Flirting with Danger (7 page)

Nancy glanced at her watch. “Could we take your car now, Josh?” she asked. “We'll pick you up later.”

“Sure,” he answered, tossing the keys to
Ned. Then, with a slight wave, he turned and followed the others back to the movie set.

“I think we'd better go change,” Ned said, looking down at his dusty clothes. Nancy's were even worse, since she had put on white slacks that morning.

“Me, too,” she said.

“You're sure you're okay?” Ned asked as they walked through the lot to where Josh's car was parked.

Nancy gave him a squeeze. “I'm fine, Nickerson. How about you? You hit the ground just as hard as I did.”

Ned grinned. “I'll live. Though it has occurred to me that hanging around with you might not be the best way to have a long and happy life.”

Nancy chuckled, but then her expression turned serious. “Any idea who it was?”

Ned's grin had faded into an angry frown. “Don't know. Maybe the same person who shoved you off the deck at the party,” he answered.

They'd reached Josh's car, and Ned opened the passenger door for Nancy. “One thing's sure—we had to have been followed from the Klines',” Nancy pointed out as she slipped into the car.

“You're right,” Ned agreed, starting the
ignition. He turned to face her. “Nancy, maybe we should think about dropping this. The police are on the case. Whoever this person is, he or she is dead serious.”

“You know I don't walk away from a case until it's solved,” Nancy pointed out. “And it wasn't necessarily the same person who pushed me. There could be several people involved.”

“If you had been hurt—”

“But I wasn't, Ned. And neither were you. Look, we're not stopping until we find Rachel and figure out what's going on.”

“I just hope we survive that long,” Ned said, pulling out of the parking lot.

When the two of them arrived back at the house less than a half hour later, Mrs. Kline greeted them at the door.

“My goodness,” she exclaimed, taking in their clothes. “What happened?”

Nancy didn't want to alarm the woman, but she couldn't tell a lie, either. “There was an accident at the studio,” she said. “But no one was hurt.”

Mrs. Kline's eyes were wide with worry. “What kind of accident?”

Nancy glanced at Ned before reluctantly replying, “We were almost run down by a car.”

Josh's mother gasped. “What?”

“Apparently somebody wants us to stop asking questions,” Ned said quietly.

“Which means we might be getting close,” Nancy added. “Mrs. Kline, have you heard anything from the police about the fingerprints?”

Even before Karen answered, Nancy could tell by her expression that the news was disappointing. “They did find a set of strange prints,” she said. “But whoever broke in has no criminal record, so nobody can be identified.”

Nancy sighed. “I'm sorry,” she said. “I take it there hasn't been any other news?”

Mrs. Kline shook her head, and her eyes moved over Nancy's and Ned's clothes again. “Maybe you should just let the police handle this. Allen and I would never forgive ourselves if something happened—”

“We've had experience with situations like this,” Nancy broke in gently, squeezing Mrs. Kline's hand. “And I promise we'll be careful.”

With that, Nancy and Ned excused themselves and went upstairs. Once in her room, Nancy washed and changed into a pair of blue cotton shorts and a matching top. Downstairs,
Nancy found Ned waiting to go to the Golden Hills Mall to meet Beth. Dennis's apartment would have to wait until later.

Once they were in the car and headed toward the mall, Ned glanced over at Nancy quickly as he steered the car onto the highway.

“What do you think Beth wants to see you about?” he asked.

“Something about Dennis's relationship with Rachel, I hope,” Nancy replied. The two were silent until Ned parked the car and the two of them headed to the cool, glass-topped shopping plaza.

After consulting a directory, Nancy and Ned found the colorful sign over the door of the pizza place.

“Do you want to talk to her alone?” Ned asked. He thought Beth would probably feel uncomfortable opening up with him there.

Nancy shook her head. “She sounded pretty anxious on the telephone this morning. Whatever it is, she's having a lot of trouble holding it in.”

They entered the restaurant, and Nancy spotted Beth in a corner of the room. Jessica was standing beside the table, her hands thrust into the pockets of her jean jacket. She didn't look friendly.

Nancy and Ned approached as quietly as they could.

“You'd just better not spill the beans, Hanford,” Jessica was warning an ashen-faced Beth in acid tones. “Because if you do, you'll pay for it!”

W
HEN SHE TURNED AROUND
and faced Nancy and Ned, Jessica's cheeks were glowing with color. The girl took one hand out of her jacket pocket to push her hair back, and a piece of paper slipped to the floor.

“Spill what beans?” Nancy challenged Jessica. It was obvious to Nancy that she had overheard something important. She wasn't going to let Jessica off.

Jessica and Beth were both caught off guard. Beth's face was white, but Jessica had recovered quickly. “You know, Nancy,” Jessica said tartly, “I'm getting a little tired of all your
questions. It just so happens that what Beth and I were talking about is none of your business.”

Beth bit down hard on her lower lip, then bolted out of her seat. “I can't talk to you now, Nancy,” she said hurriedly. “Sorry!”

Before Nancy could think of a way to stop her, Beth raced out of the restaurant without a backward glance.

Nancy folded her arms and turned to Jessica, who raised her chin a degree and stared defiantly into Nancy's face. Nancy wouldn't let Jessica get away.

“I'll get some sodas,” Ned said, and he went over to the counter.

“Sit down, Jessica,” Nancy said. She could tell the girl was hiding something, and she was determined to find out what.

Jessica shook her head. She pushed back her brown hair again and gave Nancy a steely stare from her icy blue eyes. “Why should I?” she asked with a smirk.

“Whatever you said really scared Beth,” Nancy began.

Jessica shrugged. “Beth is a wimp,” she said.

