032 High Marks for Malice (6 page)

Maria shrugged. “Maybe I’ll get home at Easter break. Where are you from, Nancy?”

Nancy chuckled. “River Heights, a little town in the Midwest no one’s ever heard of.”

“Are y’all thinking of coming to Basson? It’s a very good school.”

“That’s what everyone says,” Nancy answered quickly. “I was curious about it, so when I found out Ned would be visiting a friend here, I asked to tag along.”

“Who’s your friend?” Maria asked Ned. “Maybe I know her.”

“Him,” Ned said shortly. “Line Sheffield.”

“Oh!
You’re
the one he’s been talking about!”

“Do you know Line well?” Ned asked her.

“Oh, sure. He’s the sweetest thing. We’re both computer sei majors, so we’ve taken a lot of classes together. And he works the circulation desk, too. But he switched shifts with me after Doc died, so I don’t run into him here as much as I used to.”

Something about the way Maria had phrased that made Nancy suspect she hadn’t heard about Line’s fall. She looked at Ned. He nodded very slightly. He had caught it, too. His expression tightened at the reminder of his friend’s condition, and he became very quiet.

“Doc,” Nancy said, covering for him. “That’s the teacher whose class Line took over, right?”

“Uh-huh. I’m glad he did. It helped take his mind off how Doc died. He was torn up over it. Not that I blame him.”

Nancy’s curiosity rose. “How did Doc die?”

Maria’s pixie face filled with pain. “He committed suicide. Line took it really hard. Doc was like a big brother to him—not just a teacher. Line just couldn’t believe Doc would do something like that.”

“Had Doc been depressed?” Nancy asked.

“That’s the weird thing. He seemed perfectly normal. I know because I saw him practically every night till the time he died.”

“Every night?” Ned said, showing interest for the first time.

“Sure did. The study hall and computer lab are
open around the clock, and I was working the late shift then, from six to midnight. Doc helped set up the lab when this building opened, so he popped in now and then.”

“To see how things were going,” Nancy prodded.

“Right. After Thanksgiving, he started showing up late every night. Said he had an idea he was checking out on the system. But he had to wait until there weren’t many kids around. If something he did caused the system to crash—”

“Pardon?” Nancy said.

“Crashing
means something goes wrong that causes the computer to temporarily wipe out all the information in its memory banks,” Ned explained.

“I see,” Nancy said.

“Anyway, that’s why he was dropping by so late every night,” Maria went on. She gave a mournful smile. “That was Doc. Once he had an idea in his head, he’d worry it to death.”

“Like Line,” Ned said, half to himself.

“Two of a kind. And Doc was really caught up in that project of his. That’s what makes his death seem so—so crazy. I know it sounds awful, but I could swear if he was going to commit suicide, he’d have waited until he’d finished what he was working on.”

“How do you know he didn’t finish it?” Nancy asked gently.

“Because Line’s taken up where Doc left off.
He’s got Doc’s printouts and everything.” Wide-eyed, she turned to Ned. “Didn’t he tell you?”

Nancy and Ned exchanged glances. Then Ned answered, “We haven’t had much of a chance to talk yet.”

Maria shrugged. “Anyway, that’s why he asked me to change shifts with him, so he could finish Doc’s project.”

“How do you know Line has Doc’s printouts?” Nancy asked. She sensed they had just heard something worth looking into.

“I saw them. He got them out of Doc’s locker.”

“Doc had a locker here?”

“Sure, in the administrative wing. He always carried a lot of stuff, and it was more convenient to stash it here.” Maria blinked, and looked at her watch. “I’m late. I’d better get back right away,” she said nervously.

“We didn’t mean to keep you so long,” Nancy apologized.

Maria got up. “Well, I’ll see y’all.” She started away, then looked back at Ned. “If you’re coming back upstairs, I’ll stop by my locker to get that manual I told you about.”

Ned said, “Why don’t we come with you?”

“Where is your locker?” Nancy asked.

“Not far. The administration wing is behind the study hall.”

