Nancy Clue Mysteries 1 - The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse (27 page)

"Kittens?" Nancy cried. "Oh, may I have one? I mean, when I return from River Depths and finally settle down? Oh, may I Aunt Gert?" she asked shyly.

Aunt Gert nodded. "There are plenty of kittens," she declared. "Pick one out now, and we'll keep her until you return. Hurry and get dressed now, girls," she said, gathering the coffee cups and shooing Lauren out of the room.

Cherry grinned and hopped out of bed. The gloom of last night had disappeared in the warm glow of the sun-filled room.

She took a quick bath and ran a comb through her unruly curls. A quick brush of powder and a smidge of pink lipstick completed her morning toilette. She noticed that Aunt Gert, who was the very same size as her look-alike niece, had left a selection of outfits for them. She slipped into a simple summer dress, while Nancy selected a simple skirt and a darling green blouse that contrasted prettily with her golden-red hair.

"I'll be back in uniform soon enough," Cherry thought, surveying her casual outfit in the mirror. Golly, had it only been a few days since she had been wearing her starched nurse's whites? It seemed like a whole other lifetime, now!

"What's that serious look, Cherry?" Nancy asked earnestly. "Are you homesick for Seattle General? Golly, I hope we can spend some time together before I leave for River Depths. It's not every day I meet someone like you." Her cheeks were bright red.

"I'm not homesick," Cherry cried, hugging Nancy. "Meeting you has been the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me! It's just that these last few days have been the most wonderful and the most horrible of my life. Golly, it's all so confusing."

"Life is never like it is in books, is it?" Nancy laughed.

Lauren was back, this time with a baseball glove in one hand and an impatient look on her freckled face. "Sister Maureen MacMannish, the P.E. nun, has gotten together a softball game," she explained. "You've been voted right fielder for Aunt Gert's team, Cherry!" she cried, tossing Cherry the glove.

"And, Nancy, I hope you can pitch as well as you capture criminals because you're on my team."

Before Cherry could protest-after all, she wasn't even sure what a right fielder was-Lauren grabbed her and Nancy pulled them outdoors.

"Play ball!" Aunt Gert cried. After some instructions from Midge, Cherry took her position in the outfield. To her surprise, she was more athletic than she thought and found the game entertaining.

After two hours, though, she begged for mercy. "Everything hurts," she cried, collapsing on a nearby hammock. Nancy joined her, while Midge and Velma plopped down on the soft grass nearby.

Lauren scowled at her teammates. "You are all a bunch of sissy-girls!" she scolded.

Aunt Gert laughed and clapped a hand over the girl's mouth. "Lauren, we've got a lot to do before supper, and since you've got so much energy, you can help me!" She dragged a protesting Lauren toward the kitchen.

A scowling Lauren returned a few minutes later carrying a pitcher of pink lemonade and a plate of sugar cookies. While Cherry poured glasses of the refreshing beverage for everyone, Jackie outlined a plan she had formulated during the night.

"I had a lot of time to think, what with the way that darn Lauren snores," she grinned. "I think we should all go to River Depths as soon as possible and get Nancy's diary and letters."

Midge nodded. "Velma and I had the same idea last night."

"Then Hannah will be free," Nancy said joyfully. Her smile turned into a frown. "I couldn't ask you to make that long trip just for me. Besides, when the news comes out, everyone in town will shun me. That won't be very pleasant for you. I think it's best if I go alone," she said mournfully. "I wouldn't want anything unpleasant to happen to any of you."

"Nonsense," the others chorused.

"You saved our lives," Velma said firmly. "Now it's time you let someone do something for you."

Cherry timidly put her hand in Nancy's. "I wouldn't dream of letting you go back alone to the place where those dreadful things happened!" she declared.

"Our minds are made up, Nancy," Midge added. "Like it or not, you're stuck with us."

Nancy grinned. "I like it," she said, giving Cherry's hand a little squeeze.

"I have an announcement to make, too, girls," Lana said. "I have decided to officially leave the Church. Gertie's going to move here and we're going to turn this place into a women's retreat. No more underground stuff for us. We're all going to be up here in the sunshine.

"And next summer, we want to host a special week for any girl who wants to come vacation here," she added.

"And you could have entertainment, like music and dances!" Nancy cried, already tapping her toes in excitement.

"That's a great idea!" Lana cried. "Why, we can get started now, while you're here. You can help us plan."

Lana climbed out of her hammock. "I think I'll go help Gert with luncheon and fill her in on your great idea, Nancy."

Midge and Velma followed Lana indoors.

Nurse Marstad took Jackie by the hand. "Let's take a walk," she murmured suggestively.

"That's a great idea!" Cherry cried, jumping up to join them. But Nancy held her back.

"Why don't we go and get cleaned up," she whispered. Feeling rather rumpled, Cherry happily agreed, and the pair walked hand-in-hand back to their room.

Once in the room, Cherry checked her lipstick in the vanity mirror. She noticed how flushed her face was. Was it the afternoon sun, or her heart-suddenly-beating-at a frantic pace?

Nancy jumped on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Cherry sipped from the cool glass of lemonade she had brought with her, and shyly made her way over to the bed.

"My, it's warm in here!" she exclaimed. Nancy giggled and put her arm around Cherry's waist.

Suddenly, the door burst open. It was Lauren, with a kitten in her hand. "I picked out a kitten for you, I hope that's okay!" she cried, handing a honey-colored kitten with green eyes to the young sleuth.

