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Published:
2021-11-05
Updated:
2021-12-27
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6/?
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Constant

Summary:

Ace and Nancy were childhood friends who grew apart. Same story different retelling.

Chapter 1: Coming Back to Life

Summary:

1x1
Ace reflects on the Nancy Drew he once knew.

Chapter Text

Ace: 

With a slap, Ace glanced over his shoulder to see Nancy Drew slap down an order on the counter. She glanced up and met his gaze with a blank, ghost of a glance. Nancy Drew was the most vibrant person he knew. He thought back to the small, determined little girl she had been and the beautiful teenager she became. Now she just existed. After her mother passed away, Nancy had gotten a job at the same restaurant he worked in. Now if he had expected her to take some notice of her childhood best friend...or some notice of the world around her he would be disappointed. It's a good thing Ace didn't like to hold expectations for people. When Nancy had stopped existing in his world, it was like color had slowly drained out of it without his notice. Her determination and spirit had been a constant through his entire childhood. So it was natural he fell into a bit of a black hole in her absence. 

He had just finished plating Nancy's order when she walked back into the kitchen. He glanced up as she checked her watch and sighed heavily. "We are going to be closing early. I'm sure you can take off in a bit and catch most of the fireworks" Ace murmured quietly. Nancy met his eyes, a slight flush reddening her pale cheeks. 

"It won't be the same Ace" she sniffed gripping the counter. 

"Hurry up Ace! It's starting soon!"  an eight year old Nancy tugged on his hand as they weaved through a busy crowd. 

"A show requires snacks" he called back trying to keep up. He heard her laugh vibrate through the noisy night. 

"Nancy! Ace!" a female voice called through the night and there on top of the hill sat Nancy's mom and dad on a picnic blanket. 

Nancy released his hand to crash into her mom in a warm embrace. "We were getting worried about you kids"  Mr. D said giving him a stern glance but his mouth was quirked in a smile. 

"Nancy would kill me if we missed the fireworks" Ace grinned handing over his bag of snacks. 

"It's tradition. The four of us haven't missed a year except..." she teased pulling Ace onto the blanket and giving him a rueful smile.

"Are you still talking about when I was five and my parents had the nerve to bring me on vacation?" Ace laughed rolling his eyes to Nancy's parents. 

"You missed fireworks for a week in Florida and your grandma's senior center" Nancy threw up her hands in exasperation. 

"You're impossible" he laughed. 

"You could have still gone with your dad. He's probably out there knowing him" he reminded her. 

"That would be almost worse. I'm going to record the fireworks so I can watch them on my own" she said defiantly throwing her shoulders back and raising her chin fiercely. 

"Still impossible" he murmured turning back to the stove. Nancy opened her mouth to reply when the loud clatter of breaking glass filled the restaurant. 

He spun around grabbing the broom heading for Bess's latest accident, not missing Nancy's eyeroll. 

~

Ace was sitting on the kitchen counter contemplating why the richest guy in town would choose to come to their small, pathetic little restaurant. Also why George would eagerly agree to let him in the door. He looked up as Bess came swirling in and managed to not drop the dishes she carried as she dumped them on the counter. Ace could see instantly the mistakes she was making and was considering going over to show her how when Nancy bustled back in. She grabbed the boxed wine from the fridge and a glass but the glass barely filled halfway before she ran out. "Please tell me this isn't the last box" Nancy asked her voice irritated and directed at him. Ace thought back to earlier when he said seen Bess fill a glass all the way to the top and sneak outside with it. 

"Sorry I was thirsty" he replied unconcerned. 

"I will go check the storeroom" Bess spun around her meeting his eyes gratefully. He checked her out as she scurried past, her small figure prim and tight in all the right places. 

"I'm growing on her" he told Nancy with a waggle of his eyebrows. 

"Like a fungus Ace" she replied disdainfully. All of a sudden the lights flickered out in the restaurant. 

"It wasn't me" he promised, able to just see Nancy's face in the moonlight streaming through the kitchen window. Nancy grabbed the wine and walked past him while he went to the window facing the marina. 

"I'll be back" she said softly, her voice holding the softest hint of curiosity. "Whole marina's out" he called loudly enough so the others could hear him. 

"Ace help me get some candles out" George called.

Ace turned to go into the storeroom when he heard a familiar yell. "Nancy?" he called his heart skipping a beat. He ran through the swinging kitchen doors and was on the heels of Bess and George. They ran down the ramp the parking lot flashing with the lights of the fireworks illuminating a figure on the ground and Nancy over it. 

Ace had never seen one outside crime scene photos but he knew instantly that Tiffany Hudson lay dead at Nancy's feet. Her face lit up death white. Her entire body rigid with death. "Nancy?" a male called running over. Ace didn't recognize him but he was about his age so he must have moved into the town semi-recently. "What happened?" he asked glancing between us, the body and then over at Nancy. 

"She's dead" Nancy said disbelievingly. They'd have all stayed there frozen with shock but the wail of cop cars filled the air and speeding cop cars came speeding through the parking lot towards them. Ace's hair stood on end and he swallowed sharply. Chief McGinnis stepped out of his police cruiser and Ace took an reflexive step back. He surveyed the scene in front of him and all of us. He then started barking out orders. Quicker than he could believe, police had swarmed and blocked off the scene and then herded all five of them back into the restaurant. His officers took quick statements from Ryan and his goons before escorting them outside. Then they began interrogating each of us in depth. 

Finally Chief McGinnis turned to them with a smirk. "Ace here has an alibi" 

"What?" Bess asked in disbelief. Ace inhaled sharply knowing what was coming and feeling his insides twist with guilt. 

"Bring the rest down to the station. Tell Mr. Hudson and his friends they are free to leave" he called. 

The four of them were herded away leaving Ace with hot guilt in his gut and a dirty restaurant to close up by himself. 

~

Ace was wiping down the kitchen as Bess attempted to follow a cranky George's orders before they opened. Nancy came in her face set. "You guys need to see this" she called. 

"See what?" Ace asked curiously. 

"I wanted to record the fireworks last night but I actually captured Tiffany Hudson's murder" Nancy said quickly, her voice rapid. Ace glanced up and for the first time in months saw her eyes were alert and steady. Her presence was vibrant and so achingly familiar. He could see the cogs working in her mind and could sense the curiosity swirling inside her. His heart lurched with the certainty that Nancy Drew was back. 

"I'm sorry what?" George demanded reaching for the phone. Ace saddled over and being the tallest could watch over her shoulder. He watched Tiffany Hudson and then a figure in a cloak seemingly fly behind her. The video then glitched.

"What the..." George began.  

"What's this?" Bess asked walking back in. 

"....I have no idea" Ace murmured grabbing the phone and replaying the video holding it so both girls could watch it. 

Bess yelped when the video glitched. "I'm sorry was that..." Bess began. "Play it again" George demanded blinking as if there was just something in her eye. Bess grabbed the phone out of his hand and replayed the video in her perfectly manicured hands. 

"Are we actually saying Nancy caught a ghost on film?" Ace asked. Bess played it once more. 

"Oh!" she gasped falling into Ace's chest. "Sorry, gets me every time" she apologized breathlessly. 

"Tiffany Hudson, murdered by a ghost" Bess said slowly. 

"Okay you've seen it three times. Can I have it back?" Nancy hissed stopping her pacing. 

"Hey you're the one who asked for our opinion" George reminded her annoyed. 

"Because I thought you would find another explanation" Nancy replied.

"I think my girl Bess nailed it" Ace declared.

"Not your girl. Never will be" Bess corrected. 

"And not just any ghost. Dead Lucy" Ace continued. 

"Okay, not sure she's a credible alternative suspect here, Ace" George chided. 

"You all know this ghost?" Bess asked. 

"Lucy Sable. She was crowned Sea Queen in the year 2000. Disappeared after the celebration, never seen again. Blood on the rocks, a little scrap of her pink dress" Ace told her. 

"It's definitely her!" Bess gasped, her perfectly decorated lips splitting into a grin. 

"Except definitely not" Nancy retorted. 

"Ghosts aren't real Bess" George added. 

"Ace don't be silly!" Nancy squealed as they rode along on their bikes. Ace had just turned 11 and gotten a new bike and Nancy, aged 10, was riding in front of him.

Putting on some extra speed he pulled alongside her. "Come on Nancy this town is full of ghost stories. Some of them have to be real" he replied. 

"There's no such things as ghosts. I believe in facts not stories" she told him. 

"Maybe stories are just unproven facts ever think of that Ms. Skeptic" he teased. 

"I'll stick to what can be proven true by science. Ghosts and legends definitely do not fall under that category" Nancy insisted. 

"Gotta keep an open mind Nancy-girl" he laughed shaking his head and skidded around a corner too fast making her squeal again. 

"You guys, Lucy gets blamed for a lot of stuff around here" he replied feeling just the slightest annoyance. 

"Kid puts a baseball through a window. Dead Lucy. Wife finds a strange earring in bed, husband blames Lucy. Never had a murder blamed on her though" Ace said slowly, thoughtfully. 

"Unlike us" George growled. Loud knocking distracted them. 

"Here we go again" Ace walked to the coffeemaker, knowing it would be in demand in minutes and the girls all scattered from the kitchen. 

"Welcome to the Claw. Glad that murder didn't affect your appetite" George said in her dry, welcoming manner letting in that Nick guy from last night. 

"I'm just here for coffee. Usually, Nancy brings me one, but this morning she didn't show" he announced. 

Ace sighed in the kitchen and scowled at the coffee pot. He heard a clatter and looked over to see Nancy looking annoyed holding a tray of ketchup bottles. "I thought maybe learning about my past might have scared her off" he continued sauntering up to Nancy. 

Ace busied himself with making Nick's coffee and trying to tune out Nancy and Nick's conversation until he couldn't deny himself another minute. Bess gave him a look that clearly read 'what the hell'. Ace shrugged. "Customer wanted coffee" he said easily, trying to distant himself but also feeling that Nancy Drew vortex and needing to be in the situation. His entire childhood Nancy had dragged him into any case or mystery she was working on. It was around sophomore/junior year when Nancy had started pulling away and hanging with the popular kids but he would see her across a crowded hallway or in the cafeteria and that pull would nearly overwhelm him. His feet almost tingled with the intense desire to walk across that short space and slip into the vortex. Instead, he would turn away. It was around this time he started skipping classes. 

"I think he changed his mind" Bess replied gesturing to Nancy and Nick. 

"Oh" he replied taking a swig of the coffee. 

"Nancy?" Nick asked. 

"Nick and I are seeing each other. He seems to have a problem with me not acknowledging this publicly, and has decided that now is the time to rectify this" Nancy told the group at large and Ace studied the stranger warily. Of course Nancy had a string of boyfriends growing up and he'd certainly dated around. Still the coffee in his throat tasted a little bitter.

"Consider it rectified. I feel much better" Nick retorted looking pleased with himself. 

"Other than the fact that we are all murder suspects, even though the real culprit is probably Ryan Hudson" Nancy rolled her eyes. 

"No" George said shrewdly looking slightly disgusted at the idea. 

"I can't believe he's behind it" Bess said. 

"Why? Cause he's rich?" Nick scoffed. "I'm with Nancy. Look at the husband first" Nick said holding Nancy's gaze. 

Get in line Ace thought sipping the coffee again. "We need evidence of his motive" Nancy declared. 

"Which we get where?" George asked dryly. 

"In their house. In their room. Husband and wife, it's an intimate relationship. I mean to start were they even sharing a bed?" Nancy continued, her mind working at top speed. Ace smirked softly despite everything he was happy to see his old friend back in her born role.  

