She had no choice. Almost without thinking, Nancy leapt over the railing. She banged her knee badly but hardly felt the blow.
After landing with a bone-jarring crash one flight down, Nancy ducked. Another shot sent shards of cement flying above her head.
Unless she could find some way to disarm her pursuer, Nancy knew she was trapped. She jumped the railing again down still another flight, and, before getting up, took a second to think. In a flash, she thought of one slim possibility. It might work.
She pounded her feet, making loud running sounds. Then she threw herself to the ground in the shadow of the staircase and waited breathlessly.
In a few seconds Nancy spied Peter Nicodemus charging down the stairs, taking them two at a time. She leaned farther into the shadows, making herself as small as possible until just the right moment. Then, when he was within striking distance, she put out her leg and sent him flying.
Nicodemus stumbled to his knees and looked at Nancy for a moment before losing his balance and sailing down the flight of stairs. Nancy took off after him and jumped over the last step as Nicodemus landed in a heap at her feet.
Before he had the chance to reach for his gun again, Nancy raised her right arm and brought it down with a resounding crack right between his shoulder blades. The man sank down again, this time unconscious.
Nancy didn’t wait for him to wake up. She took one deep breath and ran as fast as she could down the remaining flights of stairs. If she was lucky, he wouldn’t revive until she was well on her way to safety.
• • •
“You’re lucky to be alive,” Kate said as she gave Nancy an ice pack.
They were sitting in Robert Gleason’s living room on what passed for a sofa. After her ordeal, Nancy had called Kate and Chris at home, and they’d arranged to meet, along with Cheryl, at Gleason’s apartment. It seemed a private place to plan their next move.
“Don’t I know it,” Nancy said. She put the ice on her knee, which was swelling pretty badly. “But we don’t have time to think about it. Nicodemus has probably been in touch with Allard by now and they’ve already planned their next move.”
Chris looked up. He was poring over his father’s notebook. “I wish I had some good news,” he said. “But I haven’t been able to come up with anything concrete.”
Kate’s eyes grew large with either fear or disappointment, Nancy couldn’t tell. But she knew they had to come up with something fast.
“Go over it again,” Kate said, wringing her hands. “We’ve got to find that evidence.”
“I’ve tried. But there’s nothing here except what we already know. Appointments with Cheryl and Allard. Errands. Notes.”
“What do the notes say?” Nancy asked, hobbling to the table and leaning over Chris’s shoulder.
“Lawyer. Drew. Allard. DA. Bank. Vaughn. I’m telling you, there’s nothing here except gibberish.”
“Wait a minute,” Nancy said. “Let me see.”
Nancy quickly went back to the day Gleason had an appointment with Allard, then flipped the pages forward one by one.
“Why,” she asked, “would your father have gone back to River Heights Bank and Trust the day before he died if he’d already met with Allard? It wouldn’t have done him any good. Unless he wanted to try to trace the money as you and I did.”
“But,” said Chris, “I asked that guy—what’s his name? Alan?—if my dad had been there, and he said no.”
“You’re sure?” Nancy asked.
“Positive.”
“Then there had to be some other reason.” She closed the pages of the notebook, got up, and began pacing the room, favoring her sore right leg.
“Why else go to a bank? Not to open an account—he didn’t have any money. But he’s got a note here.” She went back to the date book and found the page she was looking for. “It says, ‘bring passport.’ Why bring a passport to a bank if you’re not going to open an account?”
Nancy stood up straight. Then she banged her forehead with the ball of her left hand.
“I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been,” she said. “All the time, it’s been staring us right in the face.”
“What has?” Kate asked. “Don’t keep us dangling.”
Nancy went over what they knew. “Cheryl gave your father a computer file that contained a set of books that proved he’d been framed by Dennis Allard, right?”
Cheryl nodded. “It looks that way.”
“And your father wanted to make sure it was safe until he could give it to the DA,” Nancy said excitedly. The pieces were all coming together.
