“Come on, Ned, you know me. I’m always very careful,” Nancy said, teasing him.
“Yes, I know. That’s why I want you to keep a low profile. I want you to be in one piece the next time I see you.”
Nancy blew a kiss into the phone and said goodbye. After she hung up, she smiled sadly. If only Ned were able to meet her in New York . . .
Just then, the front doorbell rang. Nancy went to open it, and before her stood Mattie Jensen. Her rich auburn hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. She looked almost as young as Nancy.
“Hiya, kiddo!” the actress said, bubbling. “Eloise told me she was going to the ballet tonight, so I thought you guys might want a little company.”
How could anyone as beautiful and successful as Mattie Jensen be all alone at ten o’clock on a Saturday night? Nancy wondered. It didn’t seem possible. But there she was. She’s lonely! Nancy realized.
“Sure. Come on in,” she said. “Bess is in the shower.”
“Hey, I read about what happened to you today on the boat trip. After everything he’s been through, Rick must be glad they caught the guy. They said the man tried to throw him overboard.”
“Hmm-hmm,” Nancy replied, wishing she could have shared Mattie’s sense of relief.
“They said the guy was released from a mental institution a few weeks ago.”
“I didn’t hear that, but from the way he was acting . . .” Nancy’s voice trailed off.
“Oh, Nancy, I’m so relieved. Now I’ll finally be able to sleep at night!” Mattie smiled softly, but Nancy just turned away. “What’s the matter, Nancy? Are you still upset?”
Nancy heaved an enormous sigh. “Mattie, I hate to say this. I know you’re not going to like it, but I don’t think the man they arrested today is the person we’re after.”
“But—but they said he’d been stalking Rick for weeks.”
“He may have been, but I don’t think he’s the one who tampered with the light, and sent the chocolates.”
Mattie gazed at Nancy in amazement. Then she nodded. “Okay. Tell me why you think it isn’t the same person.”
“Two reasons. For starters, someone tried to run Rick over tonight.”
“No!” Mattie exclaimed.
“I’m afraid so. Don’t try to tell Rick that—he insists it was a hit-and-run accident. But I was there, Mattie. The cab never blew its horn, never slowed down—and the license plate was covered over with mud. This all may be circumstantial evidence, but still . . .”
Mattie was silent, taking it all in. “And then,” Nancy said, continuing, “there’s the photograph of Rick, the one that was all scratched up. It wasn’t just a publicity shot, the kind he might autograph for a fan. There was a résumé of all the shows he’s been in stapled to the back of it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but actors don’t just give out their résumés to the general public, do they?”
“No, of course not. But lots of people would have them.”
“Like who? A producer?”
“Sure. When an actor auditions for a job, he always brings a picture and résumé,” she said, sitting down. “Pappas would have them. So would the director, and Lillian, of course. His agent would have hundreds. I suppose even Dwayne might have a few left, unless he cleaned out his files recently.” Mattie stared at the wall with a faraway look. “But Dwayne is harmless. I’m sure—”
“Wait. Why Dwayne? I thought Rick said he was with International Management.”
“Yes, but when Rick was first in New York, Dwayne was his agent. The summer I first met both of them, we were in an acting company doing Shakespeare in Oregon. We were so sure of ourselves,” she mused. “Anyway, that fall, we set out for New York and the ‘big time.’ Rick and I did all right, but Dwayne, who was trying to make it as an actor still, ran into trouble getting parts. He was the wrong type somehow. So, he decided to open a talent agency instead. He really got our careers moving, too.”
Just then Bess stepped into the room, a terry bathrobe wrapped around her. “I thought I heard somebody! Hi, Mattie,” she chirped. “Did Nancy tell you about our day? Kind of wild, huh?”
“I read about part of it in the paper,” Mattie said. “It was—” The telephone rang, interrupting her.
“That’s probably for me!” Bess said as she dove for the phone. “Oh, hi!” she purred into the receiver. “Yes, I thought you might— Really? Hmmm—” Suddenly Bess turned a deep crimson and let out a wild giggle. “Umm, just a minute,” she said. “I think I’ll take this in the other room.”
Carefully putting the receiver on its side, Bess gestured wildly at Nancy and then the phone. “It’s Rick!” she whispered excitedly. “Hang up for me, okay?” With that, she ran into the bedroom.
