“This is eerie,” Eladio said as they munched nuts in the darkness.
“I feel like we’re on the moon or something,” said Ned. “There’s nobody around for miles and miles.”
“Except Hank and his partner,” Nancy put in.
When everyone had eaten something, the group started walking again, making its way up the Ingraham Glacier. This stretch was considerably steeper, and Nancy had to concentrate on pressure-breathing to keep an altitude headache at bay.
After the group had walked another forty-five minutes, the sun began to rise. Nancy could see that they were on a section of glacier laced with crevasses. She followed Ned, stepping across the narrow crevasses while trying not to think about the hundred-foot ice-lined cracks she was walking over.
As she stepped over a third crevasse, Nancy heard a rumbling echo. The rumbling grew louder, and Nancy knew what it was—an avalanche. It sounded as though it was heading straight toward them!
Chapter
Fourteen
AVALANCHE!” KARA SHOUTED FROM above. “Arrest!”
Nancy plunged her ice ax into the icy slope and did a spread eagle, digging her crampons into the ice. She closed her eyes and a moment later her ears rang with the rumble of falling ice and snow. Her heart thudded in her chest as she waited for the impact. Surprisingly, none came. When she opened her eyes a few minutes later, she saw masses of ice and snow moving down the mountain about two hundred yards to her left. Realizing they were safe, Nancy breathed a sigh of relief.
When the echo of falling debris had died away, Kara told the climbers in her group to pull out of their arrests. They climbed to a safe resting spot and waited for Alex’s group to catch up. As Nancy sat down, she realized that it was snowing harder and the wind had picked up.
“M-m-my uncle,” Lisa blurted out in a state of panic. “He’s farther up the mountain. He could be trapped!” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Lisa stopped, realizing that she’d blown her cover.
“Your uncle?” Nancy asked, acting as if she knew nothing about this.
Lisa cast her eyes down, not wanting to gaze at Nancy. “Hank Moody is my uncle,” she admitted.
“So why aren’t you climbing with him?” Nancy asked evenly. Lisa’s head shot up as if she were going to defend herself, and her eyes met Nancy’s blue stare. “I think you’ve got some explaining to do,” Nancy finished.
Lisa looked at Kara and Ned, and then back at Nancy. She sighed. “My uncle wanted to find out why Alpine Adventures does such good business,” she began. “I didn’t want to have anything to do with this at first,” she pleaded. “But he was losing business every day and getting more and more desperate, so I finally agreed. It seemed perfectly harmless,” Lisa went on, “until I found Nancy snooping around my uncle’s office.”
“So that was you,” Nancy said, remembering her experience in Hank Moody’s gear room.
Lisa’s eyes grew wide. “I’m really sorry,” she said earnestly. “I was afraid you’d find out who I was, and I panicked. I ran off and locked you in the storage room. I didn’t mean to scare you,” she finished. “Really, I didn’t.”
“Did you break into Alpine Adventures, too?” Kara asked pointedly.
Lisa’s eyes widened. “No,” she said. “I didn’t even know about the break-in until I overheard Logan talking about it.” Her eyes darted from Kara to Nancy. “I didn’t do anything else,” she said solemnly. “Honest.”
“And your uncle?” Nancy asked. “What about him?”
“As far as I know, he’s only guilty of spying,” she said.
“But you lied about your climbing experience.” Kara was not about to let Lisa off the hook easily.
“Sort of,” Lisa admitted. “I’ve done a lot of climbing, but only in North America. I’ve never climbed in the Himalayas.”
“I thought so.” Kara stared coldly at Lisa for a moment, then something inside her softened. “But I suppose no real harm was done,” she said. “In spite of everything, we’ll do what we can to help your uncle,” she said.
“Oh, thank you,” Lisa cried, wiping frozen tears from her cheeks.
After hearing Lisa’s story, Nancy felt a sense of foreboding. She believed what Lisa had told them, which meant that the villain was still out there. And Nancy had no clue who it was.
Within a few minutes the second group had arrived at the resting point.
