Daughters of river heights float arrives 4 страница

ANOTHER SABOTAGE

George and I excused ourselves from the picnic table and headed to the gymnasium. As we arrived, we saw the float parked out front, decorated now with flowers and signage for the River Heights Celebration parade. The throne was covered in glitter and flowers, with a bouquet resting for Lexi to hold as she waved to everyone. I had to admit that it looked beautiful and grand, but something kept nagging at me — why did someone want all of this to end? Someone was going through a lot of trouble to sabotage the parade and the carnival and the food court, like they wanted it all to disappear. Each person on our list of suspects certainly had a motive to sabotage a portion of the carnival, but not one person seemed to have the motive to be responsible for all the sabotage. And the closer it got in the day toward the start of the parade, the more nervous I got that we were never going to catch the criminal behind all of this. Worse still, I was afraid something bigger and more dangerous was going to happen.

We needed another clue, and we needed it right away.

When we entered the gymnasium, we found Bess standing inside, pacing back and forth in front of a trophy case. I had seen her worried and scared many times before, but never like this. She looked genuinely upset. She kept running her hand through her hair and sighing heavily.

“Bess,” George said. “What’s wrong?”

“This is getting a little too real,” she said. “Way too real. Like, dangerous.”

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine.” She paused, like she was replaying her answer in her head and didn’t agree with it. Then she continued, “No. I change that. I am not fine. I am very nervous that things are getting out of control here and that there might be nothing any of us can do about it.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“The bathroom was to be the dressing room for all the girls involved with the float. Everyone would meet there and get ready for the parade together,” she said. “Then Mara called me. When I arrived, when everyone arrived, we were all met with what you are about to see inside.”

We all looked at the bathroom door. George took a step back from it.

“Who’s in there?” George asked.

“Lexi has locked herself inside one of the bathroom stalls, and Mara is in there on the phone with different people. She keeps calling people. Other than that, it’s just me and now you guys.”

“We’re here now,” I said. “Let’s go in and handle this situation like we’ve been handling everything else today. There’s nothing to be afraid of here.”

“Did you guys find out anything from Ned?” Bess asked.

“We did, actually. Apparently, Ballaster Ink is used by independent newspaper presses. It’s cheaper than the ink the national newspapers use.”

“What does this mean?” asked Bess.

“We’re looking for someone who reads a lot,” George said.

“That’s good, because whoever is behind all of this certainly likes to write a lot. Between the notes and what you’re about to see, you’ll know what I mean,” Bess said.

She knocked on the bathroom door before pushing it open.

Inside, white and light blue feathers mixed with shredded fabric covered the floor and walls. The shreds looked like they’d been torn and ripped in a frenzy. I kicked through the feathers and cloth on the floor and saw on the wall that the words CANCEL THE RIVER HEIGHTS CARNIVAL had been written all over in a black marker. On the mirrors, words were written too. STOP. BEWARE. CANCEL THE PARADE. The entire room was torn apart and graffiitied in threats. Soft cries came from inside one of the stalls — Lexi. Mara was in the corner on her cell phone.

“What is all this?” George asked. “What happened here?”

“The feathers are from Lexi’s crown, and the white fabric is her dress,” Bess said. “They ripped up her dress and destroyed the crown.”

“I don’t understand.” George walked around, stopping briefly to scoop up a handful and inspect it. “Why would someone go through all this trouble?”

“Look at the warnings on the wall,” I said. “They wanted the parade to end. They want the carnival to end. They want it all to be shut down.”

“Whoever it is came in here after Mara dropped off the crown and dress, but before any of the students. They must have been watching Mara, following her closely. They came in here, found the crown, broke it, and tore up the dress,” Bess said. “Lexi now has no dress for the parade, and her crown is destroyed.”

“Why was the dress here in the first place?” I asked. “Why would Mara leave it unattended?”

“Mara dropped it off for Lexi, who was finishing up at the fro-yo stand before coming over here to get ready,” Bess explained. “She left it here unattended to save time. She honestly didn’t think anything would happen to it.”

