📚 NANCY DREW📓
in
🎠SNOW MYSTERY🎠
by Ann ♪
~A Nancy Drew Fanfic~
Chapter Thirteen
Turning abruptly, Miranda marched back in the restaurant. Nancy and Ned surreptitiously followed. They paused and listened as they heard Miranda’s voice ahead.
“How could you be so ignorant?!” she hissed in an angry whisper.
A defensive mutter came from the other that neither Nancy nor Ned recognized. “Me? I put it on Emmie’s car, like you said to.”
“Then why did mine blow up and hers DIDN’T? Explain THAT!”
“I have no idea, but you can’t blame me!”
“Oh, yes, I can!” snarled Miranda with a promise of retaliation in her voice.
“Look, I can only tell you what I know. And I know I put it on Emmie’s car. It didn’t work.”
Miranda’s voice escalated in volume as she spoke, “It worked all right – on mY CAR!!!”
“It wasn’t supposed to.”
“That helps me a whole lot.” Miranda attempted to take a deep breath. “Well, we still have the ransomware.” There was silence. Continuous silence until Miranda almost exploded with, “We still have the ransomware deal, right? Tell me we still haVE RANSOMWARE!”
“Can’t. It didn’t take and it came right back at us.”
Miranda whined, “This can’t be happening!”
“Well, it is, and it’s not my fault.”
“Think, I must think. I should be able to outsmart and outthink these religious people.” Miranda’s derision went into every angry clipped word. “I have such a superior intellect…I just don’t know how….”
“They outsmarted you?” the other person suggested. “I know, right?”
Miranda’s tone indicated she didn’t feel that comment contributed to the conversation. “Will you shut it for a minute so I can think?”
The person she was talking with didn’t appreciate that. “Your brain hasn’t been that extraordinary, so I don’t see how one minute of quiet is going to make you a genius.”
Nancy and Ned held back the snickers, but just barely.
For some odd reason, Miranda didn’t find it funny. “If you weren’t my cousin….”
“Maybe you wouldn’t be able to cheat whoever you would have gotten instead like you do me and everyone else you have working for you,” Patricia stated with irritation.
“You’re paid plenty. Too much, in my opinion.” Miranda sighed. Finally she voiced something she’d realized, “Well, they won’t be able to trace it to me.”
“Yes, and that’s all you care about. You. It’s all about you, isn’t it?”
“Well, it’s certainly not all about you.” Miranda enjoyed being cutting.
“Whatever. I’m out of here.” There was a quiet sound of movement and the cousin’s voice sounded farther away. “I’m not going to wait around for them to figure it out and nab me. If I leave by the side entrance, no one will spot me.”
“If anyone does figure it out, don’t you dare implicate me or you’ll be more sorry than you can even imagine.”
“You’re scaring me speechless.” Although it came from farther away, it drifted clearly to Nancy and Ned.
“Why did I allow you to help? What was I thinking?”
“You figured I’d be easier to cheat.”
“I haven’t cheatED YOU!” Miranda’s snippy sounding voice got louder again.
Nancy tapped Ned’s hand and gestured for one of them to go after Patricia and the other one to stay there in order to follow Miranda. Then they heard someone coming quietly behind them. It was Ned’s parents they saw with relief. It was decided by some quick sign language that Nancy and Ned would follow the cousin while Ned’s mom and dad kept Miranda in sight.
Nancy and Ned moved quickly to get to the side of the restaurant before Patricia reached it. Once they got there, they didn’t see anyone around. Most everyone was watching the activity in the front parking area. As Nancy and Ned watched from where they were hidden from view of anyone exiting, they saw the door handle move slowly then the door opened. Stepping out was the angry woman they’d seen at the false fire alarm the other day, pushing people in the rush to the door. It wasn’t surprising that she was Miranda’s cousin.
She didn’t see them, or anyone else, for that matter, so she stepped out and looked around some more. Satisfied, she ran over to the parking spot where her car was. From nearby, Nancy and Ned moved into her line of vision and greeted her.
“You’ve been busy since we saw you last,” commented Nancy nonchalantly.
Patricia hadn’t quite gotten over the shock of anyone being there, so she mostly gasped and stared at Nancy.
“We saw you at the fake fire alarm panic, fueling it, you could say.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Patricia found her voice and her attitude. “Now, I’m in a hurry, so if you’ll kindly move it.” She made gestures to shoo them away.