“That avalanche was awfully close,” Alex said, pausing to gaze up at the sky. “And I think there’s a storm setting in. I don’t think we should be climbing in these conditions.”
“You mean we have to go back?” Eladio asked incredulously.
“I’m afraid so,” Alex answered. “There’s no reason to take unnecessary risks. With so few people climbing in the winter, there’s no ranger stationed at Camp Muir. And they aren’t well set up for rescues. It’s best if we head down tonight and hope for a change in the weather. If it improves, we can try again tomorrow. We have plenty of supplies, and we’ll be safe at Camp Muir.”
“But my uncle,” Lisa wailed. “He’s up on the mountain!”
Alex looked at Lisa blankly for a moment, and then Kara and Nancy recounted Lisa’s story. “She’s afraid that he’s trapped farther up the mountain,” Kara finished.
“It’s possible.” Alex’s expression grew dark. He was quiet for a moment, and then he turned to Logan. “I think you and I will have to keep climbing to see what’s happened,” Alex said.
“I’m not sure that’s the best solution,” Logan answered. “I mean, I’m willing to go, but I think that Kara might be the best person to go with me. She’s an expert in rescue techniques.”
“He’s right,” Kara agreed. “I should go in your place, Alex.”
“Maybe we should go together,” Alex suggested.
“I don’t mean to sound morbid,” Anne offered, “but if anything were to happen to both of you, Allie would—”
“You’re right, of course,” Alex said, cutting Anne off before the awful words were out of her mouth. His face was tight with anguish. Stepping forward, he gave his wife a hug and a kiss. “Be careful,” he said.
“I will,” she whispered, holding him close for a few extra seconds.
The decision made, Logan and Kara roped together and began climbing farther up the mountain. The rest of the group tied into a second rope and started on the hour-long descent to Camp Muir.
With Alex in front and Anne in the rear, the group moved as quickly as it could down Ingraham Glacier. The snow was falling heavily now, and it was difficult to see where the crevasses were. Nancy nearly slipped and fell several times.
On top of Cathedral Rocks Alex made everyone stop to eat something, even though they were all eager to get to the safety and shelter of Camp Muir.
Nancy felt a sense of relief when her feet touched the flatter, more secure ground of Cowlitz Glacier. Unfortunately, the flat openness made it the perfect place for howling winds and falling snow to gather speed. Nancy squinted through the snow as she made her way across this final stretch to camp.
Within another half hour the group had arrived safely back at Camp Muir. Alex immediately used the radio in the shelter to call the ranger, but just as he had feared, they were shorthanded and couldn’t send a chopper up unless there was a definite emergency.
“But there may be two people trapped by an avalanche on the upper Ingraham Glacier,” Alex said into the radio’s receiver.
“I realize that,” the ranger’s voice crackled over the radio. “But you’re talking about a rescue at twelve thousand feet. I can’t bring the helicopter to that kind of elevation unless I’m certain it’s absolutely necessary, especially with the storm that’s setting in. I know you feel helpless, and I do, too. But I can’t do it.”
“No,” Alex responded, sighing. “I suppose you can’t.”
“Let me know if anything further develops,” the ranger said.
“I will,” Alex said. Then he signed off.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group was sitting in a group on the floor, trying to comfort Lisa. “Your uncle will be fine,” Eladio was saying. “He’s been climbing for more than twenty years.”
“But if he was hit by an avalanche, his experience wouldn’t matter,” Lisa said through her tears. “Avalanches kill hundreds of people every year.”
Nancy knew that what Lisa said was true, and in spite of all the lies the young woman had told in the past few days, Nancy’s heart went out to her.
“Kara is one of the best mountaineers in the country,” Anne said as she put an arm around Lisa. “If anyone can handle this situation, she can.”
Lisa smiled weakly. “I know,” she said, wiping her eyes. “It’s just that I feel so helpless.”
“We all do,” Anne said quietly. “We just have to think positively while we wait it out.”
“And know that the two best people for the job are out there trying to find your uncle right now,” Ned added. “Because Logan knows exactly what he’s doing, too.”
