“Look!” Nancy said, pointing. “Richard Bates is here!”
Lisa’s boyfriend was standing at the edge of the tower, staring toward the distant ruins of Franklin Place.
Nancy took a step forward into the crowd. “Richard!” she called.
He spun around at the sound of his name, terror in his eyes. Then he darted toward the stairway. But just then a group of kids came rushing up the stairs and blocked his way.
That gave Nancy the few seconds she needed to catch up to Richard. She grabbed his arm as he started headlong down the stairs.
“Nancy, watch out!” Ned yelled.
It was too late. Nancy had already lost her balance at the edge of the stairs. In the next instant she was flying through space. The only sound she heard was her own scream of fear.
8
Then There Were Three
For a sickening moment Nancy thought she was going to drop straight to the ground. Then her body hit the stone steps with a thud. She plummeted down them over and over, her arms and legs flailing in all directions. Walls and stairs rushed by in mixed-up flashes.
Finally, she was at the bottom. Nancy lay gasping for breath. She hurt too badly to move.
She was vaguely aware of people running down the stairs toward her, but she couldn’t lift her head to look at them. “Are you all right? Are you all right?” dozens of people seemed to be saying as they gathered around her.
All right? Nancy still felt dazed. Her head was pounding, and she had to blink to bring things into focus. Her whole body felt sore, and one hand was throbbing especially painfully.
Now Ned’s voice reached her through the crowd. “Nancy!” he called. “I’m almost there!”
In a few seconds he was at her side and holding her hand. Nancy smiled faintly. “Boy, am I glad to see you!” she whispered, struggling to sit up.
“Hang on. Don’t move yet,” Ned cautioned her. “This woman’s going to check you out first.”
A kindly-looking elderly woman was right behind Ned. “I’m Margot Liston,” she said. “I work in the gift shop. I’ve had a lot of first-aid training. Please don’t move until I’ve checked to see whether you have any broken bones.”
Nancy felt completely alert now. “I don’t think anything’s broken,” she said as the woman finished a gentle examination. “I bet I’ll be pretty sore for a few days, though.”
“You’re a lucky girl,” the woman said. “That was a nasty fall. You’ll be pretty badly bruised, but there’s no serious harm.” She turned to Ned. “Can you take her home?”
“I sure can,” said Ned. He helped Nancy to her feet. Nancy swayed with dizziness, but Ned tightened his grip around her waist. “How do you feel now?” he asked, his face still pale with concern.
“A little shaky,” Nancy admitted. “I really hurt my left hand knocking it against the wall.”
“What do you want us to do with this guy, miss?” came a voice in the crowd.
Nancy looked up and saw three angry-looking men holding Richard Bates firmly against the wall. He was pale, too, and looked terrified. “We saw him drag you down the stairs. We caught him before he could get away,” one of the men said. “Do you want us to call the police? You’ve got lots of witnesses here.”
Richard Bates made a helpless gesture. “I’m not going to run away,” he said.
“Well, that’s what you were doing!” Ned snapped furiously. “First you pull her down the stairs. Then you run like a coward! I’d like to throw you down the—”
“Hold it, Ned,” Nancy interrupted weakly. With Ned still supporting her, she hobbled toward Richard Bates.
“I—I was just trying to get away,” he faltered. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you, honest. You’ve got to let me explain. I—”
“Believe me, I want an explanation,” Nancy said grimly. “In fact, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll turn you over to the police right now.”
Bates flinched. “Please don’t! I’ll—I’ll talk to you.”
“Fine,” Ned put in. “But not here. I’ve got to get Nancy back to the Franklins’. You can follow us there. And if you don’t, we’ll find you soon enough.”
It was four-thirty in the afternoon. Nancy had just finished a long, hot soak in the tub, and she was feeling much better. She stretched out on the bed with a sigh of relief just as Laurel walked in, carrying a tray of tea and cookies. Behind her were Ned, Lisa, and Richard. Lisa and Richard looked like little kids whose teacher was about to scold them.
Laurel’s lips were tight as she set down the tray. “The doctor will be here in about an hour. I’ll come back for this tray later on,” she said coldly. She shot Richard an angry look and flounced out of the room.
