Nancy Drew: 1. The Old Clock at Lilac Inn

Mini Golf

 "So, now what?" asked Helen as they drove away from the house.

Nancy thought a moment until she came to a stop at a red light. "Well, how does a game of mini golf sound?"

Emily gasped. "Are we going to Moonlight Gests?" Nancy nodded.

"What? Why?" blurted Helen.

Emily grinned. "There might be clues there!"

Nancy nodded as the light turned green and she switched her foot to the excelerator. "That's right!"

"But, didn't you just tell Mr. Topham that we were going to Lilac Inn first, and then go mini golfing?" said Jenny slowly.

"I guess Helen and Emily didn't told you yet, but we think the Tophams were following us when we went to the mall. We were able to lose them on the way to lunch and Emily was able to tell us about the Caldwell legend. So I figured that by telling them we were going to the Inn first that they wouldn't think of following us to get the clues we might find at Moonlight Gest."

"Oh, that makes sense," said Jenny.

"But why would there be clues at a mini golf course?" asked Helen.

Nancy shrugged. "It does say in the first poem a hole in one."

"But that's spelled w-h-o-l-e, not h-o-l-e," said Helen as she crossed her arms. "Besides, what about the rest of it?"

"Well, when four quarters become whole, it's more than likely referring to the moon, four quarters, or four parts I should say, that come together to make a whole moon."

Helen gasped and her eyes widened. "Oh! Moonlight!"

Nancy shot her a grin. "Exactly."

Emily bounced in her seat. "And I'm sure they would do anything for Josiah! He was their best customer!"

Helen turned in her seat and glanced curiously at Emily. "How do you know that?"

Emily smiled absently. "Josiah said so himself, and now that I'm thinking about it, I really do believe he meant for us to go there!"

"Yeah, but, can any of us get a hole in one?" asked Jenny. "I know I can't."

Helen scoffed. "I definitely can't, sports really isn't my thing."

Emily chuckled sheepishly. "Mom and I really never went golfing, even though Josiah did ask us to on several occasions." Everyone glanced pointedly at Nancy as she came to a stop at a red light. She took the brief moment to glance at each of the girls.

"What?"

"You're going to have to get a hole in one, Nancy," said Helen. "None of us can do it."

"Well what makes you think I can do better than any of you?" blurted Nancy, slightly annoyed. "I've only played mini golf once!"

Helen gasped. "What? I thought George dragged you out to every sport she played!"

"She did," said Nancy as she moved her foot to the excelerator now that the light changed back to green. "And that was the only game I played. She didn't like it as much as she thought she would, so we've never gone back."

Helen threw her hands in the air and groaned. "Great, we're going to be spending a whole lot of money just to find the next clue!"

Jenny leaned forward and patted her back. "Don't worry, I'm sure one of us will get it, eventually."

Helen groaned again. "Yeah, next year."

Nancy looked out the front, her face set with determination. "We don't have until next year, so we'll do what we can." She glanced at Helen with a mischievous glint. "Maybe you can convince some handsome fellow to get our holes in one for us."