The Cheating Heart

  Nancy felt frustrated. “I’ll make you a deal, Sergeant,” she said. “I’ll bring what I have down to the station house, and we can go over all of it together.”

  “Done,” the police officer said with a grin.

  While the sergeant checked out Paul’s car, Nancy ran back to the Theta Pi house to collect her evidence. Ned and Brook went back to their houses to wait while the sergeant drove Paul and Nancy to the station.

  Paul filed his end of the report as Sergeant Weinberg led Nancy to a small interrogation room. It was furnished with a steel table, three sturdy wooden chairs, and a strong desk lamp. Nancy spread out the various documents she had gathered on the table and took out her magnifying glass from her purse.

  The sergeant disappeared for a moment and came back with a light table—a large, flat metal box with a glass window on the top. An electric bulb inside lit up the window, making it possible to inspect the documents carefully.

  Nancy explained to the sergeant the facts of her case, then placed the three notes on the light table. As she and Brook had noticed, the two handwritten notes—the one with the noose and the one from the car—were clearly written in the same handwriting. The stationery was the same, too, an 8-by-l 1 sheet of smooth white rag paper.

  The typed note from Steve Groff, however—the one that accused Paul of stealing the test—was on a cheaper paper. Nancy noticed at the edge of the sheet a few shreds of dried yellow adhesive, as if it had been pulled from a pad.

  “We know that Steve Groff sent this,” Nancy told the sergeant, pointing to the typed note.

  “The two handwritten notes are clearly from one person—but probably not this Steve Groff,” Weinberg said thoughtfully, poring over the notes.

  Nancy bit her lip. “Why not? I’d like to see a sample of his handwriting, at least, before I rule him out.”

  Next she placed on the light table the copy of the test answers Ned had found in his geology textbook. “This looks just like the answer key that was originally stolen,” she told Weinberg. “It was placed in Ned’s textbook, I assume to frame him for stealing the literature test.”

  “But I thought you said the answer key wasn’t stolen after all,” Weinberg said, in some confusion.

  Nancy nodded. “The professor’s answer key was found later—but I think another answer key was stolen, straight off the computer, along with the rest of the test. And it must have been printed out on the English department computer.”

  Next to the answer key, she placed the two-page document she and Ned had printed out in the English department that morning. “This is from that printer—same paper, same typeface.”

  Weinberg absentmindedly pulled at his earlobe as he thought. “So you think the person who printed out that test kept only the answers and threw the rest of the test away?”

  “Yes—and Steve Groff conveniently found it.” Nancy finished his thought. “It seems pretty stupid to throw away the test, though.”

  “Maybe he or she thought it would be easier to carry just one sheet of paper out of the building,” Weinberg speculated. “Besides, once someone had the answers, who’d need the test?”

  Studying the documents, Nancy frowned. “The typeface on Steve Groff’s note is entirely different from the English department’s laser printer,” she pointed out. “The letters on Steve’s note don’t have serifs—those little crosspieces on the ends of letters.”

  “So he used his own computer for that note,” Weinberg said. “That doesn’t prove he didn’t use the English department’s computer last Monday.”

  Nancy sighed. “Right. You see how complicated this case is?”

  The police detective nodded thoughtfully, looking from one document to another. “Let’s assume that the person who planted this test to frame Ned was the same one who left threats for you and for Paul DiToma.”

  “I can see why the person who framed Ned would want to scare me off the case,” Nancy agreed. “Both actions were designed to disrupt my investigation. But why would that same person want to harass Paul DiToma?”

  “This note says he stole the test,” Weinberg said, pointing to Steve Graff’s note.

  “No, Steve Groff just made that _up,” Nancy explained.

  Weinberg groaned. “At least you’ve got a handwriting sample to go on.”

  “That’s true,” Nancy said, considering it. “Maybe that should be my next move—to check all of my suspects’ handwriting. Thanks, Sergeant!”

  In the main room of the station house, Paul had finished filing his report. Sergeant Weinberg asked a patrol officer to take Paul and Nancy back to campus.

