Trail of Lies (14 page)

Authors: Carolyn Keene

“Yes, thanks to you,” George replied. “Nancy told me everything that happened, and I know I might not be standing here now if it weren't for you.”

Nancy couldn't hold her questions back any longer. “Steve, what happened back at the cabin?” she asked. “How did Craig get free? When I saw him, I was afraidÂ .Â .Â .”

“You don't need to say it.” For a moment Steve's face looked haggard. “It was pretty scary.

“I guess Craig was only momentarily stunned after I tripped him,” Steve went on. “I don't know how he got free of those ropes, but just as I finished harnessing the dogs, he came after me. We struggled, and he knocked me outâfor real this time. He left me lying in the snow and locked the cabin doorâI guess he figured I'd die of exposure. Lucky for me, when I came to I was able to jimmy open a window and get back inside. After that all I could do was wait for someone to find me. Boy, was I glad when these guys turned up on their snowmobiles!” He grinned at the two police officers.

“We got a little lost in the forest,” one of the officers put in, “but we got there eventually.”

“How'd you get the dogs back?” Amanda wanted to know.

“I drove the team,” Steve said modestly.

“After all you went through, you were still able to mush?” Amanda gave him an admiring look.

“Didn't I tell you my son's a winner?” Henry demanded jovially.

A grin of pure pleasure crossed Steve's face as he led the way back into the den.

“Did you find Craig?” Carson Drew asked one of the police officers.

“Sure did. Steve spotted him lying beside the trail. Miller's in custody, and he's already started talking. He told us about his accomplice in Seattle and about how he distributed the ivory here in Anchorage.”

The other officer nodded. “By tomorrow night we'll have this smuggling ring disbanded.”

Carson turned to Nancy. “It looks like this case is closed.”

“Nancy, I don't know how to thank you,” Henry told her.

Nancy shook her head. “There's no need. I was glad to help.”

After the police left, Carson and Henry went to the study. Steve turned to the four girls. “I want you all to be my witnesses, because what I have to say is very painful.”

He paused. Then he turned to Lindsay and grinned. “You were right. Your dogs are better than mine.”

Lindsay raised one eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“Look at how well an amateur like Nancy did driving them,” he responded. But the teasing look he gave Nancy told her he didn't mean the comment maliciously.

George put both hands on her hips and glared at Steve. “Did it ever occur to you that Nancy might be a natural dogsledder?” she demanded loyally. “It could be Nancy's skill, not the dogs, that got us back here.”

Steve looked thoughtful. “You might be right,” he admitted. As Nancy watched, a speculative expression crossed his face. Turning to her, he asked, “Would you like to race my dogs in the Solstice Derby?”

Nancy pretended to consider Steve's offer. Then she grinned. “No thanks, Steve. I've already had the ride of a lifetime!”

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.