A Secret in Time

  He aimed the gun toward Bess. Nancy saw that she was trembling and had tears in her eyes.

  As George turned up a hill, Thompson cleared his throat. “Enough chitchat,” he said gruffly. “Now stay down,” he warned Nancy and Bess. “If you say one word or show your face, it will be the last thing you ever do.”

  Nancy and Bess crouched down as low as they could behind the front seats. The truck came to a stop. A minute later Nancy could hear George talking to a man. Then the truck started slowly up another hill before leveling off. George made a sharp turn and then put on the brakes and turned off the ignition.

  When she stepped outside, Nancy immediately realized that they were in the Frosty Freeze parking lot. George usually parked by the large buildings near the driveway, but this time she had stopped at the other end of the vast lot, near one of the smaller buildings. This end of the lot was empty of cars and people. Nancy’s hopes sank as she scanned the deserted area.

  “That way,” Thompson told the three girls, gesturing with his gun toward a door in one of the nearest buildings. “If any of you try to run, you know what will happen to the others.”

  Nancy was the first to reach the gray padlocked door, and she saw that the lock had been forced open.

  “Make a left,” Thompson directed as Nancy opened the door.

  She obeyed, walking down a wide, empty hallway. Large white doors were set at regular intervals along either side of the corridor. Nancy looked around desperately for a Frosty Freeze employee, but the building was clearly deserted.

  “Isn’t this building perfect?” Thompson asked as he walked behind them. “I found it this morning. It’s empty, but the equipment still works.”

  “What is this?” Nancy asked with annoyance. She’d come close to solving this crime, but now she felt absolutely helpless.

  “The perfect place to put my witnesses on ice,” Thompson said.

  A cold chill came over Nancy as she began to guess his meaning. Before she could do or say anything, Thompson instructed the girls to halt next to one of the white doors.

  “In you go,” he said, opening the door.

  Thompson roughly pushed first Nancy, then Bess and George, inside, banging the heavy door shut behind them.

  As frigid air washed over the three girls, Nancy knew her worst fears had been realized. They were locked inside a giant ice cream freezer, and no one knew where they were.

  14

  Deep Freeze

  Before she’d even gotten her bearings, Nancy started to shiver. Slapping her arms to keep warm, she looked around the freezer. It was the size of a small room, roughly ten feet square. The ceiling was so low that Nancy could almost reach it if she stood on tiptoe. Stacked against the far wall were several dozen brown cardboard boxes with the Frosty Freeze logo printed on them, along with the slogan, “It’s Fr-fr-fr-fr-frosty good!”

  George noticed the slogan at the same time Nancy did. “It’s frosty, all right,” George said grimly, rubbing her arms. “But it’s definitely not good.”

  Bess walked closer to the boxes and examined them. “Rocket Pops, Chocosicles, Strawberry Creme-wiches,” she read. “You know, this was always a fantasy of mine. All the ice cream I could eat for free.” Her round face twisted in a grimace. “Now it seems more like a nightmare.”

  “There’s got to be a way out,” Nancy said firmly. “And I’m going to try the most logical one.” She grabbed the metal handle of the freezer door and pushed down on it, but the door stayed firmly shut.

  “I’m sure Thompson’s locked it from the outside,” George said. “He took my cordless phone, too.”

  “What happened?” Nancy asked. “How did he find you?”

  “It was right after you dropped me off this morning,” George began. “I’d just gotten into my truck and was driving across the parking lot when I saw this guy lying on the pavement as if he was hurt. No one else was around, so I got out to see if I could help. As soon as I knelt down beside him, he jumped up, grabbed my arm, and pulled out a gun!”

  Bess’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh, how horrible!” she exclaimed.

  “Then what happened?” Nancy asked.

  “He made me get behind the wheel and drive the truck past the security booth while he hid in the back. Then, when we were a couple of miles down the road, we pulled over and he called you on my mobile phone.”

  Nancy shook her head. “I saw him in that orange shirt at the expo,” she told the others. “I only wish I’d made the connection before.”

