Angela and Nancy are practicing at Nancy’s home.
Angela Belkin: Miss Drew, when did you first come to believe your father was responsible for the murder of Lucy Sable? You wrote: the Hudsons paid Carson $50,000 two days after Lucy Sable's death. Did the Hudsons pay your father to kill Lucy Sable?
Nancy: Can we call it a day?
Angela Belkin: Nancy, you need to take this seriously. Okay? You're gonna be subpoenaed to testify against your father at his evidentiary hearing soon. And his trial after that. Look, I know you're worried about your dad, but, I mean, we've got a...
Nancy: He's been in jail for two weeks, and it's all my fault. He didn't kill Lucy. My theory was all wrong.
Angela Belkin: Okay, so if you're convinced he's innocent, then help me get him out. Carson's not explaining any of the evidence against him. Do you know why?
Nancy: No.
Angela Belkin: He misses you. He said he calls during his phone privileges twice a day, but you never pick up.
Nancy: Well, he shouldn't miss me. He should hate me. I put him there.
Angela Belkin: He's not capable of hating you. He's worried you're not eating.
Nancy: Well, tell him not to worry.
Angela Belkin: Maybe you could tell him yourself… Hmm. My grandmother used to hang those around her house. Ghost traps? Are you trying to catch a ghost?
Nancy: Something like that.
----------
Bess, George and Nick are preparing Ace’s surprise.
George: Hey, did you text Nancy to remind her to bring flowers?
Bess: What, and add another thing to her plate? No thanks. You do it.
Nick: Hey, how is she?
Bess: She shows up for work, and then she leaves.
Nick: You can't blame her. Sometimes you just got to be alone.
George: I mean, she's not completely alone. She talks to my mom. About how to find a missing ghost.
Bess: I know Nancy thinks Simon flung Dead Lucy to the furthest depths of the spirit world, but what if Lucy went MIA because they arrested the man who murdered her, and she's finally at peace?
George: That's your barometer for innocence?
Bess: Yeah.
George: Ghost sightings, or lack of them?
Nick: Hey, Mr. Drew's fingerprints were on a bloody knife at the crime scene.
George: I seriously hope you don't end up on a jury.
They hear noise.
Bess: Oh, wait. Oh.
George: Okay.
Bess: Oh.
Nick, Bess and George: Surprise!
Nancy enters.
George: Nancy. Ew.
Bess: Ah.
Nancy: What is all this?
Bess: It's Ace's first day back at work. No, but it's so fine. It's so fine that you didn't remember that. Or the flowers.
Nancy: I'm the worst.
George: No, Nancy. You're not. It's fine. Right, guys? It's fine. So fine.
Nick: Yeah. Yeah.
George: So fine.
Nick: Yeah.
George: Super fine. You're fine.
Bess: No, it's-it's fine.
George: It's okay.
Bess: It's fine.
Nancy: Okay.
Bess: Okay.
Nancy: Hey.
Nick: Hey. How are you?
Nancy: Everybody asks me that.
Ace enters.
Ace: Y'all put my face on a cake?
Bess: Surprise!
Nick: Surprise!
George: Surprise.
Bess: Oh!
Ace: Oh. Hi.
Bess: Hi.
Nick: What's up, man? Hey.
Ace: Hey.
George: Hey. All right, let's eat this cake and clean it up. We open in five… Hey. Glad you're alive.
Ace: Did you miss me?
George: I absolutely did not.
Ace: Hi.
Nancy: I'm really sorry. I'm...
Ace: No. I'm sorry, and... How-how are you?
Nancy: Um, I have to take this.
----------
Nancy speaks with john in the storage.
Nancy: Hey.
John: I've got a name for you. Actaea pachypoda. It's what killed Tiffany Hudson. Uh... Also known as white baneberry poison. Uh, creating the poison from the berries is incredibly difficult. Detecting it is even harder.
Nancy: Oh, well, good thing I know a genius, right?
John: Most coroners wouldn't even screen for this toxin because it mimics a death by cardiac event. They would just rule it natural causes without a second thought. I-I thought you'd be thrilled by this. It's a new lead for you.
Nancy: Uh, it's just, every time I dig into a case, I hurt everybody around me. So, just... Trying to figure out what I should do.
