041 Something to Hide (3 page)

“Hold on just a minute,” Marcia said tartly. “We still have to pack up all our stuff.”

Nancy put down her clipboard and turned around to where Bess was sitting at the back of the booth.

“Almost ready to go, Bess?” she asked. Then Nancy looked more closely at her friend. Bess was slumped over in her chair, breathing heavily. Her eyes were glassy, and there was a feverish spot of color on each cheek.

“I feel funny,” Bess said in a weak voice when she saw Nancy’s eyes on her.

Nancy was at her side immediately. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Bess’s eyes rolled back in her head.

Before Nancy could do anything, Bess had slid out of her chair and toppled to the floor in a dead faint.

N
ANCY FLUNG HERSELF DOWN
on her knees next to Bess.

“We’ve got to get her home right away!” Nancy cried. “Ned—George—help me carry her to the car.”

Bess’s eyes flickered open. “Wh-what’s the matter?” she asked in a dazed voice, struggling to sit up. Her face was still deathly pale.

Nancy put a hand on Bess’s shoulder. “You fainted,” she told her friend gently. “Don’t try to move too fast, Bess.”

Now George, too, was bending over Bess. “What happened, Bess?” she asked. “You never faint.” George looked as worried as Nancy
felt. Both of them knew something was really wrong.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Bess weakly. “I just started feeling dizzy, and then everything went black.” Bess put her hands to her head. “I’m still woozy, and my head—oh, it hurts so much!” Bess sounded almost as though she might cry.

“Well, forget about taking you home. This sounds much more serious than a cold. We’re taking you to the hospital right now,” Nancy said with determination. “They’ll find out what’s wrong.”

“I’m going with you,” Brad said in a worried voice. He turned to his classmates. “Will you guys be okay here?”

Marcia gave him a cold stare, then turned away. “We’ll have to be, I guess,” she said. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll just finish packing up the stuff and then go home.”

Nancy was shocked at the harsh tone in Marcia’s voice. She didn’t seem to care about Bess and her fainting spell. She sounded as if Bess’s collapse was just the topper to a trying day. Of course, Marcia did hardly know Bess, Nancy reminded herself. Still . . .

“Let me give you my address, in case you can come over to my house later,” Heather added. Her eyes gave the merest flicker in Ned’s direction as she scribbled her address across the top of a spare questionnaire.

“Thanks,” said Nancy. She tucked the piece of paper inside her purse. “Okay, let’s go. Ready, Bess?”

There was no answer. Bess was out cold again.

• • •

“Why do you think the doctor’s taking so long?” Brad asked nervously as he paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. “We’ve been here almost an hour!”

Nancy managed a wan smile. “That’s not really long for an emergency room,” she said.

Ned spoke up. “I’m sure it’s just the flu, anyway,” he said. “Bess was probably just on her feet too long, and—”

“Are you waiting for Bess Marvin?” A young, rumpled-looking doctor was standing in the doorway of the waiting room with a clipboard in his hand.

Nancy jumped to her feet. “Yes, we are. How’s she doing?”

“Well, we’re going to keep her overnight, just to be on the safe side,” the doctor said. “Except for a slight rash on her face, her symptoms all point to the flu, but I’ve ordered some blood samples to be drawn as well. It’s just routine,” he added. Brad gulped audibly. “Barring anything unusual, she should be released tomorrow morning.”

“That’s a relief,” Nancy said. George and Ned nodded in agreement.

“Can we see her?” asked George.

“For a little while. She should be in her room now.” He gave them the room number.

Bess was lying in bed with her eyes half closed. “Hi,” she said faintly when she saw her friends. “Sorry to cause so much trouble.”

“Oh, Bess, don’t say that!” said Nancy. “We’re just glad you’re okay.”

When Bess looked behind Nancy and saw Brad, she stirred restlessly. Her hand moved anxiously to cover her blotchy cheek.

“We’ll let you get some rest now,” Nancy said quickly. “Call me tomorrow morning, and George and I will come pick you up.”

“Have fun tonight,” Bess murmured. “Wish I could . . .” She seemed too weak to finish the sentence.

“You just get yourself feeling better,” Brad said warmly. “There will be plenty of other nights.” Weak though she was, Bess blushed.

• • •

As Nancy turned the Mustang onto Heather’s street, she had second thoughts about going to Heather’s—especially without Ned and George. George had decided to stay at the hospital, and Ned’s mom had asked if he couldn’t “please” have dinner with them. Still, he would drop by soon, Nancy thought with relief.

I don’t even know these kids, Nancy mused, and I’m not sure how I feel about Heather.
She’s putting the moves on Ned right in front of me!

But something about the group of Emerson students had aroused Nancy’s curiosity— some undercurrent of tension that she couldn’t exactly define but could feel.

Nancy pulled up in front of Heather’s house, parked her car, and walked up the tree-lined walkway to the small ranch-style house. She rang the doorbell. In a second Heather came to the door, wearing a black leather miniskirt and black cashmere sweater.

“Hi,” she said unenthusiastically. “Where’s Ned?”

Nancy paused for a second. “He’ll be coming in a few minutes,” she explained.

“Oh, that’s good,” said Heather, her face brightening. “Everyone else is here,” she went on. “Come on in.”

Brad, Justin, and Marcia were having sodas and watching a football game on TV in the family room. “How’s Bess?” Brad asked immediately. “Have you called the hospital again?”

Nancy had to laugh. “You’re as up-to-date on Bess as I am, Brad. I called the hospital just before I came here, and they said she was sleeping. George is having a pretty dull visit.”

“They still don’t know what’s wrong with her?” Marcia asked, trying to sound interested.

