Illusions of Evil (3 page)

“Would she go so far as to sabotage your act?” Nancy asked.

“Misha thinks so,” said Adriana. “I made the mistake of mentioning Freda to him, and now he thinks she's behind what happened tonight.”

Nancy frowned. “That seems a little farfetched. But we have to include her as a suspect. Maybe she had an accomplice inside the park—someone with access to the tank. Any ideas?”

Adriana shook her head, then turned at the sound of the whistling teakettle. She turned off the stove, then rubbed her temples and said, “I'm sorry, Nancy. I'm grateful for your help, but
suddenly I'm very tired. Perhaps we can continue this tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Nancy replied, standing up. “You've had a terrible night. But don't worry. I'm going to get to the bottom of this.”

“Thank you,” Adriana said, gripping Nancy's hand.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Nancy said, and closed the door behind her.

Even though it was ten o'clock, the park was still crammed with visitors. Nancy strolled along the midway on her way to the roller coaster, her mind still on Adriana's problems. But as she approached the Typhoon, she snapped out of her reverie. She heard screams. People were rushing past her.

“What's happening?” she asked the man beside her.

She didn't wait for an answer. Looking up, she saw that one car in a train had derailed on a banked curve of the coaster. The cars behind it were still on the track. The two passengers in the lead car were in trouble, though. Their car had jumped the track and was dangling at least thirty feet above the ground.

There was a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach as Nancy pushed her way through the crowd at the foot of the ride. When she was close enough to get a good look at the couple still seated in the front car, she gasped.

It was Ned and George!

N
ED
!” N
ANCY SCREAMED
. “George!”

They were suspended in the car nearly upside down. Only their safety straps and a bar kept them from plummeting to the ground.

People around Nancy were pointing and murmuring, their faces full of fear. She noticed that the second train of cars had avoided disaster and was stopped at a low place on the coaster. Its passengers were already scrambling down to safety. Then she saw a man halfway up the rise, where the first train had hit trouble. He was climbing the tracks. In minutes he reached the jeopardized train and bent over to the passengers in the last car.

Nancy heard sirens wail in the distance, but she wasn't about to sit still while her friends' lives
were at stake. She pushed her way through the crowd. In seconds she reached the steel latticework side of the coaster under the spot where the lead car had gone over the edge. As she grabbed onto a crossbeam and started to climb up, she heard someone call her name.

“Nancy! Wait!”

It was Adriana. The park owner was running toward her, her black hair flying out of its barrettes. When she arrived, Adriana was breathless. “You had just left when my stage manager told me there had been an accident. I raced over here.” She looked up at the roller coaster and said, “I'm going with you.”

Before Nancy could say a word, Adriana was climbing up beside her. The latticework beams provided footing and handholds. They were both out of breath when they reached the top and scrambled over the guardrail onto the tracks.

The wind whipped Nancy's hair into her eyes. She pushed it away, crossed the tracks to the side where George and Ned had gone over, then leaned over the rail so that she could see the car in peril. In it, George and Ned were like a pair of wide-eyed puppets, frozen in place, clutching the steel bar in front of them. Nancy tried to swallow her fear and get their attention. “Hey, Ned, George, don't worry—we'll get you down!”

Ned turned toward her. He was bleeding from a nasty gash in his forehead.

Just then Adriana nudged Nancy. She turned and saw that the man who'd climbed up the tracks was helping the passengers in the last three cars out of their safety harnesses. The burly man wore a gray worksuit with a Riverfront Park insignia above the breast pocket and a red bandanna around his neck.

“That's Rand Hagan, my chief engineer and ride supervisor,” Adriana explained, breathless.

On the tracks behind Hagan, Nancy could see that other gray-suited park workers had followed Hagan up the tracks. Like a human chain, they were now guiding the frightened riders who'd been released down the steep slope.

Nancy and Adriana turned back to the first car, which was connected to the rest of the train by a solid metal hitch. Nancy noticed the heavy-duty hosing that lined the tracks firmly gripping the front wheels of the cars; she was relieved to see that the coaster's brake system had apparently worked. The roller coaster wasn't going anywhere. What about George and Ned, dangling precariously in the car that had gone over the edge?

Nancy thought fast, then lowered herself to the foot-wide metal easement bordering the tracks. Lying on the easement and gripping the guardrail with one hand, she reached down toward her friends. Her hand touched the car just behind George's head, but she could reach no farther.

“Hold on,” came a gruff voice behind her.

Nancy pulled herself back and saw that Rand Hagan had come to her side.

“What are we going to do?” Adriana asked tensely as Nancy carefully stood up.

“If I lie down and lean over, I can reach them,” Hagan replied. “But I'll need your help. You two have to hold my feet.” He lowered himself so that his stomach was on the metal easement and the toes of his boots were wedged underneath the steel lip of the tracks. Nancy grabbed one of Hagan's legs with both her hands and held on. Adriana clutched Hagan's other leg and did the same.

“Okay, kids,” he said, “I'm coming to get you. When I start unbuckling your harness, hang on to the bar. For a couple of seconds, until I can get a grip on you, that's all that'll be keeping you from falling. I'll pull you out just as soon as I can.”

Nancy could only clutch onto Hagan and hope. The seconds passed like hours, and a thin film of sweat gathered on her forehead. Next to her, Adriana was ashen.

“Just hang on to that bar,” she heard Hagan say again.

“Got it,” came George's voice, weak but clear.

Several minutes later Nancy felt Hagan's body contract as he pulled George up and over the back of the car and onto the tracks. Even as her friend struggled over the edge and collapsed
against the car behind them, Nancy couldn't look up. She didn't dare let go of Hagan.

