Heart of Ice (5 page)

“No messages for you, Ms. Drew,” the attendant said.

“Thanks for checking.” Nancy nodded, giving the man a sunny smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nancy saw the receptionist pull the key to Room 453 off its hook and hand it to Anne.

Up in her room, Nancy decided to finish unpacking. She still had a couple of hours before meeting Ned for dinner, which would give her
time to pay Anne Bolle a visit. Just then the phone rang. The voice on the other end wasn't warm or friendly.

“Stay out of the problems at Alpine Adventures,” said the hoarse, muffled voice. “Or I'll make sure that you do!”

N
ANCY CAUGHT HER BREATH
as the phone line went dead. Someone wanted her off the case, but who knew she was on it? Hank Moody came to mind first. He could easily have followed her when she left Outrageous Adventures to find out where she was staying.

Well, if Hank Moody thought he could scare her off the case, he had another think coming.

Tossing her head defiantly, Nancy went back to unpacking. When the phone rang again a few minutes later, she hesitated a second before picking it up. It was Ned, calling to tell her that
Alex was fine. “We're bringing him home,” Ned told her. “I should be back in time for dinner at eight.”

“Fine,” Nancy said. “Could you tell Kara that I've been in touch with the mechanic who has her car? I think someone may have tampered with it, and I used her name to get some information out of him.”

“I'll let her know,” Ned answered.

“Thanks, Ned. See you soon.”

After hanging up, Nancy made a follow-up call to Joe at Frank's Auto Body.

“Your car sure was messed up, Mrs. Wheeler,” Joe told Nancy. “The steering mechanism came loose. It wasn't attached to the wheels properly. That's why your husband ran off the road.”

So someone did tamper with the car, Nancy thought. Now if she could just figure out who, she'd have made and solved the case. “That's terrible,” Nancy exclaimed.

“The mechanic at Busy Bee should've seen it. When the car is up on the lift, it's pretty hard to miss something like that.”

“What about the damage to the car?” Nancy asked, remembering that she was supposed to be Kara.

“The front end is pretty crunched and the
frame is bent,” he answered. “I'd estimate the repairs at about two thousand.”

Nancy gulped. Two thousand dollars! Alex and Kara weren't going to be happy about that. “I'll have to talk to my husband about this,” Nancy said. “Can you hold off on the car until I call back tomorrow?”

“Sure thing,” Joe said.

“You're next, Anne Bolle,” Nancy said out loud as she picked up her room key from the dresser.

Nancy was on the fifth floor, so she took the stairs down to Anne's room. Knocking on the door, she arranged her face in a friendly expression.

The woman Nancy had seen in the lobby came to the door, her head wrapped in a towel, a thick terry cloth robe on.

“Are you Anne Bolle?” Nancy asked politely.

“Yes,” the woman said reluctantly. She obviously didn't like to be disturbed.

“It's such a pleasure to meet you,” Nancy said, and extended her hand. “You're my favorite climber.”

Anne's face broke into a wide smile. “Thank you,” she responded. “And you are?”

“Nancy Drew,” she offered. “I'm a friend of
Alex and Kara Wheeler,” she explained. “Could I please ask you a few questions about Alpine Adventures?”

“Well, I don't know what I can tell you,” Anne answered, moving aside to let Nancy into her room. “But if you'll give me a few minutes to dress, I'll be happy to talk to you.”

“Great,” Nancy said, stepping into the room.

Anne gathered up a change of clothes and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“Perfect,” Nancy murmured under her breath as she scoped out the room. Anne was obviously neat, because her things were in order.

Moving to one of the bedside tables, Nancy noticed a small leather organizer. It was lying open, and the corner of a lined piece of paper was sticking out. Picking it up, Nancy saw that it was a letter that Anne had started to someone named Jim. Probably a boyfriend, Nancy guessed. Nancy started skimming the letter. “Kara looks good for someone who hasn't climbed much in the past four years,” Nancy read. “She might turn out to be something of a threat after all. . . .” Nancy was only halfway through the letter when she heard the bathroom door being opened. She stuffed the letter back where she found it, just before Anne came into the room.

“Much better,” Anne said, tucking her turtle-neck into her jeans. “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions about Alpine Adventures,” Nancy said, seated in one of the brown swivel chairs. “I understand you're signed up for the Rainier trip.”

“That's right,” Anne confirmed. “Logan Miller asked if I'd be willing to go on the climb to give the company a bit of publicity. I agreed.”

“Well, unfortunately, there have been a number of mishaps on the day trips that Alpine Adventures has led lately. And I'm sure you've heard about the break-in the other night.”

“Break-in?” Anne's eyes grew wide. “I haven't heard about any break-in.”

“Really?” Nancy said, surprised. “Enumclaw is such a small town, I would've thought everyone had heard about it.”

“I've been away, staying with friends in Seattle,” Anne explained. “I just arrived in Enumclaw.”

“I see,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “Well, someone broke into the Alpine Adventures office on Wednesday night. They trashed the files and stole a computer and several pieces of expensive gear.”

“Oh, how awful,” Anne said dramatically. “Do they know who did it?”

“The police think it was just a teenage prank,” Nancy told her. “But in light of all the little accidents that have been happening, we're not so sure.”

“Alex and Kara are both such nice people,” she said in an overly sincere voice. “I can't imagine anyone hurting either of them.”

