The Wrong Track (10 page)

Ben pointed at his locker. “Check it out,” he said. “It wouldn't take Houdini to pick this lock. Anyone could have put those flowers in there.”

“But why?” George asked, wrinkling her nose.
“This is totally strange. How would anyone know other people would be around when you opened your locker? It makes no sense that anyone, including you, would stash those flowers in your locker. Why not just throw them out?”

“Maybe someone wanted to frame me,” Ben suggested. “Or at least make it look like I could be guilty.”

Nancy was quickly assessing the situation. Ben's actions weren't those of a guilty person. He'd seemed honestly confused by the flowers. She was beginning to think the ski instructor was telling her the truth about them. Also, Ben was right—anyone could have broken into his locker and planted the lilies. But why? Why would anyone do something like that?

Ben grabbed his jacket from the locker and slipped into it. “I've got a lesson,” he explained. “Sorry I can't stick around. See you later this afternoon, George?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Say, three o'clock?”

“Perfect,” George said, beaming at him as he left.

“Ski lesson?” Nancy asked. George's smile indicated that there might be something more than skiing going on between the two of them.

George started to blush. “Something like that. Come on,” she said. “I'm starving!”

• • •

At around seven that night Nancy and Bess joined the crowd that had gathered in front of the lodge for the sleigh ride.

“Look at all these furs,” Bess said, wrinkling
her nose at the coats many people had on. “Think of all those poor animals—” She shuddered and didn't finish the thought.

George came up to Nancy and Bess just then. “Good day on the trails?” Nancy asked with a wink.

“Perfect!” George said as the sound of bells filled the air. The crowd became silent and turned to watch the sleighs approach.

“This is going to be fun,” Bess said excitedly, clapping her hands together as the sleighs drew closer. There were seven of them, all painted black. Two horses harnessed to each sleigh pulled them up to the crowd of guests. Tall Pines drivers held the horses in check with forest green harnesses.

“Let's ride with Ben,” George suggested when she saw him driving the lead sleigh, but the girls were too late. Other guests piled into the first six sleighs, leaving Nancy, Bess, and George to climb into the last one.

The girls wrapped their legs in woolen blankets, and each draped another one around her shoulders. Their driver, a thin blond woman with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, smiled at them. “Ready?” she asked.

Bess beamed at her. “You bet!”

“Heeyah!” the woman said, snapping the reins. With that they skimmed along on the snow and entered the woods. The sleighs in front of them were barely visible through the thick pines, and the only sounds were the steady beats of horses' hooves, the jingle of sleigh bells, and the
lulling whoosh of sleigh runners over the hard-packed snow.

A clump of snow fell into their sleigh from one of the overhanging pine boughs. Bess shivered and pulled her blanket tighter around her. “This is a little spooky, huh?”

“I think it's beautiful,” George said, lifting her eyes to the darkening night sky.

They rode without speaking for a few minutes, then George broke the silence and pointed to an area just ahead of them. “That's a great trail for night skiing.” She turned to Nancy. “Let's try it tomorrow.”

“You two go right ahead.” Bess snuggled deeper into her blankets. “This is my idea of a terrific winter sport.”

The sleigh took a path that ran beside a trail. Nancy saw two men on the trail skiing in parallel tracks, moving quickly and gracefully.

“Good, aren't they?” Nancy asked, pointing the skiers out to George.

Her friend followed Nancy's gaze and nodded. “Almost professional,” she said.

As the sleigh drew closer Nancy studied the skiers' backs. Moonlight filtered in through the trees and shone brightly on the shorter of the two men. Nancy knew she'd seen him before. There was no mistaking that head of white hair. It was Rob Watson.

What was Watson doing skiing on Tall Pines's trails? Checking out the competition, or had he come back to cause more trouble?

Nancy felt adrenaline rush through her. The
man Rob was with had on a Tall Pines jacket. Who could he be?

She strained her eyes, trying to get a better look at Rob's companion.

Finally the taller man turned his face toward their sleigh, and Nancy gasped at who it was.

It was Dave Kendall!

N
ANCY WHISPERED
, pointing at the two skiers, “It's Rob Watson and Dave Kendall.”

“Rob Watson and Dave Kendall!” George practically shouted. “What are those two doing hanging out together?”

Nancy's thoughts quickly went back to when she'd caught Watson entering the Tall Pines offices. What if Rob had had an appointment to see Dave and hadn't been breaking in? He might have taken off because Nancy saw him and not because he was afraid Dave would catch him. Dave's acting angry at Rob could have just been a bluff to throw Nancy off his track.

“Maybe Dave's giving him a tour of the trails,” Bess suggested.

George's eyes narrowed. “At night? Somehow I don't think so,” she said. “Nancy, are you thinking what I'm thinking?” she asked.

Nancy nodded. “There aren't many reasons for the general manager of Tall Pines to be meeting a competitor unless they're working together,” she said. Nancy quickly explained how she'd seen Watson in Dave's office.

“Watson's renovations!” George said. “What if Dave stole the money and split it with Rob?”

“But why?” Bess asked.

George leaned forward to get the attention of the woman driving the sleigh. “Would you mind stopping?” she asked. “I'd like to take a walk in the woods.”

“A walk?” Nancy and Bess asked as their driver reined in the horses and the sleigh came to a halt.

George hopped out of the sleigh. “I'm going to follow Rob and Dave.”

“That's crazy,” Nancy said. “We can't possibly catch up to them on foot. Or do you have a plan?”

