Nancy Drew Mystery Stories: Volume Seventy-Six 5 страница

“Nancy Drew?”

“Speaking.”

“It’s about time you got back.” It was the same voice as the first call.

“You told me to find Alana,” Nancy replied coldly. “I can’t do that sitting around a hotel room.”

“Did you find her?” The voice frightened her.

“Not yet,” Nancy said. “I did manage to find out where she’s been hiding, but I arrived too late. She’d already made arrangements for a different car and some kind of disguise.” She had to bite her lip to keep from giggling at the expressions on Ben’s and Alana’s faces as they listened to her.

“There was someone else in the car with you when you left,” the voice said, making it clear the men had managed to escape from the Firebird Lodge.

“The man who helped her,” Nancy admitted. “He’s an old friend of Alana’s, and your men scared him pretty badly. I’m going to have to try to convince him to trust me, but it won’t be easy with your thugs following me around.”

Ben looked insulted, then amused by her words.

“Are you threatening me, Nancy Drew?” the voice asked.

“I’m just telling you that I can’t do what you want me to if you keep blocking me. You have my father and you know I’ll do anything to get him back safely. But I can’t locate Alana if you frighten her away before I can reach her.”

There was a long silence from the other end. Nancy covered the mouthpiece and took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. She could be in desperate trouble if they knew she wasn’t telling the truth. If they believed her, she could buy time. That was what she needed most, she realized. Time to think and to study what her father had tried to tell her on the tape. Everything had happened too fast so far; she’d had to rely on intuition and quick responses. Now she needed a plan.

“You do believe you can find her?”

“I have to,” Nancy answered quietly. “For my father’s sake.”

“I’m glad you’ve decided to be cooperative,” the voice said, warming slightly. “Did you find the tape?”

“Of course. I was just listening to it.”

“You will carry out your father’s instructions?”

“To keep him safe, naturally. However, I can’t do anything until tomorrow morning.”

“Why not?” The suspicion was back.

“Because lawyers don’t call clients in the middle of the night unless it’s an emergency and I don’t think you want to make our clients suspicious about my father’s disappearance.”

Again there was a moment of silence, then a sigh. “I suppose that’s correct, as long as they don’t report him missing before you call.”

“I’ll make sure that they don’t,” Nancy assured him.

“What about Alana Steele?”

“That will have to wait until tomorrow, too,” Nancy said. “When I talk to her friend again, I’ll try to find out where she might be hiding. But that could take a little time.”

“You don’t have much,” the voice snarled, “We can’t wait for long.”

“But I’m doing my best.” Nancy allowed her real feelings of desperation to show in her voice. “Please don’t hurt my father. I’ll find Alana somehow. Just don’t hurt him!”

“We’ll be in touch.” The phone clicked dead. Nancy replaced her own receiver and closed her eyes for a moment.

“You were wonderful, Nancy,” Alana said.

“Did they believe you?” Ben asked.

“I think so,” Nancy said. “If they had known that Alana was with me, they would have come after her.”

“So what’s our next move?” Alana asked, yawning.

“Sleep, I think,” Nancy said. “I’ll write down everything from the tape, then sleep on it. Right now I don’t think I could decipher anything.”

Ben nodded, getting to his feet. “Pound on the wall if you need me,” he said, then grinned, his black eyes dancing. “I’m really not afraid of those crooks.”

“Sorry,” Nancy apologized with a giggle. “I thought it was better if they didn’t see you as a threat.”

“I know,” he assured her. “I just hope I get a chance to show them how I really feel.”

“I hope we all do,” Nancy said.

Nancy worked on transcribing from the tape while Alana got ready for bed. A final check made her sure she had everything down exactly as he’d said it, but the words swam before her aching eyes and refused to make any sense to her.

“You look worse than I feel,” Alana told her.

“I just hate to give up,” Nancy admitted. “Every minute can be important to Dad. I have to figure out what he was trying to tell me.”

“Nancy, there is something.” Alana’s serious tone brought Nancy’s attention away from the words.

“What is it?” she asked.

“If it comes right down to it. If we can’t figure out a way to trick them, I want you to make the exchange. I’ll go to them. I can’t help them, but if they’ll set your father free, it’s worth it. It’s my fault that all of you are involved in this mess. If I hadn’t asked so many questions about the Tundra, maybe none of this would have happened.”

