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“I’ve missed this,” Bess said with a sigh as she fell against the countertop at The Claw.
“Waitressing?” Nancy asked in a wry voice. She barely glanced up at Bess from her task of rolling silverware. It actually was kind of soothing, she’d give Bess that.
“Well,” Bess paused, “maybe not waitressing, but being here with you guys! Don’t you miss it?”
Nancy allowed herself a glance at Ace, who was back at the dishwashing station, before forcing her attention back to the task at hand. “Yeah, I do miss it,” she said quietly. Bess nudged her and gave her a sympathetic look. “Even without all that, I do miss it,” Nancy told her. And she meant that. Even though realistically, she knew life wasn’t easier back when they were all working at The Claw, she really missed the family they created. Everyone had come into their own in the last year, but that meant less time to spend together.
George dumped a bucket of ice into the soda machine. “I’m glad you guys miss it because Jesse seriously owes me one.”
Nancy snorted and slid over the tub of rolled silverware before starting another. “At least your semester is over.” They were all back at The Claw because somehow, the entire waitstaff, one of the cooks, and the dishwasher, all managed to come down with some sort of virus. Jesse called in a favor…and then Nick and George called in a few of their own. They not only had to beg Nancy and Bess, but they had to go to the morgue and beg Connor to let Ace out a little early for a few days.
It still wasn’t enough for breakfast and lunch, but at least they were able to stay running for dinner for a few days. Luckily Jesse and Nick ran The Claw a lot better than the old crew did, so they were actually bringing in money, and being closed wouldn’t hurt too much.
“We should do something Christmasy in here,” Bess said, looking around the diner. “Hang up some decorations, put on some Christmas music.”
Nancy and George both spoke up in unison at that. “I hate Christmas music.” Nancy cracked a smile at George.
“We could put up some decorations,” George allowed. “But only some. Don’t go overboard!”
Bess cheered and clapped her hands. “Ace!” He looked over at the three of them and Nancy looked away. It’s not even that she was avoiding Ace, really it wasn’t. They’d still go to game nights. They still worked together on cases. They were still friends, just not like they were. But there was something about being back at The Claw that was just killing her inside. It didn’t help that he looks unfairly good with his backwards cap on, one of his ridiculous floral shirts that only he could pull off, and God, that earring. The way Nancy wanted to tug on that earring with her teeth.
George reached across the counter to pinch Nancy’s wrist. “We can’t afford any broken glass in here, Nancy.” George may not have been there daily anymore, but she was still part manager of the restaurant.
Nancy grimaced. “Sorry.” She redirected her attention to the silverware.
Bess looped her arm through Ace’s when he comes out of the kitchen. “We’re going shopping.”
George crossed her arms over her chest and glared at them both. “The Claw opens in half an hour.”
“You two can handle it until Ace and I get back. We’ll be gone an hour tops, I promise,” Bess said as she took her apron off.
Ace looked amused at the exchange. “Sorry, Boss. Bessita needs me.”
“Oh, whatever. Just go already. An hour, Bess.” Bess crossed her heart with her index finger, then pulled Ace out the door, not even bothering to grab their coats. And finally, Nancy could breathe easier, even through the ache in her chest.
“How are you really?” George asked. “I feel bad that I disappeared during finals. And I know this can’t be easy for you.”
Everyone knew about the curse by then, but George seemed to understand her better. Ace probably would too, but they couldn’t talk about these things for obvious reasons. “I’m ok,” Nancy said softly. “It is hard. Being here.” Where she fell, she thought. All that time playing around in the kitchen, solving mysteries, just being with Ace. It just emphasized the fact that they couldn’t really get that anymore.
George laid her hand on top of Nancy’s and squeezed softly. “If it helps, he’s also giving you longing looks when you’re not looking.”
Nancy smiled sadly. “It doesn’t, but thanks for trying.”
Bess had been trying to break the curse for months. They’d done so many rituals, Nancy had lost track. But not one of them had worked. And she would never tell Bess this, but it had absolutely made her nightmares worse. They’d increased tenfold. She was basically made of coffee and energy drinks back. Luckily the whole crew thought it was because she was pulling extra long hours with her investigations, although Nancy was pretty sure that George and Ace both were on to her.
Not five minutes after they left, Bess burst through the door with Ace behind her. “Nancy, Aunt Diana needs our help.”
Nancy raised her eyebrows and spun around on the barstool to face Bess. “With what?”
“And why do we care?” George asked, not missing a beat. She didn’t even take her eyes off the bottles of ketchup she was marrying. Internally, Nancy agreed with George. She would never understand why Bess was trying to start over with her royally awful family either. But it’s what Bess wanted and she was going to try to be supportive. And she knew that deep down, George was also going to be supportive. In her own snarky way.
Bess glared at George. “Cousin Margaret has been murdered. She called the police, but she doesn’t have a lot of faith in them since Tamura hasn’t come back.”
“That’s fair,” Ace murmured under his breath. Nancy was inclined to agree with him and Diana honestly. The force hadn’t done a great job of solving crime in the last several months. Tamura accepted a job as a detective in Bangor and left as soon as he could. They’d been searching for a new detective for months. Unfortunately, no one wanted the role. It’d been great for Nancy Drew Investigations though.
“It doesn’t help that Margaret Marvin is awful,” George said in a dry voice. Bess’s jaw dropped in surprise. “I know you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, Bess, but come on. Your cousin? She sucked. The list of suspects could probably include everyone in Horseshoe Bay and every surrounding town.”
“I’m just going to ignore that,” Bess said primly. She stared at Nancy. When Nancy just stared back, she pulled her up off the stool. “Well, come on. She wants to see us right now.”
“You’re just going to leave?” George pressed her hands into the counter. “Guys. We have a dinner rush expected in 45 minutes.”
“Sorry, George,” Bess told her. Nancy exchanged an amused glance with Ace before she darted her eyes away quickly. Bess really didn’t sound very sorry.
“It really is like old times,” George said, annoyed. She shooed them out the door. “Fine. But please be back in an hour. You know Ace isn’t a good server.” Ace shrugged in response, they all knew the truth.
“Promise. Hour and a half tops,” Nancy told her quickly. George rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything as Nancy grabbed her coat and darted out the door after Bess.
“I know you guys think I’m being stupid,” Bess said after they’d settled into the car.
“Bess, no,” Nancy tried her best to be reassuring, but she knew it was probably useless.
“No, I get it, I do. It’s just I feel like I have to prove myself to them,” Bess said quietly. She stared out the window. “I know it’s dumb. I shouldn’t be giving them so many chances.”
Nancy reached over to squeeze her friend’s hand. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”
Bess gave Nancy a small smile. “I know. And I love you for it.” She was quiet for a moment, then changed the subject completely. “So I’ve been doing some research.”
“You’re always doing research. It’s your whole job,” Nancy teased.
Bess clicked her tongue in response. “Yes, but I’ve been doing curse research.” She whispered the word “curse” like just saying it out loud will cause the window to crack. As if it wasn’t the topic of every other conversation they’ve had since Bess slipped Nancy that truth potion back in February.
Ten months of trying to break this fucking curse and they’d gotten nowhere.
“And?”
“And I might be onto something, I’m still in the planning stages. But it looks like it might be a two-week-long spell,” Bess explained. Nancy turned onto the long Marvin drive and Bess went quiet, pulling at her skirt and fidgeting with the hem.
“I have total faith in you, Bess, you’re going to figure this out, I know it,” Nancy told her softly.
“And the rest of us. We’re getting tired of all the longing looks coming from both sides,” Bess said. They parked and got out of Nancy’s car and Nancy pretended not to see Bess tug her skirt down self-consciously. She probably wished she would have changed out of her uniform, but it was obviously too late for that.
Diana Marvin opened the door before Bess even had the chance to ring the bell. Odd, Nancy thought, she wasn’t aware the Marvins knew how to open their own doors.
Diana reached her hands out to Bess and Bess squeezed her back in sympathy. “Oh, Aunt Diana, I’m so sorry about Margaret, how can we help?”
