Murder on Ice, Page 2

  Then Nancy caught her breath. Just beyond her reach she could see a spot that was definitely thinner than the rest of the rope. Several strands had parted and now, because of her weight, the rest of them were beginning to fray.

  All right, thought Nancy, all I have to do is let go of the rope and stop moving. She loosened her grip.

  But at that very moment, the rope broke with a sickening snap. The force whipped her through the air like a rag doll, throwing her toward a massive birch tree.

  In a kaleidoscope of confused, blurred images, Nancy saw the frozen slope rise up to meet her.

  The rest was darkness.

  Chapter

  Three

  NANCY WAS SOMEPLACE dark, cold, and lonely. The wind whistled, and a shower of ice stung her face as she struggled back to consciousness. She lay half buried in the drifts of snow. Ned, she thought achingly.

  But Nancy wasn’t alone. Gradually she realized that someone was bending over her, urging her to wake up. It was a man’s voice, but it wasn’t Ned’s.

  “Come on, fight!” Two hands shook her shoulders roughly. Nancy tried to wrench herself away, but the hands still held her. Then the voice spoke again, but it sounded different—concerned and anxious. “Open your eyes. Come on,” it said gently.

  Nancy’s eyelids felt as if they’d frozen together. She was cold, so cold. She drew her breath in. Slowly, she forced her eyes open and looked toward the bright sky.

  Between her face and the light was a dark blur that, as her vision cleared, became the face of an unfamiliar young man. It was a handsome face, with blue eyes the same color as his sleek ski suit and topped with a mop of curly blond hair.

  “Are you all right?” asked the young man.

  “I think so,” Nancy murmured. She moved her head tentatively, and it pounded painfully. Then a wave of nausea swept over her, and the blackness threatened to close in again.

  Nancy wasn’t completely unconscious, though, and she could dimly make out voices through the haze.

  “ ‘Haven’t seen you since the Broken Leg Café,” a second male voice was saying. Even in her stupor, Nancy was sure she knew that voice. After a few moments of confusion, she realized it belonged to Luke Ericsen, the ski instructor.

  Nancy felt the stranger’s grip on her shoulders slacken. Slowly, painfully, she opened her eyes just enough to peek through her lashes. Luke Ericsen was standing over her, looking directly at the stranger with the curly hair.

  There was a queer expression on the stranger’s face—more alarmed, even, than when he had looked at Nancy a moment ago. Then her vision blurred and once again she sank back into darkness.

  The next thing Nancy felt was a cold, tingling sensation on her face. Her eyes opened more easily this time. Luke was kneeling beside her, rubbing snow into her face.

  Nancy jerked her head away to avoid the next dose. As she did so, pain exploded in starbursts behind her eyes.

  “Don’t move like that until you’re sure nothing’s broken,” Luke said sharply.

  “I think I’m all right,” Nancy said weakly.

  “Move your legs slowly, one at a time.”

  Nancy moved her right one, then her left, and groaned.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?” Luke said brusquely. “That’s what you get for not listening to me.”

  Nancy let Luke’s comment pass. “Where did your friend go?” she asked.

  There was a split second of silence. “What friend?” Luke asked blankly.

  Too blankly, Nancy decided. “The guy who saw the rope breaking and warned me,” Nancy said deliberately. Then another question occurred to her. The stranger had been farther up the slope, far enough away so that Nancy couldn’t understand his words when he shouted to her. How could he possibly have seen the rope fraying from that distance?

  There was another silence. Then Luke said, “There was nobody else here. You really must have hit your head hard.”

  Her head was definitely throbbing. Nancy explored it with her fingers and found a bump—and agonizing pain. Could I have imagined that man? she wondered. Then a shout broke into her thoughts.

  “Nancy!”

  Ned’s familiar yell. Nancy sat up painfully to see Ned, George, and Bess running up the mountain toward her.

  In another minute, Ned was by her side, his arms around her in a concerned hug. “Are you okay?” he demanded huskily.

  “Mmmm,” Nancy murmured. “Luckily, I know that the best thing to do when you’re falling is just to go limp. I only wish I hadn’t hit my head in the process!”

