“Just my job,” said Nancy. “Now, keep an eye out for any headlights—on either side of the highway. We’ll try to flag down help if anyone goes by. I’m going to stay in here and keep you company until I actually see a car coming. No sense in standing out there for hours. I’ll just have my flashlight ready in case.”
Bill didn’t answer. He looked as if he’d dropped off to sleep already. After a couple of minutes Nancy switched the radio on low to keep herself company.
“Rain and gale winds to continue on through the night,” said the announcer. “There’s a travelers’ advisory in effect until further notice. So stay inside and keep warm with someone you love.”
I wish, thought Nancy as she turned the heat up a notch. Ned, I just hope you’re more comfortable than I am.
Bill muttered something inaudible, and Nancy glanced over at him. He was looking worse and worse—flushed and shaking as if he had a fever. He opened his eyes and stared glassily back at her.
“Will I die?” he asked clearly.
“Bill, your leg is hurt, but there’s nothing else the matter with you as far as I can tell,” said Nancy. “You’re going to be fine.” And as soon as you’re all better, you’re going to jail, she thought to herself.
Bill shook his head fitfully. “So you think I’m the kind of guy who advertises for dates in the Personals?” he asked.
Nancy sat up, suddenly alert. Was he finally going to tell her what was going on? “Well, that’s what your ad sounded like,” she said.
“Hah! That’s all you know,” Bill said with a laugh. “There’s something big going on, Miss Private Detective. Big money. Bigger than you’ll ever see. That’s why I got a little mixed up when your friend answered my ad. You see, I thought she had the money,” he added, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.
“What money was that again?” Nancy asked casually.
“John’s money—John’s and mine. John Engas. He was my partner. Do you think my leg is broken?”
“I don’t know, but if it is, I’m sure you’ll heal fast,” Nancy said, soothing him. “So you and John worked together? What—uh, what kind of work?”
“Making money.” Bill winked at her. “The old-fashioned way.” He giggled deliriously. “Oh, I guess I might as well tell you about it. It’s all in the past now. You see, we had the perfect scheme and the perfect bank picked out—and then John had to get her involved.”
“You must have been furious,” Nancy said. Injured as he was, he still could be dangerous, she thought, so it was important to humor him.
“ ‘Furious’ isn’t the word for it. You see, two years ago—it’s hard to believe it’s that long ago already—my buddy John and I dreamed up the perfect scheme for robbing First Lincoln in Chicago.” Suddenly he glared at her. “But don’t think I’m going to tell you what it was. Oh, no! I don’t want you stealing my ideas.”
Nancy shook her head. She couldn’t think of any way to answer that.
“So then John said he wanted his girlfriend to be our getaway driver. He said Jenny was a great driver and not the nervous type.” Bill coughed. He was shivering again.
“Not the nervous type,” Nancy prompted him.
“Well, that’s what he said. I only saw Jenny twice. Once when we rehearsed the drive and then again on the day of the robbery. She was gorgeous, as far as I could tell—but she was wearing sunglasses, so it was kind of hard to see what she really looked like. She was dressed all in white both times—John said that was what she always wore.”
Nancy could see the headlights of an approaching car—the first she’d seen since they’d been there. She was about to jump out and try to flag it down when she stopped herself. There would have to be another car at some point, and she wanted to hear the rest of Bill’s story while he was still in a talkative mood. She watched silently as the car passed them and sped on into the night. Bill didn’t even notice it.
“So. The robbery went fine—better than fine, actually. We had it set up so that John and Jenny would leave in one car and I’d leave in another. That way it would be harder for people to chase us. We were going to meet outside the city and split up the money. That little weasel!” he suddenly shouted. “I can’t believe she tricked us like that.”
“What did she do?”
“Only got John killed, that’s all. I waited for three hours at the spot we’d arranged. Then I heard on the car radio that—that there’d been an accident. John’s car had been totaled, and he was dead.”
“And Jenny?”
