004 Smile and Say Murder

  Sondra looked in bewilderment from Ned’s face to Nancy’s. “You mean you two are going out?” she asked. “Is he a spy, too? Is that how he got this job?”

  “We were going out!” Nancy said. “But I guess he has other plans!” She whirled around and dashed out of the police station. Halting on the steps, she fought back the tears stinging her eyes. “I’m not going to cry,” she whispered through gritted teeth.

  But Nancy wasn’t left alone with her tumultuous thoughts for long. Her father followed her out of the precinct and wrapped a consoling arm around her shoulder.

  Nancy threw herself into her father’s embrace. “Oh, Dad, how could he do this to me?”

  “People sometimes do things they don’t mean,” Mr. Drew said. “We both know Ned is a fine young man, sensitive and considerate. I think he’ll come to his senses, Nancy. Just give him time.” But there was really nothing Mr. Drew could say to make his daughter feel better.

  “I hate him,” Nancy sobbed. “I don’t ever want to see him again!”

  When Nancy had calmed down, she and her father got into Mr. Drew’s silver Cadillac and drove back to River Heights.

  For the first half of the ride, Nancy thought she was going to go crazy just imagining Ned and Sondra together. He’s probably taking her out for a fancy dinner right now, Nancy thought. And then they’ll go dancing at some wild nightclub.

  But after a while Nancy couldn’t stand imagining those things. She was only making herself more miserable. I’ve got to stop thinking about them, she decided. I’ve got to, or I’m going to lose my mind!

  It was then that Mick’s hysterical words in the police station came back to Nancy. “You think I’m a murderer? Me? But I didn’t do it, I swear. That gun isn’t mine! Someone planted it!” Mick had sounded so surprised at what was happening to him.

  With all the evidence against the art director, it seemed as though the case were over, clean and simple. But something was simmering in the back of Nancy’s mind.

  When Nancy had taken Yvonne’s pulse in her office that day, the publisher’s heart had been racing. That shouldn’t have happened if she had really fainted.

  But why would Yvonne fake passing out? Was it possible that she had, in fact, seen the mysterious gunman? Was it someone she wanted to cover for? But why would she cover for someone who was trying to kill her?

  Whatever the answer, Nancy was becoming more and more sure that Yvonne was hiding something. Hadn’t she had that feeling since her very first day on the case?

  Nancy went over that first day in her mind. There’d been that horrible scene with Mick in Yvonne’s office and the practical joke with the severed head. After that, Nancy remembered, she’d spent the day developing film for Mick. And she also recalled being surprised at the thoughtful note the art director had written to her about being careful in the darkroom.

  Suddenly Nancy caught her breath. Mick’s spelling had been worse than a fourth-grader’s. He’d confused your with you’re and their with they’re. But in the threatening letters to Yvonne, those words had been spelled correctly! Nancy bit her lip. Mick didn’t write those letters, she told herself, suddenly sure. But who did?

  Nancy decided to take the train into Chicago the next day and do a little investigating on her own. On a Saturday, no one would be around to get in the way.

  • • •

  Nancy spent a leisurely Saturday morning at home with her father. Ned called once, but Nancy told Hannah Gruen to tell him she wasn’t home. She’d tried not to cry then, but a few tears escaped nonetheless.

  Nancy caught the eleven-fifteen train into Chicago and was in the lobby of the Flash building a few minutes before one. A security guard who looked more asleep than awake asked her to sign a visitor’s book. She wrote her name and her time of arrival.

  Nancy flipped back a couple of pages and noticed Yvonne’s name in the book, too. She’d been up to the office late Thursday night. What a workaholic, Nancy thought.

  Once Nancy had signed the book, the guard motioned her toward the elevators. It bothered her that he hadn’t asked for her I.D. Security certainly was lax!

  Nancy rode up to the Flash offices. She had made a point of watching Scott activate and deactivate the security system a few times, so she knew just how it worked. All she had to do was push the right coded numbers and the alarm was deactivated. Then Nancy used her credit card to pick the lock. In less than five minutes she had the Flash offices completely to herself.

