Hot Pursuit

by Carolyn Keene

  Nancy shivered as she listened to Gibbs’s chilling words. A helpless feeling wrenched at her.

  “I haven’t yet decided what to do with Ricky Angeles.” Gibbs tapped his chin thoughtfully, as if he were considering what color wallpaper to use in the resort lobby. “I may try to buy his silence, since he’s incriminated himself by trying to buy his sister’s freedom. On the other hand, it might be best just to dispense with him, too. I hate loose ends, don’t you?”

  Nancy gasped. “Come on, Gibbs,” she called out in desperation. “You’re not a killer! Call this thing off before it’s too late.”

  “No. I’m a businessman, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my interests.”

  Daniel tugged on the rope one more time, then the two men stepped back.

  “Goodbye, Nancy,” Gibbs said politely. “It’s been a pleasure. But soon it will be high tide—and then farewell to Nancy Drew.”

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  GIBBS AND DANIEL turned and climbed over the jagged rocks and out of sight. A few minutes later Nancy heard the motorboat roar to life, then the sound fade as it sped away.

  She glanced down at the rising water, which now reached halfway up her chest. She had to get out of the tide pool before it was too late!

  Nancy pushed against the sandy bottom, but the rope around her waist was just tight enough to keep her down. If she could loosen the bindings on her hands and feet, she thought desperately, she’d have a chance of escaping.

  A giant wave crashed over the rocks, and Nancy sputtered as water hit her face. When her vision cleared, she searched the bottom of the tide pool. The rope on her ankles seemed to be a little worn. She knew she couldn’t break it, but a sharp object might cut through it.

  Nancy felt around quickly with her hands, but the surface of the boulder was as smooth as glass. As she felt to the right, however, she found that the rock jutted out into a shelf.

  “Ouch!” she said, wincing as she reached under the rock shelf. Small, sharp objects were growing there. Barnacles!

  The water had already reached Nancy’s shoulders. Working quickly, she stretched her wrists apart until the rope between them was taut, then she rubbed the rope against the sharp, calcified shells. After a few minutes she stopped rubbing to feel the rope with her fingers. It was shredding but too slowly. The water was up to her chin!

  Panic welled up inside Nancy as she worked the bindings against the barnacles. Her heart raced with each wave that splashed into the deepening tide pool. She gave the rope another pull and—snap! It split in two. Her hands were free!

  Nancy flexed her fingers, then quickly went to work on the double knot around her waist. The tide had risen so high that she now had to strain upward, take deep breaths, and work underwater.

  Finally the knot loosened and Nancy ripped it open. The slackened rope floated away from her as she propelled herself above the surface, gasping for air.

  She was free!

  Taking huge, gulping breaths, Nancy crawled back onto the boulder and reached down to untie the rope around her ankles. There wasn’t a minute to spare. She had to find a way back to St. John to stop Gibbs and his men from killing her friends—if it wasn’t too late already!

  Finding small toeholds, Nancy slowly scaled the jagged cliffside. As she climbed, she tried to remember everything Vincent had told them about the Devil’s Chain that day in the glass-bottomed boat. Hadn’t he said something about dark pits you could fall into? she thought nervously.

  She kept away from the shadows, pausing when she reached a wide stone ledge. From there she could cut inland, away from the barren cliffs, and search the island for trees and plants. If she could find some dry brush, she could start a signal fire to attract the attention of passing boats and planes.

  She was crossing the ledge when she noticed a dark opening in the rock. Edging closer, she saw that it was the mouth of a cave. Her skin prickled as she peered into the blackness.

  Nancy froze as she glimpsed a movement in the cave. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. Soon she was able to make out a shadowy figure. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she tried to focus in the darkness. She couldn’t tell what the creature was, but it was moving toward her!

  Nancy backed out of the cave and flattened herself against the stone wall, gripping the jagged surface. She gasped as the figure stepped out onto the sunny ledge.

  It was a young woman! She was barefoot and her clothes were tattered, but she moved with a graceful stride. The slight, dark-haired woman glared suspiciously at Nancy.

  As Nancy got a closer look at the girl’s almond-shaped brown eyes and pale complexion, she knew immediately who she was—she had stumbled onto Ricky Angeles’s sister!

  “Maria?”