“John was the only person they found in the car.”
“So Jenny must have escaped?” Nancy said.
“Escaped and taken the money with her.” Bill sighed heavily. “I never found out who identified the body. I couldn’t do it myself, of course.”
“So there you were, without the money and without any idea of where Jenny was,” said Nancy, trying to sound as sympathetic as she could.
“That’s right—until last year. Then a—well, let’s say a friend of mine told me Jenny was hiding out here. I figured she’d be using a different name and keeping out of the way, but I knew one thing about her: she and John had met through the Personals. Now, you can change your name, but reading the Personals is the kind of thing you never change. Besides, I couldn’t think of any other way to reach her.”
“So that’s why you ran the ad,” said Nancy.
“Yeah. The funny thing is, that’s how I got my job, too. The first copy of the Record I bought had a Help Wanted ad for a guy in the Record’s own mailroom. It’s not much of a job, but it’ll keep me going until I get that money back.”
“But what makes you think you’re going to get the money back?” Nancy asked.
“I talked to Jenny this morning.”
“What? But last night—”
“No, she didn’t make it to her meeting with you last night. But she called the paper again today, and I just happened to be passing by the desk when the phone rang. Lena’s out sick, they said. I figured Jenny might try again, so I kept checking the phone.”
He chuckled contentedly. “She’s scared out of her mind by those ads I’ve been running. She says she’d rather turn herself in than have me looking for her. We were going to meet tomorrow. . . .”
Bill had been talking with more and more animation in the past few minutes, but now his eyes suddenly clouded. He collapsed back down into the seat. “Only now how can I get anywhere to meet her?” he said disgustedly. “Even if we do get rescued soon, I’m hurt too badly to go anywhere but a hospital. And then I’m as good as in jail. I have the worst luck in the world.”
“I can think of one way out,” Nancy said slowly. “But you may not like it.”
“Well, what is it?” Bill asked.
“You can let me meet Jenny for you.”
Bill stared at her. “But she could be a murderer!” he said. “She’ll kill you for sure if she finds out you know what’s going on!”
“That’s a risk I’ll have to take,” Nancy answered. “I’ve got to finish up this case. And if I have to face a murderer to do it, that’s just the way it’ll have to be.”
Chapter
Fourteen
SO YOU’RE REALLY meeting this woman tonight?” said Bess. Nancy had stopped by Bess’s house to tell her and George what had happened the night before. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Nancy.”
“I do,” Nancy said. “There’s no way Bill’s going to be able to do it, and someone has to connect with Jenny—if only to make sure she’s caught. Bill says he realizes he may have to go to jail, but he won’t even mind as long as Jenny gets whatever treatment he does.”
George snorted. “He won’t mind going to jail? After everything he’s done to get that money back? Do you really believe him?”
“I wouldn’t,” admitted Nancy, “but I think his accident really knocked the stuffing out of him. He’s an incredible hypochondriac, for one thing. He really thinks that fall down the cliff
was a brush with death. And he says the fact that I was the one who rescued him just proves that he was never meant to get away with this.”
That wasn’t all Bill had said the night before. Once Nancy had convinced him that she’d be “able to handle a meeting with Jenny, he’d really gone to pieces.
“You’re being so good to me after everything I’ve done to you,” he’d said. “I’ll never be able to thank you, Nancy. I swear, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you—”
“Hold it, Bill,” Nancy had said, half amused. “I have to warn you, I’m still not exactly on your side. As soon as the police get here”—the motorist they’d flagged down had promised to drive to the police station two exits away—“you’re going to be in custody, you know.”
But Bill had seemed resigned to that. “It feels good to have this all off my chest.” He’d sighed. “I guess I’m just glad to be out of the whole mess.”
The police had taken Bill and Nancy to the hospital, and Bill had been taken away for X rays. By then he was delirious again, and the nurse Nancy spoke to was sure the hospital wouldn’t need to use any extra security to keep him in his room. “He’s not going anywhere,” she’d said, “not with that leg and that fever.”
