019 Sisters In Crime

  "On the pier!" was all Nancy could shout. Lori struggled with incredible strength as Susan and two police officers got out of a Jeep and ran toward them.

  "It's all over, Lori," Nancy said, moving her knee. "One murder is enough."

  As the officers surrounded them, Lori began explaining, "She's flipped out. She asked me to help her with her diving equipment, and then she attacked me."

  One officer looked at the air tank that was strapped to Nancy's back. "Can we see that?" he asked.

  Nancy slipped off the air tank, and as he examined it she took off the heavy weight belt as well.

  "Empty," was all he said as he snapped handcuffs on Lori. "We need to take you down to the station now." They led Lori, her face turned away from the others, to the waiting Jeep.

  "Are you all right?" Susan asked, her voice cracking. "Oh, I'm so glad we found you!" she said, hugging her friend.

  "I'm fine," Nancy said, "How did you ever figure out where to find me?" she asked Susan.

  "Before I went out to the porch to meet you, I went in to use the bathroom," Susan explained. "Ira was to go out to meet you. But when I got outside, he wasn't there; neither were you."

  Susan took a breath as she continued her explanation, and Nancy saw that there was another policeman standing at the foot of the pier. He looked as if he was waiting for them. "I saw your note," Susan continued. "Then I went to Lori's room and saw it was in a shambles. I knew something terrible had happened. So I decided to think like Nancy Drew"—Susan looked at her friend—"and it worked."

  Nancy smiled. But Susan didn't return her smile. She looked worried. "They still have Ira," she said.

  "Who has Ira?" Nancy asked, alarmed. But then she answered her own question. "Mike and Peter!"

  Susan nodded. "It must be them. They must have taken him as he walked out the front door."

  "Yes. Lori said they were supposed to keep you occupied," Nancy said out loud, remembering. Then she declared, "Well, now it's time to search for him!"

  The two girls walked together to the end of the pier.

  "I'd like to take you home now, girls," the policeman said.

  "Thank you," Nancy agreed, looking down at the heavy rubber wet suit she was still wearing. "I'd better get in some clothes." She and Susan went with the officer to the police car that was on the pavement above the beach.

  As the police radio gave out reports in the car, Susan nervously asked their driver, "Did you hear anything about my other friend yet?"

  "Nothing yet, but don't you worry, miss," he said, trying to reassure her. "We've got a slew of men out looking for him."

  "We want to join the search," Nancy declared. "As soon as I can get out of this thing."

  "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the policeman said protectively. "I'm heading back to the station to go off duty. I was supposed to go home three hours ago. Did you know it's two in the morning?" As he pulled into the sorority house parking lot, he said, "You two just get some sleep now. We'll let you know as soon as your boyfriend shows up."

  Nancy and Susan headed up the stairs of the dark, silent house. "Get some sleep," Susan whispered angrily. "Is he kidding?"

  In their room Nancy and Susan spoke in hushed tones as they tried to piece together what they knew.

  "That's how Lori murdered Rina, isn't it?" Susan asked sadly. "Exactly the way she was trying to murder you."

  "Yes," Nancy said, her hand moving up to her neck. "She pressed on my throat until I passed out, just as she had done to Rina."

  As Nancy unzipped the tight diving suit, she said, "But I had a whole lot more warning. I knew I was dealing with a potential killer. Rina thought she was with her best friend."

  "And Mike," Susan asked, her voice shaking. "Is he a killer, too?"

  "No. Absolutely not. He has no idea about any of this. Lori told me it was 'all her baby.'" Looking at Susan, Nancy said, "I'm sure Ira is safe. Mike and Peter just do what they're told."

  "Same as Rina," Susan added, shaking her head. "Lori Westerly is one powerful person."

  "How did she ever get me into this thing?" Nancy mumbled, trying to pull the tight sleeves off her arms. "Especially unconscious."

  "They all just followed orders," Susan said, helping Nancy. Thoughtfully, she added, "It sure makes you think about following your own beliefs and not someone else's orders."

  Changing into her gray running pants and jacket, Nancy nodded her agreement.

