037 Last Dance (2 page)

The three friends went outside, leaving Laurie behind to talk with Jon.

“He’s so romantic. Too good to be true,” Bess said with a sigh.

Nancy laughed. “You mustn’t have been talking to Adam,” she remarked. “The whole time we were dancing, he told me how rotten Jon is and how sorry Laurie’s going to be if she gets too involved with him.”

“Yeah, he tried that one on me, too,” George put in.

A soft summer breeze ruffled Nancy’s hair as
they walked across the parking lot toward her car. Suddenly George stopped, dead and grabbed Nancy’s arm, “Look,” she cried.

Nancy followed George’s pointing finger. She gasped out loud.

“Oh, no!” Bess groaned.

All four of the Mustang’s tires had been slashed!

W
HAT THE
—” George began.

“Nancy, who could have done this?” Bess cried.

“Why is the question,” Nancy murmured.

She stared at the slash marks for a moment, then sighed. She and George and Bess wouldn’t be going anywhere until all the tires had been replaced. “Come on,” she said grimly, heading back to the club. “Let’s call a gas station.”

Nancy found the pay phone and started flipping through the directory with George looking over her shoulder. Jon Villiers was just coming
down the hall from his office, and Bess immediately struck up a conversation with him.

“It’s awful,” she said. “Just awful.”

“What’s awful?” Nancy heard him ask. She was dialing the number of a nearby service station.

“Nancy’s tires were slashed,” Bess answered. “I’m Bess Marvin,” she went on as Nancy waited for someone to answer on the other end of the line. “These are my friends, Nancy Drew and George Fayne.”

“Jon Villiers,” the deejay introduced himself with a dazzling smile. Nancy could see now that his eyes were an intense shade of blue.

Jon glanced at his watch. “It’s midnight. If you’re trying to get a mechanic at this hour, you probably won’t have much luck. Why don’t you let me drive you home?”

Nancy looked at each of her friends to see how they felt about the situation. George shrugged her shoulders, and Bess was all smiles. Nancy nodded. “Thank you,” she said.

“I’m sorry about your tires,” Jon told Nancy when the four of them were settled in his car. “I feel sort of responsible—since I own Moves.”

“Have you had any other vandalism?” Nancy asked.

Jon shook his head. There was a short pause, then he changed the subject. “You’re friends of Laurie’s, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Nancy answered. “We went to school with her.”

Again he hesitated, concentrating on the road. “I’ve only been going with her a couple of weeks, and I don’t really know her family. What are they like?”

“Well, you know she’s an only child,” Bess replied from the back seat, where she and George were sitting.

Jon nodded. “Yes, I knew that. So I guess her parents have pretty much given her everything she wants,” he went on.

The conversation was beginning to make Nancy feel uncomfortable. “Laurie isn’t spoiled, if that’s what you mean,” she said.

“But her parents are wealthy,” Bess put in.

George gave Bess a look. “I’d like to know who slashed Nancy’s tires,” George said, changing the subject. She seemed to feel the same way about Jon’s questions as Nancy did.

“It was probably just a random thing,” Jon said. “Kids, maybe. If you were Laurie, which would you rather get from a guy—lowers or candy?”

Nancy turned slightly, catching George’s eye. She raised an eyebrow.

When the girls reached Nancy’s house, they thanked Jon and went inside to report the incident to the police. “Let’s skip the movie,” Nancy
suggested after hanging up the phone. “We’ve got too much to talk about.”

Within a few minutes they had popped a batch of popcorn and were settled down in the den to talk.

“All right, you guys. Who could have been mad enough at me to do that to my tires?” Nancy asked, voicing the thought that had been going round and round in her mind.

George looked at Nancy and shook her head. “I don’t know. Brenda Carlton, maybe?”

“Slashing tires isn’t Brenda’s style. No, I think—Hey!” Nancy snapped her fingers and sat up a little straighter. “What if the slashing was meant for someone else?”

Bess and George looked blank. “I’d swear that Adam paid that waitress to dump that soft drink on Laurie—I saw him giving her money afterward. Maybe he did the same thing with Laurie’s tires—except Pam, or whomever he paid, got my car instead. They’d be easy to confuse in the dark.”

George nodded. “He could have done it himself, for that matter. The club was so crowded, no one would notice people going in and out.”

“Adam always seemed like such a nice guy,” Bess said. “This break-up with Laurie has really changed him.”

Nancy sighed. “I know,” she said. “I know.”

• • •

The service station attendant dusted his hands together as he stepped back from Nancy’s car. He’d just replaced Nancy’s tires with brand-new ones. “There you go,” he said. “You’re back in business.”

Nancy gave him a check. “Thanks,” she said, sliding behind the wheel as George and Bess climbed into the car.

“Let’s head for the mall and just put the whole incident out of our minds for a while so we can concentrate on finding really great outfits to wear to Laurie’s party,” Bess said, brightening.

After they’d been shopping for about an hour, the girls ran into Laurie.

“Oh, hi! I’m just picking up some stuff for the party,” Laurie said. She was loaded down with boutique bags.

“Are you giving away clothes as party favors?” Nancy asked.

Laurie laughed, blushing. “Well, I needed a few things myself,” she admitted.

Nancy suggested they all stop for a soda.

Nancy gestured toward Laurie’s shopping bag after they were seated with drinks. “Show us what you’re going to wear today.”

Looking pleased, Laurie pulled a sleek blue jersey dress from the bag and stood up to hold it against herself.

Nancy laughed. “I almost bought the same dress,” she told Laurie.