“Ready to talk, Nan?” asked Ned.
“Let me just drink some tea,” Nancy answered. She took a few sips, then propped herself up on her pillows.
“You know that Richard didn’t mean for anything to happen to you, right?” said Lisa quickly. “He would never do something like—”
“Wait a minute, Lisa,” Nancy said. “My first question is for you. You did call Richard to warn him last night, didn’t you? You wanted him to know that Ned and I were driving up to see him.”
“No,” Lisa said firmly. “I already told you. I was calling someone else about school work!”
Nancy didn’t miss the nervous glance Richard gave Lisa.
“Then why did Richard run as soon as he saw us at the student union?” she asked.
Before Lisa could answer, Richard cut in. “It’s no use, Lisa,” he said. “Stop trying.” He turned to Nancy. “Lisa did call me late last night. She told me you’d be coming to San Rafael to question me and that I should stay away from you. Then she hung up really suddenly.”
“Probably because I saw her talking on the phone,” Nancy said dryly. “But if you had nothing to hide, what did Lisa have to warn you about?”
“The fire, of course,” said Richard. “She told me some people might think I had set it. Then I saw the newspaper this morning. The article made it sound as though Lisa had set the fire. When you and Ned showed up at school, I thought you might trap me somehow. You know, make me say things that could hurt Lisa. I guess I panicked.”
Lisa gave him a half smile. “I panicked, too, Richard. I was afraid you really had burned down Franklin Place.”
“How could you think that?” Richard sounded genuinely astonished. “Besides, I couldn’t possibly have had the chance to do it. I was at the studio all day and night.”
“Except for those two hours when you picked Lisa up at the office and drove her home,” Nancy put in quietly. “We’ve already talked to Professor Strong.”
A fleeting look of anger crossed Richard’s face. “You’ve been doing your homework, I see,” he muttered.
“Well, that’s what we’re here for,” Nancy reminded him. “But we still don’t know why you followed us to Coit Tower.”
“I was so worried about Lisa,” said Richard. He let his hands fall open helplessly. “I was afraid you were trying to prove she’d set the fire. I thought if I kept track of where you went, I could warn her—or maybe head you off.”
“Head us off?” Ned repeated angrily. “You dragged Nancy headfirst down the stairs when she tried to catch up with you.”
Richard winced. “I really didn’t mean to hurt her,” he protested. “I was going so fast I didn’t even notice she was holding my sleeve!”
“He’s telling the truth,” Lisa put in. “He would never do anything to hurt anyone.”
“I hope you’re both right,” said Nancy gravely. “But it’s not the only time I was in danger today. Lisa, didn’t you realize that puncturing the tire on your car could have caused a serious accident? Ned and I were lucky not to have gone over the guardrail.”
Lisa looked puzzled. “What are you talking about?” she asked. “I don’t know anything about a punctured tire. Wait a minute! I saw a dent in my car when you came in, but I didn’t get a chance to ask about it.”
“The tire was definitely punctured,” said Nancy.
Lisa stared at her in horror. “But you don’t think I’d do that to you, do you?” she asked.
Nancy frowned slightly. “Lisa, I want to believe you about everything. But you lied when you said you hadn’t called Richard. Now you say you didn’t cause our flat tire. How can I be sure you’re telling the truth this time?”
“Oh, this is so frustrating!” cried Lisa. “Because this time I am telling the truth, that’s all! And if you don’t believe me—”
She broke off with a mirthless laugh. “Well, if you don’t believe me, I guess that’s my own fault, isn’t it?”
• • •
“Ned said you wanted to talk to me,” Laurel said about a half hour later.
Nancy looked up from her pillows. “That’s right, I did. Thanks for the tea, first of all. It really hit the spot.”
“Oh, you’re welcome.” Laurel was standing awkwardly in the doorway. “What did Lisa and Richard tell you?” she asked.
“Oh, we talked about lots of different things,” said Nancy carefully. “They’ve certainly cleared up some of my questions. I’d still like to ask you a couple of things, though, if that’s okay.”