----------
Nancy walks to George.
Customer: Check it out.
Nancy: It has been two weeks. And I thought that this would have calmed down by now.
George: It will... Eventually. Look, can you just endure one more shift? We're two months behind on bills, and this uptick in business could really, really help us.
Nancy: George.
George: Please? Oh, come on. You have your own fan site. @NancyDrewsNews. It gets, like, a bazillion likes a day… Okay. I'm sorry. Go organize the pantry.
Nancy: Thank you.
George: Yeah.
----------
Owen enters in the restaurant.
Owen: Nancy. Hi.
Nancy: Hey. Uh, I-I owe you a call back. Things have just been crazy.
Owen: No. I know. I get it. I just came by to see how you...
Nancy: George is gonna kill me if I don't... If I don't go back to work. Let's talk later.
Owen goes to speak with Bess.
Owen: Hey, Bess, you have a minute?
Bess: Hey. Did you get the DNA results back?
Owen: We're first cousins.
Bess: Oh!
Owen: You're officially a Marvin.
Ace: Oh, snap.
Bess: Oh, my God. Do we hug?
Owen: Sure.
Bess: Shake hands? Oh, my God! When do I get to meet the rest of the family?
Owen: Um, actually... Can we talk?
Bess: Uh, yeah. About what?
Owen: Um...
Bess: Okay, as family, you should know that I obsessively worry. What are we talking about?
Owen: It's about the burial coins from the Velvet Masque. I need them. Those coins are the proof that I need to put Everett Hudson behind bars for sinking the Bonny Scot and murdering our Uncle Sebastian.
Bess: I really, really don't want to upset you. Um...
Nick interrupts their conversation.
Nick: Hey. The... Uh... I destroyed the coins. Yeah, I accidentally melted them. Long story. But if you're going to be upset with anyone, it's my fault.
Owen: I paid a very large sum of money for those coins.
Nick: Yeah. One point five million, right? Yeah, I heard, but that's, yeah... That's a drop in the bucket for you, Owen. I mean, why... Why are you even here?
Bess: Gentlemen… Sit down, please… Let's talk. Okay? You both share the same goal, right? Take down the Hudsons. You two should talk. Share information. Oh! Have some cake. Okay? Work together… Okay?
----------
Nancy is in the storage, she makes some researches on her phone.
Nancy: Okay, come on, Drew. A quick search is not gonna get anyone hurt.
Ace: What are you doing?
Nancy: Nothing.
Ace: Why are you looking at a picture of my dad?
----------
Nancy and Ace are walking to Ace’s home.
Nancy: Hey, you know, what-what if we just told the cops? Your dad worked on a case in 2003 that had the same poison that killed Tiffany.
Ace: You stole Tiffany's blood to get these test results. Think admitting to that right before your arraignment's less than advisable… Now, before you meet the Captain...
Nancy: You call your dad "the Captain"?
Ace: Here's a few things you should know. He doesn't like people much. He lost his hearing after his accident on the force. He can read your lips, but he's little self-conscious about speaking… And fair warning: my house can be a bit of a war zone.
Nancy: Yeah, I can tell.
----------
Ace enters in his father’s office.
Ace: No… I wanted you to meet somebody.
Nancy: Captain Thom? Uh, I'm-I'm Nancy Drew.
Ace: The Hero of Horseshoe Bay? Yes. The one and only… Um, she wanted to ask you something… About Liza Ainslie. It's a suicide case in 2003. Do you remember her? I found her near her car with a vial of poison. It was ruled a suicide. But I never believed that.
Nancy: Tiffany Hudson was killed by the same rare poison. I-I don't know who waits 15 years between kills, but...
Thom opens his computer.
Ace: I received an e-mail the day before Liza died. And then the next year I got another e-mail. And one more the year after that… I think they're all from the same killer.
Nancy: That has to be a cipher, right?
Ace: Yeah, but I never cracked it… But if the killer is back...
Nancy: Um... Can we try decoding it? Together?
----------
Ryan comes in the restaurant.
Bess: Mr. Hudson.
Ryan: Hey, Bess.
Bess: You're back.
Ryan: Yeah. Yeah. Is George around?
Bess: Um, yeah, she should be, like...
Ryan: In her office? Okay. Thanks.