Nancy took the tiny animal and laid her in her lap. The kitten curled up into a ball and promptly fell asleep. "Thank you, Lauren," she said. "This is the cutest kitten I've ever seen."

A moment later Midge appeared. Without a word, she grabbed Lauren by the overalls and marched her out of the room. She shut the door firmly, and locked it.

"We're locked in," Cherry giggled.

"I couldn't think of a nicer thing," Nancy grinned. She put the sleeping kitten on a nearby chair. "Now, where were we?" she asked dreamily, running her hands through Cherry's short curly hair.

"Golly," Cherry gulped. She was feeling the most curious sensation; her face was flushed, but it wasn't from embarrassment. It was something else-a funny feeling that started in the pit of her stomach and worked its way down.

She didn't know quite how it happened, but somehow, suddenly, her hands were everywhere-tangled in Nancy's soft hair, touching the creamy-soft skin at the base of her neck, unbuttoning her blouse to reveal the lacy pink bra underneath.

"Golly," she murmured again, as she gently kissed the spot where the lace met flesh. She slipped the silky straps down Nancy's strong shoulders, and used her tongue to caress the delicate flesh that was revealed.

Nancy suddenly grew quiet. "It's awfully bright in here," she said shyly. Nancy jumped up and closed the blinds, leaving the room in warm darkness. She slipped off her shoes and lay back on the bed. She pulled Cherry to her. "That's better," she said softly, running her hands up and down Cherry's body.

The darkness made Nancy bold. "You know what I'd really like to do?" she whispered breathlessly in Cherry's ear. "I'd really like to..."

A sudden knock at the door startled them both. It was Aunt Gert. And she was terribly upset!

"Cherry, your mother's on the phone. She says something terrible has happened. Oh, Cherry, come quick!" They heard a key in the lock, and the door swung open.

Cherry jumped off the bed, hastily smoothing her dress. "I'll be right back," she said to Nancy. "Mother's probably lost her Brown Betty recipe again. She always gets terribly upset when that happens," she explained.

Nancy lay back languidly on the bed. "Hurry back," she whispered.

On the way out the door Cherry glanced in the vanity mirror and noticed her lipstick was smudged. "Oh, never mind," she thought, running a hand through her unruly curls.

She hurried down the corridor to Lana's office. Aunt Gert handed her the phone. Cherry could see by the worry in her eyes that bad news awaited her.

Cherry took a deep breath before picking up the phone. "Whatever the news," she thought, "I must be strong." The voice of a calm, cool nurse greeted her mother's anxious one.

"Your father's broken his arm," Mrs. Aimless cried hysterically. "He can't do anything for himself, and I can't possibly care for him and this big house all by myself. Oh, Cherry, you must come home!"

Cherry sighed and turned on the car's windshield wipers. The threatening gray sky had finally made good on its promise of rain. She remembered that it had been raining the night Lana was kidnapped. "Fine ending to an exciting adventure," she sighed.

If only Mr. Aimless hadn't been injured in a fall, Cherry would be enjoying her vacation with her newfound friends, instead of driving through torrential rain on the way to Idaho.

"If only Father wasn't hurt!" she cried aloud, instantly regretting her outburst. After all, she was a nurse, and wasn't it her duty to bring comfort to the injured and sick? And hadn't her mother been hysterical, insisting that no one could care for Father like Cherry?

For the first time ever, Cherry wished she hadn't become a nurse! But then she put her own needs aside and concentrated on the task ahead.

"Your father's break is pretty bad, Cherry. He fractured his arm in three places. He'll need lots of care, and you are the best nurse in all of Pleasantville!"

Her heart swelled with pride as she recalled her mother's words. But it wasn't enough to erase the grief that also filled her heart. Her departure had come at the worst possible time!

Her mother had begged her to come home as soon as possible, and what with the flurry that followed, she hadn't had time for a proper good-bye to Nancy. The fact that they had exchanged promises to see each other soon just somehow wasn't enough!

A tear trickled down her cheek. By now her chums were sitting down to a scrumptious supper, while she nibbled on an egg salad sandwich, thoughtfully prepared for her by Sister Honey. She fished in her purse for a clean hankie, but found none. All she had to wipe her tears on was her shirt sleeve!

She knew her mother would be dismayed to see her dressed so casually, and her father hated to see girls wearing slacks. "Maybe he'll be in too much pain to notice," she thought hopefully.

She mentally re-hashed the frantic conversation she had had with her usually unflappable mother.

"I just don't know where to turn!" Mrs. Aimless had cried, explaining the unlucky turn of events that had thrown the Aimless household into such a tizzy.

"Your father and I were in the back yard working on this year's float for the Founder's Day Parade. Oh, Cherry, it's so darling; wait until you see it. It looks like our house, only smaller. Anyway, I went into the kitchen for some lemonade and coffee cake and I heard the most awful crash! Your father tripped over Snowball while going down the basement stairs. Oh, Cherry, I was so startled I dropped my favorite cake platter-the one Grandma Aimless gave me for my birthday last summer, with the little cherries painted on the base-and when I ran outside, your father was lying very still. Goodness, I almost fainted!"

"Breathe, Mother," Cherry said gently, fearing her mother was about to faint. After a brief pause, Mrs. Aimless continued.

"Thankfully the paper boy was just coming up the block and he went and got Doctor Joe. Your father's stuck in bed, and I still have to finish the float and make my famous Brown Betty for the country fair-and that's in five days. I can't possibly do all this work alone. Oh, Cherry, you always know what to do. Please come home as soon as possible!"