The Runaway Bride (10 page)

A waiter appeared at their table just then. “Are you ready to order?” he asked them in Japanese.

Nancy scanned the menu quickly. “I'd like the lunch special with the tuna rolls,” she said.

“That sounds great,” Mick said. “I'd like the exact same thing.”

The waiter went away and came back immediately with two small salads.

Mick separated his wooden chopsticks and started in on his salad. “So tell me what's going on,” he said between bites. “I love this ginger dressing.”

Nancy ate some of her salad. “Me, too.”

Mick's green eyes sparkled. “That clinches it, Nancy. We like the same sushi, the same kind of dressing—” He raised his eyebrows playfully. “What do you say? Why don't you come to your senses and be my girlfriend?”

Nancy reached across the table and put her hand on his arm. “That's exactly what I had in mind,” she said very seriously.

M
ICK PUT HIS CHOPSTICKS DOWN
and gaped at Nancy. “You want to be my girlfriend,” he said finally. Then he shook his head and gave her a radiant smile. “That's the best news I've heard in a long time. I have to admit I'm a little surprised, though. You told me at Puppy Love Live that you and Ned were—”

“Yes, I know,” Nancy cut in quickly. She hesitated before going on. She knew her plan was dangerous, and Mick was looking at her so tenderly that she almost wished she
could
be his girlfriend.

Stick to business, Drew, she told herself sternly. “I still mean what I said,” she went on after a moment. “But there's been a major break in the case, and I need a way to check out Nakamura
Incorporated. I figure the best way to do that would be to pose as your girlfriend. I could meet you there for a date.”

Disappointment was reflected in Mick's eyes, but only for a second. He leaned forward and winked at her. “You picked the right chap for the job, Nancy. I'll see to it that we make a very convincing couple.”

Nancy felt a blush creep over her cheeks. “Thanks, Mick.”

“So you want to snoop around Nakamura Incorporated, eh?” Mick said. “But why?”

“This is absolutely top secret—for your ears only, okay?” Nancy said in a low voice. Then she told him about finding Midori at Mad Dog's studio and repeated everything Midori had told her about Ken and Connor.

When she had finished, Mick appeared even more astonished than before. “Ken Nakamura and Connor Drake are pulling off some scam involving a painting? That's incredible.”

“Why incredible?” Nancy asked.

Mick shrugged. “Ken always struck me as such a straight arrow. He's already loaded. Plus I had the impression that he and Connor didn't get along too well.” He hesitated. “Actually, that's not right. It's Ken and his
uncle
who don't seem to get along, and I just figured that Connor, being Mr. Nakamura's assistant, wouldn't be one of Ken's favorite people, either.”

“Ken doesn't get along with his uncle?” Nancy repeated, puzzled.

“At a couple of meetings they've had disagreements about deals,” Mick said. “They don't seem to see eye to eye on things.”

The waiter came by with their sushi. It was arranged on boat-shaped bamboo platters and garnished with paper-thin lemon slices.

“So what do you think this painting business can be about?” Mick asked Nancy as they started in on the sushi.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Nancy said. “What are the usual art-related crimes? Smuggling, theft, forgery—”

“Maybe the painting is a fake,” Mick suggested. “That would explain why Connor freaked out when he saw Midori studying it. He might have figured an ex-art student would be able to tell an imitation from the real thing.”

“That's a possibility,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “So you won't mind helping me out, Mick? I know it's kind of odd, having to pose as my boyfriend and all.”

Mick reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Why would I mind? Posing as your boyfriend will be great.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed each finger lightly. “See? I'm having fun already,” he added, grinning mischievously.

Nancy reluctantly pulled her hand away and
tried to ignore the racing of her heart. Was this crazy plan going to work? she wondered. How could she just pretend to be Mick's girlfriend when a small part of her wanted it for real? And what about Ned, who was there for her back in the States?

“So, when can I come by your office?” Nancy asked, trying to keep her voice level. “The sooner, the better.”

“Tonight?” Mick said. “Why don't you come around five, say, to meet me for dinner? A lot of the employees leave at four thirty, so things should be pretty quiet by then.”

“That sounds perfect,” Nancy replied.

Mick gave her a lazy smile. “It's a date.”

• • •

The Nakamura Incorporated offices occupied several floors of a building in the posh neighborhood of Akasaka. The reception area on the sixth floor, where Mick had told Nancy to ask for him, was decorated in modern Japanese style, with teak walls, gray slate floors, and sleek black leather couches. There was a miniature goldfish pond in one corner, complete with a tiny waterfall.

It was exactly five o'clock. As Nancy waited for Mick, she listened to the soothing sound of the trickling water and felt her eyelids start to close. Her jet lag was catching up with her.

“Nancy!”

Her eyelids flew open. Mick was standing in front of her, his arms outstretched. “Oh, hi, Mick,” she murmured.

Mick lifted Nancy by the hands, and before she could stop him he was hugging her tightly. “You look beat, darling,” he said sympathetically. “Do you want to cancel our date?”

Nancy started to pull away from him, but then realized that the receptionist was watching them. Oh, boy, she thought, putting her arms around Mick's neck and hugging him back. What am I getting myself into?

