The Wrong Track

by Carolyn Keene

  It was Ben Wrobley!

  Nancy pushed the door open and stepped inside. “Well, hello, Ben,” Nancy said innocently.

  “Nancy! What are you doing here?” There was no mistaking the nervous quaver in Ben’s voice. It was obvious to Nancy that Ben hadn’t wanted to get caught in Dave’s office. What was the ski instructor up to? She was dying to ask him but knew it would totally blow her cover if she did.

  “I wanted to interview Dave this afternoon,” she said instead. “Is he around?”

  Ben gestured toward the empty office. “Dave was called away.”

  “That’s weird,” Nancy said, making a face. “He asked me to meet with him this afternoon.”

  “It was an unexpected trip, he said.” Ben smiled—a little too brightly, in Nancy’s opinion. “Maybe he left a message for you with the receptionist.” Ben must have noticed Nancy staring at his backpack because he mumbled, “Karl asked me to pick up a couple things from Dave’s office for him.”

  Ben might be telling the truth, Nancy thought, but that didn’t explain his nervousness when he had first seen her. Besides, after the scene she’d witnessed the day before in the ski shop, Nancy doubted that Karl would ask Ben to help him.

  Ben took another step toward the door. “Dave won’t be back for another hour,” he told Nancy. It was obvious that he badly wanted to get out of Dave’s office, but Nancy wasn’t going to let him leave so soon. First there was something she had to check out. She moved forward quickly and pretended to stumble. Ben dropped his pack to help her steady herself. Nancy’s eyes moved quickly to the front of his parka.

  The thermometer that had been on Ben Wrobley’s zipper pull was gone.

  Chapter

  Seven

  I HAVE SOMETHING of yours,” Nancy said. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the thermometer and held it out to him.

  Ben’s face broke into a smile. “Thanks!” he said, taking it. “Where’d you find it?”

  “Right where the Aerie and Cascades trails meet,” she said, watching Ben’s expression.

  He shrugged, obviously unaware of the significance of what she had just said. “It must have fallen off this morning,” he told her.

  “Oh, really,” Nancy said. “I remember that you looked at the temperature when we were out.”

  Ben nodded as he clipped the thermometer back onto his jacket. “True. I must have lost it afterward. My ten o’clock student canceled, so I tried to find you and Bess up by the hut where the trails meet. I guess it fell off then.”

  Ben’s explanation sounded plausible, but Nancy still wasn’t convinced. “Did you notice that the trail signs were switched?” she asked.

  “What?” Ben’s blue eyes widened in surprise. “That could have been dangerous.”

  “You bet,” Nancy agreed. “The girl I was skiing with could hardly get down the trail.”

  Ben seemed to be outraged. “I’m going to straighten this out. We can’t risk anyone getting hurt.” His concern seemed genuine. Maybe George was right, and Ben wouldn’t hurt anyone. But that didn’t explain what he’d put into his backpack or why he’d been so secretive.

  Ben zipped his jacket closed and slipped into the straps of his backpack. “Thanks for telling me about the trail signs being switched. I’ve got a class now, but afterward I’m going out to check all the signs.”

  With that Ben left, taking whatever papers he had stuffed into his backpack with him. Nancy was frustrated that she couldn’t ask him any more questions about what he was doing in Dave’s office, but the last thing she wanted was to blow her cover—especially with him. He was still a prime suspect as far as she was concerned.

  Ben had given her one important fact: Dave wouldn’t be back for almost an hour. That gave Nancy the chance to search his office.

  Nancy scanned the office and decided that searching the files and desk drawers would be the best way to begin.

  She sat down at Rebecca’s desk and methodically went through each of the drawers. Nothing. Dave’s desk was next. The top two drawers contained only routine business papers. Nancy started to leaf through the folders in the lower file drawer and found one labeled Rob Watson.

  She pulled it out and began to read. The folder contained a confidential report about Rob’s ski camp. Was this folder why Rob had come into the office building the night before?

  Nancy guessed Karl had ordered the report before he built Tall Pines because he’d wanted to know what his competition was. According to the report, Rob’s profits were minimal. So how could he afford the major construction George had seen?

