“Could be. We’ll have to ask Andy.” Nancy frowned. “I checked out that company Andy mentioned, too, Steele Lumber.”
“The one Andy and Nick had that fight about?” Bess asked.
Nancy nodded. “I found three payments to Steele Lumber in the last month. They were all for five thousand dollars or more. That doesn’t seem too strange. I mean it does take a lot of wood to build boats. But Andy also mentioned that Nick had been the one to write the checks, when Andy’s the one who handles the business end of the company—”
“Look,” Stan interrupted Nancy, pointing at the account book. “Here are the payments made to the O’Hallorans. They received two thousand dollars for each trip to Florida.”
“Even though they never delivered the boats?” Parker asked, looking surprised.
Stan shrugged. “I guess.”
“We’d better go meet Andy,” Nancy suggested. “I think we have some things to talk about with him.” Standing up, she offered Stan her hand, and they shook. “Thanks for all your help.”
“Likewise.” After digging around in his wallet, he pulled out a card. “And call me anytime. Maybe we can still help each other out.” With a wink, he left.
After he had gone, Ned reached out and squeezed Nancy’s hand. “What now, Ms. Drew, P.I.?”
Nancy once again opened up the file on the O’Hallorans.
“Uh-oh,” Bess groaned. “I bet I can guess. We’re going to go visit Leah O’Halloran.”
“Right, but first let’s call Andy and find out how he’s doing,” Nancy said.
A few minutes later, Parker hung up the phone. “Maria, our maid, says he’s down at the dock repairing the boat. He’s determined to sail in tomorrow’s race, no matter what.”
“Maybe that’ll keep his spirits up,” Nancy said, getting up from Andy’s desk. She headed back down the corridor and toward the showroom door.
“So why are we visiting Leah O’Halloran?” Ned asked, falling into step beside Nancy.
“I want to hear Leah O’Halloran’s story for myself,” Nancy explained. “If she’s lying, she might let something slip that will help us.” When they got to the Cadillac, Bess slid in the backseat with Nancy. “But, Nancy, she said her husband was killed. Why would she make up some story?”
“That’s what she said,” Nancy countered. “But Leah’s the only person who witnessed what happened, so there’s no one to corroborate her story. Maybe the two made up the whole pirate thing, and right now Mike O’Halloran is sunbathing on the stolen sailboat at some foreign port, waiting for his wife to join him.”
Ned turned in the front seat, shooting Nancy a dubious look, “Wait a second. Are you saying that the O’Hallorans stole the boat?”
“It makes more sense than Yadlowski’s theory that Lazlo Designs stole their own boats. Plus, the O’Hallorans had the perfect opportunity. They knew Lazlo Designs would get the insurance money. And they could resell the boat and keep that money for themselves. Or maybe they just decided to keep the boat.”
Parker looked confused as he settled behind the wheel and started the car’s engine. “I still don’t get what all that has to do with Nick’s shooting and Andy’s arrest.”
“I’m not sure,” Nancy admitted. “Maybe Nick found out what the the O’Hallorans had done and threatened to turn them in. If they were at Lazlo Designs before, they could have easily seen where Andy kept his gun. After faking Mike’s death, Leah could have stolen Andy’s gun and shot Nick, then planted the gun to frame Andy.”
That’s if Andy’s innocent, Nancy added to herself. The missing insurance money and the payments to Steele Lumber still needed explaining.
Bess rubbed her chin. “But why not just steal the boat and run? Why would Leah come back with some crazy story about pirates?”
“Because if the authorities figured that the boat had been taken to South America or somewhere like that, then no one would go looking for it,” Nancy guessed.
“Sounds like a good theory to me,” Parker said, pulling out of the parking lot. “Now let’s find the mysterious Mrs. O’Halloran and see if we can prove any of it.”
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up across the street from a charming Cape Cod house on a quiet, dead-end street.
“I’m going to tell Leah I’m a newspaper reporter,” Nancy said, opening her bag. She took out the pad and pen she always kept with her.
“Looks like you may not get to talk to her at all,” Parker suddenly said. “Look.”