Diana ushered Nancy and Bess inside and immediately got down to business. “Well, as you know, I called the cops first, but they just seem so useless these days.” She paused and Nancy took the opportunity to look around. There was something about the Marvin household that felt off, and she didn’t think it was just that Margaret had been killed. It was quiet. No one was collecting their coats or scarves. Diana hadn’t made a single snide comment about them wearing their Claw uniforms. The hustle and bustle of a prominent household at Christmas especially were missing. It was more than a little disconcerting.
Before she could lose herself in this train of thought, Diana was speaking again. “She was strangled,” Diana touched her own throat lightly as if remembering. “But there was also something odd about what happened. It seemed like something that would be in your wheelhouse.”
Bess and Nancy exchanged glances. That was certainly interesting. “What is it?” Bess asked carefully.
Diana looked flustered for the first time since…ever, Nancy thought. Her hands were shaking, she was clearly trying to compose herself, but she paled as she hands her phone over to Nancy and Bess. Nancy squinted and furrowed her brow.
“Is that a branding?” Nancy asked as she zoomed into the picture. It looked almost like a chain with a lock, which was just weird.
“Yes,” Diana said. “It was on her chest. She’d been branded like she was cattle.” She placed her own hand on her chest, but Nancy didn’t think she even noticed she’d done it.
“Can I send these to myself?” Nancy asked, gesturing to the phone.
“Yes, of course,” Diana told her.
When she’d finished with that, thankfully Diana took several pictures, Nancy handed the phone back and said, “Thank you. Now, tell us everything you know. Was there anyone you can think of who might have wanted to hurt Margaret?”
Diana sniffed in disdain. “We’re Marvins, Miss Drew. You should know better than anyone how many people would kill us for our money.”
Nancy looked over at Bess and bit back a retort. “Right, but did Margaret mention a fight with anyone recently?”
“No, nothing,” Diana murmured. She reached out and grabbed Bess’s hand in a rare sign of weakness. Bess squeezed back tight.
“If you can think of anything, please let me know as soon as you can,” Nancy said softly. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Back at The Claw, while closing up, Bess and Nancy were recounting everything Diana said earlier in the day. They’d shared spurts of information earlier, of course, but they really did promise to help, and they didn’t want to close for “inventory” already.
Ace was searching for anything that resembles the branding that was on Margaret’s chest, but he wasn’t having much luck. Nancy started to peek over his shoulder when she could tell he was getting frustrated, but decided she was going to mop instead.
“I think you might have to check the historical society tomorrow, Bess,” Ace told her after what was clearly another unsuccessful search.
“Something Ace can’t find? The world must be coming to an end,” George teased. She set a tray of clean glasses next to him. “Help me put up the dishes. Give your mind a break.” Ace rolled his eyes at his computer screen one last time before closing the laptop completely.
“Besides, you’ll probably have the opportunity to examine the body tomorrow,” Nancy told him.
The corners of his mouth quirked up into that barely-there smile that’s usually reserved for her and she had to look away. “You’re right,” he told her. “I definitely will.”
Nancy looked over at Bess, expecting to see her wiping down the tables and getting chairs out of her way, but instead sees her scrolling through her phone. “What are you doing?”
Bess huffed in irritation. “I was scrolling through Instagram to see if I noticed a stalker or anything in Margaret’s feed. You know how much she loved to post selfies.”
“That’s actually a great idea, Bess,” Ace told her. Nancy agreed and walked around to peer at Bess’s phone. Margaret documented her life as much as a Kardashian, but she was significantly brattier. Actually, Margaret was pretty awful. There were plenty of people who would see her coming and turn to walk in the other direction.
“Did you find anything?” Nancy asked.
“No, no stalker, nothing out of the ordinary,” Bess said. Nancy noticed her hesitation though, but after a moment Bess seemed to snap out of it. “Though there is a video tagged of her being just awful at Aroma Central though.” She pulled up the video and played it for George, Nancy, and Ace. In it, Margaret is throwing an absolute tantrum at the store. She’s berating every single person in there and at the end of it, knocks several bottles off a shelf before slamming the door on her way out. The caption read “Margs the Monster, back at it again.”
Nancy’s eyebrows were nearly in her hairline, and even George didn’t seem to know what to say. “Do you think we should talk to the owner?” Ace suggested slowly.
Nancy shrugged. “It can’t hurt.”
“It’s a start anyway. Now, can we please finish closing so I can go home and go to bed? It’s has been a long ass week,” George said.
“Sorry, George,” Nancy and Bess said at the same time before bursting out in laughter. They finished closing in what felt like record time and made a plan to regroup in the morning. Nancy was so preoccupied with thinking about the case, she missed when Ace said her name and jolted when she felt his hand wrap around her wrist lightly.
“Ace,” she breathed. He pulled away like he’d been burned, but she could still feel where his skin touched hers.
“Sorry,” he cleared his throat and darted his eyes away briefly. “I just wanted to let you know that Connor will be in a little late tomorrow, so if you want to stop in before he does, you should plan on being there around 8.”
Nancy blinked at him. “Stop in?”
His eyes crinkled in amusement. “To see the body?”
Right. Right. For the case, she realized. She needed to snap out of it. It had been a weird, rough day, and she needed tomorrow to be better. “I’m sorry. Yes, that would be great. Thank you.”
Ace stepped forward like he wants to hug her, but thought better of it and just waved awkwardly instead. “Well, good night.”
“Good night.” Nancy turned back to her car and sees Bess leaning against it, a pained expression on her face.
“Are you ok, Nancy?” Bess asked her when they were both in the car. “You seem a little off today.”
“Yeah, I’m ok.” Nancy shook her head and smiled at Bess. “I’m sorry, it’s just weird being back at The Claw with you guys, working a case from there instead of the office, it feels like going back in time. I’m also just a little tired.”
“Plus the whole Ace of it all,” Bess added.
Nancy hummed in response. “I miss my friend.” She was pretty sure that was an ok thing to say. Not something that would start Temperance’s curse up anyway. “I miss things being the way they used to be.”
“And tonight was a reminder of that,” Bess said sagely. Nancy didn’t say anything in response and they were quiet until Nancy pulls up in front of the Historical Society. Bess leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. “I’ll text you as soon as I find something.”
“Thanks, Bess.” Nancy lost herself in her thoughts on the way home. The last year had been awful. And it had been just over a year since Temperance put the curse on Ace. At first, she avoided everyone, a little desperate to spend time with Ryan after what she saw, too broken-hearted to see Ace while knowing she couldn’t even touch him without the fear of killing him. And then a month later when he confessed how he felt in his apartment…Well, she hated to see him after she had been so cruel.
So she avoided everyone. Threw herself into work and research until Bess showed up at Nancy Drew Investigations with a coffee dosed with truth serum. Since then, it was…Well, it was still awkward to say the least. First, Nancy was livid they would agree to trick her like that, then she was unhappily admitting that she’d do the same thing if she was in their shoes. But at least everyone understood why she said the things she did and why she’d been avoiding them all.
She was exhausted by the time she walked in the front door and she was more than a little surprised to see Jean, Carson, and Ryan huddled on the couch watching Elf.
“Hey, honey, how was work?” Carson got up to kiss her on the forehead. “Ryan found out an old friend of his was killed today.”
Oh, right. Nancy hadn’t even thought about Ryan knowing Margaret. He never mentioned her the way he did other people, but they probably grew up together. “I’m actually working on the case for Diana Marvin.”
Carson raised his eyebrows at her. “Oh?”
Nancy peeked into the living room to make sure Ryan isn’t paying any attention to her. He still had a lot of normal people things to catch up on, even though it’d been a year. He was steadily watching the movie though, so she pulled her phone out to show Carson a photo of the branding. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”
Carson took a long look at the picture and shook his head slowly. “No, can’t say that I have.”
Nancy nodded, expecting that, and put her phone back into her back pocket. “That’s why Diana hired me. Said this seemed more up my wheelhouse than the police.”
“But they’re still looking into it, right?” Carson asked. Nancy almost smiled at the concern in his voice. He just couldn’t help himself.
“Of course. A Marvin was murdered,” she said quietly.
Carson nodded. “Be careful.”
“I always am.” Carson shot her a look and she snorted. “I promise to not deliberately put my life at risk.”
“That’s all I ask.”
