Sisters in Crime (8 page)

“Nancy does, don't you, Nan?” Susan asked.

Nancy was so lost in thought that she hadn't heard Susan's question. “Don't I what?”

“Like hot food,” Larry said. “This place is famous for its spicy food. If you order in English, they don't make it so hot, but if you order in Spanish, watch out.” Ira's friend, Larry, seemed like a nice guy. He appeared to be studious in the wire-framed glasses he wore. Nancy smiled and told herself to stop thinking of Ned Nickerson for the moment and enjoy the evening.

As the waiter approached, Larry spoke to him in Spanish. Only a moment later the waiter returned carrying a platter of piping-hot nachos for everyone to share.

“I'm so glad you're okay now,” Ira said kindly
to Nancy. “People don't usually get attacked on this beach, and I'm really sorry you were a victim on your first day in town.”

Susan and Nancy exchanged glances, knowing full well that the attack on the beach had not been random. Far from it.

“Thanks,” Nancy said to Ira. “I'm glad you showed up when you did. How did you happen to be there at that time?” Nancy asked curiously, still wondering whether she could trust Ira.

“He's a bit of a watchdog,” Larry answered for his buddy. “Ira considers all the area within view of the Institute's scuba-diving resource center his own private beach.”

“I wish that somehow I could have prevented what happened,” Ira said.

“I wish I could have done something for Rina, too,” Susan said.

As the waiter once again approached their table, Larry asked the group, “Trust me to order for us all?”

“Sure.” Nancy smiled, and Susan and Ira nodded their agreement. Larry ordered in Spanish.

“But how could
you
have saved her?” Ira asked, looking at Susan. “You weren't around the beach that day, were you?”

Susan looked at Nancy, wondering whether she should tell him the truth. Nancy now felt certain that Ira really was trustworthy. She had been wrong before, of course, but this time she
felt safe discussing the case with both Ira and Larry.

“Why don't you just explain what Rina told you before she died,” Nancy suggested.

Susan nodded. “Right before she died, Rina confided in me that she knew something—a secret that she couldn't tell yet.” Taking a sip of the ice water, Susan said, “We're afraid that someone wanted to make sure she never did tell it.”

“Murder?” Larry asked, shocked.

“It's a possibility,” Nancy answered.

“That makes more sense to me than what the police have come up with,” Ira said thoughtfully. “Because there is
no way
that Rina Charles would dive with faulty equipment—or by herself.”

A band began to play slow music in the background as they continued to talk.

“But murder?” Ira said. “She was such a nice kid.”

Susan reached over toward Ira. Nancy saw Ira squeeze Susan's hand and felt glad that they liked each other so much.

For a few minutes the four of them sat in silence, until Ira turned to Susan and quietly asked her to dance. Nancy could see Susan's eyes light up.

When Susan and Ira left the table, Nancy asked Larry, “Did you say you were in the math department?”

Larry nodded and finished chewing a nacho before answering, “I work for Professor Zucker as a teaching assistant.”

“Did you ever hear of TAs who ‘cooperate' with students and give them exams beforehand?” Nancy asked.

“Sure,” Larry answered. “But I wouldn't call it ‘cooperating.' I'd call it ‘cheating.' ”

Nancy grinned. “Me, too.” Taking a sip of her lemonade, Nancy asked, “How does it work?”

“Well, there's nothing tricky about how it works. Sometimes it's a straightforward bribe. And sometimes a good-looking girl finds a TA to fall in love with her, then she asks him to do her ‘this one little favor'—to give her the test questions before the exam. He asks her to please never tell anyone that he's done it or he'll lose his assistantship, and she agrees. She then shares the exam with all of her friends who are taking the class, and they laugh behind his back. After they all ace the final, she breaks up with him. She has to find someone in another department to keep her average up. Nice, huh?”

“Not very,” Nancy answered. “Why do people fall for it?”

“They probably don't more than once,” Larry answered. “Now let me ask you a couple questions, okay?”

Before waiting for Nancy's agreement, Larry said, “Is it going on at the Delta Phi house?”

Nancy looked at Larry for a minute before deciding to nod.

“And you think this is what Rina knew? Why she was killed?”

Nancy shrugged. “Maybe.”

“But would blowing the whistle be enough reason to knock her off?”

“Couldn't the consequences of being caught be very serious?” Nancy asked.

“Yes,” Larry agreed. “But murder? Whew!”

Nancy glanced over at the dance floor and saw Susan and Ira heading back to the table, hand in hand. Great, Nancy thought. It's time something good happened to Susan!

As their waiter returned with plates of steaming food, Larry said, “Delta Phi has such a good reputation for high grades. Who would ever have thought it?”

Susan and Ira took their seats at the table just as Nancy said to Larry, “There's a calculus test Monday that some of the girls in this cheating ring have to take. They don't have a contact in the math department, though. Do you know anything about that exam?”

“Nope.”

“Do you think you could write a phony calculus test?”

Larry tipped his glasses up and peered into Nancy's eyes. “I thought you'd never ask. I'd be delighted!”

“What's going on here?” Ira asked as he and Susan sat down.

“Chilis rellenos, enchiladas verdes, and chicken mole,” Larry answered. “At your own risk.”

“I mean about writing a phony exam?” Ira asked.

“After seven years of advanced mathematics, Nancy and I have finally discovered something practical I can do with it,” Larry proclaimed as he began to serve himself an enchilada. “We are about to infiltrate a group of cheaters.”

“You're going to give them a phony exam?” Susan asked nervously.

“Yes,” Nancy answered. “And find out if there's more to this scheme than good grades.”

