The Elusive Heiress

by Carolyn Keene

  “I know,” Nancy said, without adding any explanation. “Thank you for all your help.” She picked up her suitcase, the map, and keys. Once in the small car, she put the map on the seat beside her and set off through the warm afternoon, determined to find out what had happened to her father before the sun set.

  The country was as beautiful as her father had said in his letters, but Nancy was in no mood to enjoy it as she followed the ever- narrowing roads into the rugged country. It was very late in the afternoon when she finally found the sign that announced that Chain

  Creek Lodge was just three miles ahead down the rutted road.

  “Well, this is it,” Nancy said aloud to herself as she bounced along the road, not slowing her pace till she caught a glimpse of red-painted roof through the trees.

  Pulling off the road immediately, Nancy parked the car deep in the shadows of a grove of pines. Still in the car, she changed into a dark shirt and jeans; then she set off on toot toward the lodge, keeping carefully to the trees and brush so that no one inside would see her approach.

  It took quite a while to circle the entire building, but Nancy was rewarded by seeing two cars parked in the rear. One was an all-terrain vehicle, the second a car that appeared to be the twin of the one she’d rented—and bore the license number of the car her father had rented.

  Nancy retreated to the shadows of several small firs. “So he is here,” she whispered to herself. “But where?”

  As if in answer, a door opened at the rear of the lodge and a man came out. “Ready for dinner, Mr. Drew?” he asked, the sound carrying clearly in the still mountain air.

  Nancy started nervously and peered across the open area, seeing for the first time that there was, indeed, someone lying in one of the lounge chairs that sat on the stone terrace. To her horror, her father’s voice came dreamily from the chair. “I guess so. What do we have?” “I fixed the fish I caught this morning,” the man went on. “You want to eat out here?”

  “All right.” The answer was without interest—almost a singsong—and her father didn’t move.

  “I’ll go get your tray, then you have to take your sleeping pill and come inside.”

  “No more pills,” her father whined. “I’m so sleepy now. No more pills, please.”

  Nancy covered her mouth to keep from crying out. Her father was drugged and helpless! Somehow she had to free him!

  20. Happy Reunion

  Nancy moved around the building carefully, peeking in the windows, wondering if anyone else was inside. It seemed unlikely, since most of the furniture was covered with dust cloths and the only light shone from the kitchen.

  Pondering her next move, Nancy made her way back to the parking area and studied the two vehicles parked there. Not sure what she was going to do, but aware that they had to escape and as soon as possible, Nancy went to first one car, then the other, letting the air out of both rear tires on each vehicle.

  That should slow him up and keep him from coming after me, she told herself.

  From her right, she heard the man summoning her father to the small redwood table that sat in the middle of the terrace. She waited just out of sight till her father muttered something about being thirsty and the man went inside to get him some iced tea. Crossing her fingers, she ran forward, pausing at the edge of the terrace in full view of her father.

  He looked up slowly and for a moment, she was afraid that he didn’t recognize her. Then a smile came over his handsome features and he opened his mouth. Nancy quickly signaled him to be silent. He looked sad and confused as she jumped back behind the log wall of the lodge just as the man stepped out of the door again.

  “Here you go, Mr. Drew,” the man said, putting the tea on the table.

  “How . . . how long do I have to stay here?” her father asked.

  “A couple more days should do it,” the man answered. “Don’t worry now. You’ve cooperated and when the time comes, you'll be turned loose.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Don’t ask so many questions,” the man snapped. “You just keep being good and nobody is going to get hurt.”

  Nancy caught her lower lip between her teeth, reassured that her father’s mind was still clear enough that he hadn’t mentioned her to his jailer, but terrified at what the continued drugging might do to him. But how could she get him away? She looked around.

  Her eyes were drawn to the small shed that stood a short distance from the lodge. Nancy felt in her pocket for the book of matches that she’d brought with her. She scuffed a toe in the rough grass and saw that it was already damp with evening dew. The land around the shed was fairly clear, too. No trees and few tufts of grass were close and the creek that gave the area its name was nearby, so there was little chance of the fire spreading. Nancy hoped that the ploy would give her the time she needed to spirit her father away.

  Nancy hurried across the open area and checked the inside of the shed. There was little of value that she could see. Some wood was stacked on one side, some empty boxes sat on the other; in between there were a few shovels and hoses, a couple of empty burlap bags, and a lot of dust and dirt.

