Then Nancy stopped dead in her tracks. “Look, there are Zoe and Tyler!” she whispered excitedly.
“Where are they going?” Bess whispered back. Zoe and Tyler were walking away from the World of Africa building. As the girls watched, they turned down a deserted-looking path.
“Let’s go,” Bess said, but Nancy shook her head no.
“They’ll see us,” she explained. The trees along the path were leafless, giving them no place to hide.
“We can’t just let them get away!” Bess protested. “We’ve got to find out what they’re doing!”
Nancy nodded. Then the Sky Ride, the aerial tramway that took visitors across the zoo, caught her attention. As she watched, a gondola passed directly over the path Zoe and Tyler were taking.
“I’ll take the tramway,” she told Bess. “You go and find Owen and George. Let them know what’s happening. Be careful, and tell Mr. Berry, too.”
Bess nodded “Let’s meet back at World of Africa.”
As Bess ran off, Nancy sprinted to the entrance of the Sky Ride. There was a line of people waiting to get on the tramway, and some of them complained loudly as she pushed through to the front.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” one man called to her. “There’s a line here, you know.”
The ride operator didn’t want to let Nancy get on the ride. “It’s an emergency,” she protested, but no one was listening. Her heart sank.
Then she spotted the curly-haired guy who had been her “date” when she entered the zoo. He was at the very front of the line.
“I’m with him,” she said loudly. “There you are, honey,” she said desperately, waving and smiling.
To her relief he waved back. “I thought you’d never get here!” he called. Still grumbling, the crowd opened to let her through.
“Sorry about that,” she said to the curly-haired boy as they hopped on the next gondola. The car swung up and over the trees, swaying a little in the icy wind.
“Now that we’re dating, you could at least tell me your name,” he answered, smiling.
“Nancy Drew,” she said, holding out her hand.
He shook it. “Bob Bannister,” he replied.
Turning her attention to the scene below, Nancy quickly spotted Tyler and Zoe. They seemed to be arguing about something. As the gondola passed closer, Nancy leaned down to hear what they were saying.
The zookeeper’s voice was too soft to be heard, but Tyler was almost shouting. “It’s not enough, I tell you! You must have more!”
More what? Nancy wondered. Before she could find out, the gondola passed by. She twisted in the chair, causing it to rock dangerously, but Tyler and Zoe were out of sight.
“Looking for someone?” Bob Bannister asked, holding on to the side of the gondola as she rocked it.
Nancy was about to answer when, with a sharp jab, she felt something like a rock hit her arm. She looked down, startled.
Sticking out of the sleeve of her ski jacket was a long, ugly-looking dart!
Chapter
Fifteen
NANCY GASPED and recoiled instinctively.
“Are you all right?” Bob Bannister asked.
She nodded, pulling the dart out of her sleeve. “Just a little shook up,” she told him, shaking herself. “Luckily it didn’t hit my skin.”
Nancy breathed a sigh of relief. If it hadn’t been for the padding of her ski jacket, the dart would have sunk deep into her arm.
Taking a closer look at the dart, Nancy saw it was long and sharp. In an instant she remembered where she’d seen one like it before.
“A tranquilizer dart,” she murmured, a wave of fear washing over her. Who knows what effect a tranquilizer meant for animals could have on a human being?
“You have dangerous friends, Nancy Drew,” said Bob, raising an eyebrow at the vicious-looking dart.
“Dangerous enemies, you mean,” she corrected him. She carefully placed the dart inside one of her ski gloves and put the glove in her jacket pocket.
Craning her neck, Nancy looked back in the direction where the dart had come from. Tyler and Zoe were still out of sight, but Nancy thought she caught a glimpse of Tyler’s red hair.
Whoever shot her was clearly desperate, Nancy realized. Was it the zookeeper, or had the man with the sunglasses come after her?
Either way, she thought, we’re all in danger, and there isn’t a thing I can do about it from up here! The gondola was beginning its descent, but it moved painfully slowly. Even worse—as long as she was up in the air, she was a sitting duck!
