Nancy Drew: 2 . The Hidden Staircase

Break for a Picnic, Sorta

"Thanks again Chief. Bye!" She hung up the phone mere seconds before the others came out. Izzy and Emily took Rosemary and Flora to Lilac Inn while Nancy, Helen, and Ida went straightaway to Riverview Manor. The Archers pulled up the very next minute.

"Oh, Madden's not here?" said Nancy when she saw that Jenny's younger brother was absent.

Jenny nodded. "Dad thought it best that he not come, so he's over at one of his friends' houses, playing video games by now. Besides, Dad also figured that he wouldn't be interested in any of the conversations the adults have."

Ida chuckled. "And I wouldn't blame him, to be honest." She hugged Jenny. "It's so good to see you again!"

Jenny returned the hug. "It's so good to see you too!" She glanced around. "Where are Emily and Izzy?" Nancy, Helen, and Ida took turns telling her everything that had happened in the past few days, as Izzy and Emily pulled up. They hugged and said their hellos before setting out to find a good spot to set up their picnic. By then, the boys finally showed up. Don Cameron and Richie Farnham had brought four of their friends, John McBride, Phil Potter, Jeff Tucker, and Charles Daly. The girls ended up telling the whole story all over again as the boys were interested in hearing the details, Don and Richie in particular. When it came around to Nancy taking care of the owl, they gasped in awe and concern.

"You really should have called animal rescue and waited for them to take care of it," said Richie, his brow furrowed in concern, especially after seeing the bandages on Nancy's arms.

Nancy sighed. "I probably should have, but my first thought was getting it out of the house immediately. It didn't want to be there anymore than we wanted it, and I was afraid it would have done something to Aunt Flora before we had a chance to get her out."

Don nodded. "That's a good point."

Richie sighed. "And I bet you didn't call them afterwards either."

Nancy smiled sheepishly. "No."

Richie rolled his eyes. "Typical."

"What? We were looking for how it got in there in the first place!"

"Besides, it was late at night," said Emily, "we were just concentrating on one thing at a time."

"And give Nancy a break," retorted Helen. "We needed to take action, and she took it! It wasn't like she touched a butterfly or something more delicate."

"I know, I know, but still, it was a wild animal and should have been properly taken care of!"

Nancy raised her hands. "What's done is done, no use arguing about it. We'll just have to make absolutely sure to be more careful in the future."

"Unless you can solve this mystery before another wild animal is let loose in the house," said Jenny. "Which I most certainly hope so."

"I totally agree," said Don. "And consider us at your service Nancy, we'll help however and wherever we can."

Nancy smiled, perhaps a little forcefully. Though she had decided to give Don a chance, she was sorely wishing Frank was here instead of him. "Thanks Don!"

"Speak for yourself," mumbled Richie.

"I'm always willing to lend a helping hand to lovely ladies," said Phil with a coy grin.

"Well I'll definitely help," said John, "this whole mystery sounds rather intriguing."

"I agree," said Jeff, "certainly more interesting than working part-time, that's for sure."

"No argument there," said Charles with a scoff. He and Jeff were working as stockers at the local grocery store. "Besides, we would get prettier co-workers." Jeff hit him before the two burst out laughing.