Fellowship & Fairydust

Almost as soon as they got to Nancy’s house, Nancy rushed up the stairs to her room and began writing down all of the poems. 

“What are you doing that for?” asked Emily, sitting down to watch her write. 

“I’m wondering if, by writing these down, I’ll notice something,” explained Nancy. Jenny, Helen, and Emily waited in silence for Nancy to finish writing. She picked up the paper and looked at it, thinking hard. 

“Anything?” said Helen after a moment’s silence. 

Nancy sighed and shook her head. “No, nothing. Nothing new, that is. I still see that the third line of each poem refers to a time. Maybe there’s another clock we have to open?” 

“But what other clock?” asked Jenny. “Didn’t Mr. Crowley only give out four clocks?” 

“Oh! The clock at Moonlight Gests!” blurted Emily. 

“But that clock was a prop,” said Jenny. 

“Oh, right,” said Emily, crestfallen. 

Nancy patted her shoulder. “Very good try though, I would have thought the same thing.” Emily smiled. Nancy handed her the slip of paper. “Here, why don’t you have a crack at it.” 

“OK!” said Emily cheerily. She took the paper and read it a few times before passing it on to Helen. Helen went over the paper several times herself before handing it on to Jenny. Meanwhile, Nancy paced the room, letting her mind wander, and pondering over everything. Four poems, four quarters, four clocks, a hole in one, minigolf, cats and dogs, math problems, and Shakespeare. Josiah Crowley was a man who had many interests. So, the first poem led them to a key hidden at Moonlight Gests. What did this key unlock? Where was that hidden? Was the answer in one of the other poems? 

“I’m not getting anything,” said Jenny with a sigh. 

“Same,” said Emily.

“I have nothing too,” said Helen, though she said so a little more cheerily as she looked at Nancy with a glint in her eyes. 

Nancy saw the glint, and chose to ignore it. “The next clue has got to be hidden somewhere in one of the poems. The key and the book has nothing particularly special about them that points to another clue. Well, I mean, obviously the key has to open something, we have to find it. But we have to figure out where it is hidden.” She glanced determinedly at each of them. “I think we need some help, someone who hasn’t been working on this as long as we have. Like Hannah, they could notice something we’ve overlooked.” 

Emily shrugged. “You’re the detective, you do what you think is best.” 

Nancy smiled. “Thanks.” She pulled out her cell phone and texted Bess and George. “I’m going to try Bess and George, see if we can’t get them on the phone too. But I hope the Hardys are available.” 

“But why them in particular?” asked Jenny. 

“Because if there’s one person I know who knows almost as much about Shakespeare as Josiah did, it would be Frank Hardy.” 

“Ah, gotcha.” Jenny nodded. 

Nancy’s phone dinged. She checked it. “Ah, dang it. Bess and George are busy right now.” She let out a breath as she picked up the Pen Pal Phone and dialed. “Please be available!” She put the phone on speakers while it rang. It rang for a couple of minutes. 

“Do they even . . .” Jenny began. 

“Hello?” 

Nancy blinked, she did not recognize that voice. “Um, hello? This is Nancy Drew . . .” 

“Oh, hi Nancy! This is Tony Prito, one of Frank’s and Joe’s friends. I’ll go get them. Hang on!” 

Nancy let out a soft breath of relief. It was summer now, they were probably planning some shenanigans while they were waiting for their next mystery. 

“Hiya Nancy!” came Joe’s cheery voice on the line. “How’s the mystery coming? Did you solve it?” 

“We wish,” said Jenny with a huff, “but it’s turning out to be harder than we thought.” 

“Uh . . . you’re not Nancy.” Nancy laughed and quickly introduced everyone. By then, the boys’ friends had entered the room, and the girls were introduced to Chet, Biff, and Tony. There was a chorus of “nice to meet you” on both sides of the phone. 

“So,” said Frank, “you’ve hit a snag. What do you need help with?” 

“Shakespeare,” said Nancy. 

“Oh, you have definitely called the right detectives,” said Tony with a chuckle. 

Nancy laughed. “I know, but first, let me tell you what we’ve found so far.” She quickly recapped everything that had happened since their last phone call. 

There was a moment of silence before Frank blurted, “Someone was impersonating you?” 

“You gave Don your phone number before you gave us it?” blurted Joe. 

“How can giving her phone number to a guy in her school be more important than someone impersonating her?” blurted Chet. “She could be in danger!” 

