Nancy squirmed outside and saw Alex pulling Kara up over an icy ledge about forty yards from the camping area.
“What happened?” Nancy asked Ned as they watched Alex lift Kara to safety.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “I was just getting settled into my sleeping bag when I heard her scream. I got out here just before you did.”
“She’s okay,” Alex told Nancy and the rest of the group, who had come to see what was going on. “You can go back to what you were doing.”
“What happened?” Nancy asked when she reached Alex and Kara.
“Someone pushed me,” Kara responded, her voice shaking. “I was standing outside, relaxing, before settling in for the night. When I walked by the ledge, I felt someone shove me over the edge.”
“Are you hurt?” Nancy asked.
“No, I’m fine,” Kara answered, but it was obvious she was shaken up.
“Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?” Nancy asked, lowering her voice.
“No,” Kara said helplessly. “It happened too fast. I was right by the edge, so it wouldn’t have taken much strength to push me over.”
Nancy walked over to the area and shined her flashlight on the icy snow. She was hoping to find footprints, but the snow was so hard there were very few indentations. There was nothing discernible.
“Somebody wants you out of the way, and they’re taking bold steps to make it happen,” Nancy said. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to let Lisa come on the trip, she thought. They couldn’t possibly keep an eye on her at every moment. And what about Anne?
“We’ve got to remember to keep a close eye on Lisa and Anne. I’m sure no one will try to pull another stunt like this.” / hope not, anyway, she thought to herself.
Having done all the investigating she could do in the dark, Nancy went back to her snow cave and snuggled into her sleeping bag. As she tried to fall asleep, she couldn’t help but wonder what else would happen before the end of the trip.
• • •
The next morning the group ate a breakfast of hot oatmeal before repacking all their gear and continuing up the mountain. It was another perfect day for climbing, about ten degrees with a clear sky and not too much wind. The slope was steeper as they made their way onto the Paradise Glaciers. Kara led the group, with Logan in the middle and Alex at the rear. He made sure Lisa was directly in front of him and as far from Kara as possible. Alex and Logan had also done a thorough gear check that morning to make sure that nothing had been sabotaged.
“You should all be pressure-breathing,” Logan called to the group from behind Nancy. A moment later she heard him exhaling noisily, “Phhhhshhhhh.”
Nancy began to do the breathing exercise, even though she wasn’t feeling the effects of the altitude. She felt silly making so much noise, but after a few minutes the noisy exhalation seemed natural.
Nancy began to think about the case, trying to piece together what she knew. Lisa Osterman was still her best suspect, though she wasn’t sure what the girl’s motive could be. Lisa could have pushed Kara over the edge. But so could almost anyone, Nancy knew—including Anne Bolle.
How did Hank Moody fit in with all this? That ticket payment tied him to Lisa—and to the case as well. Nancy sighed heavily and looked up at the beautiful sky. It was dotted with puffy clouds that were so close she could almost touch them.
After an hour and a half of climbing, the group stopped on a ledge for a break. Nancy had grown quite warm during the rugged climb and had loosened her scarf. But after standing still for just a few minutes, Nancy felt herself getting chilled. She pulled her scarf tightly around her neck and pulled her hat snugly down around her ears.
“Are you chilly?” Ned asked, coming up behind her and rubbing her shoulders vigorously.
Nancy nodded as Kara spoke up. “Be sure you’re bundled up well,” she said to the group. “When you’re standing still, your body doesn’t produce that extra heat, and it doesn’t take long for the chilly temperature to get to you.”
“Also, I want to see all of you drinking from your water bottles,” Logan told everyone. “You may not think you’re thirsty, but you’re losing water as you sweat, so drink up.”
Nancy pulled her water bottle out from inside her parka, where it was carried to keep the water from freezing. After taking a sip, she handed the bottle to Ned.
“Thanks,” he murmured.
Kara opened a bag of nuts, raisins, and sunflower seeds and passed them around. Nancy wasn’t feeling hungry, but dutifully took a handful.
