Fellowship & Fairydust

“So, now what?” asked Helen as they drove away from the house. 

Nancy thought for a moment until she came to a stop at a red light. “Well, how does a game of mini golf sound?”  

Emily gasped. “Are we going to Moonlight Gests?” Nancy nodded.

“What? Why?” blurted Helen. 

Emily grinned. “There might be clues there!” 

Nancy nodded as the light turned green and she switched her foot to the excelerator. “That’s right!” 

“But, didn’t you just tell Mr. Topham that we were going to Lilac Inn first, and then go mini golfing?” said Jenny slowly. 

“I guess Helen and Emily haven’t told you yet, but we think the Tophams were following us when we went to the mall. We were able to lose them on the way to lunch and Emily was able to tell us about the Caldwell legend. So I figured that by telling them we were going to the Inn first that they wouldn’t think of following us to get the clues we might find at Moonlight Gest.” 

“Oh, that makes sense,” said Jenny. 

“But why would there be clues at a mini golf course?” asked Helen. 

Nancy shrugged. “It does say in the first poem a hole in one.” 

“But that’s spelled w-h-o-l-e, not h-o-l-e,” said Helen as she crossed her arms. “Besides, what about the rest of it?” 

“Well, when four quarters become whole, it’s more than likely referring to the moon, four quarters, or four parts I should say, that come together to make a whole moon.” 

Helen gasped and her eyes widened. “Oh! Moonlight!” 

Nancy shot her a grin. “Exactly.” 

Emily bounced in her seat. “And I’m sure they would do anything for Josiah! He was their best customer!” 

Helen turned in her seat and glanced curiously at Emily. “How do you know that?” 

Emily smiled absently. “Josiah said so himself, and now that I’m thinking about it, I really do believe he meant for us to go there!” 

“Yeah, but, can any of us get a hole in one?” asked Jenny. “I know I can’t.” 

Helen scoffed. “I definitely can’t, sports really isn’t my thing.” 

Emily chuckled sheepishly. “Mom and I really never went golfing, even though Josiah did ask us to on several occasions.” Everyone glanced pointedly at Nancy as she came to a stop at a red light. She took a brief moment to glance at each of the girls. 

“What?” 

“You’re going to have to get a hole in one, Nancy,” said Helen. “None of us can do it.” 

“Well what makes you think I can do better than any of you?” blurted Nancy, slightly annoyed. “I’ve only played mini golf once!” 

Helen gasped. “What? I thought George dragged you out to every sport she played!”

“She did,” said Nancy as she moved her foot to the excelerator now that the light changed back to green. “And that was the only game I played. She didn’t like it as much as she thought she would, so we’ve never gone back.” 

Helen threw her hands in the air and groaned. “Great, we’re going to be spending a whole lot of money just to find the next clue!” 

Jenny leaned forward and patted her back. “Don’t worry, I’m sure one of us will get it, eventually.” 

Helen groaned again. “Yeah, next year.” 

Nancy looked out the front, her face set with determination. “We don’t have until next year, so we’ll do what we can.” She glanced at Helen with a mischievous glint. “Maybe you can convince some handsome fellow to get our holes in one for us.” 

Helen’s mouth dropped and her eyes widened. “Oh! You’re right, maybe I could!!” 

“Now that’s a brilliant idea!” blurted Jenny. 

Emily gasped. “But, are you sure? There might not be anyone there who can get a hole in one!” 

“You bring up a good point, Emily,” said Nancy, “but it’s a risk we have to take. We have got to find Josiah’s will ASAP.” 

Helen and Jenny nodded firmly. Emily glanced between them before she too nodded. “Yes, we must. Now, let’s just hope there is someone at Moonlight Gests that can get us a hole in one.” 

Helen let out a breath. “Yeah, let’s.” 

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” said Nancy firmly. A minute later she was pulling into the driveway of Moonlight Gest. 

“Huh, kinda looks Shakespearean,” said Helen as the girls got out of the car. 

“That would explain why this was Josiah’s favorite mini golf course,” said Emily. 

“Go figure,” muttered Jenny. 

