028 The Black Widow

  Randy smirked. "Grunt stuff*. The menial work. I let Tony Ribeiro handle most of those details, which, by the way, was a mistake Fm not going to repeat. He almost blew everything, the idiot. If he hadn't threatened the da Silva woman and made her suspicious, I would've been able to charm that drawing out of her. And if he hadn't messed up the early attempts to get rid of you, I wouldn't have to bother with you now."

  "Why did you save my life at Paranagua?" Nancy couldn't help asking.

  Randy frowned. "That motorcycle was Tony's idea. He hired a local to run you down and didn't even tell me until after all the arrangements were made. But Fm the boss—Fm the one calling the shots around here! So I screwed up his plan to teach him a lesson. He had to learn that no plan could work without my say-so."

  "I see," Nancy commented dryly. She was thinking, Boy, this guy sure has delusions of grandeur! Why didn't I notice it before?

  "Besides, it was too obvious," Randy was saying. "All of Tony's plans were too obvious— which isn't going to look very good at his trial, you know. Those attempted murders can all be traced to him. But my tracks are covered. Who's going to believe him when he tries to point the finger at me? Nobody. And that means a nice long jail term for him and a big, fat stack of money for me."

  "So you'd sell out your own partner," Nancy muttered.

  "Welcome to the real world," Randy said softly. He chuckled. "Would you like to hear what happens now?"

  Nancy's mouth went dry. Was this it?

  "Don't worry, blue eyes," Randy taunted as he saw her fear. "You've still got a few more minutes. "Fm talking about what happens to your dear old dad and the charming widow when I tell them that you sent me because you're in trouble and couldn't come yourself. Fm talking about what happens when we three get into this car, and the coupling begins to go, and I go up on the roof to check it out."

  Nancy gasped. He was going to kill her father and Nina, too!

  "You see, there's a particularly nasty spot down there on the ground below us, where a bunch of sharp rocks stick up out of the grass. And if anyone fell onto those rocks from this height, car or no car, they'd be killed instantly."

  Crack! There was a sharp report on the roof. At that instant, the lights in the cable car winked out. Now or never! Nancy thought, and shot straight up from her seat to butt Randy in the chin with her head.

  Randy let go of her hair and reeled backward, cursing. Without thinking, Nancy threw herself forward, trying to knock the knife from his hand.

  Even as Nancy twisted and rolled. Randy tightened his grip on the knife. She dove for it but barely missed. She slammed against the floor with her left shoulder and lay there dazed for a second.

  It was one second too long. Randy tackled her, slapping the knife against her neck. A low growl of rage came from his throat as he dragged her to her feet and pushed her back into the seat.

  "So you want to play rough, huh?" Randy panted. Out of breath, Nancy didn't answer. She'd need all the help she could get. He was insane!

  Randy shook her, his mouth twisted in a horrible imitation of a grin. His teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

  Randy paused. In the moment of stillness, Nancy heard the roof creak again. It almost sounded as if there was someone up there. If only!

  ''Well, playtime's over. No more fun and games,'' Randy said in her ear. Turning her around, he shoved her so that she stumbled over to the doorway.

  Without warning. Randy reached over and unlatched the door. Realizing what he meant to do, Nancy aimed a desperate kick at his knife hand, but he danced out of her way. "Bon voyage, Nancy Drew," he whispered.

  Then he pushed her out!

  Chapter Seventeen

  As Nancy started to fall, she grasped desperately at the cable car, twisting her body in the air. As her right hand closed around something that stuck out from beside the door, she felt a searing pain in her right shoulder.

  But she wasn't falling anymore. She had grabbed one of the safety rails on the outside of the cable car.

  With a stifled groan, she brought her left hand up to grip the bar. Her right shoulder throbbed agonizingly, but she was alive—and determined to stay that way.

  Randy was standing with his back to her at the front of the car, enjoying the view of the approaching mountain.

  Nancy began a slow, excruciating hand-overhand climb up the vertical rail. If only she had enough strength to hoist herself up to the roof of the car before Randy turned around!

  With a shudder, Nancy clenched her teeth and reached for a higher grip on the bar.

