Fellowship & Fairydust

Nancy noticed that it had been Richard Topham who had pushed her in, right as he dashed out of the door. The three women quickly helped Nancy up and tied her to a chair.

“Take off Buddy!” he shouted. Nancy’s spirits began to sink a little, they were moving! This was not working. Hopefully Helen and Jenny could get help. 

“Why were you waiting for me?” Nancy asked.

Jean leaned in. “Because you either know where the real will is by now, or you’re real close to finding it. Can’t have you finding the real will before we clear out Josiah’s money with a fake one, now, can we?” 

Nancy’s eyes widened. They had forged a will! “But the bank won’t let you take out all of the money!” 

“It’s our money,” said Gwen with a sneer, “we can do whatever we want with it.” 

“Why, why you monsters!” 

Jane crossed her arms. “Oh honey, we’re not monsters.” 

“What? You’re stealing money from people who need it!” 

“Who said we didn’t?” asked Jean cooly. 

Nancy turned blazing eyes on her. “I think you need more than money.” 

Jean burst out laughing. “Will you listen to her, Mother? Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes thinks morality is more important than money!” 

Nancy’s eyes widened as she had gone on a different train of thought. “Wait, your mother?” 

“Oh that’s right, where are my manners?” said Jean sarcastically. “Allow me to introduce ourselves. Nancy, meet my mother Marion, my sister Gwen, I’m Gayle, and the role of Richard Topham was expertly played by my father, Gary. We’re the Moreau family.” The three women gave her exaggerated bows. 

Nancy blinked, the names sound familiar, but where had she heard them from? 

“Isabella”, or Gwen, groaned. “Of course you wouldn’t know.” 

“Well, she might not quite know your names, but she might know me by my maiden name, Marion Aborns.” 

“It also doesn’t help that we’re still in costume, idiot,” said Gayle. “Of course she wouldn’t recognise us.” 

But Nancy’s mouth had dropped at the name of Marion Aborns as the visage of Jane Willoughby gave way to the face of a rather well-known actress who had disappeared some years ago. “You’re Marion Aborn?” 

Marion glanced at her daughters with a grin. “Told you.” Gayle and Gwen rolled their eyes. 

“But, but, who’s Gary Moreau?” 

“My stylist, so of course you wouldn’t know him. And Gayle here has gotten a few roles in some big movies. Hurry it up and take your make-up off, Gayle, she’ll recognize you for sure.” 

“A whole family of celebrity crooks,” said Nancy. “Why am I not surprised?” She gasped when Gayle took off all her make-up. “I do recognize you! Why you were sent to prison for fraud! Among other horrible things.” She gritted her teeth. 

“Aw, are those things too horrible for Miss Goody-Two-Shoes to talk about?” teased Gayle. 

Nancy growled. “You really are a monster! I’m surprised they even let you out of jail!” 

“Money does talk big time, even with prison guards,” said Marion with a smirk.  

“Yeah, can you believe there are people who try to curb the corruptness in Hollywood? There’s so much of it that there’s no way it can all be stopped.” Gayle smiled cruelly. “Even by someone like your prestigious father.” 

Nancy scowled. “So now what? How exactly were you expecting Mr. Archer to believe your claims?” 

Gayle laughed. “Watch.” She quickly reapplied some make-up and put on a wig. She turned to Nancy after giving it a nice floof. Nancy’s heart sank. “See, I go in as you and they won’t suspect a thing, especially since I, or you, should I say, will be going in with the Tophams. Those last two times were just tests, and I simply took advantage of them, naturally. Of course you were in the company of several witnesses at the time, but that was part of the plan. See, now that they know that you can’t be in two places at once, if you’re just in one place and nowhere else, it must be the real Nancy Drew they’re talking to. Brilliant, isn’t it?” 

Nancy’s eyes widened. It was a pretty good plan. There was just one problem. Hopefully Jenny would call her father and stop the transaction. If only she could get to her phone! “You are smart, but why use that intelligence for evil?” 

“Because evil is so much more fun!’ said Gwen, throwing a few scarves in the air. 

“Gwen, stop throwing things around!” Gayle berated her. Gwen stopped, but she was still smiling widely. Nancy pondered if she could get Gwen on her side, but that smile suggested she was sticking with her family. And the admiration she had in her eyes for her mother and her sister meant Nancy would have needed more time to convince her to do the right thing, and that was something she did not have. Not only that, but Nancy would have to talk to her alone, and she didn’t think she was going to get that chance. It seemed Buddy was her only ally at this moment. Speaking of, where was he? WHy hadn’t he made a move? 

“Besides,” said Jane, or Marion, breaking into Nancy’s thoughts, “we did have to find a fast way to get back to the way we were living before.” She gave her a little pout. “Being poor isn’t fun.” 

“Glad you noticed,” mumbled Nancy. “And here you are, stealing from the poor to give to yourselves.” 

Gwen giggled. “Kind of like Robin Hood!” 

“Actually, Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor,” Nancy stated. She glared at them. “Meaning he would be stealing from you to give back to those who need it.” 

Gwen scoffed. “No wonder Deirdre doesn’t like you. You’re no fun!” 