“It’s true.” Bess was wide-eyed. “Nancy tried it on and everything.”

Laurie seemed to have stars in her eyes. “I want to look especially nice for Jon,” she said.

“He’s really special’ to you, isn’t he?” Nancy asked softly.

Laurie nodded. “I don’t know what it is about him. I haven’t even known him very long—only a couple of weeks. But he seems—well—right for me.” She sighed. “My parents haven’t said that much to me about him, but lean tell they’re a little worried. He’s older, he’s not from here, no one knows anything about him—well, you know how parents worry. That’s partly why I’m having the party. I know they’ll like him once they really get a chance to know him.”

Nancy looked thoughtfully at Laurie. Although he seemed nice, Jon Villiers was a stranger in River Heights. She hoped Laurie wasn’t about to be hurt.

“Ned’s coming to the party, too, isn’t he?” Laurie asked, continuing.

Nancy nodded, her face slightly flushed. The thought of her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, always made her glow and feel happy. “I called him this morning and left a message about it,” she answered, smiling.

Nancy, Bess, and George continued shopping until they’d found a perfect outfit for Nancy—a
white cotton blouse-and-skirt set with a wide black belt.

• • •

As Nancy was fumbling with her key in her front door, she heard the phone ring three times. Bursting into the front hall, she dropped her bags and ran to pick the phone up on the fifth ring. “Hello.” It was Ned.

“I was just about to hang up. Short notice on that party, Drew,” Ned said, pretending to grumble. “Still, I guess I can rearrange my incredibly heavy schedule for you. Should I pick you up or meet you there?”

“Nickerson, I appreciate your sacrifice, really I do,” Nancy teased. “How about if I pick you up? I promised to give George and Bess a ride.”

After agreeing on a time, Nancy told Ned about the slashed-tire episode at Moves.

Ned gave a long, low whistle. “Sounds like you’re on somebody’s list,” he said, sounding worried. “Any idea whose?”

“I have one idea,” Nancy replied, “but nothing really solid.” She didn’t want to mention her theory about Adam Boyd until she had more to go on. They talked a little longer, then Nancy hung up to get ready for the party.

• • •

At five o’clock sharp, Nancy, Ned, George, and Bess arrived at the Weavers’ house, in the section of River Heights built exclusively of mansions.
The party had been set up on the lawn, and Nancy smiled when she saw young waiters in tuxedos and high-top sneakers solemnly handing around trays of hamburgers and hot dogs. Trust .Laurie to do it in style.

“Wow,” Bess said for all of them.

“It’s like something out of a prime-time soap opera,” George commented, obviously impressed. All the girls had been to parties at the Weavers’ before, but this one was really special. Spectacular displays . of cut flowers were set around the yard in giant urns. A yellow and white striped tent canopy rose up at the back of the lush one-acre lawn. A three-table buffet was set up to their right with damask tablecloths and huge silver candelabra.

Laurie popped out of the crowd. She looked radiant in the blue jersey dress Nancy had almost bought. After chatting a minute, Bess dragged George off to check out the buffet.

Nancy noticed that Laurie’s attention was wandering. She kept looking toward the house, and Nancy guessed she must be watching for Jon.

Just then her waiting was rewarded. Jon moved through the crowd to greet Laurie with an eager smile and a kiss on the cheek. She introduced him to Ned, and the two young men shook hands.

“So, what do you think?” Nancy asked after Laurie had led Jon off to talk to her parents.

“About what?” Ned replied, playing dumb.

Nancy elbowed him lightly in the ribs. “About Jon Villiers,” she answered.

Ned shrugged. “He isn’t my type,” he said with a laugh. “Let’s go dance.”

Under the canopy a wooden dance floor had been set up, and a band played rock from a large gazebo nearby.

“This really is some party,” Ned observed.

Nancy nodded. Over Ned’s shoulder, she saw Jon excuse himself and wander back to the house.

At the end of the next dance, Nancy went inside to brush her hair. Since the downstairs powder room was occupied, she went up to the second floor of the mansion, knowing the Weavers wouldn’t mind.

As she was passing the closed door to Mr. Weaver’s study, she heard Jon’s voice. He was speaking loudly, obviously anxious about something. Nancy paused in the hallway. Maybe she could help.

What Jon said next stopped her from revealing her presence, however. “Look,” he snarled, “I’ve got enough problems without making her suspicious. I’ve talked to her, and everything is fine—”

Nancy’s eyes widened. Whose suspicions was Jon worried about? Who was he talking to?

Jon’s voice sank in volume. After glancing up and down the hallway to make sure she wasn’t being observed, Nancy pressed her ear directly against the door.

“I told you not to worry!” Jon burst out suddenly. “I’ll take care of her.”

J
ON’S WORDS ECHOED
in Nancy’s mind as she hurried back down the stairs. “I told you not to worry!” he’d practically shouted. “I’ll take care of her!”

The question was, who was he planning to “take care of,” and how?

The rest of the party went by in a blur for Nancy. She kept an eye on Jon, but he didn’t do anything unusual. What had his words meant? Could he have been talking about Laurie?

As she pulled into Ned’s driveway to drop him off, Nancy thought of another possibility. What if Jon had been talking about her?

Nancy Drew, that’s crazy, she scolded herself. But the thought stubbornly refused to go away. It was possible, after all. Nancy did have a reputation around River Heights—everyone knew she was a detective. If Jon was involved in some kind of shady dealings, he might decide he didn’t want some curious private eye hanging around his club. It was just possible. . . .

“Hey! Earth to Nancy. Anybody home?” Ned was gently shaking Nancy’s arm.