Nancy went over to hug her friend. “Thanks, Alana,” she said, “but I couldn’t do that.”

“I’m not asking you to, I’m just telling you what I’ll do,” Alana stated firmly.

“But it wouldn’t work,” Nancy told her gently. “Don’t you see, they can’t let my father go. He knows far too much about them already.”

Alana’s face grew pale and her grey eyes widened in horror.

“We’re his only hope,” Nancy said.

15. Message in Pieces

In spite of the late hour when she went to bed, Nancy woke shortly after dawn. Alana was still sleeping soundly, so Nancy moved to the small table in front of the window and began to study the words she’d written down.

Some of it made perfect sense, but there were so many phrases that just didn’t sound like her father. She began underlining the things that sounded wrong.

Spotlight at this time. Oil on the waters. The whole portion about not telling one about the others. All the names, numbers, and messages except for Helen Haggler and, in his final words, his saying ACB’s.

These were not accidental words, she was sure of it, even though they were delivered without the slightest emphasis. Glaring at them, she knew she’d chosen the right phrases as clues, but she lacked the key that would make sense of them. She turned her attention to the names.

Ned Nickerson. Nancy smiled. Obviously not a client since he and Nancy were dating. Okay the Merritt case was the message.

“Merritt, Merritt.” Nancy murmured, then grinned. “Merritt Island,” she crowed, then put her hand over her mouth quickly, looking toward Alana. Her friend stirred, moaned, and was quiet again. Merritt Island was in Florida and Ned’s parents owned a home there, one that Nancy had visited.

Mr. DeFoe. Another familiar name, this time from a past case. The missing horse Polka Dot has been located and I have put in a claim. Nancy shook her head. The Polka Dot was a boat, not a horse.

“Boat. Island. Oil on water.” Nancy began to laugh softly. It had to be her father’s way of telling her that he was being held on an island. But what island. Her smile faded. Spotlight. A lighthouse? That made sense.

The next name referred to another case in which her father had to distribute an inheritance among three claimants. Three men. The number of men on the island with him?

The fourth name was Helen Haggler and the number was correct. The message, however, surprised her a little. Instincts correct. Case closed. A warning to Miss Haggler? Nancy decided that’s what it meant and to call Miss Haggler and relay it. With luck, it should buy them a little more time.

The fifth name referred to an art fraud case in which the masterpiece had been saved at the last minute by their surprise invasion of the old mansion where it was hidden. That could be interpreted to mean that the Tundra was being held at the same location he was.

Nancy leaned back in her chair, feeling much better. Only one more name to go and she had a whole selection of clues to work on. No answers yet, of course, but at least her father had given her some signposts to follow.

“What are you grinning about?” Alana asked, snapping Nancy back to the present. “Have you solved the mystery tape?”

“Not all of it,” Nancy answered. “But it is beginning to make sense to me.”

“What do you have?” Alana came to the table at once.

Nancy showed her the notes she’d made, explaining how each one gave her a possible clue.

Alana listened closely, nodding. “So what about the last name?” she asked.

“G. Reed, Cheyenne, Wyoming,” Nancy read. “That’s a real person. I think I wrote you about visiting there during the Frontier Days Rodeo, didn’t I?”

“So what does it mean?”

“Even four can be hard to handle. Suggest you wait before seeking a newer vehicle.” Nancy quoted the words, then gasped. “The parade. He must be referring to the parade.”

“What about it?” Alana looked confused.

“I was in a runaway stagecoach. I mean, I was riding in a stagecoach and the team was frightened into running away.”

Alana just looked at her expectantly.

Nancy stared at the words, sure that she was correct in her interpretation, but unable to see what possible connection there could be between a runaway stagecoach and her father’s deadly predicament. “It doesn’t make much sense, does it?” she admitted.

“It must mean something,” Alana said. “Maybe Ben can help us.”

“Ben?” Nancy was surprised at the suggestion.

“Well, if the rest of your deciphering is correct, your father and the Tundra are being held prisoner on an island somewhere near here,” Alana said.

Nancy nodded. “Probably an island with a lighthouse on it.”

“Ben is a fisherman and he’s been all through this area most of his life. He just might know which island it is.”

