Part 6 (2/2)
”It started out that way... I like like Dan,” Bess wailed. ”I really do. He's strong and funny and sensitive. He says just the right things.” Dan,” Bess wailed. ”I really do. He's strong and funny and sensitive. He says just the right things.”
”Or at least what you want to hear.” Now George appeared in the connecting door, wrapped in a terry-cloth robe and turban.
”George, that's not fair...” Bess swallowed. ”Senator, when he saw there were guards here he dropped me off and went to find you. We heard on the police radio that the airport police collared a pickpocket at the airport last night. He tried to bargain his way into a lighter charge by supplying information. He saw somebody arrive on a plane from the Bahamas. Somebody called El Morro.”
Bess wasn't finished speaking, but at that moment a cry burst from the senator's lips. They all looked at her, but it was to Carson Drew she turned.
”Carson, that man's one of the most wanted terrorists on Interpol's list. He has a reputation for eliminating anyone who stumbles on to any clues to his existence, whether his current employers want him to or not. I'm sure he was one of the men who tried to kill George!”
Chapter Twelve.
”NANCY, I CAN'T help worrying about you. I'm your father,” Carson Drew said with a faint smile. Then his face grew serious.
”I'm proud of you for many things, and one of them is the way you never let personal sacrifice or danger deter you from doing what you believe is right. Or from helping someone who is in need. I admit there are times when I want to jump in and protect you from the consequences. And there would probably be more of them if I always knew what you were up to while you were up to it!
”I guess now I rely on my respect for your good sense and judgment. The trouble is, I also know that all the sense and judgment in the world can't always save us from the consequences of other people's actions.”
”I know,” Nancy whispered. ”That's the way I've felt over Roberto's death. So helpless. And so-responsible for not having been able to protect him from it.”
The Drews were alone in Nancy's hotel bedroom. Senator Kilpatrick, outraged that the news of El Morro's presence in the country had not reached her sooner, had been driven to her office in search of further information. She had left one of her bodyguards on duty. He was outside the door to the suite now. Bess was fussing over George in the other bedroom.
”Don't feel guilty,” Carson Drew said sternly. ”You're a human being, Nancy, not a computer or a comic-book heroine! Even computers can only act on the data that they have. Can you think now of anything you'd have done differently with Roberto, given what you knew then?” Nancy shook her head. ”Then if you gave it your best shot, that's all anyone has a right to expect of you, even yourself.”
Carson Drew tilted Nancy's chin up, making her look at him. ”I meant what I said about being proud of you. I do understand why you do what you do. And I approve.”
Nancy hugged him.
Just as her father's arms tightened around her in response, the telephone rang.
”I'll get it,” Bess called. And then, ”Nan, pick the phone up. Quick!”
The voice that came to Nancy was barely distinguishable as Teresa's. ”I must see you alone. Can I come to your room right away?”
”Of course! I'll unlock the door between-”
”No. Go to your window. Quickly.” The phone went dead.
”What is it?” Carson Drew asked at once.
”It's Teresa. She's in trouble, and if she sees you she won't talk. Dad, go to your own room-fast.” Nancy fairly pushed him out. Then she ran to her window and threw it open wide.
A moment later a figure scrambled down the fire escape. It was Teresa, unrecognizable in a painter's cap and a maid's uniform.
Nancy pulled her in. ”Teresa, what-”
”Shh!” Teresa slammed the window shut and pulled the drapes. ”I sent Senora Ramirez out for souvenirs and postcards so I could get away. I remembered I saw these clothes in the service room yesterday, and I borrowed them. They are a good disguise, yes? No one will recognize me if I go out? I went up to the next floor and came down the fire escape. We must talk quickly. She may be back already.”
”If she'd come back and found you missing, we'd have heard the shouting,” Nancy said frankly. ”Teresa, why do you need to go out?”
”I found a note in my locker when I went to change after practice,” Teresa said.
Nancy's heart sank. If a note could be smuggled in there, so could a bomb!
”The note is from a-a compadre compadre of Roberto's in the underground. He must see me. I am marked to die, and so are others.” She lapsed into frightened Spanish. ”Many others, not just the six-” of Roberto's in the underground. He must see me. I am marked to die, and so are others.” She lapsed into frightened Spanish. ”Many others, not just the six-”
Nancy interrupted. ”Teresa, listen to me! This could be a trap!”
Teresa shook her head violently. ”No! He mentioned things no one not close to Roberto could know. The poetry book Roberto gave me-the message he wrote inside.” She grabbed Nancy's arm. ”This amigo amigo, he wants to ask me questions. Questions that may give us a clue to some message Roberto could have left me!”
”I'll go with you,” Nancy said at once.
”No, I must go alone, but that is not the problem.” Teresa drew herself up proudly. ”With Roberto dead, I do not care about the risk! I must find that list, or his death will have no meaning.”
”Tell me what you want me to do.”
Teresa leaned forward. ”There is only one time this man can meet me. At six o'clock tonight. But Nancy! At six o'clock I must be at the tennis tournament.”
Nancy frowned. ”I thought your match today was earlier.” She looked at her watch. ”Right now, in fact.”
Teresa cut her off. ”It was postponed until tomorrow. One of my opponents took sick and must be replaced. The stadium will open again at five today, and at six I am to play a doubles match. Not part of the tournament. It is a benefit for the poor people in my country-an American man and I will play against the girl from Canada and her coach. Roberto was supposed to be my partner, but-” Teresa forced tears back sternly. ”It has been advertised. How can I not show up there? How can I be in two places at one time? Nancy, help me!”
In two places at one time-Nancy looked at the girl from San Carlos, almost unrecognizable in the baggy uniform and the cap that concealed her hair. Aside from the suntan, she could have been Nancy herself in disguise.
”I know how,” Nancy breathed. ”You play the doubles match. play the doubles match. I'll I'll go to your meeting.” go to your meeting.”
”Nancy, I told you you cannot-”
Now it was Nancy's turn to interrupt. ”Wait a minute! I play tennis-not as well as you, of course, but I'm good. You said yourself it's a doubles match. I'll play in it for you-as Teresa Montenegro. And you'll go to your meeting-as Nancy Drew!”
Nancy tiptoed across the living room to the other bedroom. ”Bess!” she hissed, opening the door. ”Come to my room. We need you. You, too, George.”
”I don't understand,” Teresa whispered, bewildered, when the three girls returned.
”You will. Just listen.”
Quickly Nancy outlined her brainstorm. It would require acting skill, but Nancy had that from many previous cases. And she was sure she could persuade Teresa to play her her part. It also required alterations, not just of appearance but of mannerisms and of Nancy's tennis game. part. It also required alterations, not just of appearance but of mannerisms and of Nancy's tennis game.
George grasped the possibilities first. ”I can coach you, Nancy. I've learned lots of Teresa's techniques, thanks to this morning's workout. I'll try to make your tennis look as much like Teresa's as I can.”
”But what about little things like skin and hair color?” Bess objected.
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