"Well if she liked her sex like she liked her fish that would be dry and flavorless so I would say nope" George replied sounding angry. 

"Mean" Bess objected. 

"But relevant" she countered. 

"Was either of them on medication? Is there a secret cellphone? Is there a new will? A post-nup? An insurance policy?" Nancy continued clearly having ignored the interruption. 

"Gambling debt. A strange addiction" Ace added thinking of some of the mysteries Nancy and him had solved in their younger years. Nancy's eyes fixed on him for one second practically glowing with ideas. 

"I thought you were Team Ghost" Bess reprimanded hitting him lightly and distracting him. 

"I am Team Ghost" he promised her straightening up. 

"Is the stolen ring evidence of a botched robbery?" Nancy kept going clearly just thinking aloud. 

"Or is that what it's supposed to look like" Nick offered. 

"Exactly" Nancy murmured looking at him intently.

Then suddenly her face fell and her eyes lost their gleam. "I just, uh, I just meant that that's where I would start...If I was gonna start something. But I'm sure the police can figure it out on their own" she said her voice faltering and becoming aloof.

She strode off to attend to the customers her eyes becoming glazed and distant. Ace thought he could almost see her spirit being pushed back down under the cold wall she put up since her mother's death. He had seen it though, her spirit flare back up and if there was anything he knew it was that Nancy Drew wasn't so easily deterred. At least he hoped she would stick around and not slip back under the veil of the ghost of who she'd been all year. He didn't know if he could lose her again. 

Chapter 2: Always the Skeptic

Chapter Text

Nancy Drew knew one thing about herself: she loved answers and loved solving puzzles. Yet when her mother had gotten sick, there was a puzzle she couldn't solve and that had nearly killed her: how could she save her mother? Turns out not all puzzles could be solved. She wasn't entirely sure what she'd been doing the past year. It was like she'd been living life drunk and only random flashes came though to her: sleeping with Nick, fights with her father, conversations with Ace.

She thought of Ace as a double-edged sword. Ace had been her best friend growing up, her partner in crime. Once she'd even imagined marrying him. Of course that had been the foolish daydreams of a little girl. Then they started to grow up and grow apart. Ace started getting involved with the burnouts and since she hit puberty the popular kids started inviting her to parties. Her parents told her it was natural to drift apart yet here they were both out of high school and working in the same rinky-dink restaurant. She wasn't sure if he resented her for the past but she didn't have enough self-preservation to care. Being around Ace after all this time was like walking blindly in the dark and suddenly being blinded by a flashlight; wildly disorienting but also a guiding beacon. On the other hand though, Ace would make references to their shared past and a vice would grip her and drag her into memories of long ago and she would blink several hours later realizing time had continued around her. This happened often. 

So when she discovered herself standing over the dead body of a millionaire's girlfriend, it was similar to buckets of ice water being dumped over a drunk person's head. So you can say Tiffany Hudson was the reason she came back to life or maybe she would have eventually drifted to the surface. Regardless, Nancy could no longer float back into oblivion and once again her life had been thrown into mystery. Not only did she not know who her father was or if he had something to do with a murder 20 years ago, there was a murderer in her midst, she was the main suspect in the murder and there may be a....ghost haunting her? Ugh Nancy couldn't even think the thought. She had lived a life of reason and logic. So either she was losing her mind or..

"Nancy the Skeptic at it again" a twelve year old Ace teased. 

"Just because Ace likes to live in the dark web where anything seems possible doesn't mean all of us do" Nancy grinned back. They were in her room. Ace was surfing her computer and she was reading a historical novel. 

"I'm just saying it seems odd to me that you have no memory of that night or how a kid managed to find a kidnapped child" Ace replied over his shoulder still tapping away.

"Let it go please. Can't we just agree I'm smarter than the police force and leave it at that"  Nancy sighed tiredly. 

"I already knew that" Ace murmured and Nancy glanced over at him. She knew from the set in his shoulders he was thinking of his father. She wished she could say something but she knew sometimes the best thing to do when it comes to Ace is let him speak his mind when he feels up to it. 

"I'm just saying millions of tales, stories, books, movies all involving the supernatural. Something's have to be real" Ace argued. 'Guess he's not ready to talk yet' Nancy thought. 

"For every story there is an logical explanation"  she insisted standing up and going to sit next to him. She may have been a whiz at puzzle solving but whatever Ace was doing on the computer she couldn't follow. 

"Maybe one day I will prove you wrong" Ace leaned in and smiled at her making her cheeks color. 

Nancy had bigger concerns right now than the potential of the supernatural. In this very restaurant could be the murderer and the only way to clear her name was to catch the killer. There was Bess who says she lives in a mansion with her rich aunt but then what is she doing working here? Couldn't her aunt have set her up with a better gig? George plays the tough girl but she's a pro at keeping secrets. Big secrets. Like the identify of the older man she was caught hooking up with junior year.

And...Ace. The boy she once knew better than herself but...they weren't kids anymore and she didn't know the Ace in front of her as well. He put forward this slacker, don't care attitude with a matching herbal scent yet Nancy knew the mischievous, intelligent mind that lingered beneath. She also didn't buy the druggie vibe because he never seemed high or altered. Even when he would smoke in front of her, the way he would let it burn too long as he listened to her rant and take barely a few puffs before he snuffed it out on the ground. Why the need for deception? That doesn't mean he was capable of murder though. Then again she didn't think her dad was either until she found Lucy Sable's bloodied dress in a chest in the attic. 

However, the only person with a motive was the one determined to win her heart. She couldn't deny that he certainly had a hold on it. She opened her notebook to her suspect list and the mugshot of the man she's been sleeping with the past several months. A man she never bothered to know. She didn't know where he was from, what his past was like, and why he landed in jail. More so if he was responsible for murdering the woman to put him in jail in the first place. 

Nancy nearly jumped out of her skin when she shut her locker to find said potential murderer right in front of her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you" Nick laughed. 

"Nick hi" she said breathlessly. 

"I was just wondering if you'd be my date to the Seawater Ceremony. That is if they haven't canceled it cause of everything that's happened" Nick asked making her insides twist. 

"No, no, highly implausible. Ghostly superstitions are a big part of our tourist trade" she stammered quickly. 

"Well, in that case, what do you think?" he asked smiling broadly again. Nancy realized this was his first attempt to actually take her on a date. granted she had been pretty clear about her expectations but still. 

"I'll meet you at the beach tonight" she said desperately raking her brain for a way out of this. 

"Great" Nick said stepping forward and kissed her. Despite herself she felt herself get drawn into the kiss and then remembered she was kissing a potential murderer. Giving him a swift smile she walked quickly into the kitchen and nearly crashed into Ace. She jumped back in surprise. 

"Sorry" she exhaled. 

"Jumpy Nancy Drew. What's wrong? Seen a ghost?" he teased raising an eyebrow. 'Is it too soon for murder jokes?' she thought biting back a smile. 

~

"Well it's been two hours and I've served a single couple of coffee" Nancy declared coming into the kitchen and beginning to tidy up. 

"Hey I've got a system" Ace argued. 

"Oh I'm sorry should I put this dirt in your filing system" Nancy retorted. 

Ace smirked but continued munching on some eggs he had obviously made for himself. "Plenty for two if you want some" he offered as she kept her back to him. 

"I'm fine" she replied back. 

She felt more than heard him come closer. "You know I'm a much better cook than I once was" he replied. 

"I distinctly remember some of the concoctions you've made" she supplied doubtfully turning to him and peering at the plate. 

"I still maintain macaroni and cheese is better over hot cheetos" Ace laughed. Nancy gagged. 

"God you ate like a stoner even back then" Nancy laughed but noticed how he stiffened. 

"Come on Ace you are better than those guys. All they want to do is hang out in some dank basement and smoke" Nancy told fifteen year old Ace disdainfully. 

"Well when we hang out with your friends all they do is ask you why you brought me along and go shopping" Ace grumbled annoyed. Lately they seemed to be having the same fight again and again. 

"Well I'm going to Stacey's party tonight. Are you coming with me?" she asked him shutting her locker. 

"Pass" he growled walking away down the hallway. 

Nancy's gut tightened with the regrets of the past. She reached forward and stole the fork from his hands and took a quick bite of the eggs. "Oh! it's not bad" she gasped looking up at him. 

"Us stoners know our food" he grinned at her. 

"I always thought you were more than just that. Still do" she told him honestly purposely taking another bite of Ace's eggs to prove to him. He stared down at her in surprise his green eyes touching hers. 

"Are you guys eating our food?" George hissed irritated breaking the moment. Ace walked away swiftly. Nancy didn't catch the slight redness to his ears as he started working on the dishes. She was too busy trying to wipe her face clean before George could take notice. 

"Someone ought to" Nancy sighed. Bess walked over with a spray bottle meant to clean the bathroom but Nancy didn't feel like correcting her. 

Ace strode back over and sat in the stool behind the counter. "It was all Nancy's idea" he told her. Nancy smirked and threw the hand towel in her hands at him. 

"Well, Tiffany Hudson's not the only dead thing around here" George announced gruffly walking over to join them. 

"Uh too soon" Bess objected delicately. 

"is it?" George asked argumentatively. 

Bess nodded sagely. "Don't just stand there, guys. Post something on Yelp" George said wildly. 

"What do you want us to post? We promise our waitstaff didn't murder anyone" Nancy answered snidely. She met Ace's gaze and sensed his questioning gaze. 

"We all know who murdered Tiffany. Dead Lucy. We have it all on video. What did the cops say when you showed them?" Bess asked. 

"I didn't show them" Nancy replied. She glanced up to see all eyes on her, Ace studying her. 

"All they would do was take my phone away and log it as evidence" Nancy continued briskly. 

"Anyway kids have been making fake Lucy videos for years. McGinnis wouldn't believe her" he reminded them. 

He met her gaze again and she knew he'd seen plenty when his dad used to work for the police.

"Well won't we know more soon? Aren't they gonna do an autopsy?" Bess asked her. 

"I overheard that the Hudson family got a judge to block it" Nancy fibbed. Ace raised an eyebrow unconvinced. 

"They're moving the body tonight which is exactly what you would do if you were trying to cover up a murder" Nancy continued. 

"You're looking in the wrong place Drew! Ryan Hudson wouldn't kill his wife" George insisted. 

"Why is his family trying to hide behind a special autopsy?" Ace replied. 

"So you can doctor the results. Hide the truth. I mean I'm willing to bet if they've got a judge in their pocket, they've got that coroner in New Hampshire too " Nancy answered studying George's reaction. 

Nancy glanced over and met Ace's sea green eyes. 

"Ace. Nancy I can't thank you enough for helping me solve this puzzle" John Sanders shook their hands enthusiastically. 

"No problemo. I'm pretty brilliant" Ace bragged. 

"Well if Ace hadn't caused a small chemical spill I would have never made the connection between the chemicals and the perfume" Nancy laughed. 

"See genius" Ace grinned slipping an arm around her small shoulders. She elbowed him lightly but didn't object to his closeness. 

"Well any time you guys need anything you just let me know" John Sander promised. 

"Although...if we had someone say a forensic chemist who owed you for solving a perfume-related mystery in the ninth grade, he could perform the same kind of toxicology tests for you" she continued slowly. 

"That's a very specific hypothetical...also not exactly the favor Mr. Sanders intended" Ace reminded her. 

"It may not be a full autopsy but it could be enough to figure out how Tiffany died" Nancy stated ignoring Ace's comment. 

"All I'd need is some of her blood" Nancy continued hesitantly. 

"And how are we gonna get some of her blood. Also ew" Bess asked revolted.

"Stay here. I got it" Nancy said already six steps ahead. 

