Doubt (Chapter 12 - The Long Night)
Title:Doubt
Author: glasheen25
Fandom: Nancy Drew
Pairing/Characters:Nancy/Ned, Nancy/Frank
Series:post-Nancy Drew files, post Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Supermysteries
Word Count:2223
Rating:R
Summary:In the first instance Ned misses his flight, missing Nancy's birthday in the process. In the second instance Ned makes his flight, arriving on time. How a seemingly inconsequential event could lead Nancy's life in two completely different directions.
Spoilers:None
Author's Note: A big thank you to ndnickerson who betaed the story for me!!
Opening the door of the darkened bedroom a crack and peering silently through, Maria Carter couldn’t help but smile at the endearing sight of her son sprawled spreadeagled across the bed. His wrist hanging limply over the side of the bed, Ethan’s hand still clung on possessively to the beloved teddybear that the little boy rarely allowed himself to become separated from. Resisting the urge to plant a loving kiss on her son’s head, Maria instead pulled the blue striped comforter gently under his chin.
“Sleep well, baby,” she whispered softly, about to place the bedraggled teddybear on the pillow beside the warmth of his chubby cheeks, when the air was suddenly filled with the sound of a terrific explosion.
Her heart pounding furiously, Maria crept towards the curtains, terrified of what she would find if she dared look out. Risking a glance at her son, the woman was gratified to see that he had barely stirred. Ethan simply turned over on his side, his thumb shoved comfortingly in his mouth, and resumed his night’s sleep.
Tugging nervously at the heavy silk drapes, Maria almost dropped to her knees, seeing the undeniable carnage outside. The two cars now smoking silently on the street had been reduced to a mass of twisted, distorted metal. One of them had smashed into the Gibson backyard, dragging the white picket fence over a flash of color that once was Glenda’s immaculate rose bed. The other car, a silver sedan, was lying on its side on the road and the ominous silence that now hung in the air was a million times more frightening than the crash that she had heard seconds before.
Making quickly for the door, her footsteps swallowed by the soft carpet, Maria pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.
“What is your emergency?” a female voice drawled patiently, the second Maria dialed 911 clumsily into the phone. Through the large bay window in her hall, Maria could see the darkened houses along the street come to life, lights flickering on as people pulled themselves sleepily from their beds to observe the chaos outside.
“There’s been a two vehicle car accident on 1256 Mulholland Drive,” Maria informed the operator shakily, her words falling on top of one another. “Send an ambulance immediately and the fire department, I guess. Both cars are smoking pretty badly.”
Sliding her cellphone shut, Maria slipped it with shaking fingers into the pockets of her faded running pants. Ever glamorous, with perfectly coiffed hair and immaculate make-up, Maria normally wouldn’t be seen dead in her current bedraggled state. Now, though, it hardly mattered. Running down the stairs, Maria raced out the front door, into the almost suffocating darkness of the night.
--
The front door had barely slammed shut with a resounding thud before Ned was up and out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans that were slung untidily on the back of the chair. Pulling the curtains roughly open, he cursed inwardly, seeing the snow drift heavily down. The roads would be like sheets of ice and certainly not ideal for driving on, especially considering the emotional state Nancy had been in when she had left.
Grabbing his car keys, Ned made for the door, an icy blast of wind penetrating through his heavy clothes the second he stepped outside.
“Fuck, it’s cold,” he murmured irritably, sliding his key into the lock and throwing the car door open.
Pulling away hastily from the curb, Ned’s tires screeched angrily as he rounded a corner. Nancy couldn’t have left more than a few minutes before but that might as well have been an eternity, considering he had no idea which way she'd gone.
Where are you, Nancy? Ned wondered desperately, making the decision to head south towards the city. It was possible that Nancy had headed straight for Bess’s apartment to vent all her frustrations at her best friend. Of course, she also could have made the journey home to River Heights or gone to stay with George. The furious anger that had consumed him only minutes before had vanished, and now all Ned could feel was worry and bitter regret.
