High Risk

N
ANCY
D
REW
, I could kill you!” Bess Marvin's usually soft voice sounded annoyed as she took the armful of clothes her friend handed her.

“I never thought the day would come when
I'd
get tired of shopping for clothes,” Bess went on. “But we've been at this for four hours already. We must have covered every store in River Heights, and you still haven't bought anything. You're driving me nuts!”

“Sorry,” Nancy said. She came out of the boutique's fitting room, smoothing her reddish blond hair behind her ears. “I guess I'm not really in the mood to shop today.”

“Obviously,” Bess said huffily. She carried the pile of clothes Nancy had discarded and went out to hang them back on the racks.

George Fayne, Bess's cousin and Nancy's friend, was standing by the fitting room door, obviously bored. “Better get with it, Nan,” she advised. “That is, if you want to find something new to wear for Ned tonight. It's four o'clock already.” George bent forward, stretching her long, athletic body and shaking her head so that her short, dark curls bounced around her face. “Besides,” she added, popping back up, “all this standing around is exhausting! Maybe I should stop bugging Bess about not getting enough exercise. I don't know how she can shop the way she does—I feel as if I've just run a marathon!”

“Okay, okay.” Nancy grinned at her friend. “I promise to find something I like in the next ten minutes.”

Both girls turned as Bess hurried back into the fitting area, carrying a mock-turtleneck dress made of peach-colored jersey.

“Look what I found. This is
it
,” she said with a decisive toss of her blond hair. “If you don't like this, then I give up.”

Nancy took the dress and looked at it with a critical eye. “I don't know,” she said. “The skirt is awfully short.”

“Oh, you know you've got perfect legs, so what are you worried about?” Bess scolded, waving away Nancy's objection.

“Maybe I'm just modest.” Nancy went back into the cubicle to try the dress on.

As she smoothed the soft fabric over her hips, Nancy gazed at herself in the mirror. Bess had made a great choice, she realized. The soft color
brought out the pink in her cheeks, and her blue eyes looked even brighter by contrast. The skirt wasn't
that
short, she decided, and it made her legs appear even longer.

“Okay, guys, you're off duty,” she called through the door. “Bess, it
is
the perfect dress.”

“Hallelujah!” George exclaimed. “Hurry up and change, Nan. After this workout, even I need some ice cream.”

A few minutes later the three girls were seated around a little wrought-iron table in front of an ice-cream parlor in downtown River Heights, the girls' hometown. George had ordered a sundae, Nancy a scoop of fudge swirl. Bess had ordered a diet soda, but now she was casting longing glances at George's sundae. Shorter and curvier than her two friends, Bess was perpetually trying to lose a few pounds, even though she was the only one who thought she needed to.

“So what's the big occasion?” George wanted to know. She ate a spoonful of her sundae. “What's so special about tonight that you have to go out and spend four hours looking for the perfect new outfit?”

Nancy shrugged. “It's no big deal, really,” she said. “It's just that I want something that will really get Ned's attention. I've been feeling a little bit—well, neglected lately.” She frowned. “Ned's job is kind of taking over his life.”

Ned Nickerson, Nancy's longtime boyfriend, had a steady summer job at Mutual Life, a large insurance company in nearby Mapleton. This summer Ned had been assigned to the claims
department. It was an important job, and he was taking his new duties very seriously. A little too seriously, Nancy was beginning to think.

“Yeah, he has been pretty tied up, hasn't he?” Bess commented. “I've only seen him once since he got back from Emerson.”

“Tell me about it!” Nancy exclaimed. “He's been home from college for almost a month, and
I've
seen him only a few times! He works late almost every night. And when I do see him, all he ever talks about is life as a claims detective.”

“Claims detective, huh?” echoed George. Her big brown eyes creased at the corners as she smiled. “So now we've got a detective duo—Drew and Nickerson.”

At eighteen, Nancy already had an excellent reputation as an amateur detective. She had a natural talent for solving mysteries, and she loved doing it, too.

“Hey, you don't think Ned's stepping on your toes, do you?” George asked suddenly.

Before Nancy could answer, Bess cut in. “Oh, George, don't be silly,” she scoffed. “Ned often helps Nancy out on her cases. I'm sure she feels the same way about helping him. Hey, Nan!” She turned to Nancy, her pretty face shining with excitement. “Maybe you and Ned should go into business together. Nickerson-Drew Investigations. Wouldn't that be romantic?”

“Nickerson-Drew Investigations?” Nancy arched a slender brow at Bess. “Why not
Drew-
Nickerson?”

“Whatever.” Bess waved a hand impatiently.

Her smile fading, Nancy poked at the mound of ice cream in her plastic dish. “I don't know,” she said slowly. “I'm not sure I like Ned's style. I mean, I'm glad he enjoys his job, but does he have to be so gung-ho about it? And he's getting really suspicious of people. I guess he comes across a lot of false claims, but it's weird to see him so distrustful when he's usually so sweet.”

“Nan, are you going to eat that last bite of ice cream?” Bess broke in.

George laughed. “Bess's killer instincts never fail when it comes to ice cream.”

“It's yours, Bess,” Nancy said. She pushed the dish across the table, then glanced at her watch and stood up. “I should go. I'm picking Ned up in Mapleton in two and a half hours, and I have to get ready. See you guys later, okay?”

