“That’s Rocky,” Rachel whispered, pointing. At the opposite end of the room, a great golden-brown bird sat on a large perch and stared at the human intruders.
Nancy had the uncomfortable feeling that the eagle was looking right through her and that she wasn’t welcome in the room. A few moments later Maddie motioned for them to leave, then closed the door silently behind them.
“Rocky looks good,” Rachel said to Maddie. “Thanks to you.”
“He’s magnificent,” Nancy said. “I wish I could have gotten a closer look.”
“Maddie usually doesn’t let people look at her birds at all,” Rachel explained, walking toward the door. “There’s a real trick to getting them well without making them tame. If they’re going to be released into the wild, they can’t get too used to people.”
“So it’s important to keep people away from here?” Nancy said, raising her eyebrows.
“That’s right,” Maddie said firmly. “People and noise are the worst things for these birds right now.”
“So you would probably notice if anyone drove by on the road past your house,” Nancy said.
Maddie shrugged. “Maybe. Why?”
Nancy could see that Maddie had grown instantly wary.
“We think someone’s coming onto the retreat from a back way,” Nancy said, trying to sound friendly. “Maybe from your property.”
“I’ve heard a few trucks going by. No more than usual,” Maddie said flatly. “Tourists and hunters like to drive these back roads.”
Then Maddie’s eyes narrowed as she looked sternly at Nancy. “Maybe you’re suggesting that I’ve been trespassing,” she said, pushing her chin in the air defiantly. “Rachel, I think you’d better take your friend and go now.”
Rachel motioned Nancy to the door. Nancy followed her, wondering why the stocky woman was being so defensive. Nancy decided it would be best to leave. She was saying goodbye to Maddie when her eyes caught the glint of shiny metal.
There, resting on a table near the door, was a small copper blasting cap!
13
A Paper Trail
“What do you use blasting caps for?” Nancy asked, turning to Maddie.
“I found that,” the woman shot back angrily. “Now, I really think you should go.”
Maddie turned on her heels and strode back toward the bird room.
“We’d better leave,” Rachel said.
Nancy quickly stepped out, and Rachel closed the front door behind them. Rachel was very quiet as they got into the van and headed home.
“Do you know what Maddie’s working on to get money for her hospital?” Nancy asked.
“Sometimes she gets grants from the government for her work,” Rachel said with a shrug. “It’s probably something like that.”
Nancy wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t want to hurt her friend. She gazed out the window of the van as they bounced past the endless straight trunks of evergreen trees.
“Rachel, I know you like Maddie,” Nancy began gently. “But isn’t it possible she could be involved in the problems at the retreat?”
Rachel was silent for a long moment as she steered the van down the road. “I hate to think that Maddie might be involved,” Rachel said finally. “But it is possible, I guess.”
“Maddie’s said over and over again that she’s against the retreat becoming a park,” Nancy reminded her. “Plus, we know she wants more money for a new hospital, and now she says she has an idea for getting it. What if that idea is the Miner’s Creek gold?”
“I suppose it does look pretty bad,” Rachel said with a sigh. “But what about the blasting at the salmon spawning beds? Maddie would never do a thing like that. She loves animals too much.”
Nancy nodded. “You’re right. That doesn’t seem to fit her nature. But maybe she didn’t plan all the disasters herself. She could be working with someone else.”
“You mean, like Pete,” Rachel said.
“He is one of our leading suspects,” Nancy said. “Still, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re missing something—or someone.”
Rachel turned the van into the retreat driveway. As they neared the lodge, she slowed down. A pinto horse and rider were walking slowly up the drive in front of them.
“It’s George,” Nancy said, waving to her friend.
Rachel parked the van, and Nancy jumped out.
“I thought you were watching Pete,” she said.
“I was,” George said. “The only way I could think of to keep an eye on him was by helping him in the barn. After a while he started getting suspicious, so I said I wanted to take a ride. All he did all morning was clean stalls—and help me saddle this horse.”