Nancy glanced out the window just as a tall, striking woman with long brown hair came out the front door onto the porch of the Cape Cod house. She was dressed in a black miniskirt and tight cotton sweater that accentuated her curvy figure. After shutting the door and going down the steps, she walked briskly down the sidewalk to a small blue sports car parked in the driveway.
Parker whistled. “Wow. If that’s Leah O’Halloran, she sure has recovered from her tragedy!”
Bess punched him playfully on the arm. “Quit ogling and get ready to tail her. If I know Nancy, we’re going to find out where our grieving widow is headed.”
“Duck!” Nancy whispered as the car backed out of the drive and turned in their direction. She was grateful that the convertible top was up.
Everyone crouched down until the coast was clear. Then Parker quickly pulled the Cadillac into the road and made a U-turn. “I’ve been waiting for this,” he said as he gunned the motor. “A high-speed chase!”
“Slow down!” Nancy said. “We want to be inconspicuous, so stay several cars behind.”
“She’s making a right turn,” Ned announced.
With a squeal of tires, Parker swung into the right lane and turned. Nancy and Bess both grabbed hold of the doors to keep from falling.
“Sorry, guys,” Parker apologized. “I’m not as used to this cloak-and-dagger stuff as you are.”
Several turns later, they were driving on a four-lane highway.
“The sports car is slowing,” Ned said suddenly.
Nancy craned her neck to look out the front windshield. Leah’s car was just turning right into the parking lot of a seedy-looking bar. It was a low building with a flat roof, no windows, and a crooked sign flapping in the wind that read Kelly’s.
“Drive past,” Nancy directed Parker. “The parking lot’s almost empty. If we pull in after her, she’ll see us.”
Parker steered the car into the left lane. “There’s a turnaround. I can swing back.”
Twisting in her seat, Nancy looked out the back window in time to see Leah pull into a parking space. Parker made a U-turn, and when they were almost opposite the bar, he pulled onto the right side of the road and stopped on the shoulder.
“Now someone else is turning into the lot,” Bess said excitedly. “It’s a van.”
Quickly Nancy pulled a pair of small binoculars from her shoulder bag. She was glad she had packed them for the sailing trip. Focusing, she trained the binoculars on Leah’s car. The brunette was getting out just as the van pulled opposite her.
With a big smile, Leah approached the driver’s side of the van. The door opened, and a man stepped out. Long black hair stuck out from the back of the baseball cap he was wearing, and a dark, heavy beard and mustache covered most of his face. He had on a leather motorcycle jacket and jeans.
Nancy could hear Bess gasp as Leah and the man embraced. Arm in arm, the two strolled to the door of the bar and went in.
Slowly Nancy lowered the glasses.
“Did you see that!” Bess exclaimed. “Her husband’s only been dead a month, and she’s meeting some other guy!”
“That is pretty suspicious,” Ned added.
Nancy nodded. “That’s for sure. If you ask me, Leah O’Halloran is no grieving widow. She’s more like a black widow spider!”
Chapter
Eight
UH, BLACK WIDOW spiders kill their mates,” Bess mentioned, shooting Nancy a queasy look. “Are you suggesting that Leah killed her husband?”
/> “No,” Nancy said slowly. “But it sure doesn’t look like she misses him much. Unless—” She snapped her fingers as an idea struck her. “What if that man is Mike O’Halloran!”
Ned twisted around and said excitedly, “Right! I bet he’s not on some deserted island. He’s back in Annapolis helping his wife frame Andy.”
“Let’s go in and get the jerks!” Parker angrily threw open his car door, but Nancy grabbed his sleeve before he could climb out.
“Wait! They’d only make a run for it,” Nancy said. “And then they’ll know we’re onto them.”
“I’ve got the van’s license plate number,” Ned said. Reaching into the backseat, he took the pad and pen from Nancy and jotted the number down. “Let’s call Yadlowski and give him the number. I bet he can trace it in no time.”
“Good idea,” Nancy agreed. “Then we’ll know who Mr. Mysterious is. If we can prove he’s Mike O’Halloran, we may have something to take to the police.”