As they descended, they passed a tree whose branches scraped against the gondola. “This is where I get off,” she told Bob. Before he could reply, she grabbed a thick branch and swung out of the car.
Nancy hung in midair for one long, agonizing moment. Then she managed to clasp her legs around the branch and slide to safety, scratching her gloveless hand.
Swiftly she climbed down the trunk of the tree, sliding the last ten feet to the ground. She landed hard and temporarily lost her balance. Then she managed to steady herself by grabbing the tree.
Realizing she’d need proof to back any of her theories, Nancy decided to head for Zoe’s office, and fast. She ran down the path where she had last seen Tyler and Zoe. It came out near the snack bar, across from the World of Africa. The zookeeper was nowhere in sight, and Nancy was about to head for the staff entrance when she saw Bess, Owen, and George approaching from the other direction.
She ran up to them. “Things are getting dangerous,” she said. “Someone just tried to shoot me with a tranquilizer dart.”
Bess gasped. “Nancy, your hand is bleeding!”
She glanced down. “I’ll put something on it later. Right now I’ve got to get to Zoe’s office.”
“What for?” George asked. She’d looked concerned at first, but her expression grew cold when Nancy mentioned Zoe. “Nobody’s asking you to work on the case anymore,” she added icily.
“But, George, we know who’s been stealing the civets!” Nancy said excitedly. “Didn’t Bess tell you?”
“I just found them a minute ago,” Bess said quickly. “I haven’t told them anything yet.”
“Well, I know it wasn’t Owen,” Nancy told them, turning to him with an embarrassed smile. “I really owe you an apology,” she said honestly. “I was following Zoe yesterday, and when she met you at the drugstore, I didn’t know what to think—”
“So you assumed he was guilty,” George finished for her in the same icy tone. “When he was actually just asking her to reconsider her decision about letting him work at the zoo.”
“What I still don’t understand is why you had that dart gun,” Nancy said, turning to Owen.
Owen said, “You must mean the gun I had in the car. Zoe asked me to pick up a replacement for the stolen civet at the airport, and gave me a tranquilizer gun in case the shot it had been given for the trip had worn off. When I got fired, I gave the gun back to her.”
“So you thought—” George started furiously.
“George, it was an honest mistake,” Bess cut in. Her voice had a pleading tone. “You know Nancy was only trying to help.”
“Thanks, but we can do without that kind of help,” George said. Without looking at Nancy, she turned and walked away. Owen ran after her.
Nancy felt as though someone had poured cold water on her. Bess shrugged helplessly. “I tried talking to them, but they won’t listen,” she said. “George is still furious because you tailed Owen.”
“I’m sorry she feels that way, but I have to crack this case,” Nancy said, pushing her hurt feelings aside. “Our lives may be in danger! Whether George likes it or not, I can’t just walk away.”
Taking a deep breath, Nancy followed George with her eyes. How could she convince her best friend that she only had her interests at heart? It didn’t look as if George was going to listen to reason, and time was running out.
“Look,” Nancy said, turning to Bess, ?
??I have to check out Zoe’s office. Would you mind keeping an eye on George? I’m afraid of what might happen if Zoe comes after her or Owen.”
Bess nodded. “I’ll do my best. And, Nancy,” she added, “I’m behind you.” When Nancy still didn’t move, she felt Bess give her a little push. “Go on. The best way to get George back is to solve the case,” she pointed out.
Bess went after George and Owen, while Nancy dashed down the path to the staff entrance. Luckily the door was open. After searching the empty reception area, Nancy slipped into Zoe’s office.
The zookeeper seemed to have run out in a hurry—a lab coat was draped on top of a coat rack in one corner, and several hangers lay on the floor.
Nancy went to Zoe’s bookcase and picked up the photograph of Jacques Mathieu. When she looked carefully at it, she realized the photo wasn’t the same one that appeared in Fit for a Queen. In that picture Mathieu had been wearing a dark suit, while in Zoe’s photograph he had on white Bermuda shorts and a sweater.