“I bet Alex will be sorry to lose Logan,” Nancy commented.
“Where’s he going?” Anne asked.
“He’s been offered a sponsorship by Recreational Gear,” Nancy explained. “He’ll be going on the European tour in about a month.”
Confusion crossed Anne’s face as she listened to Nancy. “That’s impossible,” she said, shaking her head. “They’ve just offered me a sponsorship, and they only take one climber a year.”
“Are you sure?” Nancy asked, thinking that information might be important to the case. “Maybe the company has made an exception.”
“No,” Anne said matter-of-factly. “I just spoke with them this week, and they said that I’ll be their only climber this year.” She leaned toward Nancy. “And believe me,” she said in a whisper, “I’d love it if Logan and I were sponsored by the same company.” She smiled knowingly, and Nancy knew for sure that Anne was hoping for a relationship with Logan. But she didn’t have time to think about that. . . .
Images of Logan over the past few days were flashing through Nancy’s mind. Logan had tried to suggest that Alex’s car accident was the result of bald tires, when in fact the vehicle had been sabotaged. He had also said that he was a car buff—that he liked to tinker around with engines. That meant that he probably had the know-how to mess up the steering on Kara’s car.
Nancy next remembered overhearing Logan try to convince Tsu to let him go on the trip in her place. The very next day Tsu was injured so that she couldn’t go on the climb. As an active climber, Logan could have fixed the rope so that it would break without making it too obvious.
Logan had also given Alex an ultimatum when it looked as if he was going to be passed over for taking Tsu’s place on the Rainier trip. The ultimatum had seemed normal at the time, but now Nancy guessed that it was all part of his plan. Logan must have known that his friend would give in.
Why would Logan have lied about his sponsorship at Recreational Gear, though? Nancy wondered. Probably to divert suspicion from himself, she concluded. Then everyone would think he had a great future and no reason to resent Kara for edging him out of Alpine Adventures.
With a sense of dread, Nancy recalled Logan suggesting that Kara would be the best person to go up the mountain with him.
A shiver ran up Nancy’s spine as she realized that Logan could well be the villain. And he was out on the mountain with Kara right now—in the middle of a snowstorm!
Chapter
Fifteen
HORRIFIED, NANCY PULLED ALEX aside. “Alex,” she whispered. “I’ve got some awful news.”
“With four people on the mountain in a storm and no chance for a rescue, I don’t think things could get much worse,” Alex responded dryly. “What is it?” he finally asked.
“I think Logan has been causing all the trouble,” Nancy said.
“That’s impossible, Nancy. Logan is my best friend. He’d never do anything to hurt me or Alpine Adventures.”
“He gave up a lot to come and set up this business with you, and now that Kara’s getting back into climbing—”
“But that doesn’t matter anymore,” Alex interrupted. “He’s got a terrific sponsorship, and his climbing future has never been brighter.”
“His sponsorship is a lie—it doesn’t exist,” Nancy said.
“How do you know?” Alex questioned.
“Anne just told me the company is sponsoring her—and she’s their only climber this year.”
“And you believe Anne—Kara’s competitor—over Logan?” Alex asked incredulously.
He had a point, and Nancy realized that Alex would have a hard time thinking Logan was anything but a good friend. She felt certain, though, that her suspicions were correct—she just had to make him see it. So she rattled off the clues that had brought her to her conclusion.
“Look, Nancy,” Alex said angrily when she’d finished. “Logan and I have been through everything together. I don’t expect you to understand this, but he’d do anything for me. And I’d do anything for him.”
“Would you let him kill your wife?” Nancy asked quietly.
“Of course not,” Alex responded hotly. “But he wouldn’t hurt her. That’s what I’m telling you. I trust Logan completely. In fact, he’s the only person who knows about your investigation besides Kara and me.”
“What?” Nancy’s eyes widened.
“It seemed silly to keep it from him,” Alex said, uncomfortably. “I tell Logan everything.”
“When exactly did you tell him?” Nancy questioned.
