Part 6 (2/2)
Bess looked annoyed. ”Don't spoil this for me, okay?” She walked past Nancy into the apartment and went to their room.
Nancy glared at her friend as she disappeared down the hall. Bess could be so irritating sometimes. Earlier that day she had narrowly missed getting herself killed, and here she was laughing in the face of danger. ”You think I'm being silly?” Nancy asked, following after her.
”Of course I do! They arrested the guy, didn't they? Rick convinced me that the runaway cab was only an accident. Besides, n.o.body would mess with Rick. You should feel his muscles-they're like steel!”
Bess slipped out of her satiny dress and kicked off the slingbacks she had worn to go dancing. Too tired to change into a nightgown, she fell back on the bed in her lacy pink slip.
”Oh, Nancy,” she murmured excitedly. ”He's so wonderful-and so cute.” Reaching over, she snapped off the light between their beds. ”Am I going to have happy dreams tonight!”
As Nancy lay in her bed, watching the light of dawn brighten the room, she couldn't help worrying about Bess. This was obviously more than just a schoolgirl crush. And Nancy was more convinced than ever that this fairy-tale romance was not going to have a happy ending.
The clock by Nancy's bed read 9:04 A.M. Bess was still asleep, a contented smile on her lips. Nancy figured she'd be out for a few more hours.
The apartment was quiet. Looking out the window, Nancy saw only one person on the street. The whole city seemed to still be asleep. At eleven, she'd be going out to brunch with her aunt and Mattie, but that was still two hours away.
After pulling on her favorite jeans and slipping her new yellow sweater over her head, Nancy decided that a walk might be just what she needed to help her think and unwind.
Stepping out onto the street, Nancy took a deep breath of the fresh spring air. The birds were singing, and the golden-green leaves on the trees swayed in the morning breeze. On this quiet Sunday morning, with church bells ringing in the distance, New York seemed like a small nineteenth-century town. Nancy loved it. As she walked, she imagined she was part of that older, simpler time.
After a while she came to a tiny park tucked between two buildings. The morning sun was just beginning to warm the benches, and a few people were out with their children, pus.h.i.+ng them on swings and watching as they ran and played. Nancy couldn't help herself; she sat down on a bench and let the sun warm her face, relaxing for the first time in days.
A minute later the touch of a hand on her shoulder made Nancy jump. Glancing around, she found herself looking into the dark eyes of Lillian Weiss.
”Well, if it isn't our fair rescuer,” Lillian smirked. ”Fancy meeting you here.”
Nancy was puzzled. New York was a huge city. The odds of running into someone that she knew were small, to say the least.
”Mind if I sit down?” Lillian asked casually. ”I'm dead tired. Haven't slept all night.”
Nancy moved over to make room for her. She felt uncomfortable in the company of such an unpleasant person, but she didn't want to be impolite.
”Are you still trying to save Rick Arlen's life?” Lillian asked suddenly, looking right into Nancy's eyes.
She certainly is blunt, Nancy thought. Well, I might as well be blunt right back. Whoever was trying to kill Rick already knew that she was on the case. ”Still trying,” she admitted.
”You really shouldn't bother,” Lillian said. She looked down at her feet, so Nancy couldn't read her expression.
”I don't understand,” said Nancy, prompting her.
Lillian looked at her curiously, as if she were sizing Nancy up. After what seemed an eternity, she fixed her eyes on Nancy. ”Rick is going to die, and there's nothing you can do about it. And I'll tell you something else-whatever happens to him, he has coming. He got where he is by stepping on a lot of people, but he made one mistake. Along the way he stepped on the wrong wrong person, and he's going to pay for it.” person, and he's going to pay for it.”
Nancy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this a confession? A warning? She wasn't sure how to take Lillian's statement.
As suddenly as she had appeared, Lillian stood up to leave. ”Well,” she said, fingering the hem of her purple lamb's-wool sweater, ”nice running into you.” She gazed at Nancy with a tight smile. ”I'll say one thing for you-you've got guts.”
Nancy watched as the strange young woman walked, away. She was sure now that Lillian had deliberately arranged to run into her. But why? Nancy was more in the dark than ever.
”The restaurant we're going to isn't far away, Nancy. We'll just ring for Mattie on our way out.” Eloise was standing in front of the hall mirror, fussing with a teal blue silk scarf. ”Is Bess ready yet?”
”Bess!” Nancy called as she knocked on the door of the room where her friend lay sleeping. ”Don't you want to have brunch with us?”
The answer was m.u.f.fled, so Nancy opened the door. ”Leave the address,” was all Bess could manage. ”I'll meet you there.” With that, she flopped over and buried her face in the pillow.
Nancy closed the door. Eloise waited by the main door of the apartment while Nancy wrote down the address and left it on the telephone table. ”Ah, youth,” Eloise said, smiling wistfully. ”I used to be able to sleep like that on weekend mornings. Now I'm always up at the crack of dawn!”
With a wink, Eloise tugged on Nancy's arm. ”Shall we? If I wait for my morning coffee much longer, I won't be worth knowing.”
As they sat in the restaurant eating eggs Benedict, Nancy couldn't stop thinking of her conversation with Lillian Weiss. The look in her eyes had been so intense. Could it be that Lillian was the one who was trying to kill Rick? Or maybe she was just hiding the ident.i.ty of the person who really was.
Nancy decided not to mention running into her. Still, she had to know what Lillian's personal situation regarding Rick was. ”Mattie,” she began offhandedly, ”tell me more about Lillian Weiss. I know you said lots of people hate Rick, but she seems to hate him more than most.”
Mattie looked up, amazed. ”You don't think she's behind it all, do you?”
”I don't really know,” Nancy replied. ”But I'd like to know more about her.”
”Lillian's the one Rick broke up with me for,” Mattie blurted out. She looked down at her plate unhappily. ”I couldn't believe it when he fold me. I mean, I'd stuck by him through all the bad times. When he finally made it, he just dropped me. It was so-” she paused for a moment, unable to go on ”-so humiliating.” She took out her handkerchief and blew her nose. Suddenly Mattie laughed. ”But that's Rick for you. They were only together for two months. He stuck with her till she introduced him to the film people she knew, then he dumped her. I really can't blame Lillian for hating him. I just wish she'd get on with her life. She's Just-I don't know-the kind of person who nurses a grudge. The kind that never lets go of anything, know what I mean?”
”Yes,” said Nancy thoughtfully. ”I think I do.”
”Oh, do I dare try one of these?” Eloise was asking with a smile as the waiter held up a plate of miniature pastries.
”Oh, go ahead, Eloise,” Mattie said with a grin, trying to put all thoughts of Rick and Lillian behind her.
Eloise looked at the pastries and thought for a moment. ”Why not?” she quipped, lifting a small one onto her plate.
Just then, the manager came up to the table. ”Excuse me, ladies. Is there a Nancy Drew at this table?”
”Why, yes,” Eloise answered, looking at her niece.
”Ms. Drew, you have a phone call,” the manager said. ”You can pick it up at the main desk by the coatrack.”
”It must be Bess,” Eloise guessed. ”She probably woke up and realized she'd never be able to make it here after all.”
Nancy thanked the manager and made her way to the phone.
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