  “You can drop me off at the administration building,” Nancy told the officer as they reached the college.

  “But, Nancy, it’s almost six o’clock,” Paul said. “Why don’t you call it a day? I know Brook and I won’t be going anyplace tonight.”

  “Just one thing I have to check,” Nancy replied. “Tell Ned I’ll call him in a half hour or so.” She hopped out of the car and ran up the front steps of the administration building.

  Ms. Karsten was still at her desk in the admissions office, though most of the staff had left. She looked surprised to see Nancy poke her head through the office door.

  “I’m glad I caught you,” Nancy said. “Can I take another look at the freshmen files?”

  Ms. Karsten looked at her watch. “I’m leaving in five minutes.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to see me out,” Nancy assured her. “I’ll pull the door shut after me.”

  The admissions director was hesitant, but she finally agreed.

  Seated once again beside the huge files, Nancy went directly to the second drawer and pulled out Steve Groff’s folder. On his application form, she found several paragraphs of his handwriting—a cramped, angular hand. It wasn’t at all like the writing on the noose note and the note from Paul’s car. “So we know Steve isn’t our culprit,” Nancy muttered to herself.

  Who next? Nancy remembered that Paul had said that Annie Mercer was in the English department office at the same time he was. Annie wasn’t a strong suspect for stealing the test—her grades were too good. But Nancy decided to check her handwriting anyway.

  Thumbing through Annie Mercer’s file, Nancy could find no handwriting. Everything, from her application form to her correspondence, had been typed, using a fairly common serif typeface.

  Then as Nancy riffled through the file a second time, a letter caught her attention. She pulled it from the file and read it curiously:

  March 4

  Dear Admissions Director:

  I am glad to accept your offer of a place in the freshman class at Emerson. Just one thing I thought you should know. I like to go by my middle name, Ann. All my friends call me Annie. So from now on, please address all correspondence to me as Annie Mercer, not Rona Mercer.

  See you in the fall!

  Sincerely,

  Annie Mercer

  Nancy felt a prickle running up her neck. She knew that feeling—it meant she was just about to solve a case.

  She flipped the file folder shut and looked at the name tab. It read: Mercer, Rona Annie.

  Nancy knew that Annie Mercer had a twin sister—named Rona. That meant that all of the application material had been filled out by Rona, not Annie. And somehow Annie was now passing herself off as her twin sister.

  That meant that Annie Mercer might not be such a hotshot student after all.

  That meant that she very well might have needed to steal that literature test!

  Chapter

  Fourteen

  NANCY RAN OUT of the admissions office, automatically locking the door as she pulled it shut behind her. Her mind was racing as she strode out of the building.

  Why would Annie use her sister’s application to get into college? The obvious reason would be that her own grades weren’t good enough, Nancy reasoned. But she’d have a hard time keeping up academically after she’d started college.

  So that gave her a motive fo
r stealing the literature test. Not only that, but Annie had been at the English department office at the right time—Paul had seen her there.

  Paul! Nancy’s mind clicked even faster. Annie knew Paul from their hometown. Besides Steve Groff, she was the only one of the freshman suspects who also knew Paul DiToma.

  Why would she harass him, though? She’d told Brook she was a friend of Paul. Though, as Nancy recalled, Paul said he didn’t know her very well.

  In the twilight Nancy hurried over to Annie’s dorm. She hoped Annie wasn’t in now because Nancy needed to find some concrete evidence before she could accuse Annie of stealing the test or harassing Paul.

  Nancy took the stairs two at a time up to Annie’s room. Pausing before the door, she caught her breath, then knocked.

  A voice called from inside, “Come in!”

  Nancy turned the doorknob and stepped into the room. Annie’s roommate, Claire, sat on the bed, cradling the phone against her shoulder. “Oh, sorry to bother you,” Nancy apologized. “I’m Nancy Drew—I called Annie earlier today.”

  As she spoke, she sidled farther into the room toward Annie’s bed. She could see Annie’s yellow spiral notebook lying right on the pillow. If she could get that, she’d have a sample of Annie’s writing. Claire rolled her eyes. “Still trying to borrow that book? Hang on.” She turned away to speak into the phone. “Can I call you back?”