~

"Nancy what a surprise finding you here" Thirteen year old Ace called sarcastically pulling up to a stop in front of the empty elementary school. 

"Ace" she sighed wearily. 

Ace hopped off his bike and jogged over to her. "Nancy I get it you are the brains of the operation but we are a team. I can help"  Ace pleaded staring down into her face making her feel horrible. 

She reached down and grabbed his hand in hers. "Ace you are my best friend. But...I've already gotten you in trouble once this week. I'm not so good at being a friend to you. I mean your dad..." she trailed off miserably.

Ace intertwined their fingers. "Hey I choose to be here. My dad will always find some reason to be upset with me. You are the best friend I could ask for. More importantly, I'm here for you always. No matter what odd mystery you have us tracking down" Ace promised solemnly giving a doubtful glance to the school in front of them. 

She smiled crookedly. "Want to hear what I figured out?" she offered. 

He laughed and pulled her along with him, not releasing their joined hands. "Fill me in Drew" he replied. 

"Don't tell me they ditched out without turning out the lights" George replied changing the subject from their potential bonding moment. 

"We're still here" Bess called back emerging from the back with Ace, both carrying boxes. 

"We were, uh, just in the storage room" Bess said awkwardly. Nancy's cheeks colored despite herself as she glanced between the two wondering if Bess finally caved to Ace's 'charms'. 

"As friends" Ace added into the awkward silence. 

"Don't make it weird" Bess scolded. Nancy exhaled in relief and quickly bit her lip to hide her reaction. 

"Anyway we thought you might need this to mail the body parts to your scientist" Bess offered. Something soft fluttered in her chest at the surprising thoughtfulness. 

"Thanks guys" she said meeting Bess's eyes gratefully and then glanced over to Ace's and felt her throat tighten. 

Nancy grabbed the box from Bess and the bag off the counter and headed into the kitchen. Ace followed behind her. He slid the box onto the counter next to her as she began prepping the same for shipping. "Something to say" she asked not looking up. 

"Today was kind of fun. It feels very...familiar. I just wanted to let you know...just because Lucy may be haunting you doesn't mean we aren't all a part of this. I'm still here if you need me" Ace jumped down and stepped closer. Nancy's heart quickened and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Thanks Ace" she murmured softly not sure what else to say. She looked up, something she'd been doing for such a long time, into Ace's face and felt a smile tug her lips and she felt something click back in place inside herself. 

 

Chapter 3: Building a Team

Summary:

I'm doing each episode from either Ace or Nancy's POV. Welcome to Ace World in 1 x 3

Chapter Text

Since becoming Bess's platanchor he was suddenly a confidant at all hours of the night. He felt oddly protective of this small, lost woman who clearly needed someone to talk to. As he was walking into the Claw this morning he found George desperately trying to clean the blood off the back steps. He glanced up into the furious, distressed face of his boss he was hit by a sudden realization. They all needed each other. Him, Bess, George, Nancy they were all pretty lost and isolated right now. They needed each other. "Stop staring Ace!" George hissed furiously. Suddenly a crack sounded overhead and buckets of water began to fall on them. 

"That'll help!" Ace called. 

He went into the empty store and filled a bucket with industrial soap and a splash of hydrogen peroxide and cold water. He went back outside and began to help the now soaked George continue scrubbing the caked on blood. George left out a dry laugh. "Okay okay Ace just dump the bucket over the stairs and let's go in" George said sounding resigned, but marginally better.

"Oh god Ace. That looks really bad!" a thirteen-year old Nancy said worriedly.

"Kicking out that window seemed like a good escape plan" Ace groaned struggling to sit up on the cold tile floor of Nancy's bathroom. 

"Well maybe next time just use your foot not your whole leg" Nancy said getting scissors and cutting up the side of his pants to his knee where a large glass shard was embedded just above his knee. 

"Duly noted" he grinned crookedly but then hissed in pain as Nancy put pressure on his leg. 

"Shh I know it hurts but you have to stay quiet alright?" Nancy whispered sliding her hand into his. He squeezed once but stayed quiet. Nancy grabbed a pair of purple tweezers and removed with difficulty the largest piece of glass. Ace grabbed her hand towel and gripped it tightly. 

"Oh" Nancy said surprised. He glanced over to see a blushing Nancy examining the wound. 

"What? You've cleaned blood off me before? Is there an alien in there this time?" he joked studying her face curiously. 

"No, it's...I just...it's nothing" she stammered trying to maintain a straight face as she plucked a small glass shard out of the wound. 

"Come on Drew. Fess up" he grinned despite the pain and poked her in the side. 

"You just....are growing leg hair okay?" Nancy said blushing deeper. 

"I've heard girls get that stuff too. You can show off for me when you get some" Ace teased but a light blush crossed his face. 

Nancy wrinkled her nose. "No that's weird. But hey next time you might be pulling glass from my leg" Nancy mused.

"What are friends for" Ace laughed. Nancy grinned holding up a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. 

Ace blanched. 

"George is extra prickly today" Nancy called walking swiftly into the kitchen ripping him back to the present. A distant part of his brain wondered if she had made up with Nick.

"She kicked a blood bucket. So the curse says she'll be dead within a year" he told her. 

"Wait you saw it?" Bess whispered. 

"Yeah. There's a lot of it. It'll ruin your morning" Ace said thinking of all the blood buckets he had kicked over the years that had been water. 

"Oh please. George doesn't believe in curses. It's the one thing we agree on" Nancy said reasonably. 

"Did you hear Sally J's bucket was blood?  I heard she started planning her funeral" Ace asked twelve year old Nancy as they sat on his hammock in a hidden corner of his yard. 

"Sally J just wants the attention. Pretty sure she said the same thing two years ago and she clearly lived through that curse" Nancy reminded him rolling her eyes on the word 'curse'. 

"Did you even put out a bucket?" Ace asked her knowingly. 

"Never do" Nancy said crossly. 

"Typical Drew" Ace laughed. 

"You probably put it out every year and actually fear death"  Nancy said knowingly. 

"I like believing" Ace said simply. 

Nancy smiled at him tenderly and he held her gaze, taking in her strawberry blond hair shining in the sunlight, her soft pale face cheeks just starting to pinken, and her lips shiny with her favorite new lip gloss and he felt something new and strange blossoming in his chest. He glanced away quickly, his pulse racing. 

"What?" Nancy asked giggling at the blush creeping across his face. 

An alarm sounded from his backyard, his dad's silent GET HOME NOW signal. For once he was relieved to go home. 

Knowing he couldn't hear him, Ace hopped down and took off running.

"Then she's probably worried about the nor'easter storm that's coming" Ace suggested pulling himself into the present again. 

"The locals tell tales" Ace added to Bess.

"Tales as in fictional stories" Nancy insisted. 

"Okay" Bess held up a hand placatingly. 

"About...how the nor'easter blows restless spirits ashore" Ace continued ignoring Nancy's protests meeting her determined blue eyes. 

"Oh dear" Bess fretted. The bell on the restaurant rang. 

"I'll get it" Nancy offered irritably. 

"Don't worry Bess. You got me now to watch out for you" Ace winked at her reassuringly. 

She gave him a small grateful smile. "Are these storms that common around here?" she asked. 

Ace opened his mouth to respond when he noticed the customer Nancy was serving. It was the District Attorney. He had many memories of Karen from Drew family parties, hanging out at Nancy's house. His Drew trouble sense stirred and he walked out of the kitchen. 

"You want Nick" he heard Nancy say sounding tired. 

"He's got a criminal record. We got the protective order lifted and uncovered a motive" Karen said as he walked over to where George stood. 

"So when they say juvenile records are sealed, guess they don't mean sealed sealed" Nancy sighed bitterly. 

"I know you didn't kill Tiffany. If you give me something on Nick, enough to take the interest off of you, your criminal charges go away. You don't want a felony conviction on your college applications, Nance" Karen said sincerely. Ace felt a lump in his throat at the thought of Nancy's carefully thought out plans being stolen from her. 

"I'll give you till the end of the day" Karen continued. Noticing all of us staring at her she straightened. "Stay safe everyone. Feels like a nor'easter spinning up" Karen said. They waited fifteen seconds after Karen exited the restaurant before George, Bess, and Ace all slipped into the booth across from Nancy. 

"The cops think Nick killed Tiffany?" George demanded. 

"She said motive. Something about his juvenile conviction?" he questioned his voice getting a little husky. Nancy met his protective gaze with a warning look. 

"Wait did he do something violent?" Bess asked. 

"Like how violent? Like assault, robbery?" George added. 

"Manslaughter?" Ace asked raising an eyebrow at her, his mind going to worst scenario. 

"Did he kill someone?" Bess gasped. 

"No, manslaughter's different" Nancy said slowly. 

"But he did kill someone?" Ace demanded, his gut twisting. Nancy always loves the bad boys, he thought ruefully. 

"I don't...have all the facts. He-he never told me what happened" Nancy replied shakily. 

"Okay we're missing the silver lining here. If Nick did kill Tiffany, we're all off the hooks as suspects" George said eagerly. 

"That's a little harsh" Nancy argued. 

"So? You get a clean slate, all my customers return, and then Bess can go back to being a carefree rich girl slumming it as a subpar waitress" George replied reasonably. 

"Ah. You said I was improving" Bess interjected. 

"Pretty low bar" George retorted. 

"What made the cops look at Nick?" Ace continued. Nancy glanced away and he could see her wheels spinning as her phone vibrated loudly. 

"Speak of the devil" Nancy muttered as she checked her phone. 

Ace watched her as she walked swiftly to the back of the restaurant. 

He hadn't spoken to her more than a few words in weeks but somehow they both ended up at Tommy Hart's birthday party. The drinks were flowing and so were the games. He grudgingly sat down for a game of spin the bottle/seven minutes in heaven. As they waited for each pair to return to the circle, he watched annoyed as Ken Biggs flirted heavy with a giggly 16 year old Nancy. 

Ken Biggs was one of the guys Ace hated. The guys who thought girls were just boobs to brag about. The guys who didn't take no for an answer. Ace's blood boiled as Ken ran a hand up her leg. 

"Nancy your turn" Stacey called as she plopped back down in the circle looking quite disheveled. 

Nancy smiled happily meeting Ken's eyes as she spun the bottle. It spun quickly, slowing until...it stopped on him. Ace's jaw dropped as he glanced across the circle at Nancy who looked equally shocked. 

"Oooh" the boys and girls all cheered as Ken looked rather sour. Ace headed to the closet without looking back to see if Nancy was following him. He walked into the closet and spun on his heel to see Nancy pulling the door shut. 

"Heyy Ace" she said uneasily. 

"Hey" he said shortly. 

"I was surprised to see you tonight" she offered. 

"Yeah I thought it would be more fun" he replied dryly. 

"Yeah this is not how I wanted this to go" Nancy sighed fiddling with her skirt. 

Ace narrowed his eyes at her. "Please tell me you weren't dreaming of kissing that jerk Biggs" he scoffed. 

Nancy flushed bright red. "You don't know him!" she hissed annoyed. 

"I do actually. He's a jerk and you deserve better than that Nance" he argued stepping forward. 

"Oh like Patrice Jenkins?"  Nancy argued stepping closer still. He blinked surprised. 

"So we made out a few times" Ace shrugged. 

"She...she's horrible"  Nancy stammered irritably. 

"She is but she owns that. Biggs on the other hand will get you alone and then paw at you like a rabid animal" Ace growled stepping closer so he towered over her. 

"I'm a big girl Ace" she growled crossing her arms over her chest sending a small electric spark along his chest. 

"I'm aware" he murmured inhaling softly as he realized how close they were standing. 

