The Haunting of Lockwood Estates | Nancy Drew x Supernatural Crossover 01

Chapter 31 - Dean

Lockwood Estates

Blackridge, New Hampshire

Tuesday 11 March 2008

"There's no door to the attic," Sam says jogging back to me, "I've searched the entire floor twice."

"Same here," I say, eyes catching on Nancy again. She keeps knocking, and then pressing her ear against the wall, pressing her palms flat into the wallpaper, and then repeating the whole thing a foot down the line. I watch her interestedly.

"What's she doing?" Sam asks.

"Checking for secret passages," I explain, having asked her the same thing, "I guess she does this sort of thing a lot."

"I looked for secret passages as well. No obvious signs. I'm thinking Nancy's friend might not have remembered correctly."

I shrug. "I was just going to let her knock herself out. Who knows, right?"

"Yeah, but we could just be wasting our ti--"

"You guys know I can hear you, right?" Nancy calls back to us, still absorbed in what she is doing.

Sam reddens.

I smirk at Sam, shrug, and saunter over to Nancy, hands in pockets. Sam follows close behind.

"What makes you so sure you can trust what she said?" Sam asks her. I give him a look. Why is he so cynical all of the sudden? Is this still about Nancy believing in the supernatural now?

"Because," Nancy says with another knock, another pause to listen, "She has proven herself trustworthy."

Sam just watches her, not saying anything.

Nancy senses his doubt, sighs, and turns to him. "When I first met Savannah, I was staying at a ryokan in Japan. It was passed down mother to oldest daughter, for centuries. The mother had died mysteriously, and supposedly her yūrei was haunting the place, causing trouble for the two daughters who remained."

Sam and I glance at each other. "What kind of yūrei?" I ask.

"Vengeful."

Onryō then? I think? We haven't spent much time fighting those, but the way they are described in Japanese lore makes me happy of that.

"So what happened?" Sam asks.

"Savannah helped me. She didn't want to at first--wanted me to leave. But she ended up helping remotely, telling me what she had seen while at the ryokan during her own visit. She remembered a secret passage, and I found it." She pats the wall, as if to solidify her point.

"So you just believe her now?" Sam asks skeptically.

Damn, dude.

Nancy stops again, and adjusts her stance so she can look Sam squarely in the eye. "Look, you may not trust every person who enters your life, but I do trust Savannah. She has proven to be my friend more times than I can count over the years. If there's something 'ghost'-related, I call her. So unless you have a particular reason not to trust her, shut the hell up."

I try so hard not to smirk. She reminds me of Bobby--not at all afraid to smack the truth into your face.

Sam works his jaw for several seconds, during which Nancy glares straight into his soul.

"I'm sorry," he admits finally, "We've just had a hard time with people recently."

"You're forgiven," she says lightly, turning back to her work.

Sam and I spend the next hour following Nancy around the second floor. A couple of times I try to help, knocking and listening, but it gets boring quickly. I also find myself in the way, and Nancy has to double-check me anyway so what's the point.

So instead, while she is checking Sherman's room, I take a seat at the desk, pull my shotgun from my duffel, and work on making sure it is fully loaded. I do the same with the rest of the guns.

"Got it."

I perk up. "What?" I ask, looking over to where Nancy is standing, next to a bookcase on the interior wall.

Sam stands up from where he was sitting on the bed. "You got it?"

"Yep," she says proudly, pushing in a piece of the bookshelf's ornate decorations.

There is a loud, mechanical grinding sound, and a panel of the wall indents itself with a large cloud of dust, and then moves to the right, out of sight. What is revealed is an old, wooden, cobwebby staircase that leads up into the shadows.

The three of us share a glance. Surely Sam and I are thinking the same thing: "son of a bitch."

Nancy looks understandably proud of herself, wearing a large grin on her tired features. What time is it anyway? I check my phone to see that it is almost midnight. We've been here for hours now.

"It's 11:43," I mutter in warning. If it was just our lives at risk, I would drag Sam and Nancy outside by the ear and get the hell out of dodge, but we have an innocent civilian being held here. We need to find him first.

Shouldering my duffel, I lead the way up the stairs, wincing at every creak. Sam and Nancy follow closely behind.

The top of the stairs leads us to a drafty hallway that runs lengthwise down the center of the house, with doors on either side. There are speckles of moonlight coming through holes in the roof, and small drifts of snow. Frosted cobwebs are everywhere, setting an eerie mood.

I swallow, looking around with my flashlight. This house is fucking creepy, and I absolutely hate it.

"Edward!" Nancy exclaims, smacking my arm. She points through a wide crack in the door of one of the small rooms. Edward is tied to a chair and gagged. He looks to be unconscious. "Edward, wake up," she pleads in a whisper.

The room looks to be empty besides Edward, but Sam and I know better than to believe it is for a second.

"Okay, stay out here," I instruct, cocking my pistol, "Sam and I will investigate."

She nods and takes a step back.

Sam and I share a meaningful look, and I reach for the doorknob. We burst in at the same time, each sweeping our own half of the room. I yank back damp curtains from where snow blew in the broken windows, and check behind rotting furniture, hearing Sam do the same on his side.

I set down my duffle in defeat, and scratch the back of my head in thought. Ah well. At least we found Edward.

"Looking for me?"

I straighten, and slowly turn around, adjusting my grip on the gun's handle.

It's the art instructor from the nursing home, and she is holding a sword to Nancy's throat.

What?!

"Elicia Hill?" Sam says blankly.

My eyes widen as I latch gazes with Nancy. She looks understandably terrified.

"I would put down those guns if I were you," Elicia says coldly, pulling Nancy tighter against her chest.

My mind races through all the possibilities here. With the angle I am at, and the way Nancy is positioned, I have no clear shot.

"I don't have all night, gentlemen," she bites out, pressing the blade against Nancy's throat. Nancy winces, and I see a drop of red.

"Okay, okay," I say, putting my hands up. "Look." I carefully set the gun down on the wet and icy floor. Sam follows my lead.

"Kick them to me," Elicia instructs.

"Fine, okay," I say irritably, doing as she says. "Look, just let Nancy go."

"I don't think so," she says, slowly moving over to Edward. Sam and I slide clockwise to stay across from her.

She laughs lightly.

"Once Caroline takes care of the lot of you..." she smirks, "well, then my work is done."