025 Rich and Dangerous (5 page)

Nancy wondered if “he” was Jack Kale. Something in the woman’s sad face told her it might be.

“Would you like to press charges now or later, Mrs. Amberly?” the blond young man asked. “We’ll work at your convenience.”

“Press charges? Against whom?” A kind of confused irritation passed over Sarah’s face.

“Why, the perpetrators! These three!” He was still waving his pistol at them.

“Oh, dear me, no,” Sarah answered with a small laugh. “Not now or later. This young lady,” she said, indicating Nancy, “was sent to me by an authority higher than hotel security. She is my protectress, and I have already given her permission to visit my suite at any time. Besides, she is a guest at this hotel.”

Joe Ritter frowned. Nancy could tell he was thinking that Sarah Amberly was slightly crazy. “Yes, but your ring,” he countered gingerly. “It
is
missing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes. But I’m quite sure I know who has it, and I’d prefer to handle it myself. You and your assistant are free to go now.”

Detective Ritter stared blankly at Sarah for a minute before he headed for the door. “Come on,
Felske,” he muttered, shooting Nancy an angry look.

When they were gone, Sarah gave Nancy a warm smile. “Nancy, who are your friends?”

“This is Bess Marvin and George Fayne—my two best friends from back home.”

“How do you do, girls? Will you promise to come back another time when I can be more hospitable? I’m afraid that ruby means a great deal to me, and I want to organize my thoughts so I can get it back—if it’s not too late.”

Nancy met the older woman’s eyes with a sympathetic frown. “Sarah, maybe my friends and I can help you get your ring back,” she offered gently. “I know how much it means to you.”

“Oh, no. No, dear. But thank you for the offer. It’s a family matter, that’s all,” she replied with as much dignity as she could muster. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course,” Bess said, and George nodded.

“I’m so sorry for the intrusion, Sarah,” Nancy apologized. “I hope you don’t mind my coming into the suite that way—”

Sarah Amberly reached out and took Nancy’s hand. She pressed it warmly. “There is no need to apologize, Nancy. I trust your judgment, and I assure you, you are always welcome in here, my dear. After all, we were fated to be friends, weren’t we? However, I am greatly distressed by this latest piece of mischief.” With that, her
thoughts seemed to turn inward. Nancy knew it was time to leave.

“Well, if you need anything, remember I’m right next door,” Nancy said, touching Sarah’s bony shoulder gently before she left.

Stepping outside, the girls were surprised to find a smoldering Joe Ritter waiting for them. He looked at Nancy with a scowl that could break a mirror. “Listen, I’m letting you go this time. But don’t try anything funny from here on in— understand?”

Nancy’s eyes met his, but he glanced away. Sure, things looked suspicious to Ritter. But there was no way she was going to convince him of her innocent intentions. He’d never believe her. “Let’s go,” she said to her friends.

None of the girls said a word as Nancy led them back to her suite; they were still too shaken to speak. But once they made it safely inside, Bess started to giggle. Soon Nancy and George were smiling, and then all three of them burst out laughing as the humor of the situation struck them.

Sprawled around the luxurious suite, they recalled the details of their near arrest and broke up completely.

“Hey! Let’s call room service and order a cake with a file baked inside. We may need it,” Bess said, cracking herself up.

“I guess we really did look guilty, didn’t we?” George commented.

“Honestly, we did,” Nancy said. “He was right to stop us—maybe his methods were a little too harsh, though.”

“Come on, Nan,” Bess said. “Let’s not get all serious.”

“Well, some things
are
serious, Bess,” Nancy said. “Whether you believe it or not.”

“You know what I think is serious?” Bess was no longer laughing. “The last time you came to New York and you almost got
killed.
Just be sure to be careful—okay?”

Silence fell for a long minute.

“Hey, lighten up, you two,” George finally commanded.

“I get worried about you, that’s all!” said Bess, her affection shining in her eyes.

“Me, too, Nan,” George nodded.

