False Moves (9 page)

C
OLBY SHOOK
N
ANCY
and Brad furiously. Katya watched from inside his office, her face a mask, devoid of emotion.

“What are you doing here?” Colby repeated. Nancy could feel her arm being bruised under his grasp.

Nancy took a deep breath. This situation could be dangerous. Very dangerous. She'd have to handle it perfectly if she and Brad were going to get out of it unharmed. “Let go of us. You're hurting my arm,” Nancy told Colby plainly.

Katya calmly walked over to the artistic director
and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Relax,” she said. “Don't get so excited. They're only a couple of kids playing detective.”

Colby stared at the ballerina for a moment, then dropped Nancy's and Brad's arms. “You're right, Katya.” He glared at Nancy. “You shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations, young woman. Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?”

Nancy didn't know how to answer Colby because he was now treating her like a kid and not like a detective at all.

“Look,” Nancy began, shifting her gaze from Colby to Katya and back, “I'm just trying to find out who stole that pin.”

“Well, we certainly didn't take it,” Katya said. “Why don't you concentrate on your suspects, not us?”

I'm not so sure you didn't, Nancy answered silently. But she couldn't say that out loud—until she had proof. So, angry as she was at Colby, she had to accept it for the moment. She'd bide her time and keep her eye on the pair.

“You won't catch me eavesdropping again,” Nancy answered simply. No, they wouldn't catch her. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to do it anymore. It just meant she was going to be smarter.

“All right, now get out of here, you two,” Colby said brusquely. “And if I find you here again, I'm going to call your parents.”

Nancy glanced once more at Katya. As always, she seemed completely in control—not at all as if she'd just been overheard having a suspicious conversation. Did that mean the things she and Colby had been saying to each other really weren't important? Or did it mean the ballerina was just a very good actress?

Whatever the truth was, she and Brad had to get out of there. Nancy grabbed his hand and pulled him from the room.

As soon as they were in the hallway, Brad turned to Nancy. “That was terrifying,” he burst out.

Nancy smiled, holding back a giggle. “That was nothing! I've been in worse trouble than that—a lot worse.” She thought back to a mystery she had solved in Florida recently. She had almost been killed then, but it hadn't made her give up the investigation. Not at all.

“Well, that's not anything to be proud of,” Brad said, his voice angry. “I think you should quit this case. It's much too dangerous.”

Nancy shook her head. “I'm sorry, Brad, but I'm sticking with it until I figure out who stole the diamond and where it is.”

Brad smiled and gave in grudgingly. “Okay. But you'd better do it fast, Nancy. I don't think I can take much more of this.”

Brad was right. She
did
have to solve the mystery quickly—but not because of any personal
danger to herself. If she didn't find the diamond soon, the thieves would. And that would put a speedy—and disastrous—end to the case.

• • •

“Belinda is going to be dancing the lead in
Giselle
next week!” Bridgit exclaimed.

It was early Thursday morning, the fourth day of her investigation, and Nancy had stopped in the dancers' lounge to have a cup of tea before going to work. The samples of typewriter print Brad had gotten the day before hadn't matched that on the notes from the thief. So Nancy was back in the lounge, talking to the dancers.

Luckily, Brad had decided to stay home that day, which meant it would be a lot easier for her to work.

“Well, that shouldn't come as a surprise,” the girl sitting next to Bridgit replied. “She's been buttering James up for the past few days.”

“Yeah. As usual, James went over Colby's head and got Belinda back to work. She did ‘something' to help him, and he's paying her back by helping her.”

Nancy put down her cup of tea and turned to Bridgit. “What did she do?”

“Who knows,” Bridgit answered. “I asked her about it, but she told me to mind my own business.”

“It could have been anything,” the second dancer explained. “James always has a million
fund-raising ideas that he tries to get us involved in—you know, benefit shows, parties, anything that will bring in the big bucks. Usually we say no because he doesn't pay us. But I guess he's paying Belinda, though.”

“He sure is, and not just with favors. I saw him hand her a wad of bills you wouldn't believe,” Bridgit cut in.

Nancy picked up her tea again. So Belinda had helped James with a well-paying job. But instead of bragging about it, she had clammed up to Bridgit. How strange. Obviously, it was no ordinary piece of work. Could it be, just maybe, a diamond heist?

At that point it wouldn't surprise Nancy at all. She had Ana and Andre as a pair of suspects, and Colby and Katya as another, and now she'd discovered a link between her last two suspects.

“Do you know any way I could find out what Belinda did for James?” Nancy asked the two dancers.

“I don't know. Maybe you could ask her boyfriend. You know that tall, cute guy she's been hanging around with? He seems really nice, and he might know more about what Belinda's been up to than we do.”

Ned! Of course. But Nancy was worried about how he'd react to an accusation against his new girlfriend. She knew the conversation could get more than a little tense. But if I want to make sure Belinda's innocent, I've got to do it. I have to check out
all the possibilities.

Nancy said goodbye to the two girls, and abandoning her tea, she hurried out of the dancers' lounge.