  “Good thing you knew what you were doing,” George said seriously.

  “Knew what she was doing?” Luke cut in. “If your friend here really knew what she was doing, she wouldn’t have been on that tow in the first place! I told her not to take it.”

  “Oh.” George frowned slightly at Nancy. Then she turned to Luke and threw him a shy smile.

  The young ski instructor glanced quickly at George. “I’m glad you understand what I’m talking about. Maybe you can talk some sense into your friend here.” He shot Nancy a disgusted look, as he hurriedly put on his skis. Then, abruptly, he turned and headed down the slope.

  “Now, why is he going in that direction?” Nancy said thoughtfully, as Ned and George helped her to her feet. “I thought he had to check the chair lift. Maybe he’s going after that other guy.”

  “What other guy?” Bess asked.

  Quickly, Nancy told her friends about the man who had warned her. “I don’t care what Luke says,” she finished up. “There was someone else here, and he was the one who saved me.”

  “Luke claimed there wasn’t anyone else?” Ned asked thoughtfully.

  “Right.” Nancy rubbed her head. Suddenly her hand froze. Her conversation with Liz came rushing back to her. . . . A stranger at the lodge, trying to get inside.

  Suddenly alert, Nancy thought, two blond, blue-eyed strangers appearing out of nowhere at the lodge—that’s just one coincidence too many for me. I’ll lay odds that the stranger who scared Liz and the one who saved me are the same guy. But, Nancy realized, now I’m not sure if that stranger is someone to be afraid of.

  “Listen, everyone,” Nancy suddenly exclaimed. “Something funny is going on here.” She told them about Liz’s prowler and how the lock had been tampered with. “I don’t know what it’s all about, but I think it has something to do with the man who saved me and that awful Luke Ericsen. Luke’s acted a little oddly, don’t you think?”

  Just then, Nancy and her friends were interrupted by a shout.

  “Hello there!” a young man called out, making his way toward them on cross-country skis. Liz skied up behind him.

  “Gunther!” Ned waved. He turned to the others. “I met him in the dorm,” he explained. “He’s from Germany, and he’s taking a semester off from school to travel through the United States.”

  Gunther and Liz glided to a stop beside them, and general introductions followed.

  “Why don’t you rent some cross-country skis and join us?” Gunther asked. He had brown hair and warm brown eyes that were already, Nancy noticed with amusement, fixed on Bess.

  Bess, the dedicated nonathlete, beamed back. “Maybe I’ll try it . . .” she said.

  Nancy saw Liz stifle a smile.

  “You can borrow my skis,” Liz offered. “Gunther would be a great teacher for you, Bess. He’s fantastic on both downhill and cross-country skis. He’s part of an alpine rescue team back in Germany.”

  “Borrow Liz’s skis, and I will show you what a pleasure outdoor sports can be,” Gunther urged.

  “Well . . .” Bess’s dimples started to show.

  “Why don’t we all go back to the lodge first?” Ned interrupted. “Nancy just had a bad fall.”

  Alarm leaped into Liz’s eyes. “Are you all right? What happened?”

  “The rope tow broke,” Ned said grimly.

  “Oh, no!” Liz gasped. She shot Nancy a questioning look. “Do you think this has anyth
ing to do with . . .”

  Nancy answered with a faint shrug that made her shoulder throb. “I’ll explain later,” she said quietly, not wanting to discuss the strange incident in front of Gunther.

  “Come back to the lodge,” Liz said, concerned. “Some hot chocolate would do you good.”

  Ned helped Nancy down the hill and into the lounge, and then he and Gunther went off to find an ice pack and make some cocoa. While they were gone, George, Bess, and Liz helped Nancy out of her ski boots as she lay down on one of the couches.

  “Okay,” Liz said, firmly closing the door. “I want to know exactly what went on out there.”

  “First of all,” said Nancy, “you should know that I already told Bess, George, and Ned what you told me in the office. Oh, it’s all right,” she rushed on, seeing the look of alarm on Liz’s face. “They help me with all my cases.”

  Liz relaxed and Nancy continued, “Anyway, I’m not quite sure what happened on the slope. The rope must just have been worn through.”