Also, in Zoe’s picture Mathieu wasn’t alone. There were two children seated at his feet, a boy and a girl.
Both children were dark-haired and handsome. Nancy quickly removed the frame and looked at the back of the photograph. Someone had written in the date—twenty-five years ago. That would make the children about thirty now, Nancy guessed.
Still looking for clues that would connect the zookeeper with the civet thefts, Nancy went through Zoe’s desk drawers. In the back of a bottom drawer she hit pay dirt—a pile of stationery with the Classic Scents logo!
She tried the other drawers. Most contained papers relating to zoo business, but one small drawer was locked.
Nancy found a paper clip, which she untwisted and slid into the lock. It clicked open almost immediately.
She pulled the drawer out. Inside was a manila folder labeled Propriété de J. Mathieu.
Property of Jacques Mathieu, she translated to herself from the French. She opened the folder and found that it held some yellowing sheets of paper covered with crabbed writing. Recette trois, she read off one. Nancy frowned. Recipes? But for what?
Leafing through the pages, she came on one that made her draw in her breath. “Recipe for Belle Soirée,” she read aloud. The recipes were perfume formulas—including one for the lost fragrance!
After looking through all the papers, Nancy replaced them in the envelope. As she was putting it back in the drawer, her hand hit something hard.
She felt around in the drawer, finally locating a small velvet bag. Inside was a glittering crystal flacon labeled Belle Soirée!
The police will need to see this piece of evidence, she thought, putting the flacon in her pocket.
Nancy knew she had to call them fast—Zoe could come back at any moment! She reached for the telephone, but before she could call, she heard a strange noise coming from a corner of the room.
“Unnhhh!” It was a man’s voice. Nancy jumped as she heard the groan again. “Ummph!”
She glanced around and saw a door in the far wall, probably a closet. The sound seemed to be coming from there.
“Help!” The man groaned, more audibly this time. He was definitely in the closet. Nancy rushed over and turned the knob, but the door was locked.
“Who’s in there?” she called softly.
The man didn’t seem to hear her. “Some-ummph help!” he called.
Nancy looked around desperately for a way to force the door. Then she remembered seeing a credit card among the paraphernalia in Zoe’s desk drawer.
She ran back to the desk, found the card, and fitted it between the closet door and door frame. It slid in easily, but before she could spring the lock, she heard footsteps coming along the passageway.
Stuffing the credit card into her pocket, Nancy glanced wildly around the room in search of a hiding place. As the footsteps came closer, she flung herself across the room and crouched behind the coat rack.
A second later Zoe came in, speaking rapidly in French. From her hiding place Nancy could still see that behind Zoe was the man with the sunglasses.
Nancy covered her mouth with her hand to keep from gasping out loud. The man was wearing a bandage on his face, probably from the civet scratches. Somehow he had managed to escape before the police came—and now she was trapped just a few feet from him!
Still talking, Zoe pulled out a key and unlocked the door to the closet. As it swung open, she took a dart gun out of her pocket and pointed it at whoever was inside.
“Don’t shoot!” the man begged, staggering out of the closet and into the room. He was holding his chin, which was beginning to show a large, ugly bruise.
Nancy gasped again, her head whirling with surprise and fear. The man was Tyler Mack!
Chapter
Sixteen
TYLER FELL into the middle of the room. “Don’t hit me again!” he begged. “I won’t talk, I swear!”
Nancy leaned forward, straining to see through the forest of coats. So Tyler and Zoe weren’t accomplices after all! Nancy gently pulled back the edge of a coat. She just had to hear what was going on.
The man in the sunglasses said coldly to Tyler, “Thanks to your meddling, you’ve learned too much about Classic Scents. We can’t afford to let you go free.”
Tyler’s eyes bulged as the man’s implication became clear. “What—what are you going to do with me?”
The man smiled. “I don’t know yet. You might make a nice meal for the polar bears—”
“Jean!” Zoe said sternly. “We don’t have time for this nonsense!”
