Nancy, Bess, and George look for Nancy’s missing father in the twenty-second book in the Nancy Drew Diaries series, a fresh approach to a classic series. While Nancy’s dad is away at a conference in Washington, DC, she invites Bess and George over for a slumber party. The girls are having a great time until Nancy gets a call from a number she doesn’t recognize. Her dad never showed up for his panel and he isn’t in his room. No one’s seen him since the night before, and he isn’t answering his phone. Worried, Nancy and the gang hop the next flight to DC to investigate. The girls scour the hotel for clues with little luck until Nancy finds her dad’s cell phone in the hotel basement. She’s pretty sure he left her a message on the home screen, if only she could figure out what it means. The hunt takes them across the US capital, retracing Mr. Drew’s steps to figure out what went wrong or who might be out to do him harm. If they don’t solve this mystery, it may cost Mr. Drew his life. Carolyn Keene is the author of the ever-popular Nancy Drew books. Chapter One: A Bad Feeling CHAPTER ONE A Bad Feeling “SERIOUSLY, GEORGE?” I ASKED, SETTING my fork down with a clang. “Another photo?” “That one didn’t capture just how smooth these mashed potatoes are!” George said as she snapped yet another picture with the camera on her phone. I sighed as she scowled at her latest effort before lifting the phone again. I was starving and couldn’t wait to eat, but George is one of my best friends, and I know her quirks well. When George is focused on something, she gets in a zone, becoming oblivious to anything other than her current obsession. I was just going to have to wait until she got a photo she was satisfied with. Next to me, Bess, my other best friend and George’s cousin, gave me a sympathetic smile. She knows how George gets too. Finally George looked up at us. “All right. Photographed, filtered, and shared.” She held up the photo she’d posted. I couldn’t argue with the results. The image was flawless and the food looked delicious. “Sorry that took so long,” George said through a mouthful of potato. “I wanted to do the food justice. When Hannah gets back, I’ll show her how many likes it got. I keep telling her if she set up an Instagram account for her food, she’d get a huge following. She’d be a star!” My frown softened. “That’s actually really nice of you.” Hannah Gruen’s our housekeeper. She’s been taking care of me and my dad since my mom died when I was three. She was supposed to stay with me while Dad was away at a lawyer’s conference in Washington, DC, but her sister broke her leg, so Hannah had had to hop on a last-minute flight to go and take care of her. When George and Bess found out, they were worried about me getting lonely, so they offered to come stay for a few days. The plan was to make it a real girls’ weekend. Before she’d left, Hannah had whipped up some of our favorite foods: mashed potatoes for George, oven-fried chicken for Bess, and a tomato-and-mozzarella salad for me. “So what exactly is this conference your dad’s at, Nancy?” Bess asked. “It happens every year. Lawyers from all around the country get together and talk about updates to certain laws. There are panels and speeches and parti—” George’s phone buzzed loudly against the table, cutting me off. Without thinking, she reached for it and tapped the screen. I felt my stomach drop. The three of us had been so busy recently, we’d barely been able to spend any time together. George had been working overtime at the Coffee Cabin, saving up for a new laptop. Bess had started dating a new guy named Teddy. And I’d been wrapped up consulting with the River Heights PD on a case. I’m a detective. Usually I help find items that have been stolen or track down saboteurs, but sometimes the police ask me to provide a second pair of eyes on matters that are stumping them. This last one had been a doozy involving a car theft ring, and I had put in a lot of hours. That’s why I’d really been looking forward to the three of us spending time with one another and catching up, but if the last ten minutes had been anything to go by, George was going to be distracted by her phone the whole night. Besides, we had a rule about this. “No phones at the table, George!” I reminded her. She pulled her hand back sheepishly. “I know. I’m sorry! I can’t help it. It buzzes and I reach for it.” “You’re like one of Pavlov’s dogs, George!” Bess quipped. “What’s that supposed to mean?” asked George, crossing her arms. “Pavlov did an experiment where he rang a bell every time he fed a group of dogs. Soon, they’d drool whenever they heard a bell. That’s you when your phone buzzes.” “Rude! But accurate,” she admitted much more quietly. “Maybe I should lock your phone in my dad’s safe,” I suggested. George’s eyes widened. “Well, if you lock up mine, you’ll need to lock up Bess’s, too! She’s been sneaking texts with Teddy under the table s