This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with her, Ned berated himself unhappily as he reached for his cell phone that was lying on the passenger seat. Trying to concentrate on the road ahead, Ned punched in the number of Nancy’s cell, his stomach turning unpleasantly as the call went straight through to voicemail. George’s phone yielded a similar result and Ned almost collapsed with relief when Bess’s sleepy voice came over the phone.
“Ned Nickerson, it is almost four o’clock in the morning. What the hell do you want?”
Ned didn’t even bother trying to explain himself. “Is Nancy with you?” he demanded brusquely, his efforts at trying to maintain a safe speed completely unsuccessful.
“I haven’t seen Nancy since she left to go home at about six o’ clock. Why?” Bess asked, sensing immediately that something was wrong. “Everything is okay, isn’t it?”
“Not really,” Ned sighed, speeding through an intersection to avoid getting stuck at a red light. “Me and Nancy had a huge fight and she just took off in the car.”
“In this weather,” Bess cut in wearily and Ned could hear the worry in her voice. “I’ll kill her. Tell her that for me, when you find her. It must be below twenty outside.”
“Look, Bess, I better go,” Ned declared distractedly, impatiently passing a car that was crawling along the road in front of him. “Call me if you hear anything, okay?”
“Will do,” Bess sighed wearily, tossing her cellphone dejectedly onto the bed before heading into the kitchen to start some coffee. It was going to be a long night.
--
“Where the fuck did he go?” Agent Derek Johnson snarled as their SUV sped along the deserted road, the night air aglow with the blue and red flashing lights of the police cruisers in front of them. The snow was coming down furiously now, the windshield wipers struggling to keep up with the vengeful blasts of white.
Months of grueling investigation into the brutal murderer, unhelpfully dubbed the Riverside Killer by the media, had come down to this. A seemingly innocuous tip from a middle-aged woman had resulted in the FBI stumbling upon Anthony Cusack’s hideout. Bloodied knives that matched the murder weapons had been uncovered in a plastic bag in the backyard. Evelyn West’s driver's license had been found lying idly on the kitchen table and blood stained clothes were found tossed in the garbage. Cusack had fled on foot before stealing a neighbor’s car and speeding along the darkened stretch of road with the FBI and a police cruiser in hot pursuit.
“The suspect’s vehicle is making a left turn at the intersection of Mulholland and West,” a female voice crackled over the radio, prompting a rare smile to cross Derek Johnson’s face.
“This is it, guys. We finally have him,” Derek hissed delightedly, punching a hand into the air. The tires on the SUV screeched in protest as he made the left turn onto Mulholland, his blue eyes narrowing curiously at the sight that lay in front of them.
“What the hell is going on?” he mumbled uncertainly, looking to the young FBI agent that sat beside him. “Someone tell me we haven’t lost the sonofabitch.”
“It looks a wreck,” Agent Brandon replied, trying to make sense of the scene, though the falling snow against pitch black rendered the task almost impossible.
“Suspect’s down,” the voice again came over the radio and Derek sighed audibly in relief. “He has been involved in an accident with another car on the intersection of Mulholland and Cedar Grove. It looks pretty bad. We’re just arriving on the scene now.”
“Radio emergency services and call for back-up. We’ll be there in a minute,” Derek bellowed into the radio before putting his foot down firmly on the gas.
--
A police cruiser was just appearing on the scene, the wail of its siren hanging ominously in the air as Maria Carter crunched through the heavy blanket of snow. The cold was almost suffocating as she raced towards the cars, her breath coming out in short, panicked gasps.
Maria had some basic medical training, her job as a sports instructor in a local gym making it a necessity. A sprained ankle, she could deal with; a grazed knee belonging to one of the kids racing boisterously around the pool, Maria could manage just fine. But this. This was a little out of her realm of experience, Maria thought shakily as she peered through the cracked side window of the crumpled sedan.
“May the Lord have mercy on him,” she murmured under her breath, realizing immediately that the man splayed lifelessly against the dashboard, his body crushed beneath the car seat, was already dead. The man’s blood was smeared across the windshield, his eyes staring dully ahead.