  While Claire was murmuring sweet goodbyes, most likely to her boyfriend, Nancy moved to the bed. Facing Claire, she stood in front of the notebook. With one hand, she deftly reached behind herself, grabbed the notebook, and slipped it up under the back of her baggy navy sweater.

  Claire hung up the phone. “Annie’s down in the dining hall. What book was it you wanted?”

  “Oh, I’ll just pop down there and find her, okay?” Nancy said brightly. “Sorry to bother you.” In a flash, she backed out of the room.

  Once the door was closed behind her, Nancy took Annie’s notebook out of her sweater and clutched it fiercely. She flew down the stairs to the lobby and glanced around nervously. Straight ahead, she could hear a roar of conversation through the doors of the dining hall. Annie was in there—Nancy mustn’t let her see her.

  An archway to her right led to another set of stairs, descending to the basement. Nancy dashed down the stairs.

  In the basement hallway, two doors stood on either side; on one was printed laundry room and on the other study lounge. Remembering how deserted the Omega Chi’s study lounge was these days, Nancy decided to slip in there.

  The lounge was a long, carpeted room with several armchairs and low tables scattered around. Nancy pulled two armchairs together, then snuggled down onto the carpet behind them. If anyone came into the room, they wouldn’t see her right away.

  Nancy opened Annie’s notebook to the first page. It was the beginning of a journal:

  Sunday

  Its so cool here at college! The campus is really neat, and my roomate Claire seems really sweet. I just know we are going to be best friends!

  The handwriting was large and sloppy, with letters tilting every which way. It looked like the same writing as the two notes, though she’d have to inspect them side by side to be sure.

  Before she shut the notebook, she had a sudden thought. Maybe Annie had written in her journal about stealing the test! Nancy couldn’t resist the temptation to read on.

  My dorm is only a few minutes from Greek Row, I went over there today to see where Paul lives. The Oh Mega Ki house looks like an old castle. I looked for his car but I coun’t see it. So when I got back to the dorm I called him. It was so nice to hear his voice again! I just know that things are really going to happen between us now that we are both at Emerson together. It was hard the last two years seeing him only when he came home from school, but I think he really cares for me. Ever since that party at Ryan Kellys when Paul sat and talked with me, I know theres chemistry between us. Now I won’t have to just wait until I run into him at the mall or at Dairy Maid, I can see him every day!

  So Annie had a crush on Paul! Well, Nancy thought, I can’t blame her. But Paul had said he didn’t even know that Annie was on campus until Monday. If she had called him on Sunday, she must have suddenly felt nervous and not spoken to him after he answered. She could have been his mysterious caller!

  Hidden behind her chairs, Nancy read on. She lost all sense of her surroundings as she followed Annie’s private thoughts. On every page some new piece of the puzzle fell together.

  Talked to Rona on the phone tonight, she says she really likes Yale. She said how funny it was she never knew I was even applying to Emerson, Woun’t she laugh if she knew I used her grades to get in!

  My adviser is such a jerk! I told her I din’t want to take those tests to get out of courses, but she said “with my record it shoud be a snap.” Well at least I have the literashure one covered, I was lucky and saw that guy typing it up on the computer. Now if I can just hide the answer sheet good when I go into the test 111 be fine.

  I wonder if Paul saw the ad. He just has to know its from me! I wonder why he has’nt called yet.

  I bet that girl who called and wanted to talk to me about the test knows I stole the answers. But I took care of that. This afternoon I saw that cute guy who was typing the test on Monday—he was in the bookstore talking to Paul! I still had my copy of the answers in my notebook, so I waited till he layed his books down and stuck it inside. Now hes the one wholl get in troubel. Hah!

  At first, Nancy felt sorry for Annie as she read her deluded version of events. But as she went on, Annie sounded more and more disturbed.