“You go,” Nancy said to Ned. Listening to Maria had raised the distinct possibility that Doc’s project might have played a major role in
what had happened to him and Line. The professor’s locker was probably empty by now, but if Ned could get its number . . .

“I’ll be right there,” Ned told Maria as he got up. Then he lowered his voice. “What will you be doing?” he asked.

“Just looking around. Don’t worry about me. See if you can get Doc’s locker number. How about if we meet at the front door at a quarter to two?”

“I’ll be there. Okay, Maria, you lead, I’ll follow.”

“Well, now, that’s the nicest proposition I’ve had all day. Bye, Nancy.”

If that isn’t flirting, I don’t know what is! Nancy thought. Keep cool, Drew, she warned herself as she got up to leave.

She took the route back to the main lobby. Just as she reached it, a familiar figure hurried down the steps and out the front door. Cass! Her coat bulged as if she were carrying something. Strange. She should have left over an hour ago.

Now was the time to see if Cass would be willing to ask Mr. Pickering for the things from Line’s locker. But Nancy didn’t dare yell for Cass. This part of the Fish Tank was as quiet as a church.

Nancy broke into a run, hurrying through the front doors. Cass was nowhere in sight. How could she have disappeared so fast? Nancy jogged around the side toward the parking lot. Ah-ha!
Cass’s curly red hair was like a beacon, flaming as she ran toward a roped-off section of the lot.

“Cass!” Nancy called. Her hostess didn’t appear to hear her, she simply moved that much faster. “Cassandra!”

Cass reached the farthest corner of the lot and stopped at a low-slung foreign car. She pulled a bulky package out from under her coat. Juggling her bundle, she seemed to have trouble getting the door open.

Why hadn’t she mentioned she had a car? Nancy wondered. “Cass Denton!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Cass jerked around toward Nancy. Suddenly papers flew out from the package she carried. The red curls disappeared from view as she scrambled to pick the papers up. Cass’s engine roared to life, and she pulled out of her spot.

Determined to catch her, Nancy took the shortest route, squeezing through several rows of cars. She reached the last row before the roped-off section and rushed out from behind a van.

She stepped out onto the main drive and waved at Cass, who was heading her way. But instead of slowing down, Cass sped up. Nancy gasped in horror as she realized the car was barreling straight at her!

N
ANCY DOVE
back behind the van as the car sped by, missing her by inches. She painfully picked herself up. Then she peered out from behind the van to see where Cass had gone.

Cass turned from the parking lot onto the street on two wheels. Nancy stared after her, astonished. It certainly seemed as though Cass had tried to hit her on purpose.

Names were stenciled on the back wall of the roped-off section. Nancy crossed to read them. Skelton, Marbury, Pickering. This was the staff’s parking lot. Why had Cassandra left her car here overnight? Nancy approached the slot the sleek
car had vacated. The name on the wall was not Denton but Sheffield.

The car was Line’s! And if it had been there since the night before, then Line must have been in the Fish Tank before he went to the tower. This glass-and-chrome building was becoming more interesting by the minute!

The flutter of paper riffling in the wind interrupted Nancy’s thoughts. Something lay on the ground just under the car in the next slot. She bent down and retrieved several sheets of computer printouts—and the photograph of Line and Cass! A padlock had fallen on top of them, preventing the papers from blowing away.

So Cass had cleared out Line’s locker. With or without Mr. Pickering’s okay? Probably without, Nancy decided, or there’d have been no need for her to hide it under her coat and run.

Nancy folded the printouts and put them in her pocket. She started toward the Fish Tank to tell Ned about this latest development. Perhaps he was still with Maria at her locker.

Nancy found the wing marked Administration: Authorized Personnel Only. I’ll be an employee tomorrow, she reasoned, so I’m as authorized as anyone else.

As she walked, Nancy was confronted with an endless row of doors. Most of them were simply numbered, but some were also marked: Maintenance, Heating, Personnel. The hallway was a
warm beige and still smelled of fresh paint. No lockers.

