Nancy Clue Mysteries 1 - The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse (17 page)

"It's up to you, Cherry. You've just got to find Nancy Clue," Jackie said as they dropped Cherry at the boarding house. Jackie's urgent words echoed in Cherry's ears as she climbed the three flights of stairs to her room. She shuddered as she thought of the places she would be investigating that evening-and all by herself! For they were sending her to taverns and dance clubs to find the wayward detective.

As much as she hated the idea of going to these places, she was glad that at the last minute she had decided to pack her best party frock: a stunning azure silk sheath with a matching chiffon overskirt that had seen little wear in the last year. Its simple styling was timeless, and at least Cherry didn't have to worry about looking like, well, like someone from Idaho!

She looked glumly at her current outfit. "I just wouldn't feel comfortable going out in this," she thought. She was, however, beginning to understand the allure of wearing men's trousers. She especially liked the deep, roomy pockets.

She wished the others could have come in for a moment and helped her get ready, but time was of the essence, and the sooner they reached the convent the sooner they could solve the ever-growing puzzle.

She quickly washed the sticky pomade out of her hair, and fluffed her short locks until they lay in a short wavy cap over her head.

"It will be nice to wear lipstick again," she thought. She remembered that girls in San Francisco looked more highfashion than girls in Pleasantville, so she applied her cosmetics with a liberal hand.

Before donning her evening outfit, she folded her slacks and put them over the back of a chair. In the pocket she found the map from Aunt Gert's secret room!

"Oh, no," she groaned. "I forgot all about this!" She slipped the map into her evening bag. "It's too late now," she thought. "Perhaps this will come in handy later."

She had just slipped into her dress when there was a knock at the door. "Yoo-hoo, it's Sally." Cherry reluctantly opened the door.

"May I borrow a cup of sugar?" Sally wanted to know.

"But there's no cooking allowed in the rooms," Cherry said, remembering the big sign behind the manager's desk.

Sally just laughed and breezed past Cherry. She planted herself in the room's only chair. "Ha, ha. Only kidding. Call me silly Sally." She settled into the chair for what threatened to be a long chat, and lit a cigarette.

Cherry anxiously looked around for a no-smoking sign, but didn't see one. How could she possibly get rid of this girl? Normally she would have welcomed some company, even Sally's goofy chatter, but she had a mission to accomplish, and she could not be distracted.

"I'm very sorry, but I must be running along. I have an appointment," she said primly, putting her small silk clutch purse containing a lipstick, compact and clean handkerchief into the inside pocket of her dressy coat. Wrist-length gloves with cunning pearl buttons completed her outfit.

"The right accessories can make a good-looking dress into a really smart outfit," her mother always said.

"Your skirt's ripped!" Sally exclaimed. Cherry inspected the overskirt of her outfit. Sally was right! There was an ugly rend in the fabric.

"I don't have time to fix this!" she wailed. "Whatever will I wear?"

At Sally's suggestion, Cherry removed the torn overskirt of her frock, which simply unsnapped.

"I can't wear this dress without something over it," she said, looking at herself in the full-length mirror. "Why, without the overskirt, it's practically revealing!" Indeed, the snug line of the straight dress emphasized Cherry's curvaceous figure more than she cared for. "Maybe I can just keep my coat on," she thought, realizing none of her other outfits would do for that evening's assignment.

"Where are you going?" Sally asked.

"Er, ah, I'm meeting friends for a drink. And I'm already late," Cherry stammered, her face all a-flush. She had never been a very good liar.

"Well, I'll be running along then," said Sally, moving toward the door. "Maybe I'll see you later. I usually hang out at The Black Cat on Friday nights."

Cherry recognized that name, for it was on the list Jackie had made for her, which was now stowed securely in her purse. "Perhaps I'll see you later," she said, locking the door behind her and heading downstairs.

