Ned leaned toward Nancy. “Don’t worry,” he whispered against her hair. “Bad ankle or not, the next time anyone tries any funny business on you, I’ll be there.”
Nancy was shocked to discover how matter-of-factly they were both accepting that there would be a next time. But who would the victim be?
Nancy’s troubled thoughts kept returning to Luke. He was so guarded about his past. And he’d lied about the damaged ski and the rope tow. Luke—was he the criminal or the target?
Face it, Nancy told herself. All I have so far is circumstantial evidence, but that evidence points to Luke Ericsen. Means, method, opportunity. I don’t know what the motive is yet, but I’m sure all I have to do is dig deeper and I’ll figure it out.
Then, with horror, Nancy realized something else. George—one of my best friends—may have fallen in love with a murderer.
Chapter
Eight
I’VE GOT TO warn George about Luke, whether she wants to hear it or not!” Nancy exclaimed.
Ned nodded. “Even if Luke isn’t responsible for what’s happened to us, he’s definitely involved in some way. And we know he’s hiding something.”
“So’s George! I’m sure of it,” Nancy said apprehensively. “I’ve got to find out what it is. Otherwise I may never get to the bottom of what’s going on around here.”
Nancy’s last words hung in the air ominously.
Ned looked at his watch. “You may still be able to catch her before she heads over to Big Birch.”
Nancy caught her breath. “Can you make it back to the lodge alone?”
“Yes,” Ned replied.
“Great!” And with that, Nancy took off running.
Nancy found George standing in front of the chair lift, snapped into her skis and ready to go. “Hey,” Nancy said casually, “how about a race this morning?”
“Sorry, I’m busy now.” George glanced at Luke, who was telling a few of the other guests about the schedule for ski lessons.
“George, I have to talk to you,” said Nancy. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since we got here. I know it’s because of Luke, and it makes me feel just awful.”
“I never thought a guy would come between us,” George admitted.
Nancy laid one mittened hand on George’s arm. “I’m worried about you. Right now, I don’t even know how to talk to you without hurting you. We’ve been friends for so long, but now you’re a million miles away from me.”
George sighed. “I’m just not sure I can trust you,” she said. “You’re saying all these horrible things about Luke, and you don’t even know him!”
“Aren’t you at least going to let me explain why? I think there are things you’d better know about Luke,” Nancy said seriously.
George shot her a frightened glance. “Like what?”
“Like he may be connected with Ned’s accident—and mine, too.”
“Oh, come on, Nancy!” George exclaimed.
“George,” Nancy pleaded, “you know something about Luke, and you’ve got to share it. Before someone else gets hurt.”
“Listen, Nancy,” said George quietly. “I’ve helped you on a lot of cases, but no way am I going to help you investigate me!”
Nancy paused to think. At last she said earnestly, “Look, if Luke’s such a great guy, then convince me! Tell me what you know about him.”
George’s eyes dropped.
“You can’t, can you?” Nancy persisted. “Because you know something about Luke’s past, and it’s not good.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” George cried.
“It has something to do with a place called the Broken Leg Café, doesn’t it?”
Suddenly, uncharacteristically, George began to cry. With a burst of energy, she skied quickly away.
Nancy closed her eyes despairingly. What am I going to do with her? she thought. She resisted the temptation to run after George. She knew she’d blown it with her; she just hoped she hadn’t blown the whole case, because now she was sure that one of her best friends was intimately involved!
Nancy walked slowly back to the lodge and found Ned alone in the lounge. “How did you make out?” he asked.
Nancy’s shoulders sagged. “I couldn’t have done worse. George thinks I’m against Luke for no reason, and she’s ready to defend him to her dying breath.”
“Let’s hope not literally,” Ned said.
Nancy winced. “I did find out one thing, though,” she added. “George jumped when I mentioned the Broken Leg Café.”
“So you are getting somewhere.” Ned limped over to Nancy and gave her a reassuring hug.
Nancy smiled. “You’re not doing too badly with that ankle.”