“Slow down,” Chris said. “Why didn’t he take it straight to Levine? Why wait?” he asked.
Nancy shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “But the day before he died, he went back to River Heights Bank and Trust. And that’s where he hid the evidence!”
“What?” Chris practically shouted.
“Your father did what a lot of people do,” Nancy concluded. “He hid the evidence in the most obvious place possible. At Allard’s bank. In a safe deposit box.”
“Of course,” Chris said. “The printout would be small enough to hide in a safe deposit box.”
Kate ran to Nancy and flung her arms around Nancy’s neck. “Oh, Nancy, thank you,” she said, her voice breaking.
“Hold on,” Nancy said, pulling Kate’s arms from around her. “There’s no guarantee it’s there. But if it is, we’ve got to get to it before Allard does. If he hasn’t already.”
“But Allard couldn’t have known where it was, or else he’d have destroyed it by now and he’d have nothing to worry about,” Chris said.
“True enough,” Nancy said. “But we can’t take any chances. I’m going to call the District Attorney.”
Nancy went over to the far end of the kitchen and picked up the phone. Then she realized that there was no chance that the DA would still be at the office at this hour. Nancy took a deep breath and called her father.
“Dad,” she said, “I need your help.” She quickly explained why she was calling.
“That’s great news!” Carson said excitedly. Nancy could also sense the relief in his voice. “Hold on, I’ll get Levine’s home phone number.”
Nancy waited. In a minute her father came back on the line and gave her the number. As they were about to hang up, Carson warned her to be careful.
“You don’t know that Allard isn’t after you right now,” he said.
“I know,” Nancy told him. “That’s why I want to call Levine right away.”
“There’s the doorbell, Nancy. I’ve got to go. Call me back as soon as you have some news.”
“I will,” Nancy said, hanging up.
As Chris, Kate, and Cheryl watched expectantly, Nancy dialed Levine’s number. “Joe Levine, please,” she said. There was a pause, and Nancy mouthed “He’s coming” to Chris and Kate.
“Mr. Levine, it’s Nancy Drew.” Nancy was about to tell him about the safe deposit box and her suspicions, but the district attorney cut her off.
“What’s he saying?” Kate asked. Chris signaled for her to be quiet.
“Yes, I understand,” Nancy said. “Can I call you back? I’m here with Chris and Kate now and I should tell them. I’ll call you back.”
Nancy hung up the phone and turned to the Gleasons and Cheryl. “I’ve got some news you ought to hear,” she said carefully. “The police did a handwriting analysis on your father’s note. Although it’s a close imitation of his handwriting, it doesn’t match.”
“What are you saying?” Chris asked, holding his breath.
“Joe Levine’s come to the same conclusion you did. That someone killed your father.”
Kate reached out and fell into her brother’s arms. “We were right all along,” she said, crying into his shoulder.
“For what it’s worth,” Chris said sadly. “Does he have any idea who would have done it?” he asked Nancy.
“I didn’t get a chance to ask
. But I’d be willing to bet that Dennis Allard is behind it.”
Nancy led Cheryl over to the sofa and sat her down. Chris and Kate stood in the kitchen, holding on to each other and talking softly. She decided to leave them alone for a little while to let the news sink in.
Finally, after five or ten minutes, Nancy went over to them. “I know this isn’t the best time, but we have to plan our next move. I have to call Levine back and I want to be able to tell him that you can go with him tomorrow to the bank to get into the safe deposit box.”
“I can handle it,” Chris said. “I’m just glad that this whole thing is coming to an end.”
“Good,” Nancy said, picking up the phone. Within a few minutes she had arranged for Chris to go along with the DA to the bank the next day to recover the evidence.
Nancy was just hanging up the phone when the door to Gleason’s apartment flew open. She put the phone down. Chris and Kate froze. Cheryl put her hand to her mouth, suppressing a scream.