Now it was almost noon the next day, and Nancy was stretched out on Bess’s couch. The rain had finally stopped, and sun was dancing in through the curtains. It was hard to believe she’d ever been drenched and cold.
But Bess hadn’t stopped fussing since Nancy had walked through the door. “I just don’t think you should meet Jenny alone, Nan.” She was fretting now. “She could be a killer, for all you know—look what happened to her boyfriend!”
“Look, Bess, it’s going to go just fine,” Nancy said again. “We’re meeting in a public place, you know.”
“Yeah—the same restaurant where Bill met me! And look how that turned out! I’m only telling you what you told me, by the way.”
Nancy leaned over and pinched her friend’s cheek affectionately. “I know,” she said. “And I appreciate your concern. I think I’ll be able to handle things, though. From what Bill said, Jenny’s much too spooked to try anything.
“Now give me one more cup of coffee before I go,” she continued, holding out her cup to George. “And some more of that coffeecake, if Bess hasn’t finished it. Otherwise I’ll fall asleep right here and never get to the paper at all.”
She wasn’t meeting Jenny till that night, so Nancy had decided to stop in at the Record and fill Mr. Whittaker in on what had happened. After that she’d head back to the hospital to visit Ned. It had been torture the night before, being in the same building with Ned and knowing she couldn’t see him—visiting hours had been long over by the time she and Bill had gotten there. Now, though, Nancy hoped to make up for it.
• • •
“In the hospital!” Mr. Whittaker exclaimed half an hour later. “What’s the matter with him?”
“You’re not going to like this, Mr. Whittaker. Bill’s the one who’s been running those ads. He’s also the one who phoned in that bomb threat yesterday.” Quickly Nancy filled him in on what had happened since she had last seen him. When she had finished, Mr. Whittaker’s face was purple with rage.
“I’d like to go over there and break his other leg for him!” he growled. “When I think of what could have happened yesterday if anyone had panicked—not to mention what he’s done to you and to this paper’s reputation—well, I’m glad you’re handling this case and not me.”
“I hope it will all be over soon, Mr. Whittaker. And, please, don’t mention anything about this until Jenny’s in custody. We don’t want her to get word of what’s going on. Now, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to go talk to Lena. I owe her an apology for a few things. And then I have to go to the hospital to see Ned.”
“Sure. Do anything you want,” answered Mr. Whittaker. “I’m completely in your debt.”
• • •
“No, I mean it. You look a lot better,” Nancy told Ned.
It was true. Ned looked thinner, and his face was tired and gaunt. But the feverish brightness was gone from his eyes, and he was talking like himself again.
“I see your fans haven’t forgotten you. This is lovely,” Nancy went on, picking up the ugliest flower arrangement she’d ever seen. It was a china vase shaped like a donkey and filled with huge mustard-colored chrysanthemums. A balloon that said “For a Good Boy” was tied to the donkey’s neck.
Ned grinned. “Oh, that’s from George and Bess. They thought it would cheer me up. I kind of hope one of them ends up in the hospital someday so I can send it to her.
“They think I’ll be able to leave in a few more days,” he added.
“So you’re really getting better?” Nancy asked.
“Oh, I’m a star patient. I may have to do a little physical therapy to get my legs back in shape.”
“Well, I’ll help you,” Nancy said quickly. “I’ll work you harder than your coaches ever did.”
“Sure you will,” Ned answered. He took her hand in his. “I’ve really missed you, Nancy. Not seeing you on top of having to eat hospital food is just too much. Do you think you can come to see me again tonight? Evening visiting hours start at seven.”
Nancy’s heart sank. “Oh, Ned, I’d—I’d love to, but I’ve got something else on.”
“A date?” Ned asked teasingly.
“Well, just with a—a girl I know.” It was so hard not to tell him about the case!
