Captive Witness (10 page)

Suddenly, Bess and George spotted Nancy coming toward them. “Nancy!” the cousins chimed simultaneously and raced toward her.

“I see our bus driver is still at it.” Nancy grinned.

“All the way from Salzburg.” George groaned.

“Did he run off the road again?”

“Not once but many times,” Bess said. “It was awful. Once he got so angry because someone compared Beethoven to Mozart that he actually stopped the bus, ran outside, and shouted into the valley, ‘Beethoven is a bore. Mozart is sublime.’ Over and over. The professor had to go out and drag him back into the bus.”

As soon as Nancy had seen Bess and George off to their rooms, she turned to Professor Bagley and the ever-present Eric Nagy. They went to a nearby sidewalk café, and after ordering hot chocolate and croissants with butter and jam, Nancy related her recent experiences, including the fact that Kessler would probably agree to trade himself for the ten children.

Dr. Bagley’s face drained white. “We can’t let that happen,” he said angrily. “Kessler can’t go back.”

“I know,” Nancy said under her breath. “Have you received your final instructions regarding the time and place of the crossing?”

“Not a word, but I expect to receive information today. I’ve been told to stay around the hotel and keep myself visible. By the way, the cat burgler struck at last. ”

Nancy’s eyes twinkled with excitement. “You mean they took the bait?”

“They certainly did. Last night, I left the false document in a sealed envelope at the bottom of my musette bag. I had folded the message twice and dropped a few grains of salt in the middle of it. This morning, I opened the envelope and the salt was gone. Someone did an excellent job of unsealing the envelope, reading the contents, and resealing it perfectly, but didn’t notice the salt.”

“Well, I must say that was a bit more subtle than the business at Munich airport,” Nancy remarked. “Of course, I suppose if the theft had worked there, you probably would’ve found the bag later, thrown away somewhere, with certain things missing but the envelope left intact just to make it look like a regular robbery.”

“Good deduction, but that would have been equally clumsy of them. Anyway, now that they have the information, all we have to do is wait for our contact to surface with the correct details.”

Ned, who had gone to his room, returned shortly to join them, engaging in banter with Eric as they vied for Nancy’s attention. Dr. Bagley watched in amusement wearing his owl look.

Suddenly, Nancy heard a man’s voice coming from the table directly behind the professor. “Don’t turn around, Dr. Bagley,” he said softly, but urgently. “Pretend I’m not here. I am your contact. Listen carefully. We are now free to tell you where you will find the true instructions regarding the rendezvous with the children. Look—”

The voice stopped, choking in a half-strangled sound. Nancy whirled out of her chair to see the man fall in the throes of a heart seizure. She took the initiative, helping Ned and the professor roll the man on his back and loosen his clothes. Leaning on her extensive training in first aid and paramedic techniques, she took his pulse and bent to listen for his heartbeat.

“I don’t hear anything,” she cried.

Quickly, she assumed the correct position for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while Ned, who had assisted Nancy in similar emergencies, administered chest pounding.

In seconds, the man was breathing again and his heart began to beat. “Keep him warm,” Nancy ordered as some hotel employees appeared with a blanket. “I hope that someone has called an ambulance. ”

Indeed, someone had, and as they waited for its arrival, the victim began to regain consciousness though he was paralyzed on the left side of his body.

He tried to speak but could make only indistinct, gurgling sounds. Nancy tried to quiet him, but his eyes rolled wildly toward Eric Nagy.

“What’s he trying to tell us?” Dr. Bagley said anxiously.

But the man’s words were so garbled, neither Nancy, Ned, Eric, nor the professor could decipher them.

“It’s a shame,” Nancy said as the ambulance came. The man tried to raise himself, pointing at Eric before falling back on the stretcher, exhausted. “I know he’s trying to tell us something about Eric, but what?” the girl muttered.

“I have no idea,” Dr. Bagley whispered back, “but it’s impossible to discuss secret business with fifty people gaping over our shoulders.”

“Someone ought to stay with him every single minute until he’s able to communicate,” Nancy remarked.

“I agree, but I don’t think—” the professor started to say as the doctor in charge interrupted the conversation.

He complimented Nancy and her friends for saving the man’s life while attendants carefully placed the patient in the ambulance.

“Thank you,” Nancy said. “I’m his niece and I would like to accompany him if I may.”

Ned gasped and the professor looked up, somewhat less startled.

“I’ll call you from the hospital,” the young detective told her companions as the ambulance doors closed and the vehicle moved off.

What no one had noticed, however, was the small, black car that had pulled away from the curb and followed the ambulance. In the front seat with evil grins on their faces were Herr Gutterman and Herr Burger.

In the ambulance, Nancy looked through the man’s wallet for some clue regarding his identity, so that should he die, contact might be made with the people who had sent him. His name was Robert Haberman and his address was in West Berlin. That was the only information Nancy found.

At the hospital, after a prolonged examination, the doctors told Nancy that Herr Haberman was doing fine, that the paralysis was only temporary and he would soon recover.

Nancy begged to stay at his bedside because it was important for her to speak with him, if only for a few seconds, when he regained his speech or could hold a pencil to write a message. The doctor agreed, and Nancy sat quietly next to Herr Haberman’s bed.

“I admire you, Herr Robert Haberman,” Nancy said softly. “But how I wish you would wake up soon. ”

Remembering her promise to call Professor Bagley and Ned, she stepped into the corridor but froze instantly at the sight of Herr Gutterman arguing with a hospital guard.

“But he is my brother,” Gutterman was pleading.

Nancy hesitated. “That man is not related to us at all,” she declared, hurrying forward to confront Gutterman.