Standing in the doorway were Dennis Allard and Peter Nicodemus. They both had guns. And between them, with his hands tied in front of him, was Carson Drew.
Chapter
Sixteen
DON’T YOU EVEN WANT to say hello to your father, Nancy?” Allard asked. “You two might want to enjoy what little time you have left.”
In disbelief, Nancy let out a gasp. They had been so close! She could tell her father was struggling to remain calm, but he was breathing heavily, and his face was ashen.
“You—” Chris shouted, throwing himself at Dennis Allard.
“Chris, stop,” Cheryl cried. But it was too late. Allard had evidently expected the charge, because he was ready.
Chris had come at Allard headfirst. Allard stepped to the side and brought the butt of his gun down on Chris’s head as he sailed past him. Chris slumped to the floor, unconscious.
Cheryl let out another cry and ran over to where Chris lay. Kate put her hands to her mouth in horror.
“That should show you we’re serious,” Nicodemus said to no one in particular.
“I didn’t doubt it,” Nancy answered. She exchanged a look with her father. “Be ready,” it said. He nodded almost imperceptibly.
Chris was coming around, and Allard poked at him with his foot. “Get up, hot shot,” he said. “You’re an important part of our plan, and we can’t use you if you’re unconscious.”
Nancy tried to keep her thoughts straight. What did Allard mean? Why would Chris Gleason be an important part of his plan? What did the two men have in mind?
Allard pulled Chris to his feet. Nicodemus handed his gun to Allard and used clothesline to tie first Cheryl’s and then Kate’s hands together. Nancy noticed with relief that he was tying them together in front rather than behind their backs. Mobility would be crucial if they were to manage an escape.
“Be careful,” Allard said. “We don’t want there to be any marks.”
“I remember,” Nicodemus said sullenly. All the charm Nancy had observed in both Allard and Nicodemus had disappeared.
Nicodemus came over to Nancy, holding out the clothesline. “You’re next, girl detective,” he said with a sneer.
Nancy held out her hands and kept her eyes not on Allard or Nicodemus, but on Cheryl and Kate. She was trying to judge how much help they could be. Not much, she decided, when she saw that both girls were blinking back tears.
Nicodemus had finished tying Nancy’s hands together. The rope was fastened too tight for Nancy to get any slack.
“Ready?” Allard asked. Nicodemus nodded and then picked up a brown shopping bag he had left just inside the room. He dropped the clothesline into the bag.
“Follow me,” Allard said, and he gave Nicodemus his gun back. Allard drew another, smaller gun from his inside jacket pocket. He held the larger revolver in his right hand, and the smaller gun in his left. Then he motioned for Chris, Kate, and Cheryl to go ahead of him out the door.
Nicodemus put his gun into Nancy’s back and pulled Carson along after him.
“Don’t try anything, Drew,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to be responsible for another death, would you?” He gave a sadistic, nasal chuckle.
As Nancy felt the gun’s barrel in her back, she tried to think of a plan. There had to be some way out of this, she thought. Maybe someone would hear them and call the police. Maybe they could disarm the men. But that was hopeless with their hands tied, she realized.
Nicodemus pushed Nancy after Allard down the long hallway to the elevator. Her father was at her side.
“What do you think they’re going to do?” Carson mouthed.
“I wish I knew,” Nancy mouthed back.
Allard was at the elevator, holding the door open. He herded the Gleasons, Cheryl, and Nancy and her father inside, then let the door close after he and Nicodemus had stepped in.
He pushed the button for the basement, and the elevator descended with a slow and steady creaking noise.
Nancy thought about making a move, but they were trapped inside the elevator. Even if she could disarm Nicodemus, Allard would turn a gun on her immediately.
She couldn’t try anything heroic unless the others were prepared. Nancy nudged her father, who nodded his head. Then she tried to make eye contact with Chris, but his head hung down to his chest. He was barely conscious.