“Hey, Nan—knock his socks off,” Bess called after Nancy as she walked away.

Nancy smiled to herself. With the dress she'd just bought, she hoped to do just that.

• • •

At seven-fifteen that evening Nancy pulled her blue Mustang up to the curb in front of the Mutual Life offices in Mapleton. Ned said he'd be waiting out front for her, but she didn't see him anywhere. Oh, well, she thought, he's probably on his way down. She made a quick check of her reflection in the rearview mirror, fluffing out her shoulder-length hair one last time. Then she sat back to wait.

Five minutes later there was still no sign of Ned. Fighting a twinge of annoyance, Nancy
gazed out the window, letting her eyes run over the Mutual Life building complex.

Mutual Life had started out as a life and health insurance company. Then, about five years earlier, they had bought out a small car insurance company. After that, the original marble-fronted building just wasn't big enough to hold the growing business, so the company had built an ultramodern annex, which was joined to the original building by a glass-and-steel enclosed walkway. Nancy thought the annex was ugly, but she supposed it served a purpose.

By seven-thirty Nancy had checked her watch about twenty times and was getting irritated. She was about to get out of the car and go to his office when Ned came through the revolving glass doors of the annex and dashed over to Nancy's Mustang.

“Hey, gorgeous! Sorry I'm late,” he said, bending down to kiss her through the open window. “I got caught on the phone.”

At the sight of his handsome face and warm brown eyes, Nancy felt her annoyance melt away. “No problem,” she murmured, looping a hand around his neck to catch another kiss.

After their lips parted, Ned went around to the passenger side and climbed in. Nancy started the car and drove off toward Conchita's, the restaurant they had planned to try that night.

“Wow, what a day,” Ned remarked, loosening his tie and settling his tall frame into the car seat. “I spent most of it arguing with this woman who's trying to make Mutual Life pay for the
face-lift she just got. Can you believe it? I tried to explain to her that health insurance is meant to take care of people's bills when they're sick, not when they want a new look. But she wouldn't stop bugging me. I'm telling you, it's amazing what people try to get away with.”

“Mmmm,” Nancy said in a neutral voice. It was great to see Ned so enthusiastic about his work, but she was a little disappointed that he hadn't even noticed her new dress.

“I had a talk with Joe Packard today—you know, the head of my department,” Ned went on.

“About what?” asked Nancy.

“He says I'm doing a good job, but I shouldn't push myself so hard.”

Nancy nodded. She wasn't the only one who thought Ned was too involved in his work. “Well, maybe you should listen to Mr. Packard,” she said.

Ned shrugged. “I don't know—I don't think Joe's heart is really in the job anymore. He used to be a real dragon. Everyone said he made our department what it is. But now—His wife died a few months back. They were separated, but he must have still loved her. Andy, my office mate, says Packard hasn't been the same since then.”

“Poor guy,” Nancy said sympathetically. “It must be hard for him.”

They parked down the block from Conchita's. “So what did you do today?” Ned asked as they walked up the street.

“I went shopping with Bess and George,”
Nancy told him, smoothing the skirt of her peach dress with one hand.
Now
he'll notice, she thought.

But Ned just nodded. “That's nice,” he said, and immediately went back to talking about work.

Nancy held back a sigh. I get just as single-minded when I'm working on a case, she reminded herself. Ned always listens to me. So I can listen to his problems at work for a change!

“I'm so glad we're finally eating here,” Nancy said as they entered the restaurant. She was looking forward to trying Conchita's. It had opened a few months earlier, and she'd heard it had great Mexican food and a terrific atmosphere.

Glancing around, she knew she wouldn't be disappointed. The place was nearly full. Colorful sombreros hung on the walls, and stuffed cloth cacti rose nearly to the ceiling. An old-fashioned jukebox was blasting music by mariachi bands, while waiters and waitresses in embroidered vests bustled through the festive room. They and the guests all seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

“Hey, this looks great,” Ned said as the hostess led them to a table. He sniffed the air. “Smells great, too. I'm starved!”

As Nancy and Ned were seated, Nancy noticed the girl at the table next to theirs because she was getting up to leave. The girl, a few years older than Nancy, maybe twenty-two, had carefully
tousled blond hair that looked as if it had half a can of mousse in it. Her mascara was so heavy that her eyelashes looked like the legs of a spider, and her blusher made red bars on her cheeks. The girl's companion was a slender man of about twenty-five, with slicked-back hair and a mustache.

“I'll be right back, Toby,” the girl said, giggling. “I'm just going to powder my nose.”

“Don't be long, sweetheart,” the man replied in a sugary voice. He blew the girl a kiss, and she giggled again.

“I'll get the car,” Toby added. “But the night is still young. Shall we go dancing?”

“Oooh
, yes, Toby,” the girl cooed, then walked away with tiny mincing steps. Toby stood and headed for the door.

“Whew!” Nancy said, letting out her breath. “Talk about sickly sweet!”

Ned had noticed the couple, too, and he was frowning. “I know I've seen that girl somewhere,” he muttered. “I just can't think of—Hey!” He leaned over and picked up a plastic card that was lying on the just-vacated table. “That guy left his credit card behind.”