  As Nancy began to tie her shoes, Susan said, "You have no intention of staying here and waiting, do you?"

  Nancy smiled. "What's that you just said about following your own beliefs?"

  Susan laughed with relief.

  "The only question now is, where do we go?" Nancy asked, dressed and ready. "Mike and Peter could have taken Ira anywhere. They could have just gotten in the car and driven him up the coast. Lori's instructions were only to keep him occupied."

  "I just had an idea," Susan said with some hesitation. "It may be a little off the wall, but—"

  "Go ahead," Nancy said eagerly. "Sometimes in this business, those leads that just come to you out of the blue are the very best ones."

  "Well," Susan said, "I was thinking that the captain of the swim team might have a key to the gymnasium. What do you think?"

  "I agree!" Nancy said, and headed to the door, ready to go.

  There was silence on the campus at that hour, and deep silence around the huge gymnasium. Susan and Nancy circled the building and tried every entrance, hoping to find one unlocked.

  "That car," Nancy whispered to Susan, pointing at a light blue sedan that had been parked in a tow-away zone near the back of the gym. "That car was in the sorority parking lot during the party, Fm sure of it."

  "Then they are here!" Susan exclaimed, keeping her voice down.

  "Maybe," Nancy whispered. "At least somebody is here that was at Delta Phi earlier today."

  The girls headed over to the car to see if there was anything in it that might identify who owned it. A sound startled them as they had just about reached it, and instantly Nancy grabbed Susan's wrist, dragging her into the dark shadows behind the car.

  "She didn't say we had to baby-sit for him all night," a voice said out loud, totally unaware of being overheard. Peter's voice. Nancy recognized it.

  "There's no place he can go now, anyway," Mike agreed. "Not in the condition we left him. I'll free him before practice tomorrow."

  Putting his key in the passenger side of the car to let Mike in, Peter said, "I don't like that guy. You should have seen him tonight in Drew's room, pretending he was a big hero."

  Silently the girls watched in terror as Nancy feared that Peter would walk around the rear of the car to go to the driver's seat.

  But Peter stayed where he was as he asked Mike, "Do you think Lori will care that we didn't get the girl?"

  From inside the car, Nancy could hear Mike respond, "Nah, I think it was your girlfriend she was after. Lori has had business with that Nancy Drew since she got here. Something about her being sent from the national office to cut back on Delta Phi's finances."

  What a story, Nancy thought. Susan shook her head in disbelief.

  "Lori just needed some time to straighten her out," Mike added. "I'm sure she's had enough by now. It's the middle of the night."

  As Peter headed toward the front of his car, Nancy felt her own rapid heartbeat.

  In moments the car had pulled away, leaving Nancy and Susan alone on the dark pavement. As Susan began to head toward the gymnasium, Nancy said, "Stay down, they have a rearview mirror."

  When the car had safely pulled away, the girls stood up and headed for the gymnasium. They were frightened for Ira's safety. What had Peter and Mike done to him?

  As Nancy was examining a low, barred window, a flashlight hit the building directly in front of them, and a voice called out, "What's going on over there?" Swinging around, Susan and Nancy saw a campus security guard approaching.

  "Our friend is in there,"
Susan explained, almost talking too fast to be understood. "And we're afraid he's been beaten up. Please help!"

  "This building's been locked since nine o'clock," the guard said, a pile of keys jangling on his hip.

  Briefly and as calmly as they could, Nancy and Susan told him what had happened and of the two boys who had just pulled away.

  "Yeah. I heard the car," the guard admitted. "That's why I came by to check." Taking the keys off his belt, he said, "Okay. Let's see what we've got in here."

  Entering the pool area, the three of them searched the bleachers. Susan, her heart pounding, made herself look at the bottom of the pool, and was relieved to see nothing.

  "The locker room," Nancy suggested. The girls headed back there as the guard continued to search the pool area.

  "Listen!" Susan said, her movements freezing.

  "To what?" Nancy asked after a moment of silence.

  "I thought," Susan said, "that—"

  Nancy and Susan heard the moans at the same time, but Susan was the first to scream, "Ira!"