“This is very strange,” I said. “We need to let Chief McGinnis know about all this. We have to stop the parade. It isn’t safe for it to go on as planned. We need to listen to these threats for once and cancel the parade.”

“That’s what I tried telling Mara, but she won’t listen to me,” said Bess, pointing to Mara in the corner, digging through her Prada purse. “You would think someone with exceptional taste in accessories and expensive purses like that would want to distance herself from this madness, but she won’t back down. She wants the parade to happen more than ever right now.”

“Let me go and talk to her,” I said. “Maybe she’ll listen to third-party reasoning in all this parade madness.”

I walked over to Mara and waited for her to finish one of her many phone calls. She looked absolutely focused, terribly fierce and aggressive. She was obviously determined that this type of sabotage was not going to ruin all her parade planning.

“Mara, can we speak privately about this?” I said, pointing to the closed stall door where Lexi still whimpered inside. I then pointed to the bathroom door, gesturing for us to leave.

“You want me to go outside with you?” she asked bluntly. “Because we can’t talk in front of your little friends?” She was very curt with me.

“Yes,” I finally said. “Let’s leave these girls alone for a few minutes. I would like to discuss what is happening and what you think your next move should be. But I would prefer to do it quietly and privately, if you don’t mind.”

We walked across the room and left the bathroom and the mess behind.

“Nancy, I really don’t think this has anything to do with you,” Mara said. “This is a grown-up problem. Not a fro-yo stand problem.”

I took a breath and let her shortsightedness wash over me before I decided to let her in on my investigation. She didn’t realize how much I knew already. She didn’t know that I had been piecing this investigation together all day. I wasn’t even sure she was aware that the notes had been targeting everyone, not just her. I decided, in the interest of full disclosure, that I was going to tip my hand to her and tell her everything I knew, so that she could see I actually was more qualified to be a part of the solution than she was willing to allow.

“Mara, please listen,” I said. “I’m afraid your parade sabotage situation has a lot to do with the other crimes happening today.”

“Like what?” she said again in a blunt and curt tone. “What other crimes? The missing money? You’re being ridiculous.”

“Yes, the stolen money. The mysterious threatening notes. Now the torn dress and the graffiti on the walls,” I said. “This is a very delicate and dangerous situation. For you. For Lexi. For everyone in the parade. We really need to cancel it, or I’m afraid something worse will happen.”

“Delicate and dangerous situation, huh?” she said. “Quite big words for Fancy Nancy. I appreciate your sweet concern, but everything will be okay. Why don’t you leave the parade and the nice little love letter written on the walls in there up to adults?”

“Who told you to call me that name?” I asked. “Who said to call me Fancy Nancy? I want to know.”

“Look,” she said, stepping back. “I appreciate your concern and your assistance here. Really. I do. And I appreciate that you and your friends are having an exciting adventure solving mysteries. I remember doing the same thing when I was your age. But I doubt that the notes and the money and all of that in there,” she said pointing to the bathroom, “have anything to do with each other. My guess is that some girl is upset that she wasn’t selected to be on the float, and this is her revenge.”

“Okay,” I said. “I understand your reservations about letting me and my friends help, but we found something on one of the notes. A smudge. It’s a certain type of ink. Now if you let me look at what’s left of the dress and I find any black smudges, then I would be willing to bet that whoever is responsible for the notes is tied to your parade sabotage too. We would actually have evidence linking the crimes together.”

“Fine,” she said. “But then I’m calling Chief McGinnis.”

“You should,” I said. “This sabotage has crossed the line from silly to sinister. We need to stop the parade immediately.”

We walked back into the bathroom just in time to see Bess speaking to Lexi through the bathroom stall, begging her to come out. George knelt on the floor, sifting through the confetti of feathers and cloth. She held a tattered rag in her hands.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“What’s left of the dress,” Mara said.

George held it up to show me; it was no bigger than a kitchen hand towel. “Look,” she said, tossing it to me. “Look at the edge — black smudges.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” said Mara, looking over my shoulder.

