Danger on Parade (2 page)

“Mitchell's is going to have its own fragrance?” Nancy asked.

Jules nodded. “It's called Forever. My nose personally voted for the winning scent,” he said. He opened a drawer and took out two tiny glass bottles with Forever printed on them in flowing script. “Here, you two can be among the first to try it.”

Bess took her small bottle, opened it, then dabbed the perfume on the inside of her wrist, which she then held up to her nose. “Mmmm,” she said. Holding her wrist out to Nancy, she asked, “I love it! What do you think?”

Nancy sniffed the rich, musky fragrance. “Very sophisticated, Bess. Very New York. Could we have one more?” she asked Jules. “Our girlfriend George would love it.” George hadn't been able to come to New York because she and her parents were spending Thanksgiving in California.

After handing Nancy another sample, Jules said, “Well, I guess I'd better get you back to Jill.”

The girls put the samples into their bags, then the three made their way back to the parade studio. Jules stopped next to an open doorway halfway down the hallway leading to the open workroom. “Here's Jill's office,” he said.

“ 'Bye. Thanks for the tour,” Bess told him, following Nancy into the office.

Inside, Jill was perched on the edge of her desk, which was covered with newspaper clippings, schedules, and notices. Filing cabinets lined one wall, and a bulletin board hung beneath the room's two small rectangular windows. Two guys were sitting in folding metal chairs next to the desk.

“Hi,” Jill greeted Nancy and Bess. “I want to introduce you to Neil Steem, who works with me in public relations. He's in charge of guest relations for the parade. And with him is—”

The girls' eyes went past the brown-haired man and right to the handsome young man seated next to him.

“Greg Willow!” they both exclaimed at once.

Greg smiled shyly and ran his hand through his jet black hair. He was wearing worn chinos, loafers, and a blue-green rugby shirt that matched his eyes exactly.

“He looks even better in person than he does on TV,” Bess whispered to Nancy.

Nancy had to admit to herself that she felt a little weak in the knees. She could hardly believe that Greg Willow was sitting right in front of them.

Greg stood up, flashed his famous smile, and held out his hand. “Well, I can see that you two know me. And you are . . . ?”

Bess just stood there, speechless, so Nancy stepped forward and shook the actor's hand. “Hi. I'm Nancy Drew, and this is Bess Marvin,” she said. “We've been fans of yours since you were on ‘Next Door.' You must be excited to be the grand marshal of the parade.”

She felt that she was babbling, but Greg Willow just smiled again. “I'm really looking forward to it,” he told her. “I tell you, though, I never realized how much preparation goes into this parade. It all looks so easy when you're just sitting at home, watching it on TV.”

Suddenly Bess sprang to life. “Oh, I know!” she gushed. “It's so exciting to be in on the plans.”

As she spoke, Bess moved closer to Greg, her eyes shining. Nancy smiled. Bess definitely had a
crush on the actor. Not that Nancy could blame her—he was gorgeous!

Neil Steem spoke up. “It's a lot of work, but—”

He broke off as an explosion rocked the room, sending the bulletin board crashing to the floor. Nancy felt her whole body tense. Before she could even react, the room's two windows shattered, sending flying glass showering down on them!

G
ET DOWN
and cover your heads!” Nancy shouted urgently. She dropped to the floor and tucked her head beneath her arms. For a few moments, shattered glass rained down around her. Then everything was quiet.

Finally she uncovered her head and looked up. “Is everyone okay?” she asked, carefully shaking shards of glass from her hair and arms.

Jill was crouched beneath her desk, while Greg, Neil, and Bess were clustered next to the chairs. Jill's eyes were filled with fear as she crawled out and stood up. “Wh-what happened?”

Suddenly screaming voices erupted from the hallway. Footsteps pounded as workers began running past the office toward the exit. “Fire!”
one of them was shouting. Acrid black smoke wafted into the hallway.

“Quick—everyone out!” Nancy shouted.

As Bess, Neil, and Greg hurried past her into the hall, Nancy noticed a small trickle of blood on the palm of Greg's hand.

“That explosion was in the studio,” Jill said, hesitating. Her face was ashen and tight with worry. “All those people! The floats and balloons for the parade—” She pressed her lips together in a determined line. “I've got to see if anyone is still inside.”

“No! Jill, we have to get out,” Nancy said forcefully. “The danger may not be over yet. You could get hurt. We'd better wait for the fire department.”

Jill moved reluctantly into the hallway and toward the exit, with Nancy behind her. Workers from the studio streamed past in panic. Nancy winced as she saw a woman holding a workshirt over a bloody gash in her cheek.

When they reached the outside door to the warehouse, Nancy heard sirens in the distance. Everything was in chaos. People were running from three different emergency exits, some of them being helped by others. Billowing clouds of black smoke rose into the air from the roof.

“Oh, no!” Jill exclaimed. She grabbed Neil's arm, and the two of them jumped into action, setting up an area for people who were hurt.

Within minutes, police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances screeched to a halt at the curb. One group of fire fighters jumped down from their trucks, set up their hoses, then ran inside the warehouse with them. Another group went to the back of the warehouse. While the police used yellow plastic ribbons to block off the area, paramedics tended to the wounded, who had gathered near Neil and Jill. Nancy was relieved to see that, although several people had cuts, no one appeared to be seriously injured.

“Greg, you should get that hand checked out,” Bess said.

“It's just a little cut from the glass,” he said, but Bess grabbed his good hand and led him over to the paramedics.

Nancy frowned as she looked back at the warehouse. How could an explosion just happen out of the blue like that? she wondered. Stepping over to one of the fire fighters, she asked, “Do you know what happened?”