Nancy must have realized as well for she swallowed sharply. He stared down into her green eyes his heart thumping. 

THUMPTHUMP Ace stumbled backwards as Nancy whirled around and ripped open the door.

"Time's up Drew" Stacey grinned at her eagerly glancing past her to Ace who fought hard to control his blush. 

Nancy walked swiftly back to the circle but Ace walked out of the closet and fled the party. 

~

Ace stepped out of the smelly van as his phone rang. "Hey Nancy" he answered. 

"Hey Ace what's going on?" she asked. 

"Bess. She needs a place to crash" Ace said without preamble. 

"What's wrong with her aunt's place?" Nancy asked in his ear. 

"She's not...she's been staying in a van. Right now she's parked along Cherry Street but the van can't be moved. It's completely waterlogged and she can't live in it for a few days at least" Ace informed her trying to ignore the gaping questions he had himself when he discovered his best friends living situation. 

"She's living in a van?" Nancy repeated in surprise. 

"Nance she needs us. I'd offer my place but..." Ace trailed off thinking of the rocky environment he lives in. He never knew what would happen or what mood his father would be in. Sometimes he was kind and wise but most of the time he would be arguing with every thing Ace does. 

"It's okay Ace. Bess is growing on me. She can come crash with me" Nancy said softly in his ear. 

"Would you mind convincing her?" Ace asked shuffling his feet a little to warm up. 

"Cherry?" she sighed. 

"Thanks Drew. See you soon" he murmured. 

"Yeah yeah" she grumbled clicking off. 

 

 

Chapter 4: Possession, Lies, and Catering

Summary:

I skipped to episode 5 because I felt it was more team-centric

Chapter Text

Once again Ace found himself making a blood removal bucket. Maybe he should keep some solution prepared if his life is going to continue in this fashion he thought considerably as he wheeled out a mop at the same time Nancy came strolling in the door. 

"Where's George?" Nancy demanded with no preamble. Ace glanced over his shoulder to George's office door. 

"She was chopping celery for potato salad. She cut her hand pretty bad" Ace began. "Yeah" Bess agreed. 

"I went and offered her a first aid kit and then she kind of just sat there, staring, for a loong time" he emphasized. Bess gestured to her eyes. Nancy frowned at him. 

"Then she went in her office and locked herself inside" Ace finished. Take-Charge Drew stepped around them and headed for the office door. 

"George! George open the door!" Nancy yelled as she attempted to break down the door. By the time Ace had walked the few feet over Nancy had already broken down the door. 

George sat kneeling on the floor blood staining the floors grunting and scribbling something. Nancy gingerly reached down and plucked open the bloodstained object George had just put aside. Nancy held up a blood-stained photo of George and her kid sister but George's face had been scratched out. 

"Yeah it might be time to worry" he supplied helpfully. 

"Hey George" Nancy called stepping closer. George hissed and Nancy jumped back. 

Ace placed a hand on her shoulder and walked around her. 

~

Nancy watched as Ace's tall frame kneeled down in front of her. "Hey George" he said softly his voice kind. 

George's blank, angry eyes glanced up at him but she stopped scratching. "Why don't you give me that photo and we can help clean you up?" Ace said a small, hesitant smile on his face. George's body suddenly sagged like all the energy leaving her and he gently pulled the photo out of her hand. He held out an hand she let him pull her to her feet.  

"See better right?" Ace asked softly casting a worried sideways glance to her. 

14-year old Nancy sighed in exasperation as she went over changing fractions for a third time with the fourth grader she was tutoring. She had dragged a very reluctant Ace with her who had instantly bonded with his second grade student, an precious young girl who giggled at everything he said. Nancy may have been more interested in their session than her own session. She glanced over and noticed with a start Ace and his student had vanished. The teacher running the program announced the sessions were almost over. 

"Why don't we end here? We can pick this up next time alright?" Nancy asked quickly, packing up in a hurry. 

"Yeah whatever" her surly student replied but Nancy didn't bother responding already heading out of the room. 

"See better right?  I told you sometimes you just need to take a step away from the problem" Nancy heard Ace's voice drift down the empty hall. 

"Wow. I get so mad in math but it's easy with you" the girl's giggly voice called from an door that led to the courtyard. 

"I'll tell you a secret. I get mad too. Everyone gets mad sometimes and we just need to take a breath, hold it and blink. You may see things differently"  Ace told her wisely. Nancy peeked in the open door and saw Ace and the girl balancing along the tops of the large planters. 

The girl sucked in a huge breath but then expelled it in a fit of giggles and fell off the planter. "Easy tiger" Ace grinned broadly catching her arm easily.

"Ace does math make you mad?" the girl asked him. 

"Not math just school in general. There's a lot of times during the day I take a breath and hold it" Ace continued his face shadowing. Nancy's stomach tightened with worry for her friend. She heard the pain he hid. The pain of no matter how you do, you never get approval. He suddenly caught sight of her and a wry expression crossed his face. "But the key is to have a good friend by your side to keep you giggling all day long" he grinned broadly jumping down. 

"It's true. Friends are the key to surviving school" Nancy called walking over and Ace easily looped his arm over her shoulder. 

"Your girlfriend is pretty" the girl giggled. 

"Well Meg she is pretty but she's just my friend" he grinned down at her and winked. Nancy hoped he didn't catch the way her skin blushed. 

"Come on Meg let's grab you a juice box" Nancy said changing the subject and the girl skipped ahead of them gleefully. 

Nancy cast a concerned glance over at him. He rolled his eyes. "You need to stop eavesdropping Drew. One day you will hear something you don't like" Ace told her removing his arm and following after the girl. 

"Could be stress. Last-minute catering this big fancy event" Ace said next to her his elbow just grazing hers as they leaned against the bar watching an unmoving George. 

"What? No. This isn't stress" Bess insisted keeping her voice low. 

"What else could it be?" Ace asked her as Nancy's mind spun for a logical answer but she honestly didn't believe George was tripping on acid or meth right now. 

"I don't know. Maybe something supernatural?" Bess suggested pointedly glancing at Nancy. 

"Right, because that's the go-to explanation" Nancy replied skeptically. 

"Yeah. Around here it can be" Bess reminded her. 

"Let's just consider the possibility. What kind of supernatural thing makes her act like that?" Nancy said slowly as she turned her body slightly and realized how close Ace's blue eyes were as they looked skeptically down at her. 

"Ooh! She put the ring on Tiffany's body" Bess added thoughtfully. 

"Did something go wrong with the ritual?" Ace asked and she cast him a questioning glance. 

"Bess filled me in on what you guys did at the funeral. We're platanchors now so she tells me things.....when you're not around" he said with just a hint of suggestion and smugness. She fought a smile from crossing her face and Ace's eyes twinkled down at her knowingly. 

"What could've gone wrong?" Nancy continued her mouth twitching despite her efforts. "She returned the ring, Tiffany's coffin went into the ground..."Nancy continued listing the ritual from memory. 

"And she was supposed to leave the mirror on her heart so the spirit would know where to stay" Bess interjected. 

"But we would verify that did or did not happen how?" Nancy asked feeling out of her element. 

"Let's check George's locker. We all know you are good at that" Bess said in a sing song voice. 

Nancy opened her mouth to deny it but couldn't think of a valid response but she didn't miss the way Ace avoided her eye contact and straightened up. "No time like the present" he said face blanking grabbing the mop. "Come on let's go" Bess said eagerly. 

~

Hot guilt wriggled around in Ace's gut as he considered what a coward he was. A delinquent just like his dad always said he was. To make his day better in walked Nancy's boyfriend. Well you two have one thing in common. Then he thought of Nancy. Maybe two things. 

Nick studied the blood stained floor warily. "Welcome to the Claw" Ace said sarcastically. 

"What happened?" Nick asked. 

"Celery mishap" Ace said innocently. "What can I help you with?" he sighed as Nick glanced around the empty restaurant. Searching for a certain female maybe. 

"You and Laura Tandy are close right?" Nick asked slowly perching on the edge of a table. Ace felt a thrill of dread creep up his spine. Laura was wild and beautiful but inevitably always lead him into trouble. 

"We're friendly" Ace said shortly. Then he considered the truth of this. "As a gentlemen I can't discuss it further" he continued to explain the flippant tone in their relationship. If he was looking for information, Ace couldn't provide much. 

"Yeah she um...she broke into my place last night" Nick blurted. 

Ace froze. "What?" he asked in disbelief. Nick nodded understandingly and held up his phone which showed a security footage of what Ace guessed was Nick's bedroom. His ears flushed and he forced himself to focus on the content. Laura stood in the middle of workshop/bedroom and rifled around in a box removing something. "Yeah she didn't care about what was in my safe. She ignored the bearer bonds. She went straight for the empty box. Or at least I thought it was empty. How'd she manage that?" Nick asked as the video ended. 

"Screwdriver" Ace replied shortly recognizing the object in her hands as she walked out of the video's view. 

"I mean how she'd know what to look for what Tiffany hid there?" Nick pushed. 

"Sisters man" Ace shrugged not sure who's confidence to reveal and feeling worse by the minute. 

"If Tiffany wanted Laura to have that flash drive, she would have given it to her" Nick insisted. Ace privately agreed with that. Laura would not be the one to trust with deathbed confession. She's far too intense and impulsive. This could get her killed Ace thought suddenly. 

"But she didn't. She left it for me. Now, I need your help to get it back" Nick demanded. 

Ace scoffed slightly but the hairs rose on the back of his neck and he turned to see George had stirred again and was looking over at them with a mildly insane look on her face. "I mean you're friendly...with her...Hey George didn't see you there" Nick added following his gaze. 

Tiffany/George got to her feet robotically and stepped forward. Angry ripples seemed to emanate in the air as she glared down at the newspaper on the table with Tiffany's face on them and then reached forward with the hand Ace had so carefully bandaged and fisted the papers tightly. 

"What's she doing?" Nancy asked having emerged from the back without Ace's noticing. 

"She's moving" he replied. "It gets freaky when she starts moving" Ace advised Nick. 

"Everything okay George?" Nick asked.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no! She's possessed by Tiffany" Bess wailed dramatically waving a small handheld mirror. 

Tiffany was moving her fingers in a strange repetitive movement. "That's impossible" Nick said in a voice thick with denial. Suddenly Tiffany snatched the mirror from Bess and stared in the reflection curiously but didn't seem surprised by the reflection. Nancy pulled out her phone and snapped a photo. 

"What are you doing?" Bess asked. Tiffany turned slowly to Nancy. 

"Okay let's just go with the idea for a second that this is Tiffany. So she kept scratching out George's face in all her photos" Nancy explained thoughtfully. 

"So you want to show her she is George" Ace followed. 

"You know how crazy this sounds, right?" Nick insisted. If you want to date Nancy, get used to it Ace thought irritated. 

Ignoring this Nancy held up her phone and Tiffany's emotionless face widened in shock. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she would have collapsed had Bess and Nancy not rushed forward to grab her.

"Ooh she didn't like that. That's a good call, Nancy" Ace called. Nancy shot him a quick grateful smile. 

"Why is no one working? We have a party to cater. Go hug a fryer, now!" George yelled, clearly herself again. 

Ace bit his lip casting her a pitying look as he saw George starting to connect that something was wrong. "What is going on?" she asked Nancy. 

"You're possessed. By Tiffany" Bess told her bluntly. 

"Okay I think we all need to calm down" Nick retorted. 

"No it's for real" ace promised him. He grabbed the bloodied photo from the table. "Check this out. When she was you, this is what she did" Ace showed George, his gut twisting with the secrets he had no right knowing. 

"Bitch" George hissed. 

