Dance Till You Die (6 page)

In the glowing red light of the darkroom, Nancy peered at several photographs that Tom had tacked onto a corkboard wall. A couple of the photos featured Bess wearing her mermaid outfit at the club the night before.

Nancy glanced at some of the other photographs that were scattered about the room. “Here's a photograph of Bess at her riding club,” she observed.

Nancy suddenly became aware that many of the pictures on the walls were photos of Bess that
had been taken at various times over the past year. It almost looked as if Tom had been doing a photographic study of Bess. She thought it seemed strange. “You seem to have taken quite a few pictures of Bess,” Nancy said to Tom in a neutral tone.

Tom suddenly became aware of what Nancy was thinking. “I think Bess is really photogenic,” he said hastily. “I'm starting a portfolio that I hope will land me a photography job one of these days.”

Nancy decided to press Tom about his father's earlier comment. “George and I met your father just outside the trailer. He said you'd told him that you and Bess were dating,” Nancy said. “Why did you say that?”

The dim light of the darkroom couldn't hide the embarrassed blush that had crept up Tom's neck and face. He turned away to fumble with some beakers on the worktable. “I guess he just misunderstood when I said that Bess and I are friends,” he said awkwardly. Tom quickly un-tacked the pictures of the party from the cork-board and offered them to Nancy. “Here, you can take these if you want.”

“Thanks,” Nancy said. She decided to wait until they were outside to study the photographs more closely. “By the way,” she added, keeping
her tone casual. “You left the party kind of early last night. Didn't you like the music?”

“Oh, I'm not much of a dancer.” Tom opened the door of the darkroom. “I came back here to develop the photos.” He led the way back to the main office. “Since you're here, why don't I give you a tour of the quarry,” he added.

Nancy hesitated, then nodded her head. “Sure, why not,” she agreed. The tour would give her a chance to talk to Tom on his own turf.

As they left the trailer, Tom handed Nancy and George a couple of yellow hard hats. “We have to be really careful around here, what with all the blasting we do,” he explained. Remembering the prowler's footprints from the night before, Nancy studied Tom's shoes. They looked fairly large—they could be a size thirteen, Nancy thought. She purposely hung back a few steps for a moment while they walked through the loose earth toward the quarry. She noticed that his footprints didn't have the same distinctive waffle-pattern that had been under Bess's window.

It was almost noon, and the quarry seemed almost deserted. “Everyone on lunch break?” George asked.

Tom nodded. “Since everyone's gone, we can go right up to the edge of the pit,” he said, leading Nancy and George through the gate of a safety
chain-link fence. They walked about fifteen yards to the rock-strewn lip of the vast, yawning gravel pit.

The mouth of the pit was surrounded on two sides by rocky outcroppings from the surrounding hills. Far below, Nancy could see some ladders and equipment that workers had left behind. From that vantage point, the equipment looked like children's toys.

Nancy, Tom, and George walked along a downward sloping, narrow ledge that ran underneath a sheer wall of rock at the edge of the pit. Looking at the rock walls, Nancy could see long, grooved striations in the rock. “That's where we drill down to put in the dynamite,” Tom explained. He suddenly turned his head, listening. “I think I hear my dad calling. Just a second.” He turned and retraced his steps along the ledge until he was out of sight.

“Where'd he go?” George asked after a moment.

Nancy shrugged. “Let's not wait for him,” she said. “I can always talk to him later. Right now I want to get back to the car and study these photographs.”

“Good idea,” George said, turning to leave. “I think I've seen as much of a quarry as I care to see in one lifetime.”

A sharp, cracking sound came from somewhere overhead. Nancy and George stopped and looked up at the rocky outcropping. To her dismay, Nancy saw that part of the face of the wall had dislodged and was sliding down into the gravel pit. A large boulder was jarred loose by the falling earth and began tumbling down the wall. Tumbling straight toward Nancy and George!

L
OOK OUT,
G
EORGE
!” Nancy cried out. The boulder was almost upon them. She sprang forward and pushed George ahead of her on the ledge. Jagged pebbles bit into Nancy's palm as she and George fell into a sprawling heap on the gravel.

The boulder landed with a sickening thud just inches behind Nancy's heels. A cloud of dust and fine debris rose from the site.

George was the first to clamber to her feet. “Are you okay, Nan?” she asked anxiously. “It looks like you're hurt.”

“I'm okay.” Nancy picked herself up from the dusty ground and gingerly tested her limbs. She
felt a little tenderness on her palm and knees where the gravel had scraped them when she fell.

The loud, long wail of an emergency alarm siren shattered the air. A handful of quarry workers, some holding half-eaten sandwiches, came running toward the pit. They were led by Tom Kragen's father. “What happened? Are you girls hurt?” Mr. Kragen's voice was tight with concern.

“We're okay, but it was a close call,” said Nancy, whose pulse was still racing. “That boulder down there almost flattened us.”

“Where's Tom?” Anger crept into Mr. Kragen's tone. “This area's not safe. Did he let you out here without an escort?”

“I'm right here.” Tom appeared behind the group of men who had accompanied Mr. Kragen. “I was out here with them. Then I thought I heard you calling me.”

“You
never
leave visitors alone here!
Never!”
Mr. Kragen's voice roared with rage. “These young ladies could have been killed.”

Tom lowered his eyes and poked at the dust with his shoe. “I'm sorry,” he said, not quite meeting Nancy's eyes.

“What would cause a rockslide like that?” Nancy pressed the elder Kragen.

“We constantly use explosives, which makes
for a very unstable ground environment,” Mr. Kragen explained. “The boulders you see all around us could let loose any second.”