George promised she would take only a short ride and check on Pete again when she returned to the barn.
“I’m going to change into shorts,” Nancy told Rachel as George rode away. “It’s getting much too warm for these jeans. I’ll meet you back at the lodge, okay?”
Rachel nodded, and the two girls went in opposite directions. But as Nancy neared the cabin, she saw that the door had been left ajar. She pushed it open carefully.
The cabin was in turmoil. All of the girls’ suitcases had been opened and dumped onto the floor. The beds had been torn up and the drawers opened in the tiny kitchen.
Someone had obviously searched the girls’ cabin while they were gone. But what could they have been looking for?
Nancy touched the buttoned pocket of her shirt. The map was still there, thank goodness. She was glad she’d kept it with her. In its fragile condition, she had thought about leaving it hidden in her suitcase.
Nancy sat on one of the bunks and looked around the room, wondering again why anyone would ransack the cabin. What could the intruder have been looking for? No one knew about the map. She had to find out what, if anything, was missing.
The book on prospecting that Tyler had loaned her was right where Nancy had left it on the kitchen counter. She walked over and saw that it had been opened to a page that she had marked on how to find gold.
Nancy closed the book again. Had the pages told the burglar anything new? Probably not.
Nancy reached for the smallest of three canisters that sat on the counter. She had put her only other physical evidence inside of it yesterday. She lifted the lid and found the canister empty. The piece of the assay report was gone!
As Nancy replaced the lid, she wondered if someone had come looking for just that piece of paper. But how had he or she known that Nancy had found it in the meadow? Or maybe the burglar had come across the assay report accidentally while looking for something else. Could whoever it was have guessed that they’d found a map? Someone might have been spying on them last night! That thought sent a shiver up Nancy’s spine. She would have to tell George, Bess, and Rachel to be especially careful.
Nancy was picking up clothes from the floor when she heard a moan from the bathroom. Quietly she crossed the room and edged the door to the small room open. There, sprawled on the floor, was a barely conscious Bess. She was lying on her side, her long hair in a disheveled mass on the wood floor.
Nancy knelt down beside her friend as Bess moaned again and started to move. There was a large lump on the back of her head, and a small amount of blood was already dried in her blond hair.
“Nancy, am I glad to see you,” Bess said groggily when she opened her eyes. “What hit me?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, it came down hard,” Nancy said. “You’ve got a nasty lump here.”
Nancy gently felt around the back of Bess’s head to check her injuries.
“I think you’re going to be okay,” she said. “Can you stand up?”
“I think so,” Bess said.
With Nancy’s help Bess managed to get to her feet and walk the few steps to the nearest bunk bed. Nancy helped her lie down.
“Stay still,” Nancy told her. “I’m going to get help. But first, tell me what happened.”
Bess shook her head slow
ly. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I walked around the grounds for a while this morning, looking for Tyler. I never found him, so I came back here. When I opened the door to the cabin, my suitcase was open. Then I thought I heard a noise in the bathroom. I went in to see what it was, and wham!”
“Did you see anyone?” Nancy asked.
“No, nothing,” Bess said.
Nancy squeezed Bess’s hand and ran toward the lodge. She threw open the front door and yelled for Rachel.
“I’m upstairs,” Rachel called as she came out of her room and leaned over the balcony. “What’s up?”
“Bess has been hurt,” Nancy said. “She was unconscious for several minutes, at least. I think she should see a doctor.”
By the time Nancy had finished her explanation, Charlie had come out of his office and started down the stairs, with Rachel right behind him. Elsa pushed open the swinging doors to the kitchen and hurried toward Nancy, drying her hands on her apron.
“Where is she?” Charlie demanded, striding across the room.
“Is she badly hurt?” Elsa asked anxiously.
“She’s in the cabin. She was hit on the head—by an intruder,” Nancy said.