As luck would have it, she found a taxi right away, and within ten minutes had arrived at the first place on her list. "This is one evening I'm not looking forward to," she murmured, taking a deep breath before entering the rough-andtumble cowboy hangout. It was hard to see in the dim, smoky light. Cherry subtly checked out the crowded bar, looking for Nancy Clue's trademark mane of silky titian-colored hair. She walked around the perimeter of the dance floor, eyeing each corner of the room, but Nancy was nowhere to be seen.

Lively dance lessons were being given, and Cherry soon found herself tapping her feet to the music. The place was crowded with many couples, and as Cherry's eyes grew accustomed to the smoke, she realized that there were no men in the bar. She had never seen girls dancing together before.

"A perfect fit," Cherry murmured as she slipped off her coat.

A stocky brown-haired girl dressed in jeans and cowboy boots offered to show her some dance steps, and before Cherry could say anything, the girl whisked her off her stool and onto the dance floor. At first Cherry felt foolish, as the steps were new to her, but soon she caught on, and twenty minutes passed before she sat down again.

She and the girl relaxed over a tall pitcher of beer. Cherry kept meaning to leave, but she found the goldenskinned girl's lively chatter riveting. Cherry had never heard an accent like hers before. It sent shivers up and down her spine.

She reluctantly left the bar to continue her search, but not before getting the girl's phone number. She was sure that when the mystery was solved and everyone was safe, her chums would enjoy meeting this girl and hearing her fascinating tale.

"Perhaps we could all have a picnic supper together on the beach."

Her thoughts turned to her friends, who were racing toward the convent. She said a little prayer for them and hopped in a cab. The bar Sally had mentioned was next on her list.

Her dressy outfit was a little more appropriate here. Many of the other girls wore off-the-shoulder dresses and high heels. She was glad she had worn this dress after all, which she knew accentuated her light eyes and flattered her figure.

"Buy you a drink?" Cherry looked up into the face of a tall redhead with a Midwestern accent. The girl sat down and introduced herself as Chris. Cherry didn't want to be rude, but at the same time she did not want to encourage the attentions of this girl. She really must look for Nancy Clue! She was searching her mind for something to say when the girl jumped up.

"There's my girlfriend. Gotta go," she whispered hurriedly.

A cute woman with bleached-blond hair and a perky manner hopped onto the now-vacant stool. "Buy you a drink?" she asked in a cheerful, slightly raspy voice. This time Cherry nodded. After all, she was getting a little thirsty.

The bartender brought them each a frothy drink called a Pink Squirrel. The blonde playfully tucked the small paper umbrella that came with the drink behind one ear, wrinkled her small freckled nose and giggled. Her laugh was contagious, and soon Cherry was giggling, too.

She looked familiar, but Cherry couldn't place her.

"You look familiar," she said, immediately wishing she had said something more original. The woman just grinned and smoothed the legs of her tight-fitting white leather pants outfit. She adjusted her pink chiffon scarf, tied with a gay knot at her throat. She ran a hand through her short hair and grinned, showing off straight white teeth.

"Why, you're in the movies. You're my mother's favorite movie star!" gasped Cherry, finally recognizing the singing movie actress. "I just loved your latest movie. I saw it three times," she gushed, searching in her purse for a scrap of paper for an autograph. As usual, she had nothing to write on.

The actress took the umbrella from her hair and signed it. "Golly, I'm all flustered. Wait until I tell Mother," Cherry gushed.

"Let's keep it our little secret, shall we?" the woman suggested slyly, ordering another round for the twosome.

Cherry agreed, a little disappointed that she couldn't share this moment with anyone. Yet she was thrilled at having met an honest-to-goodness movie star.

"What's Rock really like?" she asked, knowing her brother Charley would want to know about his favorite star.

The actress laughed. "He's at the Stud; you could catch him there." Cherry checked, but there was no bar by that name on her list.