  Nancy decided to begin her search in Mick’s office. She picked the lock on his door and stepped inside. It looked the same as always, except that Mick’s camera was sitting on his desk. Nancy remembered that he’d left it there Friday afternoon, just before she’d come in and clobbered him.

  Nancy picked up the expensive Nikon camera. It was still loaded. Well, she thought, I might as well get this film developed and see what it has to show. She rewound the film, opened the back of the camera, and emptied out the finished roll.

  Nancy hurried down the hall to the darkroom. She knew she was taking a big liberty in developing Mick’s photos without his knowledge, but since she was only doing it in order to clear him of a crime, she figured she was justified.

  Nancy let herself into the darkroom and quickly set up the chemicals she’d need to turn the negatives into full-color photos. She worked hard, and soon she had a print of each picture ready.

  Nancy sat down with the wet prints and began scrutinizing them for clues. Most of the shots were pretty arty, contrasting light and shadow or picking up odd mixtures of people in the same shot. The work was very different from the commercial portraits Mick took for Flash. He was clearly talented at both types of photography.

  Still, none of the pictures helped Nancy much. But they have to! Nancy thought in frustration. I’ve got nothing else to go on! She redoubled her efforts, checking each photo even more closely.

  Thoughtfully, Nancy picked up a picture showing a newspaper stand. There was no doubt that Mick had a special touch with a camera. The newsstand looked so clear. Nancy could actually see Friday’s date on the front of one of the papers, and the words on the nearby street sign. Even the shadows were clear.

  Suddenly Nancy realized that the photo might be the clue she was looking for! It could be just the thing needed to establish an alibi for Mick. Nancy checked every detail of the picture. It was all there—the street signs to indicate place, the newspapers to show the date. Now if she could just establish the time the picture had been taken, Mick would have an airtight alibi!

  Mick had said he’d been shooting the film at the same time that Yvonne had been attacked. If so, the shadows would prove it—since shadows change length according to how high in the sky the sun is. A two o’clock shadow was the same length on Friday as it was on Saturday.

  Nancy glanced at her digital wristwatch. It showed a quarter of two, a little before the time the gunman had invaded the Flash studio on Friday. If she hopped into a taxi, she could be at the newsstand in twenty minutes. Nancy grabbed the picture and dashed out of the office, being careful to reset the alarm before she left.

  It wasn’t hard to find the newsstand. It was the only one at the intersection shown on the street sign. Nancy pulled the photo from her bag as she got out of the taxi and slammed the door. She checked the time again. Five after two. Perfect! Nancy had heard Yvonne scream at ten after.

  The photo showed that the shadow of the signpost just reached the edge of the newsstand. The picture was so clear there could be no mistake. Nancy took a careful look at the real street sign and newsstand. Sure enough, the shadows matched!

  Nancy let out a triumphant cry. She’d cleared Mick! He’d been far from Flash at two o’clock Friday afternoon. He couldn’t possibly have taken the photo, then rushed back to shoot Yvonne. Besides, Mick had never tried to use the picture as an alibi. That meant there was no reason for it to be a fake.

  So, Nancy told herself, the case isn’t over after all. But what did the new develo
pment mean? Obviously, the culprit was trying to frame Mick by planting the gun in his desk, but who was the culprit? David? Someone else working for MediaCorp? Or just a person who hated Yvonne and Mick?

  Nancy knew that she was facing what was the least favorite part of a mystery for her—waiting for the criminal’s next move. Meanwhile, a potential killer was on the loose. And when it became known that Nancy had cleared Mick, the criminal just might turn his wrath upon Nancy herself!

  Chapter

  Twelve

  NANCY, WHEN ARE you going to stop dragging into Chicago on these commuter trains and start driving your gorgeous blue Mustang again? Bess Marvin demanded. “It’s such a bummer having to take this smelly old train.”

  “When they turn the Sears Building into the world’s tallest garage,” Nancy said with a smile. “Really, you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find parking in the city.”

  “Oh,” Bess said dreamily, “but there’s nothing like cruising down the parkway in that Mustang of yours, the wind blowing through our hair, the sun shining . . .”