  Nancy glanced at her watch. Dave should be back in about ten minutes, and she didn’t want him to find her in his office. She moved to the row of file cabinets and leafed through them quickly. Nothing unusual. There was a drawer of personnel files and one devoted to the building permits the county and state required.

  Nancy was about to leaf through the personnel files when she heard a noise in the outer office. Quickly she closed the file drawer and made her way to the door. Outside she heard the receptionist singing. As casually as possible, Nancy closed the door to Dave’s office and walked toward the reception area.

  “I’m Nancy Drew,” she told the receptionist, a petite woman with curly black hair. “I had an appointment with Mr. Kendall and was waiting for him in his office, but he hasn’t shown up.

  “Mr. Kendall just called. He’s still out of town,” the receptionist informed her.

  Nancy checked her watch. It was nearly three, and she wanted to meet Bess at the pool. “Could you please tell Mr. Kendall that I couldn’t wait for him? I’ll contact him myself to reschedule our appointment.”

  The receptionist smiled and wrote down the message. “Of course, Ms. Drew.”

  • • •

  Ten minutes later Nancy and Bess were lying on lounge chairs by the side of the pool. Although there were a dozen people in the pool, no one was in the area Bess had chosen. They’d be able to talk without being overheard.

  “Did you have lunch with Jody?” Nancy asked.

  “She didn’t show. I waited for fifteen minutes. Then I went to the shop. Jody told me she’d been even more swamped after I left this morning and couldn’t get away.” Bess’s expression became serious. “Nancy, she was lying about part of that time.”

  Nancy raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think that?” she asked under her breath.

  “A customer came in while I was there. She was complaining about the shop having been closed this morning.”

  “When was that?” Maybe Jody had had the opportunity to switch the trail signs after all.

  “The customer was loud and clear about the time. She told Jody three times that the shop had been closed between ten-fifteen and ten forty-five.”

  The timing was right. Jody would have had long enough to ski to the warming hut, switch the signs, and come back.

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Nancy said.

  Bess sat up and smiled at a boy who’d just climbed out of the pool. “Are you going to talk to Jody?”

  Nancy nodded. “I think I’ll invite her to have dinner with me tonight.”

  • • •

  “I’m so glad you could make it,” Nancy said as she and Jody met at the entrance to Edelweiss. The maître d’ showed them to a table for four, then pulled out their chairs.

  “You don’t think I’d pass up an opportunity to eat here, do you?” Jody asked. “I can’t begin to afford it.”

  The girls opened their menus. “The Creole chicken sounds great,” Jody said. “I love spicy food.”

  “I think I’ll have the broiled salmon. Be sure to save room for dessert,” she said, glancing around the room. George and Bess were seated in one corner—with Ben. On the opposite side of the room Dave was sitting with Sheila and Karl Reismueller.

  “I knew Sheila would wear something white tonight,” Jody said. When Nancy appeared puzzled, Jody touched the small crystal vase filled with lilies of the valley.
“Sheila has two special habits. She always wears her diamond horseshoe pin, and her dinner clothes always match the flowers.”

  The waiter appeared at their table. “Are you ready to order?” he asked. Nancy selected French onion soup followed by broiled salmon, while Jody chose shrimp cocktail and the Creole chicken.

  “I’m starved,” Jody said. “I never got a real lunch break.”

  Here was Nancy’s opening. “I heard the shop was closed for a while this morning,” she commented. “Someone said you took an early lunch.” Or maybe you made a quick trip to switch some trail signs, Nancy added silently.

  For a second Jody seemed surprised. “I had a family emergency,” she said. “My mother locked her keys in her car, so I had to race into Monroe to rescue her. She was an hour late for work already, and I really had to help her.”

  “That’s too bad,” Nancy said, making a mental note to check Jody’s alibi. She reached for her purse and pulled out her reporter’s notebook. “I’d like a little background info for my article, if you don’t mind.”

  Jody smiled, but she seemed nervous. Her unease made Nancy wonder if Jody had something to hide.

