Authors: Carolyn Keene

Sisters in Crime (14 page)

Her bright reddish blond hair shining against the pillow, Nancy smiled. “I'm afraid I love my work too much,” she answered. “But it has been wonderful to be with you again. I'm glad you brought me in on this case.”

“You were incredible, Nancy.” Susan rolled onto one elbow and looked at her friend. “I truly will never forget this experience. I appreciate your work so much! If I hadn't found out the truth about Rina's death, I couldn't have lived with myself.”

At the gentle knock on the door, Susan called out, “Come in.” Debbie and Patty, dressed, and carrying a thermos and mugs, came in.

“Perfect,” Nancy said, sitting up and smelling the hot coffee. “Just what I need to get me out of bed and packing.”

“We heard you talking,” Debbie explained apologetically.

“And there are rumors flying around this place a mile a minute already,” Patty added. “You have to duck if you don't want to get hit with one.” Setting the coffee on the desk, she said, “So we thought we'd better come to the source of the controversy.”

Just as Susan and Nancy began to fill them in on the events of the night before, the phone rang. Susan jumped out of bed to answer it, and Nancy could see by her smiling face that it was Ira. “That'd be great,” Susan said. “If you feel up to it.” Covering the phone, she said, “Ira and Larry want to come with us to the airport. Okay with you?”

Nancy nodded. “Great. I'd love to say goodbye to them,” she said, and returned to her conversation with Debbie and Patty.

“We thought,” Debbie said, “that you had come here in connection with Rina's death.”

“But after you asked us about the exam stealing, we thought that maybe Rina's death was related to that.”

“So did we,” Nancy said, folding some clothes and laying them in her suitcase. “But it was a blind alley.”

Nancy turned to Debbie. “You knew something about that, didn't you?”

Once more Debbie reddened. “A few months ago, I was invited to join the inner circle. âWe need someone like you for some of the special things we're doing,' Lori said to me.”

“Like murder, I guess she meant,” Patty said dryly.

Nancy saw Debbie give a little shudder at the word before she continued. “Lori and Kathy asked me if I could get my sister to give us the marine biology final. She's a TA in that department.”
Looking down at her hands, Debbie said, “But I'd never put Shelly in that position, and I told them that.”

“So
that's
why they've been so rude to you?” Patty asked her roommate. “You never told me this before.”

“I never told anyone,” Debbie said quietly. “But now is the time for telling.”

“So those people who have tomorrow's calculus examÂ .Â .Â .Â ?” Patty asked, sipping her coffee.

“Those people have my friend's idea of what he hopes will never show up on the calculus exam,” Nancy answered.

The four girls couldn't help hut burst into laughter.

Pouring Nancy another cup of hot coffee, Patty asked, “What happens to Lori now?”

“That's up to the courts to decide,” Nancy said. “I'm wondering about her henchmenâMike and Peter.”

“Well, the word downstairs is that they were caught and booked for assault and battery and kidnapping. They were picked up at the Zeta Psi house,” Debbie explained.

“The rumor is that they denied everything.” Patty continued. “Said they don't know anything about anything.”

“Well, I think it's time to stop the rumors, and tell the facts around here,” Nancy said. “As Debbie said, it seems that now is the time for telling.”

After Patty and Debbie left the room, Nancy asked Susan, “Which is Alice Clark's room? I'd like to talk to her before I leave.”

“She's got a single upstairs on the third floor, if she's not in the basement study hall.”

Alice looked pleased when she opened her door and saw it was Nancy standing there. “Come in,” Alice said.

“Have you heard the rumors?” Nancy asked, walking into Alice's small room.

“Yes.” The other girl nodded and sat on the edge of her bed. “It sounds like the case is solved now. Want to sit down?” she asked Nancy, gesturing to a cushioned chair across from the bed.

“Thanks.” Nancy smiled. “Yes. The case is solved, but there are still some things I can't explain.”

Alice waited, looking down at her feet.

“How did you know about the pressure points?” Nancy asked directly.

“It's public record,” Alice answered. “I didn't believe that Rina's death was an accident, and I guess your cousin didn't, either. Is she really your cousin?” Alice asked, looking up.

“No.”

Alice nodded as though confirming her guess. “Anyway, I went to the police department and asked to see the coroner's report. It said the cause of death was drowning, but it also mentioned two darkened spots on the front of the
neck.” Alice looked down again after she had finished talking.

“So you were trying to solve the case, too?” Nancy asked, encouraging the shy girl to talk more.

“Yes. But when I saw that Susan had brought in a real private eye, I decided to hand the material over to you.” Alice looked back at her as she said, “Nice work, Nancy.”

“Thank you. But how did you know I was a detective?” Nancy asked.

Alice shrugged. “Nobody else talks to me much. You asked a lot of questions and were friendly, and I could see you wanted as much information as you could get. I figured,” Alice said, “that you were either a detective or a very nice person.” Looking at Nancy, she said, “You seem to be both.”