"Bad news: Tiffany doesn't like you. The good news is Tiffany's dead so.." his voice cracked slightly and Nancy sent him a fast searching look, so fast anyone who didn't know her wouldn't have recognized it. Then her gaze fell past him and he whirled around to see an angry expression cross Nick's face. "I'm sorry Nick. The other bad news is Tiffany's body has been hitching a ride in your body. Intermittently" Ace continued watching the news register on George's face, the emotions clear. 

"I think we should get you home" Nancy said almost kindly to George. 

"Good news: we can ask your mom all about it" Bess suggested. 

"I think I'd rather deal with a party of angry rich people then tell my mother I'm possessed" George mumbled. "We don't have time for all of this today. Have you even started cooking, Ace?" George's voice rose.

"Hey why don't you get cooking and met us at the Marvins? Nick would you mind helping us?" Nancy suggested. 

"This is all hands on deck. Let's go boys" George demanded taking charge and beginning to spit out demands. 

~

Nancy's mom once told her she had an "unnerving need for the truth" and it was a truth that resonated inside her. She hated lies and had a never-ending need to uncover them. Everywhere she looked she was seeing lies. George was possessed because of the affair she had, Bess is clearly lying about who she is, Karen lied about knowing Lucy Sable, her dad's always lying to her and worst of all Ace is lying. She felt it. She can pretend like time has changed them but she knows him. She can feel his guilt and deception but she doesn't know what he's lying about. She's not sure if she has the right to investigate him anymore. After all, she lies too. 

Nancy turned on the stairs and saw Ace in the middle of the dance floor slow dancing with Laura Tansey. She didn't have to hear the conversation to see how she was wrapping herself around Ace. Nancy looked away as she kissed him heartily. She knew from experience his will would break soon. He always had a weakness for manipulative girls.

"Come on Nance. Why are you in here by yourself?" Ace's 13-year-old voice called from the doorway.

She looked around quickly but didn't see anyone else. "Shh! Get in here and shut the door" 

"Seriously investigating Mrs. Withers? I'm pretty sure the worst crime she commits is forgetting her students names and smelling of mothballs" Ace chuckled as Nancy continued exploring her desk for clues. 

"Her sister owns the flower shop in town and asked me to look into some robberies in her store. Just thought I would explore all avenues" Nancy sighed not finding anything. 

"Right. Has nothing to do with you avoiding the dance and that jerk Liam who came here with someone else" Ace said knowingly. She blushed and sat back in the teacher's chair. It smell like mothballs. 

"Come on Nance we'll go back to the dance and have a great time. Just the two of us"  he said offering her his arm. 

"Promise?" she smiled softly at him. Suddenly from down the hall they heard someone calling his name. Before she could react, he had whipped out his cellphone and shut the door softly behind him. 

"There you are Aceykins!! What are you up to down here?" Nancy recognized the high pitch squeal of Megan Donner. 

'Aceykins' she thought disgusted. 

"Oh you know" Ace said flippantly. 

"Mm up to no good?" she purred. 

"Uh no...I had to take a call and it was loud so I came up here" Ace lied poorly. 

"Well I remember someone promising me a dance" she cooed. 

"Well I was actually going to hang out with my friends tonight" Ace said sounding slightly disappointed.

"Oh come on Acey. One little dance" and Nancy heard the undeniable sound of the wet smack of annoying Megan Donner kissing her best friend while she awkwardly stood inside listening to them. It filled her with rage. 

"Alright. One quick dance" Ace relented. She heard the sounds of them walking down the hallway and peeked her head out. She saw Ace's head swivel in her direction. "I'm sorry" he mouthed. 

She glared at him as he retreated down the hallway with Megan clinging to him like a second skin. 

She wondered furiously what Ace saw in her. Then she wondered for a brief moment what it would be like to be the girl on his arms, dancing the night away with those blue eyes staring at her. She shook her head with a chuckle at her silly musings and decided to head home for the night, not wanting to see more of the Ace and Megan show. 

Chapter 5: Walls of Steel

Summary:

Skipped again to 1 x 7

Nancy slowly realizes lies are all around her

Please leaves comments or critics

Chapter Text

"Lucy Sable's murder has been reduced to a nursery rhyme. But now we know there's more to it" Nancy theorized aloud as Ace swept the kitchen. She used to use him as a sounding board and he was happy she was beginning to do it again but he also hated it because anything crucial she told him he had to tell Chief McGinnis. 

"Her death is linked to Tiffany's. That's what she was trying to tell me at the Velvet Masque. We have to solve Lucy's murder in order to solve Tiffany's" she continued rattling off what she knew. Ace frowned harder remembering the texts he had sent Chief McGinnis last night after Nancy had revealed this detail to him. His cellphone burned in his pocket. 

"Yeah but how are the two murders linked?" Bess asked making him jump a little. He'd been so focused on Nancy and his own guilt he had forgotten she was in the room. 

"They both learned things about the Hudsons' that could've gotten them killed. Tiffany found out about the Hudsons sinking the Bonny Scot, and the coins we stole at the Velvet Masque. Luckily the coins proved what they did" Ace added thoughtfully. 

"And Lucy found out Celia was having an affair with her husband's business rival. And less than a year later, she was murdered" Nancy recalled walking over to him. He swallowed sharply as she got closer. 

"Oh uh let me help" Nancy insisted rushing over. Ace glanced around the corner to see a very cross George holding a large chest. 

"Get your hands off my chest. These tables aren't gonna set themselves" George hissed vehemently. 

Ace smirked and turned back to his stove while Nancy followed George. His phone rang and any happiness leeched out of him. "Hey I can't right now" he said quickly trying to keep his voice low. He glanced into the restaurant and saw Bess and George preparing the tables. 

"I'm in the middle of something" he continued. 

"Too bad. I didn't make a deal for silence. And I know you and your friends have been busy crashing exclusive parties. So what did you find out there?" McGinnis threatened. 

"Yeah I may have a lead on the Hudsons. Um I'll call you back. Promise" Ace admitted his chest tightening with anxiety. 

"Fine. Talk soon Ace. I mean it" McGinnis demanded before clicking off. 

Ace and Nancy were 14 years old and in the one place no teen wanted to be....the police station. They'd gotten caught trying to break into the city hall trying to find records of land deeds. 

"Ace what are you doing here? Ah of course with your usual culprit" Deputy McGinnis scowled down at them. 

"This wouldn't have happened if we kept City Hall open later" Ace quipped. 

"It's 10:30. You kids should be in bed not breaking into public buildings" he yelled. 

"Nancy! Ace!" Mrs. D called fretfully walking into the station. Nancy walked over to her slowly, embarrassed. Ace stood but Deputy McGinnis held up a hand. He took Nancy's seat next to Ace. 

"Look Ace your father is a very good friend of mine but I can't keep getting you out of jail free" he said sincerely. 

"Did you call him?" Ace asked keeping his gaze on the scuffed floor. 

"I texted him. He won't answer the phone. Ah your father has so much pride and after his injury well....I know he isn't the easy person to live with but Ace you aren't helping matters" McGinnis said kindly patting his knee. 

"It won't matter. He expects me to screw up I'm just rising to his expectations" Ace admitted bitterly. 

"Deputy McGinnis. I prefer when we meet for work and not personal reasons" Mr. D said offering his hand. McGinnis shook it getting to his feet. 

"Well I talked to the Chief and he agreed to let the kids do 20 hours of community service" McGinnis told Mr. and Mrs. D, the only parents who actually showed. 

Ace and Nancy slumped at the news but didn't argue. Punishment could have been a lot worse. 

~

"I may have found a lead on the Hudsons. Um, I'll call you back. Promise" Nancy heard Ace murmur into his phone. Nancy's spine tingled with the knowledge that her friend was keeping secrets. She would have puzzled this further but Nick walked in the restaurant. 

"Hey you" she cooed stepping forward with a flirtatious grin. She went to kiss him deeply but Nick pulled back after the barest brush of their lips. She studied him but he kept his face purposely blank as he stepped around her. 

"Why'd you leave so early last night?" she asked softly. 

"Uh you were convincing Owen Marvin not to come after the Roman burial coins he paid $1.5 million for. Figured you'd be a while" Nick said gruffly, his tone casual but his eyes portraying his annoyance. 

"Hey Nick. One sugar, splash of milk. Right?" George said handing over a coffee. There was a surprisingly soft look on her face. 

"Yeah, thanks George" Nick said gratefully. Nancy noted the sudden change in their air and swallowed her bitterness. Ace appeared over George's shoulder as Nick dumped out the burial coins on the counter. 

"Between Laura Tandy breaking in and the cops searching my place no way I'm leaving them at home" Nick declared. 

"What do we do with the coins now?" Bess asked logically. 

"Oh we turn them into the authorities. They could prove the Hudsons sank their own ship and killed their crew for insurance money" Nick insisted. 

"There's a FBI agent we can trust in Portland" Nancy suggested. 

"Really? And how do you suddenly know about this person?" George asked shrewdly. 

"He's a friend of Owen. We can bring him the coins and the toxicology report on Tiffany's blood as soon as I get the results back from John Sander" Nancy thought aloud. 

"Your scientist friend? The one who found somebody else's hair?" Bess asked. 

"Yeah, the woman's hair.." Nancy began. 

"You think it's Celia Hudson's hair?" Nick interrupted. 

"I did at first. But after a little internet digging, I found the society pages from August 2000. Turns out, Celia was in Argentina when Lucy was killed" Nancy glanced up and saw a swift, smugness cross Ace's face but just as quickly it was erased from the panes of his face. 

"That a solid alibi?" Ace questioned. She could see the calculations going on inside his mind. She used to love sharing her ideas with him because he was such a great sounding board. 

"Not for someone with the means of hiring a hit man" Nancy admitted. Their eyes held for a second before the restaurant bell rang and in whirled an anxious, disheveled and dirty Victoria. 

"They're here. They're here, they're out there" she whispered looking utterly panicked.

"Mom?" George called and Victoria gasped in fear. 

"Who's out there?" Nancy asked slowly. 

"Spirits. Dark forces. Something is drawing them here. I can feel it" she continued whispering drawing her shawl around herself. 

"You want to sit down?" Ace suggested using his kind, careful voice. 

"Those. Get rid of them right now" Victoria demanded pointing to the coins. 

"Why?" Nancy asked curiously. 

"Because they're magnets. Catnip for the dead and for things that were never even alive" Victoria said glancing around and things no one else could see. 

"What do you mean, things that were never even alive?" Bess asked terrified. 

"You don't want to know. Just put them into whatever lead-lined box was obviously protecting them and throw them into the sea" Victoria exclaimed. 

"Victoria, how many drinks have you had?" George stepped forward angrily. 

"I'm telling you they were out there!" Victoria screamed and strode forward looking out the windows deliriously. 

"They're gone, but...no...they were. They were out there" Victoria sobbed teetering on insanity it sounded. She suddenly looked at the four of them and shrieked. "Oh god!" she gasped backing up as far as possible. 

"Victoria? Are you okay?" Nancy called trying to break through Victoria's insanity. 

"Get rid of those coins" she panted. 

"Hey Victoria. I'm sure I can build a lead-lined box in the garage" Nick said soothingly stepping forward. 

"Mom why don't you let me take you home alright?" George said stepping up next to Nick. Victoria glanced between the two and nodded numbly wrapping herself in her shawl as George prodded Victoria forward. Nick grabbed the coins swiftly following in George and Victoria's wake. 

The door shut with a jingle of a bell. 

"So...what now?" Ace asked in the silence that followed. 

~

"Nancy? Can you come down here?" her father's voice called from downstairs. She closed her book and clambered down the stairs. In the den her mother and father sat looking grave.

