Wrong Track

by Carolyn Keene

  “Karl,” Nancy said, blushing. Reismueller really knew how to turn on the charm.

  “I would have liked to have given you a tour of Tall Pines myself,” Karl went on, “but I have some pressing business matters.” He gestured with his right hand. “I’ve asked an employee, Jody Ashton, to take you around. She manages the gift shop and the ski shop and knows Tall Pines very well.”

  Jody was Rebecca’s friend, Nancy remembered. She’d also been in the office the day of the theft. Nancy smiled to herself that she was able to spend a couple of hours with her.

  Nancy thanked Karl. “From what I’ve seen, Tall Pines is extremely beautiful,” she said.

  “Once you get out on the trails you’ll see the real Tall Pines,” Dave told Nancy. “We’ll get you fitted with some of our best skis, and you can check out the trails.”

  “That’ll be great,” Nancy said.

  “Wonderful!” Karl said with a smile, glancing at his watch. “And now I’m afraid I must excuse myself. I’m expecting an important phone call,” he explained. He stood up and took Nancy’s hand in his once more. “I hope you’ll join my wife and me for dinner this evening at the Edelweiss, which is our largest restaurant. Would eight o’clock be convenient?”

  Nancy nodded, and Karl left them. Dave studied his own watch. “Let’s find Jody,” he said, putting on a forest-green down jacket. As he turned to pick up his gloves Nancy saw the Tall Pines logo—two pine trees—emblazoned on the back of the jacket.

  Dave led the way back to the main lodge and into the gift shop that Nancy had noticed when she registered. As they entered chimes announced their arrival.

  A girl with short, curly auburn hair stepped out from behind the counter. “Hi, Dave,” she said, smiling at them. “And you must be Nancy Drew. Karl told me you’d be coming.”

  “This is Jody Ashton,” Dave told Nancy. Jody had a slim, athletic build, the greenest eyes Nancy had seen, long black lashes, and high, aristocratic cheekbones. She was dressed in an oversize wool sweater with the Tall Pines emblem and a pair of matching forest green warmup pants.

  “I’d better get back to the office,” Dave said. He gave Nancy a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’m sure you’ll have more questions. When you do, you know where to find me.”

  Nancy thanked him, and Dave left. She turned to Jody, who appeared to be nervous as she blinked several times.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Jody finally managed to get out, giving Nancy a forced smile. “I’ve never met a reporter before.”

  Nancy grinned. “I promise not to write anything incriminating about you,” she joked.

  Jody seemed afraid for a second and then laughed nervously. “Let me get my jacket, and I’ll show you around,” she said.

  Nancy waited while Jody found her cap and gloves and told the girl she was working with that she’d be leaving for a while.

  “This way,” Jody said, pointing to a door that opened directly to the outside. She led the way back to the front of the lodge. “That’s the Edelweiss,” she said, gesturing to a second-story deck that jutted out above the lodge. “If you have a chance to eat there, take it. The food is out of this world.”

  They walked toward a large building with one solid wall of glass. Inside Nancy could spy an Olympic-size pool. “Wow!” she said.

  Pushing open the front door of the building, Jody led the way into the exercise complex. “Neat, huh?” she said. “The pool’s still not filled with water,” she explained. “It was supposed to be open yesterday, but now they’re promising it’ll be ready this afternoon.”

  Nancy followed Jody. From inside the pool room she found herself looking out onto a forest of stately pines that stretched to the sky.

  Jody was already walking around the pool to a pair of doors along one side of the wall. “The locker rooms are here,” she said, leading the way. “Women’s locker room,” Jody pointed out, “private showers, fully stocked with all-natural bath and beauty products.”

  The lavender and forest green locker room, equipped with thick towels and expensive bath products, was much fancier than any locker room Nancy had ever seen. Jody smiled at her. “Our guests want luxury, and they get it. There’s also a sauna and an exercise room,” Jody told Nancy. “Both coed. Now if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you one of Tall Pines’s most popular attractions.”

  Outside the girls made their way up a narrow path that had been shoveled in the fresh snow. A short distance from the building Nancy saw steam rising from among a grove of pine trees.

  “What’s that?” she asked Jody.

