Nancy Clue Mysteries 2 - The Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend

by Mabel Maney

  "Velma and Midge are probably out enjoying the refreshing evening mountain air," she thought as she opened a window and took a deep, cleansing breath. But what could have possibly happened to Lauren? Cherry was tempted to go and see for herself, but quickly changed her mind. What if Nancy awoke and found herself alone in this strange cabin? No, it was best to stay put, Cherry decided. She ducked her head out the door and looked around, but her chums were nowhere to be seen.

  "I'd best go ahead and wash my hair," she thought, realizing with alarm that if she didn't do it soon, her hair would be damp when she retired for the evening. She looked longingly at the soft, warm bed and the sleeping girl curled up on one side. It had been an especially long day, she thought, barely stifling a yawn. But before she could give in to temptation, she came to her senses.

  "One is never too tired nor too busy for good grooming," she scolded herself as she gathered up her travel kit containing her cold cream, shampoo, brush, comb, toothbrush, and bobby pins and marched into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she had washed and towel-dried her thick, curly hair, pinned it off her forehead, applied a thick layer of cold cream to her face and neck, and was happily splashing about in warm, sudsy bath water.

  "Jeepers," she thought. "Mel said she'd be back here at the crack of dawn with our car, and I'll bet it's ten o'clock already. If I'm going to be fresh for the morning, I'd better hurry!" She felt good knowing their car was in Mel's strong, capable hands. "She's awfully nice," Cherry smiled to herself. "So eager to help a girl in need!"

  Cherry hummed a gay tune as she gave every inch of her body a rigorous rubbing with her soapy washcloth. When she was finished, she was truly exhausted and ready for bed! "I won't even wait for Velma and Lauren to return," Cherry decided. "We can do our hair another night." She jumped out of the tub and into the pale yellow nightie, neatly trimmed with lace, that she had selected from among Nancy's many lovely things. After wiping the cold cream from her face, she gave her teeth a good scrubbing, gargled with a mild antiseptic, and put a dab of rose water behind each ear. A pretty yellow satin ribbon tied atop her head completed her look.

  Cherry stifled a yawn. She could think of nothing nicer right now than slipping between fresh sheets and falling fast asleep.

  Suddenly, she heard the door to the room creak open. For a moment Cherry thought Lauren might have returned, but changed her mind when she realized the boisterous young girl was incapable of being so quiet. "Why, Lauren even makes noise when she's standing still," she smiled.

  Cherry knew Lauren, as a typical teen, was prone to the hormonal urges and emotional conflict that afflict all girls. Luckily, Cherry had taken a human development course in nursing school, and so felt equipped to really understand Lauren!

  "Velma must be back," Cherry realized. "That's funny, though. She was going to knock three times to warn me she was coming in. Well, it's just as well that Velma forgot to use the secret code; she might have waked Nancy." Good thing she had left the door unlocked so her friends could come in quietly!

  Cherry opened the bathroom door and tiptoed out to greet her friend. "Did you two have fun?" she whispered, before realizing that the person standing in the middle of the room wasn't Velma at all! It was the casually dressed, middleaged, blond-haired woman from the restaurant, the one Cherry had nearly knocked over earlier that evening. And right next to her was her helpful husband, Harold!

  "Eek!" Cherry cried as she dropped her travel kit and hurriedly folded her arms over the front of her nightie. "Why didn't I don the matching robe?" she chastised herself.

  The couple looked as surprised to see Cherry as she was to see them. Their mouths dropped open at the sight of the startled nurse.

  "We must have the wrong cabin," they chorused in alarm.

  Cherry pointed to her sleeping chum and signaled for them to be quiet. To her great relief, they understood and immediately lowered their voices.

  "We took your suggestion and decided to stay here for the night," the man whispered as he backed out of the cabin.

  "I'm terribly embarrassed," the woman said, taking care to keep her voice low. She sounded truly alarmed! "Our cabin must be the one right next door. I must have mixed up the numbers on the door," she smiled, explaining, "It's awfully dark out."