  Suddenly, her blood froze. Her hand wasn't holding the metal of the bar anymore. It had been grasped by a human hand!

  "I've got you, Nancy,'' came a whisper from above.

  Nancy looked up. It was a miracle—Ned! He must have climbed on the roof before the car left the landing! It had been his weight swaying the car.

  Blinking back tears of relief, Nancy managed to squeeze Ned's hand. His grip tightened on hers reassuringly. Then he reached down and grabbed her aching right arm.

  Nancy tried to stifle her yelp of pain, but it was too late. Randy had heard her. He turned, surprised, and saw Nancy hanging in the open doorway of the cable car.

  His face split in a cruel smile as he said, "My detective friend, lovely as you are, you are really becoming quite a pest."

  He started toward the door, the knife glinting in the moonlight.

  "Oh, no you don't!" Nancy said between clenched teeth. Knowing Ned had her firmly by both hands, she ignored the tearing in her shoulder as she kicked out and back with her full weight.

  Nancy aimed her kick at Randy's stomach and, just as he struck out with the knife, she caught him with both feet squarely in the solar plexus.

  Clutching at his stomach and gasping for breath. Randy lost hold of the knife as he fell backward. He hit his head sharply on the edge of a seat and lay still.

  The knife skittered across the floor of the car and fell, spinning, into the darkness below.

  Ned began to haul Nancy up, inching back on his belly across the top of the car. When he tugged on her right arm, she saw white stars. She clenched her teeth as he slowly pulled her up and over, grunting with the effort. There was a terrifying moment when she thought he was going to drop her, but at last they lay panting on the roof.

  "Ned, how in the world—"

  "Shh. Don't talk." Ned drew her into his arms and held her for a long moment.

  "Just how did you end up on the roof?''

  "I'm only sorry I couldn't get in there to help you, but this door is stuck," he said, pointing to the rooftop emergency hatch.

  "After I went back to the ship, Ribeiro came

  back, too. I was hiding under the gangplank, and he walked right over my head! And he wasn't alone! So I tagged along. Well—'' Ned broke off as they heard Randy stirring below them.

  Nancy figured out how to release the catch on the emergency hatch and they scrambled down through the opening.

  Randy Wolfe was rubbing his head, attempting to sit up. When he saw Ned and Nancy leaping down on him, he tried to stand, looking wildly around for his knife.

  "You won't be needing that knife where you're going!" Ned cleared the two yards between them in one jump and locked Randy in a full nelson.

  ''Better give up. Randy," Nancy advised the struggling man.

  "You two think you've got something on me?" Randy asked as Nancy tied his legs together with her belt. "Well, think again!" Randy's face was red, and his eyes bulged with rage. "Who's going to believe some harebrained girl detective and her muscle-headed boyfriend?"

  "Well, for starters, them." Nancy pointed to her father, Nina da Silva, and Captain Brant waiting at the mountaintop cable landing with a few others.

  "What happened? Who's in there—Nancy! Are you all right?" Carson Drew impatiently pulled the doors open just as the car arrived.

  "Carson was looking out the window and saw

  the lights go out, and people on top of the car, and
he realized something was wrong,'' Captain Brant put in.

  Nancy ran to her father and gave him the biggest hug her shoulder would allow.

  "You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" Nancy felt the tension of the last few minutes—it seemed like hours!—falling away from her, and she clung to her father for a moment.

  Then she pointed to Ned, who was holding the now sullen and disheveled Randy in a wrestler's grip.

  "I think we can call the police now," she said quietly.

  Chapter Eighteen

  "I'm telling you, you could have knocked me over with a feather!" Matt Jordan said, shaking his head admiringly.

  It was the next morning, and Ned, Nancy, Carson, and the Jordans were gathered on the terrace in front of the Imperial Hotel for a late breakfast. The Jordans had been at the restaurant by chance the night before, and Matt was so excited about what had happened that for once he couldn't seem to stop talking.

  He went on, "When Melissa and I came out to the landing, and we saw the police arriving to take Randy away, and then Captain Brant said that Randy tried to kill Nancy, well. . ."