• • •
That evening, the Devereux’ maid, Maria, prepared a buffet on the terrace. Nancy piled her plate with crab cakes, hot rolls, and several different kinds of salad, then sat down next to Ned at the table. Bess sat down on her other side.
“Look at that view,” Bess said dreamily, nodding her head toward the river. The masts of the Skipper’s Surprise were silhouetted against the setting sun.
“Perfect weather for tomorrow’s race,” Andy said as he set his plate on the table across from Nancy.
“The race!” Mrs. Devereux exclaimed from the buffet table, where she and Mr. Devereux were serving themselves. “How can you even think about that at a time like this?”
Andy chuckled. “That’s all I think about, Mom. Being in that grimy police station makes you really appreciate things like the wind blowing through your hair.”
Mr. Devereux cleared his throat and looked at the table of young people. “I hate to put a damper on this festive occasion, but this old worrywart would like to find out what you young folks discovered that might help Andy.”
“Okay.” Nancy, Ned, Parker, and Bess took turns explaining about Stan Yadlowski, Bayside Insurance, and the missing boats. Then Nancy told Andy and his parents about their theory that Nick Lazlo had discovered that Leah and Mike had stolen the boats. “If that’s true, then the O’Hallorans had a motive for killing Nick,” Nancy finished.
“Wow,” Andy said, running a hand through his hair. “If I’d had any idea that the two incidents were related, I would’ve told the police and you guys about the missing boats.”
“Did you know that Bayside Insurance was investigating?” Nancy asked.
Andy nodded, as he took a bite of a crab cake. “Yes, but I thought they were just investigating the O’Hallorans,” he explained.
“One more thing,” Nancy said. “When we looked at the account books at your office, we thought it was strange that there wasn’t any record of the first insurance claim money that was paid out.”
“Oh, that’s easy to explain,” Andy said. “Nick suggested we put in into a separate account that paid higher interest. We figured we could use it to pay off debts if the Nican Forty didn’t pan out.”
“So, Nancy, as you can see, Andy knew all about Bayside Insurance,” Mr. Devereux added calmly. He was sitting next to his wife at the end of the table. “We all thought that Bayside was suspicious only of the O’Hallorans. Still, I suppose we should have mentioned their investigation to the police and to Andy’s lawyer.”
Nancy nodded. “I hope you’ll do that tomorrow.”
“I won’t have time,” Andy said. “Tomorrow I’ve got one thing on my mind—the race. The Nican Forty has to prove itself, or I’m afraid Lazlo Designs will go under. Especially since it sounds as if Bayside Insurance might not pay our second claim.”
Ned had been silently eating his food while the others discussed the case. Suddenly he put down his fork and asked, “Do you really think we have a chance to win the race without Nick?” He waved a hand toward Nancy, Bess, and himself. “I mean, none of us has any racing experience.”
“We have to win,” Andy said determinedly. “We need that race to help promote the boat. Just because Nick’s not here doesn’t mean I’m giving up.”
Parker smiled, clapping his cousin on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit. Only I’m afraid you’re going to need more than spirit to win the race. Without Nick as skipper, we may not have a chance.”
“Andy!” A shout from inside the house interrupted Parker. A moment later Annabel Lazlo opened the sliding door to the patio and ran across the bricks. After saying a general hello to the group, she turned her attention to Andy. “How did it go this morning? Did your lawyer convince the police that you couldn’t hurt a flea, much less kill Nick?”
“The police still haven’t found Nick’s body,” Nancy pointed out, wondering what Annabel was doing there. “They haven’t determined for sure that he was murdered, so they couldn’t book Andy.”
Annabel shot Nancy a knowing look. “Oh, he’s dead all right. Otherwise, he’d still be hanging around trying to con me out of my money.”
“Annabel!” Mrs. Devereux exclaimed. “You’re talking about your husband!”
Annabel snorted. “As if he ever cared.”
With an irritated expression, Andy stood up. “Enough about Nick and the shooting. I invited Annabel over because she’s going on a practice sail with us tonight.”