Nancy looked from one friend to the other. “Oh, come on, you two.” She playfully tossed a peach satin pillow at Bess. “I mean, this is really dangerous, right? Here I am at the Plaza—I’m having the time of my life with my best friends and stuffing my face with éclairs. Somehow it doesn’t seem too dangerous to me!” Nancy’s blue eyes sparkled mischievously now.

“All right, all right. Just take care of yourself, okay?” said Bess cheerfully.

“Listen,” Nancy suggested, “my dad is going to be back from the convention any minute, and we have a dinner date—want to come along? I know he’d love to see you.”

George slumped down into her chair. “Oh, I wish we could! But Bess and I have big plans, don’t we, Bess?”

Bess laughed. “We promised to visit my mom’s ex-roommate on the Upper West Side. I call her Aunt Julie. She’s cooking up a storm for us.”

Nancy nodded. “Hey! I have an idea—why don’t we get together after dinner? I know my dad is going to want to turn in early. The three of us could check out the nightlife at the Trump Tower.”

“Yeah! Maybe talk to some real-life New York City guys,” Bess exclaimed. “What do you say, George?”

George nodded. “See you about when, Nan?”

“Oh, I don’t know—eight-thirty, quarter to nine?”

“You’re on,” said George on the way out.

“See you later!” Bess called from the hall.

Alone, Nancy took out her new outfit and held it up in front of the mirror. It still looked great. She was admiring it when suddenly she heard a shout from behind the wall that adjoined the Amberly suite.

Angry voices followed. Sarah Amberly’s booming tones and a man’s—Jack Kale’s, maybe? But what were they saying? All Nancy could hear were muffled shouts. The argument must have been taking place in the main room of the Amberly suite, not in Sarah’s bedroom.

Nancy clenched her fists in frustration. She
was worried about Sarah. If only she could hear what they were saying and knew that Sarah was all right.

Thinking quickly, she went to the window and threw it open. She leaned out as far as she safely could and twisted her body to the left, the better to hear the sound from around the side of the gabled window.

Sure enough, the voices were clearer now. The Amberlys’ windows were open, just as they had been whenever Nancy was in their suite.

“You’re a devil, that’s what you are!” Sarah shouted. “What did Joshua and I ever deny you, that you repay me this way?”

“Hold on, Aunt Sarah” was the angry reply. “How do you know it was me who stole it? Maybe it was your precious beau—oh, no, I forgot, he never does
anything
wrong, does he?”

“Look to your own faults, young man!” Sarah yelled back at him. “I’ve given you everything— everything!”

“Now, now, Aunt Sarah. I may triple your wealth one of these days. I only hope you’re not in the great hereafter when I hit it big at the gaming tables.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Nancy could tell from the shaking in her voice that Sarah Amberly was hurt to the quick.

“I should have taken a firmer stand with you a long time ago, young man, but you’ve had me
wrapped around your little finger, haven’t you? Well, it’s not too late. I’ll fix you—I’ll cut you out of my will. Then you’ll have to learn to work for a living. I’ll teach you the value of a dollar yet!”

“You won’t disinherit me, Aunt Sarah—you know you won’t. Uncle Joshua made you promise on his deathbed, remember?”

Nancy leaned a little farther out the window to hear better. Sarah and Jack had turned toward the far wall and the sound wasn’t traveling as well.

“Devil! You devil! Your uncle is turning in his grave, I’m sure,” said Sarah Amberly. “And I
will
disinherit you, don’t think I won’t. If that ring isn’t back on this table by tomorrow, I’m calling my lawyer!”

“You’ll never do it, Aunt Sarah” was the young man’s reply. “Never.” Nancy drew her breath in sharply. She heard a door slam and then silence.

Whew! Nancy thought. She was glad now she had listened in, nosy as it might have seemed. Sarah Amberly
was
in real danger, she felt it in her bones. But what could she
do
about it? How could she help?