Maria whispered a hushed prayer before regaining her composure and starting towards the other car. It was blue and appeared to be a sports car, but in truth, the car was such a mangled mess of metal that it was almost impossible to ascertain anything else.
“Ma’am, we need you to stay clear of the scene, please.”
Peering around, Maria could see a portly police officer making his way towards her, a flashlight beaming in his hand. “Go back inside your house and I’ll send a police officer in to speak with you shortly.”
Hearing the faint wail of the ambulances screeching ominously in the distance, Maria nodded uncertainly at the police officer before trudging back up the steps wearily into her house.
--
The snowfall was starting mercifully to lighten as Agent Johnson made his way over to where a police officer was inspecting the crumpled remains of the car Cusack had stolen, the glow from his flashlight cutting through the night. The scene was a chaotic mess; the cars had been reduced to piles of twisted metal, leaving glass shards strewn all over the road.
“Please tell me we have him,” Derek demanded gruffly, treading carefully over the asphalt, the streets already rendered gleaming sheets of ice.
The police officer looked up from the car and nodded shortly. “Cusack’s dead,” he muttered with a shrug before making his way over to the ambulance that was just arriving on the scene.
Of course, a doctor would have to confirm that fact, but kneeling on the cold hard ground and peering in through the cracked windshield, Derek could see the man’s stiff, lifeless form and knew instantly that he hadn’t survived.
“What about the other vehicle?” Derek demanded then, his attention already turning to the mangled mess of blue metal lying on its roof in the neighboring backyard. A team of paramedics were hovering impatiently in the background, while a firefighter was cutting through the blue metal of the car, the angry whirr of the saw only adding to the chaos of the night.
“The sole occupant of the car is a female caucasian. She’s in a pretty bad shape,” the man continued with a solemn shake of his head. “Poor lady. Looks like she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Aren’t they always?” Derek agreed sadly.
--
A vague tinge of blue was just coloring the sky as Ned drove wearily through yet another dimly lit street, the glow of lights from the houses an unwelcome reminder that it was almost morning and he still hadn’t found Nancy. Her phone was going straight to voicemail and Ned wanted to scream every time he dialed Nancy’s number and was greeted by the same generic recording. It was infuriating.
Thoughts of their baby comforted him and warmed him as he continued to trawl through the streets searching for any sign of his wife. Though she was a little apprehensive now, Ned knew that Nancy would be a fantastic mother once the baby was born. Sure, it would take a little adjusting, but with the support of Hannah and his mother, Ned was confident everything would be fine. They would take their baby on vacations to the beach and build sandcastles and splash around in the water and of course, she would have the same bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair as her mother. (In the back of his mind, Ned had already decided that their baby was going to be a little girl.)
Somewhere between imagining the football games he would play with their daughter out in the garden and the pet dog she would surely want, Ned’s phone rang.
“Nancy,” he sighed in relief, answering the phone with impatient speed. “I was so worried about you. Where are you?”
“Ned Nickerson?”
Hearing the unfamiliar voice instead of Nancy’s soft tones, Ned’s stomach dropped.
“Speaking,” he managed with difficulty, swerving the car clumsily to the side of the road.
The two second pause that elapsed before the man continued was torture and allowed Ned to mentally concoct all sorts of hellish scenarios.
“This is Officer Davis speaking. I’m afraid your wife has been involved in a two vehicle accident over on Mullholland Drive.”
“But she’s okay, right?” Ned demanded insistently, not allowing himself to believe otherwise, even for a single second.
“I’m afraid not, sir,” the voice replied solemnly. At his words, Ned’s chest constricted, his lungs burning as he struggled to catch his breath. “Your wife died at the scene. She was already dead by the time the paramedics arrived and unfortunately there was nothing they could do for her.”
The words reaching Ned as though through a hazy fog, he barely reacted.
“But she’s okay, right?” he repeated, the words echoing comfortingly in his head.
“Sir, I’m afraid she’s dead.”
The man’s words were so final and direct, that it was only then that realization started to dawn on Ned.
