Make No Mistake (6 page)

“Like what?”

She decided to confide in Tony—up to a point. “I went to the offices of the
Clarion
in Chicago this afternoon,” she said. “I spoke to Matt Glover's editor. She identified a photograph of him and confirmed everything he'd said.”

Nancy took out the article Sheila McCoy had given her and handed it to Tony. “Here's a sample of one of his earliest pieces for the
Clarion.
He was using the name Gary Page then.”

Tony smoothed the crumpled photocopy and scanned it briefly. He was about to hand it back when something caught his eye. “Jake Loomis!” he exclaimed. “I always wondered what happened to him. He left town a few years ago.”

Nancy felt a prickling sensation along the top of her scalp. “Jake Loomis used to live in River Heights?” she asked.

“Sure. He was the gardener out at Glover's Corners. He worked there for years. Wow, this brings it all back! Yeah, Loomis must have left when Matt was about fifteen or sixteen. He always had dreams about setting up his own business.”

“He seems to have succeeded, judging by this article.”

“Yeah.” Tony leaned forward and said in an urgent voice, “Look, this is all beside the point.
What I want to know is, what are you doing about exposing this fake Matt Glover? I mean, surely you can see by now that I'm right about him.”

No, Nancy couldn't. She didn't know whom to believe. She didn't really trust Tony
or
Matt. Tony wanted Matt to be a fake, so that Giralda's Environmental Action would get a piece of Mr. Glover's fortune. Since he hadn't mentioned the money he'd be receiving from the estate, maybe he wasn't playing straight with her.

She wanted to find out more about Tony's interest in the will, but she was afraid of pressing her luck. She'd already been accosted once, and she didn't want to risk it happening again in such a deserted place. She rose to go. “Thanks for the information. I'll be in touch.”

Tony walked her out to her car. The moon had fully risen, and the gloomy street in front of the office was now bathed in silvery light. Suddenly Nancy had an inspiration. Why not ask Tony to Matt's skating party? Maybe she could learn something from how Tony and Matt behaved toward each other.

Tony reacted oddly to her suggestion. He seemed shy and unsure of himself. “I don't know,” he said. “I haven't really been invited. I'm not sure I should come.”

“I'm inviting you,” Nancy said. “If you don't have skates, there are probably some there you
can borrow. Besides, I thought you said you knew Matt like a brother.”

“The
real
Matt,” Tony muttered. “Not this guy.”

“That's the whole point. You'll be able to watch him on what's supposed to be his home turf. You can't afford to pass up a chance like this.”

Tony rubbed his chin, considering. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, I'll go,” he said, but he didn't sound as though he really wanted to.

Nancy climbed into her car. “I have to pick up my friends first. Why don't you go ahead to the Corners and we'll meet you there.”

Tony still seemed troubled, but he agreed.

Nancy couldn't help wondering why he was acting so strange. Why would he be reluctant to visit Matt—unless he had something to hide?

• • •

George was ready and waiting, dressed in red sweats and a heavy down vest. Her ice skates were slung over her shoulder, and she was eager to get on the ice. A natural athlete with terrific coordination, George was at her best when she was in action.

Five minutes later they were in front of Bess's house, and Bess, wearing a short pleated skirt, a pink turtleneck and tights, and a heavy sweater, was climbing into the backseat.

“Aren't you afraid you'll freeze in that?” George asked, gesturing at Bess's skirt.

“I have on three pairs of tights,” Bess returned. She added in an anxious voice. “Do they make my legs look too fat?”

“Are you kidding? You look great!” Nancy said firmly. She was a little dismayed, though, because she knew exactly whom Bess wanted to look great
for.

As they drove to Glover's Corners, Nancy told her friends about what had happened at Giralda's office. “Anyway, I invited him to come skating with us tonight,” she said, finishing her story.

“What!”
Bess and George exclaimed together.

“What did you do that for?” Bess went on.

“He has an interest in exposing Matt,” Nancy said. “It may be greed on his part, or it may be something more honest. I have to find out.”

“Oh, Nan,” said Bess from the backseat. “Can't we forget about the case for tonight? I just want to have fun.”

Nancy smiled at her in the rearview mirror. “Me, too. I'm just going to keep my eyes open, that's all.” Turning into the driveway, she announced, “Here we are.”

“Oh, it looks more gorgeous than usual,” Bess said as they climbed out of the Mustang.

Nancy had to agree. Glover's Corners was blazing with light from every window. There
were white Christmas-tree lights strung in the bare limbs of the trees around the pond, and the moon had climbed high, shedding a warm glow on the skeletal maple trees and the carefully trimmed evergreen bushes by the house.

Suddenly Nancy blinked. “That's it,” she said softly.

“What's it?” asked George.

Nancy quickly explained what Tony Giralda had told her about Jake Loomis's being the gardener at Glover's Corners. “You know, I thought there was something funny, and I just realized what it is.”

Nancy took a deep breath, then went on. “All the article said was that Loomis had worked at a private estate. Mr. Glover's name was never even mentioned, even though, according to Tony, Jake Loomis worked there for many years. Don't you think that's weird?”

“Why?” Bess looked confused.

“Loomis is a pretty successful guy now,” George said. “Maybe he didn't mention Glover's Corners because he wanted to play down the fact that he used to be a gardener for a rich guy. It might be embarrassing for him.”

“Maybe,” Nancy said slowly. “But what if Gary Page or Matt Glover—whoever he is—
purposely
didn't mention Glover's Corners in the article. What if he didn't want anything to connect Jake Loomis to the Glover family?”

“What are you getting at, Nan?” Bess was stamping her feet to keep warm.