“Related to us?”
Gutterman bellowed.
“See here,
my good fellow, this woman is not related to that patient at all!”

“I bet he can’t tell you his brother’s name,” Nancy said quickly, watching Gutterman flounder.

“All right,” the guard said, “what is his name?”

“He uses many names,” Gutterman went on. “His real name is Gutterman, of course.”

“That’s enough,” the guard replied, taking Herr Gutterman by the arm and twisting his wrist just enough to keep him under control. “Now, please leave this hospital.”

With Gutterman out of the way, at least for the moment, Nancy dashed to a public phone and called the professor’s room. Ned answered.

“We’re all sitting here trying to figure out what to do. Did our friend revive?”

“No,” Nancy said, “but he’ll be all right, thank goodness. I’m afraid, though, he might not be able to talk to us for days, and we don’t have that much time. Also, Gutterman’s been trying to force his way in here. I got rid of him for a little while but I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t blow everything for us.”

“Well, something’s got to give. Wait. The professor wants to talk with you.”

“Hello, Nancy,”

“Hello, Dr. Bagley. Do you have any ideas what we should do next?”

“Not really. I was hoping our contact man had a backup who would fill in for him in case something unexpected like this happened. No luck, though. We did have another strange incident, too. Somebody went off with Eric’s wheelchair. This time it wasn’t by mistake. He actually tried to steal it.”

“What?”

“It’s true. Somebody grabbed it and tried to get out the front door with it, but the doorman’s pretty tough. When he went after the thief, well, the fellow let go of the chair and just ran.”

“Did you see him?”

“No. And the doorman couldn’t give much of a description either.”

Suddenly, bells began tripping off in Nancy’s head. Eric’s wheelchair! When Herr Haberman suffered his attack, he kept looking at Eric, trying to point to him, to say something. But what?

“Ned!” Nancy cried. “Go straight to Eric. Guard him. Guard that wheelchair—with your life if necessary. Forget about sending anybody to this hospital to relieve me. I’m coming right back.”

She raced past the friendly guard, almost knocking him down in her haste and calling an apology at the same time, and headed outside. She leaped into a cab and begged the driver to take her to the hotel as fast as the speed limit allowed. Once there, she ignored the stately, lumbering elevators and flew up the three flights of stairs to the professor’s door.

Ned called out. “Who’s there?”

“Me!” she panted. “Let me in, please.”

As soon as she was inside, she rushed toward Eric. “Please, can you get out of your wheelchair and sit on the bed for a while?” Nancy requested.

When the young man complied, she asked Ned to find some tools, including a screwdriver, pliers, and a hammer. “Oh, yes, and order another wheelchair right away.”

“Nancy,” Dr. Bagley said, moving toward her, “you’re going too fast for all of us. Slow down, and tell us what you’re up to.”

Nancy pointed to Eric’s chair eagerly. “The message must be hidden in there—all the instructions for rescuing the children. We’ve been carrying the information ever since we left the States, but they didn’t want us or the enemy to know.”

As the young detective’s revelation settled on everyone, all three men responded with equal excitement. Tools and a substitute wheelchair were ordered promptly, and the professor and Eric began fiddling with the metal frame, trying to unscrew the bolts with their bare hands.

Within ten minutes, the entire chair had been stripped down to its components. Even the rubber had been removed from the wheels on the chance the instructions were concealed underneath. But they weren’t. Despite all their efforts, there was no trace of anything.

Nancy clapped her hands to her forehead, holding them there in frustration. “Oh, I feel so foolish, and I was so positive!”

“Don’t blame yourself, Nancy,” Dr. Bagley comforted her. “We all thought you were on the right track. ”

“But now poor Mr.—I mean, Herr—Haberman is still the only one who can help us. Somebody should go back and stand guard again.”

“I’ll do it,” Ned offered.

“Just a minute, Ned,” Eric said, clearing his throat. “I’ve been thinking about the wheelchair seat. I noticed a little while ago that it’s slightly uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, there’s a tiny lump in it. ”

He pointed to the leather seat, which had been cut off the chair but otherwise lay intact on the floor.

“The seat!” Nancy cried. “Oh, of course! I could kiss you, Eric!”

“Better not,” Ned replied in a half-kidding tone. “But somebody had better open that seat. Here, let me.”

Taking out his penknife, Ned inserted the blade in the leather seam, slitting the stitches holding the two pieces together. Out fell a small, thick brown envelope.

Nancy tore open the flap and then quickly handed the packet to the professor. Dr. Bagley adjusted his glasses and started to read. He became so engrossed in the message that he forgot to read it aloud. Instead, he stood there, mumbling softly under his breath, making little exclamations while the three young people swelled with curiosity.

Suddenly, Dr. Bagley looked up, aware of his oversight, and apologized profusely. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. This is so fascinating,” he said. “The plan is to let our enemies think the crossing will be made on the Czech frontier while in fact the children will be escaping over the Hungarian border.

“There is a small, detailed map here that indicates the exact place between Austria and Hungary where the children will be brought and from which the final move will be accomplished. ”

Everyone was jubilant. “If we can just get those kids out safely,” Ned said, “it will be worth the whole expedition. Of course, it would be super if Nancy could find the
Captive Witness
film, too. But the main issue is those kids and saving Mr. Kessler from a fate worse than death.”

Nancy remained quiet on the subject, though deep down it saddened her to think she might fail to recover the film. After all, it represented something very important to its creator.

As she pondered the idea, a knock on the door interrupted. It was a soft, insistent knock that somehow made everyone feel there was something urgent waiting on the other side.