Gene shook his head and pushed his chair back. “Nope. I don’t know what happened to it, but it’s out there somewhere, and I intend to find it.” He stood up and reached for his hat. “Want to ride out with me this morning, Nancy?”
Nancy shook her head. “No, thanks,” she said. “I need to work with Mr. Reigert.” In the bright morning light, her questions about Gene’s honesty and Joe Bob’s complicity had been revived. It was time to tell Mr. Reigert about the attempts on her life and hear his thoughts on the matter.
Mrs. Reigert put down her coffee cup. “I’m afraid there won’t be any work this morning, Nancy,” she said. “It’s his stomach again, poor dear. He couldn’t even eat any breakfast.” She frowned. “Wouldn’t you know it? He would have to get sick on the day of the party.”
“He’s sick?” Nancy asked worriedly, pushing back her plate. “Again?”
Mark looked at her. “Chronic condition. And he’s always in a foul mood when he gets sick. You’d best leave him alone.”
Nancy stood up. “I think I’ll just look in on him,” she said. “We have quite a bit of work.”
• • •
Mr. Reigert was still in bed. His eyes were shut and his cheeks had a greenish tinge that Nancy didn’t like at all. She stood beside the bed for a moment, looking down at him.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Awful,” Mr. Reigert said without opening his eyes. “And it doesn’t get any better when I think about Jonelle. She’s sure to say that I’m doing this on purpose, to spoil her party.”
“You’ve got to let us call a doctor,” Nancy said.
Mr. Reigert’s eyes flew open. “Nonsense,” he exclaimed, his voice sounding stronger. “I’m not sick enough to let some beetle-brained doctor go poking at me. And, anyway, what can he tell me? I already know that I’ve got a stomachache.
“It’s funny, I haven’t eaten any garlic lately, but I’ve got this odd taste of garlic in my mouth.” He raised himself up on his elbow, picked up the water glass on his bedside table, and took a swallow. “Just can’t seem to get rid of it.
“Anyway, Nancy, I’ve got an errand for you. I don’t feel up to going in to Rio Hondo to the bank this morning. You’ve got to get the money and bring it back here.”
Nancy swallowed. “Get the money? Pick up half a million dollars in cash?”
Mr. Reigert eyed her. “Of course. Don’t detectives have assignments like this every now and then? Hand me the phone. If they’ve got the lines fixed, I’ll call Sam Lawson, let him know you’re coming, and tell him to hand the money over to you today.”
The lines were apparently repaired, because Mr. Reigert began to dial the phone. “Go tell that wife of mine that you’re running an errand for me in town and you need a car.”
“I still wish you’d let me call the doctor,” Nancy said.
“No doctor,” Mr. Reigert grunted. “Now get out of here and get on with your detective work.”
• • •
Mrs. Reigert seemed extremely curious when Nancy told her that she had to go to town and needed to borrow a car. After a few minutes of questioning, though, she must have realized that she wasn’t going to get any information out of Nancy and she gave up.
Nancy left with the strong feeling that Mrs. Reigert didn’t trust her. Just before Nancy left, she saw Mrs. Reigert going into her husband’s room with a determined look on her face. If she couldn’t get the information out of Nancy, apparently she was going to try to get it out of her husband.
Before she left the house, Nancy called Ned at his uncle’s in Dallas, but there wasn’t any answer. She hoped Ned was having better luck with his investigations in Dallas than she was having at Casa del Alamo.
Nancy decided that she’d better wear something other than jeans for her visit to the bank. She put on the khaki skirt and blazer she had worn on the plane and added a silky brown print blouse.
At the bank she was ushered into Sam Lawson’s office as soon as she gave her name. It was a small-town bank, and Mr. Lawson’s office was sparsely furnished, unlike the plush offices of the city banks with which Nancy was familiar.
Like his office, Mr. Lawson was spare and lean. Nancy guessed that he was about the same age as Mr. Reigert. Leaning back in his chair, he stretched out his legs and carefully appraised Nancy over his gold-rimmed glasses. She saw that he was wearing cowboy boots. He didn’t look much like her idea of a bank president.