Nancy turned to Mattie. She was pale and her glamorous face was drawn tight. Staring vacantly toward the bedroom, her enormous eyes began to fill with tears.
Nancy replaced the receiver. “Mattie . . .” she murmured gently, “you still love him, don’t you?”
Mattie collapsed back into her chair. “Yes, I do. Heaven knows why,” she answered. “Just a habit, I guess. I’ve loved him since I first saw him. We’ve been through a lot together.”
Nancy put her hand comfortingly on Mattie’s arm. As they listened to Bess giggling happily in the other room, Nancy could feel Mattie’s grief. If a girl were talking with Ned like that, she’d be crushed, too.
“But then,” Mattie said with a sad smile, “Rick obviously doesn’t feel the same way. Well, I’d better go. I might as well get some sleep. We’re still having brunch tomorrow morning, right?”
Nancy nodded and walked Mattie to the door, watching as she went down the stairs to her garden apartment. Just as the actress was about to disappear, Nancy remembered what she had been thinking before the phone rang.
“Mattie! Wait!” she called.
The actress looked up from the stairwell. “Yes?”
“How could I get into Dwayne Casper’s office? I’d just like to take a look around.”
“Well,” said Mattie, her brow wrinkling as she thought, “I suppose you could set up an appointment and say you were an aspiring actress. You could even say we did a show together once.”
“That might work. I don’t think he ever noticed me before. Whenever I saw him I wasn’t near you or him. But I don’t have any pictures or résumés,” she reminded Mattie.
“Oh, that’s okay,” Mattie assured her. “Just tell him you’re new in town. Ask him for advice—he loves that. Dwayne’s really good with newcomers, and he’ll be flattered that you came to him for guidance. If you call first thing Monday morning and say I told you to call, I guarantee you’ll get in. But I promise you, Dwayne is harmless. I should know—we’ve been friends for years.”
“I hope you’re right. But if Dwayne’s got anything to do with this, I’ve got to find out. And, Mattie,” she said softly, “don’t worry about Bess. I know her. She falls in and out of love all the time. She’ll get over Rick as soon as she gets back home, you’ll see.”
Mattie stared into the distance, trying to hide her feelings. “Maybe,” she murmured softly. Giving Nancy a strange look, she disappeared down the stairwell to her apartment. Nancy could hear her door close behind her.
That night, tossing and turning in her bed, Nancy couldn’t sleep. Her eyes kept popping open, and she’d lie still and stare at the ceiling while her mind was in high gear and she worked through detail after detail. If only they added up.
Rick Arlen. She could picture his handsome face with that winning grin of his, and those sparkling azure eyes. Someone wanted him dead, but who? Rick might not win any popularity contests among the people who knew him best, but only one person hated him enough to want him dead.
It took a very clever person to conceal such powerful hatred so successfully. Nancy tried to imagine who it might be, but there were so many people wishing him ill: Pappas, Casper, Lillian Weiss, and who knows how many others there were just on the set alone. Nancy had had cases this difficult before, and she’d solved them successfully. But this time there were so many possibilities; which one should she investigate first?
As she drifted to sleep, the shadowy figure of Rick came back into her mind. He was signing autographs for a crowd of fans. A monstrous figure walked toward him, slowly stalking him. Nancy tried to cry out, but her voice was caught in her throat. The figure turned toward her, seeing her for the first time. Eyes of indescribable evil glowed at her, paralyzing her with fear.
Then the figure drew a long and sharp knife that glinted in the dim light. Nancy tried to scream, but nothing happened. The shadowy figure was getting closer and closer—
Nancy awoke with a gasp and sat up in bed. The clock-radio by her bed read 5:05
A.M.
It was only a dream, thank goodness! she thought, her heart racing. But it was so real.
Sighing with relief, she turned over, ready to go back to sleep. That’s when she noticed that Bess’s bed was empty.
In an instant, Nancy was up and out of bed. She hurried into the kitchen—no Bess. She checked the bathroom, the living room, then ran back to the bedroom. Nothing. It couldn’t be, but it was.
Bess was gone!
Chapter Ten
T
HE SOUND OF
a car pulling up in front of the building sent Nancy to the window. Opening it and leaning out, she saw a shiny black limousine gleaming in the light of a streetlamp.