“What things?” asked Laurel suspiciously.
“Why don’t you come in and sit down?” Nancy said. “It can’t be very comfortable leaning against that wall.”
Laurel walked in reluctantly and sat down on Lisa’s bed. “What did you want to ask me?” she repeated.
Nancy smiled kindly. “This may be hard to talk about, Laurel. But I’ve been wondering whether you’re jealous of Lisa for some reason.”
“Jealous?” For a second Laurel looked as though she were about to deny it. Then, to Nancy’s relief, she sighed. “Does it show that much?” she said. She stared at the floor. “I might as well confess. The truth is, I’m terrified that you and Ned might change Lisa’s mind about working for Dad.”
“And that would make things difficult for you,” Nancy said slowly.
Laurel laughed bitterly. “Oh, everyone knows Lisa is Dad’s favorite. It’s no secret that he wants her to take over the business someday. And where will that leave me? Working for my younger sister? I’d always be second-best.”
Nancy couldn’t help feeling sorry for Laurel, but she knew she couldn’t let pity cloud her judgment. Laurel appeared to have genuine reasons for resenting Lisa. The question was, how far did her grudge against her sister go? Far enough to puncture a tire? Far enough to set fire to Franklin Place and frame Lisa?
As to the puncture, Nancy thought, Laurel was just as strong a suspect as Lisa. And only a few people knew she and Ned were planning to visit Richard Bates today—and which car they’d be taking.
Suddenly, Nancy realized that Laurel might not even know about the puncture. She described what had happened on the way to San Rafael that morning. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” she asked, watching Laurel’s face.
Laurel looked pained. “I’m certainly not jealous enough of Lisa to puncture her tire, if that’s what you mean. I didn’t have anything to do with that.” She broke off to check her watch. “Oh! I’ve got to get going,” she said in a startled voice. “I’m expecting a call. Here, let me take your tray.” And she was out the bedroom door in a matter of seconds.
A few moments later Ned knocked on the door. “I saw Laurel running away,” he said. “Is it okay for me to come in?”
Nancy gave him a weak smile. “Sure. At least I know I can always trust you. At this point, Ned, I don’t know who else I can trust in this house.”
“Me neither,” admitted Ned, sitting down in a chair.
“If I believe Lisa and Richard when they say neither of them set the fire, then what are they trying so hard to hide now? If I believe Laurel when she says she didn’t puncture the tire, then that means Lisa did puncture it. That puts me right back where I started from.”
“Just one big happy family, I guess,” said Ned.
“Mmm.” Nancy gazed at Ned with tired eyes. “We’ve been working on this case pretty hard, Ned. We’re no closer to solving it now than we were when we started. If anything, we’re even further away from solving it than we were yesterday. Instead of one suspect, we’ve got three. And the more we learn, the more confused I get.”
Nancy sighed. “I’m starting to think we’re just wasting our time.”
9
The Night Strangler
Just then there was a knock on the bedroom door. Mr. Franklin poked his head into the room. Christopher Toomey was right behind him.
“May we come in?” asked Mr. Franklin.
“Of course,” Nancy said.
“We’ve just come home from work,” Mr. Franklin said. “Laurel told us about your accident the minute we walked in the door. I hope you’re feeling better now.”
“Much better, thank you,” said Nancy.
Mr. Franklin was frowning. “I don’t like that Bates boy at all,” he said. “Laurel didn’t say much, of course, but I gathered he was responsible for your fall. Am I right?”
Nancy exchanged a quick look with Ned. Richard Bates was a suspect—but even so, she couldn’t really blame him for her fall. And on the chance that he wasn’t guilty, it seemed too unfair to him and Lisa to turn Mr. Franklin even more strongly against him.
“Richard had nothing to do with it,” Nancy told Mr. Franklin. “It was an accident. But I’ve been wondering,” she added quickly. “You’re an important man, Mr. Franklin. Is it possible that you have some enemies who might have set fire to the building?
Mr. Franklin gazed uneasily at Mr. Toomey.
“If there is someone, please don’t try to hide it,” Nancy told them. “You can trust me and Ned.”