  “It’s not your fault,” George told her. “How could you have known that out of all those people, that one guy would turn out to be such a creep?”

  “That’s right,” agreed Bess. “And at least now the mystery is solved.”

  “Too bad we’re the only ones who know that,” Nancy pointed out. “And if Thompson gets his way, no one else will ever find out.”

  Bess began to jump up and down to stay warm. Nancy saw that her skin was becoming very white.

  “I hate to say this,” Bess said, “but if we don’t find a way out of here, Frosty Freeze is going to have three new flavors: Nancy, Bess, and George.”

  Nancy made an effort to remain calm. “Okay,” she said, “let’s explore every inch of this place. Look for an emergency exit, an alarm, a removable panel—anything that might be another way out. Above all, stay warm!”

  “That’s not going to be easy in this outfit,” Bess said, looking down at her red and white sundress.

  “You know, my mother’s always telling me to take a sweater in case there’s air conditioning. I wish I’d listened to her.”

  Nancy saw that Bess’s shoulders and arms were covered with goose bumps. “This is the strongest air conditioning I’ve ever felt,” Nancy joked, looking down at the freezing skin on her own bare arms and legs. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

  “At least you’ve got some sort of sleeve,” Bess said to Nancy.

  “Here,” said George, removing her white Frosty Freeze smock and placing it over Bess’s shoulders. “I’ve got on a long-sleeved shirt and pants.”

  Glad that Bess was better protected against the cold, Nancy turned her attention back to possible escape routes. “Let’s spread out,” she said. “I’ll take the far wall. You two take the side walls.” She dragged the boxes of ice cream away from the wall so she could check behind them. The boxes were heavy, but at least the effort was warming her up a little.

  To her dismay, Nancy found nothing on the wall but a thermostat—which read zero degrees Fahrenheit. There was no way they could survive very long at such a temperature, even if they did move around.

  “Find anything?” George called through the frosty air.

  “Not yet,” Nancy answered, pushing a stack of boxes in front of the thermostat. She didn’t see any reason to tell her friends how bad the situation really was. “How about you?” she asked George.

  “Nothing,” replied George glumly. “I would have thought they’d put an alarm in here in case someone got locked in.”

  “You mean like this?” Bess asked, pointing to a small red box in the center of the wall she was checking.

  “That’s it!” George exclaimed, running forward.

  Nancy joined her friends and examined the box. It had a red metal frame around a pane of glass, behind which was a red button. A small sign next to the box read, In Case of Emergency, Break Glass.

  “If this isn’t an emergency, I don’t know what is,” said Nancy.

  Bess’s nervous gaze darted around the room. “But what can we break it with?” she asked. “We need something heavy.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” Nancy said, removing the pearl-handled knife from her purse. “Let’s try this. It didn’t save us before, but maybe it will now.”

  Grabbing the hilt of the knife, Nancy banged the blunt end of the handle against the glass. Nothing happened.

  “Harder, Nancy,” Bess urged.

  “Stand clear,” said Nancy. “I don
’t want to hit you with the blade.”

  George and Bess stepped back, and again Nancy smashed the handle against the alarm. This time the glass shattered. Nancy gingerly picked pieces of broken glass out of the frame and pushed the button.

  “I don’t hear anything,” Bess said after a few seconds.

  “Maybe it’s a silent alarm,” George suggested hopefully.

  Nancy frowned as she spotted something behind the box’s metal frame. “I think it’s more like a false alarm,” she said. Grimly she pulled a handful of loose wires from the back of the box.

  “What’s that?” asked Bess.

  “These are supposed to hook up the alarm to the electrical system,” Nancy told her. “It looks as if they were never connected.”

  “Great,” said George. “We’re stuck in deep freeze because some electrician was too lazy to do his job.”

  “Don’t say that,” Nancy said quickly. “We’ll find another way out. Let’s try the door. There’s a pane of glass in it. Maybe we can break it the way we did this one.”

  Again grabbing the hilt of the knife, Nancy banged away at the glass as hard as she could, but it stayed intact.