“It doesn’t hurt much.” Ned grinned. “If I stay off it today, I think I’ll be able to ski tomorrow.”
Nancy returned his hug. “So what are you going to do about skis? Liz says every pair is rented now.”
“That’s all taken care of,” Ned replied smugly. “I phoned Big Birch and arranged to rent a pair there. We can drive over in the morning and pick them up. Maybe we should stop off at the Overlook Hotel while we’re at it. I hear they’ve got a huge hot tub.”
Bess and Gunther walked into the lounge just in time to hear Ned’s last comment. “We’re going dancing at the hotel tonight,” Bess chimed in. “Why don’t you come along? You’ll have fun even if you can’t dance.”
Ned looked at Nancy. “You want to?”
“Sure! We deserve to have a little fun on this vacation!” Then Nancy’s face became more serious. “Have you two seen George?”
Gunther and Bess nodded. “We just passed her,” Gunther said. “She was looking for Luke and she seemed very upset. Is something wrong?”
Nancy hesitated. “I had a talk with her about Luke. She thinks I’m picking on him.”
“Oh.” Gunther nodded. “I begin to understand. Our ski instructor is a bit of a mystery, yes? Perhaps not so good for your friend.”
Before Nancy could ask Gunther what he meant, George herself walked in. She looked quite calm, though slightly red-eyed. “How’s the ankle?” she asked Ned, obviously trying to act as though everything were normal.
Bess and Nancy exchanged glances. “We’ve just been talking about going to the Overlook tonight to do some dancing,” Bess replied brightly. “Ned is much better. You and Luke want to come?”
George looked grateful. “Sounds good to me. I don’t know what Luke’s plans are, though.”
“We can all ride over in my car,” Nancy offered. At least that way everybody will be safe, she added mentally.
In order to keep an eye on Luke, Nancy took an advanced class with him that afternoon. He was a good teacher and an excellent skier, even if he did favor his right leg slightly. Nancy noticed that it didn’t bend well at times. Had Luke damaged his leg in a skiing accident or some other kind of accident? Nancy wondered.
Luke did not show up at the lodge for dinner. Nancy preferred it that way, except that George looked so unhappy. Immediately after dinner, she scooped up a pile of ski magazines from the lounge and headed for the dorm.
Bess made an exasperated sound. “This has gone far enough. Come on,” she said to Nancy. The girls went to the bunk room and cornered George. “Are you coming dancing with us?” Bess demanded.
George didn’t look up. “I don’t know. I told Luke you guys were going, but he wasn’t too thrilled with the idea.”
“Well, you’re coming,” Bess ordered. She pulled George to her feet. “You’re already dressed for it, anyway,” she commented, surveying George’s tight gray pants and oversized turquoise sweater.
“If Luke wants to find you, he’ll know where to look,” she went on. “It’s a good idea not to let guys think you’re just sitting around waiting for them. Trust me.” George allowed herself to be led out of the room.
The girls found Ned and Gunther and piled into Nancy’s car for the two-mile drive to the Overlook Hotel.
&nb
sp; The first sight of its ornate wrought-iron gates produced a squeal of delight from Bess. The hotel looked like a French château and was surrounded by trees decorated with little white lights.
The hotel’s dance club was spacious and elegant. The band was playing a Stones classic, and the dance floor was already crowded. To one side, glass doors led to an indoor swimming pool complete with Jacuzzi.
Ned and Nancy found an unoccupied table as the others made their way to the dance floor. “This is a good spot to watch from,” Nancy said. She smiled at Ned. “This is fun!”
Ned smiled back and took her hand. “You’d have more fun if you were dancing.”
“We agreed you’d stay off the ankle today, remember?”
“That’s no reason for you to stay off yours.”
“I’ve done enough tearing around the mountain today. I’d rather sit the night out with you.” Nancy meant it, but she found it hard to keep still while listening to the music.
After a while, Bess, Gunther, and George returned to the table. Gunther politely asked Nancy to dance.
“Go! I’ll talk to George while you’re gone,” Ned whispered.
