The maître d’ greeted Hal warmly—the news anchor was obviously a regular. He showed them to a private booth at the back of the restaurant. After they were seated, Nancy tried to discuss the case, but Hal wanted no part of it.
“I’d much rather talk about you,” he said. “How did you become a private investigator?”
He listened while she described some of the more famous cases she’d worked on. Then he said, “I meant it earlier today when I said you’d make a great reporter. Have you ever thought of a career on the air?”
“Being a reporter seems pretty glamorous, but I guess I’m really a detective at heart,” she told Hal.
“Speaking of hearts,” Hal said softly. “Is there a handsome boyfriend lurking in the wings?”
“Yes,” Nancy answered truthfully. She felt a guilty stab of conscience as she thought about Ned. After all, he would be coming home to see her the next night. What would he think if he could see her having a romantic dinner with Hal Taylor?
Hal leaned back and smiled ruefully. “I suppose it was too much to hope that you’d be fabulous and unattached,” he said. “I’m not really free, either, I guess. I’m still seeing the waitress I told you about. And I still haven’t been able to sort out my feelings about Marilyn. Sometimes I think we news types aren’t meant to be in a stable relationship,” he finished.
“Why do you say that?” Nancy asked.
“It’s tough being involved with a reporter,” Hal explained. “I guess we journalists are really married to our careers more than to anything else. That was one thing Marilyn understood. I kind of miss that about her,” he added wistfully.
After dinner Nancy dropped Hal off at the station. She shook her head as she watched him disappear into the building. He didn’t seem to know what he was looking for in a relationship. And that meant that Hal had the potential to be dangerous to a woman’s heart!
When Nancy arrived home, she spotted a note on the refrigerator. “Gone to see my sister. Back soon. Love, Hannah.”
Nancy dropped her purse on the kitchen table and made herself a cup of cocoa. She was just settling down to drink it when the phone rang. It was Bess. Her friend’s tone sounded urgent.
“Hurry over to the Schooner Deck as soon as you can,” Bess said in an excited voice. “I’ve found out something important about your case!”
Chapter
Seven
WHAT IS IT, Bess?” Nancy asked, feeling a burst of adrenaline race through her.
“I can’t talk right now—the manager is breathing down my neck,” Bess replied nervously. “Just hurry over. He’ll be off duty in a few minutes, and then we can talk.”
Nancy didn’t waste a second. Twenty minutes later, she pulled up to the River Heights café where Bess worked. By now it was after ten, and the restaurant was practically deserted.
“Nancy!” Bess cried as soon as Nancy came through the door. She grabbed Nancy’s hand and led her to a corner table where a dark-haired girl was sitting. The girl was also wearing a waitress’s uniform.
“This is Rita Greenburg,” Bess said, introducing Nancy. “Rita works here in the afternoons. She’s the girl I mentioned to you—the one who knows Hal Taylor.”
“Pleased to meet you, Rita.” Nancy shook the girl’s hand. “Now, tell me what’s going on,” she said to Bess.
“I found out this afternoon that she not only knows Hal—she’s been dating him for the past couple of months,” Bess said.
“And I can tell you an earful about that witch Marilyn Morgan,” Rita added glumly. “She’s been making my life totally miserable.”
Nancy sat down. “You’d better start from the beginning,” she advised.
Rita nodded and nervously twisted a paper napkin in her fingers. She described how she and Hal had met when he came in the restaurant to order lunch. “He seemed so glamorous. I liked him right away,” she explained. “We’d only gone out a couple of times when I got this nasty phone call from Marilyn. You should have heard the names she called me!”
“What did you do?” Nancy asked.
“I just hung up on her,” Rita replied. “But then one day she showed up here at the restaurant and tried to get me fired! She told the manager I was unprofessional. Thank goodness he didn’t believe her.”
“When did that happen?” Nancy wanted to know.
Rita thought for a moment. “Over a month ago,” she replied. “After she couldn’t get me fired, she seemed to back off. But recently I’ve been getting these hang-up calls late at night. Somehow I just know it’s Marilyn calling again.”
