Nancy Clue Mysteries 1 - The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse (14 page)

"This," she said, "is Butch Wax." She scooped out a dollop of the thick yellow grease, rubbed it between her hands and slicked Cherry's hair off her forehead.

"I was just getting used to it," Cherry cried, as she watched her modern short haircut become a greasy, slickedback hair-do.

"It will wash out," Midge assured her. "Eventually." She rolled Cherry's old clothes into a bundle and shoved them into the shopping bag. "Put your purse in here," she said. "No self-respecting butch would ever been seen with a purse."

"But where will I keep my lipstick?" Cherry gasped. "And who is this Butch person you're always talking about?" she asked as she followed Midge out of the store.

It was only noon, but to Cherry and Midge, who had only had a few restless hours sleep the night before, it felt like midnight. "I need some caffeine and sugar, and fast," Midge declared as she staggered down the street.

"No you don't," Cherry said. "What you need is sleep." Nurse Cherry Aimless took charge. "If Officer Jones is not waiting for us when we get back to the car, I'll call Aunt Gert. And if she's not home, we'll check into a motel and freshen up," she declared, taking hold of Midge and directing her back to the car.

"A short nap and a shower do more to combat fatigue than an artificial stimulant," she quoted from her nurse's manual.

There was no note on their car from Officer Jones. "You wait here, Midge," Cherry said. "I'll go look for her again. I'll be right back."

"No problem," the sleepy girl replied. She crawled into the wide back seat of the Buick and fell fast asleep.

For the third time that morning, Cherry found herself inside the Castro Street police station. She got in the line at the front desk, and waited patiently. While she did, she practiced standing with her hands in her pockets, and not on her hips.

She struck up a conversation with an elderly woman in line behind her, who was dressed entirely in white and carrying a small fluffy dog. After a friendly conversation about poodles, the woman startled her by asking her if she'd like to meet her granddaughter.

"Er, no thanks," Cherry replied politely. "I'm only in town a little while and all my time will be taken up visiting my aunt," she added, not wishing to offend the nice woman.

Cherry was relieved when it was her turn to approach the desk.

"Say good-bye to the nice boy, Fluffy," the woman said, waving one of her dog's paws. "Bye, bye."

"Bye," Cherry replied, blushing to the roots of her slickedback hair.

The officer at the desk stared at Cherry in the most peculiar way. "Wasn't your sister in earlier?" he asked.

"Yes," Cherry said, taking care to lower her voice an octave.

"Officer Jones is not in. Next."

A quick stop at the phone booth revealed Aunt Gert still wasn't home. "Where is everyone?" Cherry wondered.

She raced back to the car. "I can't find anyone, Midge. What are we going to do? What if we don't find her, Midge? Can we call in Nancy Clue then? Midge, are you listening?" She realized that Midge was fast asleep. "And she is too snoring," Cherry thought, making a mental note to tease Midge about it later.

She plopped down into the passenger seat and slipped off her new penny loafers, which were giving her blisters. She had walked a lot that day, and most of it uphill. She felt very sleepy herself.

Cherry was a pro at taking short naps. As a student nurse she had often worked double shifts, grabbing a quick nap during her ten minute breaks. After months of this grueling schedule, she was so adept at nodding off that she could fall asleep standing up. Why, once she had even fallen asleep while a doctor was talking to her!

Cherry was far too professional to fall asleep during a patient conference, but this doctor was going on and on about his new motorboat, and Cherry just couldn't stay awake. The incident had earned her the nickname "Sleepy" amongst the doctors, and admiration from the nurses, many of whom had had a similar desire to fall asleep while listening to this particular doctor.

"Maybe I'll just close my eyes for a minute," she thought. Within seconds she was fast asleep.

Cherry was jarred out of a deep sleep by someone knocking at her car window. She opened her eyes and found she was eye-level with a police officer's wide leather belt. "Jeepers," Cherry thought. "I've never seen a gun up close before."

Midge stirred in the back seat. "Cherry, get rid of him," Midge whispered groggily. "Use the Girl Scout nurse story again."

Cherry rolled down her window and pasted a big smile on her face.

"We'll be out of here in just a minute, officer," she said politely.

The police officer leaned down and looked into the car. Midge sat up when she saw the face of a girl-a handsome girl with warm brown skin and dancing black eyes.

"Are you by any chance a friend of Betty's?" Cherry asked, staring straight into the girl's deep-set eyes.

A wide, warm grin broke over the officer's face. "I'm Officer Jackie Jones. Call me Jackie." She took off her hat and ran a hand over her short slickedback hair which glistened blue-black in the sunlight.

Cherry noticed that the girl's short hair-do made her strong jaw even more prominent.

"I'd feel safe with her anywhere," she sighed. Although the sun was shining, Cherry was aware of shivers running down her spine.

Officer Jones leaned one muscular arm on the car window. "You must be Midge," she said, reading from a piece of paper she had taken from her pocket. "Look for a tall blond girl in a leather coat, the note says."