Nancy took a deep breath. “It's quite possible that a fake Matt Glover and Jake Loom-is are working
together
to steal Mr. Glover's fortune!”

I
NDIGNATION PLAYED OVER
Bess's face.

“That's ridicu—” she started to say, but she broke off in midword, startled by a hissing noise from the darkness behind them.

“Pssst!”

Nancy, Bess, and George whirled around to see Tony Giralda step into the light of one of the lanterns lining the front drive. Nancy hadn't noticed his van when they drove up, but now she saw that it was parked under one of the huge, leafless maple trees.

“Why didn't you go in?” Nancy asked him.

“I don't know those people. I was waiting for you.”

“But you must know Mrs. Adams—if you and Matt were such good friends,” she said, studying
him curiously. “I thought you said you knew him like a brother.”

The way that Tony scuffed his feet in the gravel told Nancy that he'd been lying. But why? “Well, forget it,” she said after a minute. “Let's just go in. It's freezing out here.”

Matt was waiting for them in the library. He looked amazingly handsome in dark pants and a royal blue ski sweater. The fire was roaring, and there was an enormous plate of sandwiches on the low table. The air smelled of cloves and cinnamon, and Nancy realized that Mrs. Adams must have revived one of her favorite recipes, mulled cider.

Matt gave them all a big hello. Then, turning to Tony, he said, “I'm glad you came, Tony. It's been a long time since we skated together.”

Tony hesitated before he took Matt's hand, and when he shook it, it was with a strictly formal air. Then he went and sat stiffly in a leather chair.

Mrs. Adams came in a moment later, holding a freshly baked pie. “Hello, girls,” she said. “This is a special night, with the house full of young people again.”

She put the pie down on a silver stand and straightened. Her gaze landed on Tony, and she peered at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

“This is Tony Giralda, Addie,” Matt said smoothly. “You must remember him.”

“Yes,” she said vaguely. “You were here after Mr. Glover's funeral, weren't you?”

Tony rose from his seat and nodded, an embarrassed flush in his cheeks.

So Tony
had
been lying, Nancy thought. Surely Mrs. Adams would have recognized him from the old days if he had known Matt as well as he'd said he had.

Matt broke the uneasy silence after Mrs. Adams left the room. “I thought we should get in some carbo-loading before we skate,” he said, cutting into the pie and handing out plates to everyone.

“Definitely,” Bess agreed. She took a big bite of her pie. Giggling, she added, “We wouldn't want to collapse from lack of energy.”

As Nancy dug into her own slice, she couldn't help but admire Matt's friendly, easy way. He urged them to help themselves to sandwiches and went to the kitchen to bring back a tray with mugs for the mulled cider. It was easy to see why Bess was attracted to him.

“Don't get too comfortable,” Matt warned them after a few minutes. He picked up a blue woolen hat and a pair of gloves and pulled them on. “We have some serious skating to do.”

“All right!” said George, jumping to her feet. “Let's go!”

Nancy chuckled as Bess gazed longingly at the warm fire before saying, “I guess I'm as ready as
I'll ever be. I hope I don't turn into an icicle out there.”

“You'll warm up in no time once you get moving,” Matt assured her. The way he was looking at Bess, Nancy knew her friend would warm up in no time—from being with Matt, more than from skating.

They all grabbed their skates and made their way out the back door and down the long slope leading to the pond. Nancy was still lacing up her skates, sitting on one of the benches by the pond, when George slid onto the ice and began twirling in dizzying circles. Bess and Matt were the next ones on the ice, and they skated arm in arm. Tony, Nancy noticed, was less steady on his feet. He was wobbling a little as he made his way slowly around the pond.

“Hurry up, Nan, the ice is great!” George called.

“Ready!” She finished lacing up her skates and got up from the bench. Moving to the edge of the pond, she stepped out onto the ice. It was as smooth as glass. There were no twigs or dead leaves to mar it, and she remembered that Matt had gone home from the diner to sweep it especially for them.

She took a few tentative steps at first, then she was gliding in long, sure motions across the pond. Coming up next to Tony, she said, “Isn't this great?”

Tony gave her a weak smile. “I guess,” he said.
He lurched forward unsteadily. “I was never very good at this.”

“You must have had plenty of practice right here,” Nancy said sweetly. “When you were a kid.”

“Yeah, sure,” he mumbled, but he wouldn't look at her.

Just then Matt and Bess whooshed up, laughing. “Come on, Tony,” Matt said, “we'll tow you across the pond.”

Tony started to protest, but Matt took one of his arms and Bess the other, and they skated off with Tony between them.

Nancy started doing easy jumps. She still wasn't sure what she thought about Matt or Tony, she realized as she curved around on the ice.

“Looking good, Nan,” George said, breaking into Nancy's thoughts as she skated up. George's cheeks were red from the cold. She nodded her head toward Tony, who was still being held captive by Matt and Bess. “Maybe we should go rescue Tony. The poor guy.”

Nancy laughed, but her voice was serious as she said, “I don't know if I feel so sorry for him. He's definitely hiding something.”

“You mean about being such great friends with Matt?” George asked.

“Yeah. I mean, I was almost ready to think he wasn't the one who locked me in that room. He seemed really shocked. He acted completely natural
at his office. I kind of liked him. But out here, around Matt, he's acting really strange.”

George was skating in tiny circles in front of Nancy. “So maybe he
is
trying to steal Matt's money,” she said. Digging the tip of one blade into the ice, she stopped to study Nancy with concerned eyes. “I'm not sure what to believe. But someone's afraid of you, Nan. You'd better be careful or you might really get hurt.”

Suddenly Matt was in front of Nancy, making a dramatic, sweeping bow. “May I have your arm?” he asked, doffing his blue cap to her.