Nancy thought about the fall she'd taken from the Beckers' deck and the near miss on the studio lot that day. She wondered if Jessica could have been behind one or both attacks.
The girl seemed to be good at threatening people, and it was only one step further to actually endangering a life. She confronted the girl.

“You know, Jessica,” she said, “whatever it is you're hiding, I'm going to find out. And if you're involved with Rachel's disappearance, the charges might be very serious.”

A shocked expression passed over Jessica's face, but she quickly composed herself. When she spoke, her words were harsh and bitter. “Rachel deserves whatever she gets,” she said. With that, she stormed toward the door, almost knocking down Ned, who was carrying three sodas on a tray.

Jessica
is
hiding something, Nancy thought. She didn't even try to defend herself. Quickly Nancy went over and retrieved the piece of paper that had fallen from Jessica's pocket. She hadn't wanted Jessica to see her pick it up.

“What happened?” Ned asked, setting down the tray and glancing over Nancy's shoulder as her eyes scanned the note.

On the front of the paper was a sketch of the cat she and Ned had seen on Beth's necklace and on the wall at the Snake Pit. “ ‘Special party at Kat Club Headquarters,' ” she read out loud. “ ‘Four twenty-two Beach Drive. Seven
P.M.
' ”

“When is it?” Ned asked.

“It's tomorrow night.” She tapped the cat drawing with her fingernail. “I have a feeling we're about to make a major breakthrough.”

Ned pushed one of the sodas toward Nancy and sat down opposite her. “Did you find out anything from Miss Personality?”

Nancy sighed. “No. And there's probably no use in trying to talk with Beth, either. Jessica really intimidated her. After we leave here, let's go to Dennis Harper's apartment.”

Ned narrowed his eyes. “I don't think that's such a good idea, Nan. After everything that's happened, I think we should let the police handle Harper.”

“But—”

“Look, he could be the one who's been trying to scare you away. Maybe he knows you're on to him. He could be laying a trap for you right now.”

Nancy had to admit that Ned had a point. Dennis Harper could be dangerous. “How about if we go later with Josh?” she asked. “With three of us, we should be safe.”

“You don't let up, do you?” Ned said in mock exasperation. Nancy shook her head. “But now I think an afternoon in the sun beside the Klines' pool won't hurt, either,” Ned suggested.

Breaking out in a wide grin, Nancy offered her hand for a shake. “It's a deal,” she said.

When they arrived at the Klines', Allen Kline wasn't at home. He had forced himself to go to his office for the afternoon. Mrs. Kline was speaking to the police on the telephone. She shook her head, indicating that there were no new developments, so Nancy and Ned went upstairs to change.

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting with their feet dangling in the Klines' pool. “Not one word about the case,” Ned said, laying a finger to Nancy's lips just as she was about to open her mouth.

She slipped into the water and swam out to the middle. Ned took a plunge off the diving board. While they were swimming, Nancy forced herself not to think about the case once. By the time they were drying off, her mind was clearer.

“I guess we'd better get Josh,” Ned said, touching Nancy's cheek briefly with one finger. “You know, Nan, I wish we could be together like this more often.”

Nancy nodded and studied her handsome boyfriend. What other guy could make her laugh and would help her out on cases the way he did? Nancy reached up and threw her arms
around his neck as Ned wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up into his warm brown eyes and was drawn closer to him. Before she knew it, they were caught in a breathtaking kiss that seemed to last forever.

“Wow,” Ned murmured when it was over. “I love you, Nancy.”

“I love you, too, Ned,” Nancy said into Ned's ear. Reluctantly she pulled away and met his eye. “We'd better get going. I think Josh would resent having to walk all the way home.”

As they headed to the studio ten minutes later traffic was especially heavy. Nancy and Ned were a few minutes late to pick Josh up at the studio gates. He appeared to be tired and discouraged.

“Any word?” he asked as they drove away.

Ned was still at the wheel. “Sorry, buddy,” he said sympathetically. “As far as we know, there haven't been any new developments.”

“We did find out about something called the Kat Club,” Nancy told him. “They're having a party tomorrow night, and Ned and I are planning to crash it. Want to come along?”

Josh was frowning. “The Kat Club?”

Nancy reminded him about the threatening note they'd gotten the night of the party at the
Surf Club. “These Kats, whoever they are, don't want us around. Crashing their party is the best way to find out just who they are.”

When they arrived back at the Kline house, Mrs. Morgan told them Mr. and Mrs. Kline were having dinner in their room. No one needed to say how difficult the last few days had been for them.

“I hope they'll let us know if there's anything we can do to help,” Nancy said. “Josh, I want to ask you a favor—”

Just then the phone rang, and Nancy and Ned paused while Josh answered it. As he was hanging up he gave them a weary smile. “That was the studio. I have to go back to work for a few hours.”

After Josh left, Ned said, “You're disappointed we can't go to Harper's place, aren't you?”

Nancy nodded. “But I guess it can wait. First thing tomorrow, though, right?”

“Right. Now how about—”

Mrs. Morgan came to find them. “Dinner is ready,” she told them. “If you don't mind, I've set the table in the kitchen.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Morgan,” Nancy said.

“I'm starved,” Ned said.

“What else is new?” Nancy replied, giving him a friendly punch in the side.

In the kitchen crisp seafood salads and warm rolls waited for them. Ned took a couple of sodas from the refrigerator and filled both their glasses.

Nancy sat down and picked up her fork. Through the kitchen windows she could see the swimming pool sparkling turquoise in the early-evening summer sun. She let her mind wander, chewing thoughtfully. “I think I'll call Beth later,” she said after a while. “Maybe she's ready to talk now.”