“I want you to drive on back to that ranch, Nancy Driscoll,” he commanded brusquely, “and tell Bob Reigert he has to give me more time to get the money together.”
Nancy was taken aback. “More time? But why?”
Mr. Lawson frowned. “I don’t know where Bob gets the idea that he can just up and pull half a million dollars out of this small bank on half a day’s notice. Doesn’t he know that we don’t keep that much money on hand? The armored car is coming out from San Antonio late this afternoon. I won’t have it until after five o’clock.”
“I thought that he called you for the money.”
“Oh, he called, all right. But he didn’t say exactly when he wanted the money. I assumed that he’d want it tomorrow. By the way, what did you say that he wants the money for? And who are you that he’d trust you with that kind of money?”
“I didn’t say why he wanted it,” Nancy answered pointedly. If Mr. Reigert had wanted Sam Lawson to know, he would have told him. “And as for me, I’m a writer. I’m helping him write his memoirs.”
Sam Lawson hooted with laughter. “His memoirs? There are going to be some mighty uncomfortable people around these parts, once they hear about this. Bob Reigert knows a lot of dirt about a lot of people—and, unfortunately, all of it’s true.”
Nancy smiled. “I don’t think he intends to tell those kinds of stories,” she said. She brought Mr. Lawson back to the point of their conversation. “But he really did insist on having the money today, and no later. It can’t wait until tomorrow.”
Mr. Lawson gave her an irritated look. “I’ll have to talk to him myself, of course,” he replied testily. “But he’ll have it today. In fact, I’ll bring it out myself later, since this seems to be so important.”
“Oh, I suppose you’re coming to Mrs. Reigert’s party, then,” Nancy said.
“No, I am not coming to Mrs. Reigert’s party,” the president said firmly.
He pulled his feet back and sat up straight in his chair. “There’s something about her that I just don’t . . . Well, let’s just say I invented an excuse not to come to the party.”
“Did you know Mrs. Reigert before they were married?” Nancy asked.
“No, and nobody else did either,” Mr. Lawson answered. Nancy looked surprised, so Mr. Lawson continued to explain. “I looked into her background out of curiosity. It seems she appeared at that club out of nowhere, just the week before Bob went up for a visit. He always stays there when he goes to Dallas on business.”
“Appeared out of nowhere?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it? Nobody had ever heard of Jonelle whatever-her-name-was before she got that job. It was like she’d just dropped out of the sky.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know why, but I don’t trust that woman, or that rattlesnake son of hers.” He began to rustle some papers. “Now, why don’t you get on back to the ranch and tell Bob what I said.”
Nancy stood up, disappointed. For a moment she had thought that she might get some real information out of Mr. Lawson. “What time can we expect you tonight?” she asked.
“There’ll be too many people around during the evening, so I’ll come out later,” Mr. Lawson said. “Around midnight. I’ll just have to tell Bob that’s the best I can do.
Suddenly something occurred to Nancy. No one was to know that Mr. Reigert had taken the money out of the bank. It was too risky. She couldn’t let anyone see Mr. Lawson.
“Just to be on the safe side,” Nancy said casually, “how about if I ride out to the gate on th
e main road and meet you with an extra horse. You can ride in with me.”
“Ride in?”
“Mr. Reigert wants to keep this a secret. You know how his wife would get if she knew there was half a million dollars lying around. She’d want to spend every penny. So come in by horse. A car’s too noisy. You don’t want Mrs. Reigert to see you anyway or she’ll know you lied about not being able to come to her party,” Nancy said with a grin.
Mr. Lawson looked startled. “Oh, that’s right,” he agreed.
“Good,” said Nancy. “I’ll be at the gate at midnight with the horses.”
• • •
The house seemed quiet when Nancy got back from her errand at the bank later that morning. She looked in on Mr. Reigert, to tell him about the meeting with Mr. Lawson, but he was asleep. She went down the hall toward her room, intending to make another call to Ned to learn if there was any information about Mrs. Reigert and her son. As she went past Mrs. Reigert’s room, however, she could hear the murmur of low voices, and she stopped.