The next day, Nancy met Ace at the morgue to look at Margaret’s body. Diana really did take good pictures, but she still wanted to see it for herself. See if there were any clues that Diana wouldn’t have picked up on and the police obviously wouldn’t tell her.
“Do you know yet how she died?” she asks Ace as he pulled Margaret’s body out.
“It was definitely strangulation.” He pulled the sheet down to Margaret’s chest and allied Nancy a better look. She could see the finger-shaped bruising along Margaret’s neck, but it did look a little weird somehow. She wasn’t sure why. “But Connor also said it was possible she’d had a heart attack at the same time.”
Nancy furrowed her brow and glanced up at him. “A heart attack? Really?”
“He thinks the trauma here could have caused it, yes. Strangulation for sure though, which I know is fairly obvious.” He stood back away from the table and leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. “He still needs to do more, but that’s his preliminary cause of death.”
Nancy hummed in response. She took a little longer to study Margaret, looking for anything else that might give them any clues. Diana didn’t say anything about missing jewelry or money, nothing like that. She was fully clothed when they found her. It didn’t seem like an assault. “This is just so weird.”
“Good thing you specialize in weird then, right?” he teased. She smiled at him, fondness warming her down to her toes.
“Good thing,” she agreed. She forced herself to look back down at Margaret. “What an awful way to die.”
He still knew her well and covered the body back up and she was more than a little grateful for it. She had a heavy feeling in her chest and didn’t think she could continue staring at Margaret any longer.
The night before, instead of her normal nightmares featuring Ace dying in her arms, she also saw Ryan dying, with the same branding sprawled across his back.
“Are you ok?” Ace asked, reaching out and squeezing her arm.
Nancy forced herself to meet his worried gaze. “Ryan was friends with her. Or at least, acquaintances.” She couldn’t imagine that Margaret Marvin was still friendly with Ryan since he was broker than broke.
“He’s going to be fine,” Ace told her. “There’s no reason to jump to any conclusions about anything yet. This is probably just a one-time thing. A robbery gone wrong or something.”
Nancy shook her head in an effort to clear it. “You’re right. I’ve just been a little tired lately, my brain is probably just playing with my emotions.”
Ace reached out and squeezed her elbow lightly. “You’ve been tired a lot lately. I know we’re not as close as we were, but you know you can always talk to me. What’s going on?”
Nancy didn’t even know how to answer that. How could she tell him about her nightmares? He’d feel so guilty, he’d probably make Bess stop looking. She opened her mouth to answer, even though she didn’t know what she’d say, but her phone saved her.
“Hey, Bess,” Nancy answered. “I’m here with Ace. You’re on speaker.”
“I found something about the design of the branding,” Bess said over the speaker. Nancy could hear rustling around and she was already imagining Bess in her mind, her hair up in a ponytail as she paces back and forth in the Historical Society. “I think it’s related to the Women in White.”
Nancy grimaced and shared a look with Ace. “Why is it when something happens it is always the Women in White?” he asked her wryly.
She gave him an amused smile before turning her attention back to the phone. “You’re amazing, Bess, I’ll be there soon.” They hung up and Nancy turns back to Ace. “I know you can’t come with me.”
He stepped impossibly closer to her. “No, but I promise I’d rather come with you than hang out here in the morgue.”
It had been a year, and she still couldn’t help but feel pulled into his orbit. She took a step back, just to be safe. “Do you think you can find anything out about Margaret?”
He ducked his head to hide his disappointment. As much as he still knew her, she knew him. He thought she was being too cold, too distant. And maybe she was. But it was keeping him alive and she couldn’t force herself to feel bad about that. “I’ll do my best.”
George was already at the Historical Society when Nancy got there. “Hey, I didn’t know you were joining us today.”
George shrugged. “The office is closed for the holidays. I don’t technically have anything to do at The Claw. I got antsy.” George was interning with Jean, which had been absolutely amazing for her. And Nancy had, miraculously, not called in one favor from her.
“She missed us,” Bess teased. “And Nick, Addy, and the kids are all ice fishing today.”
George scowled. “I just don’t understand why they want to go through that torture.”
Nancy laughed as she hung up her coat. “Some people actually like the great outdoors.”
“Hey, I do as much as the next person. But ice fishing? Have you seen me?” George gestured up and down her body and Nancy shook her head. She was wearing an awesome crop top with lace sleeves, black jeans, and combat boots, and she looked amazing but also underprepared for ice fishing. “I have to wear professional clothes all the time, I can’t do it on my off days.”
“Come on, I’ve laid out some books in the other room,” Bess said, giving them both a cup of tea. They followed her to the dining room turned research area, and sure enough, she had a few books on the table ready to go.
Bess explained to them that she hadn't found much, just that the branding had shown up around the area in the early 1840s, but stopped around the mid-1840s. “I pulled out every book we have from this area during that time period. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”
They dove into the books, reading as much as they can before they were interrupted a few hours into the research by a text from Ace in the group chat.
Ace: There’s been another killing. Thadeus Tomlinson. He has the same branding on his chest. Was also strangled.
Nick: Thadeus Tomlinson. Why does that name sound familiar?
Nancy: Because he owns Tomlinson Motors and Tomlinson Shipping
George: Bonus points for naming every business after yourself, I guess
Aces sent a picture to the chat of the scarring from the brand. It looked exactly like Margaret’s, but bigger, Nancy thought. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was a reason Tomlinson’s branding was worse than Margaret’s. Was it a clue?
Nancy: Thanks, Ace. Regroup at The Claw before dinner service?
They all agreed, and Bess, Nancy, and George got back to their research. Finally, Bess closed the last book and groaned. “I think we’re going to have to call in for backup.”
George raised her eyebrows at Bess. “You mean you’re going to call the other keepers?”
“How could I not? There have already been two deaths, weird branding, and it seems somewhat connected to the Women in White. If we want to solve this, we need to be willing to ask for help.” Bess was already sending off an email to the other keepers and attached a picture of the branding to the email. She shrugged and put her phone back down. “Now we wait.”
“Because we’re so good at that,” Nancy said. She flipped back through a book and then through her own sparse notes. She wasn’t sure what or who could be causing this, but she didn’t like it.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I could eat,” George said, getting up from the table and stretching. She nudged Nancy. “And some coffee?”
“Yes, coffee.” Nancy joined her and they looked expectantly at Bess.
“Oh fine. Let’s go.”
Later, before opening The Claw, Nick, Addy, Ace, George, Bess, and Nancy were all comparing notes. Luckily, Bess and George had filled Addy and Nick in the night before.
“Ok. So. What do we know about Tomlinson?” Nancy asked the group. She had their giant bulletin board out and was making notes about both victims. George made her promise to put the “murder board” back up before customers arrived, which Nancy rolled her eyes at. This was hardly their first rodeo.
“He owned Tomlinson Motors and Tomlinson Shipping,” Addy supplied.
“And,” Ace said, drawing out the word to add suspense, “he let half of his employees go at the shipping company yesterday.” He spun his laptop to face everyone dramatically.
“Four days before Christmas? Wow. He’s a monster,” George said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Just like Margaret,” Nick mused. Bess glared at him and he shrugged. “I’m just saying that two rich people in Horseshoe Bay both died near the day that they treated working-class people like crap.”
Bess pursed her lips. “Fine. You have a point there. And it’s not like Margaret was an angel, I know that.” Addy rubbed Bess’s shoulder. “Ok. She was kind of terrible. But, like, the Aroma Central incident was hardly the worst thing she’s ever done.”
Nancy cocked her head at Bess. “So it could be a pattern of behavior? Do we know if Tomlinson was always awful?”
“Is he the one who sexually assaulted his receptionist a few years back and then ran her out of town?” George asked. Nancy looked over at Ace, she doesn’t remember hearing about that, but it could have been when her mom was sick. Ace was already furiously typing something into his laptop.
“Yeah, that was him,” Ace told them. “He’s not a great guy.”
Nancy frowned and made some notes, pinning them to the board. “It’s still not a lot to go on yet.” She looked over at Bess. “Have you heard anything from the other keepers yet?”
Bess shook her head. “Nothing.”