  Matt trailed off, his ears turning red as he realized everyone at the table was listening to him.

  "It was like a movie!'' Melissa picked up the end of her husband's sentence. "I mean, just think about it! Here's Nancy, the beautiful young undercover agent—"

  "Let's not get carried away, Melissa," Nancy interrupted, laughing.

  "Nancy, you've got to let me tell this story right." Melissa shook her fork at Nancy in mock severity. "Although why I'm still friends with you, when you never once let on that anything fimny was going on—even when we asked you! —is beyond me."

  "Hey, give me a break!" Nancy reached for the platter of fried plantains. "I didn't know what was going on. At one point I suspected practically everyone on the ship of being involved in some huge conspiracy! For all I knew, you two could have had a cabin full of black widow spiders, just waiting to be used on your victims."

  "Us?" Melissa shrieked. "Nancy Drew, I can't believe you thought that about us."

  As Nancy opened her mouth to protest, Melissa waved her to silence. "I don't want to hear it. I've had enough. I don't want to hear another word from you."

  Then the twinkle in Melissa's dark eyes gave her away. "Unless, of course, you want to tell us what really did happen,'' Melissa added, grinning conspiratorially at Matt.

  ''Well, as I said, for a long time I was really in the dark myself,'' Nancy began. She told them about the chocolate box full of spiders, and the conversation she had overheard on the Pearl Deck, and the attempts on her own life.

  "So, from the very first day of the cruise, I knew there was something wrong aboard the Emerald Queen. But no one else seemed to think so."

  Nancy sneaked a glance at her father. Nina da Silva had caught an early flight to Miami that morning, after Carson had seen her off.

  "Nancy means I was being a little thickheaded,'' he put in. "Which is very true. I couldn't see the forest for the trees." Carson Drew's eyes were tired and a little sad, but he smiled at his daughter anyway.

  "See, the confusing thing about this case was that for the longest time all I had was a bunch of suspects," Nancy went on. "Here were all these people acting very much like criminals, but I couldn't see that any crime was being committed."

  "There was no crime, right?" Ned asked. "I mean, the actual crime—the emerald heist— happened a year ago."

  "Exactly." Nancy nodded and took a sip of coffee. "Here's what really happened." She told them about Hector da Silva and his money problems.

  "Hector couldn't stand to lose the cruise line completely, though," Nancy continued. "He stayed on as general manager of the Emerald Queen. I think that even then he was still hoping that someday he'd be able to come up with the money to buy back the line from the new owners.

  "So when a bright young crewman named Randy Wolfe suggested a foolproof way to steal a consignment of cut emeralds and sell them on the black market. Hector couldn't resist. Randy would hijack the consignment and deliver it to Hector."

  "But wait a minute, Nancy," intennpted Carson Drew, "How did Antonio Ribeiro get in on all this? If I remember right, he was your number-one suspect all along."

  "I'll get there, Dad," Nancy said with a twinkle. "Anyway, all Hector had to do then was hide the gems on the Emerald Queen and then notify the buyer in Miami. He wouldn't have to do any of the dirty work, and yet he'd end up millions of dollars richer."

  Nancy took a sip of her orange juice. "My guess is that Antonio Ribeiro somehow found out about the whole plan." She looked at her father. "Remember when Mrs. da Silva said that Hector and Ribeiro got very friendly around that time? Well, it wasn't really a friendship—

  Ribeiro was trying to blackmail Hector da Silva into sharing the wealth."

  Carson Drew nodded. "I see."

  Nancy went on with her story. ''By this time. Randy had gone to Europe, and Hector didn't know what to do. He wasn't a natural criminal, so rather than do what Randy might have done —that is, kill Ribeiro—Hector simply changed the hiding place of the emeralds, and then notified Randy by letter that they were in a new place."

  ''Hold on a minute," Matt broke in, his face lined with confusion. "Fm lost. If Randy was in Europe, how could he be stealing emeralds in South America?"

  "That was something that really threw me at first, too," Nancy confessed. "Until the very end, I assumed that Randy couldn't have had anything to do with the emerald thefts, because he was in Europe around the time they happened. But he slipped up when he lied and told me he'd never worked aboard the Emerald Queen before. Then, when I found out that he had, I wondered why he'd lied about it."

