Moving Target (6 page)

“Hey, what do you think you're doing?”

“I'm inviting myself in,” said Nancy, “unless you'd like to step outside and discuss this in front of anyone who happens to come by.”

“Discuss what?” Erik asked warily.

“Jeffrey Long's ‘accident,' for starters. It seems you have an unlucky habit of being around people who ride bikes that fall apart. The Emerson campus police had some questions about that being an accident.”

“Wait a minute!” Erik said angrily. “They didn't prove anything. A couple of guys in the frat house who were on my case set me up for that.” He stared at her with gray-blue eyes that were as cold as icicles. “Didn't they tell you that the case was closed for lack of evidence?”

“They did,” Nancy said. “But they weren't convinced you were innocent, either.” She was looking past Erik when she replied, gazing across the room at the hook on his closet door. “But we don't lack evidence here, do we?”

Erik's eyes followed her glance. He moved toward the closet, but Nancy was quicker. She snatched an object hanging from the hook and whirled around to face him, holding George's knee support in her hand.

“Wait a minute,” Erik said as a red flush crept up his neck. “That was just a joke. Can't you take a joke? Are you always so serious?”

“You bet I'm serious when my best friend is at risk!” Nancy snapped. “I don't see anything funny about this. And I don't see any humor in sabotaging her bicycle, either. She could have broken her neck.”

“Hold on,” Erik protested. “So I stole her stupid knee brace, but I didn't touch her bike.” He held up his hand as if taking an oath. “I swear it. On my honor.”

Nancy gave him a withering look. “Right. I'm warning you, Erik,” she said in a low voice. “If you have any more tricks up your sleeve to harm
George or to keep her from finishing this ride, you're going to have to answer to me.”

She stormed out and hurried down the hall to the room she was sharing with George.

“Nancy!”

Ned's voice stopped her just before she reached the door. He was coming up the stairs two at a time, grinning at her. “I've been sent to find you,” he said, giving her a hug. “George and CJ are in the compound working on her bike. Come on down and tell us what's happening.”

“Oh, Ned,” she said, as they went downstairs. “That Erik is such a . . . sleazeball!”

George and CJ stopped working while Nancy told them Lieutenant Easterling's information on Erik and Kendra, and described her confrontation with Erik.

“Do you think he did it?” George asked, pushing her hair back as she gripped a pair of pliers.

“I don't know,” Nancy said. “He stole your knee brace for sure.” She tossed it to George. “But he was adamant about the bike. He says he didn't touch it.”

“I vaguely remember hearing about Long,” Ned said.

“I was on an exchange program in Europe,” said CJ. He made no comment on the information about Kendra.

“One other thing,” Nancy said. “The burglar
they arrested last night is the night manager at Ed's Diner.”

George looked at her, startled. “Then Jennifer must know him.”

Nancy nodded. “But I don't know where that fits in with everything else yet. Anyway, how's the repair job going?”

“Slow,” George said. “But it could have been a lot worse. None of the spokes are broken, and nothing else is bent or damaged.”

“Where's the rest of the group?” Nancy asked.

“Jennifer's in her room. She's not hungry. Believe it or not, Kendra went with Michael Kirby to the rock concert at the fair,” Ned said, raising his eyebrows. “And there goes Erik with that group that came in just before us.”

“Well, I'm starving,” Nancy said. “There has to be food at the fairgrounds. How far is it, do you know?”

“Less than a mile,” Ned replied. “We can leave the bikes here and walk.”

“You two go on ahead,” George said. “We'll finish up and meet you at the grandstand.”

• • •

Nancy and Ned had no trouble finding the fairgrounds. Everyone was heading in that direction and the hurdy-gurdy music of the midway rolled out on the evening breeze, as did the smells of the animal barns that housed the livestock. They got some chili burgers and fries from one of
the booths, then found seats in the grandstand behind Michael and Kendra just as the concert started. George and CJ finally arrived at the intermission.

“Mission completed?” Ned asked.

“All fixed and ready to ride,” said CJ. “I've even given it a trial run. That bike is as safe as a baby carriage.”

“As safe but not as slow, right?” George asked.

“Right!” said CJ, smiling at her affectionately. He handed her a hot dog and a can of soda from the cardboard tray he was carrying. “Here, this will take the edge off your appetite.”

Kendra, who had pointedly ignored the arrival of CJ and George, turned to Michael.

“I've heard enough of this hick band,” she said. “Let's go.”

They disappeared into the crowd, and the foursome settled in on the bleachers for the second half of the concert.

“You know what I want to do?” Nancy said to Ned, after a couple of numbers.

“What am I now?” he asked her. “A swami? A crystal-ball reader?”

“Come on, Ned! What do I always want to do at a fair?”

Ned groaned. “I hoped we could avoid it this time,” he said. “You want to ride the Ferris wheel, right?”

“Right!” Nancy said brightly. She turned to CJ
and George. “We're going to the midway. We'll meet you back here when the concert's over.”

Hand in hand, Ned and Nancy strolled away from the concert area and over toward the midway. There was a large crowd in front of the Ferris wheel.

“Popular ride,” Ned said. “The line seems awfully long to me.”

“That's because everybody loves the Ferris wheel,” Nancy teased. “Except maybe one or two misfits.”

“Excuse me, madam,” Ned said as the line began moving. “Are you insulting me?”

Nancy started to answer, but then touched her finger to her lips. Familiar voices were drifting over from the other side of a popcorn stand.

“She staged that accident just to get CJ to pay attention to her,” Kendra wailed. “She knew he was my property for this trip.”