She passed the bag to Eladio, who paused for a second. “Could you scoop me up a handful and put it into my glove?” he finally asked her.
Nancy laughed, reached inside to pull out a handful, and carefully let the contents fall into Eladio’s gloved palm.
After everyone had a chance to eat, drink, and take a short rest, the group began climbing again. Moving slowly, they made their way up the Paradise Glaciers—snow-covered masses of ice with occasional rocks jutting out on either side.
At one point the group had to cross a five-foot snow bridge, which Nancy learned was several thin layers of snow covering a deep crevasse. A snow bridge was sometimes the only way to cross a hundred-foot-deep crevasse, though most crevasses were narrow enough to step across. Some snow bridges were several feet thick, while others were just a few inches, in which case they would collapse under a person’s weight.
“Just walk slowly and surely, and stay in the center,” Logan advised Nancy from behind. “You’ll do fine.”
Nancy’s heart raced as she stepped onto the bridge, which was about five feet across. She was tempted to run across it as fast as she could, but knew that was the worst thing she could do.
After about five heart-wrenching steps, Nancy reached the other side and solid ground. Heaving a sigh of relief, she continued up the icy glacier after the others.
When the group was just below Anvil Rock, they stopped for lunch, settling into a snowbank that protected them from the wind. They were at nine thousand five hundred feet.
“Are you all right?” Nancy asked Eladio, who was quite pale.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m just not hungry.”
“After all that climbing, I’m starved,” Ned put in, reaching for a sandwich.
Nancy looked at the lunch of cheese and salami on whole-grain bread. With a pang she realized that she didn’t feel hungry either. The altitude was starting to get to her. “I’m not hungry,” she admitted to Eladio. “But if we eat, I’m sure we’ll feel better.”
“Everyone has to eat at least half a sandwich.” Kara coached. “If you don’t keep fueling yourselves, your bodies will shut down and we won’t make it to the top.”
Nancy reached for a sandwich, and by the fourth bite found it actually tasted good.
As everyone ate, the conversation drifted to Camp Muir, where they’d be staying that night.
“It marks the line between the upper and the lower mountains,” Alex explained. “Most people who climb the mountain from the south use it as a takeoff point for the summit.”
“How many people go through Camp Muir in the winter?” Eladio asked.
“Not too many,” Kara answered. “Maybe a hundred. Though over a thousand might come through in a single summer season,” she added.
“Does anybody want another sandwich?” Alex asked, holding up what was left of the salami. When nobody responded, he put the bread and meat back into his backpack.
When they started off again, Nancy listened to the sound of everyone pressure-breathing.
Within an hour and a half they reached Camp Muir. Perched on one side of a ridge, Camp Muir consisted of five buildings, most of which were mainly buried under snow. The group would stay in the largest building, which was reserved for public use.
It was getting dark, but nevertheless the view from the camp was incredible.
“That’s Cadaver Gap,” Logan said, pointing to the space between Cathedral Rocks an
d Gibraltar Rock. “But it’s not half as scary as it sounds,” he assured the group.
In spite of the fact that the stone building wasn’t heated and was very cold, everyone was relieved to get inside, out of the wind. The building was sparsely furnished—two tiers of bunks were situated on the far side of the room. Since there wasn’t a table or chairs, Alex suggested they put their thermal sleeping pads and sleeping bags on the floor to sit on.
Logan and Kara began to cook another meal.
“I’m beginning to think that eating is the only thing we do,” Eladio murmured.
“We’ll be climbing again before we know it,” Anne offered. “So it’s really important to keep food in our stomachs.”
Eladio checked his watch, which read five o’clock. “Twelve hours,” he said, “and we’ll be heading for the top.” Alex had explained that they’d start the climb at five a.m., so they could make it to the summit and back before nightfall. “Will we be crossing many more snow bridges?” Eladio asked Anne.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted.
