Wrong Track

by Carolyn Keene

  “I’ve heard about them at Tracks,” Nancy fibbed. “I’ve been dying to try them.”

  “We’re expecting a shipment any day,” Jody told her. “With a little luck it’ll arrive before you leave, and I’ll make sure you get a set.”

  “Morning, Ben,” Nancy said, spotting the instructor in the entrance alcove. “Ready for my lesson?”

  Ben smiled and pushed a lock of his jet-black hair off his forehead. “You bet,” he said.

  Picking up her skis and poles, Nancy followed him outside to the trail head. A small crowd of guests had gathered by the trail map. Ben greeted several people by name before hooking his boots into the bindings. Nancy noticed that he had new bindings, and his boots were higher than hers.

  “Ready?” Ben asked.

  “Don’t expect a lot,” Nancy said as she slipped her hands into the pole straps. “This is my first time out this season.” She looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a cherry-red outfit. “When I first learned to ski we wore jeans and parkas. Now it’s neon speed suits and high-tech equipment.”

  Ben chuckled and led the way to what he said was one of the most popular trails. “I like to ski this one before it’s crowded.”

  Though a light snow had fallen overnight, the tracks, which had been set the previous day, were still visible. As Ben gracefully skied into the left pair of tracks Nancy placed her skis in the right ones. “Not all our trails have two sets of tracks,” Ben explained, “but it’s easier to teach on them.”

  Nancy was a little nervous that Ben might notice she hadn’t skied in a while. A reporter for a ski magazine should look pretty good on the trails. Although it took her a few glides to get used to her new equipment, Nancy was soon moving at a pretty good pace. “These skis are great!” she exclaimed, noticing that they glided farther than any she’d tried before.

  They skied until they were deep in the forest. “You’re good at the diagonal stride,” Ben said, referring to the basic cross-country kick and glide. He tugged his zipper pull up, and Nancy noticed that hooked to it was a small thermometer. “The conditions are just about perfect. Do you want to learn to skate?”

  Nancy was confused. “I thought this was a skiing lesson.”

  “I wasn’t talking about ice skating. This is ski skating.” While Nancy watched he took his left ski out of the track and pushed forward with it and his poles. A second later, he was gliding gracefully along the trail on his right ski.

  “Wow!” Nancy said when Ben turned and whooshed to a stop in front of her. “That looks like fun.”

  “It is,” he assured her. “Now watch. Your left ski is the skate ski. You push with that one and glide on the other. The trick is all in shifting your weight.”

  “You make it look easy.”

  Ben grinned. “It is—once you learn how.”

  As she practiced the new technique Nancy realized what a good instructor Ben was. Not only was he an expert skier, but he knew how to explain the movements. At the end of a few minutes Nancy felt confident trying to skate.

  When they reached a hill Ben suggested she use a herringbone step to climb it.

  “I didn’t know there were hills around here,” she said as she put her skis in the V position. Instead of gliding she stepped up the incline, keeping the tips of her skis far apart while the tails remained close together to prevent her from sliding backward.

  “There weren’t any hills until a few months ago,” Ben told her. “Karl brought in bulldozers to contour slopes. He wants Tall Pines to be the perfect resort.”

  “But that’s impossible, isn’t it?” Nancy asked. This was the opening she needed. “For example, I heard you had a robbery here.”

  Nancy could feel Ben’s eyes on her. When he finally did reply, his voice was cold. “It’s nothing for you to worry about. I know you reporters like sensationalism, but you don’t have to put that in your article.”

  “We heard about it around the office,” she pressed, ignoring his comment. “Why do you suppose that girl took the money?”

  They had stopped moving and were standing side by side now. Ben’s anger was apparent to Nancy. “Did you come here to ski or to ask questions about Rebecca Montgomery?”

  He sounded almost hostile now, and Nancy sensed she’d touched a nerve. He certainly hadn’t minded bad-mouthing the resort the day before. She didn’t know why Ben wouldn’t want to talk about Rebecca now, unless he knew something about the theft.

