Scent of Danger, Page 3

  As she kept an eye on him, Nancy started to plan her strategy. She didn’t necessarily want to scare him away. Better to wait, she decided, to find out exactly what he did want.

  Then Nancy heard Bess coming up behind her. She motioned her friend to keep back, but Bess let out an involuntary gasp when she saw what the man was up to.

  Hearing the noise, the man jumped to his feet and spun around. Now that her cover was blown, Nancy stepped forward and said firmly, “What are you doing to my car?”

  “It’s your car? I thought it was mine,” the man said with a heavy accent. His mirrored sunglasses made it impossible for Nancy to read his expression. She did notice, however, that the tall, thin stranger had palmed his lock-pick tool and was now innocently dangling a set of car keys.

  “You bet it is,” Nancy said. “What I want to know is—”

  Before Nancy could finish her sentence, the man was sprinting across the parking lot.

  “Hey! Stop him!” Bess called out. The few shoppers straggling across the lot stopped to look at Bess, but the man was already around the corner of the mall.

  “That was totally bizarre,” Nancy commented. She searched the lot for some sign of the man, but he had completely disappeared. Nancy shook her head in confusion, then climbed into the Mustang. Bess was already buckled into the passenger seat.

  “Do you think he really thought this was his car?” Bess asked as Nancy started the ignition.

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem likely,” Nancy said. She drove out of the mall and pulled onto the main road. “Not likely at all,” she repeated, glancing in the rearview mirror. “Especially since his car is a van.”

  “What?” Bess looked confused.

  “Check out the green van behind us. Isn’t that the same guy?”

  “It is!” Bess grabbed the armrest as Nancy took a sudden right. When Bess looked back, the man was still behind them.

  No doubt about it—he was following them, Nancy knew.

  A fast plan formed in her mind. At the next intersection, she made a sharp U-turn and doubled back.

  “He’s still with us,” Bess reported, glancing behind her.

  “Hang on, I’m going to try to lose him. Then maybe we can follow him—maybe we can find out who he is,” she explained when Bess gave her a confused look.

  With Bess clutching the edge of her seat, Nancy made two more quick turns and cut through an alley. When she came back onto the street, the van was nowhere in sight.

  “I think the alley was too narrow for him,” Bess said breathlessly. “We almost didn’t make it ourselves.”

  Nancy nodded. “Keep an eye out for him. He’s got to be around here somewhere.”

  They circled the area near the mall twice, but didn’t see the van. “I guess we lost him,” Nancy said at last with a disappointed sigh.

  “What do you think he wanted?” Bess wondered. “Hey—maybe it had something to do with the missing civets!”

  Nancy smiled. Bess had a knack for jumping to conclusions. “It could be anything, Bess. At this point there’s no way of knowing.”

  Bess shook her head slowly. “I don’t know, Nancy. I get the feeling there’s more to this case than a simple theft,” she said.

  “If there is, we’ll find out soon enough,” Nancy told her. “In the meantime, let’s go have a big sandwich—and a milkshake—on me.”

  • • •

  That evening the doorbell rang just as Nancy and her father, Carson Drew, were finishing dinner.

  “Expecting someone, Nancy?” Mr. Drew asked.

  “It’s probably George,” she answered, jumping up. “She said she’d come by after dinner.”

  George came in, stamping her feet and blowing on her fingers.

  “Come on in and warm up,” Nancy invited her. “We’re just having dessert.”

  “Did I come too early? I had a hamburger with Owen after work and then came straight here.”

  “You’re not early—unless you don’t like chocolate mousse,” Nancy assured her. “Hannah left some for us before she went off to visit her sister.” Hannah Gruen was the Drews’ longtime housekeeper.

  “If Hannah made it, it’s got to be good,” George said, unzipping her coat and handing it to Nancy. “Is Bess here yet?”

  “She’s not coming,” Nancy said. “She called about an hour ago to say she had a date with a hunk.” Nancy raised her eyebrows and smiled. “She felt bad, but I guess she couldn’t resist.”

