Make No Mistake (5 page)

Nancy knew just what George meant, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. “Um, I'll be right back, you guys. I'm just going to the ladies' room,” she said.

She gave George a meaningful look as she got up and was glad when George said, “I'll come with you.”

“Can you believe it?” George said, leaning against the sink when she and Nancy were alone in the ladies' room. “Bess adores that guy. She's only just met him again—I mean, if he really is Matt—and she practically worships him.”

“I noticed Matt doesn't seem to mind a bit,”
Nancy added. “In fact, he seems to be egging her on. This could turn out to be a real disaster.”

George nodded. “I know what you mean. What if he is a phony and just using Bess to gain credibility?” Her brown eyes were filled with concern. “I'd hate to see her get hurt.”

Nancy nodded. “That's what I'm afraid of, too. For her sake, I hope Matt Glover really is who he says he is. Because if we prove that he's not, it will break Bess's heart.”

W
HAT DO YOU THINK
we should do?” George asked.

“I think we'd better hurry up and find out the truth about Matt. Come on,” Nancy said, reaching for the ladies' room door. “Let's get back to the table before Bess decides to elope with the guy!”

George laughed, but her expression became grim again when she and Nancy returned to their seats and saw the adoration written across Bess's face.

“Uh-oh,” Nancy whispered. “We'd better break this up.”

She cleared her throat loudly as she and George sat down again. Matt and Bess broke off their conversation to acknowledge them.

“I have to tell you,” Nancy said to Matt, “that the reason we're in Chicago is because of you.”

“Nancy!” Bess gasped, shocked. She looked nervously at Matt, obviously not wanting him to know they'd been snooping on him. Matt was staring in bewilderment at Nancy.

“It's important for us to be honest with you, Matt,” Nancy explained. “We were checking up on you at the
Clarion.”

“I told Nancy it wasn't necessary,” Bess put in quickly.

Matt smiled at all of them. “Actually, I'm glad you checked up on me. I want you to trust me, and you're right, Nancy, we have to be honest with one another.”

“Good,” said Nancy. “I'm glad we understand each other.”

“As a matter of fact, I asked your father if I could take a lie-detector test,” Matt added to Nancy.

“Then everyone will have to believe you,” said Bess.

He grinned at her again, then said, “Let's talk about something more pleasant.”

“Like what?” Bess's eyes were shining.

“Like ice skating. The temperature out there must have dropped ten degrees since noon. The pond at home should be nicely frozen over tonight. What would you all say to a moonlight ice-skating party?”

“Just like the old days,” Bess said.

“It's a great idea,” Nancy said. The more they hung out with Matt, the more certain they could be that he was—or wasn't—Mr. Glover's son.

“Good.” Matt got up to go. “I have to get back to the Corners and sweep the pond for tonight. The car holds only two, I'm afraid. Would you like to ride back to River Heights with me, Bess?”

Nancy held her breath, hoping that her friend would refuse.

“Sure,” Bess replied breathlessly. “I'd love

• • •

“I'll pick you up in an hour, after I check in at home,” Nancy told George as she dropped her off at her house.

After a quick hello to her father and Hannah, Nancy decided to go see Tony Giralda again. She had almost an hour before she had to pick up George and Bess, and she wanted to check out her theory that Tony might be trying to cheat Matt out of his inheritance.

Nancy changed her cable-knit sweater for a turtleneck and heavy ski sweater. She grabbed her skates and was almost out the door when the phone rang. She answered it in the kitchen.

“Ned!” she said, a smile lighting up her face when she heard her boyfriend's voice on the other end of the line. “Where are you?”

“Still at school. That's why I'm calling. I'm
afraid I won't be able to make it out to see you this weekend. I've got a killer test on Monday, and I've got to stay here and study. Sorry.”

“That's okay,” she said. “But I hope you know you'll have to make it up to me by being doubly sweet the next time you come, Nickerson.”

It felt great to talk to him, and soon Nancy found herself telling Ned about Matt Glover.

“Yeah, I read about him showing up in the paper,” Ned said when she was done. His voice was filled with concern as he added, “If he's an impostor, he's got a lot to lose if anyone exposes him. Be careful, Nan.”

“You know me,” she said in a teasing voice.

He sighed. “That's what has me worried.”

Nancy said goodbye, then hung up and went out to her Mustang. It was already dark, but the porch light illuminated the outdoor thermometer, which read fifteen degrees. The pond would definitely be frozen.

Raising her eyes, she admired the pale three-quarter moon that was just rising. She thought of the old days Matt kept mentioning. If only she knew whether he remembered them himself, or whether he'd been coached to memorize the details of Matt Glover's boyhood by someone else. She remembered Sheila McCoy saying that Gary Page had the best memory for detail she'd ever known. Was it good enough to memorize all the details of someone else's life?

As Nancy pulled up in front of the Environmental
Action office, it was just before eight and she stopped thinking about Matt and started thinking about Tony. She frowned when she looked at the office. She didn't see any lights on. Maybe he'd left right on time that day.