  “How awful!” Liz exclaimed.

  “Fortunately, that man somehow saw that the line was frayed and gave me some warning.”

  “What man?” Liz asked, then caught her breath. “The prowler?”

  “I don’t know,” Nancy replied. “But if so, we could certainly use more prowlers like him. If the rope had snapped before I was prepared, I could have been badly hurt. . . . And he was very concerned after I hit my head.”

  “I can’t say as much for that ski instructor,” Bess put in indignantly. “He was so rude! And he didn’t even act worried! Who is that creep, anyway? If he’s such a hotshot skier, why isn’t he hitting the big-time competitions?”

  A strange, startled look sprang onto George’s face.

  “Luke’s a good skier and a good instructor,” Liz said, as if trying to be fair. “He’s very careful, too. That’s why it’s hard for me to understand why he didn’t see that frayed rope before we had an accident!”

  “I really don’t understand you, Bess!” George exclaimed. “When you’re in a position of responsibility like Luke is, you have to set down rules.”

  She turned to Nancy. “No wonder he was mad! How could he know that you’re a great skier and that you’re used to handling dangerous situations? Besides, he was right, Nancy. You should have waited to use the chair lift. If you had been badly hurt, he would have been responsible—”

  George broke off abruptly. The others were staring at her, openmouthed. George turned scarlet. “I . . . I’ll be back later,” she muttered. She hurried out, banging the door behind her.

  “What’s with her?” Bess asked in amazement.

  “If you ask me,” Nancy said, “George has fallen for our bad-natured ski instructor, and fallen hard. Didn’t you see the way she was looking at him on the slope?”

  Bess looked bewildered. “But George never gets crushes.”

  “There’s always a first time,” Liz said with a grin. “Nancy, I’ll go get you some aspirins. Be back in a minute.” She left the lounge.

  Nancy pressed her hands against her temples, trying desperately to make her head stop pounding. She needed to think—about Liz’s prowler, the broken tow rope, Luke, and her mysterious rescuer. And now George.

  Ned and Gunther came in with the cocoa and an ice pack just as Liz was returning with the aspirin. “About your friend George,” Liz said, “I saw her going up the chair lift with Luke just now. . . . I have some work to do—see you later. Let me know if you need anything else.” She disappeared into the passageway.

  Nancy groaned. “Wouldn’t you know that when George finally does fall in love, she does it in a big way. And with Luke Ericsen, of all people!”

  “Don’t jump to conclusions,” Ned said with a laugh. He handed Nancy the ice pack. “George is an athlete. Luke is an athlete. She just understands where he’s coming from, that’s all.”

  “You’re an athlete. How do you feel about Luke?”

  “Hmmm.” Ned bit his lip thoughtfully.

  “Let’s hit the slopes and look for them,” Nancy suggested between sips of hot chocolate.

  Ned hesitated. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

  “I’m okay,” Nancy lied. She knew if she told Ned how she really felt, he’d never let her go investigating the mysterious Luke Ericsen.

  “Bess and I could meet you later,” Gunther suggested. “I want to give her some cross-country skiing lessons.”

  “Great!” Bess flashed Gunther a dazzling smile.

  “Excellent! I will go find the skis Liz promised you.” Gunther took off across the lounge, whistling.

  Ned looked at Nancy. “Did my ears deceive me? Bess actually said ‘great’ to going out in the cold and exercising? You don’t suppose she likes Gunther?”

  “Not so loud!” Bess protested, giggling. Then her face sobered. “I don’t know if I should let myself like him. He’s going back to Germany at the end of the semester.”

  “Since when has Bess Marvin stayed in love with the same guy for a whole semester anyway?” Nancy asked, amused.

  “True,” Bess admitted. “But I never plan it that way.”

  Nancy buckled her boots on once again and went outside to put on her skis while Ned-snapped his boots into the skis he’d borrowed from Luke.

  “Well,” said Nancy, as she and Ned headed slowly for the lift, “obviously Luke has finished checking the chair lift if he and George already took it up the mountain. I hope we run into those two,” she added.