“I know, Anne,” Nancy said. “That's why I'm trying to get to the bottom of all this.”

“Of course,” Anne agreed.

“So I hope you won't mind if I ask you where you were on Wednesday night,” Nancy said.

Anne's mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes narrowed. “Why would that be any of your business?” she challenged.

“It wouldn't, actually,” Nancy admitted. “I'm just trying to prove that you're not a suspect. Some people think you might hold a grudge against Kara because of that competition four years ago,” she said.

“A grudge?” Anne asked incredulously. “I assure you that I do not hold a grudge. Besides,” she said, “Kara hasn't climbed in four years. She's no threat to me.”

“I suppose she isn't,” Nancy said out loud, while remembering what Anne had written in her letter.

“So, where did you say you were on Wednesday night?” Nancy asked.

“I didn't,” Anne said coolly. “But if you really have to know, I was still with my friends in Seattle. We all went out for dinner that night.”

“I see.” Nancy nodded. I can verify that with her friends if necessary, she thought. Deciding that she had all the information she was going to get out of Anne Bolle, Nancy was ready to wrap up her interview.

“That's all I wanted to ask,” Nancy said, getting up to go. “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me,” she added.

“Certainly,” Anne said, a bit sarcastically.

The woman seemed thoroughly annoyed, Nancy realized, but that wouldn't be unusual. The question was, was she up to no good?

Nancy walked back to her room, considering her interview. Anne was obviously lying about not being threatened by Kara, but she did have a supposed alibi for Wednesday night, which Nancy decided to check.

After picking up the phone, she dialed Directory Assistance to ask for Joshua Jones's phone number.

“Hello?” came a man's voice after a few rings.

“Yes, hello,” Nancy said in an official-sounding voice. “I'm trying to reach Joshua Jones.”

“This is he,” the man said.

“Mr. Jones, my name is Mrs. Loomis. I'm with the Enumclaw Police Department, and I was wondering if you could help me with a routine procedure.”

“I'd be happy to, if I can,” Joshua said.

“Could you tell me,” Nancy asked, “has Anne Bolle been staying with you?”

“Is she in some sort of trouble?” Joshua asked worriedly.

“No, no,” Nancy assured him. “I'm just trying to confirm her whereabouts.”

“Oh.” Joshua sounded partly relieved. “Well, she was here until this afternoon, when she left for Enumclaw. Around three o'clock, I think.”

“And was she with you on Wednesday evening?”

“Until about seven o'clock,” Joshua confirmed. “We had a drink together, and then she went out.”

“Did she tell you where she was going?” Nancy asked.

“No. I think she was meeting a friend for dinner,” Joshua replied.

So she
was
lying, Nancy thought. “Good,” she said into the phone, trying to sound casual. “That's what our records show.”

“Is there anything else?” Joshua asked.

“No, that'll be all,” Nancy replied. “Thank you for your help.”

After hanging up the phone, Nancy sat down on her bed. Anne had lied. But why?

Nancy glanced at her watch. It was seven-fifteen. Just enough time to shower and get ready for dinner. She chose an emerald green knit dress, with jade beads, matching tights, and silver earrings.

At seven fifty-five Ned was at Nancy's door. “You look gorgeous,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her and planting a leisurely kiss on her lips.

“Thanks,” Nancy said, enjoying the shiver she always felt whenever she and Ned were close.
“You're pretty slick yourself.” Dressed in khakis, a black blazer, and colorful batik tie, Ned was especially handsome.

A few minutes later Nancy and Ned were seated at a cozy table in the corner of the restaurant. The white linen tablecloth glowed from the light of a flickering candle, and a vase held a small bouquet of carnations.

As they sipped their sodas, Nancy told Ned about her afternoon. “Hank Moody and Anne Bolle are my main suspects,” Nancy explained, ready to continue.

“Nan,” Ned said, leaning across the table and peering into her eyes. “Can we not talk about the case tonight? Please?”

Nancy bit her lower lip. The case was just beginning to take shape and she needed to talk things through. “I'll try,” Nancy promised with a nod. “But there's so much happening, it won't be easy.”

Just then the waiter brought their appetizers. While Nancy squeezed some fresh lemon onto her shrimp cocktail, Ned dipped his spoon into a crock of French onion soup, swirling a strand of melted cheese around it.

“Kara said that she's going to climb in the Northwestern Finals in March,” Ned said excitedly. “Isn't that great?”

“Sure,” Nancy said, dipping a shrimp into the cocktail sauce. She was pleased for Kara, but she wished Ned wasn't so excited about it.

“I think it's great that she's getting back into climbing,” Ned went on. “A lot of women would give up that level of competition after having a baby. But she's committed to it.”

“Ned,” Nancy said slowly. “Let's not talk about Kara, either.”

“Why not?” Ned asked, sounding offended.

“You spent most of the afternoon with her, and I'd just rather talk about something else,” Nancy answered quietly.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ned's voice was tight.

“You were awfully quick to offer to go with her to Buckley,” Nancy said.

“She was upset, and I thought it would be a good idea for someone to ride with her,” Ned said hotly.

“Well, I'm glad I had the case to work on, so you could offer your services,” Nancy shot back
before she had a chance to think about what she was saying.

“I don't want to listen to this, Nancy,” Ned said, pushing his chair back from the table. He stood up, throwing his napkin over his soup bowl. “And to tell you the truth, I've lost my appetite!”