Fatal Ransom

  “So’s my shoulder,” grunted Lance, but he tried once more. That time the door burst open, and the two of them ran in—to an empty bathroom.

  “Oh, no!” gasped Nancy. She raced to the window and looked down, dreading the sight that awaited her.

  But there was no one on the patio. And no sign of anyone having jumped.

  “What’s going on here?” Nancy asked.

  Then she saw Monica. She was standing on the ledge outside the window, just a few feet out of reach. Her eyes were wild, and she was poised to jump.

  “Don’t try to stop me!” she said.

  Lance had rushed to Nancy’s side. “Monica, come in, you idiot! Stop making a scene!” he shouted. No one’s going to hurt you! Don’t be ridiculous!” He turned to Nancy and said, “She’s just doing it to get attention. She won’t jump or anything.”

  “I know,” Nancy whispered back to him. “But this isn’t the way to get her back inside!”

  “Monica,” she said out loud, “I’m sorry if I upset you. I didn’t mean to.”

  “Upset me? Upset me! You accuse me of murder and then try to apologize?”

  “I wasn’t accusing you of murder,” Nancy said calmly. “I’m sorry if it looked that way to you. If you’ll come back inside, I promise I’ll stop pestering you.”

  Monica looked at her suspiciously.

  “I promise,” Nancy repeated. “Don’t you know that if you’re innocent, you have nothing to worry about? Now come on back inside. We don’t want to hurt you.” There was a long silence.

  Nancy held out her hand. “See, you can just take my hand and walk back inside,” she said, coaxing her.

  Slowly Monica reached out and took Nancy’s hand. “That’s it; that’s right,” Nancy said, encouraging her. And she pulled Monica in through the window.

  Monica sagged against the wall and slid to the floor.

  “I’m so tired,” she moaned. “So tired.”

  “Of course you are,” Nancy said. “Why don’t you let Lance call someone to put you to bed? You’ve had a big day.” She nodded over her shoulder at Lance, and he vanished down the hall.

  In a second he came back with a comfortable-looking older woman. “Mrs. Bracken, my secretary,” he said to Nancy. “Sorry you have to meet under these circumstances.”

  “Come on, Ms. Sloane,” said Mrs. Bracken cheerfully. “Let’s get you to bed.”

  As Nancy and Lance watched, Mrs. Bracken helped Monica to her feet and urged her down the hall to her bedroom. The door closed behind them.

  Lance turned to Nancy. “Thank you,” he said. “That’s an incredible thing you just did.”

  “All in a day’s work,” Nancy said lightly. “Let’s go downstairs.”

  “Whew!” she said when they were back in the living room. “Mind if I sit down?”

  “Please do,” answered Lance. “I think I will too. Well, now you know how exciting life gets around here.”

  “Yes,” Nancy said. “You have my sympathy.”

  “She wouldn’t really have hurt you, you know,” said Lance. “She always stops herself in time. But I’m certainly glad you were here—and that you managed to keep your wits.”

  “Anyway, it’s over now,” said Nancy. “I hate to say it, but we should get back to the main subject. Did you get the ransom money?”

  Lance smiled wanly. “You know, I’d forgotten all about that. Yes, I did get it—with help from your father’s office. I had to get a letter from one of his assistants in order to make the withdrawal,” he said. “My banker looked at me kind of funny when I asked for four hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars in cash, but there was no problem, really.”

  His mention of the money reminded Nancy of something that had been nagging her since the beginning of the case. Suddenly she knew what it was.

  “Why that particular amount?” she asked Lance. “Why do you think the kidnappers didn’t ask for five hundred thousand dollars? Why not round it up? Four hundred and seventy-five thousand seems like such a weird figure.”

  “I—I never thought of that,” Lance confessed. “I—maybe it just seemed like a more reasonable amount. You know—not too little, not too much. Like when something’s priced at nine ninety-nine instead of ten dollars.”

  “It still seems odd to me,” said Nancy. She sighed. “Well, I’d better get back to the mall to check on George. If Monica’s not the link to this case, then George could be in a lot of danger.”