“What do you mean she could be?” said Frank. “She is in danger. They already broke into her house, no telling what they could do next.” 

“All the more reason for you guys to help us solve this, right?” said Helen. 

“You bet!” 

“Amazing how you can get guys to just rally around you,” said Jenny teasingly. “Even guys you’ve only just met!” 

Tony laughed. “Oh, with as much as Frank and Joe talk about her, I feel like I already know her! I just don’t get to come visit the Hardys all that often as I work for my dad during the summer. This is one of my off days.” 

“Well, good timing! I finally got to meet you!! Especially after hearing so much about you as well.” 

Tony laughed. “Frank and Joe like bragging about their friends.” 

“Well, when you have the greatest friends in the world, how can you not brag about them?” said Joe. 

“Aww, you guys are so sweet. Is it any wonder why you’re surrounded by the greatest of friends?” said Helen. 

“Have you been taking cues from Bess?” 

“Joe Hardy,” said Helen sternly, “just take a compliment when you hear one.” 

Joe snickered. “Yes ma’am.” 

“Can we get back to the mystery?” asked Frank. “Time is of the essence in any mystery.” 

“Roger that.” 

“So, what are the poems you found in the clocks?” asked Frank. 

Nancy cleared her throat as she got the piece of paper. “Well, the first poem got us to Moonlight Gests, so ignore the golf reference. ‘When four quarters become whole; And the whole is in one; Check in at twelve o’clock; Your hunt has just begun.’”

“OK, yeah, I think you’ve figured that one out,” said Frank. 

“Right, next one. ‘Nine lives for every cat; And twelve for every dog; Unlock the box at six o’clock; Three is the key through the fog.’” 

“Uh . . . but seven is the number usually associated with dogs,” said Frank, “because of dog years.” 

“Right, but the numbers did open a safe at the bank, so it worked.” 

“But it seems like there’s more . . .”

“Exactly.” 

“Well, I’m still thinking on that one. Next one please.” 

“‘Three minus one is two; And two plus two is four; Ring the bell at three o’clock; You’ve done this all before.’” 

“Math? Really?” said Joe. 

“You’ve done this all before,” muttered Frank. 

“Done what before, though?” said Chet. “Check in, unlocking a box? It doesn’t quite say.” 

“Good point,” said Joe. 

“And the last one?” said Frank. 

Nancy chuckled. “The Shakespearean one.” 

“Huh?” 

“Just listen . . . ‘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.’” 

“Oh that is so Shakespeare,” said Frank. 

“It also sounds like something you’d hear on the radio,” said Tony. 

Helen yelped as she jumped up. “The radio station Emily was telling us about! We definitely have to go!” 

“Glad I could be of service,” said Tony with a slight chuckle. 

“But the third poem is the hardest one,” said Emily. 

Joe scoffed. “Well of course it is, it’s math, math is usually hard.” 

“Oh come on Joe, that was simple math,” said Biff. “You know, the stuff you should have learned in kindergarten when you weren’t goofing around.” 

“Hey, you were goofing around right there along with me.” 

“But that final sentence, ‘you’ve done this all before’. I wonder what Mr. Crowley was trying to say. It doesn’t seem like any line is without purpose, though, it is odd that he would mention the four quarters of the clock specifically with the word o’clock.” 

Nancy gasped. “The four quarters of a clock! There might be a fifth clock!” 

“And you have to use those four lines to unlock the clock!” 

“Frank, you’re a genius!” 

“He knows, it’s why we like to ask him for help on our homework,” quipped Joe. 

“Joe.” 

Joe laughed. “Alright, alright, I’ll quit it.” 

“So, now comes the question of, where do we find this fifth clock? “Asked Jenny. 

“That’s a good question. Nance, could you reread the third poem again?” 

“Sure, ‘three minus one is two; And two plus two is four; Ring the bell at three o’clock; You’ve done this all before.’” There was a few minutes of silence before Frank let out a gasp. 

“Get the book!” 

Nancy lunged for it and picked it up. “I have it!” 

“Try Act Three, Scene One, page two!” 

Nancy quickly flipped to the page and squealed. “The word lion is underlined!” 

There were whoops coming over the line. “Way to go Frank!” 

“OK, now try . . .” 

Nancy grinned, she knew where he was going with this and interrupted him. “I know, Act Two, Scene Two, page four!” 

Frank chuckled. “You got it.” 