The phone dropped silently out of his hand as he stared dully ahead.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Author: glasheen25
Fandom: Nancy Drew
Pairing/Characters:Nancy/Ned, Nancy/Frank
Series:post-Nancy Drew files, post Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Supermysteries
Word Count:2223
Rating:R
Summary:In the first instance Ned misses his flight, missing Nancy's birthday in the process. In the second instance Ned makes his flight, arriving on time. How a seemingly inconsequential event could lead Nancy's life in two completely different directions.
Spoilers:None
Author's Note: A big thank you to ndnickerson who betaed the story for me!!
Opening the door of the darkened bedroom a crack and peering silently through, Maria Carter couldn’t help but smile at the endearing sight of her son sprawled spreadeagled across the bed. His wrist hanging limply over the side of the bed, Ethan’s hand still clung on possessively to the beloved teddybear that the little boy rarely allowed himself to become separated from. Resisting the urge to plant a loving kiss on her son’s head, Maria instead pulled the blue striped comforter gently under his chin.
“Sleep well, baby,” she whispered softly, about to place the bedraggled teddybear on the pillow beside the warmth of his chubby cheeks, when the air was suddenly filled with the sound of a terrific explosion.
Her heart pounding furiously, Maria crept towards the curtains, terrified of what she would find if she dared look out. Risking a glance at her son, the woman was gratified to see that he had barely stirred. Ethan simply turned over on his side, his thumb shoved comfortingly in his mouth, and resumed his night’s sleep.
Tugging nervously at the heavy silk drapes, Maria almost dropped to her knees, seeing the undeniable carnage outside. The two cars now smoking silently on the street had been reduced to a mass of twisted, distorted metal. One of them had smashed into the Gibson backyard, dragging the white picket fence over a flash of color that once was Glenda’s immaculate rose bed. The other car, a silver sedan, was lying on its side on the road and the ominous silence that now hung in the air was a million times more frightening than the crash that she had heard seconds before.
Making quickly for the door, her footsteps swallowed by the soft carpet, Maria pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.
“What is your emergency?” a female voice drawled patiently, the second Maria dialed 911 clumsily into the phone. Through the large bay window in her hall, Maria could see the darkened houses along the street come to life, lights flickering on as people pulled themselves sleepily from their beds to observe the chaos outside.
“There’s been a two vehicle car accident on 1256 Mulholland Drive,” Maria informed the operator shakily, her words falling on top of one another. “Send an ambulance immediately and the fire department, I guess. Both cars are smoking pretty badly.”
Sliding her cellphone shut, Maria slipped it with shaking fingers into the pockets of her faded running pants. Ever glamorous, with perfectly coiffed hair and immaculate make-up, Maria normally wouldn’t be seen dead in her current bedraggled state. Now, though, it hardly mattered. Running down the stairs, Maria raced out the front door, into the almost suffocating darkness of the night.
--
The front door had barely slammed shut with a resounding thud before Ned was up and out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans that were slung untidily on the back of the chair. Pulling the curtains roughly open, he cursed inwardly, seeing the snow drift heavily down. The roads would be like sheets of ice and certainly not ideal for driving on, especially considering the emotional state Nancy had been in when she had left.
Grabbing his car keys, Ned made for the door, an icy blast of wind penetrating through his heavy clothes the second he stepped outside.
“Fuck, it’s cold,” he murmured irritably, sliding his key into the lock and throwing the car door open.
Pulling away hastily from the curb, Ned’s tires screeched angrily as he rounded a corner. Nancy couldn’t have left more than a few minutes before but that might as well have been an eternity, considering he had no idea which way she'd gone.
Where are you, Nancy? Ned wondered desperately, making the decision to head south towards the city. It was possible that Nancy had headed straight for Bess’s apartment to vent all her frustrations at her best friend. Of course, she also could have made the journey home to River Heights or gone to stay with George. The furious anger that had consumed him only minutes before had vanished, and now all Ned could feel was worry and bitter regret.