Nancy shivered, remembering the experience of crossing the bridge. “That was scary. I wanted to run across as fast as I could.”
“That’s the hardest part,” Lisa agreed, joining in the conversation.
Eladio pulled out a deck of playing cards, and the group began playing gin rummy. It was difficult to hold the cards with gloves, but it was too cold to take them off. While they played, Nancy observed Anne, whose attention was on Logan. It seemed as if Anne wanted more than friendship from him, Nancy thought. Maybe that’s why she’d lied about her whereabouts on the night of the break-in.
Later, as they sat around eating chicken stew, they talked some more about that day’s hike and what the next one might be like. Without warning the front door burst open, and Nancy gasped when she saw the person framed in the doorway. It was Hank Moody!
Chapter
Thirteen
WHILE NANCY STARED IN surprise, Hank stepped into the room with another man right behind him. She remembered her suspicions about Lisa and Hank, and turned to Lisa. The expression on the young woman’s face was unmistakable—she was scared.
Without greeting the group, Hank walked up to Alex and spoke to him in a low voice, leaving the other man near the door.
Nancy watched the two men, and after a few moments Alex spoke. “That would be fine, Hank,” he said congenially. “There’s plenty of room.” He gestured to a row of empty bunks at the back of the shelter.
Hank nodded gruffly and turned to the man with whom he had come in. “Let’s bring our gear inside,” he said, and the two men left. A few moments later they returned with two large packs and ice axes.
Although Nancy wasn’t hungry, she went up for a second helping of food so she could hear what Logan and Alex were saying. Logan was telling Alex that he thought it was a mistake to share the shelter with Hank.
“He’s up to no good,” Logan was saying. “Why else would he show up here?”
“He’s already on the mountain, so we may as well make the best of the situation,” Alex reasoned. “If he stays with us, we’ll at least be able to watch him.”
Shaking his head, Logan poured himself a cup of tea and leaned against the single bench that ran along the wall.
Carrying another bowl of chicken stew, Nancy rejoined her group. While she ate, she watched for signals between Lisa and Hank, but they didn’t even glance at each other.
Everyone drank a cup of tea and ate some cookies for dessert. Eladio and Ned started up another game of cards, but Nancy was too worked up to play. Standing up to stretch, Nancy scanned the room and noticed that both Lisa and Hank were missing.
“Have you seen Lisa?” she asked Alex.
“No,” he admitted cautiously. “I haven’t. She must be outside.”
“I’ve got a feeling she’s with Hank,” Nancy said grimly. “I’m going to see if I can find them.”
“Be careful,” Kara advised. “And take your flashlight. It’s really dark.”
Nancy dug her flashlight out of her pack and pulled on thick gloves and a hat, then zipped up her jacket. When she opened the door, a gust of cold wind chilled her. She adjusted her scarf and turned on her flashlight as she stepped into the night.
Nancy cast the flashlight’s faint glow over the white snow and moved carefully along the rock saddle. Their shelter stood on one end of the ridge, opposite the other buildings. Nancy guessed that Hank and Lisa would meet in one of those buildings, as far as possible from the rest of the group.
Even with her flashlight, Nancy found the going difficult because the ground was so uneven. Though it was mostly clear, clouds covered the moon from time to time, leaving just the flashlight to pierce the expansive darkness.
Nancy walked slowly, shining her light just slightly in front her. She was fairly confident that the wind would drown out the noise of her footsteps, but she tried to step quietly, just in case.
When she was about fifty yards from the first building on the other side of the ridge, the ground flattened and the walking became easier. Turning off her flashlight, Nancy stood in the darkness for a moment, listening. The wind howled and echoed off the giant mountain, but Nancy didn’t hear any human voices.
Nancy began making her way toward the snow-covered buildings again, using the light of the moon to guide her. She made her way between the small kitchen hut and the larger building that served as a sleeping quarters. She walked around both buildings twice, but nobody was there.
