The Case of the Night Rider (Night Rider/Piper's Call crossover)

Prologue

"I'm just saying. In a world where Jack the Ripper's identity is still unclear and the Bermuda Triangle remains a mystery, I don't see why my time is being taken up with the counterproductive role of cleaning," I rolled my eyes, hoping Helen would get the message. She didn't.

"A little less conversation and a little more cleaning please, Nina? The sooner we get on with it, the sooner we're finished," She stated, packing books into boxes she wheedled from the supermarket. Dad's history books were going to smell like melons for weeks... "I just don't see the point. Why can't we go out and do something fun?""Last time, your idea of fun ended up with me getting shot."I sucked my teeth. I hated to admit it but she did have a point. Nothing astoundingly clever but still a point. I threw a book her way in resentment of the fact she was right for once. A scrap of paper fluttered to the ground as the book soared through the air. "What's that?" Helen asked, barely managing to catch the book.I ignored her question, already turning my attention to the scrap. It was torn and yellowed with age, but the content was unmistakably from a newspaper article. "The Girl Who Destroyed The World- is she all that she seems?" The heading declared in a large typeface. Along the margins, handwritten notes had annotated the small scrap with words like,"Refer to case in April, 1993", "paradigm shift?" and "publicity hoax?" My hands trembled as I recognized the hand. Dad had written this... "N-Nina, are you okay? You're pale as a sheet," Helen came over, pressing her hand against my forehead in concern. I shivered, but not from the cold feeling. "Hallway.""What?""Hallway. We need to go across the hallway, Dad's study is in the corner there." I began to lead the way. "Nina," Helen called after me, jogging to catch up. "What are you talking about?"I threw the door open, hinges groaning. I hadn't seen this room in a full year but (bar the alarming levels of dust) it looked exactly the same. The box room was dominated by an enormous mahogany desk, littered with research papers and textbooks splayed open at random points.I began scattering the notes over my shoulder as I scoured the room for what I was looking for."Nina, stop! What's happening?"The Girl Who Destroyed the World...what did that even mean? Who could it even refer to? Just when I was about to give up hope entirely, I caught sight of a budget, battered cork board in the corner of the room. Ducking beneath the sloping ceiling, I surveyed the pinned pictures, all far too blurry to be of much use to me and scraps of newspaper articles similar to the one in the book. Again, Dad had marked them with annotated notes,"Natural phenomenon?", "Accomplices?","Lazarus figure?"Finally, I spotted a smoothed out article. Given the huge indents of the folds and smudged oil, it was evident that this article in particular had been read many, many times. "Chief Hawkins of the London MET claims "Night Rider is innocent!" I read aloud."Who's the Night Rider?" Helen asked, puzzled. "Is she some kind of historical thing?""No," A smile unfurled across my lips. "But she is an interesting thing. Someone we're going to find out more about. Are you in?" I grinned at her. No matter what her answer was, this was too good an opportunity to miss. If my Dad had been interested, this must be a very special case indeed...