Captive Witness (6 page)

Ned took the pad from Nancy, very casually, and scribbled his reply.
Haven’t read the book. But I loved the movie. Why the holes?

Nancy took back the pad and wrote two words: Tear gas. Reading them, Ned could hardly restrain himself. He wanted to shout but refrained. Instead,
he
wrote on the pad,
Cleverest girl in River Heights. When the time comes, try to spray the big guy. I’ll jump the little fellow.

My hero,
Nancy wrote, stifling a giggle.
Why don’t you jump the big one?

“Beautiful scenery,” Ned said aloud. “Do you suppose Herr Gutterman and Herr Burger appreciate it?”

“Why, of course,” Nancy said, adding, “I bet that before this trip is over, you’ll find tears in their eyes.”

Herr Gutterman, who could hear everything they said, guffawed. “Enjoy the view, little ones,” he called out. “Enjoy it while you can.”

“Is that a threat?” Nancy asked coolly.

“Oh, let’s say, a final warning,” Gutterman rasped.

“A warning about what?” Nancy asked, baiting the man. “What were we doing that could ever justify our abduction?”

“Abduction? Oh, my, my, my, what a harsh word.”

“That’s what the police would call it,” Ned chimed in.

“The police! The police are so stupid and slow. You and I, Nancy Drew, are much quicker than the police. Much brighter.”

“Very flattering,” Nancy said, “but I know too many policemen who catch too many people like you, so I can’t buy that line.”

Gutterman laughed. “Like the ones in the police car a little while ago?” He roared again. “We don’t worry about the police, but we do worry about people who have big ideas. ”

“Big ideas about what?” Nancy persisted, trying to find out just how much Gutterman knew of her activities. What, if anything, did he know about the mission to save the orphans; and did he also know about Nancy’s personal mission to find the stolen documentary,
Captive Witness?
Or was it possible that he was involved in some unknown project that concerned neither the orphans nor the film?

Whatever the answers, Herr Gutterman remained silent, refusing to be drawn out on the subject. He sat sideways, keeping his eyes riveted on them, his mouth twisted in a mysterious, sardonic grin.

As the car climbed higher, the road became more dangerous. They began traveling along two lines cut out of the mountainside with sheer cliffs falling away into beautiful, lush, green valleys across which wandered lovely, clear streams fed by the melting glaciers and snows of the Austrian Alps.

Traffic was sparse with no cars traveling in their direction and only an occasional car or truck coming the other way. The open road made Herr Burger feel slightly exhilarated.

“I’m a bit bored with this slow driving,” he called back to them. “I think I’ll show you how experienced Alpine drivers take these roads.”

“Here we go.” Ned groaned. “A Saturday night cowboy. They’ve got them all over the world, I guess.”

“Just hang on,” Nancy said. “No matter what Herr Burger does, I’m sure he wants to stay alive just as much as we do. ”

Within the next few minutes, the couple began to doubt whether that was true. Herr Burger speeded up until he had the beautiful car careening around turns, spraying dust, pebbles, and bits of tire rubber into the air. Then, roaring down a relatively straight stretch of road, he threw the car into a skidding loop that took them within six inches of a cliff edge where there was no guardrail. Herr Gutterman’s only response was a bemused look and a question thrown over his shoulder at his captives.

“Do you enjoy this, Miss Drew? Your friend seems a little blue around the lips. ”

“Sorry about that,” Ned said. “I always turn blue when I’m happy.”

“Is this fast enough for you, Miss Drew, or would you like Herr Burger to speed up? Are you frightened, Miss Drew? We wouldn’t want to frighten you.”

Nancy looked at Ned. “He’s unbelievable,” she said. “He’s like some childish villain out of a bad movie. ”

“Miss Drew? You’re not frightened, are you?” The noise of the squealing brakes and the flying gravel were making it difficult for Gutterman to hear them up front where the windows were open. He was gazing back at her, smiling cruelly.