  “Where did you work before Tall Pines?” Nancy asked.

  “Jensen’s department store during the day,” Jody answered. “At night I was a short-order cook at the Arch Diner.”

  “Two jobs, wow! You must have been tired all the time.”

  Jody shrugged. “I’m saving money for college,” she explained as the waiter placed a crock of steaming soup in front of Nancy and shrimp on a bed of ice in front of Jody.

  Nancy took a spoonful of the soup. “This is delicious,” she said, and cut through the melted cheese to taste the savory onion and beef broth below.

  “Good evening, ladies,” Nancy heard Karl Reismueller say in his faintly accented voice. She looked up to see him, Sheila, and Dave standing next to the table.

  “I hope you’re enjoying your dinner,” Karl continued. He reached out to shake Nancy’s hand as she and Jody rose to greet the three older people.

  “It’s delicious,” Nancy assured him. She smiled at Sheila, and her eyes moved over the front of the dress, searching for her trademark pin. How odd, she thought. Sheila wasn’t wearing the diamond horseshoe.

  As Karl discussed business with Jody, Dave turned to Nancy. “Sorry I didn’t make it back for our interview this afternoon. Why don’t you stop by tomorrow at about eleven?”

  Nancy agreed. She glanced over his shoulder toward the back of the room and saw that George, Bess, and Ben were leaving their table.

  “Ben!” Karl called as the threesome approached. “I hope you gave Nancy a good lesson this morning.”

  Ben’s expression was wary, and Nancy guessed he was remembering their last conversation. “I tried my best,” he said.

  George and Bess started talking to Jody while Karl said something to Ben in a low voice.

  “We never did plan our skiing for tomorrow,” Sheila said to Nancy. She gestured toward the window where a group of skiers had emerged from the forested trails. “Perhaps you’d like to go this evening. Night skiing is great fun.”

  Though Nancy had planned to spend the rest of the evening reviewing the case with George and Bess, she quickly agreed. She could meet the girls later.

  George moved to Nancy’s side. “We’ll go to the movies,” she whispered so that no one else could hear. “Then we’ll meet you at your condo when we get back—around ten, okay?”

  Nancy nodded her head slightly.

  “Be careful!” Dave said as Nancy felt the table jolt in front of her.

  “Sorry.” Ben’s face flushed red—he was obviously embarrassed. “Someone bumped into me. I didn’t mean to crash into the table.”

  Sheila turned quickly. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

  Nancy noticed a small wet stain on the otherwise spotless tablecloth. “Something spilled,” she said. Then she saw that the flower vase was lying on its side. “The flowers tipped over.”

  “I’ll have the waiter bring more water,” Sheila said. Dave straightened the vase, and Sheila rearranged the lilies of the valley. Sheila then put her hand on Karl’s arm. “We’d better leave Nancy and Jody to enjoy their food while it’s still hot,” she said.

  Bess winked as she, George, and Ben took off. The Reismuellers and Dave excused themselves, leaving Nancy and Jody to eat their dinners. Nancy took another spoonful of soup. The thick crust of cheese was disturbed only in one spot, so the soup had been kept warm. It was now a perfect temperature.

  “Gosh, it was almost like we had a Tall Pines staff meeting,” Jody said with a grin, and she speared a shrimp.

  “It was crowded all of a sudden,” Nancy agreed.

  After she took another spoonful of soup Nancy heard Jody’s voice as if from a distance. “Are you all right, Nancy?” the girl was saying.

  Nancy felt her face grow hot. A wave of dizziness passed over her. “I’m fine,” she managed to say. “It’s awfully hot in here, though, don’t you think?”

  Jody was staring at her as if she was concerned. “Not really. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Nancy was about to answer her when she felt a sharp stabbing sensation grip her stomach. It hurt so much, she doubled over from the pain.

  “Nancy!” Jody cried, leaning toward her. “What’s wrong?”

  She tried to force out an answer, but the pain was too intense. The last thing she remembered was tumbling to the floor. Then everything went black.