“No, she just doesn’t like me because I’m smarter than she is,”  quipped Nancy with a deadpan face. The three glanced at her in shock before Marion and Gayle burst out laughing. Gwen didn’t seem to get it. 

“No argument there,” said Gayle. 

A knock came at the door and Gary Moreau, alias Richard Topham, stuck his head in. “We’re almost there. Best get in position.” 

“Coming Daddy!’ said Gwen as she dashed towards the door. The two went up on deck. 

Gayle went to the mirror and touched up her make-up. She turned to Nancy with a sneer. “See you soon.” Nancy didn’t get a chance to talk back as Marion was gagging her. In a couple of minutes, she was all alone in the room. She tried to twist, she tried to squirm, but they tied the knots rather well. And she wasn’t anywhere near a piece of glass or something sharp. Her thoughts turned to Buddy. Where was he? What was his plan? Couldn’t he at least come in and give her some idea of what he had in mind? Put her mind at ease? But no one came into the room until the three returned, grinning from ear to ear with wicked triumph. Gayle opened the door, and Nancy saw Gary and Gwen heading to another part of the boat. 

“We did it, Mommy!” Nancy heard Gwen say before Gayle closed the door. The next moment, they were moving again. Gayle took off the gag. 

“Now what’s going to happen?” 

Gayle shrugged. “We’ll leave you on the other side of the shore, somewhere down river, and we’ll make a clean getaway.” She grinned and sat down. “Simple as that.” 

Nancy’s eyes narrowed. “You’re perfectly alright with me chasing you down?” 

“Oh, that’ll be part of the fun.” Gayle leaned forward. “Of course, we’ll have new identities by then, so you’ll have to find us first.” 

Nancy growled. “Of course.” A shout startled the two. They glanced at the door while shouting went on for a couple more minutes. Then the door opened and Buddy quickly entered. 

“The police are outside with her family and friends,” he said sullenly. 

Gayle stood up, eyes wide. “What?” 

He nodded at Nancy. “Apparently a couple of her friends saw your dad push her in and notified the police.” 

Gayle turned her fury on Nancy. “Why you . . .!” 

Buddy laid his hand on her shoulder. “Your mom was hoping you could aleve their fears.” 

Gayle blinked and glanced at herself in the mirror. She completely calmed down and fluffed up the wig again. “Oh, that’s right! Thanks for the reminder Buddy.” 

“Help!” Nancy shouted at the top of her lungs. Gayle clamped her hand over her mouth. 

She growled as she glanced at Buddy. “I guess you’ll have to stay here and keep her quiet.” 

“I guess I shall. You’d best get going before they come in.” 

Gayle quickly removed her hand from Nancy’s mouth. “Right.” She quickly left the room. 

Buddy glanced at Nancy and crossed his arms. “And I thought I told you to stay away from the lake.” 

Nancy scoffed. “And if you know me, I’m just like Mom.” 

He sighed. “Touche. Come on, this is our chance to end this once and for all.” Nancy nodded as he untied her wrists. 

“Think they’ll fall for Gayle’s disguise?” Nancy asked worriedly as she rubbed her wrists. 

“Oh, if your friends know you well enough, they’ll see right through it. I know your dad has those special questions.” 

Nancy smiled. “That was smart of Mom to have us memorize those.” 

“While considering her line of work and mine, it made sense.” He stood up. “Well, what do you say? Help the FBI take down a rather nasty family of criminals?” 

Nancy grinned. “Are you kidding?” 

Buddy snorted. “Yup, just like your mom. Come on, stay right behind me. We may get the element of surprise.” Nancy nodded and stepped behind Buddy on the way to the door. He opened it and Nancy heard Carson’s voice. 

“Ah, there you are, Mr. Holmes, I was beginning to worry about you.” 

McGinnis scoffed. “So was I. Though I was more wondering if you were trying to hide something.” 

Gayle broke out into a cheery laugh, trying to mimic Nancy’s laugh. Nancy smirked, she was failing horribly. If Helen didn’t know before, she definitely knew now that she wasn’t the real Nancy. “Oh come on, Chief! Don’t be such a worry wart. The Tophams told me this is Buddy’s boat . . .” 

“Exactly, we should find out if they’re dealing with a criminal,” said McGinnis firmly. 

“But Chief!” 

“Did you check into his background?” 

“W-well, no . . .” began Gary. 

“Then I suggest we search the boat.” 

“Oh but . . .” 

“No need Chief, I’m bringing the evidence out to you.” 

“Evidence? What evidence?” asked Marion, her voice starting to get shrill. 

“Evidence against you four. But first, my star witness.” Buddy stepped aside and Nancy stepped out onto the deck. 

“Nancy!” cried out Helen. Carson smiled with relief. Don and the fellows glanced between Nancy and the disguised Gayle in surprise. 

“Wh-what’s going on?” 

“I’m sure Mr. Drew can give you the full story better than I could,” said Buddy, “but long story short, ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Moreau family?” He walked quickly towards Gayle and yanked the wig off. He then turned and yanked Marion’s wig off. “The most famous of which are Marion Aborn Moreau and Gayle Moreau. Apparently the other two members of the family got in on it too.” 