Nancy let out a whoop. “The word heart is underlined!” 

“So . . . lion and heart?” 

Frank gasped. “Richard the Lionhearted, King of England!” 

“Great! But, we don’t have anything for King Richard,” said Jenny. 

“What about Robin Hood?” 

“Nope,” chorused the girls, shaking their heads. 

“Well, guess we’re back to square one,” said Joe. 

“Well, not quite,” began Nancy. 

“OK, OK, OK, we’re back to square ten, square fifteen to you, Nancy, since you’re so smart that you’ve already figured out so much.” 

“Why thank you Joe.” 

‘You’re welcome.” 

“Hmm, what about stone lions?” asked Tony. 

“Oh!” said Helen. “We have plenty of them around town! Mainly at a few libraries and a couple of the parks.”

“Maybe you have to look for a stone lion whose most defining feature is a  heart of some kind!” 

“That’s brilliant Tony!” said Frank. 

“See why we brag about our friends?” 

The girls laughed. “Certainly sounds like they’ve deserved it,” said Jenny. 

“Aw shucks, you guys,” said Tony.

“Well, I think that’s it,” said Nancy. “We have to get to the radio station and look for a lion statue with a heart somewhere on it.” 

“Good luck with both of those,” said Frank. 

“Give us a call if you need anything else!” said Joe. 

“I will! Thanks for helping out today!” 

“No problem!” chorused the boys. 

“Bye!” Nancy turned off the phone and went to turn on her laptop. 

“What are you looking for?” asked Emily. 

“The contact info for WCHM. It would be best to find out now if they schedule tours or not.” 

“Good point,” said Jenny as Nancy found the information she was looking for. She quickly typed the number into her phone and hit the call button. 

“This is WCHM, home to the classical music of River Heights. Hello, my name is Mildred. How can I help you?” 

“Hello Mildred, my name is Nancy Drew. Some friends and I were wondering about touring the station.” 

“Oh, of course! Is there a specific date and time you wanted?” 

“As soon as possible, the earlier the better.” 

There was a slight ruffling of paper. “Ah-ha! So, the next slot I have open is for ten o’clock tomorrow.” 

“I’ll take it,” said Nancy quickly. 

“Alright, and how many people are coming with you?” 

“Three others.” 

“Alright Miss Drew, I have you scheduled for a tour tomorrow at ten o’clock.” 

“Perfect. Thank you so so much!”

“No problem! I’ll talk to you tomorrow!” 

“Sounds good. Bye!” Nancy hung up and told the girls the news. 

“That’s wonderful!” said Emily. 

“Now all we have to do is find a lion statue with a heart on it!” said Helen. 

“Yes, but first, we should head back to Lilac Inn. I promised Jane I’d help her tonight.” 

“How about we all help her,” suggested Nancy. Helen groaned as the four walked out of Nancy’s bedroom and went straight back to the car. 

“Do we really have to?” 

“Yes,” said Nancy as she unlocked the car. “We have to make sure Emily and Jane can hold out for just a bit longer until we can find Josiah’s will. Once we do and they get their money, they can hire more people to work at the Inn.” 

Emily nodded enthusiastically as the four got into the car. “It would be so helpful to have more people working at the Inn!” 

Nancy nodded as she turned on the engine. “I bet. Just doing it that one day was enough to want to take a three week vacation.” She shot a look at Helen as she backed out of the driveway. “Please try to be nice and cordial when we serve today.” 

Helen sighed. “Oh alright.” 

“Thank you.” The girls talked with excitement about the latest developments in the case on the way to the Inn. Almost as soon as they got in the door, Jane was assigning them jobs. That kept them busy until it was time for bed. Nancy had suggested that she and Emily switch beds so that Nancy could see which way the ghost would take, if the ghost would even show up that night. Emily agreed, and they turned in for the night. 

Nancy felt like she had only been asleep for a few minutes when she found herself waking up. She started to turn over in bed but paused. There was a soft rustling in the room. She knew she had closed the window, so what could it be? She then heard someone over by the dresser, moving a few things around. Nancy slowly peeked out from under the covers and her mouth dropped. The ghost of Rachel Caldwell was in the room! Her back was to the bed, so Nancy decided to take this chance. She slowly, silently crept out of bed and walked towards the ghost. She reached out and yanked the wig off the woman’s head. The woman turned with a gasp and Nancy’s mouth dropped yet again. 

“Mary Mason!”

 

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