  A puzzled expression crossed the girl’s face. “How do you—You’re not with them, are you?” she asked, backing away.

  “Your brother sent me to find you,” Nancy explained gently, trying to calm the girl down. “Ricky’s been worried sick about you.” She smiled warmly at Maria. “I’m Nancy Drew, a friend of your brother’s. Are you okay?”

  Maria was baffled as she shook Nancy’s hand. “I’m fine. How did you find me here?”

  “That’s a long story,” Nancy said. “I’ll try to explain everything as we work, but first we need to start a signal fire. Do you know where we can find some dry leaves or grass?”

  “Follow me,” Maria said with a nod. As she led Nancy from the stone ledge to a sandy path, she explained. “I’ve combed every inch of this island in the days that I’ve been here. I was left here by two men, who stole all my things then went off in a motorboat. After my long trip from the Philippines, I was so exhausted I didn’t know what to do.”

  “It must have been terrifying,” Nancy said sympathetically.

  “The first day I just cried. I hoped and prayed that the men would come back for me.” She paused as she pointed out a half-hidden pit that they had to step around.

  “Then I decided I had to survive. So I started exploring the island. I found fish to eat and wove a mat to sleep on. When the two men came back on the third day, I hid from them.” Maria laughed. “Boy, were they mad! I watched them from my cave, stumbling about and screaming at each other.”

  Nancy chuckled to herself, imagining the scene. They must have been embarrassed at losing their hostage! No wonder they had told Gibbs that Maria was dead. “They were trying to use you to get money from your brother,” Nancy told Ricky’s sister.

  Maria nodded. “I thought of that, and that was one of the reasons I hid from them. They came back to search for me a few more times, but I decided to take my chances alone on the island rather than trust them again.”

  “You’re very brave,” Nancy said as they rounded a rocky cliff that gave way to a flat, grassy clearing edged with palm trees.

  Together they made quick work of lighting a signal fire. While Maria gathered dry leaves, Nancy reached into the pocket of her shorts. Her lock-picking kit was there, a little soggy, but intact. She opened it up and pulled out a small magnifying glass.

  They stacked the dry brush, then Nancy held the glass in front of a leaf. When the sun shone through the glass, a brown spot formed on the leaf and it began smoking. A moment later a flame popped up, and the brush picked up the flame. The fire grew in size.

  Nancy watched as black smoke billowed into the air. “Someone is bound to notice this. But let’s write a message, in case someone is flying overhead. They might think this is just a brush fire.”

  Maria helped her gather smooth black stones, which they arranged in the center of the field, spelling out the letters SOS. When they were finished, each letter was about four feet long and two feet wide.

  They had barely finished when they heard the whir of a helicopter. Running to the middle of the message, they searched the sky until finally the red-and-white chopper came into view.

  “The U.S. Coast Guard!” Nancy exclaimed. “That was fast!”

/>   The helicopter circled once, then slowly dropped straight down into the field a few feet from their stones. Nancy was so relieved, she wanted to kiss the pilot. She settled for a friendly handshake after she and Maria climbed aboard the craft.

  “Welcome aboard, ladies,” the pilot said. “I have to admit, I only expected to find one young woman on the island, but I consider this a bonus. Is one of you Maria Angeles?”

  “That’s me.”

  “You’re the one I’m looking for. I just got word on the radio that you were stranded somewhere in the Devil’s Chain. Your signal fire helped me find you right away.” He turned back to the control panel and took the copter back into the air.

  Nancy leaned forward. After introducing herself, she asked, “Can you radio ahead to the police on Saint Thomas? I have reason to believe that my friends are in grave danger there.”

  “Bess Marvin and George Fayne?” he repeated after she gave him the names. “They’re the girls who sent us the message from Pineapple Grove. Seems they’ve caused quite a stir there. The place is swarming with police and immigration agents.”

  “They made it back!” Nancy shouted, relief flooding through her. “Then they’re okay?”

  The pilot shrugged. “They were in good enough shape to turn Steven Gibbs’s resort upside down.”

  “All right!” Nancy cried.

  Ten minutes later the helicopter set down on Pineapple Grove’s landing pad.

  “Ricky!” Maria Angeles hopped out of the helicopter and ran across the pavement, straight into her brother’s arms.