Nancy smiled and got up. Maybe George would listen to Ned more easily than to her. She followed Gunther to the dance floor and started moving to the bass beat.
Ned was right, it felt great to dance, even though the floor was crowded. It was impossible to avoid colliding with other people. Nancy felt her elbow connect with someone behind her. “Sorry!” she exclaimed, laughing, and turned around apologetically.
A deep voice said, “It’s perfectly all right.” She looked up at a tall, blond man with a deeply tanned face and vivid blue eyes. “I’ve already clobbered a few people that way myself,” the young man said, smiling.
There was something oddly familiar about him, but Nancy couldn’t quite place his face. “I really am sorry,” she said again, turning back to Gunther.
“Are you all right?” the stranger’s voice continued.
Those words! That voice! Nancy was sure she’d heard them before. She spun back around. The young man was looking at her with an odd expression in his eyes.
Nancy gasped. “It was you!”
Chapter
Nine
FOR A MOMENT Nancy and the blond man stood staring at each other. “It was you!” she cried. “You’re the one who rescued me when the tow rope broke!”
The stranger’s blue eyes crinkled into an admiring smile. “You must be quite a skier. You reacted so fast once you realized the danger, and you knew exactly how to fall.”
“Not well enough to keep from getting knocked out!” Nancy laughed breathlessly. “I’m so glad to see you again! I was beginning to think I’d imagined you, and I never did get a chance to thank you.”
“That doesn’t matter. I didn’t want to leave while you were out like that, but your boyfriend came up and took over. Pretty abruptly. Who is the guy, anyway?”
“Luke Ericsen,” Nancy replied as the music ended. “And he isn’t my boyfriend. Ned Nickerson is. Over there.” She indicated the table where Ned was sitting. “Luke’s the ski instructor at Webb Cove Lodge, where we’re staying. This is my friend Gunther.”
Gunther and the man shook hands, then Gunther excused himself and threaded his way through the crowd to Bess. You and Luke know each other, Nancy thought, looking at her rescuer. You were talking about being together at a Broken Leg Café. “I still don’t know who you are,” she said aloud.
“Michael Price,” the young man introduced himself with another dazzling smile. “I’m a free-lance writer, mainly sports. Right now, I’m researching ski resorts in New England.”
“I’m Nancy Drew.”
“What do you do?” Michael asked.
Nancy decided not to tell Michael she was a detective. “Right now, I dance,” she replied demurely. The crowd around them had started rocking to a new song, and Michael grinned.
“We do seem to be blocking traffic.” Michael began moving to the music, and Nancy fell into sync with him. “Doesn’t your boyfriend dance?” he asked.
“He loves to, but I won’t let him tonight—he’s banged up his ankle.”
As Nancy told Michael about Ned’s accident, he frowned and asked, “So this Luke lent him damaged skis?” He pursed his lips, thinking. “That sounds pretty irresponsible to me.”
Nancy looked up into Michael’s face. All of a sudden, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Why was Michael pretending he didn’t know Luke, when Nancy had heard them talking together? She had to find out from him what was going on!
“Michael!” Nancy exclaimed. “I’m going to be honest with you, and I hope you’ll be honest with me. I don’t trust Luke, and I need to find out more about him for the sake of a friend. I know you know him . . . so why don’t you tell me whatever you know?”
A peculiar expression crossed Michael’s face, but Nancy couldn’t read it. Then he replied, “All right, I think I can be open with you. I said Luke sounded irresponsible to me. Well, there’s more to it than just a hunch.
“You’re right, I have met Luke before. He lent some equipment to someone I knew. And guess what—that guy had an accident, too. Only he wasn’t as lucky as your boyfriend. He hit his head, went into a coma, and three days later, he was dead.”
Nancy gasped. Luke really could be a murderer!
“Remember,” Michael said, “I’m not telling you he did it on purpose. Maybe it was just carelessness. But that doesn’t bring my friend back to life.”
Suddenly the words Luke had shouted at her after Ned’s accident reverberated through Nancy’s head. “Do you have any idea at all what it’s like to be responsible for someone else’s tragedy?” he’d said.
