Cold as Ice (2 page)

“The addition's not very attractive,” Nancy remarked. “I liked the boat house better before.”

“I agree,” Ned said. “But I wouldn't say that around any of the guys on the rowing team if I were you. That includes Rob. He and the other guys raised the money to build it.”

“Sorry. I hope he didn't hear me.” She didn't see Rob nearby. She finally spotted him standing at the edge of the lake, staring moodily across the lake toward the boat house. Good, Nancy thought. He hadn't heard her.

“Hey, Nancy,” Bess called. “You're falling behind on the job. Get to work!”

Bess had already scooped a big pile of snow together and was starting to mold it. A little farther along, George and Jerry were working on the walls of a fortress.

Nancy knelt down and began to pack some of
the fluffy snow. By the time the sun set, she and the others were so cold their fingers and toes were starting to get numb, but they'd all gotten a good start on their sculptures.

“Why don't we head over to the student center and warm up,” Ned suggested. “They're going to have different bands playing all weekend long.”

Ten minutes later they had made their way back to the stone student center.

“Pretty good crowd,” Ned said, unzipping his ski jacket. He and Nancy were warming themselves in front of the fireplace. Across the room, a piano and guitar duo was getting ready to play, but Nancy doubted that anyone would be able to hear them over the buzz of conversation.

“I'll go get us some hot cocoa,” Ned said.

Nancy nodded, and Ned threaded his way through the crowd.

“Hi,” came a voice from behind her. “How's your snow sculpture coming along?”

“Oh, hi, Susan,” Nancy replied, turning to face her roommate. “Fine, I guess. I'm doing a snowman. Pretty basic. I didn't see you down at the lake.”

Susan grimaced. “Tell me about it. I work part-time at the museum, and some things came up.” She brushed a hand through her black hair. “I guess I'll get up early tomorrow to work on my sculpture.”

“Brrr,” Nancy said with a laugh. “That's what I call dedication. Oh, there's Bess.”

She waved to Bess, who came over to join them. After saying hi to Susan, Bess said, “I seem to have lost my date. Maybe I should put you on the case, Nancy.” Turning to Susan, she added, “Nancy's a detective, you know.”

“An efficient one, too,” Nancy teased, glancing over Bess's shoulder. “I've already solved your case! Here comes Rob now, with Ned.”

Susan followed Nancy's gaze, and the smile disappeared from her face. Nancy was about to ask her what was wrong when Susan muttered darkly,
“He's
your date? Rob Harper?”

She continued to glare angrily. “If I were you, Bess, I'd watch out for that guy. He's not what he seems!” With that, she turned and walked away.

N
ANCY WATCHED
as Susan disappeared into the crowd. What had she meant by that remark?

“What was
that
all about?” Bess demanded.

“What was what all about?” Ned asked, as he and Rob joined the girls. The guys carried mugs of steaming cocoa topped with whipped cream.

Rob grimaced, then said, “Let me guess. You were talking to Susan Samuels, and when she saw me coming, she walked away. Right?”

“That's right,” Bess said. “I guess you two don't get along?”

Rob nodded. “You could say that. It's a long story.”

Nancy wondered what had happened but decided it was none of her business.

George and Jerry joined them a moment later. “A band's starting to play downstairs,” Jerry said. “What do you say we go down and dance?”

Bess smiled. “I'm all for that. Let's go!”

The cellar was enormous, with a wooden dance floor flanked on two sides with small tables and chairs.

“This is definitely my favorite way to warm up,” Nancy told Ned as they danced to a fast song.

“Not mine,” he said. Just then the band launched into a slow number, and Ned reached over to pull Nancy close to him. He bent down and whispered in her ear,
“This
is my favorite way to warm up, with my favorite girl.”

Nancy's heart soared, and after several more songs she and Ned finally tore themselves away from the dance floor to join the others at a table.

“Hey, Nickerson,” Jerry said. “If you're dragging us to a boring museum opening, we'd better at least go on full stomachs.”

“I'll second that,” Rob said. Turning to Bess, he added, “They always make some dry speech at the beginning of these events. We'll definitely need some burgers and fries to make it through alive.”

• • •

A half hour later, fueled with food, the gang started across campus to the museum. The sun had set, and the trees and buildings formed dark shadowy recesses between the lights. The icy wind whistled through the bare branches as they made their way down the path.

Jerry took the lead, setting off at a fast pace, with George and Bess on either side of him. Nancy and Ned were a few steps back, just behind Rob.

“Hey, what's the big rush?” Nancy heard Bess complain.

“I want to be first in line,” Jerry said, flashing a wide smile. “They might decide to give away free samples.”

“I could handle that,” Bess said. “Nothing too flashy, just a small pin set with diamonds and pearls.”

Jerry laughed and took both girls' arms in his, explaining, “The sidewalk looks icy up ahead.”

“Sure, Jerry,” Rob called jokingly. “You just want an excuse to hog my date, too.”

Nancy had been admiring Rob's jacket, which was dark purple wool with orange leather sleeves and crossed oars embroidered in white on the back. She tugged on Ned's arm so that they could catch up to Rob. She decided to talk with him.

“This campus is beautiful, even at night,” Nancy commented, sandwiched between the two
boys. “I feel as if I've walked into a photo on a greeting card.”

Rob laughed. “I hardly notice anymore. I guess when you're in a place all the time, you stop really seeing it. It takes a visitor to make you appreciate it.”

“That's quite a jacket you've got on,” Nancy said. “Those oars on the back—they mean that you're a rower, right?”

