Nancy Clue Mysteries 2 - The Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend (20 page)

"Okay!" Lauren cried eagerly. "I'll read about ants."

Cherry thought that sounded nice. Ants were so industrious.

"It says here that an ant is made of three sections, and if it's ripped apart, each section can go on living for a short time. After the head is cut off, the jaws can go on biting; the middle part, with its six legs, can go on running and kicking, and the rear can stab enemies with its stinger. Here's a color photograph of a ferocious battle between a red ant and a black ant," Lauren leaned over the seat to show Cherry. "The red ant doesn't even have a head, and it's still fighting! Look, its head is lying next to it on the ground! Do you see?"

Cherry felt a little woozy. Although she was a nurse and saw medical emergencies everyday, she had to admit she was a bit squeamish when it came to bugs; although, if need be, she would use her medical skills to nurse one back to health. She just hoped that never happened!

"That's very nice, Lauren," Cherry said weakly. "Why don't I read aloud?" she suggested. She opened Woman's Home Companion and scanned the index for an interesting article. "Oh, look, there's a nice story about Mamie Eisenhower's fall wardrobe."

"I don't care if Mamie Eisenhower walks around naked," Midge declared. "Isn't there anything more interesting in there?"

Cherry was a little hurt by Midge's remark until she remembered Velma's warning. She scanned the magazine for some thing that would please Midge. "Here's an article with over thirty-five new hairstyle tips!" Cherry cried. She looked at Midge. Midge frowned. Cherry folded the page back so she could come back to it later. After all, she was always interested in finding new ways to style her stubborn, curly locks.

"Here's an interesting article," she said. "It's a scientific look into the future by a panel of experts. Does that please you?" Cherry joked.

Midge lit a cigarette and grinned. "Read on," she said.

"Twenty years from now we'll preserve food by atomic-ray sterilization," Cherry read aloud.

"Twenty years from now, we'll be able to buy psychoanalysis insurance to protect us against mental illness," she continued. "Like kleptomania and lying," she added, sneaking a peek at Lauren to see if she got the hint. Lauren only looked bored.

"Twenty years from now, we'll have a mood counter, like a Geiger counter, that tells you what your husband's disposition is when you want to discuss a new hat," Cherry continued.

"I could use one of those," Velma teased. Midge groaned good-naturedly. "What else?" she asked. Cherry was pleased to see she had helped Midge get her mind off her troubles.

"Twenty years from now, men will help with the housework even more than they do already! " she read the last of the list.

The girls had a good, long laugh.

"Goodness, the future certainly looks very exciting, doesn't it?" Cherry cried.

Lauren yawned. "I can hardly wait," she said sleepily. She put her head on Velma's shoulder and fell fast asleep.

Midge put her head on Velma's other shoulder and stretched out as best she could in the crowded back seat. She, too, promptly fell asleep.

Cherry finished reading quietly. She didn't care what anyone else thought, she was interested in Mamie Eisenhower's fall wardrobe. "I might pick up some fashion hints," she decided. "Besides, Mamie seems like a genuinely nice person, although I'm not sure I care for her hairdo."

Midge awoke with a start. "Where are we?" she yawned, looking over at Nancy, who was staring grimly ahead, her eyes fixed on the road. They were the only travelers on the lonely highway. Midge gave a little shiver and slipped on her leather jacket.

Cherry and Midge had switched places hours earlier when Cherry realized she was too sleepy to be an effective helpmate to Nancy. "Whoever sits in the passenger seat has a big responsibility, Midge," Cherry had cautioned her chum. "There are maps to read, hankies to dispense, and one has to keep the driver alert and entertained!"

After agreeing to assume Cherry's duties, Midge had promptly fallen fast asleep. The last thing Midge remembered was Cherry's squeal of delight as they crossed the Mississippi River. "Now I've seen everything," Cherry had declared after they had crossed the wide, wild river with its stout dikes and thick masses of foliage. "Look at those powerful, modern barges lashed together, piled high with coal. Or is that yellow sulphur?" she had cried excitedly as their headlights illuminated a typical river scene for all to see.