This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with her, Ned berated himself unhappily as he reached for his cell phone that was lying on the passenger seat. Trying to concentrate on the road ahead, Ned punched in the number of Nancy’s cell, his stomach turning unpleasantly as the call went straight through to voicemail. George’s phone yielded a similar result and Ned almost collapsed with relief when Bess’s sleepy voice came over the phone.
“Ned Nickerson, it is almost four o’clock in the morning. What the hell do you want?”
Ned didn’t even bother trying to explain himself. “Is Nancy with you?” he demanded brusquely, his efforts at trying to maintain a safe speed completely unsuccessful.
“I haven’t seen Nancy since she left to go home at about six o’ clock. Why?” Bess asked, sensing immediately that something was wrong. “Everything is okay, isn’t it?”
“Not really,” Ned sighed, speeding through an intersection to avoid getting stuck at a red light. “Me and Nancy had a huge fight and she just took off in the car.”
“In this weather,” Bess cut in wearily and Ned could hear the worry in her voice. “I’ll kill her. Tell her that for me, when you find her. It must be below twenty outside.”
“Look, Bess, I better go,” Ned declared distractedly, impatiently passing a car that was crawling along the road in front of him. “Call me if you hear anything, okay?”
“Will do,” Bess sighed wearily, tossing her cellphone dejectedly onto the bed before heading into the kitchen to start some coffee. It was going to be a long night.
--
“Where the fuck did he go?” Agent Derek Johnson snarled as their SUV sped along the deserted road, the night air aglow with the blue and red flashing lights of the police cruisers in front of them. The snow was coming down furiously now, the windshield wipers struggling to keep up with the vengeful blasts of white.
Months of grueling investigation into the brutal murderer, unhelpfully dubbed the Riverside Killer by the media, had come down to this. A seemingly innocuous tip from a middle-aged woman had resulted in the FBI stumbling upon Anthony Cusack’s hideout. Bloodied knives that matched the murder weapons had been uncovered in a plastic bag in the backyard. Evelyn West’s driver's license had been found lying idly on the kitchen table and blood stained clothes were found tossed in the garbage. Cusack had fled on foot before stealing a neighbor’s car and speeding along the darkened stretch of road with the FBI and a police cruiser in hot pursuit.
“The suspect’s vehicle is making a left turn at the intersection of Mulholland and West,” a female voice crackled over the radio, prompting a rare smile to cross Derek Johnson’s face.
“This is it, guys. We finally have him,” Derek hissed delightedly, punching a hand into the air. The tires on the SUV screeched in protest as he made the left turn onto Mulholland, his blue eyes narrowing curiously at the sight that lay in front of them.
“What the hell is going on?” he mumbled uncertainly, looking to the young FBI agent that sat beside him. “Someone tell me we haven’t lost the sonofabitch.”
“It looks a wreck,” Agent Brandon replied, trying to make sense of the scene, though the falling snow against pitch black rendered the task almost impossible.
“Suspect’s down,” the voice again came over the radio and Derek sighed audibly in relief. “He has been involved in an accident with another car on the intersection of Mulholland and Cedar Grove. It looks pretty bad. We’re just arriving on the scene now.”
“Radio emergency services and call for back-up. We’ll be there in a minute,” Derek bellowed into the radio before putting his foot down firmly on the gas.
--
A police cruiser was just appearing on the scene, the wail of its siren hanging ominously in the air as Maria Carter crunched through the heavy blanket of snow. The cold was almost suffocating as she raced towards the cars, her breath coming out in short, panicked gasps.
Maria had some basic medical training, her job as a sports instructor in a local gym making it a necessity. A sprained ankle, she could deal with; a grazed knee belonging to one of the kids racing boisterously around the pool, Maria could manage just fine. But this. This was a little out of her realm of experience, Maria thought shakily as she peered through the cracked side window of the crumpled sedan.
“May the Lord have mercy on him,” she murmured under her breath, realizing immediately that the man splayed lifelessly against the dashboard, his body crushed beneath the car seat, was already dead. The man’s blood was smeared across the windshield, his eyes staring dully ahead.