“We’re going to need a lot of practice if we’re going to win tomorrow,” Parker added.
“Of course we’ll win!” Annabel set her hands on her hips and glared at the group. “We don’t need Nick. I told you before that I can sail rings around all those so-called sailors. Well, it’s time I proved it. Tomorrow I’m going to skipper the Skipper’s Surprise, so get ready for the race of your life!”
• • •
“How steady is the wind?” Andy called from the deck of the Skipper’s Surprise an hour and a half later. He took another turn on the winch that tightened the mainsail, then looked expectantly at Annabel, who was behind the wheel.
“Holding fine!” Annabel called back. “We should have smooth going right to the City Dock.”
While Andy and Annabel handled the sailing, Bess, Parker, Nancy, and Ned were relaxing on the foredeck, enjoying the cool breeze. It was after eight, and the moon had risen, sending shimmering gold highlights across the Severn River.
This was the first chance they’d had to relax since setting sail an hour earlier. Andy and Annabel had worked everyone hard, testing them, and they’d passed. Now it was time to enjoy the night.
“This is the life,” Ned said, squeezing Nancy’s hand. They were sitting close together, their legs stretched out on the bow. Lights from the shore twinkled in the distance, and all they could hear was the slap of water against the boat’s hull.
Nancy leaned back against Ned and shut her eyes. “I can see why someone would sell their house, quit their job, buy a boat, and sail around the world,” she murmured.
She looked up to see that Annabel was gesturing toward them. “Get ready to lower the sails!”
“Captain Bligh has spoken,” Ned joked in a low voice.
Clapping her hand to her mouth, Nancy suppressed her laughter. Annabel was proving to be a tough skipper, but Nancy could tell she was also a skilled sailor. While they sailed, Nancy had seen a few special looks pass between Annabel and Andy. Nancy wasn’t sure what Andy saw in Annabel, but she couldn’t help feeling sad that things couldn’t work out between the two of them.
When the sails were down, the group motored into the narrow channel of the Annapolis City Dock. Sailboats were moored on both sides of the concrete bulkhead that lined the channel. Annabel steered the Skipper’s Surprise into an empty slip. After they had secured the boat to a piling, the group got out and started to look for a place where they could get some sodas.
“City Dock was once the colonial port,” Andy told them as they walked past a row of quaint shops.
“It was surrounded by warehouses and taverns.”
Annabel shot him a big smile, then pointed to a long, one-story building. “That’s the Market House. It was constructed in 1858,” she told the others. “You can get great food there.”
As the group started to cross a street, Ned held Nancy back. “Annabel and Andy are in awfully good moods for two people who just lost a friend and a husband,” he whispered to Nancy.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Nancy whispered back.
Nancy tried to make sense of the situation. If Nick was dead, Annabel had gotten rid of a husband she hated without a messy divorce. But what about Andy? There were still a few unanswered questions about Lazlo Designs, Nancy realized. She needed to check out Steele Lumber and the separate account with the insurance money. Leah and Mike O’Halloran were still suspects in Nick’s disappearance. But until Nancy could get concrete proof to take to the police, Andy and Annabel were suspects, too.
As Andy directed the group into an Irish tavern, another thought flashed through Nancy’s mind. What if Annabel and Andy were working together? After all, Andy had the opportunity and the gun. Annabel knew her husband’s habits, and the cove where they’d found his empty sailboat was a short distance from her house. Maybe she’d called Andy early the previous morning to tell him Nick would be at the cove—alone. Andy had said he was going to the convenience store. But maybe he’d already picked up sodas and chips and had them stashed in the car.
A sudden breeze made Nancy shiver. It did make sense, she told herself. If her theory was true and Nick Lazlo was dead, then Andy and Annabel were both murderers.
Chapter
Nine
MURDERERS. Nancy shivered as she repeated the word to herself.
“Are you okay?” Ned asked, slipping an arm around her shoulder. “You’re trembling.”
Nancy nodded. Seeing that the others were waiting for them on the steps of an old brick building, she and Ned hurried to join them. She would have to wait until they were alone to tell him about her suspicions.