  Chapter

  Eight

  NANCY OPENED HER EYES. Where was she? Her head was killing her, and her stomach was tied in knots. Looking up at tablecloths and chairs, she realized that she was lying on her back on the floor of the Edelweiss. Jody was kneeling next to her. Nancy pulled herself up slowly, wincing at the pain.

  “What happened?” Nancy asked.

  “I don’t know.” Jody’s pale face and worried expression told Nancy something terrible had happened. “One second we were talking, and the next you just keeled over and passed out. I called a doctor. Thank goodness there’s always one on call for ski accidents.”

  Though her legs were still shaky, with Jody and the maître d’s help Nancy was able to walk to the small employees’ lounge off the kitchen. “You’d better lie down,” Jody advised, pointing to a couch.

  Nancy closed her eyes again, hoping the pain in her stomach would go away—fast. A few minutes later she heard the door open.

  “I’m Dr. Gorman,” a gray-haired man said, slipping a stethoscope around his neck. “What happened?”

  Nancy shook her head. “I’m not sure. I passed out. But right before I did, I had terrible pains. It still hurts,” she added, holding her hands to her stomach.

  “It must be food poisoning,” Jody said.

  The doctor asked Jody to leave while he examined Nancy. “What did you eat?” he asked as he took her blood pressure.

  “Just French onion soup. It tasted fine.”

  “Hmm.” Dr. Gorman slid a thermometer under Nancy’s tongue and checked her pulse. “I don’t think it’s food poisoning,” he told her. “Usually you don’t see symptoms of that until three to four hours after eating.”

  He was silent for a moment as he filled a needle with a clear serum. “Your pulse is still quite slow,” he said, giving her an injection.

  “If it’s not food poisoning . . .” Nancy began, looking expectantly at Dr. Gorman.

  The doctor hesitated a moment, then finished packing up his kit. “It could be several things, including a virus. Just to be sure, I’m sending your soup to a lab to be tested. When I get the results I’ll let you know. You should be fine now, but you must go straight to bed. Do you need help getting to your room?”

  Jody came in and said she’d help Nancy, and the doctor left. “You’ll be okay?” Jody asked when they got to Nancy’s front door.

  Nancy assured Jody that she was fine. “I’ll go straight to bed,” she said. “My stomach needs
all the rest it can get.”

  Jody laughed a little, then her sparkling green eyes grew serious. “I’m going to tell Mr. Reismueller about this. I tried to find him and his wife when the doctor got there, but they’d left. I’ll call him right now, though. He should know. The negative publicity—”

  Nancy stopped her short. “My meal at the Edelweiss last night was perfect and earned a rave review. The doctor wasn’t convinced I had food poisoning anyway. You heard him. When you get Karl, ask him to tell Sheila I’m not up to skiing tonight.”

  “You’re being very understanding, Nancy,” Jody said, and she laughed. “Thank you.”

  Nancy said good night to Jody and let herself into her condo. Checking her watch, Nancy saw it was only eight-fifteen. She had almost two hours before Bess and George would show up.

  “Maybe I will lie down,” she said half out loud. Nancy lay on top of the goose-down comforter on her bed and immediately felt herself drift off to sleep.

  • • •

  Nancy woke up to the sound of the phone ringing and sunlight streaming in through her windows.

  “Hello?” she mumbled, shaking her head to try to clear it. She couldn’t believe how sick she still felt.

  “Nancy?” Bess’s voice cried. “Are you all right? We were told you got a bad case of food poisoning at the restaurant, and we decided not to disturb you last night.”

  Nancy explained that the doctor didn’t think it was food poisoning. Bess’s reaction was one of shock. “What was it, then?”

  “I don’t know,” Nancy said. “I’ll have to wait for the test results, I guess. Until I solve these cases, though, I’ll have to be very careful.”

  “You think there’s something else going on at Tall Pines besides the theft?” Bess asked.

  “I’m sure of it.” Nancy paused. “Someone locked us in that sauna. Someone switched the signs on the ski trail. I got dosed last night with something that made me very sick. Someone’s after me, Bess. I’m sure of it.”