They all sat in silence for a few more minutes before Nick brought his hands together and stood up. “Ok. We’ve still got a business to run. Let’s put up the murder board,” Nancy glared at him, but he just continued, “and start opening. George, do you have a sec?” Nancy snorted, and Bess, Ace, and Addy all rolled their eyes. It was cute really, the way Nick thought the rest of them didn’t know they were going into the office to make out.
“Yeah, right behind you,” George said. She pulled the board away from Nancy and followed Nick into the office with it, flipping them all off before she shut the door behind her.
“Nerds,” Addy said fondly. She gave Bess a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later?”
“Of course.”
Nancy wandered over to where Ace was sitting to give Bess and Addy some privacy. She nudged him with her shoulder. “Thanks for all of your help.”
“Of course. I’m always here for you, you know that,” he said softly.
She thought about all the things he’s done for her in the last year and a half. Offering to be a listening ear, making sure she eats, but also giving her space when she thought she needed it at the beginning of the year, and everything in between. She also couldn’t help herself and thought about that other life, the version of Ace that brought her sorbet every single day for a month. “I do.” She hesitated. She wasn’t sure why she was more in her feelings lately, but since she was…“I’m sorry I’ve not been as good of a friend to you as you have been to me.”
He stopped his typing and turned to look at her. “Nancy, what are you talking about? You’re always there for us, even when it’s hard for you. You may have been cruel,” Nancy winced at the slight break in his voice on the word, “earlier in the year, but I understand now. I’ve understood for months.” Ace paused and her eyes roamed over his face, drinking him in. “I do miss us though, and being able to talk openly without having to weigh the consequences of every word.”
Nancy smiled sadly. “Me too.”
“We’ll break it one day.” He swallowed hard. “And if we don’t, and you want to move on. You know I would understand.”
Her heart broke then and she stepped closer to him. “Ace, I,” she couldn’t even find the words and shook her head. “I don’t see that happening.”
Ace reached out and brushed her pinky with his quickly, so soft she could say it never happened. “I don’t either.” He held her gaze for a long minute before turning his attention back to his laptop screen, thankfully still uncracked. “You should probably go change,” his voice was shaky, but she knew he was right.
“It looks like you guys were having a pretty serious conversation up front,” Bess said when Nancy joined her in the back. “Are you ok?”
Nancy sat next to Bess on the bench and dropped her head on Bess’s shoulder. “Yes,” she lied. Bess understood though and wrapped her arms around Nancy, pulling her close.
During dinner service, Nancy couldn’t help the way her eyes followed Ace around as he bussed the tables in the dining room. It didn’t matter where she was, where he was, or who she was helping, her eyes were drawn to him.
“Ma’am, did you get that?”
Nancy smiled brightly at the man sitting in front of her. “Grilled ham and cheese, extra ham, clam chowder, salad, no tomatoes, extra cucumber, cheese, onions, and Italian dressing on the side.”
The man frowned but begrudgingly said, “That’s right.”
“Great, I’ll get that order in, sir.” She brushed by Ace on her way to the back and frowned at the girls one table over from him trying to get his attention.
“Is there something I can get you?” Nancy asked them. She was pretty sure they were George’s customers, and she knew George was just over there with them.
The girls giggled at each other as one ducked her head in embarrassment. “No, thank you.” Nancy smiled at them and continued on her way back to the kitchen.
“I know you’re not jealous over some girls thinking Ace is cute, Drew,” George grumbled at her. Nancy ignored her friend and slid the ticket for her table over to Chef Jamie. She began putting together the man’s salad and glanced at her other tables in the dining room to make sure they were still set.
Ace burst into the kitchen with a full tub, which he unceremoniously dropped at the dishwashing station and said, “Connor just texted. There’s been another death.”
George and Nancy exchanged a look. “Another rich person?” George asked.
“The owner of the yacht club,” Ace told them, dropping his voice low. “Bert Cullen.”
Bert Cullen was one of the worst people in town. One of those who would leave a penny as a tip, never returned his carts, took up two parking spots, or parked in the handicapped spot every time. Worst of all, he evicted a single mom with cancer who was just trying to make ends meet while getting chemo just a few weeks prior. Nick ended up setting her and her three kids up in an apartment in his building. There wasn’t a lot of space, but at least they weren’t homeless.
Nancy and George were both silent. Nancy could practically hear all the snarky things George wanted to say in response to this, but she kept her mouth firmly shut.
“Two is maybe a coincidence, but three? That’s a pattern now,” Nancy mused. She tapped the side of her cheek thoughtfully. “Do we really have a serial killer targeting rich people who do awful things?”
They fell silent and just looked at each other for a long moment.
“I’m just going to say it,” George said, throwing her hands up in the air. “Are we sure we even want to solve this one? I mean, what’re a few assholes off the street?”
“What if he runs out of rich people?” Ace asked slowly.
“What if who runs out of rich people?” Bess asked, joining them in the kitchen. “Oh! Do we have another murder?”
George snorted. “Bert Cullen,” Ace answered.
Bess’s jaw dropped. “Ok, see, where’s Nick? Because you have awful like Margaret, but then you have truly awful like Bert Cullen.”
“I’m not sure that’s the thing we should be focusing on here, Bess,” Nancy said. She leaned against the prep table and crossed her arms.
“I’m just saying,” Bess said. “On a scale of horribleness, Bert Cullen was really up there.”
“Nancy, your order is up,” Jamie called to her.
That’s right, they were at The Claw, and they still had customers. Nancy shook her head. “Thanks, Jamie!” She turned back to the crew and shrugged apologetically. “Table six is ready.”
Nancy spent the rest of the night in a daze. She was either lost in thought or so busy she couldn’t think about the murders. Two in one day though, that wasn’t good. By the end of the night, they were all exhausted. Since they couldn’t do much of anything else until the other keepers got back to them, they said their good nights and they all went home.
The next morning, Nancy woke up covered in sweat and tears. She checked the time and it was only 5:17 AM. She groaned and fell back against her pillow. She was so tired of seeing Ace die in her sleep, but at least she didn’t have to see Ryan’s death play out again too. About three months before, the nightmares stopped being the car crash on repeat, instead it was like her brain was concocting other horrifying ways for him to die, other ways to remind her they could not be together.
Sometimes it was big and dramatic, like a bank robbery or a murderer trying to stop him from examining a victim. But it was usually something quiet, like him having an aneurysm immediately after their first kiss. Or going on their first date and choking on food.
The most recent was waking up in bed with his cold, lifeless body after they’d finally slept together for the first time.
Nancy wiped her eyes. It didn’t matter that she knew these weren’t real. They felt real. And they were awful. Sometimes it just made it hard to be around Ace, to even look at him, and she could tell it was going to be one of those days.
Thank goodness they were working a case together then.
Since she was unable to get back to sleep, she decided to go ahead and get ready for the day. By the time she was sitting at the kitchen counter finishing her coffee, she had a 911 text from Bess asking everyone to meet her at the Historical Society.
Ace: Can’t. We had three more deaths overnight. Two by our guy.
Nancy pursed her lips at this. What about the third? But of course, Ace seemed to read her mind.
Ace: The third sounds like an overdose, but not sure. Either way, probably not mysterious or supernatural.
George: Nick and I will be there in 20
Nancy: On my way.
When Nancy walked into the Historical Society, she was shocked to see Bess organizing new books. Just so many books. “What’s all this?”
“The keeper in West Lake, Vermont had all this overnighted to us. She expects it back after Christmas of course, but she didn’t want to waste time and potentially be the cause of new victims by digging through it herself,” Bess said. “There are journals and histories of the magic here.”
Nancy hung up her scarf and coat and set her bag on the floor next to the table. “Wonderful. Let’s get to work.”
Bess looked up at her for the first time since she walked in. “Are you ok? You sound and look exhausted.”
Nancy forced a smile. “Yeah, just didn’t sleep well last night.”
Bess hummed but accepted the answer. “You want to take those over there?” she asked, nodding to a stack of books at the end of the table.
“Perfect,” Nancy said. She pushed up her sleeves and pulled the books over to her. A few minutes after she started, George and Nick joined. George slid a cup of coffee over to Nancy and Nancy smiled gratefully. George was definitely on to her. Also, she didn’t want anyone to choose sides in this whole Ace debacle, but she was pretty sure George had chosen hers and Nancy loved her even more for it. It was nice to feel unconditionally supported throughout everything.