When they finally separated, Nancy smiled weakly at him. “Of course I don't want to cancel our date,
darling.
I've been looking forward to it all day.”

“Great.” Mick took her hand and led her through a set of double doors. “I'll give you the VIP tour first,” he said in a low voice. “The layout is pretty typical—a circular hallway, offices all around the perimeter of the circle, and two conference rooms inside the circle.”

He pointed out a long line of video monitors in the hallway. They were flashing codes and numbers. “Stock activity in all the major markets of the world,” he explained.

“There aren't too many people here—just as you said,” Nancy noted as they walked.

“I think just about everybody's gone except for the head honchos,” Mick replied. “Connor, Mr. Nakamura,
and Ken are in the executive conference room with some clients.”

Nancy's eyes lit up. This would be the perfect opportunity to search Ken and Connor's offices.

Mick glanced around, made sure no one was nearby, then whispered, “So what have you and George been up to since I saw you at lunch?”

“We've been trying to track down a painting,” Nancy whispered back. “George and I went to the library and came up with a list of Impressionists and Postimpressionists whose last names end in the letter
T.”

“And who did you come up with?” Mick prodded.

“Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Edouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot—just to name a few,” Nancy replied. “George is over at Mad Dog's right now. She's running them by Midori, to see if any of them rings a bell.”

“Have you told Mari about her sister yet?” Mick asked.

Nancy nodded. “I talked to her this afternoon. She was really glad to hear that Midori's okay, but she wasn't happy about all the secrecy. I made her swear not to tell anybody anything, though, or to try to contact Midori.”

“So she doesn't know about Ken and Connor?” Mick said.

“No,” Nancy said. “Midori wanted it that way. If you run into Mari, don't say a word.”

“Understood.” Mick peered at his watch. “Listen, Nancy—can I leave you alone for about fifteen minutes? I promised one of our clients to give her a call.”

“No problem,” Nancy said. “You said Ken and Connor were in a meeting, right? Just show me their offices, and I'll take it from there.”

Mick explained how to find them. “And mine is this one here,” he finished, pointing. “I'll see you in a little while. Be careful, okay?”

“I'll be fine,” Nancy reassured him.

Fortunately, there was no one around the two offices. Nancy decided to search Ken's first. She noticed a framed photograph of Midori on his desk. It struck her as surprising that he'd kept it after what had happened.

Working efficiently, Nancy went through some papers and files. She then began going through his Rolodex, hoping to find the name of a gallery that might be linked to the painting. All the entries were in Japanese and were hard for Nancy to decipher.

Then she got a hunch and headed for Connor's office.

Just as Nancy had guessed, Connor's Rolodex was in English. “Bingo,” she said softly, and began flipping through the cards.

Halfway through the Rolodex, she found entries for two auction houses: Minamoto Auctions and Nobu Auctioneers Limited. Thinking they
might handle art, she quickly jotted down their addresses and phone numbers and stuffed the piece of paper into her pocket.

She had returned to the Rolodex and started on the
O
entries when she was interrupted by a deep male voice.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked in Japanese.

Nancy's hand froze on the Rolodex. She turned slowly. Ken was standing in the doorway.

N
ANCY GAVE
K
EN
an apologetic smile. “Hi,” she said sweetly. “I know this looks odd. But this is the first opportunity I've had to go through Mick's Rolodex without him hanging around.”

Ken stopped in his tracks. “Mick's Rolodex!” he burst out. “That isn't Mick's Rolodex—it's Connor's!”

Nancy gasped. “You mean I'm not in Mick's office? Oh, no, I feel so stupid. I guess the circular hallway got me all mixed up.”

“Mick's in the interns' office four doors down,” Ken said, then stared at her suspiciously. “Why would you want to go through his Rolodex?”

Nancy giggled nervously. “It's kind of embarrassing, but—oh, well, I guess I can tell you. You see, Mick and I have been seeing each other for a
while—long distance, of course. We met in Geneva, you know.”

“No, I didn't know,” Ken replied coolly.

“But for a while now I've suspected that he had another girlfriend,” Nancy went on, adding a hurt edge to her voice. “I wanted to find out for sure. I thought that her name and phone number might be in his Rolodex.”

Ken was silent for a moment. “So this has nothing to do with your search for Midori?” he asked finally.

“Of course not!” Nancy protested. “Why would anyone here know anything about Midori's disappearance?” She watched Ken's reaction before going on. His expression never changed.

“By the way, what are you doing in Connor's office?” Nancy asked casually, trying to shift the focus away from herself. “Are you looking for something, too?”

Ken blushed. “Of course not. He asked me to meet him here.” He peered at his watch. “My uncle must be keeping him for some reason.”

“Well, I'd better run,” Nancy said, heading for the door. “Mick will be wondering about me.” She paused at Ken's side. “Listen, could we keep this little incident between us? I don't want Mick to know what I've been up to.”

Not waiting for Ken's reply, she breezed out the door—only to run smack into Connor.

The stocky, red-haired Englishman stepped back and glared at her. “What are you—”