  “You’re right,” Lance said as he held the door open for her.

  “Oh, and don’t let Monica go anywhere. No matter what she says, and what you think, she’s still a suspect in this case. I’d appreciate it if you’d find someone who can keep an eye on her for the next few days,” Nancy said.

  “All right.”

  At that minute the phone rang. Lance ran to pick it up in the foyer. “Lance Colson here,” he said.

  Then his eyes widened. He motioned to Nancy to get on another extension. “It’s the kidnappers!” he mouthed.

  Nancy raced into the den and carefully picked up the phone in there. It was George! Nancy’s body turned cold as she listened.

  “Noon tomorrow at the east end of the footbridge,” George was saying. “Don’t be late, or you’ll never see Hal again.”

  Chapter

  Ten

  NANCY HUNG UP the phone and raced back into the foyer to Lance.

  “That was George!” she said. “She’s penetrated the kidnapping ring! Those kids I saw on the tape with Hal must be the kidnappers!”

  “You mean that was your friend on the phone?” Lance asked.

  “Yes.” Nancy smiled. “I knew she could do it. She’s great, isn’t she? She convinced them to make her one of them, and now they have her making the ransom calls!”

  Suddenly her enthusiasm faded. “Of course, it’s also possible,” she said, “that they’re on to us. They may have kidnapped George too. They may just be making her do their dirty work. But I think we’d better proceed according to what she said to you.”

  “Before you picked up the phone,” Lance said, “she told me to go to Liberty Park. Alone. The drop is to be made at the footbridge at noon.”

  “I heard that last part,” Nancy said. “Do exactly what she told you. If we haven’t gotten Hal back by tomorrow, I’ll be at the park early to see what I can do then. I’ll try to follow them back to where they have Hal hidden.”

  Lance grabbed her arm. “But what if they get away?” he asked fiercely. “What happens then?”

  Stepping back and taking a deep breath, Nancy answered, “It’s my job to see that they don’t get away.”

  Lance snorted. “That’s a comfort.”

  Was he being sarcastic? Nancy didn’t know, but his words smarted. “I guess I forgot to tell you that this wouldn’t be all champagne and roses!” she snapped.

  “Hey, I’m sorry. I was just kidding,” Lance protested.

  “Well, there’s nothing to laugh about. I think you should know what I’ve known all along. The longer it takes to get Hal back, the greater the odds are that we’ll never get him back. Alive, anyway. I know you’re under a lot of pressure, but you’d better get hold of yourself. Because we’re down to the wire, and if George and I can’t find your nephew before tomorrow, some very serious stuff will be going down in that park tomorrow at noon.”

  Lance looked like a kid who’d just been yelled at by his mother. “Just tell me what you want me to do,” he said quietly. “I’m on your side, remember?”

  “Are you?” Nancy asked. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Anyway, I’m leaving for the mall now. You stay here in case George or anyone else calls. I’ll be in touch.” And she marched out of the house.

  On her way to the mall she passed Bess, who was driving in the opposite direction.

  Bess started honking and waving, and Nancy pulled over to the side of the road and waited as Bess circled around to join her. Bess hopped out of her car and came running over to Nancy’s.

/>   “George left the mall with that tall, skinny guy with the Mohawk,” she panted. “I tried to follow them, but a whole bunch of them were on motorcycles and in a car. They lost me in the traffic. There was nothing I could do.”

  “Oh, no,” Nancy said, sighing.

  “I think George might be in trouble!” Bess was actually wringing her hands. “What are we going to do, Nancy? I tried to follow her, just the way you said, but they were just too fast. What if they’ve taken her off someplace to kill her? It’ll be all my fault!”

  “Bess,” Nancy said, getting out of her car and taking Bess by the shoulders. “Think a minute. Did George look as though she was really in trouble? Did she look as if she was being forced to leave?”

  “Well, no,” Bess answered. “I don’t think so.” She started to fidget again. “But how else can you explain it? Why would she have gone off with that bunch of creeps?”