  Nancy and Ned took the next chair up and sat quietly for a moment, watching the snow-covered trees move past them. The cold air helped to clear Nancy’s head, and soon she was enjoying the feeling of whizzing down the slopes. But even though Nancy and Ned skied the entire afternoon, they never ran into George and Luke.

  “They’re probably hot-dogging down the hardest slope on the mountain,” Ned commented.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Nancy said. “We’ll catch up with them back at the lodge.”

  But when Nancy and Ned returned to Webb Cove Lodge, George was nowhere to be found. In fact, she didn’t appear until everyone had gathered around the long table in the lounge for dinner. Then she marched in, her color high, and spent the entire meal ignoring Nancy and talking to the other guests at the lodge, most of whom were college students.

  She’s mad at me, Nancy realized dully, because she knows I’m suspicious of Luke. Nancy chewed her food without really tasting it, feeling slighted and unhappy.

  Only later, as she lay sleeplessly in her bed, did Nancy manage to push thoughts of George out of her mind. Unfortunately, those thoughts were replaced with even more troublesome ones. Liz’s description of the hideous face pressed against the office window came back to her vividly.

  If the prowler really was the same person who had saved her, she was inclined to trust him. After all, he’d warned her about the breaking rope.

  And if he really wanted to get into the lodge, he probably could have done so already. Liz’s locks, Nancy had noticed, wouldn’t be hard to pick. Maybe he had a good reason for looking around Webb Cove . . . and maybe that reason was Luke Ericsen!

  They know each other, Nancy thought, that is, if the blond stranger really is Liz’s prowler. But Luke hadn’t wanted her to realize that. Why?

  Nancy lay very still, her head still aching a little from her fall. There were no sounds except the steady breathing of the sleepers in the other bunks. Then Nancy’s sharp ears detected a faint crackling sound outside.

  A shiver ran down her back as a current of cold air eddied through the cracks in the window frame.

  Nancy turned toward the window—and froze. The shade wasn’t pulled down all the way . . . and she could see someone at the window. Then, as quickly and silently as it had come, the figure slipped away.

  Nancy rose to her knees on the bed. Cautiously, she peeped outside.

  No one was there.

  There was only wind, moonlight, and snow—and scarring the snow, as if et
ched by a giant’s finger, were letters a yard long. They spelled: MURDERER.

  Chapter

  Four

  THE MESSAGE IN the snow was the first thing Nancy remembered the next morning. She knelt on her bed and looked out the window, but the letters were gone, perhaps swept away by the wind.

  What had it meant? Could someone at Webb Cove really be a murderer? Just as important, who had written the letters in the snow, and why?

  Nancy didn’t have any answers, so she decided not to say anything about what had happened until she could talk to Liz and Ned alone. She showered, dressed, and went to breakfast.

  The guests sat around the table in the lounge, eating and talking so excitedly about getting in a good day of skiing that Nancy couldn’t help but feel a little better. Glasses clinked, silverware rattled, and the enormous piles of pancakes disappeared rapidly.

  “These are great,” Ned exclaimed as Liz came in from the kitchen with another platter.

  “Good! Have some more!” Liz said cheerfully. She caught Nancy’s eye. “How are you feeling after your fall?”

  “Fine, except for a few aching muscles. I’d like to speak to you in a little while, though.”

  “Sure. Right after breakfast.” Liz set the pancake platter in front of Bess, who eyed it despairingly.

  “If I eat another helping, I’m going to have to ski all day just to work it off,” she moaned.

  “I’ll be glad to give you some more lessons,” Gunther said gallantly.

  Ned choked on his own second helping and Nancy kicked his ankle warningly. Then she sent a mischievous glance toward George. To her dismay, George turned away and asked loudly, “Is Luke teaching any advanced classes today?”

  A prickle ran down Nancy’s spine. So George was still giving her the cold shoulder.

  “Sure,” Liz answered. “He’s out fixing that broken rope tow. Why don’t you hunt him up?”

  “I think I will.” George pushed her chair back and got up to leave.

  “Why don’t you wait for us?” Nancy called.

  “You go ahead and finish your breakfast. I’ll see you around,” George replied abruptly, and walked out.