032 High Marks for Malice

by Carolyn Keene

  The flutter of paper riffling in the wind interrupted Nancy’s thoughts. Something lay on the ground just under the car in the next slot. She bent down and retrieved several sheets of computer printouts—and the photograph of Line and Cass! A padlock had fallen on top of them, preventing the papers from blowing away.

  So Cass had cleared out Line’s locker. With or without Mr. Pickering’s okay? Probably without, Nancy decided, or there’d have been no need for her to hide it under her coat and run.

  Nancy folded the printouts and put them in her pocket. She started toward the Fish Tank to tell Ned about this latest development. Perhaps he was still with Maria at her locker.

  Nancy found the wing marked Administration: Authorized Personnel Only. I’ll be an employee tomorrow, she reasoned, so I’m as authorized as anyone else.

  As she walked, Nancy was confronted with an endless row of doors. Most of them were simply numbered, but some were also marked: Maintenance, Heating, Personnel. The hallway was a warm beige and still smelled of fresh paint. No lockers.

  Nancy kept going. She turned left down a hall and saw full-length lockers set into the wall. But Ned and Maria were gone.

  The smell was stronger here. Wet Paint signs decorated the corridor, and canvas drop cloths were spread across the carpeting. In a room nearby, a motor grumbled, accompanied by a hissing sound. After a moment, Nancy identified it. Someone was using a paint sprayer.

  Passing a door marked Conference Room, she heard a name that stopped her in her tracks. “The Sheffield boy—had it up to here—bungling. One thing after another—Evans, then Sheffield, now his locker.”

  Normally the voices would be impossible to hear, but the painters’ drop cloth was wedged under the door, preventing it from closing all the way. Still, she could only make out an occasional phrase.

  “Now—new girl—” the voice continued, “Nancy Drew?”

  They were talking about her! Nancy moved closer, wishing the generator and paint sprayer weren’t making so much racket.

  “Who is she? How much does she know?”

  Nancy couldn’t hear a response. Whoever was inside might be talking on the phone. She edged closer.

  “Then ask the Denton girl. Find out.” The tone was cold, harsh. “If Sheffield talked—take care of her immediately—”

  A door opened at the end of the hall and a painter backed out. Quickly Nancy walked toward him so he wouldn’t know she’d been eavesdropping. She wished he’d stepped out a second or two later so she could have heard the rest of the conversation.

  Nancy smiled a hello as she passed him. She took a quick glance back before turning the corner. Who was in that room?

  Nancy’s head whirled with questions. They were worried about her and how much she knew. Had someone seen her leaving the carillon the night before? And what about Cass? They’d mentioned her twice. Was she working with the people behind that door? That might explain her behavior since they’d arrived.

  Why had Cass lied about leaving for the dorm? And what about her clearing out Line’s locker and almost running Nancy down?

  Nancy puzzled over it all as she found her way back to the main lobby and sprinted up the broad staircase. Opening the doors of the computer lab, she froze. Maria Arnold was at her post behind the desk, her back to the door. Ned stood facing her, his hands on her shoulders as he talked to her, his face intent.

  He looked up, saw Nancy, and signaled with an open palm: don’t come in. Nancy backed out into the hall and waited by the stairs, wondering what was going on.

  Ned appeared a moment later and hustled Nancy toward the other wing where they wouldn’t be seen.

  “It’s not what you’re thinking,” he said. “Maria hadn’t heard about Line. I had to tell her, or when she did find out, she’d have wondered why I hadn’t. She really took it badly. I thought she was going to faint.”

  “She’s probably a closer friend than Cass is,” Nancy suggested. “She and Line have the same major and the same job.”

  “No,” Ned said firmly. “She was shocked and upset about his accident, but she was also scared out of her wits. She knows something, Nancy. I think if I work on her, I might be able to find out what.”

  “Work on her?” Nancy echoed. “How?”

  He hesitated, watching her uncertainly, then took the plunge. “If I—spend enough time with her, I can get her to trust me and open up.”

  Nancy gazed into Ned’s open, honest face. She knew how important it was for Ned to help Line. “Oh, all right,” she said. “For Line.”