“Sounds like she’s really the vindictive type,” Nancy commented.
“I’ll say,” Bess chimed in. “Talk about not knowing when to take the hint that the relationship is over!”
Rita went on to explain that she was considering breaking off her relationship with Hal. “It’s partly the Marilyn thing, partly the fact that he’s always so busy,” she explained. “I guess it’s just not meant to be.”
Considering how confused Hal seemed to be about romance, Rita’s decision seemed like a good one, Nancy thought. “Thanks for telling me about your experience with Marilyn,” she told Rita. “I know it must be hard to talk about.”
Rita sighed and nodded. “This whole thing with Hal and Marilyn has got me really shaken,” she said. “It makes me wonder how far she’ll go for revenge.”
Nancy had been wondering the same thing. “Did you ever receive any threatening notes from Marilyn?” she asked. If so, she could compare them to the threats Hal had been receiving.
“No. Just nasty messages on the answering machine,” Rita replied. “That was bad enough.”
After thanking Rita for her help, Nancy said goodbye and walked to the front door of the restaurant with Bess. “Can you go with me to the statehouse tomorrow on a little mission?” she asked.
“I don’t have to be here until five o’clock tomorrow, so I’m free,” Bess replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“Whoever is behind these attacks may have a connection to that politician Steve Gilbert,” Nancy explained. “I want to go to his office tomorrow to see what we can dig up.”
“Count me in,” Bess said with a smile.
“Thanks,” Nancy said, giving her friend a hug goodbye.
As she drove home, Nancy mentally reviewed the case. So far, she had three strong suspects—Marilyn Morgan, Gary Krieger, and Steve Gilbert. The fire in Hal’s office pointed to Steve Gilbert, since the tape that had been stolen would have exposed him. But Nancy knew that someone on the inside would have to be cooperating with the politician to pull off such an attack.
Could Marilyn Morgan or Gary Krieger be in league with Gilbert? Hopefully, she and Bess would find out the answer to that question the next day.
• • •
Friday morning was cold and blustery, but Nancy was grateful there was no snow as she and Bess made the long drive to the statehouse in Springfield. Nancy brought a notebook and a tape recorder with her.
“My official excuse for coming here today is to do some research at the senate library for one of Hal’s stories,” Nancy explained to Bess after they found a place to park near the impressive building. “But we’ll have plenty of time to check out Gilbert’s office.”
“What do you hope to find there?” Bess asked as they made their way toward the sweeping marble stairs of the statehouse.
“With any luck, we’ll find out some information that will link Gilbert to one of the suspects at Channel Nine,” Nancy said.
Inside the statehouse, Nancy and Bess found a young senate page who directed them to Steve Gilbert’s legislative office. It was just before noon, and the hallway was beginning to fill with legislators and office workers headed for lunch.
Nancy spotted the representative leaving with an assistant. She quickly bent her head over a drinking fountain so that Gilbert wouldn’t recognize her.
“Let’s go to Hornby’s for lunch,” she heard him say as he passed.
“I could go for their pastrami on rye.”
Good, Nancy thought. Steve Gilbert would probably be gone for at least an hour. “Okay, Bess,” she said when he had disappeared around the corner. “I need to get into Gilbert’s office while he’s gone. Time to do your thing!”
“All right,” Bess said, grinning. She tossed back her golden hair with a flourish and marched into Steve Gilbert’s outer office, where a young legislative aide sat at a desk.
“Can I help you?” the handsome young man asked with a smile.
“Oh, I hope so.” Bess beamed at the aide. “I was on a tour with my high school class, and I seem to have gotten lost. I’ve been wandering around for hours. Could you help me find the senate chambers?”
“I’d love to take you there myself, but I’m really not supposed to leave the office unattended,” the aide replied apologetically.
Bess leaned slightly toward him over the desk. “I’m just so fascinated by politics,” she said, looking deep into the man’s eyes.
“I—I guess it wouldn’t hurt to leave the office for a second,” the aide said. He flashed Bess a bright smile as he stood up. Bess winked at Nancy as she walked past her with Steve Gilbert’s assistant in tow.