Looking up and down the street, she saw that it was deserted and pitch-dark except for the weak glow of a street lamp a block away. Nancy reached into the glove compartment for her flashlight and flicked it on, before walking through the frigid night air to the office door.

She knocked and called Tony's name, but no one answered. Next, she tried the door. It opened. Great! She'd just take a quick look around for anything incriminating. Shining her flashlight so she could see where she was going, Nancy went down the short hallway, past the two closed doors, toward the garagelike office.

The door to Tony's office stood wide open, but the lights were off. In a soft voice, Nancy tentatively called his name again, just to make sure no one was there. Then she swung her beam around the room.

After flipping through the papers on his desk, she opened the top drawer. Nothing there but a candy bar and some old papers that had to do with a local law about industrial dumping into the river.

The other drawers were just as uninteresting, and they were dirty, too. Her nose began to feel itchy from all the dust she was creating.

Just then Nancy felt a prickly sensation at the back of her neck. It didn't make sense that Giralda had left the building unlocked, so he must be coming back soon. She knew she should leave, but she wanted to check out whatever was beyond the other doors leading off the hallway. Doing so was probably a waste of time, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Quickly she went back to the hallway, swinging the beam of her flashlight back and forth. When she reached the first door, she tried the handle gingerly. The door pulled open with a creak, and Nancy peered into the dim interior. It was a closet, as she'd expected. It contained nothing but cleaning supplies and an ancient-looking mimeograph machine.

At the next door Nancy paused for a moment. Was that a noise she heard? She stood completely still, listening, but there was nothing.

I guess I just imagined it, she thought, shaking her head. This place is starting to get me spooked. Resolutely, she pulled open the door and stepped inside.

All of a sudden Nancy felt herself being roughly shoved forward. She fell to her knees. A second later she heard the door slam shut behind her and the lock turn. She was trapped!

Nancy swung the beam of her flashlight until she found the light switch, then turned it on. Keeping the lights off didn't matter anymore, since someone knew she was there.

She didn't have time to wonder who, though, because just then she heard a low growling behind her. Nancy whirled around.

Standing in the back left corner of the room were two very large dogs. They looked part German shepherd and part something else— something wild. Their teeth were bared, and their fierce eyes were trained on Nancy!

N
ANCY FROZE,
trying to remember everything she knew about calming animals. “Good boys.” She tried to keep her voice calm, but she could hear that it was higher pitched than normal. “What good boys, yes. There's nothing to be afraid of.”

The dogs' teeth were no longer bared, she saw with relief, but they were still growling, so she kept talking. “I don't blame you for being angry at me. If someone burst into my house as I did into yours, I'd be furious . . ..” She trailed off, peering cautiously at the huge animals. Was it working?

She wasn't sure. “Good boys,” she said again. The dogs seemed to be calming down, but Nancy
wasn't—especially when she heard a voice outside the door shout, “Who's there?”

It was Tony Giralda! There was no way she could hide from him now, so she called out, “It's me—Nancy Drew.”

There was a pause, then the door was unlocked and opened. Tony was standing in the hall, a frown on his face. “What are you doing in there?” he asked. “What are you doing here at all?”

“Get me away from these dogs, first,” Nancy said, stepping quickly around him and into the hall. “I didn't know you had attack dogs.”

“Attack dogs?” Tony repeated, looking amused. “Fred and Max wouldn't hurt a flea. They're high-strung, but they're sweethearts.” As if to prove it, Tony whistled softly, and the big dogs loped over to him, giving little yowls of happiness when Tony petted them. “Fred was probably terrified when you went in there. He's afraid of strangers.”

“I didn't go in, I was pushed,” Nancy told Tony. “Hard.” She gazed intently at him.

Tony's mouth dropped open. “But nobody was even here. I was out getting dinner. When I came back and saw the door was open, at first I was afraid a burglar was in here. But I guess I just left it unlocked.” He smiled sheepishly. “Sometimes I get so caught up in my work I forget to lock up.”

He led her back to his office, switching lights on as he went and checking out the entire area.

“Whoever pushed you is gone now,” he said as they sat down, Nancy at his desk chair and Tony in a gray metal folding chair. “Did you get a look at the person?”

“No. Anyone could have gotten in the front door.”

“Mmmm.” Tony frowned. “Well, nothing seems to be missing, so I guess if the person was a burglar, you scared him off. Hey, you still haven't answered my question,” he said. “What were
you
doing here?”

Nancy watched him for a second before answering. She wasn't sure, but it didn't seem as if Tony had been the one to push her. He seemed genuinely surprised to see her. Besides, why would he push her into Fred and Max's room if he knew the big dogs wouldn't harm her?

On the other hand, if he knew Nancy didn't know the dogs were harmless, he could have locked her in the room just to scare her or to teach her a lesson.

Nancy frowned. The only thing the incident did was reinforce her feeling that she was right to be looking into the Matt Glover case. Someone didn't like her snooping around, and someone had tried to do something about it.

“I wanted to see you,” she told Tony at last. It was true, even if she did get in a little snooping while she was at it. “I wanted to ask you some questions.”