“That would be wonderful,” Nancy exclaimed. “Let’s get dressed, then I’ll order breakfast for all of us from room service.” She grinned. “I, for one, am starving. Thinking always makes me very hungry.”

Alana giggled. “I haven’t been doing that much thinking, but I could eat the menu.”

“Don’t,” Nancy teased. “Without it, we won’t know what to order.”

Their good spirits carried them along until there was a loud pounding on the wall. “Let’s have it quiet in there,” Ben’s voice carried through to them. “People will think you’re having a party.”

“We are,” Alana called, “and you’re invited.”

“Be right over.”

Ben joined them quickly, a shy grin on his round face. “It sounds like you’re feeling better about things this morning,” he told Nancy. “Have you solved the code?”

“Not completely,” Nancy admitted, “but I have a lot of clues for you to look at after breakfast.”

“Breakfast?” Ben looked disapproving. “We can’t go out together.”

“No need,” Alana told him. “I ordered almost everything on the room-service menu. The kitchen probably thinks there are eight people coming to join us.”

“Considering that I’m supposed to be alone in this room, you could be hard on my reputation,” Nancy observed with a giggle.

Alana joined in laughing but stopped as someone knocked on the door.

Nancy pointed to the bath and waited until both her guests had hidden themselves behind the closed door. She opened the door to the hall carefully, leaving the safety chain on until she was sure there was no one besides the room-service waiter. The clues her father had given her would do no good if the men who were holding him discovered that Alana was with her now.

By the time they’d demolished the ample portions of food, Nancy’s happiness had turned to impatience. She got the list and handed it to Ben, explaining each clue to him. He read them over several times, then shook his head. “I don’t know of any island they could be using that has a lighthouse on it,” he said.

“What about an island that has something to do with a parade, rodeo, team, horses, the West, a stagecoach,” Nancy said.

“Stagecoach,” Ben murmured, then his dark eyes began to glow. “Coachman Island. It’s not very big, but there is an old mansion on it. Some crazy millionaire settled there for a while, built this big house with a tower that looks like a lighthouse.” He gasped. “Nancy, that must be what your father saw.”

“You’ve solved it,” Alana cheered. “Oh, Nancy, you really did it.”

“With Ben’s help,” Nancy acknowledged, but she felt none of her friend’s elation.

“Is there something wrong, Nancy?” Ben asked.

Nancy shrugged. “Not with what we’ve discovered,” she said. “It’s the rest of the clues. If Dad included them, they must have some meaning and we can’t go after him and the Tundra until I figure out what he was trying to tell me. That’s still a mystery.”

16. Final Clues

“What do you want us to do to help, Nancy?” Ben asked, forcing her mind away from the puzzle.

Nancy looked at the two, trying to think logically. “You can’t stay here,” she said, suddenly realizing the danger. “The kidnappers have been in my room twice already. There’s no reason to think they won’t come again.”

“But where can we go?” Alana asked, plaintively.

Nancy looked to Ben.

“She’s right, Alana,” he said. “They’ll come after you if they find out where you are. Our only hope of getting Mr. Drew and the Tundra back is to keep one step ahead of them.”

Nancy nodded regretfully. “Is there anywhere you can hide for the day?” she asked. “We could meet back here tonight and you could use the room again and we could make our plans.”

Ben grinned. “How about a nice ride on a fishing boat, Alana?” he asked. “That is, if we can rent a car.”

“Good thinking,” Nancy said. “They know my car now, so it would be good to have another one.”

Ben nodded. “I’ll take care of it,” he said, then sobered. “I want to go by Firebird Lodge, too, and make sure that everything is all right out there.”

“Just be careful,” Nancy said.

“How do we keep in touch?” Alana asked. “I mean, if you think this telephone might be bugged, we can’t call you.”

“There’s a telephone booth in the lobby,” Nancy said. “I’ll be in it at noon and again at five P.M. I wrote down the number when I used it last night, so if you want to reach me, call at those times.” She gave them the number.

“Will you be all right, Nancy?” Alana asked.

“I will be if I can figure out the rest of Dad’s clues,” Nancy told her.

Ben and Alana left soon after, promising to use the fire stairs and to be very careful that they weren’t followed when they left the hotel. Once they were gone, Nancy wheeled the room-service table out into the corridor for pickup, then returned to the list of clues.