Rob shoved his gloved hands in his jacket pockets. “Sort of,” he said gruffly. He hesitated, then added, “I got the jacket after the regional regatta last year. That's the biggest crew race of the year. I pulled third oar in the boat that won the finals.”

“Really? That's terrific,” Nancy said. “You must have been proud.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. It was clear that something was upsetting him and that he didn't want to continue their conversation. Nancy remembered how Susan had warned them about Rob. Could it have something to do with his rowing? She decided to ask Ned about it when they were alone.

When they reached the modern, cubelike museum building, they pushed through the huge metal doors.

“Not too shabby,” Ned commented, studying a poster of an emerald bracelet by the entrance.

“Oh, it's gorgeous! Wouldn't it look great on me?” Bess said, holding out her wrist.

George gave her cousin a gentle push. “Come on, we're here to look and admire, not to take.”

“The speeches are beginning,” Ned said, pointing to a microphone set up at the far end of the entrance hall. A tall, thin man wearing a green turtleneck under a heavy tweed jacket was tapping on the mike.

“That's Mr. Fantella, the director of the museum,” Ned whispered to Nancy.

“I'd like to welcome everyone to this marvelous exhibition,” the museum director began. “I know you are eager to see this astonishing collection of historic jewels, but first I would like to introduce and thank the man who made this exhibition possible. Mr. William Whorf is a noted collector and expert on historic jewelry. He is also a trustee and generous friend of Emerson College. Mr. Whorf?”

As Nancy and the other spectators applauded, a heavyset man with a round face and wavy gray hair stepped forward. Light sparkled from a diamond ring on his little finger and a diamond stickpin in his necktie. The museum director wasn't kidding when he said Whorf likes to collect jewelry, Nancy thought.

“Thank you,” Mr. Whorf said. “And don't
worry, I'm not going to make a speech. I just want to ask you to remember, as you look at this exhibition, that each and every item is unique, either because one of the world's most talented and renowned jewelers designed and made it, or because great figures in history, such as Queen Victoria of England, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Otto von Bismarck of the German Empire, owned and wore them. They are not just beautiful works of art, but a testament to some of the great figures in European history.”

After another polite round of applause, the doors to the exhibit were opened. There were too many people crowded around the first few showcases for Nancy or her friends to see anything.

“Follow me,” Rob said. “I know a shortcut to the other end of the exhibit. We can work our way backward.”

“Ohhh,” Bess said, leaning over one of the last glass display cases. “I've never seen anything so beautiful!”

Resting on a cushion of black velvet were a matched necklace, bracelets, and earrings of deep, red rubies and glittering diamonds. The rubies were larger than any Bess had seen before. They were set in gold filigree with dozens of diamonds around them.

Glancing at the typed card next to the jewelry,
Nancy said, “They used to belong to the Empress of Austria. Now they're in the collection of a museum in Vienna.”

“What a shame,” Bess said. “They were meant to be worn, not to sit in some cold, dusty museum. I wish I could take them home.”

“Be sensible,” George said. “Where would you wear something like that if you had it?”

Bess tossed her head. “I'd put them on at home and look in the mirror.” She laughed. “Then I guess I'd give them back to the museum. I couldn't begin to afford the insurance premiums on them!”

As Bess leaned over for a closer look at the jewels, Nancy noticed the guard straightening up and moving slowly in their direction.

“I'd be glad to get them for you,” Jerry joked, “but I'd never get away with it. The museum just put in a super new electronic alarm system.”

“That shouldn't stop us,” Rob said, bending over for a closer look at the case. “Anyone who knows about electronics could get past the system. I bet if you gave me ten minutes I could walk out of here with that stuff. Maybe less— maybe only five minutes.”

Nancy glanced up to see the guard only a few feet away. He was listening hard and studying Rob's face as if he were trying to memorize it.

“Better watch what you say,” Nancy cautioned
Rob in an undertone. “I think that guard is taking you seriously.”

“Oh, look,” George said, pointing to a case on the far wall. “Jeweled armor! I wonder who it belonged to.”

“Some guy who cared more about his looks than about winning fights,” Rob quipped.

After a half hour the six friends found themselves back in the entrance hall. “It's a great show,” Bess said, “but I don't think I can look at another brooch or goblet.”

“Me, too,” George agreed. “Can you imagine the fortunes people spent on all that jewelry? It's amazing.”

“I guess we'd better head back to our dorm. Even though it's still early, I'm tired from the long drive and the cold,” Nancy said.

The walkway from the museum to the dorms was flanked by evergreens. Nancy and Ned followed the others, their feet crunching on the hard, packed snow. She made sure she and Ned were out of the others' hearing range. “Rob seemed down when I asked him about rowing earlier. Is something wrong?”

“Rob's always been a gung-ho oarsman. He probably did more than anyone else to raise money for the new rowing tank. Tomorrow's dedication ceremony is a big deal for him.”

“Then why isn't he excited?” Nancy asked.

“He got a letter from the dean last week. Because of his grades, he's been put on academic probation and suspended from crew.”

“Oh, the poor guy!” Nancy exclaimed.

“He's pretty bitter, too,” Ned said. “He got letters from his professors this term saying his work had improved, but the dean wouldn't budge. Rob's going to miss the spring season and the big regatta in May. It's a raw deal, if you ask me.

“No wonder he didn't want to talk when I asked about his jacket,” Nancy said. “I must have made him think about everything he's going to miss.”

Ned shook his head. “Don't blame yourself, Nan. He thinks about it all the time anyway.”

After saying good night to the guys, Nancy, Bess, and George went upstairs to Susan's room.

“I guess Susan's still out,” Bess said, seeing that the room was empty.