With Nancy in the lead, the group made a cavalry-style rush to the cabin, all intent on helping Bess. After both Elsa and Charlie had examined her, they agreed Bess should see a doctor.
“I’ll drive her to the clinic,” Elsa said.
“And I’ll go with you.” There was a look of determination on Rachel’s face as she spoke. “Then we’re going to find out who did this, one way or another.”
Nancy hoped that Rachel could keep her emotions under control. Rachel would need a clear head to be of any help in solving this mystery.
Rachel was right about one thing, though, Nancy thought. It was time to find whoever was causing all the problems at Highland Retreat. The situation seemed to be becoming more dangerous every day.
Elsa and Rachel were helping Bess up off the bunk when George walked in.
“What’s this, a party?” George asked. Then she noticed Bess and quickly became serious. “What happened? What’s going on?”
Nancy quickly told the story.
“I just put my horse away,” George said. “Pete’s not in the barn anymore. He would have had time to do this after I left him. I should have stayed in the barn.”
Nancy noticed that Elsa looked shocked that George would accuse Pete, but the cook quickly turned back to Bess, saying nothing.
Charlie was more outspoken. “Pete wouldn’t do this,” he said firmly. “And I don’t like you accusing him.”
“It could have been someone else,” Nancy said quickly. “Tyler, for instance. Bess told us she never did see him this morning.”
“Tyler said he was going to town about an hour ago,” Charlie said. “To the post office.”
“The post office—again,” Rachel said, showing by her tone that she didn’t believe his alibi.
“Did you see him leave?” Nancy asked.
“No, but his car is gone,” Charlie said.
Nancy turned toward Bess, who was now standing with the help of both Elsa and Rachel. Nancy held the door open as they walked Bess out to the van. Bess slid into the seat behind the driver, with Rachel beside her. Elsa climbed behind the steering wheel.
Nancy was convinced that her friend would be well taken care of. As the van sped down the driveway, Nancy turned to Charlie.
“Could you please take out all the papers that have to do with the sale of Highland Retreat?” she asked him. “If George and I don’t meet you in your office in twenty minutes, call the sheriff. We’re going to check out Tyler’s cabin.”
George and Nancy walked quickly toward the government aide’s cabin.
“What are we doing?” George whispered as Nancy rapped firmly on Tyler’s door.
“Looking for answers,” Nancy told her.
Nancy knocked on the door three more times before deciding that the cabin was empty. Carefully she turned the knob. The door was unlocked. After pushing it open just a crack, she called, “Anyone here?”
Still there was no answer. Nancy pushed the door open the rest of the way, and she and George stepped cautiously inside.
Tyler’s cabin was identical to their own. The single room, the bunk beds, small kitchen, and bathroom were all in the same places.
There was a loaf of bread on the counter, and when Nancy opened the tiny refrigerator, she found a quart of milk and some butter.
“I guess that’s why we didn’t see him at breakfast,” Nancy said. “He must have fixed his own here.”
Nancy closed the refrigerator and began to look around the rest of the cabin.
“Watch out the window to make sure Tyler isn’t coming back,” Nancy said to George.
“Okay,” George said.
Nancy glanced through another stack of books on the counter. All of them were related to politics. Several weekly news magazines lay on the floor beside the bunk. “This guy is really serious about his work,” Nancy muttered.
A pen and some papers lay on a small nightstand. On top of the papers, neatly stacked, were a personal appointment book and a journal.
Nancy opened the journal first, though she expected that Tyler was too clever to write down any wrongdoing. The last entry was dated a week earlier.
She quickly leafed through the papers and stopped when she saw the unusual, three-eagle letterhead of the Nature Preservation League.
“Bingo,” she said as she pulled the letter out of the stack. It was a copy of the letter Charlie had shown her.
“What do you suppose Tyler is doing with this?” she wondered out loud.