Hours into their research, George gasped. “Guys, I think I found something.” She opened her mouth to start reading, but Ace walked in with arms full of food. “Oh good, Ace is here. Great timing.”
His eyebrows quirked up quizzically. “Here I am.”
Nick took some of the food from Ace. “George, go ahead, Ace and I’ll pass out lunch.”
George nodded. “It says here that from 1841 through 1844, there had been several killings by Jacob Marley’s ghost. When he killed people, he was leaving his mark, which is the chain and padlock we’ve been seeing. He’d been doing this for years, starting in London and then going to New York.”
“I’m sorry, Jacob Marley?” Nancy asked. She pointed to George with her sandwich. “That’s what you said, right?”
“Like from A Christmas Carol? ” Nick asked incredulously.
“Could just be a coincidence,” George said. “The Women in White came together to bind him to a lock box. The only way he’s supposed to have been let out was with a key that they hid in Ithaca, New York. Apparently, there are some other artifacts as well.” George flipped through a few pages. “They don’t really mention what was done to bind him and there’s some other information missing here, but it sounds like Clementine Cullen was one of the ones involved.” George and Nancy both raised their eyebrows at the name Cullen appearing in the research. The Cullens had been around for ages and Nancy would wonder if Marley was going after the families of those who’d wronged him back in the day if it weren’t for the fact that Tomlinson was self-made and from Oregon.
“Wait.” Bess started moving the stacks of books looking for something in particular. “I saw something with the name Clementine on it earlier, when I was just flipping through everything. I didn’t see a full name though. Here it is!” Bess held up a leatherbound journal with the name Clementine engraved into the leather. It was so well worn, Nancy almost couldn’t read it any longer. But when Bess opened the book, the writing was damn near perfect. “She enchanted it the pages,” Bess explained. “So the writing would never fade.”
“Cool,” Ace said around his turkey sandwich. Bess smiled at him brightly.
“The first date is December 21, 1843, the winter solstice,” Bess pushed her sandwich aside as she read the journal. The rest of the group devoured their food as they waited for her to divulge the information she found. “Marley had been around for a while at this point, killing the rich and taking their money and power, giving it to Ebenezer Scrooge.”
“Pardon?” Nick asked. “So this is no coincidence.”
“I guess not,” Bess said slowly. “He would kill beginning at the solstice through Christmas, and then disappear again for another year. Scrooge and Marley were apparently a part of a larger coven in London, one that Clementine’s mother was part of. However, Scrooge was apparently a horrible person, always wanting more and more power. The women and their families in that coven fled England and came here, starting the Women in White and vowing to never let a man be a part of it.”
“Men are horrible creatures,” George said. “I get it.” Nick and Ace exchanged incredulous glances but were smart enough not to say anything back to that.
“How did Marley end up here then?” Nancy asked. “In Horseshoe Bay from London? I don’t ever remember hearing the names Marley or Scrooge when learning about local history.”
“You never heard about the Women in White either,” Bess pointed out.
“True, but you would think if famous literary characters were real and showed up in Maine, we’d know about it.”
Bess kept reading. “According to Clementine, by the time Scrooge and Marley made their way across the pond, Marley was actually dead and bound to Scrooge. Marley was very powerful and Scrooge had also wanted his power, but he couldn’t take it straight away and had to bind Marley to him to do his bidding.” She was silent for a few minutes before she grimaced. “It looks like when they untethered Marley from Scrooge, it caused Scrooge to die of old age. He was living off Marley’s power. He would have been 117 years old at that point. Like George said, they ended up binding Marley to a lock box and then gifting the key that could open it, along with his journals, which Scrooge still had, to a keeper in Ithaca.”
“Where was the lockbox? How did he get out?” Ace asked.
Bess bit her lip nervously, then turned the diary to face them. “The lock box was here. He got out when Nancy broke in.”
Fuck. Nancy grimaced. “Of course he did.”
“But that was well over a year ago,” Nick pointed out. “Why didn’t he do anything on the solstice last year?”
“He was powerless,” Bess explained. “He feeds off magick, but there wasn’t enough magick here then and he’d been locked away for so long. It had to build up. So Temperance probably brought him close to the edge, but then my studying, and all the other weirdness this year was probably just enough to tip him over.”
“So I let him out, Temperance, you, and us trying to break the curse is what powered him up. Am I understanding that right?” Nancy asked. She was beyond frustrated. Here it was again, the consequence of her actions. She would not allow herself to be upset about saving George’s life, but she would definitely allow herself to be irritated about everything else.
Bess made a face. “I think so.”
“Wonderful. Just want to make sure we’re all on the same page here.”
“Doesn’t matter how it happened, what can we do to fix it?” Nick asked.
“I think first, we need to get ahold of the keeper in Ithaca and see if they still have these items. If they do, great, we figure out how to get them. If they don’t, we track them down. Clementine wrote that the ritual for putting him back, basically, is just a simple binding spell. I can do that, no problem, but I need the key,” Bess explained. She started making notes. “I’ll call the keeper now. We need to be prepared that there will probably be another death today. And four tomorrow. Hopefully, we can figure out how to draw Marley to one of us or we can figure out who he’s going after next.”
“And lucky us, we still have to work at The Claw tonight,” George said as Bess stepped into the office which was more private. “This is going to be a long day.”
“Well, at least tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” Nick pointed out. “The Claw won’t be open.”
“No, but your parents are going to be in town and we’re hosting them, which means we have to prep that and do all of this on the DL.”
Nick opened his mouth to respond, but seemed to think better of it and just shook his head. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year?”
“Something like that,” George snarked. “We should have gone to Florida.”
While they bickered, Nancy took the opportunity to look over at Ace who was being even more quiet than usual. She nudged him with her foot. “You ok?” she whispered when he looked over at her.
He nodded. “Just an early morning.”
“Good news!” Bess exclaimed, rejoining them. “The keeper in Ithaca still has it.”
“That’s great news, Bess,” Nancy said.
“Bad news, she is closing for the day and is only willing to open up from 9 until 10 tomorrow morning. She said it’s Christmas and she has plans and we should not expect her to wait around on us.” She looked around the table. “So. Who is going to Ithaca?”
George motioned between her and Nick. “We can’t. Nick’s parents are here.”
Bess frowned. “Shoot. I can’t either. Addy and I are doing dinner with her family.”
Bess and George looked over at Nancy and Ace, and Nancy was already shaking her head. “This is not a good idea.”
“It’s the only one we have, Nancy,” Bess said. “You guys have to go. I know you don’t have Christmas Eve plans.”
“Why don’t we just send the Jewish guy, and Nancy can stay here?” Ace suggested.
“I don’t think you should go alone, it’s a long drive,” Bess said.
“I agree with Bess. I’m pretty sure I saw something about a blizzard in that area. And it’s an eight-hour drive. What if something happens?” Nick said. “I get that it’s uncomfortable, but you guys should go together.”
Nancy pressed her lips together tightly. She also didn’t think Ace should go alone, but she wasn’t sure she was the person who should go with him. Eight hours in a car together? That was a long time. Actually, sixteen hours, since it would be a round trip.
“You could just put a protection charm on me,” Ace said.
“Do you guys really think you can’t keep your hands and feelings to yourselves for less than twenty-four hours?” George asked. “This is stupid. You’re adults. You’re both going and that’s the end of the discussion.”
Ace leaned over closer to Nancy. “Lawyer George is mean,” he stage whispered to her.
Nancy, Bess, and Nick all started laughing. “No, she’s right,” Nancy said when she could finally speak again. “We’re adults. This is dumb.” She paused, feeling panic claw at her throat as she thought of Ace in her car. That’s not something she could do. “I do need you to drive though.”
“Why? What’s wrong with your car?” Nick asked. George glared at him and realization flashed across his face. “Never mind. Sorry I asked.”
Ace, on the other hand, just swallowed hard. “Of course, Nancy.”