  “You know George as well as I do,” Nancy said. “She sometimes tends to be a little overconfident. Maybe that’s what happened.” Nancy paused for a moment. “But I think that this time she may be playing a more dangerous game than she knows.”

  “Wait, why do you say that?” Bess asked. “I thought you weren’t worried.”

  Nancy told Bess about the call George had made to Lance.

  “George did that?” Bess gasped.

  Nancy nodded. “There’s no way of knowing if they’re on to her or not. But one thing we do know is that they should be pretty excited about getting the money tomorrow.”

  “I wonder how many of them there are,” said Bess. “Four hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars could be split among a lot of people.”

  “I guess you’re right,” said Nancy. A car whizzed by, then another. “I think it would be a good idea if you’d cruise the streets tonight, Bess. See if you can spot any of those kids on bikes or in cars. And if you see George, stay with her.”

  Bess looked away from Nancy and lowered her head. “I think that’s a good idea, Nan, but since I’ve already lost George once, don’t you think you should handle the cruising stuff? You’re better at it than I.”

  “You can handle it,” Nancy said reassuringly. “I have to go back to the mall. I hope I can find Amy Tyler. Now that we know some of Hal’s friends are involved, I think Lance may be right—Amy may be involved in the kidnapping.”

  • • •

  The last couple hours of the afternoon passed slowly. By five o’clock Nancy had all but given up. People were starting to go home for supper, and Nancy’s feet were starting to hurt.

  How could I have spent so much time here and not seen something that will help? she thought. Besides spending a lot of time, she had also spent a lot of money—it was the only way to hang around in the stores without making salespeople suspicious. Nancy was now the owner of a new purse, four new pairs of socks, three records, and six magazines, unwelcome souvenirs of an unsuccessful afternoon.

  Nancy had just decided it was time to quit and contact Lance again. She was heading for one of the mall exits when she saw George and the guy with the Mohawk walking hand in hand into the fast-food restaurant about ten feet from Nancy.

  Her heart pounding, Nancy fell into step behind them. Once she was inside she pretended to scrutinize the overhead menu, all the while unobtrusively moving closer to George and her new “friend.”

  “Let’s get something to drink, Sam,” she heard George say. “I’m dry after being on that bike all afternoon.” Sam agreed.

  Nancy made her way to the closest food server. “Small cola, please,” she said. George and Sam were right behind her.

  “Hang on a minute,” Nancy said to the waitress. “I know my wallet’s here somewhere.” Actually she knew exactly where it was, but she wanted to make sure George had seen her.

  “Hey, hurry up, will you?” said Sam in back of her. “My girlfriend’s thirsty.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry—wait—oh, here it is!” Nancy produced the wallet with a flourish, then turned around and flashed Sam a big smile. “Sorry,” she said. “You know how it is sometimes.”

  “Sure I do—for morons like you,” Sam answered.

  George burst into exaggerated laughter. She was practically doubled over, laughing so hard she couldn’t see—and then she crashed into Nancy and knocked Nancy’s soda onto the floor.

  “Oh!” she gasped. “Sorry.” She grabbed some napkins and started wiping up the spill.

  “Why bother?” asked Sam. “It wasn’t your fault—it was hers for getting in the way!”

  Nancy knew something was going on. But she didn’t know what until, under one of the napkins, George slipped her a note.

  Surprised, Nancy fumbled for a second. The note fell to the floor, and she quickly reached down to pick it up.

  But before her hand could get to the note, a big dirty tennis shoe with no laces slid across the top of it.

  Nancy didn’t need to look up. She knew Sam had seen the whole thing. He picked up the note and put it in his shirt pocket. Quietly and without making a scene, he grabbed George by the arm and with his other hand encircled Nancy’s wrist.

  Through clenched teeth and a fake smile, he looked at them and said, “What’s going on here?”

  Chapter

  Eleven

  GEORGE LOOKED TOO shocked to speak. Nancy figured they’d be better off if George stayed out of it.

  “That’s exactly what I’d like to know. What is going on here?” Nancy said. Her voice was loud and demanding, and she saw that the sheer force of her determination made George revive a little.