  “It’s probably shatterproof,” George said.

  “Maybe I can pry it away from the door,” suggested Nancy, turning the knife around. The edge of the window was lined with black rubber. With the sharp end of the knife, Nancy tried to separate the rubber from the glass.

  “Any luck?” Bess asked after a few minutes.

  Nancy shook her head. “The glass goes too far into the frame for me to get at the edges.”

  “Then we’re stuck here,” Bess said anxiously. “We’ll never get out.” She was rubbing her hands together, and Nancy noticed that both Bess’s and George’s teeth were starting to chatter. Nancy knew that as soon as she stopped moving around so vigorously, she would be in the same shape as her friends.

  Turning to George, Nancy asked hurriedly, “Is this building as abandoned as it looks?”

  George nodded. “This is just an annex to the main freezer. Surplus is stored here, so it’s hardly ever used.”

  Bess sat down on one of the cardboard boxes and let her head fall into her hands. “What should we do?” she asked desperately.

  “Someone will find us,” said Nancy with more confidence than she felt. “The police are only a few miles from here, and now they know Thompson’s the one who did it. They’ll find him, get him to confess, and come rescue us.”

  “How will they find Thompson?” George asked. “They won’t know which way he went, and they don’t know what he’s driving. Even if they do catch him, he might not tell them where we are.”

  “I can’t feel my fingers anymore,” said Bess quietly. She held up her hand. “Look, they’re turning blue.”

  “The police will find us,” Nancy repeated. “And in the meantime there’s still one thing we can do.”

  “What’s that?” asked George.

  “Keep moving,” Nancy said. “The longer we stay warm, the better our chances. So get up!”

  “My feet feel as if they’re burning,” Bess complained. “It hurts to put weight on them.”

  “Up!” Nancy prodded. “Start doing jumping jacks. That should bring them back to life.”

  Reluctantly, Bess and George rose, and the three of them began their calisthenics.

  “I’m so glad no one can see us in here,” George gasped as they jumped up and down. “This must look so ridiculous.”

  “It’s not ridiculous if it saves our lives,” Nancy said, also breathing with difficulty. The air was so cold that it was painful to inhale it into her lungs.

  “I’m getting so tired,” Bess gasped after several minutes. “My feet feel better, but I can’t breathe.”

  “We can’t keep this up too much longer,” George agreed. “Maybe we could huddle together for body warmth.”

  Though Nancy didn’t want to give up, her body gave her no choice. “Okay,” she said, “but after we rest awhile, we’re going to get up again. We can keep jumping and resting until someone comes for us.”

  Bess sat down on a box of ice cream. George and Nancy sat on either side of her.

  “Let’s share George’s smock,” Bess offered, spreading it out over the three of them.

  Nancy clutched the edge of the white smock with one hand and placed her other arm over Bess’s shoulders. Bess’s skin felt like ice.

  “Together till the end, right?” said George, giving Nancy a wry smile.

  “It’s not the end,” Nancy insisted. “You’ll see.”

  Actually, she was beginning to feel the same hopelessness Bess and George were feeling, but she knew she had to fight it as long as she could.

  “I-it’s ironic, wh-when you think about it,” Bess said through chattering teeth.

  “What is?” Nancy asked.

  “The old clock was your first case. Now it may be your—”

  “Don’t say it,” Nancy cut in. It just couldn’t be my last, Nancy thought, not yet.

  “I’m j-just going to c-close my eyes for a bit,” Bess said wearily. “Maybe if I take a n-nap, I’ll have more energy later.”

  “Don’t close your eyes,” Nancy warned, shaking Bess. She knew the most dangerous thing a person could do in subfreezing temperatures was fall asleep. “You’ve got to stay awake,” Nancy told her. Even as she said this, she fought her own urge to yawn.

  “Maybe a nap isn’t such a bad idea,” George said. “If we’re sleeping, the time will pass quicker.”

  “Try!” Nancy pleaded. “Keep your eyes open.”

  “I’ll just sleep for a minute, Nance,” Bess said groggily, her eyelids drooping.