  Ned’s eyes filled with relief. Pulling her close, he kissed her briefly. “Thanks, Nan. You know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it weren’t important.”

  “So Nickerson, dropping me for Maria?” Nancy joked. But then she said, “Go easy on her. She seems like a nice kid. I’d hate to see her get hurt.”

  Ned nodded sadly. “I wish there was another way, but I can’t think of one.” After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat. “What have you been doing?”

  Nancy told him, watching shock, suspicion, and concern play across his face.

  “Please, Nan, be careful,” he said, when she had finished. “Don’t trust anyone. And it sure sounds as if Cass has been up to something. You work on her, and I’ll work on Maria.” He winced. “Maybe I should rephrase that.”

  Nancy managed a smile. “Forget it. I’ll talk to Cass when we get back to the dorm. It’s after twelve now. Let’s get to the hospital and see how Line’s tests came out.”

  Checking his watch, Ned nodded. “I’ll say goodbye to Maria and be right back.”

  Nancy waited for him, a little worried about this latest development. She trusted Ned; that wasn’t the problem. The problem would be hiding how she felt about him. But if they were to get anywhere on the case she’d have to do it.

  • • •

  “Will you look at this mob?” Ned said, cruising up and down the aisles of the hospital’s parking lot. “Everybody and his brother must be coming to see somebody.”

  “I guess people drop by on their lunch hours,” Nancy said.

  Ned stared grumpily at the line of cars in front of him, all looking for a parking space. “Look, you go on up. At least one of us will get to see Line.”

  “Okay, if you say so.” Nancy didn’t argue. She suspected that he really wasn’t up to seeing Line hooked to respirators and machines.

  Intensive care was on the sixth floor. Nancy checked in with the nurse, a bubbly young woman with a sunny smile. “Oh, yes. Dr. Garrison put you on the list. The other young lady is with him now, if you want to go on in.”

  With a smile of thanks, Nancy headed toward Room C. Each room had an enormous window so the nurses could see their charges easily. A few had curtains drawn over them but most were open.

  The curtains at the window of Room C were closed, and Nancy’s heart sank, hoping it didn’t mean that Line was worse. The door was closed as well.

  Taking a deep breath, she pushed it open far enough to peek in. But she couldn’t see Line—someone was in the way.

  It was Cassandra. She stood at the head of the bed, a pillow clutched to her chest, her shoulders heaving.

  “Oh, Line, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “I can’t stand to see you like this.”

  Nancy watched, horrified, as Cass quickly lowered the pillow until it was over Line’s face. She was going to smother him!

  Chapter

  Nine

  NANCY BOUNDED INTO the room and knocked the pillow from Cass’s hands.

  Cass gawked at her, astonished. “Why did you do that?”

  Nancy picked up the pillow. “To stop you from finishing the job.”

  “Finishing? I was going to put it behind his head. The one they’ve used is so thin.” Slowly, understanding dawned in her hazel eyes. “You thought I was going to—to kill Line?”

  “It certainly crossed my mind, since you almost ran me down not twenty minutes ago.”

  Cass’s cheeks tur
ned as red as her hair. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to step out from behind a car without looking first? I wouldn’t have hit you. I figured I had enough room to pass you.”

  “You did,” Nancy said dryly, “after I’d jumped out of the way. Why did you take the things from Line’s locker and hide them under your coat? Why’d you sneak them out of the Fish Tank?”

  Cass was clearly shocked that Nancy knew. Then her chin came up defiantly. They stared at each other, Nancy waiting for an answer, Cass looking as if she were about to explode.

  “I took them so you wouldn’t get them!” she hissed. “Leave me alone! I don’t have to answer to you. What’s so special about you anyway? You’re pretty, but you’re no Miss America. What does Line see in you anyway?”

  Nancy’s brows shot up in surprise. Cass thought Line was in love with her! “Cass,” she said, “I never even saw Lincoln Sheffield before last night.”

  Cass’s jaw dropped. “What?” Her eyes bored into Nancy’s with hope. “You mean you’ve never met? Honest?”

  “Didn’t Line tell you that?” Nancy asked.