  "The manager should really put more lights outside," Cherry agreed. "Why, a person could fall and get hurt!" After tossing on a robe, Cherry borrowed Nancy's flashlight from her purse and pointed the couple toward the correct cabin. "You were really lucky to get a cabin," Cherry whispered to them. "And how odd that it's the one right next to ours."

  They all agreed it was a happy coincidence.

  "And lucky for us, we opened your door by mistake," the woman gasped. "What if we had wandered into some else's room? Someone we didn't already know. Why, they might have thought we were thieves!"

  They all had a good laugh at the thought. Cherry bade them a good night. "I must get back indoors. Wet hair and cool mountain air are a sure prescription for a cold," she explained.

  "You know best. After all, you're the nurse," Harold agreed. "Goodnight, miss, and thank you, once again, for all your help," Harold said.

  Once back in the room, Cherry took care to lock the door before slipping into bed next to Nancy. Velma had the key and could let herself and Lauren in. Goodness knows how many people could walk into their cabin by accident!

  "I could be directing people towards their rooms all night," Cherry thought sleepily. She had to giggle at the thought. In the course of her career, she had been many things. A Cruise Nurse on a ship bound for the high seas, a Department-Store Nurse called in to handle the fainting spells at a big girdle sale, even a Dude-Ranch Nurse for a summer. But she had never been a tour guide, or a Cabin Nurse, for that matter, although she would most certainly throw on her uniform and come running whenever and wherever a call for help reached her ears!

  Her thoughts drifted toward the friendly couple staying next door. At first she hadn't thought they were very nice and had been put off by their cheap, garish clothing. But they had turned out to be lovely people. "To think I accused them of being those awful people in that dusty brown Impala who passed us by," Cherry admonished herself. "It just goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover." It struck Cherry as funny that they had run into each other two times in one day. "By now we're practically old friends!" she chuckled to herself.

  "Mother was right. You do meet the nicest people when you travel," she thought as she snuggled up to Nancy and planted a little kiss on her soft neck. Nancy didn't respond, so Cherry closed her eyes, and a few minutes later, she, too, was sound asleep. So sound asleep, in fact, that she didn't hear the urgent whispering going on outside her door, or the rattling of the knob, or the angry cries followed by retreating footfalls.

  All Cherry, knew as she drifted through layers of sleep was that she was in her beloved home state with her true love by her side. What more could a girl ask for?

  * * *

  CHAPTER 11

  * * *

  "Adieu, Idaho"

  "Good-bye, majestic mountains! Good-bye, raging rivers! Good-bye, lush, green forests!" Cherry cried as she drove their newly repaired convertible across the Idaho state line and into the rugged state of Wyoming. She felt a little teary as she left behind her beloved Idaho. Who knew when she would be back to partake of its natural splendors?

  Cherry turned her mind to the trip ahead. According to her calculations, and barring any complications, it would take them ten hours to cross Wyoming, upon which time they would be halfway through their trip. "Then there's only Nebraska and Iowa, and, before you know it, we'll be in River Depths!" She shivered with excitement when she thought of the picturesque ten hours ahead!

  "Girls, did you know that today we'll be traveling through some of the finest scenery in the country?" Cherry chirped cheerfully. She checked her sturdy nurse's watch. It was just after eight a.m. They had been on the road for about an hour.

  "In another four hours,
we'll be crossing the Rocky Mountains, one of the world's main mountain systems. That will be the perfect time for us to stop and have a nourishing lunch and stretch our legs while viewing some of the most spectacular scenery in all of America! Aren't you excited, Midge?"

  Midge, who was curled up on the passenger side of the front seat with her eyes closed, just smiled.

  "We'll miss the Grand Tetons," Cherry continued, "We're too far south, and we shouldn't really take the time to go out of our way. It's really a shame, though, don't you think? I've always wanted to see them, haven't you?"

  Midge groaned, which Cherry took as a yes. Who in her right mind, if given the opportunity, wouldn't want to see such a sight?

  Cherry made a mental note to send her mother a picture postcard showing the spectacular scenery from this strange and enchanting land. Funny, when she had called her mother just a half hour before, she had received no answer. Oh, well! It was a lovely Idaho day, and her mother was probably out tending her rose bushes before the summer sun got too high in the sky.