Preoccupied, Nancy started to draw her head back in. But as she did so, she banged her head—hard—against the bottom of the window.

She felt a throbbing, and heard a ringing noise. It lasted only a fraction of a second, but in that amount of time, she lost her balance and felt
herself start to slip. Her arms flailed wildly, grasping at the empty air.

She couldn’t even scream. There was no time for that. Below her was the street, thirty stories down—and she was going over the ledge to land on it.

I
N THE LAST
split second left to her, with an extra ounce of strength from somewhere deep inside, Nancy threw her head up and twisted herself around, reaching back with her fingertips.

There! She grabbed the window and pushed herself inside, collapsing in a terrified heap on the floor. She’d been lucky this time, and she knew it. Mighty lucky. She lay there, breathing in deep drafts of air. I’m still alive! was all she could think.

But when the relief subsided, and she picked herself up off the carpet, she muttered, “You
idiot!” Leaning so far out the window had been incredibly dumb.

Maybe she was being overzealous. After all, the only crime that had been committed was a theft, and Sarah Amberly had insisted on handling that herself. The loss of the jewel was hardly something to die for.

After walking to the mirror, Nancy smoothed her hair and looked down at her hands, which were raw and scratched from her close call at the window. Then she checked her watch. She was startled to realize it was almost time for dinner.

She went to the closet door and pulled the peach skirt from its hanger. Just then, her father popped his head inside. Carson’s face was tired and strained.

“Hi, Dad!” she called. “You look bushed.”

Carson nodded and sighed. “That’s one way to put it. Between the speeches and the heavy lunch I feel like I’m made of lead. How was your day, Nancy?”

“I got a new outfit today. In fact, I thought I’d wear it tonight for our big dinner—”

“Honey, about that dinner . . .”

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Nancy knew what was coming next.

“Nan, would you mind very much if we did it tomorrow instead? I was thinking maybe we could order from room service tonight—but only if that’s okay with you.”

Looking at her father’s weary face, Nancy couldn’t make him push himself any more than he already had.

“Room service sounds like fun, actually,” she said, hanging up her new outfit again. At least they’d have the whole next day and Sunday. Now that her dad’s meetings were over, they could really spend some time together.

Nancy had to blink when she read the prices on the room service menu, but Carson insisted she order whatever she wanted. Half an hour later there was a knock on the door, and Maximilian appeared behind a rolling silver table.

What
is
it about him? Nancy wondered. The waiter cast a sickening smile in their direction.

“Lobster à la maison for two? Asparagus almondine in sherry sauce?” he asked.

“That’s us,” Carson said.

“And I have a bottle of sparkling water?”

“Yup,” said Carson. “That’s us, too.”

“How are you, miss?” Maximilian inquired as he rolled the cart in front of the sofa and began setting up for dinner.

“Fine, thank you,” Nancy answered politely. She couldn’t decide how she felt about this man.

Carson left the room to get tip money. Suddenly Maximilian leaned toward Nancy, speaking in hushed tones. “I probably shouldn’t mention it,
miss, but if you have any jewelry, you might consider putting it in the hotel safe. There was a robbery on this floor today.”

“Oh?” Nancy asked innocently.

“There’s a young man next door who loves money more than life,” he continued. “But then, perhaps you already know about it—”

“Actually, Mrs. Amberly did mention it to me.” She wouldn’t give him more than that. Let him tell her what he knew. And Maximilian knew something. Nancy could just bet on it. Something vital.

“I understand you, er, fell under suspicion? Most regrettable. The young Ritter, he is bull-headed, yes?” Now the waiter gave her a leering smile.

Just then, Carson came back. “Here you go,” he said lightly, handing Maximilian the tip.

Nancy watched the waiter roll the cart from the room, the same smirk on his face. What was it that he knew?

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Oh, nothing, Dad.” Nancy sat at the small marble table and looked over at her father with a wan smile. There was no sense telling him all the things she was thinking—everything was still so jumbled.