As I held it up to the light, sure enough, there at the edge was a smudge. I flipped the piece of cloth over in my hands and found several more smudges. This was our link, tying it all together — the money, the notes, the dress.

“Well, maybe it’s from the black marker they used on the walls,” Mara said.

I took my finger and rubbed on the smudges. Each one smeared and blended more into the fabric. “The black smudges on the fabric smear. This is not permanent ink. George,” I said, “try the ink on the walls.”

George grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and ran it under cold water in the sink. She placed the paper towel on the wall where the words were written and scrubbed against the black marker words. The black marker did not smear.

“The wall was vandalized with permanent marker. This,” I said, shaking the cloth, “is ink just like on the notes. We’re dealing with the same person here. The notes and the dress and the missing money — all the crimes were committed by the same person.”

Just then Lexi’s former boyfriend, Scott Sears, opened the door a crack and asked if Lexi was in there. Even though Lexi hadn’t said a word in response to Mara, Bess, or even me about the sabotage, except to weep quietly in the stall, as soon as she heard Scott’s voice, she flung open the door and ran straight for him.

“Scott! Oh, Scott! You’re here. You really came for me.”

“I ran here as soon as I heard something was wrong,” he said.

Bess, who has had a crush on Scott, smiled when she heard his voice too. I shook my head at her and whispered, “Forget about it.”

“What happened?” Scott asked Lexi as she threw her arms around his neck. “I heard that you needed some help in here. You okay?”

“Well,” Bess said, stepping forward, “it seems someone doesn’t want the parade to happen. They ripped up Lexi’s dress and her crown and left us lovely little notes on the walls.” She pointed to everything.

“Really?” he said. “Well, everyone outside is expecting to see the parade. They’re all lined up and waiting for it to begin. Is it still happening? Will the parade still take place?”

“Not quite,” Lexi said, still crying. “It’s probably going to be canceled. I don’t even have anything to wear!”

“Oh, that reminds me,” he said, reaching for something in his pocket. “I found this taped to the door of the bathroom when I knocked.”

It was another blue note. I grabbed it right away and examined the edges. More black smudges. Bess and George saw them too. We knew what was inside before I even opened it.

I WARNED YOU.

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE.

CANCEL THE PARADE.

OR ELSE.

“Or else what?” said Mara.

“Or else expect the worst possible outcome,” I said. “This is what I’ve been trying to explain to you. Whoever is doing this is not joking around. They’re serious. They mean business. And if you go forward with this parade, you can absolutely be sure that something will go wrong. Possibly, even horribly so.”

“I am not going to let this joker terrorize me with his silly notes and scissors cutting up our clothes.” Mara slid her Prada purse up onto her shoulder. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Lexi. There’s nothing to be so concerned about, Nancy. Everything is fine.”

“I’m so scared, Mara,” Lexi said.

“Don’t be,” said Mara. “We are going out there and having the parade as scheduled. You are going to wave and the crowd is going to love you and we are all going to have a great time.”

“I don’t have a crown or even a white dress to wear,” Lexi said.

“I actually have an extra dress in my trunk. If a lifetime of planning these types of events has taught me anything, it is to always have backups. Backups of everything. Makeup. Shoes. Dresses. Everything. I’ll go and grab them.” Mara pushed past Scott and exited the gymnasium.

“Backups of everything except a backup plan,” I said softly to myself, quickly strategizing my next move.

“This is all so crazy,” Scott said. “Someone needs to tell Chief McGinnis. He’s right outside, waiting to see the parade like everyone else. I’m going to bring him here to show him what’s happening.” Scott left too, right behind Mara.

“Nancy, Bess, George, thank you so much for coming down here. After everything that happened yesterday, it just means so much to me that you all were willing to help out again,” Lexi said.

“Of course,” said George.

“Don’t mention it,” I said. “But we need to tell Chief about this and make sure you don’t get on that float. Something really bad is going to happen. The notes have been threatening the parade all day. If the parade goes on, something will happen. This,” I said, throwing a fistful of white and light blue feathers in the air, “is just the beginning. You can bet that there’ll be more to come.”