  Gritting her teeth,Nancy lit a match and put it on the burlap bag. It caught at once and spread quickly to the boxes and wood. Nancy backed out of the shed and ran to the lodge. Pounding on the door, she began shouting, “Fire! Help! Fire!”

  The man she’d seen with her father came running, his face dark with anger. “What in the worm are you doing out here, girl?” he demanded when he opened the door.

  “I was driving by and I saw smoke,” Nancy told him. “Your shed is on fire.” She pointed to where the flames were now licking merrily at the structure.

  The man muttered something gruff and pushed her out of the way as he ran toward the shed. Nancy didn’t hesitate a moment. She raced inside, through the handsome rooms, and back out the rear door to where her father was still sitting at the table.

  "Come on, Dad," she called. “We have to run now.”

  "Nancy?" He blinked at her owlishly.

  “Where on earth did you come from?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Nancy promised, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. “Come on, we have to hurry.”

  “I didn’t know you were here.” He sounded sleepy, but he followed her obediently, stopping only once to look back at the man who was busily spraying the fire with a garden hose. “Shouldn’t we help?” he asked.

  “Not this time,” Nancy answered grimly, dragging him toward her concealed car. Only when they reached it did she feel safe. Still, she didn’t waste any time getting her father into the car and driving away from the lodge.

  Her father fell asleep before they left the lodge property and slept till they entered the outskirts of Calgary. When he woke, he sat up slowly and looked around, then smiled with a little of his old sparkle.

  “So it wasn’t a dream,” he said, his speech much clearer now. “I was almost afraid to open my eyes.”

  “What happened, Dad?” Nancy asked.

  “I walked into a trap, it was that simple. The man met me at the lodge with a gun. He kept me locked up for several days. Until you called, actually. He was listening to our conversation when I talked to you.”

  “I thought it was very strange,” Nancy admitted.

  “Then he made me write a couple of crazy letters to Hannah. That’s all I remember. After that he started giving me some sleeping pills and . . .” He shrugged. “Then I looked up and you were there. Do you have any idea what is going on?”

  “I sure do,” Nancy told him, her heart light now that she knew he was going to be all right. “I’ll tell you the whole story as soon as we get a place to stay for the night and make some plane reservations for tomorrow. And I have some phone calls to make, too. There are a lot of people worrying about you, you know.”

  Food and rest were somewhat neglected during the next twelve hours as Nancy contacted Ned and Grace, then Hannah, reassuring them and making arra
ngements for their flight back to River Heights. She also told her father the entire story, then listened as he called the proper authorities to arrange for the arrest of the man at Chain Creek Lodge and for the apprehension of Barry and Fred Mathews in Cheyenne.

  His final call the next morning was to River Heights and after he hung up the receiver, he turned to Nancy with a smile. “Well, supersleuth,” he said, “you’ve really achieved a miracle this time.”

  “What do you mean?” Nancy asked.

  “We’ve just been invited to the Winthrop mansion for a family reunion party—a reunion that you made possible.”

  “Then Mr. Winthrop is feeling better?” Nancy asked. “Hannah said that he’d been very ill.”

  “Seems that having his daughter and her family taking care of him has changed things considerably, or maybe it’s the result of not having Tom and Madge Mathews in charge of things.” Her father looked grim. “It seems that Tom was the mastermind behind everything—along with his brother, of course, who dreamed up the idea of keeping me a prisoner at the lodge. Tom confessed the moment he came face-to-face with Clarinda and Lorna.”

  “All because he didn’t want Clarinda to inherit?” Nancy asked.

  “Obviously he wanted the money for himself,” her father replied. “He’s been in charge of Mr. Winthrop’s affairs for quite a few years, and I suspect he may have been taking small sums of money from the man’s accounts. Winthrop didn’t notice, but over the years it probably added up to quite a bit. I’m sure Mathews has been afraid to have the records examined. Well, whatever the reason, he’s going to be spending the next few months answering a lot of questions and I doubt any of them will be pleasant.”

  “The party will be, though,” Nancy said. “I’m really looking forward to meeting Clarinda Winthrop in person.”

  “I’m just looking forward to going home with my brave and brilliant daughter,” her father told her, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I’m very proud of you, Nancy, and very glad that I asked you to help me with this case.”

  As he spoke, he had no idea that another one was already brewing for Nancy when she faced the Clue in the Ancient Disguise.

  “I’m glad you asked me, too,” Nancy said with a grin. “The rodeo was loads of fun.”