She stared at Cherry.

Cherry melted under the officer's steady gaze.

"You must be Cherry, but you certainly don't fit the description you left me."

"A lot's happened since we got here this morning," Cherry squeaked.

Jackie laughed. "I've heard that story before," she said. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to find you two. I've been out all morning chasing down a dead-end lead in the missing nuns case. We're all working overtime to find the creeps who have done this," she shuddered.

"How much has Betty told you about our situation?" Midge wanted to know.

"My communication with her was brief," Jackie said. "It's not safe for us to talk at work, and I've been pulling double shifts in this missing nuns case. She told me your girl got snatched. That's pretty rough," she said sadly.

"We saw the car my girlfriend was taken away in. I wasn't able to catch it, but we do have the license number," Midge said.

She filled Jackie in on the strange events of the last few days, beginning with the disappearance of Cherry's amnesia patient, Lana.

"There's some connection between Lana's disappearance and the kidnapping of my girlfriend," Midge added. She took Lana's book from her jacket pocket and showed it to Jackie. "This is what those thugs are after," she said. "But I haven't been able to figure out why."

"That book must be the link!" Cherry cried. She blushed when she saw the amused look on Midge's face. "You've known it all along, haven't you?" she said. "I am a terrible detective!"

"Cherry worships detectives, especially a particular one named Nancy Clue," Midge grinned. "She even wants to call her in to solve our case."

"Cherry's not the only one who'd like to get her hands on Nancy Clue," Jackie admitted. "Frankly, this missing nuns case has us all stumped. One day there are seventeen nuns going about their quiet lives at the convent of The Sisters of Mercy, and the next, they're all gone. Why, it's as if they've vanished off the face of the earth.

"Nancy's famous for her ability to solve really difficult cases. Even the guys on the force who won't give me the time of day because I'm a female would be happy to see that girl right now."

Officer Jones looked at her watch. "I'll check in with the sarge and pretend to shuffle a few papers while I run a check on the license number you gave me, Midge. I can be through within the hour."

When Cherry expressed a keen interest in a bath, Officer Jones directed them to a women's boarding house nearby. "It's inexpensive, but clean," she reported. "I'll meet you there."

"Gee, she's nice," said Cherry, as she and Midge drove in the direction of the rooming house.

"Yeah, and she thinks you're cute, too. Notice the way she looked at you?" Midge teased Cherry.

Cherry blushed, for the trillionth time in her life. Luckily, it was getting dark.

They arrived at the rooming house within minutes. A pleasant woman wearing snug gold capri slacks and a purple knit shell welcomed them to Mary Worth Hall.

"All I've got left is a room with a double bed," she said.

"We'll take it," Midge replied.

"Sign here, girls," the woman said, pushing the register toward them. "That will be six dollars, in advance."

She gave them the key for room 319, along with the bad news that the elevator was broken and it was the bellhop's night off.

"Oh, and there are no men allowed on the premises, this being a girl's hotel and all."

"No problem," Midge said.

"Didn't think so," the woman replied. She winked at Midge, who returned the wink.

"I love San Francisco," Midge whispered to Cherry as they headed for the stairs, bags in hand. The woman bade them a good night, and invited them to come by her room for tea in the morning.

"All the girls do," she said. "Room 7. I'm Betty, by the way."

"Gee, there sure are a lot of Bettys in the world," Cherry said.

"Sure are," Midge grinned.

It had been a long day, and the three flights of stairs didn't help any. Cherry was happy to get to their room. Why, her bags felt as if they contained rocks. "Why did I pack so many outfits?" she groaned.

She threw herself on the bed and sighed deeply. "I've never been more tired," she declared.

"You'll feel better after a little nap," Midge said.

Midge bounced on the bed. "I haven't slept with another girl since the day I met Velma," she kidded.

Cherry jumped up. "I must unpack!" she cried nervously. She opened her suitcase and hung up her uniforms. In case she was pressed into professional service, she certainly wanted to look her best!

"What I need right now more than anything in the world is a hot bath," she declared.

Cherry opened the door to what she thought was the bathroom and was surprised to find a fold-out ironing board instead. She was puzzled. "So where's the bathroom?" she wondered aloud.

"Down the hall, princess," teased Midge, dumping the contents of her valise onto a chair.

Cherry was embarrassed. She had never been to a hotel without a private bathroom before. "But I didn't bring any thing to sleep in," she complained. "I left my nightie in Idaho; I was going to borrow one of Aunt Gert's. Why, I'll have to wear my slip to bed."

"You worry too much about the way you look. I'm sure the girls down the hall will think you're cute in any old thing you wear."

"What do you wear to bed?" asked Cherry.

Midge held up a pair of red plaid boxer shorts.

"Oh, those are cute," Cherry said. "But what do you wear on top?"

"On top? Do people wear pajama tops, too?" Midge teased.