  “Her latest football player, I guess.” George laughed and followed Nancy into the dining room. “Hi, Mr. Drew.”

  “Hi, George.” Carson Drew looked up, and his handsome face creased into a smile. “Nancy’s been telling me about your job at the zoo. Are you enjoying it?”

  “It’s wonderful,” George said eagerly, nodding her thanks as Nancy made her a bowl of the chocolate dessert. “My groups are mostly little kids, and they ask the greatest questions! Today one boy asked me what penguins look like without their tuxedos on.”

  “What did you tell him?” Nancy asked, grinning.

  “Before I could answer, the girl next to him said, ‘They look the same, dummy, only naked!’ ”

  Nancy and her father laughed. “It sounds like fun,” Carson said. “I wish I could stay and hear more about it, but unfortunately I have to be in court early tomorrow, and I still have a bit more work to do.” He stood up, then bent over to kiss his daughter on the forehead. “Good night, Nancy. Nice seeing you, George.”

  “You too, Mr. Drew.” After he left, George turned to Nancy with a gleam in her eye. “Okay. What do you think of him?”

  “George, I love my dad, you know that!” Nancy hid a smile while George let out a groan.

  “Not your father, dummy. Owen!” George poked her in the ribs.

  “Ohhh—Owen,” she said innocently. She had been expecting George’s question and had already chosen her words. “He’s obviously very intelligent. And he really seems to care about animals.”

  “Oh, he does. He knows more about them than anyone I’ve ever met.” George’s face lit up as she talked. “He knows about all kinds of things, Nancy, but he’s not at all boring about them.”

  She smiled shyly and continued, “Like tonight at dinner. I could have listened to his stories for hours, but he wanted to hear about me. You know what he said? He likes it that I’m an athlete. He says that’s probably why I walk so gracefully.” She blushed a little at the memory.

  Suddenly she pushed away her dessert. “But I won’t walk gracefully if I eat all this! I’ll waddle.”

  “One dish of mousse won’t do you in,” Nancy told her. “But if you’re done, let’s go sit in the living room.”

  Nancy and George headed into the living room where George continued to talk about Owen. Nancy flopped onto the sofa to listen to her friend.

  “The thing is, I can’t believe he really likes me!” George said. She was sitting sideways on a big, comfortable chair with her legs thrown over one arm. “I mean, I’m not like Bess. I don’t wear nail polish that matches my lipstick—”

  “You don’t have to,” Nancy told her, smiling at the thought of George in matching lipstick and nail polish. “You look super without frills.”

  George nodded. “I guess so. I’m not putting myself down. Usually I do think I’m pretty good, but I never guessed I’d be dating someone as neat as Owen. We’re going out again tomorrow night,” she added.

  “Things seem to be happening awfully fast,” Nancy said simply, trying not to color her comment.

  “I know, isn’t it great?” George’s voice rose as her level of excitement did. “I feel like this could be something special.”

  Nancy didn’t answer. George was obviously crazy about Owen. Unlike Bess, who’d had dozens of boyfriends, George had only fallen for a handful of guys. Could she tell the difference between a boy who really cared for her and one who was just playing around?

  “Nancy, are you listening?” George’s voice cut thr
ough Nancy’s thoughts. “I asked if you thought I should get a haircut.”

  “Your hair looks great,” Nancy said automatically. “Really, you look great,” she added warmly. “Romance is good for you.” Give it a rest, Drew, she scolded herself. George is happy and excited, and there’s no reason to spoil it for her.

  George was standing in front of the mirror, combing her hair into a different style. Suddenly she turned to Nancy, a stricken expression on her face. “I can’t believe I forgot to ask you. Where did you go this afternoon? Did you find out anything?”

  “A couple of things.” Nancy told her about their visit to the furrier. She also mentioned the man who had followed them.

  George was worried. “I wonder what he was doing to your car? I hope I haven’t gotten you involved in anything risky,” she added, an expression of concern clouding her face.

  “Well, we didn’t have any trouble losing him, so he’s probably not a professional,” Nancy said. Before she could continue she was interrupted by the doorbell.

