Carolyn Keene - Stay Tuned For Danger

The two friends were silent all the way back to Eloise’s apartment. Looking over at Bess, Nancy wished she could comfort her somehow. She knew that Bess really hurt. Bess’s brave hero had turned out to be not so brave after all. And worse than that, he was in love with someone else.

As they got out of the cab, Nancy caught sight of her aunt Eloise entering the building. “Hi, Aunt Eloise,” she called as she hurried up to greet her.

“Hi, Nancy—Bess,” she said as they entered the building. “Did you have a nice day?”

“You’re never going to believe what happened today,” Bess said in a soft voice. She had finally gotten control of herself.

“Well, as soon as we get upstairs, let’s kick off our shoes and relax, and you can tell me all about it,” Eloise replied, moving toward the mailboxes.

The three were in the mail alcove when Eloise looked down and spotted a small box wrapped in brown paper on the package table. She glanced at it and scooped it up. “Nancy, it’s addressed to you,” she said, noticing it had no stamps.

As she started to hand it to Nancy, she froze.

The box was ticking!

Chapter Thirteen

Nancy sprang into action. “Bess, get on the house phone and get someone to call the police.”

While Bess was contacting a neighbor, Nancy and Eloise examined the package. “I think the ticking sounds different now,” Nancy’s aunt said in a frightened whisper. She was still holding the box, but now in trembling hands. “Let’s take it outside.”

Slowly and calmly, the two went out of the building and walked to the curb. As soon as they had stopped and put the box down, two police bomb-squad officers arrived. It didn’t take them long to discover that the box contained an ordinary, harmless alarm clock.

“I’ve never been so happy to see an alarm clock in my entire life.” Nancy’s aunt smiled with relief and clasped her hands together to stop them from shaking.

“Somebody went to a lot of trouble to scare your niece, ma’am. And from the sound of this note, that person is serious.”

“ ‘Last warning, Nancy Drew, leave town now ,’ ” the officer read.

“Nancy, I think maybe we should get back to River Heights today.” Bess had rejoined them and stood listening as the note was read.

“Bess is right, Nancy. This is serious. Your father would never forgive me if anything happened to you while you were here. Worse, I would never forgive myself. In fact, after the officers leave, I’m calling the airport.”

Eloise, Nancy, and Bess thanked the men, and they turned and headed back into the building and up to Eloise’s apartment.

Nancy bit her lip. “Wait a minute, Aunt Eloise,” she said, trying to stop her aunt from calling the airport. She knew her aunt was only trying to protect her, but how could she leave New York while a dangerous killer was still after Rick? Even if he wasn’t the greatest guy in the world, he didn’t deserve to die. And obviously, the killer was getting closer and closer. Next time he might succeed.

“Our tickets are for the day after tomorrow,” she called out as her aunt was about to lift the phone. “Maybe I can solve the case before then.”

“Forget it, Nancy. I’m not going to let you risk your life—not even for a couple more days.” Eloise sounded definite. “And besides, the police are on the case now.”

“She’s probably right, Nancy,” Bess agreed.

“Wait a minute, everybody.” Nancy was groping for the right words. “You can’t ask me to just walk away from this! A man’s life is in danger!”

They looked back at her with questioning stares, unconvinced.

“How about this—I promise that if I don’t come up with any answers by tomorrow, I’ll go straight back to River Heights as we planned originally. But honestly, I could never live with myself if I knew I’d walked away when I could have helped.”

Eloise looked down at the floor. Nancy had gotten to her. Bess, despite everything, had to smile. Sleuthing was in Nancy’s blood.

“All right, Nancy,” Eloise said reluctantly. “I do have only myself to blame—I did introduce you to Mattie.”

“Thanks, Aunt Eloise,” Nancy cried warmly, throwing her arms around the older woman’s shoulders. “You’re a peach, you know that?”

“Some peach. I invite you to New York for a vacation, and you wind up running all over town, tracking down a murderer. And getting bomb threats delivered to your door!”

“He or she is not a murderer—not yet, anyway,” Nancy said. “Nobody’s been killed, and I hope we can keep it that way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s something I’ve got to take care of right away.”

“Who’s there?” came Mattie’s surprised voice in response to Nancy’s knock.

“It’s me. May I come in?”

“Oh, Nancy,” Mattie said when she opened the door. “Wasn’t it awful?” Mattie looked exhausted. Obviously, she had just been through quite an ordeal. “Come on in,” she added distractedly. “Sorry the place is such a mess. I just got back from the hospital.”

“How’s Rick doing?” Nancy asked.

“He’s going to be okay. But—oh, Nancy, his hands! They hurt him terribly. I just can’t believe he’s actually going to do the show tomorrow.”

“What?” she gasped. “Tomorrow?”

Nancy was truly amazed—he had sounded so frightened at the hospital. I have to give him a lot of credit, she thought. He really was brave.

“Pappas showed up at the hospital. He just burst in past the guards. I was there for the whole thing. He couldn’t stop apologizing for this and all the other things that have been happening on the set lately. He even promised to hire Rick a bodyguard and to get some plainclothes detectives to be at the studio until this whole thing is over. But Rick said something about loyalty to his fellow actors, and just shrugged it off and told Pappas he’d be back at work tomorrow. As shaken up as Rick was, he just couldn’t say no.” She sighed miserably.

“I don’t know how I’m going to get through tomorrow,” she said. “I’m so worried about him. Oh, Nancy, what am I going to do? If he’s killed, I’ll just—I’ll—oh, I don’t know what I’ll do!” Mattie seemed to be on the brink of hysteria.

“Hold on, Mattie. It’s going to be okay,” said Nancy, trying to comfort her. “I’m still here, and I’ve got one more day in town. I haven’t given up yet.”

Mattie looked into Nancy’s eyes, and a glimmer of hope showed on her face. “You—you mean it?”

“Mmm-hmm. Maybe I’m not exactly closer to solving this case, but I sure know a lot more than when I started. And I’ll do my best for you until it’s time for me to leave,” Nancy assured her. “Please don’t worry.”

But what Nancy didn’t tell Mattie was that she was hoping the criminal would try again and this time make a mistake—the kind of mistake he or she had managed to avoid until then. Her experience showed that most criminals tripped themselves up sooner or later.

“Oh, I hope you’re right,” Mattie said with a nervous laugh. “I guess I’d better get you and Bess hired on as extras again, huh?”

When it was all arranged, Mattie went back to the hospital to get Rick, and Nancy went back upstairs for a quiet dinner with her aunt and Bess.

Just before turning in, she went into the empty living room, picked up the phone, and dialed. She was in luck.

“Twice in one week?” came Ned’s familiar voice. “What’s going on, Nancy? Could this be true love?”

Nancy giggled, with a wave of warm feeling passing over her. Good old Ned. He was just what she needed right then—the voice of sanity. “You know I love you,” she said with a laugh. “But thanks for trying to be funny. I can use a little humor right now.”