George's grin told her all she had to know. “Coming, Bess?”

Bess shook her head and tucked the blanket in tight around her. “You guys go ahead. I'll meet you back at the condo, okay?”

Nancy and George waved a quick goodbye as the sleigh started to move again. “This way.” George motioned to Nancy to follow her as she started to run alongside the ski tracks. Rob and Dave were skiing at a good pace and were almost out of sight.

“I still don't think we have a chance,” Nancy said, falling to her knees in a deep snowdrift.
“They're on skis. How can we possibly catch them?”

She searched down the trail and could just make out Rob and Dave as they made their way around a far bend.

“There's a way, Nan. I promise you. I've skied this trail before. It bends to the right and goes deeper into the woods. Then it bends back,” she told Nancy. “If we cut straight through this meadow here, we should be able to cut them off.”

“George, you're a genius!” Nancy said. “Let's go!”

They left the trail and rushed across the meadow. The snow had a thick crust that kept them from sinking in. Soon they'd crossed the meadow and were back in the woods. George pulled Nancy behind a tree next to the trail, and both girls held their breath, waiting for Dave and Rob to reappear.

George studied the tracks. “They haven't come yet,” she said, pointing to the light dusting of snow in the tracks. “The snow would be packed if someone had skied on it.”

Nancy kept her eyes on the trail, but Dave and Rob were nowhere in sight. The minutes ticked by, and still they didn't show. “They should be here by now,” George said, checking her watch.

“Let's wait a little longer,” Nancy said. But fifteen minutes passed, and Dave and Rob still hadn't skied past them. Nancy tried to control her disappointment. “They must have turned off the trail,” she said. She stomped her foot in frustration. “Another dead end!”

“Maybe they went back to Dave's office,” George suggested. “Let's head over there and see.”

“George, you're full of great ideas tonight!” Nancy hugged her friend and stepped out of the woods onto the trail. “Even if Dave isn't there, we can check out his office. The last time I searched, the receptionist interrupted me before I could finish.”

When they reached the administration building they saw that all the lights were off. “Looks like they didn't come back here,” George said, biting her lower lip.

“That's okay,” Nancy said. Her frustration had melted away. Being able to search Dave's office was something, at least. She reached into the belt pack she wore around her waist. She pulled out her lock-pick kit and a pocket flashlight. Within a minute she'd opened the front door. The door to Dave's office was easy enough to unlock, and within another minute she had that open, too.

Nancy switched on the flashlight and closed the door behind them.

“What first?” George asked.

“The personnel files,” Nancy said. “Sheila told me Karl had hired someone with a record. Chief McGinnis is searching, but he hasn't called yet. Maybe we'll find the evidence we need here in one of the files.”

Nancy moved to the first of the cabinets and opened the drawer. George went to the other and started checking. Thumbing through the hanging
folders, Nancy quickly found the section with the personnel files.

“Ashton, Jody,” Nancy read on the first file. Inside she found letters of recommendation and Jody's employment application. Nancy flipped through it and discovered that the last page of the application was missing. Strange. Nancy checked another employee file. Sure enough, Jody's application was missing a list of previous employers and a signed statement that she had never been convicted of a criminal offense.

“Find something?” George asked.

“I'm not sure.” Nancy handed George Jody's file and pointed out what was missing. While George flipped through it, Nancy reached for Dave's folder. She leafed through the recommendations and pulled out his application, which was complete, unlike Jody's. Nancy turned to the back page and glanced at his previous job experience. Nothing unusual, except there was a two-year gap right before he'd joined Tall Pines.

George was back at the other cabinet. “One of these files is empty,” George said.

“What kind?” Nancy asked.

“It's a bank file,” George told her. “Monroe Savings and Loan.”

“Maybe it's misfiled. The folder could be with the other bank records,” Nancy suggested. “Keep looking.”

Nancy went back to checking the employee files but didn't turn up anything new. George was still flipping through the other file cabinet.

“Something is definitely wrong here, Nancy,”
George said. “This bank folder is the only one, and it's empty. There aren't any other bank records here at all, even though this is where all the rest of the accounting stuff is.”

Nancy peered over George's shoulder. “Karl's office?” she wondered.

“Let's check it out,” George agreed.

Within a minute Nancy and George were inside Karl Reismueller's office. Nancy ran the flashlight over the dim interior.

“This looks more like someone's living room than an office,” George said in an astonished tone.

With its plush carpet, long leather couch, and mahogany desk and credenza the office was quite elegant. Nancy went toward Karl's desk while George made for the credenza.

“Nothing here,” George announced a few minutes later. She sounded discouraged.

“Nothing in the desk, either.” Nancy was thoughtful. “How can you run a ski resort without any bank records?” she wondered aloud.

“It's not that there aren't any,” George said. “The empty folder proves that. It's just that we can't find them.”

Nancy scanned the room one last time, her gaze landing on a mahogany wall unit that matched Karl's sleek, modern desk. She went to it and pulled open the doors, revealing a personal computer.

“Maybe this is our answer.” Nancy switched on the computer and pulled a chair over. The
machine made a soft whirring noise for a few seconds, then it flashed a message.

“ ‘Please enter password,' ” George read over Nancy's shoulder. “If this is like most systems, we've got only three chances. After that it'll lock up.

Nancy thought for a moment. “Most people pick a password they won't have trouble remembering. What about ‘Pines'?”

She typed in the word and pressed the Enter key. “Invalid password. Please try again,” the system responded.

They had two more chances.