“Not to worry, sweetheart,” Michael Kirby replied. “I have a feeling that”—he laughed—“George isn't going to finish this bike trip, anyway!”

N
ANCY GRASPED
Ned's arm tightly, and a worried expression crossed her face. “Ned! That was a threat if I ever heard one.”

“Now, don't jump to conclusions, Nancy,” Ned said. “He may have been talking about the trouble George has had with her knee.”

“Ned, I have a funny feeling about him,” Nancy said. “I'm going back to warn George. I'm not going to let her out of my sight for a minute.” She stepped out of the line and headed for the bleachers, with Ned following.

“Do me a favor?” she asked over her shoulder. “Keep CJ busy while I talk to George. And I want to take a look at Michael's van. No point in getting everybody upset about this.”

Ned nodded. The concert was just ending, and streams of people were leaving the stands. Nancy
spotted the tall couple coming toward them and waved. “Come on,” she said, running over to George and linking arms with her. “I want to show you something.” She hurried George toward the building that housed the crafts, homemade jams, and baked goods. “We'll be back in a little while,” she shouted at Ned and CJ.

“What's up?” George asked, puzzled by Nancy's urgency. “Could you kidnap me later, Nan? I was kind of enjoying the company of a tall blond.”

“Sorry, George,” Nancy said as they entered the building, “but this kidnapping was necessary.” A long table displaying handmade afghans and quilts was just inside the door. Nancy paused by the table. “George,” she said, “when you first saw Michael and CJ at Bannon House with your bike, what did Michael say to you?”

George shrugged. “He just said he'd be glad to give me a lift back to Kenville.”

“Just you. Not you and CJ.”

George nodded.

“That's the second time he's offered to take you somewhere, right? The first time at the side of the road, and again at the Bannon compound.”

“Yes. What are you getting at, Nan?”

“It's as if he's trying to separate you from the group,” Nancy said. “I don't like it.”

George grinned. “Are you discounting my feminine appeal, Ms. Drew?” She posed like a model,
with one hand behind her head. “He probably just can't resist my newest scent, Eau du Cycle. Boy, was I glad to get into a shower!”

Despite her concern, Nancy grinned. “George, I think CJ will vouch for your appeal, but I'm concerned about Michael Kirby. He's spending a lot of time with our group—almost as if he's following us—but he doesn't know any of us. For a salesman, he doesn't seem to be selling anything, and for a sporting goods rep, he didn't think about the liability factor when your bike broke down. Something about him doesn't ring true.

“And,” Nancy added, taking a deep breath, “Ned and I just heard him tell Kendra that you weren't going to finish this bike trip!”

George's breath caught in her throat, and she looked at Nancy in surprise. “What?” she asked.

“He said you weren't going to finish the ride,” Nancy repeated. “It sounded like a threat to me.”

George frowned. “What now?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“I want to check out his van,” Nancy said, “while he and Kendra are at the midway. I figure we've got time if we can find it in the lot.”

“CJ and I passed it on the way in. I know where it's parked,” George said. “Let's go out the back way, it's closer.”

The two girls weaved through the jammed parking lot until they spotted the blue van.

“Keep an eye out for them,” Nancy said,
digging in her purse. “I think I can pop open that back door.”

“You don't have to,” George whispered. She had just tried the door on the passenger side. “Kendra didn't lock her side.”

“All the better.”

Quickly Nancy got in, then opened the glove compartment and examined the contents, while George stood watch. No registration papers. Sunglasses. Flashlight. Maps. She lifted out the maps. “Look at this!” she said.

George turned and looked inside. Nancy was pointing to a revolver.

“Standard equipment for a salesman,” George quipped. But the quaver in her voice told Nancy she was frightened.

Nancy probed under the seat and pulled out a file folder. “This is weird,” she said. She thumbed through the newspaper clippings in the folder. “These are all about the recent burglaries in Emersonville. Including one about last night's arrest.” She reached over for a briefcase on the backseat.

“Nan, move it! They're coming!”

Instantly Nancy jumped out of the van, pushed the door closed, and followed George. Crouching behind a pickup truck two rows over, they watched as Michael and Kendra climbed into the van and drove off.

“Too bad you didn't have time to get into the briefcase,” George said.

“I know,” Nancy said. “But I did notice something. The initials KS were stamped on the case. I'm wondering if Michael Kirby is really Michael Kirby.”

“Interesting,” said George. “And I took a quick look in the back. No salesman's sample cases in sight. No catalogs. Who is this guy?”

Nancy shook her head. “I don't know, but I intend to find out.”

Nancy and George wandered back through the midway until they spotted Ned and CJ at a ring-toss booth. Ned was carrying a panda bear, and CJ had a stuffed elephant under one arm.

“Looks as if you two did all right,” Nancy said as she stood on tiptoe and gave Ned a kiss on the cheek.

“And how did you do?” he whispered in her ear, handing her the panda.

“Fair,” she whispered back. “I want to find a phone.” She held the panda up in front of her and continued in a normal tone. “Thanks! He's a great-looking guy. Does he have a name?”

Ned grinned. “Not yet. You can christen him later. Right now, if we don't get CJ to some food, we'll have to carry him back, and I'm not up for that.”

Nancy looked over at CJ and nodded. “It'd take all three of us to move that hunk,” she teased. “It'll be easier to feed him.”

“And me!” said George. “I'm so hungry I
could eat”—she hugged the stuffed toy that CJ had given her—“I could eat an elephant!”

“There's a restaurant down the road,” Ned said. “Let's try that.”

With arms linked, the two couples strolled out of the fairgrounds, heading toward one of the two lighted buildings on the main street.