  "He's in a locker!" Nancy shouted, and then ran for the guard. "We need the keys, quick!" she called to him.

  Susan stood outside the small locker. "We're here, Ira. We're here. We'll get you out!"

  The guard moved as fast as he could to find the right master key for the lock.

  Finally he forced the locker open and there was Ira, stuffed into the cramped small locker, gagged and bound, his face bleeding.

  Chapter Eighteen

  In the infirmary, Ira got his face cleaned and bandaged, his bruised ribs taped, and some painkilling medicine pumped into him before the girls took him back to his apartment.

  Although Nancy and Susan got only a couple hours of sleep, by eight the next morning they were awake and talking in their beds.

  "When Ira hugged me," Susan said, "I think that may have been the happiest moment of my life. To know that he was alive, and not badly hurt." Shyly Susan added, "He's wonderful, isn't he?"

  Nancy fluffed up the pillow behind her head and smiled at her friend. "He does seem pretty wonderful," she agreed.

  "I've been thinking about your cover," Susan said to Nancy. "I wish it were true. I wish you were considering coming to SDU."

  Her bright reddish blond hair shining against the pillow, Nancy smiled. "I'm afraid I love my work too much," she answered. "But it has been wonderful to be with you again. I'm glad you brought me in on this case."

  "You were incredible, Nancy." Susan rolled onto one elbow and looked at her friend. "I truly will never forget this experience. I appreciate your work so much! If I hadn't found out the truth about Rina's death, I couldn't have lived with myself."

  At the gentle knock on the door, Susan called out, "Come in." Debbie and Patty, dressed, and carrying a thermos and mugs, came in.

  "Perfect," Nancy said, sitting up and smelling the hot coffee. "Just what I need to get me out of bed and packing."

  "We heard you talking," Debbie explained apologetically.

  "And there are rumors flying around this place a mile a minute already," Patty added. "You have to duck if you don't want to get hit with one." Setting the coffee on the desk, she said, "So we thought we'd better come to the source of the controversy."

  Just as Susan and Nancy began to fill them in on the events of the night before, the phone rang. Susan jumped out of bed to answer it, and Nancy could see by her smiling face that it was Ira. "That'd be great," Susan said. "If you feel up to it." Covering the phone, she said, "Ira and Larry want to come with us to the airport. Okay with you?"

  Nancy nodded. "Great. Fd love to say goodbye to them," she said, and returned to her conversation with Debbie and Patty.

  "We thought," Debbie said, "that you had come here in connection with Rina's death."

  "But after you asked us about the exam stealing, we thought that maybe Rina's death was related to that."

  "So did we," Nancy said, folding some clothes and laying them in her suitcase. "But it was a blind alley."

  Nancy turned to Debbie. "You knew something about that, didn't you?"

  Once more Debbie reddened. "A few months ago, I was invited to join the inner circle. 'We need someone like you for some of the special things we're doing,' Lori said to me."

  "Like murder, I guess she meant," Patty said dryly.

  Nancy saw Debbie give a little shudder at the word before she continued. "Lori and Kathy asked me if I could get my sister to give us the marine biology final. She's a TA in that depart-

  ment." Looking down at her hands, Debbie said, "But I'd never put Shelly in that position, and I told them that."

  "So that's why they've been so rude to you?" Patty asked her roommate. "You never told me this before."

  "I never told anyone," Debbie said quietly. "But now is the time for telling."

  "So those people who have tomorrow's calculus exam . . . ?" Patty asked, sipping her coffee.

  "Those people have my friend's idea of what he hopes will never show up on the calculus exam," Nancy answered.

  The four girls couldn't help but burst into laughter.

  Pouring Nancy another cup of hot coffee, Patty asked, "What happens to Lori now?"

  "That's up to the courts to decide," Nancy said. "I'm wondering about her henchmen —Mike and Peter."

  "Well, the word downstairs is that they were caught and booked for assault and battery and kidnapping. They were picked up at the Zeta Psi house," Debbie explained.

  "The rumor is that they denied everything." Patty continued. "Said they don't know anything about anything."