  "Look! There's a meadowlark!" Cherry called out in excitement, pointing at a yellow-breasted bird flying overhead, while taking care to keep one eye on the road. It would never do for them to have another car mishap like the one they had had yesterday, for that repair had taken all but thirty dollars of their cartrip kitty. Thirty dollars would be plenty for meals and gasoline, for the girls planned to drive all day and all night until they reached Illinois. "We'll be fine, barring any unforeseen disasters," Cherry thought.

  Cherry was positive they'd have no more trouble like the day before. Seeing the meadowlark was a good sign, she thought with a smile. "It's the official state bird of Wyoming, and, despite its name, it's not really a lark at all," she informed her traveling companions. "It's a blackbird, although it does live in the meadows, just like a lark. I guess you could say they're not related, but they are neighbors," she chuckled.

  "I sure could use some coffee from that thermos," Cherry hinted to Midge. "There's nothing better than a cup of good, hot coffee drunk outdoors," she added. "Don't you think? Midge? Are you listening?"

  "Don't I think what?" Midge grumbled sleepily. Midge had gotten up at six a.m. with the rest of them, and stayed awake just long enough to gulp down a cup of black coffee, smoke a cigarette, and, using tape from Cherry's firstaid kit, alter the letters of Nancy's license plate so as to throw the police off their trail. Then she had sacked out in the front seat.

  Cherry peeked in the rearview mirror. Why, everyone's asleep, she realized with a start. "They're going to miss this glorious morning," she thought. Using the car horn, she merrily tapped out the first verse of the Wyoming State Song. That did the trick! "They'll thank me for this later," Cherry told herself as her sleepy chums jumped awake.

  "Cherry wants a cup of coffee," Midge muttered to Velma as she suddenly sat up. Velma was sitting in the back seat behind Midge, and the box containing the thermos, paper cups, and a sack of oranges-a gift from that nice mechanic, Melwas at her feet.

  "And an orange, too, if you don't mind. Peeled and split into sections. You'll find a clean handkerchief in my purse right next to you on the seat, Midge. You can put the orange on that," Cherry added.

  "And an orange, too," Midge crabbed. "Peeled and split into sections. You'll find a clean handkerchief in her purse. You can-"

  Velma pinched her girlfriend. "Perhaps I'd better sit up front and let old sleepyhead stay back here," Velma proposed.

  Midge readily agreed. "You come up here first," she said, as she rubbed the sore spot on her arm.

  Before Cherry could stop the car so the two girls could trade places safely, Velma tossed the thermos of coffee over the seat, then hiked up her skirt and slip, too, straddled the seat, and swung right into Midge's lap.

  Midge put her arms around her girl and buried her face in the bosom of Velma's soft sweater. "Can I just stay like this until we get to Illinois?" she murmured happily.

  Velma smiled and ran a hand through Midge's hair. "That would suit me just fine," she answered dreamily. She gave Midge a long, lingering kiss. Midge moaned.

  Cherry turned bright red. "Golly, Midge, in some states, it's against the law for three adults to ride in the front seat of a car," she explained. "And I haven't my Road Guide to State Motoring Laws with me. We don't want to call any attention to ourselves, remember?" Cherry reminded them. "Besides," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Do you think it's good for children to see people kissing?" She peeked in her rearview mirror. Lauren was sitting straight up and staring at the cooing couple with big bug eyes and the queerest expression on her face.

  Midge groaned and gave her girlfriend one last kiss before taking her place in the back seat. "Wake me when we get to Illinois," she said miserably as she tried to make herself comfortable between Nancy, who was leaning on the car door and staring off into space with a sad look in her eyes, and Lauren, who was taking up more than her share of the seat. "I'll just sleep until then," Midge announced.

  "That's silly, Midge," Cherry scolded in a light tone. "Why, there's plenty to do until then. We could see how many meadowlarks we could spot; I've already seen one so far. Or we could play the license plate game. That's where you try to spot cars from different states. Whoever spots the most variety wins," she explained eagerly.

  "But there aren't many cars on the road," Lauren pointed out.