“I didn’t know you were going to get involved in something as stupid as this,” Mrs. Reigert was saying. “Have you lost your mind? How do you expect to hide what you’re doing?” Her voice had lost its soft, syrupy quality.
“It isn’t stupid,” Mark insisted. “Maybe a little dangerous, but look at the reward—thousands of . . . And it was just an unlucky break that the fence went down. . . .” He lowered his voice and the rest of the words faded into an inaudible jumble.
“Yes.” Mrs. Reigert’s voice was hardly any clearer. “But smuggling . . . such high risk . . . if the old man ever finds out . . .” The words began to fade away again, so Nancy put her ear to the door. What kind of illegal activity was Mark involved in? Was it connected to the kidnapping or was it something completely different?
Mrs. Reigert was still talking and Nancy, engrossed, pressed her ear harder against the door, hoping to be able to make out what she was saying.
After a few moments she could hear Mark’s voice. It had grown much louder. “. . . don’t care what you think. You don’t have any hold over me. You can’t tell me what to do!” Nancy heard him step toward the door and she jumped back.
But it was too late. Mark, on his way out of the room, had yanked the door open. Nancy had been caught!
Chapter
Ten
FOR A SECOND Mark just stared at Nancy. Then he smiled sarcastically. “Well, if it isn’t the lovely Miss Driscoll, ghostwriter extraordinaire.” With a slight bow, he held the door open wider. “Come right in, please, Miss Driscoll. We’re eager to talk to you.”
Nancy looked around. The hall was deserted. “Oh, thank you,” she said uneasily, “but I—”
“This isn’t an invitation, it’s an order,” Mark snapped. “I said, come in!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room, firmly shutting the door behind them.
Mrs. Reigert edged toward them, twisting her hands. “How much do you suppose she heard, Mark?”
“Shut up, Jonelle,” Mark growled. “It’s not a question of what she heard, it’s a question of why she was listening.”
Mark’s fingers tightened around Nancy’s arm. “All right, my friend,” he said, his face close to hers. “I want some answers, and I want them now. Just what brings you to Casa del Alamo, and why are you snooping around outside my mother’s door, listening to a private conversation?”
Nancy swallowed, thinking fast. Her best defense, she decided, was to play the injured innocent. “But I wasn’t snooping,” she said tearfully, trying to pull her arm away. “And I wish you’d let go of my arm. You’re hurting me!”
“You’d better let her go,” Mrs. Reigert said with a worried frown.
Reluctantly, Mark relaxed his fingers. “I stilt want to know why you were eavesdropping,” he said. “And who are you anyway?”
Nancy pulled herself up straighter. “I was only walking by,” she said. “I heard voices, and I thought I heard somebody say my name. So I stopped. That’s when you opened the door and yelled at me.”
She began to whimper. “I’m not used to being yelled at. And I don’t know why you tried to hurt me. I wasn’t doing anything.” A big tear collected at the corner of each of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
Nancy saw that her tears were confusing Mark, but he wasn’t ready to back off.
“I don’t care what you say. I know you were eavesdropping,” he insisted angrily.
Mrs. Reigert handed Nancy a tissue from the silver box on her dressing table. “Sometimes Mark is a little rash, Nancy,” she said soothingly, putting her arm around Nancy’s shoulders. “Please understand. He’s under a great deal of pressure right now. And after all, we don’t know who you are. How can we trust you?”
Nancy began to cry harder. “That’s just the problem,” she said, sobbing. “It’s so hard to do a good job when nobody will cooperate. Mr. Reigert wants me to get background information about his family, but nobody will talk to me. . . .”
“I know, dear,” Mrs. Reigert said sympathetically, leading Nancy to the door. “But you’re an outsider and you’re asking all sorts of personal questions. It’s not easy for us either.”
“Jonelle, you’re letting her get away with—” Mark broke out furiously.
“Shut up, Mark,” Mrs. Reigert commanded in an icy tone. “Now, dear,” she said, pushing Nancy’s hair back from her eyes, “you go on to your room and lie down for a little while. You don’t want your eyes all puffy for the party, do you?”