“Like money involved?” Ira asked.

“Perhaps.” Nancy nodded, serving herself some of the hot chilis rellenos. “It could be that Rina discovered something she wasn't supposed to discover. I want to know what that was, and I think I'm going to have to burn my candle at both ends to find out.”

As the music became fast and loud, Susan asked, “How will getting in with them help?”

“I think,” Nancy said, “that they're the only ones who can lead me to a murderer.”

W
HEN
N
ANCY TAPPED
gently on Kathy's door the next morning, a tired voice called out, “One minute.”

“Sorry I woke you,” Nancy said apologetically when Kathy opened the door in her pajamas, her long, frizzy hair sticking up in all directions.

“Oh, it's all right. It's eleven o'clock already. I should have been awake long ago.” Kathy yawned. “I just stayed up late studying. Actually, I didn't
start
studying until late.” Rubbing her eyes, Kathy said, “I wasn't cut out to be a student.”

“I have something that may help that,” Nancy proclaimed with her most winning smile.

“Well, come in,” Kathy said with interest, and stood aside so Nancy could enter.

Inside, Nancy pulled a manila envelope from behind her back and presented it to Kathy.

“What's this?” Kathy asked, locking her door.

“Good news,” Nancy said, “for calculus students.”

“Oh, Nancy!” Kathy shrieked, taking the papers out of the envelope. “It's not!”

“It is!” Nancy said, feigning pride. “Monday's exam.”

“How did you ever get it?” Kathy asked, wide-eyed.

“It was surprisingly easy,” Nancy explained, and went into the story she had decided to tell. “I was looking around this morning when I began talking to this guy in the math department. I guess he's a teaching assistant. I asked him how difficult introductory calculus was, and he said, “Not very. Want to see a test we'll be giving soon?”

“Oh, no!” As Kathy squealed with delight and looked over the exam, Nancy thought about what Larry had said when they met on campus that morning. “The hardest part was making sure I didn't put anything on there that might actually show up on Monday's test,” he had said with a grin.

“That jerk!” Kathy declared. “He just
gave
it to you?”

“Not exactly,” Nancy said, trying to be a bit
vague. “Let's just say I borrowed it, with the help of a nearby copier when he got called out of the office.”

Kathy looked impressed. “That's great. So he won't even know he's been ‘cooperative.' That's the best! Thank you, Nancy,” Kathy said, hugging the phony exam close to her. “Thank you so much.”

Leaving Kathy's room, Nancy became aware of the time pressure she had just put herself under. Kathy, and anyone she shared the exam with, would know by Monday morning at nine o'clock that this one was a fake.

It's now Thursday, Nancy thought. By Monday morning I'd better have solved the mystery of Rina Charles's death!

• • •

Posted on the wall of the chapter room, next to the framed scholarship awards, was a listing of everyone's grade point average in the sorority. Let's see, thought Nancy as she searched through the names—Lori, Jan, Ellen, Pam, Johanna. Yes, almost all the inner circle have a four-point average. All except Kathy, and she's pretty close to it with a three-point-eight. Pretty good for someone who hates studying.

Alice Clark was the only other student with straight
A
's and there was no doubt in Nancy's mind that she deserved them.

Nancy was still looking at the list when Debbie wandered in. “Hello there,” she said in her usual
friendly manner. “Are you going to join us for the Valentine's party tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Nancy answered.

“It should be fun. You examining our intellect?” Debbie asked.

“It's pretty impressive,” Nancy answered, “So many high averages.”

“Mine's not up as high as I wish,” Debbie said. “And I want to get into graduate school in two years.”

Looking at Debbie's name, Nancy saw that she had a three-point-two-five average. Surely respectable, but lower than many. What, Nancy wondered, did the people who didn't cheat know about what was going on?

“Well, I think I'll head upstairs. I've got a paper calling to me.” Debbie sighed.

“I'll walk up with you,” Nancy said.

When they reached Debbie's room, Nancy saw Patty in there working on something at her typewriter. Nancy had observed that the two of them worked very hard on their studies.

“Mind if I come in for a minute and ask you something?”

“Come on,” Patty called out from her desk. “I need a break.”

“Last night I was talking to this guy who's a grad student,” Nancy said. “He told me he knew of an exam-stealing scheme that's going on in some of the sororities.” Nancy spoke slowly and watched the girls' reactions. “He said that the
authorities are getting wise to it and want to start prosecuting the students who are involved.”

Patty pushed her glasses up and asked curiously, “How would anyone steal an exam?”

“Apparently,” Nancy explained, noticing that Debbie had turned away and was looking at the books on her desk, “they don't have to be stolen, exactly. There are some helpful assistants that give them away.”

“Well, if you see a political science one floating around,” Patty said lightly, “pass it on—please.”

“Do you think that ever goes on here?” Nancy asked.

Patty shrugged, put her glasses back on, and returned to her work. Debbie said, “I'd be shocked if it did.”

But the blush in Debbie's fair skin led Nancy to believe that this was in no way shocking to her. While Nancy was convinced that Debbie wasn't part of the ring—her grades weren't as high as the others, nor as high as she wished they were—it appeared as though she knew of it.

“You've never heard anything about it?” Nancy asked.

“Listen,” Debbie said abruptly, “that would be awful, a really awful thing to do to any TA.” She shook her head angrily as she said, “After all those years of study and work, it could blow your career. It's horrible.”

“I agree,” Nancy said gently. As she left the room, she understood that Debbie knew about
this scheme from the other end, from a TA who had been asked, or used.