  She shrugged. “News is news,” she said. “For example, it might be news to our readers that I heard you talking to both Dave and Karl yesterday, and it was pretty obvious that you felt something’s very wrong at Tall Pines.”

  Ben studied Nancy for a long time. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “Nothing a ski reporter would be interested in,” he added for emphasis.

  Nancy wondered whether Karl had spoken to Ben, warning him not to talk to her. “Come on, Ben,” she said. “I don’t believe that.”

  He shrugged. “It’s true,” he declared. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to ski.” The finality in Ben’s voice told Nancy that she’d learn nothing more from him that morning.

  They made their way back to the school in silence. As they approached the end of the trail, Nancy said, “I may want another lesson. When do you teach?” What Nancy really wanted to know was Ben’s schedule, and if he could have locked her and Bess in the sauna.

  Ben smiled. “I’m pretty busy. We’d have to schedule a lesson early if you want to go out again.” He glanced at his watch. “To tell you the truth, Nancy, I don’t think you need another lesson. You’re good.”

  Nancy laughed. “Thanks. I may need some pointers, though, because I want to try all the trails before I leave.”

  They skied to a stop, and Nancy released her bindings. “Are you Ben?” she heard a familiar voice ask. It was Bess, dressed in new ski clothes and carrying skis and poles over one shoulder. There was no risk of losing Bess in the woods, Nancy thought with a smile, not with her neon pink pants and green and orange jacket!

  “Can you point me to a novice trail?” Bess asked Ben.

  He gave her an appraising glance. “Do you have a partner? If you’re a beginner, you shouldn’t ski alone.”

  Bess shrugged. “My cousin deserted me for the day.”

  Turning to Nancy, Ben suggested, “Why don’t you go with her? You said you wanted the practice.”

  “Sure,” Nancy said. Skiing with Bess would give her a chance to find out if her friend had learned anything from Jody. She gave Bess a knowing look. “I’m always happy to have a ski partner. I’m Nancy Drew,” she said, holding out her gloved hand.

  “Bess Marvin,” Bess said.

  “Can you suggest a quiet trail?” Nancy turned to ask Ben.

  He pulled a trail map out of his pocket. “Take Aerie,” he said, showing Nancy the route. “You’ll see a small hut here, and another trail branches off it.” He pointed to the trail junction. “Be careful not to go on that one. You’d be able to handle it, but Cascades is too difficult for a beginner.”

  Nancy thanked Ben. “No problem,” he said. Just then Jody came out of the shop and school entrance and pulled Ben aside. “Excuse us,” Jody said, smiling at Nancy.

  “Ready?” Nancy asked Bess, who had been putting her skis on with Nancy.

  Bess nodded, and the two of them skied over to where the track began. Once they were safely out of sight Nancy asked Bess, “Did you have a chance to talk to Jody?”

  “Not very much,” she said. “There were a lot of customers when I went in so we made a date to meet for lunch.” Bess reached forward with one pole and pushed off.

  “You’re doing well,” Nancy said, skiing up next to Bess. Her eyes were on her friend, but her mind was on the mystery. She was scheduled to be at Tall Pines for only a week, so that gave her six more days to find the thief. Not a lot of time.

  “Cross country’s not as hard as I expected, and the clothes are fun,” Bess said, interrupting Nancy’s, t
houghts.

  When they reached the small hut Ben had mentioned Nancy stopped. “Check out the view,” she said. Though it seemed that they’d climbed only a small distance, the forest ended right where they stood, and there was a drop in front of them.

  “It’s pretty,” Bess agreed as she cautiously slid her skis backward. “I don’t like the cliff, though. Let’s go. It makes me feel dizzy.”

  Nancy looked at the trail signs: Cascade veered off to the right, Aerie to the left. The girls skied left.

  “Whew!” Bess said a few minutes later. She was out of breath from climbing a small hill. “This is getting harder.”

  Nancy had to admit that Bess was right. For a novice trail, Aerie was very difficult. As they continued the trail grew narrower, and the second set of tracks ended. Instead of leveling out the trail continued to climb. Nancy slid her skis into the tracks behind Bess, calling out encouragement. “Just a little farther,” she said, urging Bess to try the herringbone step.