“No, no, I’m not frightened,” Nancy said, swinging wildly and hanging on to the strap. “Mr. Nickerson and I are terribly impressed, as a matter of fact. ”

Gutterman’s face flushed beet-red. “Oh, is that so?” he snarled. “We’ll see how impressed you are when we start questioning you.”

“Oh, please don’t question us,” Ned cried mockingly.

Gutterman grew extremely angry at his prisoners’ refusal to show fear. His anger finally intensified to the breaking point when Herr Burger, negotiating another dangerous, screaming turn, caused Herr Gutterman to bang his head sharply against the window.

The big man let fly a stream of German invective mixed with French and German phrases that gave Nancy the impression that Gutterman was calling Burger a lunatic and moron. Burger was so upset, he wound up swerving into the opposite lane where the car faced a huge truck coming the other way.

For a split second, it appeared the two vehicles would collide but at the last moment both drivers veered sharply and barely missed each other. The danger of a head-on smash, however, was avoided at the price of a worse possibility. Herr Burger, completely rattled, was now driving straight toward the edge of a cliff!

“Look out!” Nancy and Ned cried with one voice as they both dropped down to the floor and covered their heads to minimize injuries in an accident.

As they crouched there, doubled over, they felt the car veer violently again, and heard a splintering, crunching sound. The car stopped, and there was silence.

Nancy was the first to bring her head slowly up to look out the window. “Oh, Ned,” she gasped quietly, “We’d better start praying. Look where we are.”

“Don’t move!” It was Gutterman’s voice, trembling and filled with fear. “Don’t even breathe.”

All four passengers had good reason to obey the order because the car had gone partially through the guardrail and was teetering over the cliff. It’s right rear wheel hung out in space and the left one was poised on the very edge.

“Let’s get out of here,” Burger cried, starting to climb out on his side, which was safely on the road.

Gutterman stopped him with a snarl. “If you lay one foot on the ground, I’ll make you wish you were never born!”

“But what can we do?” Burger whined.

Gutterman pondered the question carefully. “It seems to me that you and I can’t get out because the weight of our friends in back will then topple the car right over the edge.”

“You could open the back door on your side, Herr Burger. Just push the switch and unlock it, and Ned and I will get out slowly. Then you can get out, too,” Nancy said steadily.

“No, you don’t,” Gutterman responded. “You two might make it and Burger could jump. With all the motion, the car would go over and take me with it. ”

“Well, you can’t get out your side,” Nancy pointed out. “You’d step into space, just as I would.”

“No,” Gutterman decided. “This is what we will do. Both of you should move as far over to the left as you can. I will climb over Burger and stand on the running board. Then, Burger, you start it up and see if the four-wheel drive can pull us out of this.”

“Wait a minute,” Ned protested. “If that doesn’t work, you and Burger can jump free, but Nancy and I will go over the edge with the car.”

“How clever you are,” Gutterman sneered. “You do catch on quickly. That should make you both want to hug the left side of the car with all your might. ”

With no other choice, Nancy and Ned flattened themselves against the left side. The car tilted and rocked slightly.

“The worst is yet to come,” Nancy breathed through her almost clenched teeth, “when that big galumph Gutterman tries to crawl over Burger. If he makes one slip, we’ll really rock!”

“Don’t think about it,” Ned said. “Just squeeze yourself against this door.”

Holding their breath, they froze as Gutterman, with surprising grace, managed to climb over Burger and out onto the left running board of the car. He hung off as far as he could, bearing his weight down fully, then told Burger to put the car in gear.

Burger did as he was ordered. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the big, brown car began to move, its left rear wheel sending some gravel and rocks into the valley as it slipped slightly. The whole car tilted and, with a soft lunge, pulled up until the right rear wheel spun into contact with the ground and rolled to safety.

“Masterful driving,” Gutterman said, patting his henchman on the shoulder. From the back seat, neither Ned nor Nancy let up on their tormentors.

“Oh, masterful,” Nancy said. “Wasn’t it, Ned?”

