Nancy Drew and The Mystery Of The Ghost Maiden

Chapter Twenty-three

"Thank you for buying the food but I really do not mind splitting the bill," Nancy said, in between bites of her double cheeseburger. The juices could be seen trickling from her mouth both every oversized bite.

Ned smirked as he reached over with a napkin to lightly dab the juiced from the girl's chin. "We have to hurry if we went to make it in time for the movie."

Nancy took a long sip from her cherry coke before adding, "Chill, we got this."

After the couple finished eating they paid the bill and piled back into Ned's small car. Ned pulled back on to the main road which was never busy. Nancy enjoyed the ride and just tapped her fingers to the rhythm of the music as the car's radio played.

As they drove along something caught Nancy's attention, "Look over at the on the right! It's the George at Tom's Home-style Barbecue stand." Nancy exclaimed as she pointed out the window.

"Want to go over and say hello really quick? It should only take a minute." the young man suggested to his girlfriend.

"Sounds like a great idea!" Nancy replied as they slowly pulled over.

Bess had just turned around and spotted them right away and ran over quickly. "Nancy I am so surprised to run into you here!" Bess exclaimed before calling George over.

"Yeah, we just spotted you from the road. So have you been having any fun?"

"Yeah but more so after George put Jace in his place. I will tell you more about it later, it is really funny!"

"Nancy there you are," George added as she walked up while sipping on a large sweet tea.

"Would you be interested in going to the movies with us?" Nancy asked her friends.

"There really is not much else do around here after dark in the dinky town." Ned murmured under his breath. Then he leaned against the hood of the car to rest while waiting.

"Sure sounds fun just let me talk the boys into it. It will be no problem at all." Bess replied with a wink and a touch of excitement in her voice.

Bess did not waste any time before running over to Carter. She played with her hair shyly while questioning the young man. Carter seemed very jittery and clumsy around her young friend. "He must have quite the crush on her." Nancy mused.

George leaned in closer to Nancy and whispered, "Bess pretty much has Carter wrapped around her little finger."

"So it seems. The movie does start in just fifteen minutes. You will need to hurry."

"You go ahead it will not take long for us to finish up here." George urged.

"All right, see you guys in a few," Nancy said before getting back into the car and driving off to the theater.

Once they drove up Ned exclaimed "Wow this place sure is packed tonight. I did not know there were even this many people in the whole darn town."

"Well it is a new movie and you said it yourself, that there is not much else to do in this town. Let's try to get a spot in the middle that way we will have a better view and avoid having to hear the couples sweet talking in the back. ", Nancy suggested.

"Sure, Nancy there a spot right there." the young man replied while parking. Then he adjusted the radio to the right station to hear the movie.

"It's so nice to have some time with you, Ned," Nancy said while getting comfortable in the seat.

"Yeah, it is. Hey, look there are Bess and George parked way up there in the front." Ned remarked as the girls started to wave at them.

The two enjoyed the movie and thought it was really funny and silly. Nancy's favorite part was when Herbie raced on the side of a building and almost chased the foolish villain off.

Once the movie had played halfway through there was a quick break for people to use the restroom and buy snacks. "Ned I'm going to go grab some popcorn. Do you want anything?" Nancy asked.

"Just get a large popcorn tub and we will share it," Ned said with a charming smile.

"All right I will be right back love," Nancy said before getting out and stretching her legs a bit."

Getting to the snack stand proved to be an ordeal all on its own. With the place too crowded, there were lots of people standing around their cars chatting and goofing around to pass the time until the movie continued playing. But after having to dodge lots of people and slipping through a tight opening she finally made it. Only to find a really long line waiting for her at the sack stand.

With no other choice but to wait in line she quickly got bored. Nancy attention shifted to a man who had pushed his way through the packed line. Once he reached the top the man demanded to speak with the owner.

Nancy curious as to what was really going on here moved closer. She was shocked to see the man who had followed her out near the church! Nancy hid behind the mass of customers to see if she could pick up some new clues.