Now Nancy had her chance! She slipped into the representative’s waiting room, then hurried over to a door marked Private. It was locked, but Nancy quickly got it open with her special tools.
Steve Gilbert’s office was furnished with a heavy oak desk, a leather couch and matching chairs, file cabinets, and bookshelves. Nancy quickly went to work, searching for anything that might tie the man to the threats against Hal Taylor.
First she flipped through Gilbert’s senate calendar, hoping to find notes of meetings with anyone from WRVH. Nancy felt her heart skip a beat. On the previous Wednesday, Gilbert had scheduled a meeting with Marilyn Morgan! Nancy jotted down the time and location of the meeting—a restaurant called the Proud Bird in River Heights.
Next Nancy’s glance fell on Steve Gilbert’s pen cup. One of the pens in the cup looked familiar, so she picked it up. It was a novelty pen with a truck that slid back and forth when you shook it—just like the one she had discovered in the tape feed booth.
Nancy peered closely at the pen. The lettering on this one was clearly legible: KSM Express.
“Bingo!” she whispered softly. KSM Express was on the top of Hal’s list of companies that were bribing Steve Gilbert!
She quickly copied the address of the company onto a slip of paper. Then she put the pen back into the cup and listened at the door. Hearing nothing, she stepped out of the office into the waiting room.
“Why, Nancy Drew,” Nancy heard a voice announce. “We meet again!”
Nancy whirled to see the triumphant face of Brenda Carlton, who was sitting in a wing chair next to the aide’s desk. “You’d better give me the whole story this time,” Brenda continued acidly, “or I’ll tell Steve Gilbert all about your little breaking and entering adventure!”
Chapter
Eight
NANCY STARED AT BRENDA, a feeling of dread welling up inside her. Brenda certainly had a way of showing up at the worst possible times!
“I don’t suppose it matters now, but how did you know I was here?” Nancy asked.
Brenda regarded her with a self-satisfied air. “You’re not the only one who can play detective, Nancy. I had a hunch you were doing more than ‘interning’ at Channel Nine, so I waited near your house and followed you this morning,” she said. “Now, what’s the scoop? Why are you so interested in Steve Gilbert?”
Nancy sighed. She knew she’d have to placate Brenda somehow—she couldn’t afford to have her cover blown.
“Let’s get out of here before someone finds us,” Nancy said, motioning for Brenda to follow her. As they stepped into the corridor, the two girls almost bumped into Steve Gilbert’s aide, who was returning to the office. Fortunately, the aide was looking down at some papers in his hands. He didn’t notice the two girls.
“Now, Nancy, I want to know exactly what you’ve got up your sleeve,” Brenda demanded after they ducked into an empty rest room.
Without mentioning the threats that had been made against Hal Taylor, Nancy admitted that she was working on a case at WRVH. “I’m helping Hal work on a story involving Steve Gilbert, but we haven’t come up with anything worthwhile yet. Actually, I think his story is going to be a bust,” Nancy lied. “So there’s nothing I can tell you at this point.”
Brenda looked skeptical. “Sounds like Hal Taylor’s trying to dig up some dirt on Steve Gilbert.” She pulled a folded newspaper from her purse and waved it in Nancy’s face. Gilbert’s face was on the front page.
“This is the first installment of my series on Steve Gilbert as an up-and-coming political figure,” Brenda said. “I can use whatever you find out about him for my next article. So you’d better keep me informed—or I’ll tell him everything.”
Brenda’s tone made Nancy grit her teeth, but she forced a pleasant smile. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything,” she promised. Then she escaped down the hallway.
According to their prearranged plan, Nancy met Bess back at the parking lot.
“You did a great job distracting Gilbert’s aide, Bess,” Nancy told her friend. “Mata Hari couldn’t have worked it any better.”
Bess batted her eyes with a mock femme fatale look. “I didn’t mind that assignment one bit. That guy was so cute!” she said. “How about you? Did you manage to find any clues in Gilbert’s office?”