  "Well, I think it's time to stop the rumors, and tell the facts around here," Nancy said. "As Debbie said, it seems that now is the time for telling."

  After Patty and Debbie left the room, Nancy asked Susan, "Which is Alice Clark's room? I'd like to talk to her before I leave."

  "She's got a single upstairs on the third floor, if she's not in the basement study hall."

  Alice looked pleased when she opened her door and saw it was Nancy standing there. "Come in," Alice said.

  "Have you heard the rumors?" Nancy asked, walking into Alice's small room.

  "Yes." The other girl nodded and sat on the edge of her bed. "It sounds like the case is solved now. Want to sit down?" she asked Nancy, gesturing to a cushioned chair across from the bed.

  "Thanks." Nancy smiled. "Yes. The case is solved, but there are still some things I can't explain."

  Alice waited, looking down at her feet.

  "How did you know about the pressure points?" Nancy asked directly.

  "It's public record," Alice answered. "I didn't believe that Rina's death was an accident, and I guess your cousin didn't, either. Is she really your cousin?" Alice asked, looking up.

  "No."

  Alice nodded as though confirming her guess. "Anyway, I went to the police department and asked to see the coroner's report. It said the cause of death was drowning, but it also mentioned two darkened spots on the front of the neck." Alice looked down again after she had finished talking.

  "So you were trying to solve the case, too?" Nancy asked, encouraging the shy girl to talk more.

  "Yes. But when I saw that Susan had brought in a real private eye, I decided to hand the material over to you." Alice looked back at her as she said, "Nice work, Nancy."

  "Thank you. But how did you know I was a detective?" Nancy asked.

  Alice shrugged. "Nobody else talks to me much. You asked a lot of questions and were friendly, and I could see you wanted as much information as you could get. I figured," Alice said, "that you were either a detective or a very nice person." Looking at Nancy, she said, "You seem to be both."

  "Thanks," Nancy said warmly. Then, smiling, she added, "I do ask a lot of questions, don't I? I have one more, if you don't mind."

  "Fine." Alice shrugged.

  "Was becoming treasurer the way you thought you could best investigate?" Nancy asked.

  Alice nodded. After a moment's hesitation, she
told Nancy more. "I decided to speak to Lori about my abilities. Especially my ability to keep a secret, and I was sure she knew that I don't talk a lot." Alice looked around her small room. "When Lori pushed for me to be elected, I knew I was headed in the right direction."

  "Nice work on your part, too, Alice." 'Thanks," she said. And for the first time that Nancy could recall, Alice Clark smiled.

  "Listen to this, from page eight of Monday's campus newspaper," Larry said, holding up some papers.

  "Monday's newspaper?" Ira questioned.

  Larry nodded. "The editor's my good friend. I spent a couple hours with her this morning. This is the layout for Monday's paper."

  The four young people were sitting at the San Diego airport waiting for the announcement of Nancy's plane. It seemed to Nancy that longer than a week had passed since Susan met her here.

  And now, in a matter of hours, she would be back home. Nancy had finally reached Ned, and he was going to pick her up at the airport when she arrived. "With open arms," he had said on the phone. "And maybe even a belated valentine."

  "'Our source, a reliable graduate student,'" Larry began, reading from the paper in his hand, " 'has reported a method of exam pilfering that has apparently become common in some circles.' " As Nancy, Susan, and Ira listened, Larry went on to read in great detail about the cheating scheme that involved "small cliques of manipulative students" and "cooperative teaching assistants."

  "And now he wants us to guess who the

  'reliable graduate student 9 is," Ira said, holding Susan's hand in his.

  "Good for you!" Susan said excitedly, ignoring Ira's teasing of his best friend. "You took it to the authorities!"

  "I couldn't resist," Larry said, and continued reading. "The chancellor's office said it will recommend suspension of any student or faculty member involved in such behavior.'"

  "I think it's great that you reported it," Nancy told Larry.

  "Thanks," Larry said, pleased. And then he added, "I do wish I could have caught someone red-handed, though."

  "But you had the courage to make it public," Nancy said. "And that will certainly scare people away from participating. That's very important."