  “Check it out,” Jody said with a raised eyebrow.

  Nancy laughed out loud when she discovered the source of the steam. It was an outdoor hot tub with a couple of people in it. “I’m definitely going to make time for this,” she declared.

  Jody laughed. “I thought you’d like it.” She led Nancy down a tree-lined driveway, pointing out a one-story, modern wooden building on their right. “Some of the staff live here,” she said. “A lot of employees commute, but some live too far away.”

  “Do you live here?” Nancy asked.

  “No. I live in an apartment in Monroe with my mother. It’s a little town about ten minutes away.” Jody smiled, showing her pearly, even teeth, and pointed to her left. “That path leads to a frozen pond. It should be great skating, and it will even be lit at night. It’s not quite done yet but will be soon.”

  Nancy followed Jody along a road that curved around the lodge. At the back of the curve Nancy caught sight of a cluster of A-frame buildings in a small clearing. Like the main lodge, each one had a second-story deck and wide expanses of glass.

  “Awesome!” Nancy exclaimed. “These must be the condos.” Jody nodded. “They’re gorgeous. I can see why Mr. Reismueller is so proud of them.”

  “Then you’ve met Karl,” Jody said, her striking green eyes flashing.

  “He was very charming.”

  “Let me guess.” Jody chuckled. “He played his German prince role: the accent, dinner with him and Sheila, the whole bit.”

  Nancy laughed and took a key from her purse. “You guessed right,” she said, checking the number on the key. “I think this one’s mine.”

  They had stopped at the third building. “Karl Reismueller is a walking gold mine,” Jody went on. “He has more businesses than I can count, and they’re all successful.”

  As they entered her condo Nancy whistled softly. “This is fabulous!” The main living area was thickly carpeted and had a huge fireplace that dominated the back wall. A bedroom, kitchenette, and bath completed the first floor, and a sleeping loft filled the second story. There were flowers everywhere, Nancy saw, remembering Dave Kendall’s weakness for them.

  “No wonder Mr. Reismueller is so successful,” Nancy said. “He certainly knows how to treat his guests.”

  “He could take some lessons on how to treat his employees,” Jody said half aloud.

  Nancy turned, struck by the bitterness in Jody’s voice. “Oh, really?”

  Jody’s face flushed with embarrassment. “That’s off the record,” she said.

  “No problem,” Nancy told her, mentally storing the item away. She glanced at her luggage, which the bellman had brought in, and decided to unpack later. “I’d like to go pick out my skis.”

  “Sure,” Jody said, leading the way back to the rear of the main lodge. “There’s the school, and next to it is where we rent equipment,” Jody told her. “There’s a snack bar, too. The food’s good but cheap. Most of the employees eat there.”

  Nancy took the opportunity to turn the conversation to Rebecca. “I heard you lost an employee recently. Didn’t your bookkeeper leave?”

  Jody stared at Nancy, her green eyes suddenly angry. “Rebecca didn’t leave. She was fired. Personally, I think she probably deserved it.”

  “What do you mean?” Nancy asked, surprised by Jody’s sudden hostility.

  Before Jody could answer, a girl ran up to t
hem. “Jody! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.” She stopped next to Nancy and Jody. “Michelle’s having a problem with the cash register, and she’s got customers waiting.”

  Jody turned to Nancy. “Will you excuse me for a minute? I’ll meet you at the ski shop as soon as I’m done.”

  As Nancy walked slowly toward the shop she tried to make sense of Jody’s anger. Why was she so hostile toward Rebecca? Rebecca thought Jody was her friend. If so, Nancy would have expected her to be sympathetic toward Rebecca.

  Unless Jody was the person who framed Rebecca, Nancy thought as she stomped the snow off her boots before entering the ski shop and ski school complex. The sign above her head told her that the shop was to the left and the Inge Gustafson Ski School was to the right. Jody seemed friendly enough, but Nancy had learned not to be taken in by charm. And Jody had acted nervous when Nancy had jokingly commented about not writing anything incriminating.

  Inside, the entrance alcove seemed dark after the dazzling sunshine on the clean snow. Her eyes took a minute to adjust to the darkness.