“Wonderful. Almost as good as the way he was driving when he went through the guardrail.”

The two young people strived to make their captors so angry that they would open the back door to get at them. Nancy’s plan could then be activated. While Ned attacked, she would fire her tear-gas “book” and perhaps they could finally escape.

But Gutterman and Burger were in a self-congratulatory mood. They even began singing as Burger continued to take the car higher into the mountains, this time at a more reasonable speed.

After several hours of driving, however, Burger pulled the car off on a dirt road and drove to what appeared to be a shepherd’s hut. He stopped about a hundred feet away and turned around, almost backing over an extremely steep gorge in the process.

Nancy gulped again. “I don’t know what they’re going to do to us, Ned, but whatever it is, it has to be better than being locked in a high-powered automobile driven by Herr Burger.”

“Absolutely,” Ned concurred. “But what do you suppose they have in mind?”

The young couple soon found out as both Burger and Gutterman got out and walked around to the right-hand back door. “Now,” Gutterman rasped as he unlocked the door with one hand while keeping the other thrust threatingly in his coat pocket, “you get out, Miss Drew. And you, Mr. Nickerson, you stay far over on the other side of the car if you know what’s good for you.”

Ned glanced down at Gutterman’s pocket. Was there a gun inside? he wondered. Reading Ned’s mind, the girl detective cautioned him.

“Don’t do anything, Ned, please.”

“Where are you taking her?” the young man demanded.

Gutterman flashed his evil smile, but said nothing. When Nancy got out, the door was shut and locked. Ned was left alone, helplessly watching the two men lead Nancy toward the shack.

But as she entered what appeared to be a crude building, she was amazed to find it beautifully cozy with sparkling, waxed floors, a cheery fireplace, a pretty rug, and upholstered furniture.

“Being a shepherd must pay very well,” Nancy murmured, gesturing at the expensive furnishings. “But the shepherd doesn’t own this anymore, does he?” she added, looking hard at Gutterman. “The wolves have taken over.”

Gutterman shrugged. “Wolves. Sheep. I have no time for your small talk, Miss Drew. Let’s get down to business.”

“Excuse me,” Nancy said, “but it was a long drive up here. Do you have a powder room where I could freshen up a bit?”

Gutterman pointed to a door at the far end of the room and, with an expansive bow, indicated that Nancy would find what she wanted there.

Will there be a window? she wondered. If so, will it be big enough for me to squeeze through? Her experienced eyes roved over every inch of the cottage searching for something, anything, that might produce a way out of the trap.

Once inside the bathroom, she saw there was no lock on the door. Obviously, Herr Gutterman had used this building for previous interrogations and didn’t want his prisoners to lock themselves in while they plotted their next move.

Glancing swiftly around, she discovered a window but, unfortunately, it was high up and much too small even for a willowy eighteen-year-old.

After splashing water on her face, she dried off with a towel and looked in the mirror.

“Think, Nancy,” she hissed. “Think. Don’t just stand there.”

Back outside in the living room, she found Herr Burger busily making coffee while Herr Gutterman lounged in a chair near the door. Apparently, Ned was still left behind in the car. Nancy noted quickly that the three windows in the room were all barred on the inside. Escape that way was impossible. Then she brightened. If escape through the window was impossible, then pursuit would be impossible, too. If only she could slip outside and lock the door behind her! Gutterman and Burger would be trapped!

Herr Gutterman was talking, babbling really, about his cleverness, and Nancy only half listened as she concentrated on escape.

The door to the room was made of solid oak, but Nancy had noticed a peculiar feature. On the outside walls were two metal slots like those found on cattle cars. They were used to hold a two-by-four or other heavy piece of timber across the door. Normally, such a crude but effective lock would be put inside a door to prevent forced entry. But obviously Herr Gutterman found himself constantly in need of locking people in, not keeping them out. Hence, the door to the building opened outward and could be blocked easily by dropping a piece of timber in the slots.