“You okay, George?” was all she could say.

A feeling of relief shot through her when George replied, “Yup.”

Nancy could feel Hagan's body jolt when he caught hold of Ned. She knew his job couldn't be easy—Ned weighed about one hundred and seventy pounds.

“Got him,” the ride manager called, panting, then slowly hauled Ned up. Shouts of joy rose from the crowd below. Nancy stood up, threw her arms around Ned, and held tight.

“We made it,” Ned said faintly. “I thought we might be goners for a minute there.”

Nancy touched the cut on Ned's forehead gently. “What happened?” she asked.

“He hit the bar,” George explained. “What a klutz, right?”

Ned laughed, and Nancy swung around and hugged George. “What about you? Are you okay?” she asked.

George smiled bravely and said, “I might have done something to my foot, but I'm not sure.”

“We have to get these two to the hospital right away,” Adriana broke in.

“I won't argue with that,” Ned said, touching the wound on his forehead. “But tell me one thing—how do we get down?”

“Rand will lead the way,” Adriana said firmly,
then touched the ride manager on the shoulder. “I don't know how to thank you for what you did.”

Hagan only nodded before leading the way down the tracks.

• • •

Two hours later Nancy was still in the emergency room of Conklin Falls General Hospital, waiting for her friends to finish with their examinations. Adriana had just arrived, and the two of them were sitting on hard chairs, watching the late news on the television in the waiting area. A local news team had arrived during Ned and George's rescue and had taped the whole thing. Seeing the segment replayed before her eyes made Nancy's stomach twist.

Shots of Adriana conferring with the Conklin Falls sheriff and fire chief followed. They'd arrived just as the group made it down to safety. Then the reporter held the microphone to Adriana. “How do you explain this terrible accident,” the man asked.

“I have no idea,” she responded firmly. “My chief engineer checks everything every morning. We're extremely careful. The roller coaster was in top-notch condition.”

The reporter went on to explain how Rand Hagan had heroically saved George and Ned with the help of Nancy and Adriana but then reminded the viewers about Freda Clarke's campaign
against the park. “Are the rides at Riverfront safe for our kids?” he asked. “Only the state inspectors will be able to say for sure—but until then many believe that the park ought to be closed.”

Adriana shook her head disgustedly and got up to switch off the television. “They made it sound as if Riverfront was old and dangerous,” she said, “but the park is safe. I know it is.”

“You should call my father first thing tomorrow morning,” Nancy advised her.

“I definitely will,” Adriana agreed. “I want to know what he thinks about keeping Riverfront open until the state inspectors arrive.”

“When do you think they'll get here?” Nancy asked.

Adriana sighed. “They're notoriously slow, I'm afraid.”

“In the meantime do you mind if I do some investigating?” Nancy asked.

The magician narrowed her eyes. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking—that the ride might have been sabotaged?”

Nancy nodded gravely, then said, “I want to check it out in the morning.”

“Wonderful,” Adriana replied. “I'll have Rand Hagan help you. He knows the Typhoon backward and forward. And I've called a staff meeting for tomorrow at one. Can you make it?”

“Sure,” Nancy said.

“Rand worked for my uncle. He relied completely on the man, and I do, too,” she explained. “Rand was one of the few people I kept on when I took over the place.”

Just then Ned and George came through the swinging double doors of the emergency room. Ned's head was wrapped in a gauze bandage, and George's foot was encased in a plaster walking cast that came up to her ankle like a short boot.

“I can't believe it,” she said, her face bright red. “I broke my big toe! They usually don't set them, but it was such a bad break they had to. This cast doesn't come off for almost a month. No running, swimming, or basketball! What am I supposed to do with myself?”

Nancy forced herself to keep a straight face, then said, “Don't worry, George. I'll keep you busy.”

Her friend rolled her eyes.

“I'm just glad you're both able to walk out of here. How's your head, Ned?” Nancy asked.

“The doctor said I have a very slight concussion, but I feel okay,” Ned replied.

“Come on. I'll take you guys home,” Nancy said.

At that moment the swinging doors opened again, and a young woman in a lab coat emerged. She was holding a clipboard.

“I'm glad I caught you,” the woman said. “I'm
Dr. McGill.” Then she turned to Adriana and gave her a firm handshake. “I heard you were out here and wanted to meet you. I'm a really big fan.”

Adriana smiled. “Thank you so much for taking care of my friends. I'm sure they were in very good hands.”

“I hope you don't mind my asking,” Dr. McGill said, “but I know that the children here at the hospital would love it if you could perform for them sometime.”

Adriana clapped her hands together. “I'd love to!” she cried. “The sooner, the better.”

“Why not on Wednesday morning?” Dr. McGill suggested.

“Perfect,” said Adriana. “I'll be here at ten.”

Dr. McGill thanked Adriana, gave a few more words of advice to George and Ned, then went back into the emergency wing. Nancy, Ned, George, and Adriana headed for the exit.

As they walked through the exit door, a petite woman came rushing up the front path toward them. She was wearing a red sweat suit and had a halo of brown curls that bobbed when she came to a halt in front of them.

“Not so fast, Adriana Polidori,” the woman said, putting out a hand to stop the magician.

Adriana's green eyes widened in surprise.

“I saw what happened at Riverfront on the news,” the woman began. “But it didn't surprise
me. How could it, after what you did to my son?”

“For heaven's sake,” Adriana said, “I did nothing to your son. That was last summer, before I came here. And his injury was ruled an accident. You know that as well as I do.”