"What's up?" a nervous ten-year old Nancy asked sitting nervously across from them. 

"Your school principal just called us. Someone hacked into the school's computer system and erased your entire classes report cards right before they were to be printed" her father said suggestively. 

"I had nothing to do with this!" Nancy said honestly. Her parents shared a look. 

"We know he's your best friend but" her mom began. 

"Ace wouldn't do this!" she responded shrilly. 

"Ace has hacked things before. Like my email for example" her father said severely. She flushed a little because she had been the one to ask him when her father wouldn't tell her about the case he was working on. 

Nancy frowned at her parents biting her lip. "I'll talk to him. Okay? But if Ace did this he wouldn't get caught" Nancy insisted crossing her arms.

"See that's the thing. The principal can't find any proof that anyone even hacked the website" her mother replied. 

"Don't look so proud Nancy. This is serious!" her father scolded. Nancy hadn't even realized a proud smug look had crossed her face. 

"I'll go talk to him" she said holding up her hands and heading for the door. She grabbed her purse on the way out. She headed for the small, worn hole in their shrubs and ducked through to the other side. Which happened to be along the side of the house, right below Ace's bedroom. She pulled a small device from her purse and clicked in. Instantly a red laser appeared on the side of his house. She roved it up the side of his house and to his window. This had been their signal for a long time now. Her house always had an open door policy but his house...well Ace often needed to sneak out. 

After a minute Ace's shaggy head appeared in the window. He shook his head regretfully and pulled down his blind. Why aren't you sneaking out Ace? 

The next morning Nancy waited patiently at the end of his driveway. Her mom drove them both to school but sometimes he would ride his bike to school. Especially if he was avoiding her. Sure enough a few minutes later he came peeling out of his garage and stopped dead. He shook his head ruefully and continued pedaling. Nancy hopped on her own bike. "Drop it" he called as he sped by her. 

She pumped harder catching up. "Ace. Did you do this?" Nancy demanded. Ace's jaw tightened but his face was void of emotion. 

"Do what?" he asked casually. 

"Don't lie to me. I can always tell when you are lying" Nancy growled. 

"What do you want from me?" Ace sighed glancing over. 

"The truth!" she hollered. He braked hard and laid his head down on the bars. 

"Why Ace?" she murmured braking as well. 

"I made a mistake. I was just checking out my grades and Mrs. Lingley comments were....before I knew it I had deleted my whole report card. Then I knew I would be caught so I deleted everyone's report cards. But I was careful Nance I swear" Ace said miserably meeting her gaze. 

She stepped off her bike and placed it softly on the ground. "Well you haven't been caught yet. We can fix this alright. If we make a mistake, it's our job to fix it" Nancy recalled her parents morals. 

"No Nance. I made a mistake. I'll fix it" Ace said inhaling sharply. 

"I'm on your side Ace. Never forget that. But you can't lie to me" Nancy hissed vehemently. 

"I'm sorry" Ace murmured softly squeezing her hand. 

 

"Really? You hacked into the Horseshoe Bay digital library" Nancy asked walking over to present day Ace as he sat on his laptop. 

"Sort of. I used my library card" he retorted dryly.

Ace saw Nancy smile up at him out of the corner of his eye but he continued his search to pull up the footage he wanted. 

"why are we hacking into the library?" George asked. 

"To access Lucy's Sea Queen ceremony video. If we trace her final hours, we might be able to figure out which questions we want to ask her" Nancy supplied. 

"Taking it back to the year 2000" Ace murmured. 

"Wow that's Lucy?" George asked. 

"She was so beautiful" Bess marveled. Ace couldn't help but agree. Her soft hair floating around her shoulders and rampant joy on her face. Something about her face made Ace think back on another Sea Queen. 

Ace hadn't planned on going to the Sea Queen ceremony because he found the whole concept pretty stupid but his friends had dragged him along because they wanted to slip vodka in the punch. So Ace had gone reluctantly and stared up at his ex-best friend who looked truly beautiful up on the stage. "That Nancy Drew is looking fine!" his annoying friend Matty teased him. 

"Shut up" he growled stealing the flask from his hand to take a swig. 

"This year's Horseshoe Bay's Sea Queen winner is..." their principal dramatically opened the envelope. 

"Nancy Drew!" he yelled. Nancy stepped forward, her face awash with joy and excitement. He knew the past couple of months had been really rough on her as her mom struggled with cancer. She needed this victory in life as life had been pummeling her lately. 

Staring at Lucy's face she had the same look. The desperate need for a victory. Suddenly the runner up pretended to give Lucy a congratulatory hug and whisper something in Lucy's ear. Whatever she said all the happiness and joy leeched from Lucy's face. 

"Did that girl just tell Lucy she killed her dog or something?" George asked. 

"What do we know about the first runner-up?" Nancy asked him. Clicking through the library's documents he pulled up a list of contestants from 2000. 

"Candice Weaver is her name" Ace told them already starting to research the woman. 

"Do we think she still lives in Horseshoe Bay?" Bess asked him as he navigated the web. 

"All Sea Queen runner-ups still live in Horseshoe Bay" George quipped. 

Nancy kept her email up on his laptop and an email pinged in from Ned. Nancy leaned over him and clicked open the email. Ace's blood ran cold. Posters clearly hung by his....by Laura Tandy that Nick had photographed. 'Tiffany Hudson was murdered' 'Down with the HBD police' 'Find the truth' and on and on. 

"Ooh, looks like Laura Tandy went on a one-woman campaign against the police" Bess said gleefully. 

"How pissed do you think McGinnis is gonna be when he sees that?" Nancy laughed. As if on cue, Ace's phone began to buzz with text messages. 

"Did you know about Laura's posters?" the message read. Ace's heart thumped wildly as the girls continued scrolling through the carnage Laura had done on the town. 

Ace headed into the kitchen avoiding Nancy's prying gaze. "You could have told me. Call me" he texted Laura. 

"I didn't know" he texted McGinnis back. 

~

"Ace?" Carson called. Bess had said he was in the back but Carson didn't see him. He was about to turn around when he heard a muffled "Mr.D?!". 

"Hi" Ace's messed hair emerged from the walk in freezer. "Hey you okay?" he asked observing his disheveled appearance and caught red-handed vibes. He did know Ace pretty well even if they hadn't spoke much in the past few years. 

"Yeah, great" he replied trying to pull the door discreetly behind him but Laura Tandy pushed it open straightening her hair. 

"I was just showing her...it's cold...it's cold in there" Ace rambled. 

Carson waved his hand. "You're an adult. Just be glad I'm not on the board of health" he said not able to hide a little disapproval from his voice. Ace nodded knowingly. 

"Actually I was going to ask you where I could find Laura. Hi I'm Carson Drew" he introduced. 

"The Hudsons' errand boy. What do you want?" she hissed. Carson caught the warning glance Ace threw Laura and tried not to grimace. 

"I'm sure you want to be done with all of the paperwork and red tape that has come with your sister's death" he began. 

"Murder" she corrected. 

"So...Celia Hudson would love to discuss settling outside of court. This doesn't need to be a long and arduous process" Carson continued. 

Laura Tandy rolled her eyes to the ceiling and back down. "Mmm but I love long and arduous. Especially when it means that family doesn't get a dime of my sister's money" she replied. 

"Ace, miss me" she said kissing his temple before leaving. 

"Mr. D, if Ryan Hudson doesn't get a dime of Tiffany's money then who does?" Ace said slowly, in his thoughtful manner when he was pondering something. 

"If the police officially conclude Tiffany was murdered, then it all goes to the last living member of the Tandy family" he replied holding Ace's gaze for a minute so the significance of this could hang in the air between them. 

"Your girlfriend" he replied watching the sick look cross Ace's face. 

"It's nice seeing you again Ace" Carson told the boy he had once dreamed his daughter would end up with. 

"You two Mr. D" Ace murmured his mind no longer on the conversation. Carson turned and walked away wondering if Ace would ever stop dating girls who were toxic for him and date someone good for him...like his daughter perhaps. 

"By Bess" Carson called shaking his head a little at his musings. He glanced back at the kitchen where an adult Ace stood. 

"Hey Mr. D" a 12-year old Ace called as he strode into the house. Carson had welcomed Ace into their lives pretty much from the minute he had met the boy. 

"Nancy isn't with you?" he asked looking up from his paperwork. Ace grabbed an apple from the counter. 

"Nah she went shopping with some of the other girls from our class" Ace told him. 

"Oh right. Big dance this Friday?" Carson said probing. 

"Yup" Ace replied taking a bite. 

"First school dance of the year. Should be fun" Carson continued. Ace sighed. 

"Can I ask you question Mr. D?" Ace looked over at him unhappily. Putting his paperwork aside, he walked over to the young boy. 

"You know you can ask me anything Ace" he promised him. 

"Well it's about a girl" Ace fiddled with his apple. 

"Nancy?" he prompted. 

Ace's cheeks colored. "Well...I really like this girl but she likes someone else. And I know this girl that I don't really like wants me to dance with her. Should I just focus on the one who actually likes me?" he asked him. 

Carson's fatherly instincts were kicking in but he feigned oblivion. "Well Ace I think you should always be honest about your feelings. It's always better to start with friendship and work from there. Plus you are still a kid. Don't get so focused on who likes who you forget to have fun"  Carson told him honestly. 

"Thanks Mr. D" he said hugging him briefly. 

"Always" he said ruffling his hair. 

~

Nancy sat on the steps to the walk in, her heart heavy. Her father may be guilty of murder and Ace betrayed her. Ace, the one constant in her life, the one thing she could always count on, he had betrayed her.

"Hey. I have a new theory for you" Ace strode towards her, ready to divulge whatever piece of information he had been tracking down. At that moment, she really didn't care. 

"I have a theory too" she said softly. 

"I think you are working for McGinnis" she accused. His face paled but he met her eyes and she saw the truth there. The guilt in his eyes. 

"You were the only one that he didn't bring in for questioning the night Tiffany died. And I saw you together at the funeral. What were you guys talking about?" Nancy asked her heart twisting. Ace bit his lip and inhaled. But he remained silent. 

"You've been cagey on the phone and then running off to who knows where. You heard my phone call with John Sander, and less than an hour later, McGinnis is talking to me about poison" she listed getting increasingly angry. 

"It's not like that" he said. Her anger grew and he must have sensed it because he swallowed but continued. 

"A year ago, McGinnis caught me hacking into a government computer system, which is a federal offense" he said slowly. 

"Why would you?" she began disbelievingly. 

"Hey-the point is I thought my life was over, but he offered me this deal" Ace continued and Nancy's stomach filled with lead at the thought of Ace in handcuffs. 

"He'd make sure that I stay out of jail and all I had to do was look into a few things for him, keep my eyes open around town, which was easy enough until Tiffany got murdered" he shrugged nonchalantly. His blue eyes filled with regret. 

"You could've told us...told me" she reminded him. 

"That would have violated the deal. I can't go to jail. Listen I'm sorry I'm not trying to make excuses. I...I messed up" he said sincerely. 

"But will you at least let me try to make it up to you here? I learned something about Laura" he continued and she looked at him in disbelief. 

"I--how am I supposed to trust anything you say?" she asked the question hanging thick in the air. Ace's eyes darkened and his face tightened with pain. 

She walked away from him, her eyes prickling just a little as Ace's betrayal weighed on her every step. "I'm gonna fix this" he called after her. 

Chapter 6: Anger and Accidents

Chapter Text

"Hey Nancy I brought you a snack" her mother said in the doorway.  16-year old Nancy smiled gratefully up at her mother.

"Thanks Mom. I could use a break from this essay" she replied.