“Well . . .” Mr. Toomey hesitated. “I hate to—”
“No, it’s all right. Go ahead,” his boss urged him.
“Well, there’s Jake Ledwell,” Mr. Toomey said slowly.
“Who’s that?” asked Nancy.
“He’s what’s called a contractor,” Mr. Toomey explained. “If he had worked for us, he would have hired men for the construction crew and brought building materials to the site. But his estimates were too high. We gave the job to someone else.”
“Ledwell worked for me plenty of times in the past,” Mr. Franklin added. “He always did a fine job. He would have made a lot of money on Franklin Place. But whence jacked up his prices sky-high, I couldn’t possibly hire him.”
“A good reason for Ledwell to be angry,” Nancy said thoughtfully.
Mr. Toomey shook his head. “Ledwell was angry, all right, but he’s no criminal. No, it couldn’t be Ledwell. He has too much to lose.”
He smiled at Nancy. “Not that I’m trying to do your job for you,” he said.
Nancy smiled back. At least there was one cheerful person in this house, she thought.
“I think I should probably talk to Mr. Ledwell anyway,” she said. “I’ll give him a call tomorrow.”
Just then Laurel appeared at the door. “The doctor is here,” she said. “We’ll have dinner right after he’s seen you.”
Nancy brightened. “If it’s okay with the doctor, I’d like to have dinner downstairs. I really don’t want to lie in bed all evening.” Besides, she thought, she’d get more information on the case downstairs than she would up in Lisa’s bedroom.
Half an hour later she walked into the dining room. She had changed into clean clothes—Mrs. Truitt had kindly washed the pants and shirt she’d worn to the fire—and was feeling a hundred percent better.
Richard Bates wasn’t there, Nancy noticed, but all of the Franklins and Mr. Toomey were sitting in the same places they’d had the night before.
Everyone was very quiet at dinner. When the meal was over, Mr. Franklin announced, “Laurel, Christopher, and I would like to take our coffee into the library for a brief work session. Is that all right with everyone else?”
“Fine, Uncle Bob,” said
Ned.
“Lisa, since you say you’ve quit, you may not wish to join us,” her father told her. “However, you’re welcome to come along if you want.”
Lisa shrugged. “Might as well.”
“Nancy and Ned, you’re welcome to join us, too,” Mr. Franklin said. “But you might rather have your coffee in here. We won’t be long.”
“Somehow I bet the two of you have had enough architecture for one day,” Mr. Toomey said with a laugh.
“I think we will stay in here,” said Nancy. “And I may need just a smidgen more of that delicious chocolate cake.” She grinned. “After all, I’m an invalid.”
• • •
Nancy and Ned were still relaxing in the dining room when Mr. Franklin’s voice boomed out so loudly that they had no trouble hearing him.
“How could such a thing have happened?”
Then Laurel’s voice rang out in dismay. “I—I don’t know. How could I have? Oh, this is terrible!”
“We’d better go see what’s up,” Nancy told Ned.
In the library they found Laurel staring at some blueprints. Her face was white with horror. Mr. Franklin was pale, too, and Mr. Toomey looked very shaken. Lisa stood a little distance away from them. She was biting her lip, but otherwise she seemed composed.
“What happened?” Ned said.
Laurel sank into a chair. “This is terrible,” she moaned.
“It certainly is,” her father said sternly. He turned to Nancy and Ned. “We’ve been going over our plans for Franklin Place,” he explained. “We’ll be rebuilding it, of course, and I was thinking about making some changes. Well, we found a mistake in our original calculations. The building was unsafe. It would have collapsed under its own weight!”
Laurel looked up. Her face was streaked with tears. “Why don’t you just say it?” she demanded. “It was my mistake. I made those calculations. If it hadn’t burned down, the building might have collapsed. People could have been killed!”
Lisa stepped toward her sister as if she wanted to comfort her, but Laurel pulled away.
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry!” Laurel cried. “I know what you’re thinking, Lisa. If you had done the calculations, it wouldn’t have happened!” She burst into fresh tears.
The Silent Suspect Page 6