Nancy thought she'd have to call him at home, but he was already outside the women's dressing room, waiting for Belinda. Things must be serious for him to be there so early in the day.

“Ned,” Nancy called from down the hall. “How've you been?”

“Okay.” Ned threw her a warm smile. “How about you?”

“Oh, I'm all right, too,” Nancy said. “But I need to talk to you.”

“Sure,” Ned said easily. “What's up?”

Nancy stepped away from the dressing room door. “Well, I heard Belinda's going to be performing again.”

“That's right.” Ned's smile widened. “Isn't it great news?”

Nancy coughed uncomfortably. “Uh, yes, but I hear James pulled a few strings to get her back on the stage. And since they're both still on my suspect list, I wondered if you knew why he was doing it for her.”

With a sinking heart, Nancy watched Ned's smile fade. “Nancy, what are you implying? That Belinda stole the Raja diamond for James, and he paid her back by putting her onstage again?”

“Uh, I guess I am,” Nancy answered lamely.

“I can't believe this,” Ned exclaimed. “You're jealous. And you're letting your jealousy interfere with your sleuthing!”

“But, Ned, I'm just trying to—”

Ned wouldn't let her finish. “What you're trying to do is force the blame on Belinda. It's ridiculous, and I'm not going to stand around and listen to any more of this!” Turning his back, he stormed off.

Nancy stared after him—his words had really stung her. Great, she thought. Now I've really blown it.

But Ned stopped in his tracks a moment later as a figure dressed completely in black appeared at the end of the hallway. Its face was hidden by a black mask. The shadowy figure stood still for just one long moment, then quickly disappeared down a side corridor.

“Nancy,” Ned cried, “did you see—”

“I sure did,” Nancy broke in. She dashed up to him and, grabbing his hand, took off down the hall after the person in black.

As Nancy and Ned turned the corner, they caught just a glimpse of the mystery figure whipping around the next one. It's almost as if the thief is baiting us, Nancy thought. But we've got to keep going. Right now, it's our only sure lead to the thieves!

The figure in black dashed down hallway after
hallway until Nancy and Ned weren't sure where they were. But they were gaining on it, inch by inch. Suddenly Nancy poured on the speed. With a burst of superhigh energy, she threw her purse to Ned and dashed forward, determined to end the chase.

In a desperate attempt to escape, the figure raced toward the freight elevator, threw the door open, and jumped into the dark interior.

But before the door could close all the way, Nancy was at the elevator herself. Grabbing the metal door with her left hand, Nancy shoved it open as she stepped out with one foot—into empty space. There was no elevator—only a thirty-foot fall and instant death.

N
ANCY WAS LEANING
into the empty shaft, balanced precariously with one foot dangling in space. She clung desperately with her left hand to the door. But because so much of her weight was forward and pulling her down, her hand started to slip. Do something! her mind screamed. Do something or the next few moments are going to be your last!

Frantically, Nancy reached out with her right hand and grabbed the metal door frame—just as her other foot slid out from under her and she began to fall. With both arms stretched spread-eagle, Nancy could feel the cold metal in both her
hands slide against her palms as she began her death plunge. There was nothing on the door or frame to stop her hands from slipping.

The sides of her hands cracked when they struck a hard ledge. The floor! Her hands were now resting against the hallway floor, still clutching the cold metal of the door and frame. The floor was the only thing saving her from certain death at the bottom of the elevator shaft!

Nancy was dangling, but at least she wasn't falling anymore.

She looked back and up into Ned's terrified face.

“Nancy,” Ned cried frantically, “hold on! Please, hold on!”

“Uhhh,” Nancy groaned. “I intend to, believe me.” Her arm muscles were beginning to ache, but they were far from giving out.

Ned lay down on his stomach, then grabbed both Nancy's wrists. Cautiously, Nancy wrapped her hands around Ned's wrists. Inch by inch, Ned hoisted Nancy's body higher out of the dark chute. His every muscle strained.

Finally, Nancy's thighs were clear of the floor, and in one swift move she swung her legs up onto the floor, then rolled quickly away from the empty shaft.

Nancy just lay on the floor panting, her eyes closed.

“Are—are you okay?” Ned asked.

Nancy opened her eyes and pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Yes,” she said softly. “I am a little shook up, though. If it hadn't been for you . . .” She left the rest of the sentence unfinished.

“I know,” Ned answered. “It's too horrible to think about.”

Just then they heard what sounded like a mad scramble up the inside of the elevator shaft. They ran to the ledge and looked up to see a rope dangling down from the floor above. The figure in black must have climbed up the rope to the third floor. When the person jumped into the dark shaft the rope was hanging there ready to be grabbed. He or she must have been hanging just above Nancy and watching her as she struggled to save herself.

“Ned, I've got to solve this case soon,” Nancy burst out. “The thieves threatened me before, but now they've actually made an attempt on my life!”

“I'm all for getting them out of the way fast,” Ned said with passion.

“The thing is,” Nancy continued, “I don't even have a hunch about which of my three pairs of suspects actually did it.”

Ned frowned. “Well, just eliminate Belinda and her so-called partner, James, from your list and that will cut your possibilities by a third.”