  “Please, Bess,” George said sarcastically. “You sound like a car commercial!” Nancy giggled.

  “Aha,” George cried, “did I detect a laugh coming from our sad and serious Ms. Drew? I knew your funnybone wasn’t broken.”

  Nancy flashed her friends an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, you guys. I know I’m not being much fun. But this thing with Ned—”

  “Stop right there. Don’t say another word,” George told Nancy. “We know you’re miserable, and we know you probably need a little moral support from your best friends. Why do you think we decided to go into town today? It wasn’t because Bess really needs that black suede dress.”

  “I do too need it,” Bess protested, “and that stupid store wouldn’t take an out-of-town check!”

  Nancy smiled again. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad to have you two around.”

  Nancy leaned back in her seat and listened to the rhythmic clatter of the train. She was dreading going in to Flash. Things were bound to be volatile, for a number of reasons. For starters, Mick would be back at work. Nancy had gone down to the police station with the newsstand photograph on Saturday and explained everything to Detective Graham. Mick had been out of jail within fifteen minutes. But how would the rest of the staff react to him? How would Yvonne behave? Not normally, that was certain.

  Also, everyone at Flash knew Nancy was a detective, and probably thought she was Yvonne’s stool pigeon. Nancy was sure she’d be getting the cold shoulder from a lot of people she’d thought were her friends.

  Nancy was going to have to see Ned and Sondra, too. She’d managed to avoid Ned’s calls all weekend, but he’d left a message for her on Sunday. He’d thanked her for getting Mick out of prison and said that he intended to go back to Flash on Monday as an intern. After all, Brenda hadn’t blown his cover, except with Sondra. He promised to let Nancy know about anything strange that he saw. He’d also said he wanted to see her and hoped they could work things out.

  Fat chance, Nancy said to herself.

  Nancy was definitely not thrilled about the day’s prospects. But having Bess and George to talk to on the train made it all a little better. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Nancy told her friends. “I think I’m going to melt into the ground when I see Ned. Either that or punch him out.”

  “He’s really acting like a creep,” Bess agreed.

  “But how come?” George wondered. “I mean, Ned’s always been totally crazy about you. He’s never so much as looked at another girl. So why now?”

  Nancy sighed. “I think I might be partly to blame. Ned was feeling unappreciated. He said I was always busy working and never had time for him. I did treat our vacation pretty lightly. But Ned’s been my boyfriend for years. And—and I miss him.” Suddenly Nancy felt as if she were about to cry.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” George said softly. “Look, either Ned will regain his senses and come back to you, or he’s a real jerk and not worth the tears.”

  “Right,” Bess said.

  Nancy stared morosely at the dirty train floor. It was a no-win situation. Either she pretended she hated Ned and felt awful or admitted she loved him and felt even worse!

  When they reached the city, Nancy kissed her friends goodbye. “Do you want to meet at the end of the day and go back to River Heights together?” Bess asked.

  “I wish I could,” Nancy said, “but I have no idea when I’m going to be done at Flash, so I’ll have to pass. I’ll see you at home.”

  “Okay. Good luck,” Bess said, giving Nancy an extra hug.

  “And be careful today,” George advised.

  Wow, Nancy thought as she caught the downtown subway, I’ve got some really great friends —no matter how rotten my boyfriend is!

  But as Nancy neared the Flash building she found her fears about Ned gradually being replaced by worries about the case. Someone in that office was a potential killer. The murderer might even be after her now. And she was sure no one at Flash was going to be too eager to help her find more information at that point.

  Nancy felt like a first-time parachuter. She was about to step into a huge void, and she had no idea what to expect. All she could do was take the leap and hope the parachute worked!

  Nancy could feel the change in atmosphere at Flash as soon as she stepped into the reception area. Two reporters who were walking by stopped to stare rudely at her. Nancy sighed. Then, trying to make everything seem as normal as possible, she put a smile on her face and called, “Hey, Scott, how’s it going?” as she’d done each morning.

  “What are you doing here?” Scott replied shortly.