“Whatever you found, you’d better tell me about it later,” George said, ducking away from the window. “Tyler’s car is coming up the driveway.”
Nancy replaced the letter in the stack. Then she and George hurried to the back door of the cabin.
George reached for the doorknob, but Nancy wouldn’t let her open it until she heard Tyler’s car in front of the cabin.
“If we leave too soon, he’ll see us,” Nancy whispered.
Finally, as Tyler walked to his front door, Nancy and George sneaked out the back.
“That was close,” George said.
“It sure was, but I think it was worth it,” Nancy said. “Let’s go meet Charlie, and I’ll explain.”
The girls walked behind the cabins, then cut across to the lodge. The door to Charlie’s office was open, and Charlie was sitting at his desk. In front of him was a small stack of papers.
“Did you give Tyler a copy of the letter from the Nature Preservation League?” Nancy asked.
“No,” Charlie replied. “I kept that offer secret, except for telling you. It was my ace in the hole. Why?”
“Well, Tyler has a copy of it,” Nancy said.
“Where would he have gotten it?” George asked.
“I don’t know—unless he was the one writing it,” Nancy said. “I think it’s time for another call to Dad.”
Nancy waited while the receptionist at Carson Drew’s office routed her call through. George and Charlie waited silently.
“Hello, Nancy. No news about your donation,” Carson Drew said when he had picked up the phone. “How is everything going?”
“It’s slow, but I think we’re closing in,” Nancy said. She had decided not to worry her dad with the news of Bess’s injury.
“I’ve done a little checking,” Carson said. “I couldn’t find anyone who’d ever heard of this Nature Preservation League.”
“I’m not surprised,” Nancy said. “I think it’s a front. Someone wants to get his or her hands on this land.”
“How valuable is it?” Carson asked.
“Very, especially if there’s gold here,” Nancy told him. “Did you find out anything about the senator or Tyler Nelson?”
“The senator is a respected legislator,” Nancy’s father replied. “He’s been in office for twelve years and h
as a scandal-free record. I didn’t find out much about Tyler, except that he’s from a wealthy Seattle family. Graduated from Stanford University. Now, what’s this about gold?”
“It’s a long story, Dad. I’ll tell you the whole thing when I get home, I promise. But tell me, is Tyler’s family wealthy enough to buy the retreat?”
“From what I hear, they are,” Carson said. “Apparently Tyler’s grandfather founded a shipbuilding firm in Seattle. It’s now one of the largest in the country.”
“I think you’ve just helped me solve a mystery,” Nancy said.
She thanked her father and promised him that she would be careful. Then she hung up and turned her attention back to George and Charlie, who were waiting impatiently to hear what she had learned.
“Tyler’s got money,” Nancy said. “Enough to buy this place, if he can stop the government deal. And my father can’t trace the Nature Preservation League.”
“So you think Tyler’s been causing all the problems around here?” Charlie asked.
“It’s possible,” Nancy said. “But if he did, I suspect he had help. Pete looks like a likely accomplice.”
“I’m going to call the sheriff again,” Charlie said, reaching for the phone.
“But we don’t have any real evidence,” Nancy protested. “The only thing I had was that piece of paper from the assay office, and now that’s gone. I think we should set a trap.”
“That’s too dangerous,” Charlie said.
“No more dangerous than letting whoever is doing all of this get away, free to come back and cause you more trouble,” Nancy argued.
“I suppose you’re right.” Charlie sat back in his chair and sighed. “But you’ve got just one chance to bring this culprit out in the open. Then I’m calling in the law.”
“It’s a deal,” Nancy said. She was already forming a plan in her mind.
“Would you make sure Maddie and B.D. are coming to the barbecue tonight?” she asked Charlie. “I think everyone should be here for this.”
Charlie agreed, and Nancy laid out her plan. She pulled the folded map from her shirt pocket and showed it to Charlie.
His eyes widened. “What on earth . . . ?” he began.