The man shook his head. “It's too soon to tell. We have to get the fire out first.”

Nancy was about to ask another question, but her attention was distracted as she saw a familiar blond-haired guy being carried out on a stretcher.

“Jules!” she cried, running over to him. His eyes were closed. As the paramedics lifted him into an ambulance, his blond head turned limply to the side.

“He's unconscious, ma'am,” one of the paramedics explained. “Judging from the lump on his head, he must have been hit in the head by some flying debris.”

Nancy turned away, a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. This was a lot more serious than she had thought. She spotted Jill and Neil talking to the fire marshal, so she hurried over to see if she could find out more about the explosion.

“As far as we can tell, ma'am, the fire had something to do with the acetylene torches,” the officer was saying. “But we don't know exactly how it happened yet. The two men working with them are both on their lunch break.”

Jill threw her hands into the air. “How much damage has been done? When can we resume work? I have a parade to put on this Thursday, and I need some answers now!” she yelled, obviously upset.

“I'm sure the police and fire fighters are doing all they can,” Neil said calmly. He thanked the fire marshal, who walked away.

Nancy stepped up to Jill and Neil. “I'd like to help investigate,” she offered. “Something about—”

“No, no,” Jill interrupted, waving a hand distractedly in the air. “The police and fire marshal are here, and it's your vacation. You and Bess go off and have some fun,” she insisted. “I'll have someone go to a pay phone and call a car
service for you.” She pulled out her business card, then wrote something on it. “In case you need them, here are the phone numbers and addresses for both the store and the warehouse,” Jill said, handing Nancy the card.

Nancy turned as Bess and Greg walked up. “Good as new,” Greg announced. He held up his hand to show the square bandage covering his palm.

“Glad to hear it,” Neil said. He ran a hand through his brown hair, then looked at Greg, Nancy, and Bess. “Look, Jill and I are going to be here for a while, but there's no reason for you to stick around.”

“Well, if you're sure . . .” Greg turned to Bess and Nancy. “I'd love to have you both join me for a late lunch. I'm meeting a friend of mine,” he said. “After all this, I think some food is in order.”

“Wonderful,” Jill said, “then we won't need to call a car service after all.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bess said to Greg, then looked expectantly at Nancy.

Nancy really wanted to stay with Jill and Neil and find out what had happened. There was something about the explosion that just didn't seem right to her. But Bess's eyes were pleading with her to go with Greg. Besides, how often did she have a chance to have lunch with a TV star?

“All right,” she agreed. “Food it is!”

• • •

“I love traveling in style,” Bess said a few minutes later. She giggled and sank back into the plush leather seat of Greg's limousine.

Greg smiled at her. “I know it's extravagant, but I have a lot of publicity appearances, and I need to get around quickly,” he explained. “I was on ‘Good Morning, Manhattan' before I came to the warehouse, and I have two more talk shows scheduled this week. Plus I'm being interviewed by about six different magazines. ‘Coolidge High' is really popular right now.”

“I don't think it's the show. I think it's you,” Bess told him.

“Well, thank you,” Greg replied.

Nancy watched the two stare at each other for a brief moment. She didn't have to be a scientist to know that there was some chemistry between Bess and Greg.

“This afternoon I have an interview scheduled with
Young You
magazine,” Greg added. A sudden glint appeared in his eyes, and he swiveled his head to look from Bess to Nancy, who were sitting on either side of him. “Hey, why don't you two come along? I'm sure it would be okay.”

Bess leaned forward and grinned at Nancy, who nodded. “We'd love to!” Bess replied.

Before long, they arrived at Ipso Facto, a restaurant in midtown Manhattan with a bright red awning above the entrance. Inside, tables covered with white cloths were nestled among
decorative pillars and potted plants. Framed art deco posters hung on the walls.

“Rob! How ya doin'?” Greg went over to a young man with handsome chiseled features who was sitting in the rear of the restaurant. He had brown eyes and straight brown hair with long bangs that covered half of his left eye. He was dressed casually in blue jeans and a maroon turtleneck.

“Nancy, that's Nigel from ‘Next Door'!” Bess whispered excitedly.

“Nancy and Bess, this is Rob Dunn. We used to be on ‘Next Door' together.”

“We recognized you from the show,” Nancy said as they sat down.

Rob laughed. “It's always great to have fans,” he said. He flicked a thumb at Greg. “He's so famous, we even get a guard. The manager promised to keep the autograph seekers away so we can eat in peace,” he explained, pointing to a man standing by a nearby pillar.

A waiter dressed in black came over to their table, and after taking a quick look at the menu, they ordered.

“All of this excitement has made me hungry,” Bess announced after the waiter left.

“What excitement—meeting us?” Rob asked with a teasing smile.

“Well, that too,” Nancy admitted. “But just before we came here, there was an explosion at the Mitchell's parade studio.”

Rob's smile immediately disappeared. “Is everyone okay?” he asked.

“I was one of the lucky ones,” Greg said, holding up his bandaged hand. “Just a cut from some glass.”

Nancy briefly told Rob about the explosion. “Jules Langley, the owner's son, was knocked unconscious, and several other people were hurt.”

“Jules was hurt? I didn't even know about it. I hope he'll be all right,” Bess said. She shook her head in disgust. “I can't believe it. The Mitchell's Thanksgiving Day Parade is supposed to be fun, not dangerous.”

“Maybe it was just an accident,” Greg said. “But it figures that this year, when I'm grand marshal, something would go wrong.”

“I
hope
it was just an accident,” Nancy said. “The police and fire department are looking into what caused the explosion right now. Fortunately, most of the floats were in the other warehouse.”