  When they reached the top of the incline Bess raised her poles in triumph. “I made it,” she said, and her skis inched forward.

  Before Bess could get her poles down and steady herself she was sliding quickly down the back side of the steep hill. Nancy gasped. The trail made a sharp right turn ahead, just before a skier would fly directly into a stream.

  “Bess!” Nancy called.

  It was too late. Bess was already careening down the trail, her arms and poles windmilling, headed straight for the rocky stream.

  “Help!” Nancy heard Bess cry out. “Help me, Nancy! I can’t stop!”

  Chapter

  Six

  NANCY WATCHED in horror as Bess flailed her arms, trying to get a grip in the snow with her poles. At the rate Bess was going she would soon land headfirst in the icy stream. Nancy’s mind raced for a solution.

  “Let yourself fall, Bess!” Nancy shouted at her friend.

  Bess chose not to or couldn’t make herself fall. Instead she dragged her poles, trying to slow herself down. She was less than fifty feet from the stream.

  Nancy knew she had to do something. Jabbing her poles in the snow, she hurled herself forward behind Bess.

  The slope was incredibly steep, but Nancy managed to keep her balance and gain on Bess. Finally, when Nancy was right behind her friend, she reached out and grabbed the back of Bess’s jacket and yanked—hard. The two girls fell, tumbling to the ground. When they came to a halt, Nancy saw the cold, rocky stream less than ten feet in front of them.

  “That was close!” Bess said, breathing heavily. “If you hadn’t pulled me down—” She stopped, and her eyes grew large with fear.

  “Don’t think about it,” Nancy urged. She stood up on her skis and gave Bess a hand up. “Come on. I think we’ve had enough skiing for today.”

  Slowly Nancy and Bess made their way down the rest of the trail toward the head area. All the while Nancy tried to figure out what had happened. The trail she and Bess had ended up on was obviously not for novices. That meant that Ben had given them the wrong directions, or someone had switched the markers. Either way, she and Bess had been in danger.

  “George!” Nancy heard Bess cry out when they finally made their way back to the trail head. “Oh, George, you’ll never believe what just happened.”

  Nancy was surprised to see George at Tall Pines. She was supposed to have gone to Watson’s for the day.

  When Bess told her cousin what had happened, George let out a low whistle. “Sounds like more trouble for Tall Pines,” she said.

  Nancy nodded her agreement. Making sure that no one was around to overhear their conversation, Nancy said, “I want to check out what just happened. Do you have a trail map?”

  George pulled one out of her jacket pocket and opened it up. “Here’s where Aerie meets Cascade.” Her fingers traced the trails back to the trail head. “I see how to get back there. Can you get back to the room by yourself, Bess?”

  “Sure,” Bess said. “It’s time for my lunch date anyway,” she said. Nancy and George waved and skied off. After a few minutes they were heading up Aerie. “What do you think happened, Nan?” George asked when they were alone.

  Nancy slowed her pace. “I don’t know, but I don’t think it was an accident,” she told George. “Especially after what happened in the sauna. Either Bess and I wandered into a trap set for somebody else, or someone’s after me or Bess.”

  “But why?” George asked, panting slightly as they made an uphill climb.

  “I’m beginning to wonder if my cover’s been blown,” Nancy said. “Maybe someone knows I’m a detective and wants to scare me off.”

  “Don’t jump to conclusions,” George warned. “You’ve always told me that’s a sign of bad detective work.”

  Nancy laughed. “Okay. You’re right. But what other reason could there be?”

  “First we have to find out if the signs were switched, then who switched them. Then we’ll have our reason for why the person did it,” George said, pleased with herself.

  Nancy was quiet as they took a slow downhill glide. At a flat part in the trail she stopped and said, “Ben knew where we were going. He could have told Jody, too. I saw them talking together before Bess and I skied off.”

  “Ben seems to admire Rob Watson. What if they’re working together to cause trouble at Tall Pines?” George asked. Then she shook her head. “What am I saying? He’s too nice a guy to do anything like that.”

  “Hey,” Nancy said, stopping short. “I nearly forgot. Did you go to Watson’s this morning?”