She stared at them, but nothing came to mind. Frustrated, she replayed the tape, seeking some sort of clue in her father’s tone or inflection. There was none. Depressed and miserable, she lay down on the twin bed and closed her eyes.

Wearily, she realized she should go down and call Helen. If they were watching her, she didn’t want them to suspect that the lists of numbers were a sham.

Then, for the first time, another question popped into her mind. Why had her father included Helen Haggler’s name in the list? She was his only real client at the moment, not a name out of the past.

And why had her father been kidnapped before she had come to Alana’s aid? How could the men have known she would be in Victoria seeking Alana; and if they couldn’t be sure, why had they kidnapped her father?

“They are connected!” she exclaimed, then raced to the table to read the clues she hadn’t understood before.

Just be sure that you don't tell one about the others. Let each one think I’m working exclusively for him or her. That was it. Her father had been kidnapped because he was going to Helen Haggler in connection with her investigation of Investors, Inc. Their using his abduction as a threat to force her to find Alana had come later after they’d found out from Nancy’s call to Tod that she was looking for Alana.

“You didn’t get your tongue twisted, did you, Dad?” Nancy murmured. “My ACB’s are the C-B, Inc. investigations and I’d be willing to bet that C-B stands for Cole-Borge.”

Feeling lighter by the moment, Nancy picked up all her notes and put them in her pocket, then took her purse and went down to use the phone booth in the lobby. She placed a call to Helen Haggler.

“Do you have any news, Nancy?” Helen asked as soon as Nancy identified herself. “Has Carson been freed yet?”

Nancy bit at her lip, remembering the warning about not telling one about the other. “No, he hasn’t, Miss Haggler,” she began, suddenly unsure about what she should do. “That’s why I called you.”

“Do you need help raising the ransom?” Miss Haggler asked. “I can send someone up with cash, if that’s the problem.”

“They don’t want money,” Nancy said. “They want someone else in exchange.”

“Me?” Miss Haggler didn’t sound particularly surprised.

“No, it’s the girl I came up here to help,” Nancy replied. “I’m calling to ask for more time. I have new information, including a good idea where Dad is being held; but I can’t free him before tonight. If you call in the police, we may not have a chance.”

“Are you still trying to tell me this abduction has nothing to do with the attempt to take over my company?” Miss Haggler snapped.

“No. When I told you that last night, I didn’t know there was a connection, but now I’m sure there is. That’s why I’m so positive that Dad is in terrible danger. They can’t let him go, Miss Haggler. He knows far too much.”

“Then why not call in the police or the Canadian authorities? If you don’t think you can ransom him, why wait?”

“If I’m right, we just might be able to trick the men who are holding him.”

“You think you can handle it better than the police?” She sounded skeptical.

“Much better,” Nancy said. “The men holding Dad want my friend so badly, they’ll do almost anything to get her.”

“How long do you want me to wait?”

“Until you hear from me?” Nancy suggested.

“Forty-eight hours. If I don’t hear from you before this time day after tomorrow, I’ll call the police. Who do I send them after?”

“I’d rather not make any accusations,” Nancy began.

“That’s the price of time,” Miss Haggler said. “If you disappear, too, I want to make sure we know where to start looking.”

Nancy swallowed hard. “Do the names Jasper Cole and Felix Borge mean anything to you?” she asked.

“Those two-bit hustlers are behind this? They wouldn’t know what to do with Haggler Inter-national Imports if they had it.”

“If you had a large collection of native art that wasn’t yours but wasn’t exactly stolen, could you sell it through your shops?” Nancy asked.

“Not honestly, but it would be possible, I suppose,” Helen Haggler admitted. “Why? Do they have something like that?”

“They’re working on getting it,” Nancy said.

“You aren’t making a lot of sense,” Miss Haggler complained. “But I suppose I’ll have to trust you, won’t I?”

“I hope Dad will be able to explain the whole thing to you by this time tomorrow,” Nancy said fervently.

“And if he isn’t able to, where do I send the authorities?” she asked.

“I can’t tell you,” Nancy said, “but I’ll put my notes in an envelope and mail them to you today. That way if things go wrong, you’ll know as much as I do.”

“Notes?”