“What, but . . . I am Richard Topham!” blurted Gary. 

“No you are not.” Carson grinned from ear to ear as he stepped aside and a man around his age stepped onto the deck. “I am Richard Topham.” He growled at the Moreaus. “And I can’t believe you were going to take my uncle’s money from my family and his other inheritors.” Two girls around Nancy’s age stepped forward and crossed their arms. Nancy let out a mix of a gasp and a squeal while the Moreaus’ mouths dropped. There were two daughters, and they were of mixed race! 

Gary pointed at them. “Who are they? I only have one daughter!” 

“If you painstakingly went through the house to change every photo of my family to include you and your daughter, you would know these are my daughters Ida and Isabel.” Gary opened his mouth but nothing but a squeak came out. Richard crossed his arms and glanced around at the crowd. “What I can’t understand is how anyone could fall for this? Especially those who knew my uncle well.” 

Mary Turner came forward and cleared her throat. “I think I know.” Shen odded at Gary. “We never really talked to them when Josiah was around, and he cooked up some story about why Josiah called him by a different name.” She glanced down. “The signs were clearly there, but, we obviously weren’t looking. So we fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.” 

“But why would you believe him over me? I was here when Uncle Josiah was dying!” blurted Gary. Nancy rolled her eyes. He was still going to fight this? He clearly lost already. 

“I was in Chicago with my wife’s family. She . . . passed away not too long ago, alright? I had decided that it was best that my daughters spend at least one year with their mother’s side while we grieved before coming to stay with Uncle Josiah.” His eyes narrowed. “Speaking of, Uncle Josiah was supposed to have lived for another year at least. Chief, I’m thinking these crooks poisoned him.” 

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” said McGinnis as he crossed his arms and eyed them. 

“B-but!” 

“I think I’ve heard enough,” said McGinnis. “Lieutenant! Arrest these four and lock them up.” He turned to Buddy. “Unless you want me to hand them over to you right now, Dennis.” 

“Dennis!?!” blurted the Moreaus. 

Buddy laughed as he took off his wig and his own makeup to reveal a mop of red hair, a freckled face, and blue eyes that were similar to Nancy. “That’s right. FBI agent Dennis Parker.” He turned to Nancy and bowed. “At your service.” 

Nancy laughed. “Oh Uncle Dennis!” She hugged him. 

“Uncle Dennis!” came the resounding surprised chorus. Richie and Helen let out whoops, they did know who Dennis was. 

Carson burst out laughing. “Buddy Holmes, an ingenious alias for Fenton Hardy’s little buddy.” 

Dennis grinned broadly. “I knew you’d catch that.” He turned to McGinnis. “Why don’t you keep them overnight, Chief? I want to take a little time off to spend with my family.” 

McGinnis nodded and grinned. “Fair enough. Come on guys, let’s go.” 

“Oh, wait!” Nancy rushed towards Gayle. “Where’s my jewelry, and where’s Emily’s?” 

“You’re so smart, why don’t you figure it out?” sneered Gayle before she was led away. 

Nancy placed her hands on her hips. “Very well, I shall.” She turned to her uncle. “Do you have any clues?” 

Dennis pointed to the room. “Gayle took them to her vanity and they’ve never left that room.” 

“Then they’re still there.” She turned to the others. “Would you like to help me look?” Everyone answered in the positive and the group filed in. While they searched for the jewelry, the whole story came out. Helen and Jenny did see Nancy get shoved by Gary Moreau into the room and the boat taking off before they could get to it. They immediately called Don, Richie, and the police. Don and Richie had found Carson in his office at that point, he was talking with the Tophams whom he had picked up from the airport. They were able to fill them in on everything that had happened. Carson revealed that he had also found the real Jane Willoughby and she was on her way. She had been in France, finishing up her Master’s in Fashion Design and had not heard of Gloria’s passing. The Moreaus apparently got a hold of the letter notifying her of Gloria’s wishes and hatched the rest of their plot. But by the time everything had been cleared up, the jewelry had not been found. 

“Where in the world is it?” blurted Helen with frustration. “And we have to hurry back to help Emily with the dinner crowd! It would have been so nice to at least given her that!” 

Mary Turner nodded. “That it would. Listen, Edna is there already. I’ll head over now to help out. You can stay here and finish looking.” She quickly left. 

Helen sighed. “But that doesn’t get us any closer to finding it.” 

Nancy sat in the chair facing the vanity, thinking hard. Where would Gayle hide them? This vanity clearly didn’t have any secret compartments, so where else would Gayle hide them? Her eyes wandered over the mess on the tabletop. Where could several pieces of jewelry be hidden? Her eyes fell upon the makeup kit. Now that she was taking a closer look at it, she noticed there was something off about it. She snatched it up and began looking over it. She found a flower that stuck out a little more than the others. She pushed on it, and a hidden drawer popped out. Everyone was crowded around her now and could see the contents, especially as Nancy pulled them out one by one. 

Helen let out a squeal. “You found them, Nancy! I do believe you found them all!”

 

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