The Wrong Track (13 page)

“You were right, Nancy,” the police chief told her. “One of those people does have a record. She was picked up for grand theft auto.”

Theft. It was what Nancy had expected, the repetition of a crime pattern.

“Who was it?” she asked. “Sheila Reismueller?”

“No, Nancy. Sheila's clean. Your car thief is Jody Ashton.”

N
ANCY HUNG UP
the phone, her mind whirling. Jody had left her the skis with the faulty bindings. Part of Jody's employment application was missing from the files—probably in order to hide her criminal past. Although she claimed to be saving for college, Jody had just bought a brand-new car.

“Nancy?” It was Dave Kendall. He had just come in and was standing next to her, a concerned expression on his face. “Is everything okay?”

After letting out a deep breath, Nancy nodded and took out her notebook from her belt pack. “I'm fine. Look—I need a favor.”

“Anything. I owe you at least one.” He leaned toward Nancy and whispered, “Thanks for being so understanding about what I did,” he said.

“It's between you and Karl when you leave,” Nancy said. She grabbed a pencil from her belt pack and said, “I need to know Jody Ashton's address.”

Dave picked up the house phone and waited for the operator to answer. Within a few minutes he'd gotten Jody's address and phone number for Nancy.

Nancy thanked him and headed out of the ski shop and toward her condo. Once she got there she tried calling Jody's house, but there was no answer. She also called the Marvins' again, but no one was home there, either. Sighing, Nancy picked up the flashlight and stashed it in her purse. The flashlight might prove useful if she needed to get a confession out of Jody. Nancy was sure she'd smelled Sheila's perfume in the building, but there was a chance—however slim—that Jody had been the one to knock her out.

When Nancy reached Monroe ten minutes later it was just noon. She drove through the main shopping area and stopped at a gas station to ask for directions to Jody's street. The brand-new green sports car was parked in front of the building, so Nancy knew that the girl was home.

Nancy parked her Mustang and found Jody's apartment listed on the directory.

“Hi, Nancy.” Jody gave her a friendly if confused smile. “What brings you here?”

“Can I come in?” Nancy asked. As she stepped inside Nancy found herself surprised by Jody's reaction. If Jody had loosened the ski bindings,
she should have been startled—even shocked—to see her.

“Those were some skis you left me,” Nancy said casually, her hands in her jacket pockets.

“What skis?” Jody seemed to be puzzled.

“The ones with the new bindings.”

Jody frowned. “I know I promised you new skis, but the shipment didn't come in before I left yesterday. I'm hoping it'll be there when I go back tomorrow.”

Nancy wondered if Jody could be as innocent as she was acting. If she was, Nancy was obviously on the wrong track. “Jody, Ben gave me new skis with a note from you,” she said.

This time Jody made no attempt to hide her confusion. “But I didn't write any note—I don't know what you're talking about.”

Nancy felt for the note in her jacket pocket, took it out, and handed it to Jody. “That's not your signature?” she asked.

“No,” Jody said, slowly reading over the note. She grabbed her purse from the coffee table, pulled out a pen, and scrawled her name on the note. Sure enough, the looping script was not at all similar to the angular signature on the typed note.

“I wasn't even at Tall Pines today,” Jody went on. “How could I have left you those skis? Why are you asking all these questions anyway?”

Nancy took the note back from Jody and went to sit on a cream love seat in the middle of the living room.

“Someone loosened the bindings on one of the
skis I thought you'd left me,” Nancy told her. “I was out on the trails and nearly had a very serious accident.”

Jody blanched. “You think
I
did it?” There was a note of outrage in her voice.

“I think you could have,” Nancy answered.

“But why would I?”

Nancy decided to make her answer completely straightforward. “To keep me from finding out that you stole the payroll money.”

“What?” Jody began to pace her living room, her green eyes alive with anger. “I didn't steal any money! Rebecca did that.”

“Rebecca was framed,” Nancy said evenly. “You're my number-one suspect.”

Jody stopped pacing and was silent for a long minute. When she spoke her face was pale. “What makes you say that?” she asked in a low voice that had a slight quaver.

“First of all, there's the unexplained money,” Nancy said. She leaned forward on the couch, resting her forearms on her knees. “You told me how much you needed money for college, then you showed up in a new sports car. One explanation is that you used money you stole from Tall Pines for your car.”

Two red spots appeared on Jody's cheeks. “I didn't take the money,” she declared.

“Jody,” Nancy said slowly, “I know about your car theft conviction.”

When Jody spoke her voice was seething with anger. “That's over!” she cried. “I paid for that, and believe me I learned my lesson.”

“What happened exactly?” Nancy asked.

Jody sat down in an armchair across from Nancy. When she spoke it was so quietly that Nancy had to strain to hear her words. “A friend and I took her father's car for a joyride one night. We got into an accident and did some damage to the car. I don't know why, but he pressed criminal charges against me. It was booked as grand theft auto, and since I was driving when we got caught, I took the whole rap.” Jody shuddered as she recounted her experience. “I got a light sentence, but even so, it was not pleasant. I'll
never
steal again.”

There was no doubting Jody's sincerity. Nancy remembered how violently Jody had reacted when she'd first mentioned the theft, and how Jody had declared that Rebecca deserved what she'd gotten. Now that Nancy knew Jody's background she could understand the outburst. She'd paid for her crime. If Rebecca was the thief, Jody felt that she should do the same.

“What about the Corvette?” Nancy asked. “Where'd you get the money for that?”