Nancy explained about the tape and its coded message. “If you don’t hear from me in forty-eight hours, maybe the police can use it,” she said.

“You just be very careful,” Miss Haggler warned. “The men trying to take over my company are completely ruthless. I doubt they’ll stop at anything to get what they want.”

“They’ve already proved that,” Nancy said, chilled by her words. “But I won’t stop at anything either—not until I get my father back!”

17. Plotting an Escape

Nancy made several more calls from the pay phone. Contacting Mr. Steele for a report on the progress of the robbery investigation was the first. It made her feel guilty to listen to the worry in his voice when he asked her about Alana, but she couldn’t risk telling him anything.

Next, she called the hotel in Seattle to check for messages, then she tried the Firebird Lodge and was pleased when there was an answer. “Is Ben Qinggoq there?” she asked politely.

“I’m sorry, miss, he isn’t,” the woman answered. “But I do expect I’ll be seeing him in the next day or so. Would you like to leave a message?”

“No, thank you, I’m sure he’ll be getting in touch with me,” Nancy said.

When she left the phone booth, she looked around, trying hard to remember whether any of the people in the lobby had been there last night, but she couldn’t. She got a stamped envelope from the desk clerk and addressed it to Helen, but she didn’t put the notes in it. Hoping to find a copy machine, she decided to walk to the nearby shopping area.

“We’ll just see if anyone is following me,” she murmured, stepping briskly into the damp air.

The streets weren’t crowded at that hour, but she couldn’t spot anyone. She stopped in a small doughnut shop to wait for the stores to open, then wandered through several before buying some items for what lay ahead. Dark jeans for herself and Alana, plus lightweight, dark-colored sweaters to match.

“Just the right dress for the invasion,” she told herself, renewing her determination.

After making her purchases, Nancy moved on to a stationery store carrying maps and bought one that included Coachman Island. She also made photocopies of her notes and mailed the envelope. When that was done, she consulted her watch, and seeing that it was almost twelve o’clock, returned to the hotel.

The people in the chairs and on the sofas of the lobby seemed to have changed, but again, she couldn’t be sure. Nancy sat near the phone

booth for almost half an hour, but it didn’t ring.

Frustrated, but not really surprised, Nancy went into the hotel dining room for a quick lunch, then decided to go to her room. There was always the chance, she reminded herself, that the kidnappers would call for a progress report, and she didn’t want them to think that she was merely stalling for time.

When Nancy got on the elevator, she found it half filled by a laundry cart apparently abandoned by one of the maids. She peered inside, noting that it contained mostly uniforms for the hotel employees.

Without really planning anything, she bent over the side of the cart and poked around until she located three uniforms that looked as though they would fit her, Alana, and Ben. She slipped them into the bag with her other purchases and left the elevator on her floor.

Nancy was so busy thinking about what she’d done that she had stepped into her room before she realized she wasn’t alone. A scream welled up in her throat, but a hand covered her mouth before she could make a sound.

“It’s Nancy,” Alana gasped.

“I’m sorry,” Ben said, releasing her at once.

Nancy blinked, suddenly realizing the room was so dark because the drapes had been drawn over the windows. “How did you get in here?” she asked.

Alana looked guilty. “I got the key at the desk,” she said. “I told them my father had the key to my room.”

“Why are you here?” Nancy put the chain on the door. “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t be safe here.”

Alana started to speak, then burst into tears. “I’m not safe anywhere,” she wailed.

Nancy went to the girl and threw her arms around her. “What happened?” she demanded, her gaze on Ben’s troubled face.

“We did what you said,” Ben began, sinking down on the side of the bed. “Went down the stairs and out the back. We got about half a block, maybe a little more, when a car came along.”

“It was those men again,” Alana choked. “Jasper Cole and Felix Borge. They saw me, Nancy, and they came after us.”

“Oh, no,” Nancy gasped, feeling sick. “How did you get away?”

“There was an open office building close by,” Ben answered. “We went in there and I had Alana hide in a closet while I led them away. They chased me through three different parking garages and one more building before they found out she wasn’t just ahead of me.” He grinned. “I kept yelling instructions to her.”

“Clever,” Nancy said.

“Once they found out it was a trick, they gave up the chase,” he continued. “They weren’t interested in me.”

“I came back here,” Alana said. “That’s when I got the key. It was the only place we could think of before we split up.”