  “I wonder who that can be? It’s nine o’clock,” George said.

  Nancy shrugged and headed for the front door as the buzzer rang again. George went with her to the door. When she opened it, Owen was standing outside.

  “Owen! Is anything wrong?” Nancy asked. He was pale, she noticed, under the porch light.

  “Are you all right?” George asked with concern.

  “Yes, fine.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I went to your house first, and your mom said you were here.” Ignoring Nancy, he grabbed George by the shoulders.

  “Another civet is missing—and this time I know someone’s trying to frame me!”

  Chapter

  Five

  WHY IS THIS HAPPENING to you?” George moaned. She went onto the porch and tenderly ran her fingers down his cheek.

  Owen impetuously hugged George close. “I don’t know,” he murmured softly in her hair.

  Nancy stood inside the hall while George clung to Owen. After a few seconds she cleared her throat. “Um, why don’t you come in, Owen? It’s freezing out there,” she added.

  Owen pulled away from George and remained standing on the porch. “I can’t. I’m sorry,” he told George tenderly. “I just want to get home and get some sleep—try to forget everything for the rest of the night.”

  “What can we do to help?” George asked. “You can’t stand by and let someone ruin your project. Your career, even.”

  “Why don’t we meet at the zoo early tomorrow,” Owen said. “We can talk about it then.”

  “Is eight o’clock all right?” George asked. Owen nodded. “Nancy, can you make it then?”

  “I can if Owen wants me to,” Nancy said. She caught him shrugging ever so slightly in George’s direction.

  But George was looking at Nancy and didn’t notice. “Of course he does. Don’t you?” she asked him.

  “Uh—sure. Well, see you then, Nancy,” Owen replied. He smiled at George. “I’ll see you then, too, beautiful.” He gave George a peck on the cheek and with a wave was halfway down the walk to his car.

  “He called me beautiful and kissed me!” George exclaimed after Nancy shut the door. She waltzed around the room with an invisible partner. “Am I going to have sweet dreams tonight!”

  Nancy watched her friend, lost in thought. Owen definitely knew how to put on the charm when he chose. Still, someone apparently had disliked him enough to try to pin the blame for the missing civets on him.

  Nancy frowned as she had another thought. Why was Owen so positive it was a setup? And why did he seem so reluctant to have Nancy involved? Was he afraid she might stumble on something that would actually implicate him? Nancy fervently hoped her theory wasn’t true. Otherwise, she’d destroy George’s newfound happiness.

  • • •

  Nancy left a message for Bess on the Marvins’ answering machine early the next morning before heading off to the zoo. When Nancy arrived, she found Owen and George waiting for her in Owen’s office.

  “Nancy! You’re just in time,” George greeted her. “Owen was just going to tell me the details of last night.”

  “Then I won’t interrupt.” Nancy nodded to Owen, who muttered a greeting. “Please go on.”

  Owen explained, “The whole thing was really weird. I went back to the zoo after dinner to finish up some paperwork. When I was done, I decided to check on the civets before I left. I do it every night—sort of to tuck them in.” He blushed a little at the admission, and Nancy decided Owen had a sweet, sensitive side to him.

  He continued, “I opened the door to the exhibit. The civets all know me well, and all six usually come out when I stop by. But last night there were only five!”

  “Did you look for the other civet?” Nancy asked.

  Owen looked annoyed at the question. “Of course I did. I checked the whole exhibit.”

  Ignoring his irritation, Nancy pressed on. “When was the last time you saw it?”

  “Right before dinner,” Owen said. “George helped me feed the civets before I left.”

  “There definitely were six, then?” Nancy prodded.

  Owen nodded. “The missing one is the female. I would have noticed if she was missing earlier.”

  “So the theft must have taken place while you were at dinner,” Nancy mused.

  “Or after he got back,” George pointed out.

  “That would have been tough,” Owen said. “I was working in my office with the door open. I would have seen anyone sneaking past.” He frowned. “Anyway, I just know the whole thing has to be a setup.”