  Cherry realized Lauren was right. Except for that brown car that had been keeping a steady distance behind them since they had left Pocatello, she had seen no other automobiles that morning.

  "We could sing songs," Cherry proposed brightly. "When I was a Girl Scout, we always sang songs to pass the time. I could teach you one," she offered eagerly. "Does that sound like fun, Nancy?" Cherry asked her chum.

  But Nancy said nothing. She just gave a great big sigh and turned her head toward the car door.

  "I think that sounds like a grand idea, Cherry!" Velma cried when she saw how crestfallen Cherry was by Nancy's lack of enthusiasm.

  "Teach us a song, Cherry," Midge chimed in. "But first, pass me that thermos, babe," she said to Velma. She filled a paper cup with the steamy, hot liquid, took a big sip, and said, "Okay, Cherry. Let's hear it."

  In a clear, high voice, Cherry began singing a traveling tune. Soon her chums were singing merrily as they sped through western Wyoming. Everyone, that is, except Nancy who sat silently as if she were in another world-a world far removed from the gay little group.

  * * *

  CHAPTER 12

  * * *

  Shocking News

  "That's funny," Cherry frowned as she hung up the telephone receiver and stepped out of the booth. "That's the second time I've called home this morning, and there's still no answer."

  Cherry had felt sure she'd catch her mother at home. After all, Saturday was her mother's wash day, and Mrs. Aimless always did everything on the right day. Mondays she baked. Tuesdays she canned fresh fruits and vegetables. Wednesdays she puttered in the garden and attended her ladies' club luncheon. Thursdays she dusted, swept, and turned the mattresses, and Fridays she washed windows, scrubbed the front steps, and changed the shelf paper in her kitchen cabinets.

  "And today she should be home doing the wash," Cherry thought as she wrinkled her pretty brow, wondering where her mother could have possibly gone. "Perhaps she's in the basement starching Father's shirts and didn't hear the telephone," Cherry reasoned. "That must be it. Where else could Mother be?"

  She forgot her mother's puzzling absence once she took her seat at the table and had a chance to peruse the menu, which was chock full of tempting treats. They hadn't had a real breakfast, only coffee and oranges in the car, and Cherry had been forced to abandon her plan of reaching the Rocky Mountains before stopping to dine when even Nancy admitted she was willing to lose a little travel time in order to stop for a snack.

  "Besides, if we eat quickly; but not too quickly as to cause stomach-aches, we'll only be a half hour off schedule," Cherry reali
zed. She took out her little red spiral notebook and neatly changed the estimated time of their arrival in the Rockies to 12:30 p.m.

  Cherry had to admit she could use a bite to eat as well. When it was her turn to order, she was hard-pressed to choose between the special of the day, liver loaf sandwich, or a clear broth soup and raw-vegetable salad served with an assortment of crackers. She knew she should opt for the lighter lunch. Since she had already driven four hours that morning, she would no doubt spend the afternoon napping. A clear broth would be easier to digest, and she'd awake refreshed for her next driving shift.

  "But who could sleep with all these beautiful peaks and valleys and ridges and canyons around her?" she thought, as she looked out the large picture window and spied the Rocky Mountains in the distance. It was a clear summer day, the blue sky stretched for miles, and even Nancy looked like she was beginning to perk up. Cherry threw caution to the wind and ordered the yummy liver loaf sandwich, creamed spinach, and an extra side of gravy.

  The girls hungrily devoured their lunch. Cherry noted with approval that Lauren was taking bites of Velma's plate of mixed-vegetable salad. "All my lecturing about the essential food groups is finally beginning to sink in," she smiled to herself. "Now, if I can just do something about her table manners," Cherry thought in alarm as she watched Lauren wipe her mouth on her shirt sleeve.

  "Lauren, that's what your napkin is intended for," Cherry told her nicely, pointing to the red-checkered cloth folded by the side of the girl's plate. "And, please take off your baseball cap when eating indoors. I could see wearing a hat if this were a picnic," she added, so the girl wouldn't think her hopelessly rigid. "You wish to be both pleasing and pleasant to others, don't you?" Cherry asked.