“Or maybe I’ll just shoot you,” Jean finished. He pointed to the gun. “This may look like a simple tranquilizer gun, but I’ve filled the darts with a lethal poison.”
Tyler gasped. “You wouldn’t use it!”
“Oh, but I would,” Jean assured him. “In fact, I’ve already used it. I just took care of the ringleader of those teenage brats who found the civets.”
Nancy swayed slightly. So it was Jean who had shot at her—and the dart had contained a deadly poison! She’d been only millimeters from death!
Tyler stared from Jean to the poison dart gun, his eyes darting back and forth in abject terror.
As Nancy watched, something inside Tyler seemed to crack. “No!” he screamed, lunging desperately at Jean in an attempt to get the gun.
There was a faint pfft sound, and Tyler fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. Zoe gave a little shriek. “You imbecile, you’ve ruined everything!” she cried to Jean. “Now what will we do with him?”
“We’ll take him with us,” Jean replied coolly.
“To New York?” Zoe wailed.
“That won’t be necessary. We’ll dump him on the way to the airport.” Jean leaned over to pick up Tyler’s unconscious body, which had fallen dangerously near Nancy’s hiding place. She squeezed farther behind the coats, praying he wouldn’t notice her.
“He’s still breathing,” Jean continued. “The poison takes several hours to work, but with luck no one will find him before then.”
“Wrap his head in something,” Zoe commanded. “That red hair is visible a mile away.”
Jean looked around for something to put on Tyler’s head. Nancy cringed as his eye fell on the lab coat hanging over her hiding place.
“This should do the trick,” he said, whipping it off the hook and leaving Nancy with nowhere to hide.
With a burst of fear, she kicked out, hoping to disarm Jean before he realized what was going on. The gun flew across the room, but Jean grabbed her and twisted her arm behind her back.
“Well, look who’s here, the girl detective,” he said. “You’re hard to shake, aren’t you?”
Her heart pounding, Nancy desperately tried to loosen her captor’s grip. Before she could break free, Zoe retrieved the gun from the corner where it had landed and pointed it straight at her.
“Don’t try anything,” she said grimly. “I would be very happy to kill you.”
Jean let her g
o, and slowly Nancy put her hands up. “I see I missed you in the gondola,” he said. When she nodded, he added, “Well, I won’t miss now. You’ve caused us enough trouble.”
“Thanks to you and your friends, the civets have escaped,” Zoe spat out angrily. “We’ll have to start all over again.”
“You mean you don’t have enough civet oil yet to manufacture Belle Soirée?” Nancy asked. She took the crystal flacon out of her pocket, holding it out so Zoe could see it. “That is what you plan to do, isn’t it—use the stolen formula to make Jacques Mathieu’s perfume?”
For a moment Zoe looked shocked. Then her face twisted into a smile. “You’re a lot smarter than I gave you credit for,” she said. “You’ve been a thorn in my side since the day I met you.”
“Yes, she’s been very intelligent,” Jean agreed. “Too bad she won’t get to use those brains any longer.”
He took the gun back from Zoe and motioned Nancy to walk out the door of the office ahead of him. “We can’t take you with us, and you’re not worth wasting another dart on. So I’ve decided to let nature take its course.”
Jean turned to Zoe. “The snake is still in the holding room, isn’t it?” She nodded. “I’ll put her in there.”
A wave of panic washed over Nancy as Jean pushed her toward the door next to Zoe’s office. Driven by fear, she made a wild attempt to twist her arms free, but he only laughed and gripped her tighter.
“You know what’s in there, don’t you?” he said, smiling with evil pleasure. “Zoe told me that the snake in this room has a bite more lethal than ten poison darts. People who get bitten die within minutes.”
Nancy’s blood ran cold at the casual way he described it. Jean continued, “No one will ever be able to pin your death on us. It will simply look like your snooping got you in trouble—for one last time.”
“How—” Nancy began, but he motioned her to be quiet. “Zoe, give me the key to the room.” Zoe complied, totally willing to let Jean give the orders. “Now go and guard the hallway. That way you won’t have to watch.”