----------
Ryan enters in George’s office.
Ryan: Hey… I, um... I heard... That your sister got kidnapped, and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.
George: That was weeks ago. Where have you been?
Ryan: I was, uh, I was at a-a wellness retreat.
George: You mean rehab?
Ryan: Look, I needed to clear my head. You know, think about the way I was living my life, and... I just, I-I wanted to say that I'm sorry about the last time that I saw you. You know, at the garden party.
George: When you punched a bookcase near my head?
Bess enters.
Bess: Don't mind me. I'm not even here.
Ryan: I'm not that person anymore.
George: Cool.
Ryan: Look, I used to be afraid of who I was gonna become if I wasn't Ryan Hudson. I'm not afraid anymore.
George: I don't know what you want from me, but... I'm not falling for this again.
Ryan: I don't want anything from you. Except for you to know that if you need anything... I'm here for you.
Ryan leaves.
Bess: Oh.
George: Bess.
Bess: Found it.
----------
Bess sits at Nick and Owen’s table.
Nick: We have to get... Whoa!
Bess: Sorry. I have a plan to get an artefact from the Bonny Scot. Ryan Hudson.
Nick: That's not a plan.
Owen: Yeah, he's never gonna help us. He's a Hudson. And he hates me.
Bess: No. But he doesn't want to be a Hudson anymore.
Owen: You don't just stop being a Hudson. There's no way he's ever gonna go for it.
Nick: Uh... Not no way.
----------
Nancy, Thom and Ace are working in Thom’s office.
Nancy: Oh, we've been trying to crack this cipher for hours. Ace, did you learn anything from the obits?
Ace: Yeah. Life's short… I know. That's what I'm doing.
Nancy: Why did they pick these pictures? The photo quality is terrible.
Nancy: Unless maybe the clue isn't the cipher at all. Maybe it's something in these photos.
Nancy: Oh, my God. Thom, you couldn't crack the cipher because there isn't one. Not in the text, anyway.
Ace: Dad, are you okay? Hey. You okay? They never wanted you to figure out the name. They wanted you to focus on the bogus cipher. That's not your fault.
Nancy: You didn't figure it out then. But we figured it out now. There's time to make it right.
Ace: All we have are three e-mails from over a decade ago... We don't know the names or even if they're connected.
Nancy: Well, maybe they are connected. Before Liza died, you were in the press. They called you a hero. That's why the killer engaged with you… I'm in the press now. Guess it's time for a Hail Mary. Here. Record this.
Ace: Record what?
Nancy: Just record me. I'm gonna upload this to my fan page… I believe there is a serial poisoner operating in our town, and I have a message for them… I cracked your cipher. You want to play a game? Fine, let's play. But I'm changing the rules. I'm giving you the name of your next victim… Nancy Drew. So... Prove to me you're as good as you think you are. Come and get me.
----------
Owen, Bess and Nick want Ryan’s help.
Ryan: So you just want to give me a hotel?
Owen: Marvin Industries' latest investment. Midtown Manhattan. 100% voting stock. What do you say?
Ryan: What's this really about, Owen?
Owen: How much do you know about the Bonny Scot?
Ryan: Doesn't sound familiar.
Owen: It was a joint venture between our families 20 years ago. A ship carrying priceless antiquities. It sank, killing all 12 crew members, including our uncle.
Ryan: What do you mean, "our"?
Bess: We're first cousins, on my mom's side.
Nick: And this manifest documents everything that supposedly sank with the Bonny Scot. Your father... Collected the insurance payout on all these items.
Owen: Stone relics, temple urns, the coins... You sold them at the Velvet Masque. We need to find something else from that list.
Ryan: If... What you're saying is true, then you're asking me to help you put my father in prison.
Owen: Your father's a murderer. But you're not your father. Are you?
----------
Nancy is working in her living room.
Nancy: Ace, where are the obits?
Nancy hears a noise. She opens the door. It’s Owen.
Owen: Uh... What is this thing?
Nancy: It is a ghost trap.
Owen: Oh. Okay, then. Um... You hungry? Egg rolls?
Nancy: Um, you could have just had this delivered.
Owen: Yeah, I know, but I wanted to check on you… I saw the video.
Nancy: Yeah. Hopefully, my video will make sure that they go after me and not somebody else.