“Well, let’s find out if we can even get a hole in one at any of the holes, and if not, try and find someone who’s willing to help,” said Nancy. She led the four into the lobby. 

“Whoa, this is based on Shakespeare!” blurted Helen when they stepped in. Cardboard cut-outs of characters from select plays stood around the room while a large picture of William Shakespeare himself was showcased on the far side of the room. 

“This is kinda cool,” said Jenny. “Have never read Shakespeare though.” 

Emily walked over to a display case and gasped. “Nancy!” 

The group rushed towards her. “What is it?” asked Nancy. 

Emily pointed. A few lines from Shakespeare were displayed under a map of the golf course. “Two things, first off, that last poem was Shakespearean! And secondly, hole number four is based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream! That was Josiah’s favorite play!” 

Nancy rubbed her chin as she thought. “Then maybe that’s the only one where we have to get a hole in one.” 

“If it’s just one, that’s a whole lot better than trying to get all eighteen,” said Helen with a sigh of relief. “Still going to be hard to get that one though.” 

“Well, let’s look around and see if anyone can help us get that hole in one. If not, we’re going to have to take a crack at it ourselves and hope for the best,” said Nancy. 

“Hold on, Nancy, Helen, Emily?” The girls swung around at the mention of their names and their mouths dropped. 

“Don, Richie?” blurted Helen as they practically dashed to the counter. “What are you two doing here?” Dark-haired Don Cameron and Native American Richie Farnham were two of their classmates, and were standing behind the counter. Richie’s mother was Mr. Drew’s secretary, so he and Nancy grew up together and were more like siblings. Don was well-known as the captain of the baseball team and for having a crush on Nancy, which annoyed her, but that hadn’t stopped the two from becoming friends, for the most part. 

Richie pointed to his name badge. “We work here, duh.” 

Don picked up a towel and began wiping the counter as if to emphasize that. “Yup, we got summer jobs here.” 

“Is this your first year here?” asked Nancy. 

Richie crossed his arms. “You would have found out about it last year if I was working here.” 

Nancy grinned, thinking of his mom. “That’s true.” 

Don leaned on the counter. “So, what brings you lovely ladies here today?” He tilted his head at Jenny. “And I don’t recognise you.” 

Jenny held out her hand. “Of course you haven’t, I go to a different high school. I’m Jenny Archer, my dad is the banker who takes care of Emily’s account.” 

“Ah,” said Don as he shook her hand. “Well, I’m Don Cameron, and this my best friend Richie Farnham.” 

Jenny shook hands with Richie. “Nice to meet you both.” 

Richie smiled. “Nice to meet you too.” 

Don turned back to Nancy. “So, you four just out for some fun, or is there a particular reason?” 

“We are out for fun, but there is a particular reason for why we came here specifically.” She pointed to Emily. “It has to do with her inheritance. Is there someone here we can talk to about Josiah Crowley?” 

The boys blinked at her. “Josiah Crowley?” 

“Wasn’t he that old eccentric guy who passed away a year ago?” asked Richie. 

Emily nodded sadly. “Yeah, yeah that was him. He said he came here a lot, and we thought that there might be a clue here.” 

“What makes you think that?” asked Don. Nancy pulled up the picture of the poem and read it out loud. Their mouths dropped. “Whoa, that’s, that’s pretty specific,” said Don. 

“Wait until you hear the one we just found,” said Nancy. She read the Shakespearean one out loud. The boys’ mouths dropped even further. 

Helen nodded. “I know, right?” 

Richie glanced at Don. “I’m getting Mr. Quincey.” He quickly ducked under the counter and dashed off down the hall. 

Nancy turned to Don. “So, how did you two end up with this job?” 

“Two of Mr. Quincey’s employees needed the summer off for their honeymoon, and well, he gave it to them. He put out an ad for the jobs at various TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers. Richie heard it, we decided to apply and he decided to hire us.” Don shrugged. “That’s basically it.” 

Helen shook her head. “Wow, what a coincidence.” 

Don glanced at each of the girls, scratching his head. “Yeah, though a rather odd one, if you ask me.” 

“Very odd,” agreed Jenny. 