Maria whispered a hushed prayer before regaining her composure and starting towards the other car. It was blue and appeared to be a sports car, but in truth, the car was such a mangled mess of metal that it was almost impossible to ascertain anything else.
“Ma’am, we need you to stay clear of the scene, please.”
Peering around, Maria could see a portly police officer making his way towards her, a flashlight beaming in his hand. “Go back inside your house and I’ll send a police officer in to speak with you shortly.”
Hearing the faint wail of the ambulances screeching ominously in the distance, Maria nodded uncertainly at the police officer before trudging back up the steps wearily into her house.
--
The snowfall was starting mercifully to lighten as Agent Johnson made his way over to where a police officer was inspecting the crumpled remains of the car Cusack had stolen, the glow from his flashlight cutting through the night. The scene was a chaotic mess; the cars had been reduced to piles of twisted metal, leaving glass shards strewn all over the road.
“Please tell me we have him,” Derek demanded gruffly, treading carefully over the asphalt, the streets already rendered gleaming sheets of ice.
The police officer looked up from the car and nodded shortly. “Cusack’s dead,” he muttered with a shrug before making his way over to the ambulance that was just arriving on the scene.
Of course, a doctor would have to confirm that fact, but kneeling on the cold hard ground and peering in through the cracked windshield, Derek could see the man’s stiff, lifeless form and knew instantly that he hadn’t survived.
“What about the other vehicle?” Derek demanded then, his attention already turning to the mangled mess of blue metal lying on its roof in the neighboring backyard. A team of paramedics were hovering impatiently in the background, while a firefighter was cutting through the blue metal of the car, the angry whirr of the saw only adding to the chaos of the night.
“The sole occupant of the car is a female caucasian. She’s in a pretty bad shape,” the man continued with a solemn shake of his head. “Poor lady. Looks like she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Aren’t they always?” Derek agreed sadly.
--
A vague tinge of blue was just coloring the sky as Ned drove wearily through yet another dimly lit street, the glow of lights from the houses an unwelcome reminder that it was almost morning and he still hadn’t found Nancy. Her phone was going straight to voicemail and Ned wanted to scream every time he dialed Nancy’s number and was greeted by the same generic recording. It was infuriating.
Thoughts of their baby comforted him and warmed him as he continued to trawl through the streets searching for any sign of his wife. Though she was a little apprehensive now, Ned knew that Nancy would be a fantastic mother once the baby was born. Sure, it would take a little adjusting, but with the support of Hannah and his mother, Ned was confident everything would be fine. They would take their baby on vacations to the beach and build sandcastles and splash around in the water and of course, she would have the same bright blue eyes and golden blonde hair as her mother. (In the back of his mind, Ned had already decided that their baby was going to be a little girl.)
Somewhere between imagining the football games he would play with their daughter out in the garden and the pet dog she would surely want, Ned’s phone rang.
“Nancy,” he sighed in relief, answering the phone with impatient speed. “I was so worried about you. Where are you?”
“Ned Nickerson?”
Hearing the unfamiliar voice instead of Nancy’s soft tones, Ned’s stomach dropped.
“Speaking,” he managed with difficulty, swerving the car clumsily to the side of the road.
The two second pause that elapsed before the man continued was torture and allowed Ned to mentally concoct all sorts of hellish scenarios.
“This is Officer Davis speaking. I’m afraid your wife has been involved in a two vehicle accident over on Mullholland Drive.”
“But she’s okay, right?” Ned demanded insistently, not allowing himself to believe otherwise, even for a single second.
“I’m afraid not, sir,” the voice replied solemnly. At his words, Ned’s chest constricted, his lungs burning as he struggled to catch his breath. “Your wife died at the scene. She was already dead by the time the paramedics arrived and unfortunately there was nothing they could do for her.”
The words reaching Ned as though through a hazy fog, he barely reacted.
“But she’s okay, right?” he repeated, the words echoing comfortingly in his head.
“Sir, I’m afraid she’s dead.”
The man’s words were so final and direct, that it was only then that realization started to dawn on Ned.
The phone dropped silently out of his hand as he stared dully ahead.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11