Owen: You know, most guys might be intimidated by someone who provokes a murderer.
Nancy receives a message.
Nancy: Oh, my God, it's from the killer.
Nancy: Rain check.
----------
Nancy comes in the Claw’s kitchen.
Nancy: Ace, you said you put the obituaries in my bag, but they're not... There. They're here.
Ace: Now we can get started. Did you find the names of the other victims in the e-mails that my dad got?
Nancy: I don't need your help.
Ace: Did the killer contact you? What did the cipher say? Are they coming for you?
Nancy: No. The next victim is a woman named Claire. The killer sent me this message, so I have to stop them, or else I'm the reason that another person gets killed. They said not to call the cops.
George: They only gave you three hours to solve this. You do need us.
Nancy: No. Every time you guys get involved in a case, one of you gets hurt, and I am not doing that anymore.
Ace: We don't have time for this. In order to find Claire, we need to figure out how the other victims are related. Do you have their names from the ciphers in the e-mails?
Nancy: Bridget and Pam.
Ace: Bridget and Pam.
Nancy: You don't have to do this.
George: Shut up, Drew. We want to help… All right, we got Pam Barnaby.
Bess: Ah. I got Bridget Wishbow.
Ace: And Liza Ainslie.
Nancy: What do these three women have in common?
Ace: Says here Pam was a "proud alum" of Hawthorne High School.
Nancy: Wait, um... Hawthorne High.
Ace: Out in the boonies. Closed down in, like, 2004.
Bess: Hey. Bridget Wishbow. She was the assistant to the vice principal at Hawthorne High School from 2002 to 2004.
Nancy: Okay, what about Liza? Does she have a connection?
Bess: She was the marching band director.
George: Bridget and Pam were both found dead in their homes.
Ace: Where you going?
----------
Ryan has lunch with his mother.
Celia: I saw you put your house on the market.
Ryan: Yeah, it felt like it was time for a change.
Celia: Mm. And what arrangements have you made for the valuables in the safes?
Ryan: Mom, I'm fine. I can handle it. I'll just throw everything in storage.
Celia: Please do not throw anything anywhere. Some of those valuables are delicate. And priceless. I'll set up a time and send somebody over to sort it out properly. Now, on to more pressing matters. Apparently, Tiffany's sister has woken up. She nearly died. That's what I heard… I so hope that this accident has brought her some kind of perspective on life.
Ryan: I bet it has.
----------
Nancy is waiting in her car.
Officer: Anyone home...?
Nancy: Three Claires worked at Hawthorne High over the school's history. But only Claire Barnett still lived in Horseshoe Bay.
Woman: Horseshoe Five-O.
Man: Some kind of bust?
Nancy: I'm just checking in on the lady that lives here.
Officer: There's no one there, Nancy. Nothing out of the ordinary. You sure about this lead?
Nancy: I'm not sure about anything anymore. Um, I'm-I'm really sorry to have wasted your time.
Nancy opens a video on her phone.
Nancy: Claire Barnett? Is that the Hawthorne High scoreboard? Now I know where Claire is.
----------
Ryan phones Owen.
Owen: Bess? Ryan, I'm glad you called.
Ryan: I've thought about what you said, Owen. And I don't want to see anybody get hurt, so stop looking into the Bonny Scot.
Owen: You think I'm scared of what your family can do?
Ryan: Laura Tandy wasn't scared. So don't say I didn't warn you.
----------
Ryan phones his mother.
Celia: Hello, sweetheart.
Ryan: Hi, Mom, yeah. I-I was just calling to thank you for sending the movers... They were a huge help.
Celia: Oh, good, so you got everything out of the safes?
Ryan: Yep. It's all in the warehouse down by the docks.
Celia: Oh, that's good to hear.
Ryan: Say, um... When's Dad coming back into town? We should all do dinner real soon.
----------
Nancy enters in Hawthorne High. George follows her.
George: Hey! Get that light out of my face!
Nancy: How did you find me here?
George: For someone who sneaks around, the bright blue car isn't exactly subtle.
Ace: Hero of Horseshoe Bay. Hero of Horseshoe Bay's friends.
Nancy: Okay, come on.
----------
They enter in the gymnasium.
