Before he could rise to his feet again, she clasped her bound hands together and slammed them into his throat.
Then, at last, she knew he’d be no more trouble.
Gasping with relief, Nancy began to lurch toward the clippers again. At that moment she heard Ned’s voice.
“Nancy! Nancy! Where are you?”
She heard footsteps racing across the gravel toward the lighted shed—and in a moment Ned was kneeling at her side.
“Are you okay?” he gasped.
Nancy nodded and smiled shakily. “I’ll feel better when Brad’s in police custody, though. And when I can walk again.”
She gestured to the clippers, which had landed on the other side of the shed. Ned grabbed them and cut the wires around her feet and hands.
“Better tie Brad up,” Nancy said as she rubbed her wrists to get the circulation back.
Ned obliged, rolling Brad’s limp form over to tie his hands behind him.
Then he drew Nancy into his arms. “I was so worried,” he said huskily. “I had no idea where he’d taken you! I tried his house, but he wasn’t there. If I hadn’t gotten here in time—”
“But you did.” Nancy kissed him. Then she looked down at his costume and grinned. “I was never so glad to see a cowardly lion.”
• • •
After Nancy and Ned had answered Chief McGinnis’s questions, and Brad was safely locked up, they drove back to Justin’s house. The party had broken up long ago—but Heather, Justin, Bess, and George were still there, waiting anxiously.
Bess hurled herself at Nancy. “Where were you?” she cried. “We were so worried! And what happened to you? You look awful!”
Nancy glanced down at herself. The Scarecrow costume was definitely looking more raggedy than it had when it came out of the box.
“We wanted to help,” George chimed in, “but we didn’t know where you’d gone. You and Ned just disappeared!”
“Well, we’ve been all over the place,” Nancy said. She told them all what had happened to her in the past few hours.
When she had finished, Justin’s face was white. “I was afraid of something like this,” he said. “But I just couldn’t make myself believe Brad would do something so horrible to Marcia!”
“What made you think Brad was lying?” Ned asked him.
“Remember how the police asked each of us where we were when Marcia was poisoned?” Justin said. “Brad claimed he’d been shopping in the mall, but I knew he hadn’t been. When I came back to the mall after I left you two at the Mexican restaurant, I saw Brad’s car pulling into the parking lot. I knew he’d gone somewhere.”
“But why didn’t you tell us?” Nancy asked.
Justin’s expression was a little sheepish. “It looked like everyone already suspected me. You knew I’d worked for Asco—and you all seemed to think that was some kind of crime. I figured no one would believe me unless someone else could back me up. They’d think I was just trying to shift the blame.”
She smiled ruefully at Justin. “I did suspect you,” she said. “I tried to find out whether you were still working for Asco, but your personnel files had disappeared. That seemed awfully suspicious—like some kind of cover-up.”
Justin looked puzzled. “Asco’s got my file. They called me today to ask if I wanted to work during semester break.”
“Well, that’s another mystery solved,” Nancy said lightly. “The file wasn’t hidden. It was just sitting on someone’s desk!”
There was only one more question. Nancy looked at Justin and Heather in turn. “Did you two follow us after the Last Night concert?” she asked.
“I did,” Justin admitted. “I wanted to hear what you were saying. I had to know if I was still a suspect. I hope you’ll understand—”
Just then the phone rang. Justin picked it up, listened for a second, and handed it to Nancy. “It’s for you,” he said.
Nancy picked up the receiver. “Hello?” she asked. “Oh, that’s great! I’ll tell everyone right now. Thanks so much for calling.”
She was beaming when she hung up. “Fantastic news! That was Chief McGinnis. He just called the hospital, and Marcia’s out of her coma. She’s going to be all right!”
Everyone cheered.
“I guess everything worked out,” Heather said pensively when the general rejoicing had died down. “Now that Brad and I are out of the program, Justin will get the job with Premier. And everyone will live happily ever after.”
“Are you really quitting?” George asked, and suddenly Nancy remembered Heather’s mysterious trip to Chicago.
“You bet.” Heather grinned. “That’s what Justin and I were arguing about that day in the mall. He really wanted me to stay in the program. He said I couldn’t give it up. I told him I wouldn’t stay in, no matter what he said. I even told the agency in person when I was in Chicago. The second the words were out of my mouth I knew I’d done the right thing.”
The final pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place.
“Anyway,” Heather continued, “now Justin’s sure to get the job.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Nancy joked. “I’ve been thinking about signing up for the marketing program myself. I’d kind of like to give Justin a run for his money.”
Ned pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “You’d better not,” he said tenderly. “Haven’t you noticed? There’s only one thing more dangerous than being a detective—being in marketing.”
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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