  Now was the time, Nancy decided, to ask why Owen was so sure he was being framed. “What makes you so positive?” Nancy asked pointedly.

  Owen ran a hand through his hair, which looked as if he hadn’t combed it that morning. “When I left for dinner, it would have been obvious to anyone I was coming back. I left the lights on, and my stuff was all over. Why didn’t the thief just wait until I’d gone home for the night?”

  “What difference would it have made?” George asked, puzzled.

  Owen explained, “When you go home, you sign out with the night guard. Since I knew I was coming back, I didn’t sign out when we left for dinner.”

  “So no one but the guard and George knew that you had left the grounds,” Nancy commented. “Still, the guard could give you an alibi.”

  “If he remembers,” Owen said. “A lot of people go in and out—that’s why they keep the book.”

  “Even if the guard doesn’t remember you, you have an alibi. You were with me,” George reminded him.

  “Sure, you’d back me up. But is anyone going to believe you?” Owen looked skeptical. “Everyone knows we’re friends. You could be lying to defend me.”

  Nancy had another idea. “What about zoo security? Didn’t you call them when you saw the civet was gone?”

  Owen looked agitated. “Yeah, I called them. But you know what? They already knew about it.”

  “How did they know?” George asked.

  “They said they had just gotten an anonymous phone call. They were on their way over to check it out. They decided to hold off until morning, though.”

  Nancy bit her lip. “That’s strange that someone else reported it before you did. Still, it’s a good thing he or she did. It proves someone knew about the theft. It’s also good you called. It could help prove you had nothing to do with it.” She glanced around Owen’s office. “Was anything different after the theft? Anything moved around?”

  “I don’t think so.” Owen thought for a moment. “Wait a minute. I did notice something strange. The thief took some civet food and supplies.”

  Nancy pounced. “That means whoever stole the civets has to be keeping them alive.” She was about to go on when the door opened and Zoe Spelios stormed in.

  The zookeeper was obviously in a bad mood. “I got a call last night about the missing civet, Owen,” she said shortly. “Security has some questions for you. They’ll be
here in a few minutes, so you’d better get rid of your friends.”

  Then she noticed Nancy. “Maurice Berry told me about you,” she said, suddenly very sweet and friendly. “If there’s any way I can help you, let me know.”

  “I’d like to wait here and talk with the security guards, if that’s all right,” Nancy said.

  Zoe hesitated. “Uh—of course.” She smiled again. “Whatever you want to do is fine.”

  The guards arrived a moment later. There were two of them: a young guy, obviously an assistant, and a white-haired man with a beard.

  “Harper Anderson,” the white-haired man said, introducing himself. “And this is Art Fine.” He turned to Owen. “You must be Owen Harris.”

  Owen nodded, and Harper asked him to describe what had happened the night before. Then he asked to see the entrance to the civet exhibit.

  Owen led them down the long hallway to the door of the exhibit. Nancy, George, and Zoe followed.

  Harper stood back and let his assistant examine the locks. Then the two men spoke privately in a corner.

  “It doesn’t look as if anyone’s tampered with it,” Harper announced finally. “Which could suggest it’s an inside job.” He turned to Zoe. “Who has keys to the exhibit?” he asked.

  “Just Owen, me, and Tyler Mack,” Zoe answered knowingly. “Tyler’s my assistant.”

  Harper nodded. “I know him.” He twirled the points on his mustache while he thought for a minute. “Well, Art will dust for prints, and we’ll get back to you with the results.”

  “You mean fingerprints?” Owen asked, his eyes wide. “But I was the last one to touch the door. I came in after dinner last night to check on the civets,” he explained, looking at George as if for help.

  “That’s when he discovered one was missing,” George confirmed. “He told us about it afterward.”

  “Did you call security?” Zoe asked.

  Owen shrugged helplessly. “Yes, but—”

  “Someone else had called earlier,” Harper finished for him.

  “We’ll be speaking with you soon, Ms. Spelios,” he continued, tipping his cap. “And you, young man, watch what you do,” he warned, using his index finger to emphasize his point.