tall, dark and dangerous (Nancy Drew/Ned Nickerson) - complete

chapter 3

"Any good news, Nan?"

Nancy tipped her head back with a sigh as she heard her father's voice through her cell phone. She had managed to convince Humphrey to head back to the hotel by telling him she was going shopping, and that she didn't plan on being back until after dinner. He had wanted to continue their conversation, but she had flagged down a taxi and slipped inside, apologizing as she did.

She hadn't wanted to be around Humphrey, especially not after that last interview. While Humphrey did seem at least moderately oblivious to some cues, she didn't want him making any comment on her behavior around Nickerson. She was telling herself to forget it, and to make up for that strange spark between them by investigating him even more closely.

Before she did that, though, she was definitely going to need some new shoes.

"On the one hand, Humphrey's old friends with the brother of one of the suspects," she told her father. "On the other hand... I still don't know which one of them did it."

"Tell me your impressions," he invited her.

"Mostly negative. How did the grand jury appearance go?"

"It was delayed," Carson said with a heavy sigh. "One of those hurry-up-and-wait situations. I wish I could hop on a plane tonight, but I do trust your insight. Did any of them give you a particularly negative feeling?"

Nancy thought guiltily of the warmth that had swept over her when Nickerson had taken her hand. "Definitely, just for different reasons. Just so you know, though, your gold card and I are on the way to the department store..."

Carson chuckled. "Sounds like a business expense to me," he teased her. "Listen, I have a few things to finish up here. Mind if I call you back in a while?"

Nancy agreed, and checked her email as she hobbled into the department store. Carlton Gordon had responded to her emailed request for an interview. She had debated about whether to speak to him as Ann Mallory or as herself, and had decided that she would leave Humphrey to speak to the CFO in character as an investor, while she questioned Carlton Gordon without the persona. After all, Gordon had discovered his daughter's body, and she needed to know the circumstances and anything else he had noticed. Asking as Ann Mallory would seem incredibly crass, and approaching him as a reporter would likely end badly. Honesty seemed like the best policy, especially since she was trying to track down his daughter's killer.

Nancy had only brought the slingbacks because they matched her suit, so she bought a pair of slightly lower heels in the same color. She didn't have many businesslike outfits in her luggage, so she bought a pair of neutral pencil skirts and a few casual but professional tops. While she was walking to the checkout, gingerly to keep from further irritating her already-raw feet, she passed the formalwear department.

Well, she told herself, Bess wouldn't mind so much if Nancy found her something on sale. She flipped through a few of the sale and clearance racks, keeping Bess's size in mind, but she speculatively eyed a one-shoulder taupe gown without making a decision. Bess was the fashionista, the person Nancy always asked for advice, and she didn't want to buy Bess something that just made her roll her eyes in exasperation, even if it was from New York.

As she headed out, on the spur of the moment, Nancy decided to call her Aunt Eloise and see if she was free for dinner. When she responded that she would love to meet her niece in a few hours, Nancy headed back to the hotel to change and put on a pair of infinitely more comfortable sneakers. Her father called when she was just putting on her new heels and disgustedly throwing the slingbacks into the vacant shoebox. She had decided to throw them into the next batch of items meant for goodwill. Surely someone else could use them.