  “I’m sick and tired of this setup!” Nancy heard a masculine voice declare in the ski school to her right.

  She stopped. She’d heard that voice before.

  “Unless something changes soon,” the man went on, “you’d better start looking for another sucker.”

  Nancy heard what sounded like the thump of a fist on wood. “I’m not going to put up with this much longer.” There was no doubt about it. The voice belonged to the same young man who had been shouting at Dave less than an hour before.

  “I’ve got choices,” he reminded his listener. “I can always work at Rob Watson’s. At least he’s honest.”

  Chapter

  Three

  NANCY’S EYES WIDENED. Twice now she’d heard the dark-haired young man making threats about something that was going on at Tall Pines. She drew in a deep breath and stepped out of the alcove and into the ski school, resolving to find out what he knew.

  When she saw that the young man was shouting at Karl Reismueller she was shocked. The two men were standing next to a black potbellied stove. The young man’s face was red with anger.

  Reismueller spotted Nancy first. “Come in, Nancy,” he said, his voice honey smooth and charming. He gestured toward the tall, black-haired young man. “Have you met Ben Wrobley? Ben, this is Nancy Drew, a reporter from Tracks magazine,” he added importantly. “Ben’s one of our best ski instructors.”

  Ben’s shoulders stiffened. He glared at Karl before reaching out to shake hands with Nancy. “Nice to meet you,” he said gruffly.

  Nancy’s investigative instincts began to race. Ben seemed anything but pleased with Karl’s compliment. There was a lot of tension between the two men, and Nancy hoped she’d get a chance to question Ben—alone—to find out why.

  Ben stared at Nancy for a moment, his dark blue eyes assessing her. “So you’re the reporter,” he said slowly. “You’ll find a lot to write about here.”

  “All good, I hope,” Karl quipped, giving Nancy another of his charming smiles.

  “Of course.” Ben made no attempt to hide his sarcasm.

  “I’d like to interview you for the article, if that’d be okay with you,” Nancy said to Ben.

  After shooting Karl an icy look Ben told Nancy, “I’d be glad to tell you everything I know.” The emphasis was on “everything,” and Nancy felt her heart begin to beat faster.

  “Can I arrange a private lesson?” Nancy asked. “We could do the interview on skis.”

  Ben shrugged. “I’m booked for the rest of the day. How about tomorrow morning? Nine o’clock?”

  “Nine’s fine,” Nancy said.

  At that moment the door to the school flew open and Jody Ashton rushed inside.

  “Sorry I had to leave you,” Jody said breathlessly, hurrying over to Nancy. “Are you ready for the rest of the tour?”

  “I see you’re back in good hands,” Karl said to Nancy, “so I’ll leave you. Don’t forget, dinner tonight at eight.”

  When the door had closed behind Karl Ben raised an eyebrow at Nancy. “Aren’t you lucky? Dinner with the great man.” His lips curled in disgust.

  “Mr. Reismueller has been very pleasant to me,” Nancy said in her most professional manner.

  “I’m sure he has,” Ben shot back. “After all, you’re a guest.”

  His words echoed what Jody had said, and Nancy had to wonder if a disgruntled employee could be responsible for the theft. Someone like Ben, for instance.

  “I couldn’t help overhearing your argument when I came in,” Nancy said to Ben, taking out her notebook. “Why would you want to work for Rob Watson? The Tall Pines trails are a thousand times better than Rob’s.”

  Ben flushed, glancing nervously at Nancy’s notebook. “I was only joking,” he said, pausing. “Rob doesn’t have the kind of money Karl does. He wouldn’t be able to pay me what I’m worth. But there would be one good thing about working at Watson’s.” Ben’s blue eyes were serious as he met Nancy’s. “Rob’s not impressed with Scandinavian names like Inge.”

  “What do you mean?” Nancy asked, puzzled. She wondered if Ben was referring to Inge Gustafson—the name on the sign for the ski school. The name did seem familiar to her, but she couldn’t place it.

  Jody shifted from one foot to the other as though she were uncomfortable with the conversation. “Ben’s just blowing off steam, aren’t you, Ben?” she asked, giving him a warning look and changing the subject. “Don’t you have a class?”