“Thanks,” Nancy said warmly. Then, smiling, she added, “I do ask a lot of questions, don't I? I have one more, if you don't mind.”

“Fine.” Alice shrugged.

“Was becoming treasurer the way you thought you could best investigate?” Nancy asked.

Alice nodded. After a moment's hesitation, she told Nancy more. “I decided to speak to Lori about my abilities. Especially my ability to keep a secret, and I was sure she knew that I don't talk a lot.” Alice looked around her small room. “When Lori pushed for me to be elected, I knew I was headed in the right direction.”

“Nice work on your part, too, Alice.”

“Thanks,” she said. And for the first time that Nancy could recall, Alice Clark smiled.

â¢Â â¢Â â¢

“Listen to this, from page eight of Monday's campus newspaper,” Larry said, holding up some papers.

“Monday's
newspaper?” Ira questioned.

Larry nodded. “The editor's my good friend. I spent a couple hours with her this morning. This is the layout for Monday's paper.”

The four young people were sitting at the San Diego airport waiting for the announcement of Nancy's plane. It seemed to Nancy that longer than a week had passed since Susan met her here.

And now, in a matter of hours, she would be back home. Nancy had finally reached Ned, and he was going to pick her up at the airport when she arrived. “With open arms,” he had said on the phone. “And maybe even a belated valentine.”

“ââOur source, a reliable graduate student,'â” Larry began, reading from the paper in his hand, “ââhas reported a method of exam pilfering that has apparently become common in some circles.'â” As Nancy, Susan, and Ira listened, Larry went on to read in great detail about the cheating scheme that involved “small cliques of manipulative students” and “cooperative teaching assistants.”

“And now he wants us to guess who the
âreliable graduate student' is,” Ira said, holding Susan's hand in his.

“Good for you!” Susan said excitedly, ignoring Ira's teasing of his best friend. “You took it to the authorities!”

“I couldn't resist,” Larry said, and continued reading. “ââThe chancellor's office said it will recommend suspension of any student or faculty member involved in such behavior.'â”

“I think it's great that you reported it,” Nancy told Larry.

“Thanks,” Larry said, pleased. And then he added, “I do wish I could have caught someone red-handed, though.”

“But you had the courage to make it public,” Nancy said. “And that will certainly scare people away from participating. That's very important.”

“Coming from you, a fellow detective,” Larry said slyly, “I'm delighted with the compliment.”

As Susan and Ira laughed at his mock pompousness, Larry added, “Which reminds me. There is another article in here you might be interested in seeing.” Larry then showed them what would become page one. The headline read:
UNDERCOVER DETECTIVE EXPOSES MURDER.
Glancing at Nancy, Larry read, “ââNancy Drew, called in to investigate what had looked like a scuba-diving accident, has given evidence to the police linking the “accident” with a fifteen-thousand-dollar embezzlement scheme.'â”

“Front page again, Nan,” Susan said with a smile.

“I'm very impressed with your work, Nancy,” Larry said sincerely.

“Thanks,” Nancy said. “From a fellow detective, I really appreciate that.”

Ira laughed out loud, and then put one hand to his side, where he was wrapped up from the fight the night before.

“It only hurts when I laugh,” he said lightly to Nancy. “Don't look so worried. You've been in worse shape at least twice this week!”

“I'll send you a copy of the paper when it comes out,” Larry said. “If you'd like.”

“I would,” Nancy said, knowing her father would love to see the article. Nothing gave Carson Drew more pleasure than hearing about his daughter's adventures.

“Flight Seven-fourteen now boarding from Gate Twenty-nine,” came the announcement over the loudspeaker. Nancy stood and stuffed the SDU shirts that she had bought for Bess, George, and Ned into her carrying case.

“That's your flight, isn't it?” Susan said sadly.

“I'm afraid it's that time,” Nancy answered as they all stood up.

Susan reached into her own bag and brought out one of the beautiful underwater photographs of Rina's that Nancy had so admired. “I thought this might help me say thank you,” she said quietly. “I can't tell you how much I appreciate
what you did. You're a wonderful friend, Nancy.”

With a lump in her throat, Nancy took the gift and hugged her old friend. “And I can't tell you how glad I am that I could be here,” she said softly.

As the other passengers filed into the waiting plane, Ira and Larry also hugged Nancy goodbye.

When she was the only one left to board, Nancy grabbed her bag and headed up the hall, turning back to smile and wave one more time.

It wasn't until she was in the air that the wave of sadness passed. Looking out the window at the vast ocean far beneath her, Nancy's feelings shifted to the very special, deep satisfaction she always felt after having solved another mystery. Nothing can quite compare to it, Nancy thought, watching the Pacific disappear as the plane headed inland.

Leaning her head back against the cushioned seat, Nancy Drew looked out over floating clouds. Soon the plane will land, Nancy thought with a smile, and Ned will be there with open arms.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.