“Hey Nance!” The group turned, there was Richie coming back to them with an elderly gentleman, who he quickly introduced as Mr. Quincey. The girls were quickly introduced to him before he spoke. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” he said with a slight English accent. “But what is this about clues to Josiah Crowley’s will?” 

The girls took turns explaining the whole thing to Mr. Quincey, ending with Nancy showing him each of the poems. His eyes widened as Nancy explained their reasoning behind figuring some of them out. 

“You are absolutely amazing! I would have never thought of it that way!” 

Nancy waved it off. “Oh, it was just a matter of looking at it from a different angle.” 

Don scoffed. “Right.” He turned to Mr. Quincey. “Nancy’s the smartest girl in all of River Heights!” 

Nancy became flustered. “Now you’re exaggerating! There are several girls who are smart!” 

Richie glanced pointedly at Don. “Can we keep it to Mr. Crowley’s will?” 

Don huffed. “Yes we can.” 

“Thank you.” 

Mr. Quincey smiled at Don. “I appreciate your enthusiasm in highlighting Nancy’s qualities, Don, but from the tale they just told me, there was plenty of proof of her intelligence.” He turned to Emily as he pulled out a ball from his back pocket and handed it to her. “And I think I now know why Josiah requested I keep this until I heard the first poem.” 

“A ball?” asked Helen as she and Jenny crowded around Emily to see it. 

“It’s a special golf ball Josiah had made. You’re supposed to hit it into the fourth hole. Come on, I’ll show you. Don, grab a club please.” Don nodded and grabbed a club. The group followed Mr. Quincey past the first three Shakespearean themed holes to the fourth one. 

“Whoa, look at that clock!” blurted Helen. To the far side of the fake woods stood an antique grandfather clock. 

“A gift from Josiah,” said Mr. Quincey as he walked up to it and touched it gently. “He wanted it to be near the Midsummer Night’s Dream hole, adding his own little touch, you could say.” 

“It looks like it belongs, and yet, at the same time, it doesn’t,” said Jenny. 

Mr. Quincey nodded. “That was the point. You’re supposed to feel that way in A Midsummer Night’s Dream too.” He gave the clock one little pat before rejoining the group. He pointed at the tee. “Put the ball there, please.” 

“O-oh, b-but I-I’ve never played mini golf before,” stammered Emily as she placed the ball on the tee. 

Mr. Quincey smiled. “That’s alright. Don, why don’t you take the shot.” 

Don nodded as he came forward. He was holding the club like a bat, but he flipped it around with an easy movement. He paused a moment to look over the path to the hole before getting himself ready for the swing. He glanced over the path again before taking the swing. They watched almost breathlessly as the ball practically flew towards the hole. It fell in. The girls cheered and Don bowed. Nancy became quiet when she thought she heard a soft click. 

“Wait! Sh!! Do you hear something?” The others became still and listened intently. Another click. “There it is again!” 

“What is it?” asked Helen. 

“Where’s it coming from?” asked Richie. 

Emily shrieked. “Look at Puck!” Everyone’s heads swiveled and looked at the statue of the faun from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was moving! Nancy dashed towards it. 

“Wait, Nancy!” blurted Don as the others followed. Nancy stopped right in front of the statue as it stopped moving. She glanced down and gasped. The statue had moved to reveal a hole in the floor! The others arrived on the scene as she crouched down and thrust her hand into it. She felt around for a bit and pulled out a drawstring bag. She opened it and pulled out a silver key with the moon engraved on the back.

“Why, that was one of Josiah’s keys!” blurted Emily. 

Nancy handed her the key. “Do you know what it unlocked?” 

Emily shook her head as she turned it over in her hand before handing it back to Nancy. “I have no idea. I only noticed it was missing a few months before his passing, and when I asked him where it was, he only said . . .”

“‘Time will tell,’” the girls chorused. They laughed. 

Emily nodded. “He’s pretty predictable, huh?” 

Nancy chuckled. “Not too predictable, otherwise you wouldn’t need my help to find his will.” 

“Touche,” said Emily with a snicker. 

“But what does it open?” asked Helen. 

Nancy held up the key and looked at it intently. “Only one way to find out.”

 

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