  “Yeah,” Ben replied, clamping his mouth shut. He stepped over to a row of lockers along one wall, opened one, and pulled out his ski clothes. His jacket bore the familiar Tall Pines insignia.

  “What’s going on?” Nancy asked Jody under her breath. “Who’s Inge, and why is Ben so upset about her?”

  Jody became even more uncomfortable. “It’s no big deal,” she told Nancy. “Karl hired Inge Gustafson, a Norwegian skier, to head the ski school.”

  Nancy nodded, realizing now why she’d thought she remembered the name. “I’ve heard of Inge. She’s good.” She had scanned a couple of back issues of Tracks to prepare for her cover, and one of the stories had been on Inge. “So what’s the problem?”

  “There is no problem,” Jody insisted. “Inge’s just delayed in coming over, and Ben’s had to take on some of her work.”

  Nancy heard Ben slam his locker door. The ski instructor turned to face them. “Try all of her work,” he said, and he headed out of the school.

  Jody tried to smile brightly. “Ready to get fitted?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “You bet,” Nancy replied. She followed the girl back through the entrance alcove and into the ski shop. Two walls of the shop were lined with new skis, boots, and poles, and a third was reserved for the rental area. A huge glass window filled the fourth wall. Nancy spotted Ben through it. His lesson had obviously started because he was in the middle of a group of skiers. There were a couple of other ski instructors outside, too, their Tall Pines logo jackets clearly visible. Ben skied over to talk to one of them for a moment.

  Jody stepped over to a low counter next to the skis where a cashier stood. She came back with a tape measure. The girl worked quickly, writing down Nancy’s height and shoe size and the length of poles she’d need. When she finished Jody said, “I’ll make sure everything’s ready for you tomorrow morning. Sorry I can’t show you around anymore, but I have to get back to work.”

  “No problem,” Nancy told her. “I think I’d like to rest a bit before dinner, anyway. Maybe take a sauna or check out that hot tub,” she added with a grin.

  “Good idea!” Jody said brightly. “See you later!” With a wave, she took off.

  Nancy spied Ben taking his students off onto a trail and realized there was nothing more she could do for now. She yawned, realized that she really was a little tired, and decided to head back to her condo to unpack and rest before dinner. Bess and George sh
ould be arriving soon, she thought. Maybe she could find a way to talk to them before dinner.

  • • •

  Later Nancy had finished unpacking and was lying on her bed on top of the luxurious down comforter when the phone rang.

  “Yes?” she answered in her most professional voice. “This is Nancy Drew.”

  “You mean the famous reporter from Tracks? You’re my idol!” came George’s familiar voice, laughing. “How’s it going, Nan?”

  “Fine, just fine.” Nancy twirled the cord between her fingers.

  “Have you learned anything yet?” George asked eagerly.

  “No, but I have met Karl, Dave, Ben, and Jody.”

  George whistled over the phone line. “Wow! You were busy. Do you think any of them framed Rebecca?”

  “I don’t know,” Nancy admitted. “Jody seems to hate her, but I don’t know why yet.” Nancy told George about Jody’s reaction when she’d asked about Rebecca’s being fired. “What’s really interesting, though, is that Ben Wrobley has a major grudge against Tall Pines, and he talks as though he knows something shady’s going on. I wonder if it’s about the money.”

  George was silent for a moment. “Rebecca introduced me to Ben, and I skied with him once since the theft. But I never heard him say anything about it.”

  “Do you know why he’s so unhappy at Tall Pines?” Nancy asked. “Why he resents Inge Gustafson so much?”

  “Well, he’s got good reason.” George paused. “Ben’s a great skier and a terrific teacher, but what does he get for it?” She answered her own question. “Nothing. Inge gets all the credit and her name on the school, but she hasn’t even shown up yet. Ben’s doing his job and hers.”

  Nancy could understand why Ben was angry. The question was, was he angry enough to steal fifty thousand dollars? And why would he frame Rebecca for the theft? What could he have against her?

  “Keep an eye on Ben, George,” Nancy advised. “If you run into him, see what you can find out.”

  “Right,” George said. “Hey, why don’t we all meet in the sauna? Bess said she wanted to try it out.”