“Of course,” Nancy said. “You did the right thing, the only thing you could do. I’m just sorry I spent so much time away.”

“Have you managed to learn anything?” Ben asked, eyeing her packages curiously.

“A little more,” Nancy said. “But nothing that will help us rescue my father and get the Tundra back.”

“What are we going to do?” Alana asked. “We can’t stay here. They’ll be waiting outside for us, I just know they will.”

Nancy nodded, aware that Alana was right. “It’s just as well that we’re all together,” she said, “because when we leave here, we won’t be able to come back until afterward.”

“Afterward?” Alana’s voice held a note of apprehension.

“I have to wait until the kidnappers call,” Nancy continued. “I have to make arrangements to exchange you for my father sometime tomorrow.”

Alana’s expression was bleak, but she nodded.

Nancy sighed. “Alana, I’m not going to, I told you that. The thing is, I want them to think that I’m cooperating. I’m just doing it to try to buy some time.”

“Do you have a plan?” Ben asked.

Nancy gave him a weak grin. “Not really,” she admitted, “but I’ll be making one.”

“So what do we do now?” Alana asked. “Do you think they’ll come to this room?”

Nancy looked around nervously, then frowned. “Where is the tape player?” she asked.

Alana and Ben looked around the room just as she had. “Maybe the maid put it away,” Alana suggested. “I mean, the room has been made up."

“She didn’t move anything else,” Nancy protested, opening drawers and generally searching the room. With Ben and Alana helping her, it took only a few moments to be sure that the tape player was gone.

“I suppose it could have been stolen,” Ben murmured, but his tone told Nancy that he didn’t believe that any more than she did. “Reclaimed would be more likely,” Nancy said. “After all, it would have been evidence of my father’s abduction.”

“What will we do?” Alana shivered.

“I think you two should go next door,” Nancy said. “You still have the key, don’t you, Ben?” Ben nodded.

“I don’t think they’ll check that room, even if they come here,” Nancy said, then as the two started toward the door, she called them back. “I do have something that might come in handy,” she said, opening her sack.

“What in the world?” Alana asked as Nancy produced the wrinkled uniforms.

“Disguises,” Nancy said. “I just happened to ride up in the elevator with the laundry. I thought these outfits might help us get out of here without being noticed.”

“Good idea,” Ben said.

“Now, my only worry is a car. I haven’t had a chance to get a new rental one.”

“No problem,” Ben answered proudly. “After they gave up chasing me, I figured that was my chance to get a car, so I called a mechanic friend of mine and borrowed his pickup. It’s old, but it has a brand-new engine. I put it in one of those all-night parking garages.”

“Ben, you’re wonderful,” Nancy said, giving him a hug.

“Only if we aren’t caught,” Ben replied, suddenly shy. “Come on, Alana.” He took his uniform. “Let’s get out of here and give Nancy time to make a plan.”

“Just pound on the wall if you need me,” Nancy told them.

“You pound for us as soon as you hear from Cole and Borge,” Alana said, looking around nervously. “I really don’t think we should stay here any longer than we have to.”

“Neither do I,” Nancy agreed.

Ben and Alana left and Nancy opened the drapes, hoping the daylight would lift her spirits, but it had little effect. There was no sunlight, and heavy clouds seemed to promise rain before nightfall.

Nancy got out the map of the islands and put it on the table. Rain just might be an advantage.

It was nearly an hour before the telephone rang, startling her so much she nearly tipped her chair over as she ran to answer it. As expected, it was one of the kidnappers calling.

“Well, Miss Drew, what do you have to say for yourself?” he asked, his tone full of anger.

“I’ve found Alana,” Nancy answered as calmly as she could.

“You have?” She was rewarded by the surprise in his voice.

“You shouldn’t be so shocked,” Nancy snapped. “Your men terrified her, that’s why she called me for help.”

“Do you have her there with you now?” She could almost hear him plotting.

“Of course not,” Nancy replied, too quickly. “But I do know how to get in touch with her.”

“Suppose you tell me.”

“After I have my father with me,” Nancy said, her heart pounding with excitement.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” the man grated. “You’ll get your father when we have Alana Steele in our hands.”

“You get Alana Steele in your hands when my father is returned to me,” Nancy stated.

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