“Yes, but unfortunately I managed to find Brenda Carlton as well.”
“Oh, no,” Bess groaned. “What happened?”
Nancy quickly told her about the encounter. “I think I put her off for the moment, though,” she finished. “The good news is that I found out from Gilbert’s desk calendar that Marilyn Morgan had an appointment with him last week. And I found another clue.”
She told Bess about the novelty pen in the pen cup that matched the one she’d found in the tape booth at the station. “With a little more investigation, I may be able to connect Gilbert and Marilyn to the threats against Hal.”
“Do you think Gilbert dropped the pen at the station?” Bess asked as the two girls climbed into Nancy’s Mustang.
Nancy shook her head. “It’s unlikely that he could have gotten into the station. Finding this pen just backs up my theory that Gilbert must have an accomplice at WRVH.”
“Marilyn?” Bess guessed, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s possible,” Nancy replied. “But I need to find more evidence before I can accuse her of being behind the attacks against Hal.”
Nancy snapped on her seat belt, then began the drive back to River Heights. “The first thing I want to do when we get back is check out the company whose name was on that pen,” Nancy said as she nosed the car onto the highway. “It’s called KSM Express. I think it’s some kind of trucking company.”
“How does KSM Express tie in to the threats against Hal?” Bess asked.
“I know from Hal that KSM Express is one of the companies that has supposedly been bribing Gilbert,” she answered. “Since Hal’s going to air the bribery story on Monday, that gives both Gilbert and this company a strong motive to scare him off.”
Bess nodded thoughtfully. “So you think Marilyn is the one who left the pen in the feed booth.”
“If Marilyn is in league with Gilbert, then it’s possible that she could be involved with KSM as well,” she said slowly. “On the other hand, I can’t forget about Gary Krieger.”
Nancy filled Bess in on the reporter’s suspicious behavior the day before. “There’s still a possibility that he could be behind the threats. I just have to keep looking until I find some hard evidence to connect him or Marilyn to the attacks.” She pressed her lips together thoughtfully. “I just hope I can prove who’s behind this before there’s another incident. That fire in Hal’s office yesterday proved that the situation is becoming really dangerous for him.”
br /> Nancy spotted a tiny roadside restaurant and pulled into the parking lot. “Let’s stop here for lunch,” she suggested. “I don’t know about you, but all this sleuthing has made me hungry.”
Nancy and Bess devoured a delicious lunch of soup and apple fritters. Then they continued their drive back to River Heights. They drove past the River Heights airport on their way to find KSM Express, which was located in an industrial area on the east side of town.
The company lay at the end of a road near some railroad tracks. The company’s large parking lot was crowded with eighteen-wheel trucks.
Bess held her nose as one of the huge trucks pulled past them, belching out a cloud of thick black exhaust from its smokestack. “Yuck!” she cried. “This definitely isn’t the most glamorous assignment we’ve ever been on.”
“I’m afraid trucking companies tend to be short on glamour, as a rule,” Nancy said with a laugh.
She pulled her Mustang into the parking lot, and she and Bess got out and went to the double glass doors of KSM Express. A receptionist looked up from her desk.
“May I help you?” she asked pleasantly.
“Yes,” Nancy said, thinking fast. She glanced at a stack of business cards in a holder on the desk. The top card read: KSM Express. Kurt Milhaus, President. “I have an appointment to see Kurt Milhaus,” Nancy finished smoothly.
The receptionist looked confused as she checked a calendar on her desk. “I’m afraid Mr. Milhaus just stepped out of the office for a minute. I don’t seem to have a record of an appointment for him. You said your name was . . . ?”
“Nancy Drew and Bess Marvin,” Nancy supplied.
“I’m so sorry,” the receptionist told her. “I can set up an appointment with him for Monday, if you like.”
Nancy shot Bess a quick look, then said, “We’ll just wait for him, if you don’t mind.”
“Well . . .” The receptionist seemed as if she were about to object, but Bess spoke up before she could.
“Do you have a ladies’ room we could use while we’re waiting?” Bess asked.