“Then it’s settled. You’ll probably want to get on the road soon so you can get some sleep tonight. It’s the eve of Christmas Eve, hopefully, The Claw won’t be too busy tonight without you,” Bess said. She wasn’t even looking at them, just texting away on her phone. “I’ll let her know you’ll be there and text you the address. We will try and figure out who the next victims might be and come up with a game plan while you’re gone.”
“Yes ma’am,” Ace said. Bess beamed at him and Nancy was suddenly filled with such pride for her friend. She’d really come into her own over the last year. She was already amazing, but she was even more so with the keeper responsibilities and the way she was handling everything.
“In the meantime, I’ll call around for a hotel that has vacancies and get you guys set up in Ithaca so you’re not spending the night in Florence,” Nick said.
“This is good. This is an actual plan.” George tapped on the table. “Might still want to put protection spells on them though, Bess.”
“I’ve already got charms made up in the office,” Bess said. She went and grabbed them, handing one each to Ace and Nancy. “I promise I’ve gotten better at this.” Ace’s hand went to his eye in memory of the last time Bess put a protection spell on him and Nancy smiled weakly.
“Thanks, Bessita,” Ace said holding the charm up. “We really appreciate it.”
Nancy looked at the time and was surprised to see it was already 1:30. “I’m going to go home, throw a bag together real quick. Do you want to pick me up in about an hour?”
“Sounds great,” Ace agreed.
“Perfect.” Nancy gathered her things and walked out to her car, wondering what the hell she had just gotten herself into.
Nancy and Ace spent the first hour or so in awkward silence. Nancy scrolled through Instagram on her phone, looking at pictures of what her life would be like now if she’d kept up with her friends from high school. She tried to think of something, anything, to talk to Ace about. It didn’t used to be this hard, she thought.
“How are you liking the morgue?” she finally asked. She set her phone aside, although made sure the ringer was on just in case.
He jolted like he was surprised to hear her speak. “It’s great. The work is really interesting. I’ve learned a lot and am still learning a lot from Connor.”
“That’s good. You look good in there,” Nancy said. She winced, but he laughed a little.
“I’m glad I look good in there among the dead bodies. Thank you so much for the compliment, Nance,” he said.
Nancy groaned. “I just meant you look confident, like you’re comfortable with what you’re doing.”
“I’m just saying if I was the one who looked bad…” he trailed off.
Nancy smacked him lightly on the arm. “Shut up.” But she was laughing too and the awkwardness finally fell away. Her phone buzzed. Nick finally found them a motel to stay at. “Looks like Nick got us reservations at Hillside Motel. He said they are under my name.”
“Oh, great. Did he text you the address?”
“He did.”
Ace handed over his phone and gave her the passcode so she could put the address into his GPS. “You can pick a playlist to listen to if you want,” he offered.
Nancy raised her eyebrows at that. “You’re going to give me control of the radio?”
“I won’t even complain if you play Taylor Swift,” he promised.
“That’s because Midnights is a jam and you know it,” she teased. She scrolled through his Spotify account, biting her lip when she saw a playlist named “Nancy.” At least one song was from Taylor’s Red (Taylor’s Version) album, but she couldn’t tell what the other three album covers were. Her thumb hovered over that playlist for a super long moment, but this trip was going to be hard enough, so she settled on some classic rock instead. And she supposed Ace deserved his privacy.
When the opening strands of “Hotel California” started, Ace nodded. “Good choice.” She slid his phone back across the seat closer to him and settled her head against the headrest, just listening.
When Ace pulled up in front of the motel, Nancy couldn’t help but grimace. On one hand, she was exhausted and was really looking forward to getting some sleep, short as it may be, but on the other hand, the Hillside Motel was not impressive.
“Well. At least it probably didn’t cost Nick too much money,” Ace said. They sat and stared at the front of the building for a while longer before they silently agreed to check-in.
“Hi, I’m checking in for Nancy Drew,” Nancy said to the very tired-looking guy at the front counter.
He barely acknowledged her presence but at least sifted through the envelopes in front of him. “Room 213,” he said sliding over the key.
Nancy pursed her lips. “There should be two rooms?”
The guy shook his head slowly. “Sorry, but the pipes burst in the room next to the other one and we had to close it. You’ll be in 213.”
Nancy blinked at him rapidly and Ace stepped up. “Are there any other rooms available?”
The guy looked between the two of them slowly. “Only 213.”
“So we’ll be in 213 then?” Ace deadpanned. The guy continued to stare at them and Ace took the key card and tapped the counter once. “Thanks for your help.”
They walked out to Florence to grab their bags, then made their way up to 213. Nancy stared at the room in horror when she realized there was only one bed. Ace, on the other hand, sighed and ran his hand through his hair nervously.
“I can just sleep in Florence,” he said.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nancy snapped at him. She rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. We’re both exhausted. You have even more driving ahead of you tomorrow. We’re obviously sharing the beds. We’re adults, remember?”
Ace nodded slowly. “Adults. Yep.”
She sighed and tossed her bag onto the table. “Why don’t you get the bathroom first? I’m happy to go second.” Ace acquiesced and when he closed the shower door, Nancy got out her phone and took a picture to send to George. “This is some sort of sick joke, Universe,” she murmured. Nancy searched the room for extra pillows. At the very least, she thought, she could build a pillow barrier to make sure they stayed on opposite sides of the bed.
She heard the shower start and swallowed hard. She would not imagine Ace stripping naked and getting in that shower. She would not do it. She would not think about what he would look like with water running down the hard planes of his body.
She needed to get the fuck out of there. Nancy pulled out her wallet, she was pretty sure she had a few dollars in there and she knew they passed by a vending machine on the way up. She took her time at the machine and was happy to see Ace was out of the shower, lounging on the bed fully clothed by the time she got back. Sure, he was in a tight white undershirt and gray sweatpants, and yes he definitely looked good in them, but he was clothed and that’s what mattered.
“I got snacks,” she said brightly, holding up a few bottles of water, along with various bags of chips. She set them down on the table and grabbed her bag to go shower herself. Maybe the steam would help cleanse her brain.
It didn’t help, but she was at least gratified to see Ace’s gaze lingering on her legs in her sleep shorts. She needed to know he was as affected as she was. “Sorry,” she murmured. “I can’t sleep in pants.”
He swallowed. “I don’t think you should ever have to apologize for something you’re wearing, Nancy Drew.”
“That’s right, you’re a feminist, how could I forget,” she teased. She grabbed a bottle water and some Cheez-Its and climbed into her side of the bed. “I tried to build us a fort, but they’re skimpy on the pillows here.”
Ace smiled at that. “Well, it’s the thought that counts.” He fiddled with the remote, rolling it over in his hands a few times. “You mind if I find something to watch?”
“Of course not. I will probably fall asleep on you though.”
A few hours later, Ace was shaking her awake. “Nancy, wake up,” he said softly. “It’s just a dream.” She blinked at him and almost started crying in relief when she could make out his features thanks to the lights from the parking lot coming in through the window.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I’m sorry for waking you up.” It was 1:32 AM, the TV was off, and Ace’s hair was clearly rumpled.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, sitting back against the pillows.
“Nightmare. I get them from time to time,” she said, twisting the blanket in her hands. Under the cover of darkness, she felt a lot more comfortable being open about them. “I actually get them every night.”
“Nancy,” he reached over and took her hand. “Why haven’t you talked to us about this?”
She looked away from him and sighed. “Because of what triggers them.”
“What are you talking about?” He squeezed her hand tight and searched her face. “Are they about me? Your dads? Bess, George, Nick?”
“The first one,” she whispered. She didn’t make him wait for the explanation. “I see you die every night in my sleep. Over and over, in all kinds of different ways.”
“Fuck,” he breathed out. “Why haven’t you said anything?”
“How could I?” she asked. “I want the curse broken just as much as you do, and if I told you, you would undoubtedly tell Bess to stop looking.”
“The spells are making it worse?” he asked softly. “Nancy, I don’t want you to be a waking zombie every day. It’s not healthy.”
“But it’s my choice. One day we’ll fix this and I won’t be. For now? I’ll drink my weight in coffee and energy drinks.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Well, I don’t like being without you.” She said it plainly and his face went slack. “As a friend. As more.” She heard a slight crack and sighed. There it was. Their warning. “We should go back to sleep.”