  Nancy glared at George. “You clumsy idiot.” She was making a big thing of brushing off her skirt and wiping the sticky soda off her hands. “You punks are all alike. Think you own this mall. I would like to shop here, but animals like you are the reason real people are staying away from this place in droves.”

  “Yeah? Well, why don’t you go join your drove?” Sam asked.

  “Oh, forget it,” said George. “This goody-goody preppy is not worth wasting our time on. Let’s not let her wreck the day any more than she already has.” She took Sam’s arm. “She’s really made a mess of everything,” she said, looking down at her feet. “If she’d been watching where she was going, I wouldn’t have gotten soda on my stockings.”

  Sam looked down at the soda splattered on George’s ankles. “You going to pay to have those cleaned?” he asked Nancy.

  Nancy snickered. “Have stockings cleaned? What a stupid thing to say.” She wrinkled her nose at George. “Anyway, they were probably filthy to begin with.”

  “Let’s just forget our drinks and go,” George said, trying to pull Sam away with her. “She’s a loser.”

  “You’re right, babe,” Sam said. “The place is full of them.”

  Sam grabbed George’s arm and started to walk away.

  He still had the note in his pocket! “Just a minute, please,” said Nancy, trying not to sound too urgent. “I want my grocery list back.”

  “Now what are you talking about?” asked Sam.

  “The list I dropped on the floor. The one you put your big dirty foot on.”

  Sam suddenly looked suspicious.

  “I’m going to call mall security if you don’t give it back right now,” Nancy said. For a second she wondered what would happen if she ran into Lester Mathers again. “Come on. Cough it up.”

  The look in George’s eyes was unmistakable. Nancy knew George would be in big trouble if anyone else read that note.

  “Give her the list, babe,” George whined. “And let’s get out of here. She’s getting on my head in a very bad way.”

  Sam threw George an angry glance. “I don’t let my girlfriends tell me what to do!” he growled. “The sooner you learn that, the better.” He took a deep breath and turned back to Nancy.

  “Go ahead—call mall security. Call the police. Call the National Guard if you want. I’m not giving it back.” He yanked on George’s arm and looked back over his shoulder at Nancy.
“Make yourself a new list, mighty mouth. You’re not getting this one.” He patted his pocket and grinned at her.

  Nancy saw terror fill George’s eyes again as the two walked away. What could she do?

  She couldn’t really go to mall security. Lester Mathers wouldn’t buy another one of her stories, especially when she wasn’t sure he’d bought the first one. And pressing Sam any further had to be a mistake.

  He seemed to forget about the note until I asked for it, Nancy thought. Maybe he’ll forget about it again. Maybe George can figure out a way to get it back.

  Nancy dropped back and followed George and Sam through the mall. With every step she became more worried about George. What was going to happen if Sam did read the note? Nancy was sure George had been trying to tell her something about the kidnapping—and even George wouldn’t be able to come up with a decent story this time.

  Nancy crept along behind the pair, then suddenly stopped. George and Sam had halted just a few feet ahead of her.

  They were talking to the big guy who’d been on the tape—the one who’d been talking to Sam and Hal. Seen in person, he looked like Goliath—big, mean, and dumb. Nancy inched a little closer, keeping her face away from the trio, and pretended to be window-shopping.

  In a few seconds Amy Tyler had joined the group. Uh-huh, Lance was right, Nancy thought. Amy is in on the kidnapping.

  But as she kept her eye on the group, she began to wonder if that was really true. Amy seemed to be asking the boys something. She looked as if she was begging, in fact. And they weren’t telling her what she wanted to hear.

  Amy started yelling at the big guy, but Nancy couldn’t understand what she was saying. She did see her wave her arms agitatedly in the air. Suddenly the big guy stepped forward and shoved her—hard. Amy reeled backward and fell to the ground. George bent to help her up, but Sam angrily yanked George back.

  George looked wildly around her. Was she trying to find Nancy?

  If only I were closer! Nancy thought. If only I could hear them—or at least let George know I haven’t abandoned her!