They sipped their drinks. The actress got a little fresh-or was her hand on Cherry's thigh merely an accident? Cherry

politely excused herself, and the woman got the hint. She didn't seem at all offended, which relieved Cherry, who hated to hurt anyone's feelings.

"Que sera sera," the woman cried gaily as she hopped off her stool.

Cherry didn't know what she meant. "Oh, why didn't I pay more attention in high school Spanish class?" she berated herself. She resolved to resume her language studies as soon as she returned home. Determined not to get into any more uncomfortable situations, Cherry decided to visit the ladies lounge and refresh her lipstick. On the way she bumped into Sally.

"Hello, girl," Sally exclaimed, planting a big wet kiss on Cherry's cheek. Cherry was relieved to see someone she knew, even if it was silly Sally.

"So where's your great big good-looking friend in uniform?" Sally wanted to know, looking over Cherry's shoulder. "I was sure she'd be here. After all, it is Butch Night."

Cherry explained that Jackie and Midge had left town on business. Sally looked disappointed.

"I was here with Chris, but I lost her in the crowd, and now I see that her girlfriend's here, so I guess I'm single Sally now."

Cherry's head swam. Nothing Sally said made any sense. But Cherry was tired of sitting in bars alone, feeling lost. She told Sally she was searching for her long-lost cousin, and invited her to come along. Sally liked the idea.

"But I've really got to be serious," Cherry warned.

"That's me-serious Sally."

They headed for a bar a few blocks away. The night air was chilly, and Cherry pulled her coat closer. Sally chattered all the way to the What If Club. They paid their dollar at the door and took seats at the bar.

The bartender served them tall frothy drinks topped with big chunks of fruit skewered on plastic swords. Cherry was reluctant to imbibe further-after all, she'd already had four drinks. "I'll just eat the fruit," she told herself and popped a cherry into her mouth. "Oh, just one tiny sip," she thought, tasting the sweet drink.

"This is delicious," she exclaimed to Sally, already on her second.

Sally introduced Cherry to the bartender, a friendly southern girl named Babe. "Good, huh?" asked Babe, pointing to the drink.

"It's the house special. It's called Tutti-Fruity."

"It's wonderful," giggled Cherry, feeling a little flushed. She emptied her glass. For the first time that evening, she was beginning to relax. Babe placed another drink in front of her, and before she knew it, that too was gone.

"Oh, dear," she thought. "I'd better slow down."

She turned to Sally to suggest they leave and find some food, which, as a nurse, Cherry knew would absorb some of the alcohol in her system. But Sally was gone!

Babe caught her puzzled expression. "You never know when that girl's going to disappear," she confided. "Trust me; I should know."

Cherry was pondering Babe's cryptic comment when she felt someone at her elbow. An attractive girl with silky titian hair, startling blue eyes and a forward manner wanted to know if she was alone. Was she alone? Sally was nowhere to be seen.

The girl hopped onto the stool next to Cherry and ordered a sloe gin fizz. "And give my chum here another drink," she said, gesturing toward Cherry's empty glass.

Cherry knew she should be getting on with her search, but something about the titian-haired girl was so riveting she found herself unable to move on. She slyly checked her lipstick in her compact mirror. Suddenly, she desperately wanted to look her best!

The girl laughed. "You look lovely," she purred. She reached over and touched Cherry's hand ever so lightly. "You have such tiny hands," she said. "Like a child's." She toyed with the gold charm bracelet around Cherry's slim wrist. "How cute! " she cried. "You have a tiny nurse's cap on your bracelet."

"My mother gave it to me when I graduated from nursing school two years ago," Cherry said, a little flushed from the attention.

"That's nice," the girl said softly, a misty look in her eyes. "Tell me about yourself," she said. Afraid to divulge any information about the mystery she was working on, Cherry instead told the girl about life in Pleasantville, about her parents and her twin Charley, their summers together on their grandmother's farm, and about the day she found a bird with a broken wing and nursed it back to health, thus beginning her lifelong desire to be a nurse.