Nancy: 20 minutes to save Claire.
----------
They are in the hallway.
Nancy: Someone was dragged here. Whoever took Claire is a woman, size seven shoes. Maybe seven and a half… This seems too easy.
----------
They enter in the stairs.
Nancy: Ace, can you stay up here?
Nick: Yeah, we need a lookout and someone with cell service. We won't have any down there.
George: I'm so glad I brought my crowbar.
Nancy: Okay, if we're not back in 17 minutes... Call the cops.
Ace: Stay alive.
----------
Nancy finds Claire.
Nancy: Claire.
The doors are locked.
Nancy: Hey! It's locked! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey. Hey, hey.
A white smoke blows out of the vent.
Claire: It's p-p... It's poison.
----------
Nick and George are trying to open the door.
Nick: Nancy, we got to get you out of there!
Nancy: Don't open the door! There's poison coming in through the vents. You'll be exposed to it. Just go!
George: Screw that, I'm cracking the door!
Nick: No, no, no. We have to find out where the poison's coming from.
George: What?
Nick: Come on.
----------
Ace phones his father.
Ace: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! I need your help… Dad, I need your help. Please… The person who took Liza Ainslie has taken a new victim. And so, now this door is sealed… Nancy and my friends are trapped on the other side of it… Break the molding. Look for a wire. Thank you.
----------
Nancy unties Claire.
Nancy: Did you see where the killer went?
Claire: No, no, he hit me over the head and...
Nancy: "He"? The poisoner is a man?
Claire: I think so.
----------
Ace finds the wire.
Ace: Found the wire. "Follow it to a control system"... Got it.
----------
Nancy covers the vent.
Claire: What's the point? We've been breathing poison this whole time.
Nancy: Well, yeah, but this way, it'll slow it down. My friends will come and get us out of here.
Claire: You told them to leave.
Nancy: Yeah, but they don't ever listen to me.
----------
Nick and George are in chemistry’s classroom.
George: Hey, is the killer living in here?
Nick: I don't know, but if we can stop the flow of gas, we'll buy Nancy some time. What the... ?
George: What is all this stuff?
----------
Ace starts the computer.
----------
George watches a videotape.
Pamela: Please. Don't do this!
----------
Nancy doesn’t feel good.
Nancy: Mm. We need to stay calm.
Claire: Uh, t-tell me, um, something about yourself. Distract me. Did you have a-a dog growing up?
Nancy: A cat. My mom named him "Snowball".
----------
The killer asks questions to Pamela.
Killer: What about your favourite memory?
Pamela: My little sister.
George: Hey.
Pamela: She's my hero.
George: Nick?
Pamela: She's supposed to look up to me, but it's the other way around.
----------
Claire asks questions to Nancy.
Nancy: My favourite memory. I... I failed my driver's test the first time I took it. My dad, uh, drove me home. So I was really surprised when I looked up and we were in the parking lot of my favourite ice cream shop, which was closed, but my dad had... Had called the owner, and he came out with a pint of my favourite flavour. And my dad t-told me that it was okay to fail.
Claire: Because it makes us stronger.
Nancy: Because, uh, failure reminds us that we're human.
----------
Nick figures out who the killer is.
Nick: George? Claire is the killer. She's in there with the poison. There has to be an antidote. Okay, help me with that. Get that... Get that valve over there. That one. Got it? You see it?
----------
Nancy continues to speak.
Nancy: I'm going to die. And I... I've been too scared to talk to the one person who I care most about. Because I feel like I failed him.
Claire: You don't think your dad did it? After all the evidence you found?
Nancy: You read the paper?
Claire: I've always been fascinated by how the press creates heroes.
Nancy: Your shirt. Your shirt isn't dirty on the back. And your shoes... Are size seven? You're not the victim… I am.
Claire: Do you want to know my favourite memory? Watching my older sister die. The sicker she got, the more open she became. I've never felt closer to anyone in my life.
Nancy: Is that what you did to Tiffany? Poison her and then make her open up to you in the parking lot of The Claw?
Claire: Tiffany Hudson? She died fast in public, sloppy. It's not my style. I mean, granted, it did... It took time to perfect my method… To slow the poison down to suit my needs, but... Once I did... Oh, God, what a time I've had.