Nancy kept going. She turned left down a hall and saw full-length lockers set into the wall. But Ned and Maria were gone.

The smell was stronger here. Wet Paint signs decorated the corridor, and canvas drop cloths were spread across the carpeting. In a room nearby, a motor grumbled, accompanied by a hissing sound. After a moment, Nancy identified it. Someone was using a paint sprayer.

Passing a door marked Conference Room, she heard a name that stopped her in her tracks. “The Sheffield boy—had it up to here—bungling. One thing after another—Evans, then Sheffield, now his locker.”

Normally the voices would be impossible to hear, but the painters’ drop cloth was wedged under the door, preventing it from closing all the way. Still, she could only make out an occasional phrase.

“Now—new girl—” the voice continued, “Nancy Drew?”

They were talking about
her!
Nancy moved closer, wishing the generator and paint sprayer weren’t making so much racket.

“Who is she? How much does she know?”

Nancy couldn’t hear a response. Whoever was inside might be talking on the phone. She edged closer.

“Then ask the Denton girl. Find out.” The tone was cold, harsh. “If Sheffield talked—take care of her immediately—”

A door opened at the end of the hall and a painter backed out. Quickly Nancy walked toward him so he wouldn’t know she’d been eavesdropping. She wished he’d stepped out a second or two later so she could have heard the rest of the conversation.

Nancy smiled a hello as she passed him. She took a quick glance back before turning the corner. Who was in that room?

Nancy’s head whirled with questions. They were worried about her and how much she knew. Had someone seen her leaving the carillon the night before? And what about Cass? They’d mentioned her twice. Was she working with the people behind that door? That might explain her behavior since they’d arrived.

Why had Cass lied about leaving for the dorm? And what about her clearing out Line’s locker and almost running Nancy down?

Nancy puzzled over it all as she found her way back to the main lobby and sprinted up the broad staircase. Opening the doors of the computer lab, she froze. Maria Arnold was at her post behind the desk, her back to the door. Ned stood facing her, his hands on her shoulders as he talked to her, his face intent.

He looked up, saw Nancy, and signaled with an open palm: don’t come in. Nancy backed out into the hall and waited by the stairs, wondering what was going on.

Ned appeared a moment later and hustled Nancy toward the other wing where they wouldn’t be seen.

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” he said. “Maria hadn’t heard about Line. I had to tell her, or when she did find out, she’d have wondered why I hadn’t. She really took it badly. I thought she was going to faint.”

“She’s probably a closer friend than Cass is,” Nancy suggested. “She and Line have the same major and the same job.”

“No,” Ned said firmly. “She was shocked and upset about his accident, but she was also scared out of her wits. She knows something, Nancy. I think if I work on her, I might be able to find out what.”

“Work on her?” Nancy echoed. “How?”

He hesitated, watching her uncertainly, then took the plunge. “If I—spend enough time with her, I can get her to trust me and open up.”

Nancy gazed into Ned’s open, honest face. She knew how important it was for Ned to help Line. “Oh, all right,” she said. “For Line.”

Ned’s eyes filled with relief. Pulling her close, he kissed her briefly. “Thanks, Nan. You know I
wouldn’t ask you to do this if it weren’t important.”

“So Nickerson, dropping me for Maria?” Nancy joked. But then she said, “Go easy on her. She seems like a nice kid. I’d hate to see her get hurt.”

Ned nodded sadly. “I wish there was another way, but I can’t think of one.” After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat. “What have you been doing?”

Nancy told him, watching shock, suspicion, and concern play across his face.

“Please, Nan, be careful,” he said, when she had finished. “Don’t trust anyone. And it sure sounds as if Cass has been up to something. You work on her, and I’ll work on Maria.” He winced. “Maybe I should rephrase that.”

Nancy managed a smile. “Forget it. I’ll talk to Cass when we get back to the dorm. It’s after twelve now. Let’s get to the hospital and see how Line’s tests came out.”