“Yeah,” he said, but his voice was broken.
The next time she woke, the sun was shining, and a bare arm was across her stomach, pulling her close. Before she could think even think about what she was doing, she burrowed closer to the body next to her, snuggling into the person attached to the arm. She breathed in deeply, realized immediately who the arm belonged to, and jumped out of bed.
“Dammit,” she muttered. She sat down at their little table and chairs and just watched Ace sleep for a moment.
“Did you know that you smile in your sleep?” She couldn’t push the memory of that particular dreamscape away fast enough. Once all of this was over, she might need some space for a little while.
The rest of their trip was uneventful, if quiet. The keeper, Luna, was more than happy to turn over the artifacts and apologetic for making them rush. “Tis the season and all that,” Luna had told them with a grimace. “I have so much baking to do.”
Nancy and Ace assured her it was fine and took the items from her while thanking her at least fifteen times. On the drive back, Nancy read aloud from Marley’s journal.
“He wasn’t always like this,” she said softly. “Murderous, full of rage.”
“What if we treat Marley like we did the aglaeca?” Ace suggested.
“What do you mean?” Nancy asked. “With the letters?”
“Yes. We remind him that he wasn’t always this way. He had a life he loved too. He had people he loved.” Ace tapped the steering wheel. “Reminding him who he was before he was bound to Scrooge might help us defeat him. At the very least, it might make him weaker.”
“I think it’s worth a shot,” Nancy said. She continued reading. “He was married and had two children who died before they were five years old. And then he lost his wife to scarlet fever.”
“That’s where we start then, I think,” Ace told her.
Of course, once they got back to Horseshoe Bay, everything went to shit. Ace was getting ready to pull in front of the Drew household when they got a text from George that read, “Get your asses to the youth center NOW.”
Nancy and Ace exchanged a look and Ace very quickly did an illegal U-turn to get to the youth center. “What do you think happened?” Nancy asked. She fiddled with her phone, waiting on Geroge to text her back after she sent “???” as her response.
“I don’t know,” Ace said. “The fact that they haven’t answered doesn’t feel like a good sign though.” He sped the whole way there, and once he parked they both sprinted inside.
“George?!” Nancy yelled as they burst through the doors. “George, what’s wrong?” They found George, Nick, and Bess huddled around someone in a chair. Nancy busted through them to find Ryan, who was very clearly being strangled while napping in his favorite chair. Nancy gasped and immediately dashed to his side. “Ryan! What happened?”
Ace knelt next to her and grasped her arm. “How long has he been like this?”
“Ten minutes maybe? It was a busy day today with the kids, you know how they are,” Nick said. “He said he was going to close his eyes for just a few minutes, and next thing we knew, he was gasping for air.”
“I don’t understand,” Nancy said. “He’s not like the others.”
Ace shook his head. “No, no, he’s not. Get the journal, Nancy.”
“The journal?” George asked. “What the hell are you going to do with a journal?”
“We’re going to try what we did for the aglaeca,” Ace told her. He nudged Nancy. “Nance, the journal.”
His extra nudge seemed to startle Nancy into action. She pulled the journal out of her messenger bag and passed the key to Bess. “Can you start working on the spell?” Bess nodded and stepped away from the rest of the group to ready the spell. Nancy opened to a random page in the middle of the handwritten book and started reading. “March 21, 1822, My darling boy took his first steps today. He toddled over to his sister Margaret to pull on her curls. He will be a rascal when he becomes an adult.”
Ace took over for her. “Esther and I surprised the children with a kitten today. Ebeneezer’s cat had kittens months ago. It was a good connection, I think Ebeneezer and I will be going into business together soon.”
Nick took the journal from Ace, and while he read, they kept watch over Ryan. He was still gasping for air, but the marks around his neck weren’t getting worse.
“May 31, 1823, Oliver is ill. I’ve never been more grateful to Ebeneezer for being a businessman. The doctor for this has been rather expensive, but he feels that he will be able to get our Oliver back to good health,” Nick read aloud.
They all gasped as the ghostly form of Marley appeared before them. “Oh my God,” George whispered. Marley looked more than pissed, but they all pressed on. George took the journal from Nick. “June 6, Oliver died today. The doctor said it was a simple cold. How could a simple cold have killed my darling boy?”
Marley practically roared at all of them and pressed more firmly into Ryan’s neck. He was becoming less and less transparent as time went on, which Nancy was hoping was a good sign. “My darling Esther died today,” Nancy skipped ahead several pages. “My love. All the money in the world could not save her from the awful tragedy that befell her.”
Ace read over her shoulder. “I would trade my own life for Esther’s if given the chance,” he read. He brushed Nancy’s fingers with his own. “My only love and now I have nothing. My children, my wife, everyone I love is gone.”
“Is this why you became like Scrooge?” George asked Marley. “Because the world took everything away from you?”
Marley tightened his grip on Ryan’s neck and pressed his free hand into Ryan’s chest. Nancy could see the skin burning there. “No, please don’t! Take me instead.”
“Nancy, no,” Ryan rasped.
“Please don’t kill my dad,” Nancy whispered tearfully. “He may have been an awful person before, but he’s a changed man.”
Nick stepped forward. “He regularly volunteers at my youth center.”
“He signed away his rights to Carson Drew, even though he could have taken him for all he was worth when they found out what happened with Nancy,” George said.
“He drops everything to help us whenever he can,” Ace said. “This is not the same Ryan Hudson of two years ago.”
“He has been helping me disband Hudson Enterprises so we can disperse that money to people that truly need it and who the Hudsons have wronged.” Marley pulled his hand away. “Please, please don’t take him from us, from me.”
“You would trade your life for his?” Marley asked.
“In a heartbeat. I’ve already lost my mothers. I lost Ryan before, in another life, I won’t do that again,” Nancy said through tears.
Marley let Ryan go, practically throwing him to the ground. Nick and George ran over to him. “And if I take you up on your offer and take you instead? What then?”
Nancy could see Ace step towards her, but she knew he would never take a decision like this from her. “Then so be it.”
“We’d really like it if you didn’t do that though, sir,” Ace said. She looked over at him, he was closer than she realized and she could see the tears welling up in his eyes. “But especially me.”
“Ah yes,” Marley said. He pulled Ace towards him. “I can see the love you have for her. But someone has cursed you. You can never be together or else she’ll lose you just like I lost Esther.”
Ace swallowed hard. “That’s right.”
Marley dropped Ace and turned his attention to Bess, who had rejoined them when Marley spoke. Meanwhile, Nancy rushed to Ace’s side, checking him over to make sure he wasn’t hurt. Ace shook his head, Marley just wanted to scare them.
Marley finally spoke after studying Bess thoughtfully. “You are the one with magick here.” Bess nodded, her eyes wide. “The lone witch,” he said thoughtfully. “If the other two joined you, you would be a powerful trio.” He shook his head. “No matter. If you can release me from this purgatory and allow me to finally join my Esther, I’ll give you two gifts.”
Nancy furrowed her brow but said nothing as Bess thought it over. “What are the gifts?” Bess asked.
“The first is the key that you’re currently holding in your hand. It doesn’t look like much, but encased in it is a crystal that will ensure no spell fails.” Bess’s eyes went wide at this and she stared down at the key. “The second.” He turned to Nancy and Ace. “I’ll break their curse.”
“What?” Nancy breathed.
“You can do that?” Ryan asked, his voice was rough and raspy from being strangled, but full of hope as one of Nancy and Ace’s biggest shippers.
“Why do you think Scrooge wanted my power?”
“You’ll break their curse first? I imagine the second we release you, you’ll disappear,” Bess said thoughtfully.
Marley cocked his still-slightly-translucent head. “I suppose we don’t really know, do we?” He nodded. “Very well. I’ll break the curse first. We’ll need her blood and some other items.” Bess nodded and she and Marley began talking about everything they would need. It was an odd sight, Nancy thought, watching this hundreds-of-years-old ghost brainstorming with one of her best friends.
George, Nick, and Ryan moved over to where Nancy and Ace stood. “Are you ok?” Nancy asked Ryan.