  “I thought he was lying. But you must be special to him. It wasn’t me he asked for last night at the tower. It wasn’t my name he called when he was admitted to the emergency room. He’s been counting the days until you arrived: Nancy, Nancy, Nancy!”

  Nancy walked to the door. How should she handle this? If she believed what she was hearing, Cass’s bizarre behavior was out of jealousy. But should I believe it? Nancy asked herself. Cass might simply be a very good actress trying to cover her tracks.

  Nancy had to be sure. Feeling her way, she said, “Line’s really special to you, isn’t he?”

  Cass slumped into the chair at his bedside. “I’ve loved him from the moment I met him, but he doesn’t take me seriously. He—he has a hard time being close to people, I guess. I figured if I just hung in there long enough, he’d start to like me more. And he did. Things were fine until Doc died. Then he just closed up. Would hardly talk to me. He just—pulled himself into some kind of shell. It was as if no one else existed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He started working on something on his computer every free moment he had. Then he switched shifts with Maria, and I practically never saw him unless I went to the Fish Tank at night. Even then, he was glued to that stupid keyboard. He barely spoke to me.”

  “Do you know what he was working on?” Nancy asked.

  “Are you kidding? I can do word processing on a computer, but that’s it. He was fiddling with a program or something, as if he might find the secret of the universe if he kept at it long enough. And that’s the way he was until a few days ago.”

  “What happened then?”

  “He started talking about his buddy Ned coming and bringing you with him. He went on and on about you, like a kid waiting for Santa Claus. He’d never been that excited about me! So I figured that he really liked you.”

  The door opened and Ned stuck his head in. He was out of breath. “How is he?”

  Before she could respond, Nancy caught movement from the corner of her eyes. Line stirred, and the monitors began to beep even faster. Alarmed, Cass bolted from the room, crying, “Nurse! Something’s wrong with Line!”

  But it was Dr. Garrison who returned with her. He smiled a tired hello and moved immediately to his patient’s side. Pulling back Line’s eyelids, he flashed a tiny light in his eyes. Next, he checked the monitors. Then he smiled.

  “Well, it looks like your friend has decided to stay among the living. There’s definite improvement. He’s still unconscious, but not as profoundly as he was. If you three let him rest, he may pull out of this sooner than I thought.”

  Cass burst into tears, and Nancy gave her a hug. “We’ve got to talk,” she mouthed to Ned over the girl’s shoulder. “She’s okay.” She pointed to Cass, hoping he would understand.

  Ned’s eyes widened. Then he nodded. Dr. Garrison stared at them, clearly puzzled.

  “Come on, let’s go get a soda or something,” Nancy suggested. Cass pulled herself together. “Thanks, Dr. Garrison.”

  “You’re very welcome, Nancy,” he said.

  • • •

  Cass directed Ned to a coffee shop off-campus. The subject they had to discuss was too sensitive to be tackled in the Fish Tank. Ned led them toward a table in a far corner, then went to place their order at the counter.

  They’d just sat down when Cass turned to Nancy, shock written across her face. “It just hit me. You thought I was going to kill Line! Why?”

  “Shhh! Because someone already tried once. Will you please keep your voice down?” Nancy said.

  Ned returned. “What’s going on?” he asked.

  Cass ignored him. “Are you saying I’m not the only one who thinks there was something fishy about Line’s fall?” she asked.

  “He didn’t fall. He was pushed,” Nancy said.

  Cass jumped up. “Then we should go to the police!”

  Nancy grabbed the hem of her coat and pulled her back down. “Suspicions aren’t enough, Cass. We need proof, motive, opportunity, something. We’re hoping you’ll help us get it.”

  Cass frowned. “How can we do anything? We’re not detectives.”

  “Nancy is,” Ned corrected her. “You’re looking at someone who’s been solving mysteries for years.”

  Cass sat back in her chair, staring at Nancy. “You’re kidding. A detective? That’s incredible!”

  “We think that’s why Line asked Ned to bring me,” Nancy explained. “He’d stumbled onto a mystery of some sort in the Fish Tank and needed help. Now we need—”

  “Doc,” Cass interrupted. “I mean, Professor Evans. Line refused to believe Doc committed suicide. He wouldn’t accept it.”