Before Nancy could think of anything, the elevator stopped at the basement. Allard put both guns in one hand, pulled the door open, and waited while Nicodemus shoved Nancy and her father out of the elevator.
Allard followed, both guns held on Chris, Cheryl, and Kate. Nicodemus had stopped, and Allard was shouting directions at him across the small hallway.
“Down there, around the corner. The room with all the junk in it.” He had obviously been there before, Nancy thought.
“Hurry up,” Allard said. “We’re running out of time.”
Nancy darted a look to her left before Nicodemus pushed her down the hall. There it was, the small door that led to the alley behind the building. Dim light showed through its dirty window.
Nicodemus pulled her down the short corridor and around the corner to the right. They were in a dirty room piled high with old furniture, mattresses, and cardboard boxes full of newspaper.
“Perfect,” Allard said, coming around the corner. He turned on an old electrician’s light hanging from a rusty metal pipe that ran along the low ceiling.
Allard sat Cheryl and Kate down on some boxes. Nicodemus kept his gun on Nancy and her father as he reached down into the bag. He pulled out a red-and-yellow metal can, clearly marked Gasoline.
With a shock, Nancy realized there had to be only one reason for that can. Allard and Nicodemus were going to set the building on fire and let them all go up in flames with it!
Chris saw the can. “You’re not thinking about—” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Not right away,” Allard said. “That’s step two. First, we need to worry about step one.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Nancy said. She tried to sound as threatening as possible. “The district attorney is on his way right now. He knows we’re here.”
“My plan takes all that into account,” Allard said with a sneer. “As soon as I caught you in my building this afternoon, I realized it was only a matter of time before the DA was involved.”
Nicodemus smiled and spoke. “And when I came to after you knocked me out, the first person I called was Dennis. He was the one who thought of this brilliant plan. Luckily, your father was home. Naturally, we convinced him to tell us where you were.”
“But Nicodemus has been here before, right? The night he pushed Robert Gleason out his window,” Nancy said.
Chris and Kate stared at Nancy. Carson drew in a sharp breath.
Allard laughed. “You’re not a very good detective. Actually, if you really want to know, I was the one who killed Gleason.” He stared hard at Nancy.
“Because you knew he had the proof you thought ha
d been destroyed,” Nancy added.
“Exactly.” Allard’s eyes narrowed. “I was sure every sign pointing to my guilt was gone. I even checked the computer records. But Cheryl here was better at finding something buried deep in the computer than I was.”
Cheryl blinked back tears.
“What about the money?” Chris asked.
“They had it all along,” Nancy concluded. “That’s what you and Nicodemus used to start up the Convex Corporation, wasn’t it? In fact, you were both in on the embezzling right from the start, weren’t you?”
She shot a glance at her father. Somehow they had to keep them talking until they came up with a plan. Carson nodded imperceptibly.
“I can’t believe you two,” Carson said, his face reddening in anger. “Together, you let an innocent man go to jail. And then you were going to let me take the fall for it!”
Allard met Carson’s eyes for the first time. “I didn’t feel happy about it, believe me. But when Gleason started coming around again, I knew it was either you or me.”
Nancy narrowed her eyes. “It wasn’t just my father, either,” she said. “You nearly killed Chris with that stunt you pulled at his garage.”
“We thought maybe that trick and our little car chase would scare you enough to give up your investigation,” Nicodemus confirmed.
“But you underestimated Nancy,” Cheryl told him hotly.
“Mr. Drew, I have to congratulate you on having such a smart—and persistent—daughter,” Allard said.
“Smarter than you think—” Carson began.
Nicodemus interrupted him. “We’re wasting time, Dennis,” he said impatiently. He pulled Cheryl to her feet.
Allard reached over and grabbed Kate. Then he gave Chris the smaller gun.
“You see the situation,” he said to Chris, pointing out Carson and Nancy. “It’s a shame, but you have no choice. If you want to keep your sister and girlfriend alive, you’re going to have to kill Carson Drew and his famous daughter, Nancy.”