“We know you’re Miranda’s cousin,” Nancy informed her, hoping to get her to talk to them.
“Is that a crime?”
Nancy started to respond when she heard her ringtone. She answered it, noting it was Ned’s mom.
“Did you find Miranda’s cousin?” Mrs. Nickerson asked.
“Yes. Is everything all right?”
“Not for Miranda’s cousin. Miranda was being interviewed by a TV reporter and she’s saying some things Patricia should hear.”
Ned’s mom held up her phone toward the reporter and Miranda.
“May I remind everyone I’m not responsible for what my faithful friends and relatives have done. Their only crime really is being misguided, but well intentioned, by exacting revenge on a town that they felt had wronged me. Had I known, I would have encouraged them to be as forgiving as I. But I urge you to not feel anger toward them, just understanding, for that’s what they need.” Miranda cheerfully was throwing her faithful friends and relatives under the bus.
Nancy held her phone so that Patricia could hear the blame-shift.
“Why, that…” Patricia turned to Nancy and Ned. “She’s trying to say she had nothing to do with what’s been going on, like she didn’t know about it or call for it. We weren’t acting on our own, we followed her directives, the ingrate. I’m not going to let her do that to me!”
“She’s talking to a reporter right now, but you could tell the police directly before she does. Your testimony will not only help you, it will also assure that she doesn’t get away with what’s she’s been doing and having done.”
Patricia slowly nodded her head. “I could really get her in trouble with all of the stuff I know. True stuff that actually happened.”
“Come on, let’s get you to the police,” urged Ned, sensing that it would be wise to continue the conversation at the police station.
“Good idea.” Nancy eyed the cousin’s car right there, but didn’t know if she could be trusted enough to let her drive. “Why don’t we go in my car?”
It was agreed and they got to Nancy’s car as quickly and inconspicuously as possible. It was parked away from the drama surrounding the explosion where Miranda still thought it was her car that her cousin had mistakenly put the explosive device on. In reality, they had, with some effort, replaced Miranda’s car with one that had been fixed up to look enough like Miranda’s at a glance. Ed Wallace, Jr. had parked the actual one in the spot at first, then after Miranda had gone into the restaurant earlier, they made the switch with the stand-in junker they’d gotten. Ned’s dad had disarmed the explosive device on Emmie’s car then removed it.
They’d utilized various large trucks and equipment to block the carefully orchestrated activity as well as the relocation of the cars. Timing and efficiency were key factors for the strategic moves to succeed. Ned’s dad had wisely used his acquired knowledge of demolitions to set off a directional charge that went straight up in the air with an impressive amount of noise, and just enough smoke and flames without endangering anyone. Plus, they’d unobtrusively kept people away from the area for safety.
“Let’s go,” Ned said as soon as he’d closed the door and put on his seatbelt. They didn’t want to linger there. He started to call the police for assistance, but Patricia didn’t think they should.
“Don’t call the police! Miranda got a distant cousin a job there! He might be on her side. I don’t know for sure.”
“Okay.” Ned put his phone away after texting his parents to let them know what was going on and to warn them as well.
Nancy drove the back way out of the restaurant parking lot, hoping no one would see them. The contained fire from what was supposed to be Miranda’s car continued to provide distraction as people watched it. Members of the fire department in on the plan to capture those responsible for the attacks on Hopeville were there ‘taking care’ of the flames and smoke.
A glance in the mirror didn’t reflect anyone tailing them, but Nancy wasn’t too sure if that was just a misleading illusion. Miranda had a few people working for her who’d already committed a number crimes and it was likely she’d brought along more. Especially to replace those now in jail.
“I’m so ticked off at Miranda, I hope she does come after me so we can get her for another count of attempted murder.” Patricia apparently also expected trouble from Miranda. “I’ve got a lot to say and I’m going to make sure she gets a lot of years in jail. And don’t worry, I have more evidence than my say so.”
Nancy nodded, focused on the road and surrounding area as they passed a side lane that merged onto the one they were on. It was very dark along the other street, but Nancy had seen the glint from a vehicle in the shadows. She kept watch in the rearview mirror, while also paying attention to the road ahead.
~ TAP/CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER FOURTEEN! ~
Hardy and Drew Mysteries 