  "Obviously," Ned put in, "Randy didn't want you to think he had any connection with da Silva."

  "Right," Nancy said. "Actually, he left right after the emeralds were stolen—I'll bet that the records would prove that he left the morning the theft was discovered. When he first came up with

  his plan, he gave himself an alibi in advance by asking to be transferred to Europe. He could wait to collect his share of the profits until after the investigation trail cooled off."

  "I think I see where you're going/' Ned said excitedly. ''Hector couldn't just tell Randy right out where the emeralds were hidden. You said that Hector was being investigated in connection with the theft, right? So his mail was probably under surveillance—he had to put everything in code."

  "Smart boy!" Nancy squeezed Ned's hand under the table. "You're ri^t again.

  "Hector was really into codes, according to Mrs. da Silva. He wrote this letter to Randy, letting him know about the change of plans in some subtle way, and tried to convey the key to decoding the drawing that he had made. That letter, by the way, caused me major confusion— Randy had given a copy to Ribeiro, and that night when I asked you to cover for me, Melissa, I found it in Ribeiro's room. Since it was addressed to jR, I assumed that Hector had written it to Ribeiro. It never occurred to me to wonder why Ribeiro would have a copy of the letter instead of the original."

  "But why didn't Hector just send Randy the spider drawing?" asked Melissa. "It sure would have made things a lot simpler."

  Nancy nodded. "Right—but he didn't want

  them to be simple. He didn't trust Randy a hundred percent, and he wanted to be sure Nina got her fair share. So what he actually sent was a code of a code. It was the only way he could ensure Randy's cooperation.

  "Anyway. Besides not having the drawing to tell him where to find the jewels, Randy Wolfe now had another problem on his hands. Ribeiro.

  "Antonio Ribeiro hadn't forgotten about the emeralds, so when Randy came back, Ribeiro threatened to expose him unless Randy cut him in."

  Ned interrupted. "Nancy, something doesn't make sense here. Randy Wolfe is a natural-bom killer. Why not just get rid of Ribeiro?"

  Nancy shook her head. "Randy is very smart. When he found out he had a new—and unwelcome—partner, he decided to let
Ribeiro do all the dirty work. Ribeiro could take care of Mrs. da Silva once Randy got the map. And Randy made sure Ribeiro left a trail that would lead the police right to Ribeiro—but not to Randy himself It was a perfect plan. Ribeiro would get the spider code from Mrs. da Silva, and Randy would get rid of him —after they got the jewels."

  "Incredible. And because of various coincidences," Carson Drew began, "like your overhearing Ribeiro's conversation with Nina, and your finding that letter addressed to R in Ribeiro's cabin, and Nina herself thinking that Ribeiro was the one who had planned it all—''

  "I never even thought of the possibility that the main brain in this case could have been anyone else/' Nancy finished up. She gave a rueful laugh. **It should have been obvious. Such a lot of strange little facts didn't add up. But Ribeiro was so easy to spot that I didn't bother to look any further than that."

  "You still haven't explained how you, Ned, and Randy ended up battling in a cable car thousands of feet up in the air," Matt pointed out.

  Nancy grinned. "I'll let Ned tell you about that," she replied. "He was the hero!"

  "Well—" Ned looked a little embarrassed. "As I was telling Nancy, Ribeiro came back to the Emerald Queen with another guy after he'd chased us off. I was hiding nearby, and I managed to overhear a lot of their conversation.

  "Ribeiro wanted to grab as many of the emeralds as he could and take off before they got caught. But the other guy—who I later found out was Randy Wolfe—was much cooler. He was saying that all they had to do was take care of the two kids—meaning Nancy and me—and then lie low until the ship docked in Miami. Then they could just sell the gems, sit back, and enjoy being rich.

  "But by then Ribeiro was really rattled. He kept saying it was too risky, and he didn't want to risk a murder rap in Rio. I gather the police here can be pretty tough. So finally Randy said that he knew where Nancy and I might be going, and that he'd take care of us himself."