Heart of Ice (8 page)

And all of the accidents, Nancy thought to herself.

“After Anne and Tsu got back from the emergency room,” Kara continued, “Anne and I had a good talk. She apologized for being so nasty to me when we were competing. She said that her obsession to win had made her blind to her own mistakes. I think she was being sincere, Nancy,” Kara said solemnly. “And I don't think she'd do those horrible things.”

“I'm glad you're getting along better,” Nancy said, knowing she had to tell her that Anne could still be a suspect. “She could still be up to no good.”

Kara's eyes widened. “I don't think so,” she said earnestly.

“I hope you're right,” Nancy said, “but we have to be careful.”

Kara nodded. “I know,” she said softly.

“Listen,” Nancy said, changing the subject. “I need to talk to you and Alex about the case. Can we meet in the dining room for a few minutes?”

“Sure,” Kara answered. “I just need to take care of a couple of things first.”

A few minutes later Nancy walked back into the dining room. Allie was quietly playing with a puzzle in the corner. Logan and Alex talked
beside her. Sensing that the two men were discussing something serious, Nancy approached them until she was within earshot, then pretended to tie her shoe while she listened to their conversation.

“With everything that's been going on, I really need you to stay behind and keep an eye on the office,” Alex was saying.

“Tsu can watch the office,” Logan said, so quietly Nancy had to strain to hear.

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Alex answered. “She's been through a lot, and I think she needs time to rest her shoulder.”

“But you need another guide on this trip, and it should be me.” Logan paused for a moment as Nancy straightened up. “And if you won't let me go,” he continued, “then maybe I should tell Recreational Gear that I'm available to start the European circuit immediately.”

W
OW
, N
ANCY THOUGHT AS
she moved closer to the men, pretending to look for something she had left behind. Logan really wants to take this trip. She couldn't blame him. He had worked hard to make it all come together.

Alex's eyebrows were knit tightly together. “It doesn't need to come to that, Logan,” Alex answered steadily. “I'm sure we can work something out. It's just that I don't want to ask Tsu to watch the office by herself, since she's been injured. With all the strange things that have been going on, I think it would be asking too much.”

“I disagree,” Logan replied. “She's feeling blue since she can't climb, so feeling useful would be good medicine.”

Alex considered for a minute, then nodded. “You could be right,” he said thoughtfully. “I'll ask her how she feels. If it's all right with her, it's all right with me.”

“Great.” Logan smiled at his friend. “I'll go find her so we can settle this now.”

As Logan left the room, Nancy approached Alex. “Delicious dinner,” she said.

Alex smiled, but Nancy could see the strain on his face. The break-in and accidents were taking their toll. “I wanted to update you on the case,” she said.

“My investigation has turned up a new suspect,” Nancy began as Kara joined them. “And an interesting one at that.”

Alex and Kara stood perfectly still as they waited for Nancy to go on.

“What do you know about Lisa Osterman?” Nancy asked pointedly.

“Lisa's a suspect?” Kara didn't conceal the surprise in her voice. “But she just got into town a couple days ago.”

“I searched her hotel room, and found an
airline ticket that shows she arrived in Tacoma over two weeks ago.”

“Really,” Kara said.

“But she could have stayed in Tacoma for a while before coming here,” Alex pointed out.

“True,” Nancy admitted. Was her suspicion of Lisa unfounded? “But my intuition tells me she's hiding something. Has she said anything to you that's unusual?”

“Just the way she mixed up the names and locations of peaks in Pakistan. I kind of doubt that she's done much climbing in the Himalayas, no matter what she says,” Kara said.

Just then Logan and Tsu came into the dining room, and judging from the gleam in Logan's eye, Nancy guessed that Tsu was willing to run the office alone.

“I don't mind taking care of the office, Alex,” Tsu said, her face brightening a bit. “It will give me something to think about other than myself while my shoulder heals.”

“All right then, it's settled.” Alex grinned. “Logan, do you have time to go as a guide?”

Logan laughed. “I think I can fit it into my busy schedule,” he said. “But I'd better get home and start packing.” He and Tsu said good night and left together.

“We have to consider the possibility that Lisa may be responsible for everything that's happened,” Nancy said, getting back to the subject of Lisa.

“Then I want her off the trip,” Alex said firmly.

“But, Alex, we aren't positive it's her,” Kara countered. “And she's already paid for the trip and gone through snow school. We can't just tell her she's out.”

“I have to agree with Kara,” Nancy put in. “Of course, there's still Hank Moody as a suspect. So we don't know anything for sure.”

Alex hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. “I suppose it would be foolish of her to try to pull something with all of us on the trip,” he said. “We'll let her come, but let's keep an eye on her at all times.”

“All in a day's work,” Nancy joked, then signaled to Ned that she wanted to leave.

“Listen,” Nancy said as Ned folded up the newspaper he'd been reading and slipped it under his arm, “I want to head over to Outrageous Adventures to see if I can dig up anything on Hank Moody.”

“I'm game,” Ned responded. “Let's go.”

“Do you want me to come in with you?” Ned asked in the car outside the dark office building.