Her mom walked in, handing her the plate, and sat down tentatively on the edge of the bed.  "What's up?" she asked taking a bite of the apple slice on the plate. 

"Your father and I noticed Ace hasn't been around lately" her mother said slowly.

Nancy rolled her eyes.  "Ace is being so stubborn. He hates my friends and I don't like his friends and...." Nancy trailed off. 

"You can be pretty stubborn too. Just because you may not like his choices doesn't mean you need to cut him off. Anger can be volatile if you let it build up. You, my brave beautiful girl, keep everyone at bay but Ace has always been by your side. I would hate to see a great friendship be ruined by misplaced anger" her mom said. Nancy munched on a carrot thoughtfully.  "Something to think about sweetie" her mom said patting her hand as she walked past her.

~

Nancy used to judge the people of Horseshoe Bay for fixating on Dead Lucy's ghost while her killer walks free. Living in denial instead of facing the truth. And then she did the same thing. She ignored the signs of her best friend's betrayal. She ignored the signs of her father's guilt. "I'm glad we could do this" her father smiled warmly at her. Her heart twisted painfully. No one wants to believe that someone so close to them could do something so unspeakable Nancy thought bitterly. She remembered her parents burying something in the backyard, the bloody dress in the attic, Ace's face as she turned and walked away.

 I'm gonna fix this.

Same way they handled everything back then-Carson Drew.

I couldn't go to jail.

Eastern Shore Shipping, that's the Hudson's shell company. They made a sizable, one-time payment to your dad back in 2000. 

The betrayals, secrets, lies threatened to choke her.

"Did you kill Lucy Sable?"

~

"I can't believe them!" 12 year old Nancy groaned walking in Ace's room without knocking. He looked up from his bed and she gestured for him to pull off his headphones. 

"It must be serious you never just come right over" Ace noted pulling down his large, black headphones and pausing his loud music. 

She flopped down on his bed examining his ceiling. "What's up?" he asked handing her some candy from his secret candy stash. She gave him a small grateful smile and chewed on a Twizzler thoughtfully. 

"You know the project we are doing in Ms. Larson's class?" she said turning her head to him. 

"The blood type thing?" he asked frowning. 

"Yeah. I overhead my dad on the phone with Ms. Larson telling her that I needed to be assigned a supplementary assignment and that I would not be completing this science project. When I asked him why, he said he was worried I would faint at the sight of blood and was acting really weird" Nancy recalled her mind whirling. 

"Well.." Ace begun.

"And then I asked my mom why Dad was acting so weird and she said her family had a history of blood disease" Nancy continued frowning heavily. 

"It's possible" Ace said sounding like he didn't believe it either. 

"Ace they're lying. I always feel like there is something they won't tell me and this...I mean how many times have I gotten injured. You have bandaged me up how many times. I obviously have no blood disease or I would know so why...?" Nancy wondered aloud. 

"Nance your parents are pretty great. You may not want to go ripping off that cloak" Ace warned. She met his gaze. 

"Do you think they are hiding something?" she asked him. Picking Ace's brain always makes her feel better. Most of the time she has so many thoughts zipping around her and by sharing with Ace she is able to focus and understand her own thoughts more. 

"I've always felt your dad was afraid of mine. Not just because of...." Ace trailed off and Nancy nodded knowing how awkward his father was about his disability. 

"But it's like he's afraid to reveal himself, to be himself when our parents are together. He won't have a drink if my dad is around" Ace said thoughtfully. 

"I always just thought he...wasn't a fan of how your dad treats you" Nancy said in a small voice studying Ace's face. Ace's face was purposefully blank but his eyes were pained as he studied the comic book in his lap. 

"Your parents are the good ones Nancy Drew" he murmured turning a page in his comic book. 

~

Her father's face slowly leeched of happiness. 

"Did you kill Lucy Sable?" she repeated herself the words filling the air between them. 

"Did I...did I kill Lucy Sable? he repeated slowly his teeth bared in anger. Rage twisted his features. 

She swallowed. "I have evidence" she said shakily examining the table before them. 

"You have evidence?" he repeated with a slight mocking tone. 

Anger rose up in her. "I had evidence: an unidentified female hair found in Lucy's broken crown from the night she died. That crown disappeared from the lab where it was being processed, in Boston". She noted the stricken look on her father's face. 

"But you already knew that. So you can stop acting offended" she said accusingly watching the various emotions breaking across her father's face. Part of her wanted him to show his innocence, prove that he could never do the thing she's accusing him. The other part of her wants him to break down and admit whatever role he had in Lucy's death. Instead her father chose to remain silent as he threw down his blanket and picked up their untouched plates. 

She grit her teeth. "You're trying to figure out how I know?" she called after him stalking after him. "The GPS on your phone. That's the part you forgot to cover up" she hissed viciously. 

"Cover up?" her father exploded turning back to her but turned away at her angry glare. "I didn't..." he attempted. 

"That was Lucy Sable's bloody dress in the attic that you lied about!" Nancy exclaimed her anger rising inside her. 

"Nancy" her father began warningly. 

"Lucy knew Hudson family secrets in the past. Tiffany knew Hudson family secrets in the present. Both of them are dead! And both times, the Hudsons called in their favorite lawyer to come and clean up the mess" her voice rising. 

"I didn't kill anyone!" her father burst out, his reply settling in the sudden silence. Nancy's mind whirled while her heart skipped a beat. He may not have killed anyone but he is still guilty.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" her father asked, sounding more parental and less panicked. 

"I'm not some kind of a hit man" he reminded her, using the evasive tone she knew too well. 

"I have reason to suspect you!" she bellowed her anger building again, refusing to back down, needing answers once and for all. 

"You suspect everyone of everything. You always have, ever since you were a kid. But if you keep suspecting the people closest to you of horrific crimes, you're gonna end up alone" her father yelled back at her. She remembered her childhood, how many friends she lost as she solved crimes. How many people held her arms length afraid to let her close enough to see their secrets. All the people who were scorned by her as she exposed the secrets they never wanted to see the light of day. The closest friend she ever had...who ended up betraying her too.

A sudden knocking on their door filled the heavy silence. With a shaky inhale, her father strode the few steps to the door and swung it open. George Fan looked worried stood on her doorstep. "Hey. I tried calling" she said her voice lacking it's usual bite. 

"George this is not a good time" Nancy called not moving from her spot, her voice sounding chocked and shaky. 

"There was an accident" she said meeting her dad's eyes. Her gaze moved past him to her. 

"It was Ace"

She felt the ground she stood on threaten to swallow her whole.  

~

The bag was ripped off 14-year old Nancy's head. Two masked assailants stood before her. She studied her surroundings. They appeared to be in some dank, unused basement. Her hands were tied behind her back to one of the support beams. The dust hung heavy on every surface. Then she studied the guys who had jumped her before realizing Ace wasn't with them. She desperately tried to recall if she had seen Ace had been taken too. All she remembered was walking out of a coffee shop, Ace was leaving a tip on the table behind her when someone snuck up behind her. 

"Did you chloroform me?" she asked recognizing the itchy feeling left in her mouth and throat. 

"We sure did Nancy Drew" the taller masked man growled his eyes black in his mask. She wasn't surprised he knew her identity. Even at 14, she had solved many crimes and as a result well this wasn't her first kidnapping. 

"I'm sensing some anger" she retorted sarcastically. 

"Not yet. Not if you cooperate" the shorter man replied. He seemed to be keeping his distance not wanting to get close to her. She studied him but the shabby clothes looked like they may not even be his making it harder to identify him. 

She sighed heavily and her arms pulled painfully in the ropes that bound them. She decided to distract them and see if she could pull herself free. "Fine boys what do you want to know?" she asked sitting up and twisting her wrists at the same time. 

"What you know about the Jewel of the Sea?" the taller man stood over her forcing her to stop her testing of the ropes. 

"Are you asking for a history of the maritime jewels or asking about the store in our local town?" she cast a wink over at the shorter man and he stiffened answering her question that he was a local. 

"The robbery you have poking your nose in. What do you know?" the man asked furiously spitting in her ear as he glared down at her. 

"I know some bad men stole some jewels that didn't belong to them" Nancy said innocently up at him. 

"Doesn't sound like she's cooperating does it?" he hissed. 

"Bring in the sidekick" his partner called. Another masked assailant came down the broken wooden stairs shoving someone ahead of him. Ace! she thought panicked but refused to name him if by chance they didn't know his identity. 

She studied him carefully. He wore the same dark gray tee-shirt that said We had homework? and worn jeans that he had on this morning. His eyes looked a little glassy indicating he had also been chloroformed. However, he appeared unharmed. 

Ace met her eyes, doing the same thing she knew. Checking to make sure she was unharmed. He raised an eyebrow at her. She met his gaze and did a very slow blink. A playful smirk crossed his face. "So fellas how can we help you?" he asked chipperly.

The man nearest her, who seemed to be the leader, strode over to stand behind Ace. "I told you Nancy. You cooperate or I'm gonna get angry" he told her. Then with no warning he shoved Ace hard. Since his hands were bound behind his back he smacked hard into the ground. She flinched despite herself. 

"Ace! Are you alright?" she gasped. 

"Ugh yup doing great" he said muffled trying to roll onto his back but not quite able to. 

"Tell us what you know or we make your boyfriend bleed. Pick him up" the leader called dismissively. 

"Don't hurt him. What do you want to know?" she growled continuing her work on her ropes. 

"What have you learned?" he demanded. 

She kept her face neutral. "We learned that somebody stole some expensive jewels. I wonder who" she said smarmily.

The man considered what she said and then with a crack punched Ace in the face and he staggered back. "ACE!" she screamed. 

Ace was being held in place by the assailant behind him but his lip was cut and his face was bleeding. "I'm fine Nance" he growled sitting blood on the floor. She grit her teeth furiously, thinking fast. 

"I'll make you a deal. I will tell you everything you want to know but only if Ace is sitting right next to me. Unless you want to add physical assault and battery of a 14 year old to your rap sheet" she said calmly meeting the leader's eyes and daring him to make another move to hurt Ace. 

"You're lucky your girlfriend's braver than you are" he stepped forward a mean malicious look in his eyes. Then he shoved Ace again and he crawled closer to her. 

She strained against her ropes to try and get closer to him. "Easy Nance I'm fine" Ace murmured hauling himself up with difficulty and meeting her worried look. 

"I'm so sorry Ace. I never meant to get you hurt. You're too important to me" she whispered back. Ace smiled softly at her. She gave him a tender smile back. 

"Adorable. You two can go to prom later. Right now we want to hear about everything you learned about the robbery" the leader taunted meanly. 

Nancy blushed and very slowly began to recall everything that had happened since Mrs. Dublaski asked her to look into the robbery...while Ace slowly cut through his ropes and then hers with his lucky pocket knife. 

~

"What happened?" her father asked sounding from far away. 

"Nick called. It looks like Ace was driving with Laura Tandy when they crashed" George said distantly. 

She did an old trick for when she was overcoming shock or horror or sadness. She crunched her toes in her shoes and focused on the details. "Do we know where they were going?" Nancy asked, her voice shaking worse than ever. 

"Come on let's get to the hospital. I'll drive" her father said, his face pale but determined. She may not fully trust her father but he was a good person to have around in an emergency. 

"Yeah let's go" Nancy said choosing action over despair. Her mind replayed their last conversation over and over trying to look for clues in the conversation. Once she looked over at her father behind the wheel and saw him frowning at the road, his eyes moving in such a familiar way that she realized he was doing the same thing. Working his case. She knew Ace was more than just her friend. Her parents treated him as their son. Even after Ace and her stopped talking, he would still go to movies with her father or go fishing with her mother. She never questioned it because she never wanted her parents to lose Ace just because they had drifted apart. Her father glanced over at her and inhaled sharply trying to push his emotions down, she knew the trick. 

