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The Reveal

*At the court house

"The state calls Nancy Drew to the stand." Just as that sentence was spoken Nancy had walked in with Bella, Mason and Ryan behind her.

Judge- "Ms. Drew please take the stand to admit your journal as evidence."

"I will but not to admit my journal, someone else's." Nancy holds up Lucy's journal in her hand, "Lucy Sable's." Whispers flutter around the courtroom, "I know who killed her and it wasn't Carson Drew."

Judge- "Very well, take the stand."

Nancy walks up to the stand and the other three take a seat next to their friends, before speaking Nancy looks at the crowd and takes a deep breath, "My testimony begins in the summer of 1999. When Lucy met a boy who took her to a ball, and even though they were never supposed to see each other again, this boy and Lucy fell in love. They met up again on New Year's eve of 1999 and continued their secret romance via email. Lucy Sable and Ryan Hudson." The crown audibly gasp.

DA- "Objection, how is this relevant?"

Judge- "I wanna see where this goes, overruled. Continue."

Nancy- "In the spring of 2000, Ryan's father Everett found out. He went to Lucy directly and told her that Ryan's future had no room for a townie girl like her, but Lucy refused to break up with Ryan, so Everett got what he wanted another way. Lucy's mother lost her job, Lucy lost her private scholarships, her chance to go to college. The Hudson's started spreading rumors that Lucy was sleeping with hilltoppers and the town believed it. The slut shaming spread from there." Nancy starts to open the journal as she lists the types of slut shaming, "Hate mail, threats, cruel notes passed to Lucy in class." Nancy holds up the paper from the journal, "She kept them all. Until finally Lucy folded. She broke up with Ryan in person, too afraid of his father to tell him the real reason why. but by then Lucy's life had unraveled to the point of despair. A journal entry marked the week before she died." Nancy flips the book to an entry and starts to read it to the court, "Everyone in this town hates me. Tried talking to mom but she just freaked out and hid all the knives." Nancy takes a deep breath before continuing, "The next entry she wrote about was a trip to her guidance counselor 'Kate Drew'. (Entry) Had lunch with Mrs. Drew and her husband Carson. We ate homemade pie and used her mothers silver." Nancy's voice changes when she reads as she is about to cry. "Everything was so nice, so beautiful, why can't my life be like this." Everyone looks at Nancy, "It was at that lunch that Lucy stole one of Kate Drew's silver knives and kept it in her possession until the sea queen crowning. When she wrote one final entry." Nancy turns to the last entry and reads, "I'm going up to dead man's bluff to end my life. I love you mom, I hope you never find this. I'm sorry." Nancy closes the book, "Her suicide note." Everyone stays silent for a moment and then Nancy takes a deep sigh. "Carson Drew did not kill Lucy Sable, she took her own life. And for 20 years we told ourselves a story of a mysterious killer when really the killer was us, this town." Nancy looks at the entryway of the courtroom and sees dead Lucy standing there. "But I promise to remember the girl who lived, not the girl who died." A tear rolls down her cheek and she speaks louder, "The soul piece of physical evidence linking Carson Drew to the crime is a fingerprint, on a knife that Lucy took from his house. Is that enough to send a man to trial for murder?" 

Hearing the last few words the crowed starts to talk louder protesting Carson's innocence. The judge bangs her gavel, "Quiet! Order."

After revealing the evidence the group of people go into another room to wait the hearing. Bella grabs water for Nancy, "Lucy never wanted me to figure out how she died."

"Yeah, I get that. Maybe she carried the trauma of her suicide over into her death."

"Then why is she haunting me? Why the bones, what does she want me to solve?"