032 High Marks for Malice (5 page)

Cass had sent her into the boys’ locker room!

H
EY
, P
ICK
, we have a guest!” The guy with the husky voice turned to an older man in a suit and tie, who stood at an overfull locker just inside the door. Hearing his name, he slammed it closed, but not before Nancy had seen the photo taped on the inside of its door. Even from where she stood, there was no mistaking Cass’s short, curly hair. And the boy laughing down at her had been Line. It had to be Line’s locker! She noted the number.

“Young lady.” The man in the suit faced Nancy. “What are you doing in here?” Thick dark brows stood out on his thin face. And his skin tone was uneven, almost mottled.

Blushing, Nancy felt behind her for the handle of the door. “Sorry. I thought this was an office or something.”

“Stay a while,” the guy with the husky voice urged. “You’re a lot prettier than anyone else in here, isn’t she, Pick?”

“That’s enough, guys,” the man named Pick said firmly. “Get dressed and scram. You’re holding up the painters.” Opening the door for her, he escorted Nancy into the hall. “Pay them no mind. I’m Jim Pickering, the manager of this facility. Did you get lost?”

Nancy didn’t answer immediately. That had been Line’s locker. Why had Pickering been at it?

“I was with Cassandra Denton, just looking around,” she said finally. “She had something to do, and I wandered off. It’s a fantastic building. But why aren’t there signs on the doors?”

“Everything’s being painted, doors included, so all the signs have been taken down. There’s Cassandra now,” he said.

Cass sauntered toward them, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Something wrong?” she asked innocently.

“Nothing drastic,” Pickering answered. “Your friend just wandered into the guys’ locker room.”

“Did you really?” Cass giggled.

“You pointed at this door,” Nancy said, gritting her teeth, “so that’s where I went.”

“No, no.” Pointing to another door farther
down, Cass said, “I meant that one. Sorry. Guess I didn’t make myself clear.”

And didn’t mean to, Nancy thought. “No harm done,” she said lightly. “I sort of enjoyed it.”

“I thought you might,” Cass shot back, then blushed, realizing she’d given herself away. Quickly she turned to Pickering. “I just came to get some stuff out of my locker. I’ll see you after New Year’s, okay?”

“Actually, I’m glad I caught you. I’ve been trying to get you all morning.” Pickering pursed his lips. “There’s a problem, Cass. I haven’t been able to find a sub for you. I’ve called everyone, but—”

The color in Cass’s cheeks heightened. “I need this time off, Pick. I’ve got to finish my paper for independent study. It’s due on the second, and I had counted on this time to get it done.”

“I understand that, but—”

“This isn’t fair,” Cass protested. “I asked you before Thanksgiving! It’s bad enough, what with Line in the hospital, and—”

“I just heard what happened,” Pickering interrupted her. “How’s he doing?”

Cass’s bottom lip quivered. “He’s in critical condition in a coma. I’m scared he’s not going to make it.”

“Of course he will.” Pickering patted her shoulder. “He’s young and strong. He’ll bounce
back. Look, I’ll keep trying to find someone to stand in for you.”

“Wait a minute,” Nancy said. “Exactly what do you do here, Cass?”

Cass looked annoyed. “I work in the spa and exercise room, monitoring the equipment and keeping things neat in the girls’ locker room.”

Seeing a chance to work from the inside, Nancy said, “I could do that for you.”

Pickering shook his head. “Absolutely not. You aren’t even a student, are you?”

“No, but why should I have to be? I know my way around exercise equipment.” She fished out her membership card from the River Heights Country Club. “I’m familiar with almost every kind of gym—I’ve even lifted free weights. Cass can fill me in on the routine.”

Cass stared at her. “You’d do that for me? Why?”

“Why not? I’ll be here the next few days, with nothing much to do. It’d be fun.”

“I don’t know,” Pickering said, still undecided.

Cass eyed her warily, as if uncertain whether or not to support Nancy’s offer.

“Check me out on the equipment,” Nancy urged him. “I can tell when someone is misusing it or when they’re trying to do too much.”

Pickering looked thoughtful. “That might be enough to satisfy our insurance company. When can you start?”

“Is tomorrow okay? I’ll need to go shopping. I didn’t bring exercise clothes with me.”

“I’ve got a whole wardrobe of leotards and tights,” Cass volunteered, sounding a little unsure still.

“Well, welcome to the staff, Ms.—” Pickering smiled. “I’m about to hire you and don’t even know your name.”

“Nancy Drew.”

“Welcome aboard, Nancy. Drop by my office and fill out an application before you begin. I’ll put you through your paces tomorrow.”

“Sounds great,” Nancy said, shaking his hand.

“Nice meeting you.” He stuck his head in the locker room. “Good. Everyone’s out. Excuse me, I’ve got to find the painters.” He walked to the end of the hall and disappeared around a corner.

“I—really appreciate this,” Cass said, somewhat reluctantly.

“Consider it thanks for letting me stay with you. We haven’t finished the tour. Where to now?”

Her hostess paused and glanced at the door of the locker room, then walked Nancy out of the wing. “Do you mind finishing by yourself? I want to get back to the dorm and start on this paper. I’ll meet you and Ned at the hospital at two. Thanks again, Nancy.” She sprinted back the way she had come.

Nancy started toward the computer lab,
pleased with the way things were going. She hadn’t thought she could convince Pickering to let her sub for Cass. But he seemed pretty easygoing.

The question was, what had Pickering been doing in Line’s locker? It might help to find out what was in it. And for that Nancy would need Ned.