Nancy shook her head. “And I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she protested plaintively. She threw an injured glance at Mark. “No matter what he says.”
“I know, I know,” Mrs. Reigert said soothingly. “Now run along.” She gave Nancy a little push into the hall and shut the door behind her.
Nancy wiped her tears away. Mrs. Reigert had fallen for her ploy! She returned quickly to her room to sort out what she had heard. Mrs. Reigert had accused Mark of smuggling. But what could he be smuggling, out here in this wild, deserted land? Whatever his dirty work, was it connected to the scheme to take half a million dollars in ransom money from Mr. Reigert?
• • •
After Mr. Reigert woke up, Nancy talked with him a few minutes to let him know that Sam Lawson was coming later that night with the money. They would have talked longer, but Gene came in on ranch business, so she left.
Nancy spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get through to Ned, but nobody was answering the phone. Anyway, it would soon be time for the party, which was going to be elaborate. The house was filled with vases of flowers and the gardens decorated with colorful Mexican lanterns and piñatas. A bar was set up, and the members of the mariachi band began to tune up in the hall. By seven the first guests had arrived and the party had begun.
Nancy had packed only two dresses, so she didn’t have much difficulty deciding what to wear to the party. She chose a white sleeveless dress with a low neck and a full skirt.
The guests, most of them from nearby ranches and the town of Rio Hondo, seemed to be having a good time as she wandered among them. They were standing in little knots, sampling the elaborate hors d’oeuvres that had been arranged on trays. Long tables had been set up on the candlelit patio, and they were now loaded with Mexican dishes, most of them hot and spicy. The members of the band wandered through the house and the gardens in their fringed outfits, playing their instruments.
After a while Nancy went in search of the Reigerts. She found Mrs. Reigert on the patio, wearing a daringly cut red dress and a glittering diamond necklace. She was at the center of a circle of admiring men. Mr. Reigert was inside, sitting in a corner, talking to several old friends. He smiled at Nancy when she approached him, but she thought that his smile seemed a little forced and weak. He introduced her quickly and then stood up.
“I know it’s early,” he said to the others, “but I’ve been a little under the weather lately. Please excuse me. I—I think I’ll go to my room. I—” H
is face turned slightly gray and he clutched at his stomach.
“Mr. Reigert,” Nancy said worriedly, “are you all right?”
“Of course I’m all right,” he replied. His words seemed somewhat slurred. “I’m just tired. And this stomach of mine is kicking up again. Can’t get that taste of garlic out of my—” He doubled over suddenly.
Gene appeared at Nancy’s elbow. “Is he having another attack?” he asked softly.
Nancy nodded. She put one arm around Mr. Reigert’s waist. “Can you take the other side?” she asked Gene. “I think we’d better get him to bed.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Reigert said as they helped him down the hall and into his room. “I’ll be better in a few minutes.” He lay back on the bed, taking a deep breath. Gene stood watching for a moment, and then left. When he had gone, Nancy pulled a chair up to the edge of the bed and sat down.
“Mr. Reigert,” she said at last, “did it ever occur to you that somebody might be poisoning you?”
Chapter
Eleven
MR. REIGERT’S EYES opened wide and he looked up at her. “Poisoning me?” he asked. “You’ve got to be joking.”
“No, I’m serious,” Nancy said. “Deadly serious. We can’t be sure, of course, unless you consent to see a doctor and have some tests. But these attacks are beginning to look very suspicious to me. So does the funny taste that you’ve complained of. It’s possible that someone might be tampering with your food, isn’t it?”
“I suppose it is,” Mr. Reigert said slowly. “I hadn’t thought about it, but I suppose it is.”
“And since you’re known to distrust doctors, poisoning you would be quite easy, wouldn’t it?” Nancy persisted. “Especially if the poison is cumulative, administered in small doses at first, so that it appears to everyone that you’re suffering from some sort of chronic gastrointestinal condition. How long have you been having these attacks?”