As if to underscore Mr. Kragen's words, the earth under their feet trembled slightly. “Let's get out of here,” he added quickly.

Tom remained silent as they walked back to the office. Nancy and George refused Mr. Kragen's offer of a cup of hot tea and said goodbye.

“Wow, that was too close.” George shook her head as they climbed back into Nancy's car. “Tom's father was really giving him a hard time for leaving us there alone, wasn't he?”

“Yes, but Tom didn't seem too upset about it,” Nancy commented.

“I can see wheels turning behind those blue eyes, Nan,” George said shrewdly. “What are you thinking about all this?”

Nancy turned the key in the ignition, and the Mustang's powerful engine roared to life. “Maybe it's nothing, but I find it interesting that Tom led us into a dangerous area and then left, just moments after I confronted him about his relationship with Bess.”

“You mean the fact that he lied to his father about dating her?” George asked.

Nancy nodded. “That, plus the fact that he has
taken all those photographs of her over the past year. Some of the shots looked as if they were taken without her being aware of them. It's possible that he's obsessed with her.”

“He wouldn't be the first guy,” George said, grinning.

Nancy frowned as she maneuvered her car onto the highway. “I'm serious, George. People with real obsessions have been known to do desperate things, things like . . .”

“Like kidnapping?” George said, finishing Nancy's thought with a somber question.

“Exactly.” Nancy nodded. “I also couldn't help noticing that he had rather large feet, just like the prowler at Bess's house last night. And he doesn't have an alibi for what he did after the party at the Edge. He
said
he came back here to develop the pictures, but he'd have been alone. I think I should do some more checking.” She steered the car out of the parking lot. “If he was behind it, he must have had an accomplice.” She frowned. “And he must have had access to the club to rig Bess's abduction.”

“That's right,” George remarked. “He would have had to have been able to cut the lights and the alarm door wire, and have gotten hold of the ether to knock her out.”

Nancy nodded. “He has quite a collection of
chemicals in his darkroom, I noticed. I'm sure he'd have no trouble getting access to something like ether.”

Nancy pulled up to a roadside stand that was selling pumpkins for Halloween. “I can't believe it's almost Halloween,” George said. “Why are we stopping here?”

Nancy slowed the car. “Now that we're out of the Kragens' sight, I want to look at those pictures.”

Reaching into her purse, Nancy pulled out the stack of photographs she'd gotten from Tom Kragen. She set aside the three of Bess sitting on the rock in her mermaid outfit. The rest of the shots focused on the beach decor and people dancing. “I don't see anyone I recognize,” Nancy said, thumbing through them. “Wait a second,” she said, retrieving a photo. “Look at this.”

George peered at it. “I see Etienne in the background in his DJ's booth. Who's he talking to? They look like they could be arguing.”

Nancy bent her head over the photograph to study it. “That's Gaetan Orakuma, Charity Freeborn's boyfriend,” she said, surprised.

“Did Charity mention that Gaetan was at the party last night?” George asked, scrutinizing the photo.

Nancy shook her head. “She specifically said that Gaetan was
not
at the party—and that she herself had left well before the club opened.”

“I guess this proves that's not true,” George said, tapping the photo. “I wonder why she lied?”

“Yes, and I wonder what Gaetan and Etienne were arguing about?” Nancy said. “I couldn't help noticing that there was tension between them at the amusement park last night.”

“Didn't Etienne say they'd planned to open a club together when they came to America?” George asked.

“Yes, and he said that Gaetan blamed him for their plans falling apart, and his losing his investment. Losing money can ruin a relationship very quickly.” Nancy shrugged. “But I don't see a connection with Bess's abduction.” Nancy paused, considering. She was lost in thought for a long moment.

“I know that look, Nan,” George said to her friend. “What are you thinking about?”

“Just something that strikes me as odd,” Nancy replied. “Remember how eager Etienne was to come with us to look for Charity last night? He left Lonnie in a lurch for someone he'd never even met.”

“You think Etienne was tagging along just to
keep an eye on what we were doing?” George asked. Nancy nodded. “But why?” George continued in a bewildered tone.

“Why, indeed? And why did Charity lie about Gaetan's being at the club last night? I'm also remembering the fact that Etienne has a car with a rough-sounding motor, just like the one Bess said brought her back to the club last night. And depending on where Bess was being kept, Etienne could have had time to retrieve her and take her to the club after he left us at the park.”

Nancy dropped the photos into her bag. “Let's go find Etienne. It'll give us a chance to question him about his relationship with Gaetan, and maybe check out his car.” Nancy rose from the table. “After that, I want to pay a visit to Gaetan. I'm beginning to become suspicious of this Etienne-Gaetan-Charity triangle. There's more to it than anyone's told us so far.”

Nancy drove to the Razor's Edge to look for Etienne. On the way to the club, they picked up hamburgers and shakes at a fast-food place and ate in the car.

As soon as they arrived at the Razor's Edge, they found Lonnie Cavello busy at work directing the setting up of elaborate Halloween decorations.

“Hi, Nancy. Hi, George,” he said, greeting
them. The club owner was arranging a life-size skeleton inside a fake coffin. “Bess called this morning and caught me up on everything that happened since I saw you last night. I must say, it's all pretty hard to believe. She said she didn't feel like coming in to work today, and I can't blame her.”

“We're just happy she's back safe and sound,” Nancy said. “I'm still trying to figure out why she was abducted.”

“I know, it's—
Lucas!
I said pile the pumpkins by the
back
wall, not the side,” Lonnie said, snapping at the tall, bearded doorman whom Nancy had seen guarding the club entrance the night before.