“On Friday morning. He said he didn’t think the police were going to follow through on things, and it seemed natural to tell him that you were working on the case, so I did,” he answered.
“He never let on to me that he knew,” Nancy said. “Why do you suppose he’d keep that from me?”
“I don’t know,” Alex admitted. “Come to think of it, that’s when he told me that he thought Hank Moody was responsible. I thought it was a little odd that he said it just at that point, because we’d been talking about the case for at least fifteen minutes and he hadn’t mentioned that he thought it was Hank until then.”
Nancy was finally getting through to Alex.
Just then Ned approached the two of them. “Nancy,” he said excitedly, “Anne just told me something that I think might be important. The annual guide presentation was canceled this year,” he said. “Apparently not enough people signed up, so they called it off a few days before the event.”
“Logan’s alibi is gone,” Nancy said, nodding. “He told me he was at the presentation the night of the break-in.”
Just then, Anne approached them somewhat sheepishly. “I’ve a confession to make,” she told them. “I didn’t have dinner with friends in Seattle last Wednesday. I had dinner in Enum-claw with Logan. He made me promise to keep our date a secret. I thought maybe he had another girlfriend, but now I realize he didn’t want me to wreck his alibi.”
“You’re right, Nancy,” Alex said. “I hate to admit it, but it must be Logan. I’ve got to go after them.”
“I’m coming with you,” Nancy said.
“No.” Alex shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Alex, you can’t go out there alone,” Nancy said with determination.
He paused for a moment, then nodded slowly. “All right.”
Within minutes, Nancy and Alex were roped together and ready to go.
Ned gave Nancy a kiss goodbye. “Take care,” he whispered as he gave her a last-minute squeeze.
Nancy nodded. “I will,” she said. Then she and Alex headed back up the mountain.
The snow was tapering off and the clouds seemed to be dispersing, but the wind was fierce. Nancy was instantly chilled.
With the wind whipping around her, Nancy began to question the wisdom of their search. The snow had completely covered any tracks that might have been left behind. With a sinking feeling, Nancy realized that it was possible th
ey would miss Logan and Kara altogether.
Nancy didn’t hear Alex shout a warning until it was too late. As she stepped forward, Nancy slipped and fell, on the edge of a crevasse. Her legs dangled over the edge of the deep ice crack. Instinctively, Nancy dug her ice ax into the glacier to keep herself from slipping any farther while Alex came to help her. He pulled her up and away from the crevasse.
Sitting near the edge of the glacier, Nancy realized how exhausted she was. There wasn’t time to be tired; she had to keep going, she knew.
Nancy finally stood up. “Let’s go,” she said.
The two continued up the glacier, passing the point where they had turned back earlier. By now the snow had stopped completely. The clouds were dispersing, and at moments the sunlight was painfully bright.
“We’ve been making good time,” Alex called back.
Nancy nodded and kept moving forward. Her legs and head were throbbing, but she steeled herself as she continued to put one foot in front of the other.
“Look!” Alex shouted minutes later. “It’s them!”
Nancy recognized Logan and Kara about two hundred yards ahead, standing still. She and Alex began walking faster. When they were about thirty yards away, Nancy realized that Logan and Kara weren’t just standing—they were struggling with each other, right at the edge of a wide crevasse!
“I gave up my career for this company, and I won’t be shut out now,” Logan was shouting.
“Logan, no,” Alex shouted, closing in on him.
Just then Logan pulled something out of his pocket—and with a gasp Nancy saw that he had a knife.
He grabbed the rope that held him and Kara together and sliced through it in a single, quick motion. Then he pushed Kara toward the edge of the crevasse!
At that same moment Alex cut himself free from Nancy and hurled himself toward Logan. Kara fell into the crevasse, her rope trailing behind her.
While Alex and Logan struggled, Nancy loosened her rope and crawled to the edge of the crevasse. Looking down, she was horrified by what she saw. The crevasse was about two hundred feet deep, and Kara was clinging to the side of it about a quarter of the way down!