  There all in this together! that nosy Nancy girl, her dumb jock boyfriend, and that redhead witch from Thada Pie. Like they dont want Paul to see me any more. But I fixed Brook good, I messed up her skaggy leather jacket—that thief who steals boyfriends!

  I guess I din’t take out the right screws from Brooks seat, I saw her after the concert and she was’nt hurt—too bad!

  Paul was at the pizza place with her again! He cant really like her, she was so snotty about mushrooms on the pizza. I love mushrooms, Paul! Well, maybe she wont like spinach pizza so much after the surprise I stuck in it for her. I hope it slashed her mouth up so good, shell never be able to kiss again.

  I wonder if that witch Brook screamed when she found the little present I left in her room! If I coud only get a real rope around her stuck-up neck! Then maybe Paul woud understand that Im the only girl for him!

  Nancy laid down the notebook, dumbstruck So it was Brook whom Annie was harassing all the time! It was just coincidence that other people—namely Paul and Nancy—were hit instead.

  Leafing to the last page, Nancy read on.

  I hope Paul was’nt mad about what I did to his car, I din’t want to break the window, but I got so mad when I saw him still with that witch. Theres only so much I can take. But I dont want to hurt him—hes my true love. Shes the one who has to pay. Im not going to let her off easy anymore, I have a plan that will fix her for good!

  How far would Annie go? Nancy wondered anxiously. This last entry sounded awfully de-ranged. Had the pressures of so much deception finally made Annie crack?

  Nancy slipped the notebook under her sweater again and hurried from the study lounge. She’d have to call Dean Jarvis—maybe he could get Annie some help before she did something awful. But first she’d have to find Brook to warn her.

  Nancy jogged back to the Theta Pi house. As she came in the front door, a bunch of girls were sitting in the living room. “Hey, Nancy!” called out Kristin Seidel. “Come on in and join us!”

  “Uh, no thanks. Have you seen Brook?” Nancy asked.

  “No,” Kristin and the others called back.

  Nancy ran up to Brook’s room. It was dark. Hoping Brook would be back soon, she switched on the light. Then Nancy reached for the phone to call Ned. She felt guilty for not having been in touch earlier. It was past nine o’clock and she’d said she would call him in a half h
our at six.

  She groaned when she got a busy signal. Though the red light on Brook’s answering machine wasn’t blinking, Nancy punched the message button to replay the most recent messages. Maybe Ned had called looking for her, she thought.

  The tape on the machine began to play. A bubbly, bright voice filled the room.

  “Hi, Brook, this is Annie Mercer. I met you at the Theta Pi open house? Remember how you said you’d love to see my high school yearbooks, to see pictures of Paul? Well, I have them with me now. Could we meet at the entrance to the library at nine-twenty tonight?

  “Don’t be late, the library closes at nine-thirty tonight,” Annie added.

  With fear stabbing at her heart, Nancy looked down at her watch. It was nine-fifteen now.

  She had to get to the library at once. Who knew what Annie’s jealousy would lead her to do to Brook.

  Chapter

  Fifteen

  NANCY PAUSED only long enough to call Ned again. This time he answered. “Nancy, where have you been?” he asked as he heard her voice. “Paul said you’d call me at six-thirty.”

  “There’s no time to tell you the whole story,” Nancy replied. “But Annie Mercer is our culprit—she stole the test and she’s been harassing Paul. Only it isn’t Paul she’s after, it’s Brook. Now she’s got Brook alone at the library, and I’m afraid she’ll do something awful to her!”

  “How can I help?” Ned asked quickly. After knowing Nancy for so long, he was used to leaping into action.

  “Call campus security and tell them to meet you at the library,” Nancy ordered. “And call Dean Jarvis—tell him we’ve got a very disturbed student on our hands. Then you go wait outside the front entrance, and don’t let Annie escape.”

  “You’ve got it,” Ned said.

  Nancy hung up and raced out the door.

  The library was all the way across campus. Sprinting, Nancy felt her lungs burning by the time she made it to the entrance. Two lampposts lit up the small paved area in front of the library. A few low shrubs flanked the two steps leading up to the glass doors.