Nancy shuddered. “How awful.” George really may be in love with a murderer! she thought. And what can I do?
Suddenly, inspiration struck Nancy like a lightning bolt. It would be a whole lot easier to get George’s mind off Luke if somebody else fell for her. Someone handsome and charming . . . “Why don’t you come on back to our table and meet the rest of my friends?” Nancy suggested.
Michael shook his head. “Thanks, but I’d rather dance.”
“I’d like you to meet George Fayne. She’s a fantastic skier. She followed every minute of the last Olympic competitions on TV. I’ll go get her. I really think you two have a lot in common.”
Nancy started back to the table. This is great, she thought. Michael should be the perfect antidote to Luke.
Nancy found George and Ned alone at the table, both looking blue. Apparently Bess and Gunther were dancing again. Quickly, Nancy explained that she wanted to introduce George to a friend.
George studied Nancy for a moment. “I never thought I’d see you stoop so low as to fix me up with a blind date,” she said. “Bess, yes, but not you, Nancy.”
“Oh, come on. A blind date isn’t stooping low! Don’t make such a big deal out of it,” Nancy said. “He’s a nice guy.”
“Look,” George replied firmly, “I like Luke, even if you don’t, and some good-looking, empty-headed skier isn’t going to change that.”
“He’s not empty-headed,” Nancy said. “Besides, this is more for him than for you. I think he’s really lonely.” So she’d lied. If her plan worked, that wouldn’t matter.
“Oh, all right,” George said, groaning, “but only because I know you won’t leave me alone until I go with you.”
But when the girls reached the spot where Nancy had left Michael Price, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, well,” Nancy said, “you can meet him some other time. Maybe he’s just shy—like you,” she added artfully.
Nancy and George went back to the table to find Bess and Gunther sitting with Ned and a few new acquaintances. Everyone was chattering about the various ski slopes, but Ned was unusually quiet.
Nancy put her hand over his. “Ankle bothering you?”
“It’s fine,” Ned said briefly.
Bess glanced from Nancy to Ne
d and back again. “If you guys are getting tired,” she offered, “we can get a ride back to the lodge with somebody else.”
There were immediate offers of rides from their new friends. “I don’t want to drag Nancy away this early,” Ned protested.
“I’d like to go. Really! We have things to talk about, anyway,” Nancy said, thinking of Michael Price. “I’ll go get the car and pick you up at the door.”
“I think I can make it to the parking lot even if I am a temporary cripple,” Ned said with a laugh.
George shook her finger at Ned. “Look, super-jock, we all know you don’t let sports injuries get you down. Just think of it as saving your ankle for the baseball season.” She yawned. “I’m tired, too. I think I’ll go home with you.”
So Nancy didn’t get a chance to discuss Michael with Ned as they drove home after all. But she definitely thought about him! How frustrating it was that he had disappeared before she’d gotten a chance to talk to him more.
He was my big chance to get information and clues, she told herself miserably as she lay in her bunk a little while later. And I let him slip away, trying to set him up with George. She looked over at her sleeping friend. Time to stop worrying about her and start solving this case.
Where did Michael fit in? Why had he been at the rope tow? Nancy felt a chill in spite of the thick comforter on her bed. Could Michael be the midnight prowler?
Nancy closed her eyes. Nothing made sense. But it will before I’m through, she swore. I’ll track Michael down. And I’ll find out why he and Luke pretended not to know each other. I’ll get the answers—before somebody else gets killed on the slopes!
Chapter
Ten
WHEN NANCY WOKE up the next morning, George was already gone. “She had an early ski date with Luke,” Bess said darkly. “I couldn’t talk her out of it.”
“We’ve got to get her to listen to us, and fast!” Nancy told Bess about her conversation with Michael Price, and Bess looked shocked. “Luke could have killed Michael’s friend on purpose—but maybe he didn’t,” Nancy continued. “What matters is that his carelessness is causing dangerous accidents, so George’s life could be on the line right this minute!”