They could be anywhere, Nancy realized, suddenly feeling that her search was hopeless. Disappointed, she turned her flashlight on again and walked back toward her shelter. The wind was blowing in her face now, and she shivered in the darkness. When she finally reached the shelter, she felt a sense of relief.
As Nancy started to pull the door open, she heard voices from the side of the building. Lisa and Hank! Quickly Nancy moved into the shadows, straining to hear what they were saying.
“I told you I’d take care of it,” said Lisa, her voice a high-pitched whisper.
“Are you sure you’ve got it under control?” Hank asked. “You know that everything’s riding on this.”
“I’m a grown woman with mountaineering experience,” Lisa responded. “You know that, Uncle Hank. That’s why you asked me to do this, remember?”
Uncle Hank? So that was it, Nancy mused. Lisa Osterman must be Hank Moody’s niece! She was the child in the photo in Hank’s office who looked so familiar. She was obviously trying to help her uncle beat the competition.
“I don’t know if this was such a good—”
“I can handle it,” Lisa said anxiously. “Now please just go back down the mountain before you cause trouble. Logan Miller is already suspicious of you, and your being here will only make things worse, especially for me.”
“The guide I brought with me wants to climb the mountain tomorrow,” Hank said. “And I promised him we could. But we’ll start up ahead of your group so we’ll be a good distance from you.”
There was silence for a few moments, then Lisa spoke again. “I don’t like it,” she said. “But I can’t stop you.”
A second later Nancy heard footsteps coming toward her. Having no time to get out of Lisa’s way, she quickly ducked deeper into the shadows. Lisa stomped past her in a matter of moments, not realizing that Nancy was there. When she had gone inside, Nancy moved away from the building. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself by going inside right after Lisa, so she waited for a few minutes in the darkness before entering.
Nancy was eager to tell Kara and Alex her news, but they had both turned in. Eladio and Anne were still playing rummy, but Ned had gone to sleep, too. Nancy checked her watch and realized that it was almost ten o’clock. In seven hours they’d start their climb to the top of the mountain, and she knew she’d better get some rest. Nancy took off her hat, gloves, and parka and climbed into her sleeping bag. Minutes later she was fast asleep.
• •
•
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Ned said as he bent over to give Nancy a light kiss on her cold nose. Nancy opened her eyes and saw Ned smiling down at her. “It’s time to get something to eat,” he told her. “We’ll be leaving soon.”
Remembering the conversation she’d overheard between Hank and Lisa, Nancy wriggled out of her sleeping bag and found Alex and Kara to tell them the news.
“Hank has already headed up the mountain,” Kara said. “They were gone when I woke up about forty minutes ago.”
“He said he’d start before we did and stay away from our group,” Nancy told them.
“We’ll just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Alex concluded. “Keep a close eye on Lisa and double-check all the equipment.”
“Right,” Nancy agreed.
After a breakfast of hot oatmeal with nuts and raisins, the group filed outside in the darkness.
“We rope together at this point because the glaciers are more treacherous above ten thousand feet,” Alex explained, holding up a rope. “The first stretch this morning is easy, but we’ll rope together now into two groups so we don’t have to do it on an incline.”
Once everyone was secured by a rope, Kara started off as leader of the first group again, with Lisa bringing up the rear. Alex was right behind her as leader of the second group. Ned was right behind Kara, and Nancy behind him.
The nearly full moon hung over the edge of Gibraltar Rock and lit up the darkness when it wasn’t covered by clouds. Far up ahead, the shadowy figures of Hank and his climbing partner could be seen, making their way up the mountain.
When the forty feet of rope between Ned and Nancy was taut, Nancy began to move. Her crampons crunched beneath her as she walked through the silent winter air.
The first stretch was fairly easy, but soon the group climbed up a steep slope with icy debris that made the going slow. Finally they were at the top of Cathedral Rocks, and from there it was on to the Ingraham Glacier.
It was still dark, and the moon was now completely covered with clouds. As the group sat down to rest, it began to snow.