“Well, the blood-test results aren’t in yet,” Nancy answered. “But they don’t think it’s anything—”

The doorbell rang, interrupting Nancy. Heather jumped to her feet and raced to the door. “Hi, Ned!” they heard her saying happily.

In a second Heather was back in the room, pulling Ned along with her. “See, everyone’s here,” she said quickly. “Let me show you the rest of the house, okay?” She dragged Ned out of the room before he had time to answer.

“Wait!” protested Justin. “What about the pizza?”

“Oh, you guys go ahead and order it,” said Heather casually. “Ned and I will trust you. Won’t we, Ned?” She was practically yanking him down the hall. “Come see the living room,” she chattered. “It’s right in here, and—”

Ned shot a startled glance back at Nancy, but he seemed powerless to stop the flow of Heather’s tug.

Marcia stood up quickly. “Nancy and I will order the pizzas,” she said. “There’s a phone in the kitchen. Come on, Nancy.”

“Since when does it take two people to order a pizza?” asked Justin.

“Oh, I want to go with her,” said Nancy quickly. From the look in Marcia’s eyes, she
was sure the other girl wanted to talk to her about something. “I need to get something to drink anyway.”

“But you don’t know what kind of pizza we want!” Justin complained.

“We’ll order plenty,” Marcia snapped. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, but no anchovies!” Justin called after the two girls as they headed out of the family room.

The instant they were in the kitchen, Marcia turned to face Nancy. “I just wanted to warn you that you’d better watch out,” she said in a low, intense voice. “Heather has quite a reputation around Emerson for breaking up romances.” She raised her voice to a normal level again. “Now, let’s see. What kind of pizza do you like?”

“Anything but anchovy,” answered Nancy. Lowering her voice, she said, “I wondered if she might have something in mind—but I think I’ll be okay.”

I certainly don’t need any help, she added silently.

Marcia scowled. “Don’t be so sure of that,” she said.

“Oh, I’ll be careful,” said Nancy lightly. “Now, let’s order. I’m starving.” She picked up a phone book from a little table and flipped through it looking for the Yellow Pages.

For a second Marcia stood watching her.
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, and stalked out of the kitchen.

Nancy called the closest pizza place and ordered four large pizzas. Then she walked back into the family room.

Ned was on the sofa now, Heather next to him—much too close—talking brightly and smiling up at him. But Ned didn’t look as though he was enjoying the attention. As Nancy stood there in the doorway, she saw Heather give Ned a little pat on the cheek. He smiled politely and tried to move away from her.

I’m putting a stop to this right now! Nancy told herself.

She walked over to the other side of Ned and sat down firmly. As she did, she thought she heard Ned sigh with relief. He slid his arm behind her shoulders, and Nancy leaned up against him.

Heather scowled and turned away. “When’s the pizza coming?” she asked in a sulky voice.

“About twenty minutes,” Nancy replied.

“We’ve been talking about the Halloween party,” Ned told her. “Heather was saying she thought we should dress like characters from movies.”

Justin was sitting on the floor, stuffing handful after handful of popcorn into his mouth. “That’s right,” he said barely intelligibly. He gave a big swallow and added, “I’m coming as the shark in
Jaws.
What about you, Brad?”

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” said Brad. “And when I do, I’m not telling anyone. Aren’t these things supposed to be a secret?”

Marcia tipped her head to one side and gave Brad a long look. “Brad could always be Dracula,” she suggested. “He seems to go for a different girl every night.”

The goad couldn’t have been more obvious, but Brad didn’t flinch. He hardly even glanced in Marcia’s direction, but Heather glared at Marcia.

“Have you picked a costume yet?” Nancy asked Heather, to cover the uneasy silence. There, she thought. No one can say I’m ignoring my hostess.

Heather shook her head. “Not yet, but there’s a great costume store in Chicago. I may try there.” She turned to Ned. “Want me to get you one, too?”

Nancy’s eyes widened. How rude—and how obvious—could Heather be?

But Ned didn’t take the bait. “I think I’ve got one at home,” he said pleasantly. “Thanks anyway.”

“Oh, no!” Nancy said with a laugh. She was determined not to let Heather get to her. “You’re not going to wear that alien invader costume again, are you?”

Justin let out a loud, nervous laugh and knocked over the bowl of popcorn. “Whoops,” he said, mugging clownishly. “You know me—
old butterfingers.” As he began to scoop up the popcorn, Nancy noticed that his hands were shaking.

What is going on here? she asked herself. Justin’s a nervous wreck, Brad’s totally ignoring Marcia, and Marcia is obviously trying to torment him.

Brad’s voice broke into Nancy’s thoughts. “I bet the pizza guy will be here any minute,” he said. “Does anyone want to wait for him with me? Justin?”

“Too cold out there,” said Justin. “Besides, I’d be too far away from the popcorn.”

“Nancy?” asked Brad.

Marcia gave a brittle laugh. “Why should Nancy want to go anywhere with you? I mean, look what happened to her friend. Bess was literally sick of you after only a couple of hours!”

This time Marcia’s goad hit home. Brad’s face paled. Marcia gave a sly little grin. Then the phone rang, breaking the tension.

“I’ll get it,” Heather said quickly, and she dashed out of the room. In seconds she was back. “Nancy, it’s for you,” she said. “It’s George.”

With an anxious glance at Ned, Nancy walked to the kitchen and picked up the receiver. “Hi, George. How’s Bess?”

“She’s still asleep,” George reported, “but the doctor got the results of the tests.”

“So soon?” Nancy asked expectantly.

“Yes,” George agreed heavily, “but it’s not good.”

Nancy gripped the receiver. She forced her voice to stay calm. “Why? What were the results?” she asked.

“There’s no doubt about it,” said George. “Nancy, Bess—Bess was poisoned!”