“But you still haven’t told us why Mr. Littlewolf was your prisoner,” Bess said.
“Patience, patience,” Nigel replied. “All in good time. When Andy wanted to visit the Hopi Reservation to buy stuff for his store, he asked me to come with him as a go-between to negotiate for him on unfriendly territory. Naturally, after I did him that favor, I figured he owed me one.”
I put two and two together. “So you then asked him to say in a letter that the pot had been his and he’d sold it to you legitimately.”
Nigel nodded at me respectfully. “You’re beginning to understand, Nancy. Yes, I asked him to write me such a letter.” He shot a wicked look at Mr. Littlewolf. “Yet he had the nerve to refuse me!”
“So you argued in the Hopi village,” I guessed. “And Ned overheard, so you kidnapped him.”
“Andy was being stubborn,” Nigel declared. “Since he wouldn’t write me a letter, I decided to lure him here and force him to write it by threatening to hurt Sasha. But Ned presented an opportunity earlier.”
“You mean you kidnapped Ned just to force Mr. Littlewolf to write the letter for you?” I asked.
“Well, he was snooping,” Nigel said, as if it was all Ned’s fault. “I had to silence him for that alone. But I also used Ned to force Andy’s hand.”
“Nigel ordered me into the car at knifepoint,” Ned explained. “He made Mr. Littlewolf drive, and threatened to hurt me if he wouldn’t obey. Nigel forced us to come here, where he’d already brought Sasha.”
“That’s right,” Mr. Littlewolf said. “With both Sasha and Ned under threat, I finally wrote the letter Nigel needed. But by then it was too late. We all knew too much about him, so he wouldn’t let us go.”
“So once he got the letter, he didn’t need you anymore. He decided he’d be better off without you,” Bess said. “How coldhearted is that?”
I felt sickened by Nigel. He was willing to sacrifice lives for his own glory. And Sasha was the daughter of his old friend! I couldn’t let him see how angry I was, though. Not yet. Not if I wanted him to answer all my questions about the case.
“Tell me about the raft,” I said. “You put the knife in it, right?”
“I certainly did,” he said proudly. “I happened to be at Littlewolf’s Antiques talking to Andy when Paul Starflower called and mentioned, among other things, that you were going rafting. I listened in on the phone extension. See, I knew you were on the case, Nancy, because Paul and Kate mentioned it before we all met for dinner that evening in Moab.”
“So you slipped away from the store to plant the knife?” George asked.
“It was an opportunity, shall we say,” Nigel said smugly. “I would have been foolish not to try. River Outfitters was just down the street, and the raft had already been strapped to the trailer outside. You were inside taking care of last minute business with the guide, so I just... acted. Luckily I had some yellow tape on me; I’d been patching up my own raft earlier that day. I wanted to get you out of my way, Nancy. I knew you’d find Sasha sooner or later. And I knew you’d find me.”
“Well, you were right about that,” Ned said. “But why did you take us to this cave? Why not one in Canyonlands where Sasha had surprised you?”
“I knew people would be searching Canyonlands for her, so I drove her here instead,” he replied. “I tossed her into my Jeep, which I’d hidden at the top of the cliff, and sped to Canyon De Chelly more than three hours away. I’d discovered this cave a few weeks ago while searching for artifacts. It was a perfect hiding place for a hostage. The iron bar had probably been used for tethering animals at one time, but I saw no sign that the cave had been occupied in years.”
“But Sasha is the daughter of your friends,” I said. “Don’t you feel any loyalty?”
“Of course I do, Nancy,” Nigel said. “Do you think I’m that hard-hearted? I planned to tell Paul and Kate where she was, once I was safely out of the country. I thought prosecution unlikely, especially because there were no witnesses. And I was willing to sacrifice our friendship to get the pot. But when Ned and Andy became involved, the game changed. I couldn’t let them go without risking my freedom. There were simply too many witnesses.”
“So why are you here now?” I asked him. “You’ve already got your letter.”
“To check the cave for artifacts one last time. But you foiled me, Nancy. I should be at the airport by now.” He glared at me with his cold gray eyes, and despite the heat, a chill ran through me. But at least he was right about one thing: We were all okay.
After the police arrested Nigel, we happily returned to Moab. The Starflowers were thrilled to be reunited with Sasha, but they were also horrified by Nigel’s crimes. Mrs. Starflower couldn’t believe that Nigel had done such terrible things, and that she’d been in the dark for so long about his real personality.
“I’d always known he was ambitious,” she said, “but I never dreamed he’d go to such extremes. And use such treachery!”
The Powells barely noticed Sasha’s return, except when Missy reluctantly gave back her ring, but Nick was ecstatic to see her again. The funny thing was that Sasha seemed happy to see him, too. And our first evening back, as she and Nick sat at a table for two at the Laughing Tortilla, I got the feeling that they really cared about each other. All Nick needed was a little more confidence that Sasha liked him, and a better grip on his temper.
Bess, George, Ned, and I sat with Mr. and Mrs. Starflower at another table. The Starflowers were so nice, thanking me for my detective work. But I don’t think of solving mysteries as work. For me, they’re exciting adventures, like the mountain biking trip my friends and I were planning the next day on some nearby trails.
“If anyone hears a strange noise when we’re out on the trails tomorrow, don’t investigate!” Ned warned.
“Why not?” George said. “Nancy can deal with it.”
“Hey, wait a minute! I’d kind of like to relax too,” I said, smiling.
“You always say that,” Bess said, raising her soda glass in a toast, “but we know better.”
Carolyn Keene, The Stolen Relic
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