“I could use your help searching,” Nancy answered, “but on second thought, it would be better if you stayed outside to keep watch.”

“Okay, gorgeous,” Ned answered, leaning over and planting a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. “Are you sure you don't want to keep watch with me?” he asked when they had pulled apart, his brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Ned Nickerson,” Nancy said, swatting him on the arm playfully. “Are you trying to keep me from my case?”

“Of course not,” he said, “but with the chilly winter air blowing outside, I can't help but wish you could stay here and keep me warm.”

“I'll be back soon,” Nancy promised, and gave Ned one last peck before slipping out of the car quietly to pick the front lock.

Since the front office had no windows, the room was pitch black. Nancy slipped her lock-picking tools back into her coat pocket and pulled a penlight out of her purse. A second later the beam lit up the room.

Nancy moved toward Hank's office, where she took off her coat and went through his desk drawers. It was filled with papers and business envelopes, but Nancy found nothing of interest.

Nancy noticed a stack of papers on top of the desk and began to sift through them. A recent credit card bill had a charge of three hundred and fifty dollars to Pacific Airlines—the airline that Lisa had flown to Tacoma!

Nancy checked the date of the bill, and saw that the transaction took place the same day Lisa's ticket was issued! Had Hank Moody bought Lisa's ticket? Was she working for him? Nancy wondered as she pulled a pen out of her purse and jotted down the credit card information.

Nancy moved toward the small table near the window with pictures of Hank's family. The first photo showed a much younger Hank. He was on top of a mountain, smiling at the camera with a young, attractive woman by his side. Probably his wife, Nancy guessed.

After scanning the next photograph, Nancy knew it had been taken a good many years earlier. There were lots of smiling faces in the picture, and Nancy recognized the woman from the other photo standing near Hank. One of the children in the picture seemed familiar, but Nancy couldn't place her.

After putting the second photo down, Nancy
went back through the reception area to look for the gear room. The third door she opened into a room with the musty smell of camping gear.

Nancy slowly made her way down one aisle. She wasn't exactly sure what to look for, except possibly a lot of fancy-looking gear with the Alpine Adventures name stitched into it. She passed the backpacks and the sleeping bags and made her way back toward the door along an aisle with cookware, stoves, and water filters.

When she turned down the third aisle, she found stacks of crampons, ice axes, and harnesses. Picking up a crampon, she noted that it was different from those used at Alpine Adventures. It had an old leather strap and the teeth were a different shape. Running her finger along the sharp edge of the teeth, she noticed that they weren't all that sharp.

“I guess Hank isn't using state-of-the-art equipment these days,” Nancy murmured as she put the crampon down and moved toward the ice axes. Just as she picked one up, she heard a shuffling sound behind her.

Startled, Nancy whirled around, but in doing so lost her grip on her penlight. As it fell to the
floor it cast a drunken light pattern on the wall and then went out.

Nancy groped for the light, but before she could grasp it, she heard footsteps in the darkness. A second later she heard the decisive slam of a door.

Nancy had been locked in.

N
ANCY WAITED IN THE
darkness, listening to the footsteps fade away and focusing on a way to get out.

Feeling along the cold cement floor, Nancy finally found her penlight. As she guessed, it no longer worked. The fall to the floor had smashed the bulb.

Nancy cautiously moved toward the door, feeling along the walls and shelves. When she reached the door, her suspicions were confirmed—she was locked in.

Nancy unzipped her purse and began to search for the tool she used to pick locks. It wasn't there.
With a sinking feeling, Nancy realized that she had slipped it into her coat pocket and left her coat in Hank Moody's office.

Nancy turned around and squinted, into the darkness. She had to find something to jimmy the lock. But there was no window in the gear room and she couldn't see a thing.

Slowly and carefully, Nancy began to make her way down the aisle to the cooking utensils. Suddenly, she tripped and fell to the floor, knocking her head hard against a shelf. She groped in front of her. There was a coil of rope on the floor, which she had fallen over. Sitting back, she ran her fingers gingerly across the top of her head, near the hairline. She felt a small swelling, and her head throbbed painfully.

Nancy tried to envision the different kinds of camping gear she had seen on the shelves when her flashlight was working. She couldn't think of a thing that would pick a lock.

Discouraged, her head throbbing, she felt the bump on her head for the second time, and her hand brushed against a barrette. A barrette! Nancy thought with relief. It was old, with two thin, flexible prongs. Nancy had a way out.

With the barrette in her hand, Nancy stood up and walked back to the door. A moment later the
door swung open and Nancy stepped into the main office. As she closed the gear room door behind her, a bright flashlight shone directly into her eyes, blinding her. Nancy froze.

“Nancy, what happened?” Ned calmly questioned.

“Oh, I'm so glad it's you,” Nancy cried, rushing toward him.

“Who else would it be?” Ned asked, confused.

“I don't know,” Nancy admitted. “But someone locked me in the gear room and then I fell and hit my head.”

“I don't like the sound of that, Nan,” Ned said.

Before long Nancy and Ned were in the car again, driving back to the hotel.