

  “Well then, I think we have our work cut out for us. The first clue seems to point to a mini golf course, and this one to Shakespeare, I just have to figure out the other two.” 

“Well, it seems like you’re off to a good start. Might we keep this clue here?” Nancy glanced at him. He was the first one to suggest keeping the clue when she had suggested it for the other three. He noticed her look and shrugged. “We might find something here, you never know.” 

She nodded. “That’s a good point. I can take a picture of it.” She pulled out her phone and snapped the picture.

“So, now what?” asked Jenny. 

“Now we take the poems back to Lilac Inn and try to figure out what the other two poems could take us, and then we go play some mini golf.” 

“That sounds good. I do have a meeting to get to, so you ladies have a wonderful day!” said Richard as he walked with them back to the front door. Nancy noted how he seemed to want to get them out of there. 

But she smiled. “Right, of course, I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting. May we come back and take a look around the house? Josiah could have left another clue.” 

Richard thought for a moment. “Yes, I think that would be a good idea. But not today, obviously, and definitely not tomorrow. I think Thursday might be best. I’ll call the Inn later and let you know.” 

Nancy smiled. “Thanks!” 

“No, thank you!” With a wave, the Tophams bid the girls goodbye. The girls waved and said goodbye back before walking to Nancy’s car. But as they were leaving Riverview Manor, Nancy couldn’t help but wonder if there really was a meeting, and if they should come back when the Tophams weren’t around.

 

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