Ned gave a theatrical sigh. “That’s just the way of the world, I guess,” he said, his voice vibrating with mock sorrow. “A guy’s in the hospital for a few hours and his girlfriend forgets all about him.”
“Stop!” Nancy said, more sharply than she had meant to. “You know I’d come to see you if I could. This is something I can’t get out of.”
“Hey, I was only kidding!” Ned protested.
Nancy bent down and kissed him. “I know,” she said, tracing his mouth with her finger. “I just feel bad about it. I wish I didn’t have to leave at all.”
“Well, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Ned said.
Nancy laughed. “I don’t think the doctor would like that.” She bent to kiss him again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, the minute they let me in,” she said.
Back out in the hall, Nancy paused for a minute. Visiting hours were almost over, but she had promised herself she’d stop in to see Bill. She didn’t know what floor he was on, though. She’d have to go down to the Emergency Room to see where they’d sent him.
“Bill Stark—Bill Stark,” the nurse at the reception desk repeated, checking a list of new patients. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see his name here.”
“He came into the ER last night,” Nancy said. “Could you just check one more time?”
“Wait a minute. The man the police brought in—the one who’d hurt his leg?” the nurse asked, looking more closely at Nancy. “Are you that private investigator who came in with him?”
“Yes. I’m Nancy Drew. Is there some kind of problem?”
The nurse winced. “You could say that. He—well, he seems to have left the hospital. When the resident checked his bed this morning, he was gone.”
Chapter
Fifteen
GONE?” NANCY REPEATED blankly. “But he wasn’t supposed to go anywhere! He’s committed a crime!”
“Ms. Drew, we’re aware of that. I can’t tell you how sorry we all are. No one here thought there was the slightest chance he’d be able even to get out of his bed—he was in such terrible shape when he came in. We’ve informed the police, of course, and they’re looking for him.”
“But I just don’t understand how he could have done it,” Nancy said. “Wasn’t his leg broken?”
The nurse sighed. “Actually, no. The X rays didn’t show a fracture. He may have bruised the bone—that can be very painful—but nothing more serious than that. He hadn’t even sprained his ankle.”
“We
ll, that’s one piece of good news,” Nancy said bitterly.
“If you’d like to talk to the doctor who treated him last night—”
“I can’t,” Nancy interrupted. “All of this means I’ve got to change my plans a little. Thanks for telling me,” she said.
So Bill was in hiding somewhere, she thought as she raced out to her car. Everything he’d told her about accepting his fate had been a lie.
And that might mean that he was going to try to reach Jenny before Nancy did. If he did want revenge after all—
“I can’t let him get to her,” she said aloud. It was true that Jenny had broken the law, but Nancy knew it was still her job to protect Jenny. If she was guilty of anything, the law—not Bill Stark—should punish her. Besides, the money Bill had stolen had to be returned to the Chicago bank he’d taken it from. If Jenny gave it to him, that would never happen.
Without realizing it, Nancy had started driving on the road that would take her to Bel Canto, the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Jenny. She checked her watch. It would be after six o’clock by the time she got there. Jenny wasn’t due until seven, but Nancy would be able to use the extra time to make sure Bill wasn’t lurking around.
The restaurant parking lot had hardly any cars in it. I don’t know how they stay in business, Nancy thought as she parked the Mustang.
Bill’s car certainly wouldn’t be here. It had probably been taken to a junkyard already. The other cars in the parking lot looked empty. Nancy walked through the lot, peering into each one. Unless Bill was hiding in one of the trunks, he wasn’t inside any of these cars.
Nancy walked around to the back of the restaurant, but the only vehicle there was a Bel Canto van. Nancy quickly swung open its back door and looked inside, hoping no one from the restaurant would choose that moment to come outside. No Bill—just three crates of carrots.
Okay, he wasn’t out here. Nancy walked into the restaurant and checked out the tables. Two elderly women having an early dinner; a mother and her teenage daughter; a few businessmen having drinks; and that was it.