He nodded and wrapped her in a hug. “Never, ever bargain your life for mine ever again.”
“We would have figured it out,” Nancy said into his chest.
“Never again, Nance. Promise me. I would rather lose my life than be without my daughter.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her seriously. “Promise.”
“I’m sorry. I promise,” Nancy said softly. She hugged him again, tighter this time.
“We really need to talk about this reckless streak of yours,” George said. “It sucks.”
“I think we can let Ace take the first crack at her once this thing is broken,” Ryan said. He looked over at Ace, who nodded firmly.
Bess turned and waved her cell phone at them. “Ok. We just need a few things.”
An hour later, all the items needed for the spell were in front of them. A salt circle was on the ground. Marley, Bess, Nancy, and Ace were inside, while Nick, George, and Ryan were outside the circle, lighting candles.
“Does this look like everything?” Bess asked.
“It does. Are you ready?” Marley asked Nancy and Ace. They looked at each other and nodded. Without warning, Marley reached his hand into Ace’s chest and pulled it out so quickly that they didn’t even have a chance to digest what was happening.
Bess, Nick, and Ryan screamed, while George shouted, “you son of a bitch!” Ace just stared down at his chest in horror.
But Nancy saw what was in Marley’s hand and held up her own for everyone to stop freaking out. “It’s a moth,” she said quietly. She met Ace’s eyes. “Are you ok? Did it hurt?”
“Only a little,” he said, rubbing his chest. Nancy lifted her own hand to touch his chest but pulled away out of fear.
Marley showed them the moth. “This is the curse. Don’t worry, this wasn’t alive and fluttering in your chest. It’s just how the curse presents itself to the world.” He held the moth over a candle and they all watched as it burned until it was gone.
“It’s really gone?” Nancy whispered.
“It’s gone,” Marley confirmed. “Go on then, tell him how you feel.”
Nancy froze and just stared at Ace. She couldn’t do it. How could they trust this ghost who had literally been murdering people left and right for years? He was fairly evil. Even before he was a ghost stuck in purgatory. Although it was losing his love that made him that way, she supposed. Maybe he wouldn’t lie about it?
Ace, as always, understood her and stepped forward, tucking some loose hair behind her ear gently. Nancy held her breath. “At least if I die, I’ll have gotten to tell you how I feel,” he murmured. He took both her hands in his and held them close to his chest. “I love you, Nancy Drew,” he whispered. The words broke something in Nancy and she pushed herself up on her toes, pressing her lips against his. He let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her impossibly close, and she took the opportunity to twist her fingers in his hair to deepen the kiss.
Someone, Ryan, she thought, cleared their throat. “This is uh, great and all, but do we need to watch you make out?”
Nancy pulled away and ducked her head into Ace’s chest in embarrassment. “Sorry.” Ace rubbed circles into her back with his thumbs and pressed his chin into the top of her head.
“So it worked?” Nick asked.
“He’s alive isn’t he?” George asked, voice dry.
Marley peered at the mirror that he asked them to bring. “It’s not cracked.”
“It’s not cracked!” Bess squealed.
“It’s not cracked,” Nancy murmured to Ace. She brushed her lips against his jaw and he tightened his arms around her. “Want to go back to your place after this and try to break your barometer to be certain?”
Ace gifted her with a smile and kissed her again. “I absolutely want to do that.”
Bess clapped happily and turned her attention back to Marley. “So you didn’t need any of this to break their curse? Why didn’t you say so before you shoved your hand in Ace’s chest?”
“Great question, Bess,” George said with her hands on her hips. “You’re lucky I didn’t have my crowbar.”
Marley grinned and in his ghostly form, it was significantly more creepy than Nancy could have imagined. “I just wanted to shock someone one last time.”
Bess’s jaw dropped and Ryan guffawed. “Ok. That’s honestly kind of amazing.”
Nick shook his head. “Let’s get this next ritual started, shall we?”
Nancy and Ace parted, Ace to stand outside the circle, and Nancy to assist Bess. “Ready?” Bess asked her. Nancy nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Nancy had no idea what was happening, just did what she was told, as she was told to do it. She winced as she cut into her hand for the spell, and saw Ace frown out of the corner of her eye. She was going to kiss the hell out of him when this was all over.
Finally, the chains fell off Marley and a woman appeared next to him. “Esther,” he whispered. “My love.”
She reached her hands out to him. Before he took them, he turned to all of them but spoke directly to Ryan first. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you had changed.” Ryan swallowed hard, but nodded anyway, accepting the apology. When Marley spoke again, he spoke to the whole group, looking each of them in the eye. “Be good to each other. Help the less fortunate. Love deeply.” He looked at Nancy, then George, and said, “You two could be so powerful and use the magick for good things. You should consider it as your friend has.” Then, he turned to Bess. “You are a good person. Thank you for doing this for me.”
“You’re welcome,” Bess said. She was teary-eyed and Nancy reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. Marley took Esther’s hands then and the next thing they knew, he was gone. “Wow.”
They stood in silence for several minutes. “What now?” Ryan asked.
“ Shit. What time is it?” George pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket to check and shut her eyes in annoyance. “Shit. We gotta go.”
Bess’s eyes widened as well as she saw what time it was. “Oh no, Addy is going to kill me! I’m like an hour late.”
“Yeah, us too. Hopefully, Ted hasn’t told my parents too many George Fan stories,” Nick said, grabbing his and George’s coats. He turned to Nancy, Ace, and Ryan. “Merry Christmas. We’ll see you tomorrow. Ryan, drink some tea.”
Bess wrinkled her nose. “Addy can forgive me for this.” She held her hands in front of Ryan’s neck and they all watched as the bruises slowly faded.
“Bess, wow,” Nancy murmured. “That’s amazing.”
Ryan touched his neck lightly. “It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”
Bess kissed him on the cheek. “You’re welcome. Merry Christmas!” She looked at Nancy and Ace and gave them a sly smile. “I want to hear everything tomorrow.”
Nancy groaned and buried her head into Ace’s shoulder. “Please leave.”
“We’re lucky she has dinner plans,” Ace murmured into Nancy’s ear.
“You really are,” Bess teased. She kissed both of them on the cheek quickly, then waved. “Merry Christmas, Nancy.”
“And then there were three,” Ace said dryly as Bess left.
Ryan rolled his eyes and waved them off. “Please leave. I know you want to get out of here. Nancy, I’ll tell Carson you’ll be joining us in the morning?”
Nancy couldn’t help the smile that was spreading across her face. “You’re the best, Dad,” Nancy said. She threw her arms around his neck. “Love you.”
“Love you too, kid,” he said, squeezing her back. “Go on, I have to lock up. See you tomorrow, Ace.”
Ace waved and pulled Nancy out of the youth center. Once they were back at Florence, he pushed her up against the door of the car and put his hands on her hips. “So, what now, Nancy Drew?” He nudged the sensitive spot below her ear with his nose and brushed a kiss against her neck. “I seem to remember something about a barometer?”
Nancy ran her hands up his chest before pulling him close. She brushed her lips against his and smiled. “You want to take me back to your place?” Ace nodded before kissing her nose and opening the car door for her. Once inside, he grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it before driving back to his place.
And as fun as their getting together was in her dreamscape, the real thing was even better. The second they shut the door behind them, Ace crowded her against it, kissing that spot on her neck that drove her wild. She whimpered as he slid his hands up over her chest and palmed her breasts. Nancy was desperate to see his skin and pushed his coat off, then pulled his shirt over his head, before pulling his lips back to hers. He was more than happy to oblige and deepened the kiss, tangling his tongue with her own, drawing a moan out of both of them.
Ace ran his hands down her sides and under her thighs, lifting her up and wrapping her legs around him. “Good?” he whispered against her mouth. She nodded and he carried her to his bed, dropping her onto the mattress lightly. She helped him with her shirt, then pulled him back down with her, smiling into the kiss.
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips. “I didn’t say it earlier. I was scared. But I love you.”
Ace pulled away to smile brilliantly at her. “I love you too, Nancy.”
When they woke Christmas morning, Nancy snuggled closer to Ace’s bare chest and pressed a kiss there.
“No nightmares?” He murmured.
“No nightmares,” she confirmed.