Nancy: You've been killing people this whole time unnoticed?
Claire: No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Nancy, Nancy, I'm not a psychopath. No, I'm not... I'm not killing people randomly. I had a short list of people that I knew from this school who wouldn't let me into their inner circle. Once I crossed them off my list, I stopped. But then you had to go and make your little video… And I want to thank you, Nancy… I really did forget how much I love this moment.
Nancy: Please… I don't want to die. Please.
----------
Ace opens the doors.
Ace: Yes!
----------
Nick enters in the room to rescue Nancy.
Nick: Oh. Oh. Nancy? Nancy?! All right. Okay. You're gonna be okay. Okay. I got you. I got you. Let's go, okay? Come on. Okay. Come on. Okay. I got you. Got you. Okay. Come on. Come on, Nancy! Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!
George: Nick, it's the antidote.
Nick: Come on.
George: Look. One of the pearls is missing from the setting, because Claire took it. I think Nancy must have realized that. Here. Get her up.
Nick: Okay. Okay, got her.
George: God, I hope we're not too late. Hurry.
Nick: Okay. Oh. Okay, okay, here we go. It's okay.
George: Yes. Come on, that's it. Come on.
Nancy: Oh. Oh.
Nick: You're okay. Oh, God. Oh, my God. Ah. Ah. You're okay. You're okay. Got you. I got you. Yeah. Yeah.
George: Oh, yeah.
Nick: Okay.
----------
Claire runs away in the hallway. She meets Ace.
Ace: Claire! We've been looking for you.
Claire: Oh.
Ace: You okay?
Claire: Yeah. You have to help me. There's someone after me. We have to leave... Now.
Ace: All right. All right. Come on. I got you.
Claire: Aah.
Ace: Here. Special delivery… Saw your picture on the faculty wall. Chemistry teacher, huh? Try not to poison your cellmate… I'm okay. What are you doing here?
Thom: You did a good job.
Ace: I'm sorry. One-one more time. I didn't... I didn't catch that… Hmm?
----------
The crew is at Nancy’s home.
Nancy: Stop! Stop! Stop fussing, please. I'm fine.
Bess: Uh, fine? Hey, you came back from the dead, okay?
Nancy: Why do you guys always show up? When I very explicitly ask you not to? I mean, somebody could have gotten seriously hurt.
Ace: Because that's what friends do... We show up… Except for Bess.
Bess: Hey! You know, I was dealing with a delicate family situation.
Ace: Nancy, I might still be in a coma if it weren't for you.
George: When I got possessed by Tiffany, you chose me over questioning a ghost about her own murder. Saved my life.
Bess: Yeah. And you let me live with you when I had nowhere else to go.
Nick: You helped me find what Tiffany left for me. And you didn't turn me in to the cops, even when you had reason to.
Nancy: But I've hurt you. I've hurt all of you. And... F-for what?
Bess: Okay. Ease up on the guilt, Nancy. Okay? We all hurt people we love. But we all forgive the people we love, too… Right, George?
George: Eh.
Nick: Looks good on you.
Ace: For my next cake.
George: Do you think you brought Dead Lucy back with you?
Nancy: I think she crawled her way out of wherever Simon flung her. Uh, she found me, though, when I was dying. I don't know if I brought her back here, though. I don't know.
George: Okay. Drew looks tired. It's getting pretty late. We should head out… See you in the morning.
Bess: Good night, Nancy.
Ace: So, she definitely wasn't Tiffany's killer?
Nancy: No. We're getting close, though. We know that it's the same poison that killed Tiffany. We now know that it's very hard to make. And there's an antidote.
Ace: Good night.
Nancy: Good night, Ace.
Nick: Good night, Nancy.
Nancy: Uh... You risked your life to save mine.
Nick: What are friends for?
----------
Nancy is in her room.
Nancy: Part of being human means we have to own up to our failures and face the people we've hurt, instead of pushing them away...
Nancy’s phone rings.
Administrator: You have a collect call from an inmate at the Seabury County Prison. Would you like to accept the charges?
Nancy: And hope against hope that they can forgive us.
Nancy: Yes. I'd like to accept the charges… Dad? Uh, uh, j... Um, ju-just listen, okay? I am so, so sorry. But I'm gonna find a way to get you out of there.