  Evans—the name Nancy had overheard while she’d stood outside the conference room. So that was Doc. Nancy was willing to bet that Line had been right—Doc’s death had not been a suicide.

  “I never took Line seriously,” Cass was saying. “It sure looked like suicide—a hose rigged from the exhaust to the interior of Doc’s car. They found it parked on a lookout point up the mountain.”

  “Listen, Cass, Line wasn’t delirious when he spoke to me last night,” Nancy said. “He told me to check the Fish Tank. We still don’t know what he meant about someone being buried there. But whatever he stumbled onto is in that building.”

  Cass looked teary. “And all I could think about was that he’d talked to you, not me. Nancy, I’ve been awful. I’m so sorry.”

  Nancy smiled warmly. “Forget it. You’re on our team now, and believe me, we need your help.”

  “Just tell me how and you’ve got it.”

  “There are things you should know first,” Nancy said, and brought Cass up to date, beginning with the intruder in Line’s apartment.

  Cass listened, looking frightened and furious by turns.

  “I’m wondering,” Nancy said, “if Doc caught on to whatever the problem is and was killed for it. Then Line stepped in, found out, too, so then he had to die.”

  “Do you think they’ll try again?” Cass asked, her features twisted with anxiety.

  “Not as long as he’s in intensive care,” Nancy assured her. “Patients are watched too closely there.”

  “Yes, but if he’s improving enough to be moved . . .” Ned began, looking worried.

  Nancy nodded. “He’ll be a sitting duck. We’ve got to work fast. Tell me about Jim Pickering, Cass.”

  “You suspect Pick? Forget it. He runs a tight ship, and he’d never allow anything illegal in his Fish Tank.”

  “He might not know,” Nancy pointed out.

  “He keeps close tabs on everything—except the computer lab, where he’s completely out of his depth. But he had Maria and Line, so it didn’t matter.”

  “Okay. We’ll put him on the back burner for the time being,” Nancy said. “Is there anything from Line’s locker that might give us a clue?”

  Cass
looked doubtful. “Just printouts and books. They’re in the trunk of his car if you want to see them.”

  Nancy nodded. “I think we should. We’ll eat, then go back to Line’s place with them. Who knows? The answer might be right under our noses.”

  • • •

  Back at the apartment, Nancy hung up everyone’s coats. Cass dumped the stack of printouts on a love seat and sat down beside Ned. He scanned the pages, a frown of concentration between his brows.

  “Here’s that weird programming language again,” he muttered. “If I could just figure out . . .” Seeing Cass’s blank look, he explained. “A computer program is nothing but a list of instructions, telling the computer how to perform a specific job. The instructions can be in any one of several program languages, and this is in one I don’t know. Nancy, mind turning on the computer for me?”

  “Sure.” Closing the closet door, Nancy moved to Line’s study area.

  “The whole system’s plugged into a power strip,” Ned added, his eyes glued to the printouts. “Flip the switch on the strip and the computer and printers will all come on at once.”

  “The computer’s unplugged,” Nancy said, seeing its power cord lying across the strip of outlets. Picking it up, she plugged the prongs into the slots.

  “What?” Ned looked up, alarmed, as she plugged it in. “It was connected when I left this morning!”

  The computer’s cord began to sizzle.

  “Something’s wrong!” Nancy shouted. “Everybody get back!”

  But as she reached for the cord to unplug the computer, the screen seemed to balloon outward. Gasping, she threw herself facedown on the floor. Shards of glass and metal flew across the room like bullets.

  Line’s computer had exploded!

  Chapter

  Ten

  SILENCE BLANKETED THE ROOM. Nancy, on her stomach, arms protecting her head, looked up. Smoke spiraled from what was left of Line’s computer, and sparks sprayed from the outlets of the power strip. “Ned! Cass! Are you all right?”

  “I think so.” Ned’s head popped above the back of the love seat. “The computer’s still burning,” he said tensely. Scrambling around the sofa, he dove under the work surface and yanked the cord from the wall outlet.