  “I—” Scott’s coldness stopped Nancy short. She hadn’t expected that from him. She steeled herself. “I work here. I’m investigating an attempted murder, trying to make sure Yvonne doesn’t get killed.” Then she added more gently, “Is that so bad?”

  Scott stared at his blank computer screen in embarrassment. Finally he mumbled, “That’s not the problem. The problem is what you’ve been reporting to Yvonne. Some of the things I’ve said about her haven’t been too flattering— and I don’t want to lose my job.”

  Nancy sighed. “I haven’t been ratting on the people who work here, Scott. That’s not what I was hired to do.”

  “I wish I could believe that,” Scott answered. He glanced at Nancy, and in that instant she detected an unmistakable look of fear. Wow, he is really scared, Nancy thought. Then she began to wonder how the others would react. She wanted to wring Brenda Carlton’s neck! Once again, she’d ruined everything.

  “Mick wants to see you,” Scott told Nancy. “He’s in the studio doing a shoot. Yvonne wants to see you, too, in her office.”

  “Thanks,” Nancy said, turning to leave.

  “Oh, and Sondra left you this.” Scott handed Nancy a small, folded piece of paper.

  Nancy stepped away from the reception desk, frowning. What does she want? she wondered. She unfolded the paper and read the note:

  Dear Nancy,

  How can I ever thank you for what you’ve done for Mick? I feel really bad about the horrible things I said to you. Do you think we can straighten things out?

  Your friend (I hope), Sondra

  Nancy looked at the note angrily, then crumpled it up and threw it in a nearby wastepaper basket. Sondra hadn’t said a single word about Ned!

  Nancy walked slowly toward the studio. She knew a lot of the staff would be at the shoot—and judging by Scott’s reaction to her, they probably wouldn’t be too friendly. Well, she would have to face them at some point. It might as well be now.

  When Nancy stepped into the studio she immediately saw Sondra and Ned and purposely avoided making eye contact with either of them. As for the others, no one so much as said hello to Nancy until Mick spotted her.

  “Nancy!” he cried. He left his camera and ran over to her, throwing his arms around her in a huge, friendly hug.

  Mick’s re
action was as uncomfortable for Nancy as the lack of reaction from everyone else. After all, Nancy and Mick hadn’t exactly been big buddies before she’d sprung him from jail. Suddenly everything at Flash was topsyturvy. Nancy’s friends had deserted her. And the people she hadn’t really trusted, like Mick and Sondra, were the only ones being civil to her.

  “Nancy,” Mick was saying as he casually draped his arm around her shoulder, “I asked you to come here so I could thank you for clearing me. I certainly didn’t do anything to deserve your help. I’m really grateful.”

  Nancy smiled. “Well, I couldn’t let an innocent man sit in jail, could I?”

  “I’m going to make it up to you somehow,” Mick said intently. “I’m not sure how right now, but I will.”

  “I don’t expect any kind of reward,” Nancy said. But she had to admit, after all the flak she was getting from other people in the office, that it did feel good to have at least one full-fledged fan.

  “You’re a good kid,” Mick said. He planted a brotherly kiss on Nancy’s cheek. “I’ve got to get back to work now, but we’ll talk later, okay?”

  “Okay,” Nancy said, heading for the door. She shot a glance at Ned before she left. He was gazing at her soulfully. But Nancy wasn’t about to give him a break. She tossed her head haughtily and stepped out of the studio.

  Forcing a brave smile onto her face, Nancy walked to Yvonne’s office.

  I wonder how Yvonne’s reacting to all this, Nancy thought. She knocked on her door.

  “Who’s there?”

  “It’s me, Nancy.”

  “Door’s open. Come in.”

  “Hi,” Nancy said, opening the door and stepping into the publisher’s office. She gave Yvonne a friendly smile and closed the door behind her.

  But Yvonne wasn’t smiling. In fact, her expression was decidedly angry. “Just exactly what are you trying to do?” she burst out.

  “I—I don’t understand,” Nancy said, confused.

  “Oh, you don’t?” the publisher said sarcastically. “Then let me spell it out for you. I hired you to stop the person who’s trying to kill me—”