  This time the desire to yawn was too powerful to resist. Nancy took in a deep breath of frosty air. Maybe she should listen to her body and take a little nap, she thought. The box was more comfortable than she’d thought, and it was so peaceful and quiet in the freezer. Bess and George were right. A few minutes of sleep would make them all feel better.

  With a deep sigh, Nancy closed her eyes and rested her head on Bess’s shoulder.

  15

  A Warm Reunion

  The sound seemed to come from far away, as if someone was knocking on a door. Nancy nestled closer to Bess and tried to ignore it.

  The sound was louder now, or maybe Nancy was more awake. Bang! Bang! Bang! With great difficulty, Nancy opened her eyes and tried to blink away the feeling that there was cotton stuffed in her head. Then she remembered where she was. The Frosty Freeze ice cream freezer.

  Nancy ’s neck was stiff when she tried to turn her head to see Bess and George. The cousins were still huddled together, their eyes closed, their skin blue. It was hard to tell if they were even breathing. Fear started to pump adrenaline into Nancy’s veins.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Finally Nancy was awake enough to realize what was going on. Someone was trying to save them. It must be the police, Nancy thought, a great sense of relief washing over her. They seemed to be knocking on all the doors in the building, waiting for an answer. What if they didn’t realize the girls were in this freezer, since they’d gotten no response? Nancy had to get to the window in the door.

  Her legs felt frozen solid. They wouldn’t move. Nancy pounded on her thighs with her fists, trying to get some feeling into them. She barely felt her beating fists, but somehow she managed to rise to her feet.

  The pounding had stopped. Was it too late?

  “We’re here!” Nancy cried as she shuffled toward the door. Behind her, Bess and George were motionless.

  Nancy fell against the door and pressed her face to the glass. It was frosty, so she couldn’t see out. She wiped the frost away, barely feeling the ice against her fingers.

  There were several blue figures outside the door, talking to some people dressed in white. Nancy pounded against the glass, hoping they’d notice her.

  Suddenly one of the blue figures looked up. It was Officer Brody. Nancy waved, hoping he could see her.

/>   At first he didn’t seem to react, so Nancy screamed and pounded as hard as she could on the window. Then Officer Brody gestured frantically to the others, who rushed over to the door. Nancy recognized Officers Rudinsky, Walker, and Daniel, as well as Chief McGinnis. There were also several people in white Frosty Freeze smocks.

  “Stand back!” yelled Chief McGinnis, though his voice was muffled by the heavy door.

  Nancy stepped backward toward Bess and George, who still hadn’t moved. Was it too late for them? Nancy refused to believe it. Help had finally come. There had to be some way of reviving them.

  “Wake up!” Nancy cried out, shaking her friends. “You have to get up!”

  Bess mumbled something but didn’t open her eyes. At least she was still alive. But what about George? Nancy placed a finger beneath George’s nose to see if she was still breathing, but it was hard to tell.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash! The freezer door flew open, accompanied by the most welcome swoosh of warm air Nancy had ever felt. The police officers crowded in, already removing their jackets, which they threw over the shoulders of the three girls.

  Looking back to see how her friends were doing, Nancy allowed herself to be led outside by Officer Walker. Officer Daniel had managed to get Bess to her feet, Nancy saw, but Officer Brody was having more difficulty with George.

  “Wake up,” he said, shaking her. “Come on!”

  When she didn’t respond, Brody gathered her up in his arms and raced her out to the hall.

  “Gotta get some warm air into her lungs,” he said, laying George on her back on the floor of the hallway. He pinched her nose with his fingers and leaned over her, breathing into her mouth. Then he sat up and pressed against her abdomen to make her exhale. After he’d done this several times, George’s eyelashes fluttered.

  “She’s alive!” Bess cried. With Officer Daniel’s help, she knelt by her cousin. “George!” she cried. “Can you hear me?”

  George’s eyes opened at the sound of Bess’s voice. Nancy breathed a deep sigh of relief.

  “Good work,” Chief McGinnis said to Officer Brody, who beamed with pride.