"Park in the lot there Dad" Nancy pointed to the few spots right outside the emergency room entrance. She noted a few squad cars in the lot. 

Nancy jumped out of the car before it was even fully parked. She went through a long hallway following the signs for patient waiting room and caught sight of a teary Bess sitting next to a polished Lisbeth. Bess stood and Nancy threw her arms around her. "How are you? Are there updates? What's going on?" she asked. 

"Laura Tandy's being prepped. Uhh...Ace is already in surgery" she replied breathlessly. Nancy felt a punch to her stomach. Surgery? He needed surgery. Doctors make simple careless mistakes. Ace's hands are in doctor's hand, people's hands. 

"Waiting rooms are overflowing with family. Cops. There's a lot of cops" Bess whispered uneasily. 

"Ace's father was something of a legend on the force. I'm gonna go check in" he told Bess reassuringly before giving her a quick searching look. 

"Nick was at the scene of the accident. He sent pictures" she said sniffing. She pulled up a photo and Nancy thought she might hurl. Laura's large truck was upside down. 

"Oh my god" Nancy shut her eyes in revulsion imagining Ace in that accident and she gripped her toes once more. Pain racked her insides. Her gaze fell on Lisbeth's solemn, emotionless face. 

"If Laura Tandy dies so does her claim to Tiffany's estate. Bet that would make your bosses happy. Did the Hudson's send you here?" she asked her, her tone biting. 

Bess looked taken aback. "She's here for me. For support" Bess replied in an injured tone. 

"And I'm sure her employers are really hoping everybody pulls through" Nancy said accusingly.

"Okay Drew" George began warningly. 

"No it's okay. Everybody's on edge" Lizbeth said simply running a hand down Bess's back and Nancy had to resist rolling her eyes. Her gaze caught on a white plastic bag. 

"Are those Ace's?" she demanded striding over. 

"Yeah paramedics had to cut his clothes off. I didn't want his mom to see" Bess said her voice horrified while Nancy rifled through Ace's tattered clothes, and filthy belonging trying her hardest to focus on her pursuit.

"What are you doing?" George called. 

"Last time we talked, Ace and I had a very difficult conversation" she said glancing up. Bess was giving her a sad, knowing look that hurt to see. 

"About what?" George demanded. 

"He felt like he was letting us down. He wanted to prove something. Trying to figure out if Laura was connected to Tiffany's death" she said slowly her fingers closing around Ace's phone in a pocket of what was his jeans. 

"That's why he was with her" she told them sitting down and plugging Ace's old phone password. It buzzed in her hand rejecting the password. She swallowed a little bitterly. 

"Bess can you unlock this please?" she asked holding out the phone. 

"What makes you think I know his passcode?" Bess said warily. 

"You two are that kind of close" she admitted bitterly. 

Bess took the bloodstained phone. After a few clicks she handed it back saying "Last text was to you Nancy. Send u what I find" she told her. Nancy noted a slight accusing look in her eyes and couldn't argue with it but now was not a time for guilt. Nancy stared down at the text and then thought of an old trick she used to use. She tapped on the voice recordings icon. 

"There's an audio recording time-stamped an hour ago" Nancy told them reaching into her bag for her headphones. 

"That's about the time of the crash" Lisbeth told her. She glared her down slipping in the headphones so a very noisy girlfriend couldn't hear. 

Ace's voice filled her ears. "I mean you can't know what goes on inside someone else's family. I'm just trying to get a sense of you and your sister"

"Bess I'm gonna go" Nancy heard interrupting Ace's voice and making her glance up to see Bess kiss Lisbeth goodbye. 

"Well how are you and your family n..." Laura began but her voice rose on the last word. 

"Laura slow down!" Ace yelled panicked. 

"My foots not even on the gas" Laura replied, her voice sounding condescending. Ace must have given her a look because she continued "no look. I-I'm not doing it!" she shouted fear creeping into her voice. 

"Slow down!" Ace commanded. Nancy pulled the headphones out so Bess and George could hear now that Lisbeth was gone. 

"I-I-I-I can't" she stammered terrified. "I can't control it!" Laura yelled. 

"Hit the brakes!" Ace yelled, the fear in his voice more than she could bear. 

"I-I can't" Laura yelled. 

"What the hell? Who's in control of the car?" George asked. 

"Someone who wanted Laura Tandy dead. This was definitely not an accident" Nancy said slowly. 

~

"Hey Chief. Got a minute?" 15 year old Nancy asked striding into the police station with Ace on her heels. 

He waved them in with a casual wave. "I haven't been Chief long you two. What the hell kind of trouble have you two caused now?" he scowled as he shut his door. 

"We may have discovered some information on the Willouby's stolen identity" Nancy said sweetly. 

"The same stolen identity case I warned you two not to meddle in a few days ago?" he growled. 

"To be fair that was a long time ago" Ace joked. 

"Not in my book Ace!" he yelled. 

Ace for his part did look a little embarrassed. "Look Chief just hear us out" Nancy said simply. 

"You have five minutes of my time" he replied his eyes narrowed. 

~

"What the hell's been going on in here?" Chief McGinnis demanded. 

Nancy glanced between her three friends. She considered all that had taken place in the Claw in the recent weeks. She considered Ace in the hospital in a coma...farther away from her than he's ever been. "Can you be more specific?" she requested. 

"Someone in this town has been tampering with the spirit world. We could stand here all day or one of you" he met the gaze of each of them before settling on Nancy. "can start talking" 

Nancy considered where to start, how to explain without implicating themselves in several crimes, and "Okay. Dead Lucy" Bess began. 

George, Nick, and Nancy all groaned aloud. 

"Was on Nancy's phone video. We went to a medium to see what she wanted, and then the medium FREAKed and vanished" Bess exclaimed. 

"Not like mystical vanished. She just, like, skipped town" George explained cynically sitting next to Nancy on the bench. 

"Right. Then there was this '70s throwback lady who applied for a job during the Nor'Easter storm" Bess recalled. 

"She also might've been dead. Not sure" George added. 

"But Tiffany Hudson's ghost definitely attacked me in a freezer right before she possessed George" Bess continued. This has been such a weird couple of weeks. 

"And there was the antique coins that opened the door to a crowd full of spirits during the séance" Nick contributed. 

"Séance?" Chief McGinnis repeated doubtfully. 

"Yeah. I conducted it with crash course from Victoria" Nancy said still in disbelief she actually attempted to commune with spirits. Chief raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. 

"My mom's a clairvoyant. It's why she's a raging alcoholic. What does this have to do with Ace?" George said irritably, needing a change of subject. 

"You all have been reckless. This place is still cluttered with spirits, even worse than the hospital" he chastised.

"So you did see something at the hospital? What was it?" Nancy demanded. Chief's body language changed becoming more defensive. 

He put his hands on his hips and Nancy recognized the gesture from her encounters with Chief over the year. He was preparing himself to admit something he didn't want to admit. "I believe...I saw Ace's spirit" he said slowly. 

"Ace is...dead?" George managed. Nancy's heart dropped like a stone into her stomach and she felt bile crawl up her throat.

"Ace is not dead" Chief McGinnis replied quickly and Nancy swallowed sharply and noticed Chief's eyes roam her face softly. "He's lost, scared. The trauma of the crash, it dislodged his soul from his body" Chief explained to them using his practical voice.

"Well, how do we get it back in his body?" Nancy asked desperately. 

"If Ace is lost in the spirit world, he's frozen in the moment of his greatest fear" Chief told them. 

"What, the-the car wreck?" Nick stammered doubtfully. 

"Then we'll have to go after him ourselves" Nancy declared. 

"Yeah" Bess agreed. 

Chief sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "George has channeled a spirit before and I've made contact" Nancy admitted her mind still struggling to believe but forcing herself to think of the most illogical possibilities, for Ace, "so is there a way together that we can bring Ace back?" she asked her voice thickening. "In a place that's not so infested with dark spirits?" Nancy added glancing around the staff area. 

"Nancy does have this ghost world on tap" Bess said in solidarity. 

"Where else have you been in contact?" Chief McGinnis asked despite himself. 

Nancy grit her teeth. "My house" she hissed. Chief held her gaze for a minute. 

"Can you give us the room for a minute?" he asked the others holding her gaze. Nick snorted annoyed and stalked out. George and Bess glanced between Nancy and him before shrugging. 

Chief glanced behind him to check the room was clear. "The best way to do this is make an welcoming trap for Ace's soul. Your house was always a welcoming place for Ace. Also your house and Ace's house face Cadillac's Peak. Spirits are tied to places in view of natural locations. Also, we need George. Her body will be most susceptible to be transported into the spirit world" he said his voice dropping an octave. 

"Why?" Nancy asked frowning. She wouldn't admit it but she had thought she would be the one to save Ace from the depths of the spirit world. 

"Because of her possession. If a ghost has possessed a person, it leaves the soul vulnerable to the spirit world. Under the right conditions her soul could traverse it easier than other more skeptical people" he said giving her a knowing sympathetic look. 

"What else do we need?" she asked. 

"Your father could be helpful. He was a father figure who has never had any quarrels with Ace. Ace's spirit will be comforted by his presence" Chief continued. Nancy stiffened. Nancy use to feel that way. Her father and mother use to be her whole world. But she never trusted them...not like Ace did. 

Her father's words bounced back in her head. You suspect everyone of everything. You always have, even as a kid. 

She needed to trust her father. For Ace she was willing to try. 

Nancy sighed heavily and checked her watch. "My father usually comes home for dinner around this time" she said sullenly. 

"Let's go" Chief said nodding. 

~

"Bess can you do me a favor?" Nancy said as she gingerly plopped down in Bess's passenger seat. 

"Anything" she promised. 

"I need to see Ace. Tonight" Nancy said adjusting the ice pack to her bruised eye. 

"Visitor hours are long past over...He's on the first floor though" Bess said considering. 

"Let's go break into the hospital" Nancy agreed. 

~

"Coast is clear" Bess told her as she managed to pry open the window. 

"Give me a hand up" Nancy told her and Bess knotted her hands together. Nancy stepped her one foot on them and then reached up with all her might. She grabbed the sill and peered into the room. No nurses were in sight so Nancy pulled herself up and heaved herself up through the window with a loud clatter. She skittered behind a chair but no one came in. She listened for a moment to the sounds of the hospital trying to steel herself. She got to her feet shakily.

Ace lay eyes closed with wires attached to his temples and a breathing tube. Nancy breathed in heavily to fight her desire to flee or scream. Instead she moved to the edge of his bed and took his hand which was thankfully warm. "Ace its me Nance" she whispered glancing to the door again. 

"I'm sorry about what I said to you. My dad was right I push people away it's my fault" she said her voice cracking. 

"I could never hold a friendship when I was younger because everyone was a suspect. You...you were my best friend but I dropped you for people who never cared about me. I let them spread rumors about George. I let them turn me into someone I'm not. I don't really know who I am anymore. After losing...mom....I just tried to hide from my past...our past...tried to hide myself in a cocoon...but I can't anymore. Ace I love you. You're my best friend. I do trust you. You hear me? I trust you! I promise. Please keep fighting. Please come back to me...because I can't be me unless you are in my life. I need you" she choked laying her head down on his hand and letting a single tear drop roll onto his hand. 

She studied his face but Ace didn't stir. His face was smooth and he looked so much younger. Memories of Ace came flooding back to her making a few more tears splash down her cheeks. She got up and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Come back Ace" she whispered before sneaking back to the window and into the night just turning to dawn.