  “You bet I did,” George replied. “I almost didn’t recognize the place. Major construction. They’re expanding the snack bar and upgrading the trails.”

  “It sounds like Rob’s spending a lot of money,” Nancy said.

  “That’s what I thought,” George agreed. “He could have gotten a bank loan, or—”

  “He could be behind the Tall Pines theft,” Nancy finished. Nancy and George climbed the incline to the hut that marked the point where Aerie met Cascades. “Let’s stop here,” Nancy said. “I want to check something.” She pulled George’s trail map from her pocket to study it. It confirmed what she had guessed.

  “According to the map, Aerie turns right, but the sign is pointing left.” Someone had switched “Aerie” with “Cascades.” Nancy carefully turned the signs so they pointed to the right trails.

  “I can’t believe Ben would do something like that,” George said, frowning. “It must have been someone else.”

  Nancy didn’t say anything. As George was speaking, she noticed something glinting in the snow. She bent closer, picked up the object, and whistled softly. It was a thermometer just like the one she’d seen attached to Ben’s zipper. Silently she handed the tiny thermometer over to her friend.

  George’s expression was serious. “It does look like Ben’s thermometer,” she said, her voice a bit defensive. “But I’m sure there’s a logical explanation. Ben wouldn’t try to hurt you or anyone. Also, when would he have done it?”

  Nancy put the thermometer in her pocket. “I hope you’re right” was all she said.

  The girls skied silently for several minutes, moving across a snow-covered meadow. The real Aerie trail skirted the edge of the man-made hill and went through a meadow rather than through the forest.

  “That must be the ice-skating pond,” George said as they approached a large open area. A half-finished building stood at the far end of the secluded frozen pond. Construction tape surrounded the pond to keep people out. Nancy remembered that the outdoor rink wasn’t ready for guests yet.

  As the girls skied past the ice two people emerged from the building being constructed. Nancy recognized the tall, slender woman in the shocking pink ski outfit as Sheila Reismueller. The man was a stranger. Seeing the furtive way that Sheila glanced around, Nancy quickly pulled George behind a bushy evergreen so Sheila wouldn’t see them.

  “He doesn’t look like the normal Tall Pines visitor, does he?” Georg
e asked in a whisper. Instead of fashionable ski wear, the man was dressed in a black and white houndstooth suit, a black felt fedora, and an overcoat tossed casually over his shoulders. He would have looked more at home on a city street than at a ski resort.

  Nancy nodded. “And Sheila looks like she doesn’t want to be seen.”

  “I wonder what’s going on,” George murmured.

  “Maybe he’s a contractor,” Nancy suggested, shaking herself. “I’m probably being paranoid because of the case.” Perhaps Karl had asked Sheila to help with something, and that was why she hadn’t gone to do her errands that day as she’d planned.

  A few minutes later the girls resumed skiing and slid to a graceful stop at the end of the trail.

  “I’m going to get some lunch,” George said. “Want to join me?”

  Nancy shook her head. “I have an apple to eat. Then I have an appointment to talk to Dave Kendall,” she said. “Why don’t you track Ben after your lunch? See what he’s up to.”

  “No problem,” George said. “He’s the best instructor here. I wouldn’t mind following him,” she added with a smile. “Nancy, I really don’t think Ben’s involved, but if you want me to keep an eye on him, I will.”

  “Thanks, George,” Nancy said. “If you see her, would you tell Bess to meet me at the pool at three? I want to find out if she got anything out of Jody.”

  “You got it,” George said. With that, she skied off toward the Tall Pines ski school.

  After removing her skis Nancy dropped them off at the rental counter and made her way to Dave Kendall’s office. Even if he’d taken a late lunch, she thought, he should be back in his office by now.

  The receptionist was away from her desk, but the door to Dave’s office was open a bit, so Nancy walked to the door and started to call to him. She stopped herself as soon as she realized the man in the office was not Dave Kendall.

  Intrigued, Nancy remained at the door, peering in. She watched as the man slid some papers off Dave’s desk and into his backpack. A moment later he picked up the backpack and turned around, holding it in front of him.