A second later Bess stepped out onto the sidewalk. She was followed by Rick, who wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You won’t mind if I don’t walk you to the door, will you?” he asked, just loud enough for Nancy to hear.
Bess twirled around and leaned closer into his arms. “Of course not,” she said. “I had a great time. It was fun, zipping around the city, just the two of us. Thanks.” They fell into a kiss that seemed as if it would never end.
Standing at the window, Nancy was alarmed. As flighty as Bess could be, it wasn’t like her to sneak off in the middle of the night. Rick had gone to Bess’s head like bubbly champagne. Nancy could only hope her friend wasn’t in for a nasty “hangover” when it was all over.
“Nancy!” Bess called out in surprise when she saw her friend waiting for her at the door to the apartment. “What are you doing up?”
“Excuse me,” Nancy answered in a low voice, careful not to wake her aunt. “But what are
you
doing up is the question.”
Bess’s eyes were sparkling. “Oh, Nancy,” she said breathily. “New York is so
wonderful
! I’ve never really noticed before how incredible it is. I just have to live here someday.
Soon
.” Turning to her friend, Bess continued, “We went everywhere. We rode around Wall Street and went to the South Street Seaport and then to this incredible disco, Le Grandine. Absolutely everyone there knew Rick. And he likes me. I mean, he really likes
me
! This could be it! This could be the man I’ve been looking for all my life!”
“Bess,” Nancy began as gently as she could, “didn’t you think it might be just a little dangerous to be going out with Rick in the middle of the night when someone is trying to kill him?”
Bess looked annoyed. “Don’t spoil this for me, okay?” She walked past Nancy into the apartment and went to their room.
Nancy glared at her friend as she disappeared down the hall. Bess could be so irritating sometimes. Earlier that day she had narrowly missed getting herself killed, and here she was laughing in the face of danger. “You think I’m being silly?” Nancy asked, following after her.
“Of course I do! They arrested the guy, didn’t they? Rick convinced me that the runaway cab was only an accident. Besides, nobody would mess with Rick. You should feel his muscles—they’re like steel!”
Bess slipped out of her satiny dress and kicked off the slingbacks she had worn to go dancing. Too tired to change into a nightgown, she fell back on the bed in her lacy pink slip.
“Oh, Nancy,” she murmured excitedly. “He’s so wonderful—and so cute.” Reaching over, she snapped off the light between their beds. “Am I going to have happy dreams tonight!”
As Nancy lay in her bed, watching the light of dawn brighten the room, she couldn’t help worrying about Bess. This was obviously more than just a schoolgirl crush. And Nancy was more convinced than ever that this fairy-tale romance was not going to have a happy ending.
The clock by Nancy’s bed read 9:04
A.M.
Bess was still asleep, a contented smile on her lips. Nancy figured she’d be out for a few more hours.
The apartment was quiet. Looking out the window, Nancy saw only one person on the street. The whole city seemed to still be asleep. At eleven, she’d be going out to brunch with her aunt and Mattie, but that was still two hours away.
After pulling on her favorite jeans and slipping her new yellow sweater over her head, Nancy decided that a walk might be just what she needed to help her think and unwind.
Stepping out onto the street, Nancy took a deep breath of the fresh spring air. The birds were singing, and the golden-green leaves on the trees swayed in the morning breeze. On this quiet Sunday morning, with church bells ringing in the distance, New York seemed like a small nineteenth-century town. Nancy loved it. As she walked, she imagined she was part of that older, simpler time.
After a while she came to a tiny park tucked between two buildings. The morning sun was just beginning to warm the benches, and a few people were out with their children, pushing them on swings and watching as they ran and played. Nancy couldn’t help herself; she sat down on a bench and let the sun warm her face, relaxing for the first time in days.
A minute later the touch of a hand on her shoulder made Nancy jump. Glancing around, she found herself looking into the dark eyes of Lillian Weiss.
“Well, if it isn’t our fair rescuer,” Lillian smirked. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Nancy was puzzled. New York was a huge city. The odds of running into someone that she knew were small, to say the least.
“Mind if I sit down?” Lillian asked casually. “I’m dead tired. Haven’t slept all night.”
Nancy moved over to make room for her. She felt uncomfortable in the company of such an unpleasant person, but she didn’t want to be impolite.
“Are you still trying to save Rick Arlen’s life?” Lillian asked suddenly, looking right into Nancy’s eyes.