  Nancy’s heart went out to them as she watched the tearful reunion. They both had suffered through so much to be together. She hoped they could work something out with the immigration authorities so that Maria could stay in America.

  Stepping down to the ground, Nancy crossed over to where Bess and George were standing with the other two Hot Rods. Bess and George looked completely surprised to see her.

  “Nancy!” Bess exclaimed. “What were you doing in the Devil’s Chain?”

  When Nancy explained how she had been taken to the island where Maria was hiding, Bess became furious. “Gibbs and Daniel were arrested just a few minutes ago, and they didn’t say a word about leaving you out there to die. What creeps!”

  Nancy grinned at Bess, relieved that they were all together—and all alive and well. “How did you know Maria was there?” Nancy asked. “Did Gibbs and Daniel tell you that much, at least?”

  “No,” George answered. “That information came from Vincent after he regained consciousness. It seems he had a change of heart after his accident. He confessed to the nurse in the infirmary, and she reported everything to the local police. Unfortunately, no one could make sense of the story until we came back with the authorities from Saint Thomas.”

  Bess gestured to someone behind Nancy, and Nancy turned to see a short, squat man walking over to her. He stepped forward and shook Nancy’s hand, introducing himself as Special Agent Lowery. “You’ve uncovered quite a network of illegal activity here. Nice work.”

  “Thanks for flying in with my friends.” Nancy smiled. Turning back to George and Bess, she told them Gibbs’s story about the hired killer who was supposed to greet them in Saint Thomas. “I was worried sick about you guys!”

  Bess and George exchanged a look of astonishment, then burst into laughter.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Do you think—” Bess began.

  “It had to be.” George nodded at her cousin, then explained to Nancy, “When we got off the plane, two other women on the flight were walking in front of us on the pier. Some guy jumped out and pulled a knife on them. I thought he was robbing them!”

  “George knocked the knife out of his hand with a kick,” Bess said. “Then I pushed him in the water,” she finished proudly.

  George shrugged. “He must have been told to look for two young women. He just picked the wrong ones.”

  “We had the advantage because we caught him off guard,” Bess added. “He didn’t expect two bystanders to get involved.”

  George laughed again. “We didn’t connect it to the case. I just assumed he was a thief.”

  Nancy gave them each a hug. “Thank goodness you were both on your toes.”

  “I guess some of your detective’s instincts have rubbed off on us,” Bess said with a smile.

  “We’ve learned from the best,” George added.

  • • •

  “Bring on Woody and the Hot Rods!” Bess cheered.

  It was later that day, and Pineapple Grove’s dance club was loud with excitement. Nancy, George, and Bess were sharing a table with Courtney.

  “It’s great of the Hot Rods to give a special show,” said George, sipping a banana milkshake.

  “They wanted to prove once and for all that they’re together.” Dressed in an emerald green minidress, Courtney looked beautiful and happier than ever.

  Glancing down at the diamond engagement ring Courtney wore, Nancy asked, “When are you and Woody getting married?”

  Courtney shrugged. “We’re not sure yet. Sometime between tours. And we’re determined to make it work.”

  “Mind if I join you?”

  The girls looked up to find Maria arm in arm with her brother.

  “We’d love it,” Bess said, pulling out a chair for her.

  Ricky waved, saying, “Got to run, you guys. See you after the show.”

  Maria turned to Nancy with a bright smile. “Good news! I’ve been given a visa so that I can stay in the U.S. until my paperwork is processed.”

  “That’s great!” Nancy told her.

  “The immigration authorities say that my case is an exception. Since my parents were killed in a political struggle, I’ll be granted political asylum.”

  Everyone at the table congratulated Maria and wished her the best. They were still talking about her move to America when the lights dimmed and the Hot Rods appeared on stage.

  Their first song had the audience clapping and singing along. Woody called for a few volunteers from the audience, and Courtney and Bess ran up to the stage, along with a handful of female fans.

  George nudged Nancy and nodded toward the stage. “Is that Bess singing off-key?”

  Nancy listened closely, then shook her head.

  “No. In fact, I think she’s bucking for a record contract of her own.”

  Bess had actually grabbed one of the microphones. “Hold on, baby . . .” she crooned in a sultry voice.

  George smiled. “That’s our Bess!”

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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