Death opens with an extended intro from the perspective of Joe Hardy as he grieves the loss of his would-be-if-he’d-ever-admitted-his-feelings-but-now-she’s-dead-so-he-can’t paramour. Seems the detecting damsel took on more than she could handle, at least in Joe’s eyes: while the rest of River Heights, including Nancy’s father and even his own brother, is convinced her death (by drowning, after her car flipped into the river) was an accident, Joe is certain she was murdered. And given Drew’s penchant for trouble—specifically, causing such for River Heights’ most notorious crooks, including the Syndicate responsible for the murder of Fenton Hardy (Joe and Frank’s father, as detailed in The Big Lie)—he might just be on to something.