Murder For Love

"How did you meet him?"

"He came over yesterday to talk about something in relation to a case of Dad's, and I fell in love with him. It was quite natural and inevitable. He's perfectly handsome, as handsome as Dad, and his ma

"That's wonderful, Nancy. What does he look like?"

"Draco S. Wren is of medium height with brown hair. He walks with short, hurried steps."

"You described a pickpocket to the police once in exactly those terms," George said.

"And my vivid description enabled the police to pick up the pickpocket instantly," Nancy pointed out. "But Draco S. Wren has excellent ma

"Great."

"We stayed in the parlor till nearly eleven," Nancy confessed. "Ha

"Did you solve the mystery?"

"I've learned some things. He does live in Alaska, and he apparently has been getting money from Dad. He wouldn't tell me why, but he says he has no intention of soliciting funds from me."

"Still sounds mysterious."

"He said he would tell me more today. This afternoon we're going for a spin. Isn't that exciting?"

"It's nice that you have no suspicions of him."

"Oh, no. You know that with my sharp eyes and powers of observation, I am an instant judge of character." Suddenly Nancy remembered something. "Oh, George, I think I've seen this handsome man before! He was at Father's funeral!"

"You don't say!" George gave a low whistle.

"I believe I glimpsed him once behind the lilies. He was wearing a black leather jacket, broad-brimmed hat, and a purple bandana-yes, it was he, indeed. I remember his glistening brown hair. Fu

"Well, Nancy, as long as he isn't a vampire, I'll be interested to meet your new friend, but he sounds sneaky. And I'm disappointed we're not going to Alaska."

"He is mysterious, I admit," Nancy said. "I'm eager to learn more, but I was my usual shrewd self, preferring to observe rather than hurry. I must confess, however, that I feel as thrilled as I usually do with the first five clues of a new mystery!"

Nancy replaced the telephone receiver and lapsed back into her reverie. George had always been skeptical of love. Nancy, too, had wasted little thought on romance. All Ned had cared about was dancing and-Nancy flushed-stealing a kiss in the moonlight. Bess was welcome to him. Ned hadn't the slightest understanding of her calling.

Now as Ha

"Oh, Ha

As Nancy dwelt more on the subject, the more rapturous she became. She explained it all to Ha

"Ha

Ha

"I remember only that she gave me my first magnifying glass. I remember looking at her face through my magnifying glass. Her smile was hideous and large, and it made me laugh."

"Yes. She gave you that just before she died. I remember her saying 'Take this, Nancy, and use it to pursue crooks to justice! Let no footprint escape!' What a glorious deathbed speech!"

"Ha

"Don't feel bad, Nancy," said Ha

"But you're eighty."

"I think so, Nancy, but there's always a certain emptiness you feel. I've felt it for a long time."

"Have you, Ha

"Oh, for many years."

Revelation

Draco S. Wren arrived that afternoon, wearing his purple bandana and glistening hair. He was a striking figure, dressed like an adventurer out of the Old West. He took Nancy for a drive in a large touring car, a kind Nancy recognized from one of her old books. She sat beside him dreamily. For once she was not at the wheel, skillfully maneuvering her smart machine while notorious gangsters gu

Eventually the touring car drew up before a country i

"This is a surprise for you," smiled Draco S. Wren, straightening his bandana. "I didn't know if you knew there was still a Lilac I

Nancy was thrilled. "It's just like the old Lilac I

"This is a restoration of the original Lilac I

"The lilacs are blooming, too!" There was a lilac grove, with flowers ranging in color from white to deep purple. Nancy told Draco S. Wren some lilac lore she had learned when solving the lilac mystery. "They are not to be confused with larkspurs, which figured in another of my mysteries."

"Lilacs become you," he said as he framed her face against a backdrop of lilac blossoms, damp with a recent light rain.

"Oh, Draco S. Wren!" Nancy gushed, then felt embarrassed. She was Nancy Drew, daring girl detective. She had to be calm and collected.

Inside the i

"This is just like my books!" Nancy exclaimed, delighted, and barely giving a thought to Bess. "Isn't it a charming and thoughtful gesture when life goes as it should?"

As they gaily consumed the delicacies, Draco S. Wren began to speak of the serious matter he had so far kept from Nancy.

"I have come to consult the great Nancy Drew about a mystery," he said. His zircon ring flashed a reflection on his gleaming teeth.

"You are a man of mystery," Nancy said sweetly. She was flattered and giddy.

" Nancy, do you remember anything of your mother?"

Nancy was startled at the question and aroused by the coincidence. "She died when I was three. All the books say so."