Nancy went into the computer lab and was surprised by what she saw. Ned was seated at the computer behind the circulation desk, and the dark-haired attendant leaning over his shoulder. Her face was inches from his, her eyes alive and gleaming softly.

Nancy knew that look. This girl had fallen for Ned like a ton of bricks. It showed in her smile, her tinkling laughter. And Ned seemed to be eating it up!

Nancy cleared her throat. “Excuse me,” she said loudly.

Ned swiveled around, his eyes dancing. “Oh, you’re back! You should have stayed. Basson has the most fantastic computer network. Maria was just—” He stopped, realizing the two hadn’t met. “Nancy Drew, this is Maria Arnold.”

“Hi,” Nancy said. “I hope Ned hasn’t been keeping you from your work.”

“Not at all. Things are real slow. I’ve enjoyed the company.”

Maria’s eyes examined Nancy with intense curiosity, but her smile seemed genuine. Her
voice was soft, the musical quality of her vowels a sure sign that she was from the South.

“Do you mind if I borrow him for a minute?” Nancy asked.

Maria blinked. “Of course not. See you later, Ned?”

Nancy could swear Maria stopped breathing until Ned said, “You bet. We’ve barely skimmed the surface.”

Out in the hall Nancy turned to Ned, a wry smile on her lips. “Barely skimmed the surface? Looks like you were deep-sea diving to me.”

“Huh?”

Nancy poked him playfully. “It was hard to tell which interested you more, the computer system or the computer operator.”

Ned chuckled. “Come on, Nan, we were just talking. That girl is really a computer whiz. It looks like she knows as much about computers and programming as Line does.”

“She also knows how to flirt. And you weren’t doing so bad yourself, Mr. Nickerson.” Nancy grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

Ned blushed. “Cut it out, Drew. I was only being polite. What have you been doing? Did you find out anything important?”

Nancy leaned against the railing at the top of the stairs, began with her adventures in the tower the night before, and finished with the announcement of her new position. “It gives me the perfect
excuse for being here and lots of chances to poke around.”

Ned was grim. “I don’t like it. We’re dealing with people willing to commit murder. We don’t even know who they are or what they want.”

“This is where Line said to check,” Nancy argued, “so there must be something here to find, even though I doubt it will be a body. We need to get into that locker, Ned. I’m sure it was Line’s.”

“It probably was. Maria mentioned that everybody on the staff has one.”

“I can’t go back in that locker room, but you can. Do you think you could pick the lock?”

“I may not have to.” Ned’s eyes lit up. “There are a couple of little keys on Line’s key ring.” He fished in his pocket and pulled them out. “One of these may fit.”

“Terrific.” Nancy gave him the number of the locker. “You’ll have to hurry. The painters are supposed to start in there any minute.”

Nancy watched as he took off toward the other wing. She couldn’t blame Maria for falling for him. It wouldn’t be the first time Ned’s smiling eyes and fantastic build sent some poor girl’s head reeling. Nancy just hoped that Maria wouldn’t get too wrapped up in Ned.

Ned was back in less than a minute, his face tight with frustration. “I didn’t need the key. The locker was wide open. Someone’s cleaned it out!”

I
T’S MY FAULT
,” Nancy said, fuming. “I should have gotten you to check the locker right away. But I wanted to tell you what happened in the tower first.”

“Forget it, Nan. It was probably just filled with the usual stuff, anyway. And since Pickering is the manager, it would make sense for him to clean it out—under the circumstances.” Ned sighed. “But where’d he get a key?”

“Maybe he has keys to all staff lockers. And he might believe Line won’t be back for a while,” Nancy said, choosing her words carefully.

Ned knew very well what she meant, and his eyes became bleak. “You’re probably right.”

“If
he was the one who did it,” Nancy said. “It could have been anyone; Line might have other close friends with keys to his locker. We should find out for sure whether Pickering cleaned it out, and what he did with the things.”

“I could ask, tell him I’d like to take them home for Line,” Ned offered.

“He probably wouldn’t give them to you. He doesn’t know you. Just because you claim to be an old friend doesn’t mean you are.”

“What about Cass? We could ask her to do it.”

“Couldn’t hurt,” Nancy said. “Mr. Pickering must know they’re friends.”

The door of the computer lab opened, and Maria came out. Seeing them, she smiled perkily. “I’m on a break,” she said. “Have you tried the dining room’s hot chocolate? Marshmallows or whipped cream on top, take your choice.”

Nancy glanced at Ned and knew they were both thinking the same thing: Maria might be another source of information. “Marshmallows for me,” she said. “How about you, Ned?”

“Whipped cream wins, hands down. Let’s go.”

Maybe if I sip it slowly, I won’t burst, Nancy told herself. She was still full from breakfast.

• • •

In the cafeteria Pickering was having coffee at a table just inside the door. Nancy gave him a sunny smile as she sailed past but made sure they settled as far from him as possible. She wasn’t sure where he fitted into things, or if he did at all,
but the less he heard of their conversation, the better.

Maria couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off Ned, and as hard as Nancy tried not to let it bother her, it did. It bothered her even more that she was beginning to like Maria. “Where are you from?” Nancy asked her.

“A little-bitty town in Alabama no one’s ever heard of,” Maria said with a shy smile. “You couldn’t tell from my accent? I didn’t even know I had one until I came up here.”

“I didn’t notice it,” Nancy fibbed diplomatically. “You didn’t go home for Christmas?”

“Not this year. I decided to stay and get the overtime for working during the holidays. I need the money.”

“I see,” Nancy said, nodding.