"What a pleasant, cool place to be after a long trip on a dusty road," Cherry had then murmured before falling asleep.

Nancy had been content to drive for a while without benefit of Cherry's cheery chatter, but now she was a little lonely. She was glad Midge was awake.

"We're almost to River Depths," Nancy answered back, taking care to keep her voice low so as not to wake the others, who were sound asleep.

Midge checked her watch. She was surprised to find it was almost three a.m. "What happened to Cherry's driving plan?" Midge joked, pretending to be alarmed. "We're off schedule! Seriously, Nancy, aren't you sick of being behind the wheel?"

Nancy shook her head. "I'm wide awake," she assured Midge. "Besides, I know this route better than anyone. Illinois has some pretty treacherous roads, especially in the dark."

"I'm telling Cherry you drove while fatigued," Midge said in a teasing whisper. "And I'll just bet you haven't even stopped once to stretch."

Nancy stifled a giggle and offered Midge a cigarette from the pack in her lap. Midge accepted gratefully.

"Does Cherry know you smoke?" Midge gasped when she realized Nancy was holding a lit cigarette.

"I was smoking the night we met, but Cherry was probably too drunk-oops!" Nancy clapped one hand over her mouth. "I mean, it was probably too dark for her to notice."

Midge grinned and lit a cigarette. "I had a feeling you two weren't telling the whole truth about how you met," she said. "That little story about Cherry's spending the night tracking you down is a lie, isn't it? How did you two spend that night?"

Nancy had the good grace to blush. She tried to change the subject, and quickly.

"Oh, look!" she cried excitedly, pointing to a large, welllit roadway sign, set back at the side of the road, surrounded by stately Sycamores.

WELCOME TO RIVER DEPTHS "HOME OF GIRL DETECTIVE NANCY CLUE"

Midge was impressed and, for the first time, a little relieved. Maybe Nancy was right. Maybe everything would be okay. "I guess people here really do like her," Midge thought.

"My house is in one of the older suburbs at the far end of town," Nancy explained. "We won't pass through downtown now, but later, if you like, I'll take you on an official tour. It's really an attractive place, with lots of fine old homes. And you'll never be wanting for entertainment here, either. We've got a grand theater that dates back to the turn of the century and a very good library with all the latest novels. And two cinemas.

"In a couple of days, we can all drive up to Lake Merrimen and cool off. My chums Joe and Frank Hardly summer there with their Uncle Nelly. There's a beautiful lake where you can participate in all sorts of water sports."

Midge laughed. "I'll worm the truth out of you sooner or later about how you and Cherry met," she promised. "You might as well come clean now. Besides, you know Cherry will spill the beans as soon as I lean on her. Why, you know she can't keep a secret."

Nancy chatted on about River Depths, hoping to divert Midge's attention from the topic at hand. She had promised Cherry not to breathe a word of their steamy first encounter during their recent adventure in San Francisco!

She busied herself pointing out interesting landmarks. "There's the famous River Depths Sanitarium," she said, as they passed a stately white stone mansion set back among elm trees. She turned a teasing eye to Midge. "That's where the famous movie star Darcy New is staying," she chuckled, adding, "Luckily, I once mentioned we had a sanitarium in River Depths so you could use it in your tale to throw those reporters off my trail!"

Nancy filled Midge in on more details about the institution. "It used to be the Frenshaw mansion, and until twenty-two years ago, people from town went there regularly to perform skits and otherwise lift the spirits of the patients. Then suddenly the ghostly figure of a woman in white began appearing on the grounds, accompanied by the most ghastly screams," she reported. "And since then, no one's dared venture there."

Nancy continued. "A few years ago I called and asked Head Psychiatrist Doctor Fraud if I could investigate the sightings, and somehow Father found out, and he refused to let me go there. He said he feared for my safety." She shivered. "I tried to sneak onto the grounds, but was driven back by two fierce dogs.

"Oh, look!" she exclaimed, pointing out a large brick building set back among majestic maple trees. "There's River Depths High. It's a very attractive campus, don't you think? My chums George and Bess work there now. George is the girl's physical education instructor and Bess heads the home economics department."