“The car was a mistake,” Jody admitted, grimacing. “I thought I wanted it more than anything else, so I decided to use my college money for the down payment. Now that I've got it, I've realized that college is more important than any car. Luckily the dealer gave it to me on a two-day trial. I'm taking it back this afternoon.”

Nancy flashed Jody a reassuring smile. “I think that's a good decision.” She paused. There was just one more thing Nancy had to be sure of
before she completely ruled Jody out as a suspect. She pulled the flashlight from her purse. “Ever see this before?” she asked.

“Looks like an ordinary flashlight to me,” Jody said with a shrug. Then she leaned closer to get a better look. “Wait a minute.” Taking the flashlight from Nancy, Jody touched the cracked lens. “This is Karl's,” she said. “How did you get it?”

“Karl's!” Nancy exclaimed. “Karl Reismueller's? Are you sure?”

“Of course I'm sure.” Jody leaned back in the chair, a smile on her lips. “I've seen him use it. I even kidded him about it once. He said he was too busy to get it fixed.” She made a wry smile. “If I had as much money as Karl does, I think I'd just throw it away and get a new one.”

So it was Karl Reismueller who'd knocked her out—or someone using Karl's flashlight. All Nancy's reasons to suspect Jody were now gone. All, that is, except for the missing bank file.

“Jody, I have just one more question,” Nancy said.

“Shoot,” said Jody.

“Did you have any reason to take a file of bank records from Dave Kendall's office?” she asked.

Jody squinted, obviously thinking about Nancy's question. “No.” She shrugged. “But if there's something you need to know, I'm good friends with Alyssa Shelly, one of the managers at Monroe Savings and Loan.”

Nancy practically hugged the girl. “Perfect. Do me a favor and tell her I'm coming down to ask
her a few questions.” Nancy waited while Jody made the call. When the girl finished, Nancy said, “I'm sorry I had to ask you so many embarrassing questions. I hope you understand why I thought what I did.”

“Don't worry,” Jody said. She tossed her auburn curls and smiled. “It's not the first time that stupid mistake has haunted me.”

Jody walked outside with Nancy. “I want to return this car before anything happens to it,” she said, sighing as they came up to it. “It's beautiful, but to tell you the truth, driving such an expensive car makes me nervous.”

Nancy waved goodbye and drove off in the direction of the bank. Along the way she spotted a public phone and decided to try calling the Marvins' one more time.

“I don't understand this whole thing,” Bess's mother said when she answered the phone. “Mr. Marvin and I got a phone call this morning telling us to go to the hospital. We hurried over there to find Bess. At the same time Bess was here looking for us.”

Nancy frowned.

“Are George and Bess there now?” she asked.

“No,” Mrs. Marvin answered. “They drove back up to Tall Pines. Bess said they wanted to help you with your investigation.”

As she got back into the Mustang Nancy was relieved that everything was okay, but also worried. The same person had obviously called both Bess and her parents and given them conflicting
messages. Was that person Sheila Reismueller? If so, why had she wanted Bess and George out of the way?

The traffic light was red. While she waited for it to turn green Nancy glanced at the stores around her. A short man in a black and white houndstooth suit and a black fedora stopped in front of one of the stores. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a key and unlocked the door. Nancy stared at him and knew there was no doubt. He was the same man she'd seen with Sheila!

When the light turned green Nancy found a parking spot, got out of her car, and hurried over to the shop. Sam's Pawnshop, the sign said.

The thought of the Reismuellers' financial problems stuck in Nancy's mind as she went in and scanned the shop. Every imaginable item from household appliances to ice skates was arranged on shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. Were the Reismuellers' problems so bad that Sheila had to pawn something of hers—something valuable?

“Can I help you, miss?” the man in the houndstooth suit asked. Without his fedora he didn't look half so distinguished. His hair was greased back, his eyes were bloodshot, and his hands were long, thin, and bony. “What are you looking for?”

“Do you have any diamond pins?” she asked, knowing it was a shot in the dark.

The man unlocked a drawer behind the counter
and pulled out two pins on a velvet-covered tray. “The starburst is nice,” he said, “but this other one is one of a kind.”

Nancy drew in a deep breath as the man handed her the very same diamond horseshoe pin that had once been Sheila Reismueller's favorite.

“This is beautiful,” she said as she held the horseshoe, “but I think you must be mistaken. I'm sure I've seen another one like it.”

“No, miss,” the man said quickly. “The owner had it made specially for her. I know. I bought it from her myself.”

“And how long ago was that?” Nancy asked, turning the pin over in her hands. On the back the initials
SR
were engraved. It had to be Sheila's!

“Just a couple of days ago. I have some more jewelry from the same woman—if you'd care to see it.” Nancy shook her head as the man took the pin from her. “Will you be wanting to buy this, then?”

Nancy tried to hide her smile of satisfaction. The pawnbroker had just confirmed her suspicions. “I'll think about it,” she said.

The man nodded, putting the pin back on its velvet tray. “Come back and see me when you've made up your mind.”

Nancy thanked him and left. As she closed the pawnshop door behind her she felt her excitement building. Sheila had obviously met the man at least twice. Now the question was, did Sheila
steal the payroll to help Karl, or was that all Karl's doing?

Two blocks later Nancy pulled her car up in front of the Monroe Savings and Loan. After a few minutes she was sitting at Alyssa Shelly's desk and explaining to the manager who she was.

“I realize this may be confidential information,” Nancy said, meeting the woman's soft brown eyes. “But there are a few things I need to know about the resort's finances.”

Alyssa Shelly clasped her hands on her desk. “What kind of information?”

“Is Tall Pines sound financially?” Nancy asked. “I mean, would an investor, say, have any reason to doubt she'd put her money in a solid venture?”