Midge thought the campus, with its spacious, manicured grounds and grand marble buildings, looked more like a university than a high school. "When did you graduate?" Midge asked.

"Oh, we didn't go there!" Nancy cried. "Bess, George, and I attended Miss Edger's and Miss Cramp's School for Girls in nearby Lakeview, a private girls' school specializing in Manners, Deportment, and Civilized Culture.

"We're now passing the Park of Roses, where Hannah wins first prize for her beautiful blooms every year at the Festival of Flowers. Oh, dear. I hope the gardener's remembered to prune her rose bushes and trim her morning glories," Nancy fretted. "How dreadful if she had to come home to withering vines!

"Mr. and Mrs. Tickerson live down this way!" Nancy exclaimed as they passed Old River Road. "Poor Ted Tickerson. It was so tragic the way he died!"

"Do tell," Midge begged.

Nancy filled Midge in on the unfortunate accident at the River Depths Men's Club that had claimed the life of Ted Tickerson, her frequent escort at many country club dances, and River Depth High's most outstanding quarterback.

"A stuffed moosehead unexpectedly fell off the wall and right onto poor Ted's head, killing him instantly!" Nancy cried. "It happened during Ted's induction into the club. It was a sudden shock!

"He was certainly a fun escort for high school dances, even if I did have to karate-chop him a few times when he got fresh," Nancy remembered with a little grin. "He had an awfully pretty sister," she added wistfully. "Her name was Theresa, but everyone called her Terry. Boy, she was sweet."

Midge grinned and lit another cigarette. "How sweet?" she wondered aloud.

Nancy blushed when she remembered how many times she had agreed to double-date with the Tickersons, knowing all the while that the first chance the girls got, they would ditch their dates and spend the entire evening giggling together in the powder room.

"She left town suddenly a few years ago," Nancy added sadly. "I heard she joined the Navy." It was obvious to Midge that Terry Tickerson still occupied a very special place in Nancy's heart!

"Tell me more about this Terry girl," Midge urged.

"Nothing to tell," Nancy said briskly as she made a sudden sharp right turn into a circular, tree-lined driveway and brought the car to a halt in front of a stately, three-story brick home, circled with tidy hedges.

"We're home," she said, putting the car in park and turning off the motor. Nancy grew suddenly quiet. The animated, chatty girl of a few minutes ago had disappeared. In her stead was a girl shuddering in dread.

"I don't want to awaken Hannah," Nancy worried aloud. Suddenly, she wanted to be anyplace but here!

"We don't have to go in," Midge said softly. "We can go to a motel. I can come back later and get what you need."

"No, I must go in," Nancy said firmly. "I must see Hannah." She bounded out of the car, a flashlight in one hand and her keys in the other. She raced up the stairs and crossed the wide front porch with a determined stride. To her surprise, her key wouldn't fit in the lock!

"That's odd," she murmured, trying the key over and over until she determined that there was no hope of opening the door. Just then her flashlight flickered and went out. "Drat! " Nancy exclaimed, remembering that she had neglected to add batteries to her shopping list. She hated being caught without fresh batteries in her purse!

She turned around and bumped smack into Midge.

"Oops!" she exclaimed. "Midge, my key won't work." Nancy suddenly remembered Hannah kept a key to the back door under a flower pot, and ran to check. But there was no key under any of Hannah's begonias.

Next they tried the cellar door, but it, too, was locked tight. And the windows were secured as well! Nancy was just about to pound on the door and awaken Hannah when she realized she had lost sight of Midge. "Midge, where are you?" Nancy called softly.

"Over here," Midge called back. "I'm stuck."

Midge was dangling halfway through a small cellar window that hadn't been locked. "You're headed for Hannah's canning room," Nancy whispered, giving her a shove. "There's about a ten-foot drop onto a large oak table. Careful, there might be-" But she was too late. From the sound of jars crashing to the ground, Nancy knew that Midge had indeed landed on Hannah's canning table.