“I know,” said Lexi. “But no one is going to convince Mara. You see how stubborn and determined she can be about all this. Trust me. This is what makes her so happy. She looks forward to it every year. I really don’t think she’ll change her mind.”

“Change my mind about what?” Mara said, walking through the door with another dress in her hand.

“Canceling the parade,” Bess said.

“It’s the safe thing to do,” said George.

“It’s the right thing to do,” I said.

“Please,” Lexi said. “Please. And we don’t even have to cancel. We could just reschedule.”

“I’ve had some time to think this over,” she said, leaning her hands on the sink, looking into the threats written across the mirrors. “I organize and run this parade every year. You know we’ve had every imaginable problem happen in years past threatening to cancel the parade? Girls have had the flu. Flat tires on their cars when they left their houses in the morning. Flat tires on the float. One year the key broke off in the lock to the band room with every instrument still inside. And every year we find a way to pull it together. We find a way to pull through. In all these years, we have never had to cancel. And this year will not be any different. The parade will go on as scheduled. And that is final.”

Lexi looked white as a bedsheet. Her hands trembled, and tears continued to run down her cheeks. I walked over to her and held her hands.

“Lexi, it’s all going to be okay. I promise,” I said.

“Nancy,” Lexi said, “will you ride on the float with me?”

“No, I won’t,” I said, “because the parade is not happening. I’m not giving up just yet.”

Chief McGinnis knocked on the bathroom door. “Ladies, would you all please explain to me what in the heck is happening in there? There are all kinds of crazy rumors flying around.”

Mara opened the door, revealing to him the vandalism inside. The feathers and fabric and graffiti. We all stood there with our arms crossed as he surveyed the room. His facial expression was exactly as befuddled and dumbfounded as I had expected it to be.

“What is this?” he asked. “Scott said you all were in danger.”

“Scott is overreacting. We’re not in any danger,” said Mara. “Just another silly prank by some kids. Nothing that we can’t handle.”

“Do we need to cancel the parade?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “Chief, we absolutely need to cancel the parade.”

“Nancy Drew, why is it that every time there’s been a problem today, you and your friends are around?” Chief McGinnis mused. “I’m beginning to believe that you have something to do with all this. The missing money this morning. The shredded feathers in here. And if this isn’t your handiwork, I would consider the fact that someone is making it seem awfully convenient that you’re always hanging around when a crime is committed.”

“Chief,” Mara said, “Nancy and her friends are okay. They’ve been a great big help here. They had nothing to do with this at all. It’s probably a bitter girl who was not selected to participate this year.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because I can drag them out of here. Send them home. Banish them from the carnival altogether.”

“They’re fine,” she said. “But they have an interesting theory about the notes that have been found around the carnival yesterday and today. And they think whoever is writing the notes has also stolen the money.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Show Chief what you girls showed me,” she said.

“Well, Chief, I wouldn’t presume to be as good a detective as you. I mean, you are a professional, after all,” I said. “And I’m just a teenage girl.”

Bess and George laughed, not to be mean, but because we had solved so many crimes over the years, and when Chief was involved we would surely solve them before he would and end up giving him all the credit for solving a mystery that had essentially been solved by us.

“Let’s all leave Lexi and Mrs. Stanfield alone to finish getting ready for the parade, and afterward, why don’t you and I sit down and discuss the notes and stolen money,” he suggested. “I would also love to hear your whereabouts this morning. Just so I can rule you out as a suspect. You know the drill, right?”

“Absolutely, Chief,” I said. “Mrs. Gruen and my dad can vouch for my whereabouts. I believe police refer to it as an airtight alibi, but you’re right, let’s talk after the parade.”

All three of us — George, Bess, and I — left Lexi in the bathroom to get dressed, but right before the door closed it was opened again.

“Nancy!” Lexi called out.

“Don’t worry, Lexi,” I said.

“It’s all going to be okay,” said George.

“Please ride on the float with me,” Lexi said. “Don’t let me get on that thing by myself.”

“I will be on the float with you,” I said. “Bess is checking the alterations on the float one last time. George will be watching us from the crowd, and officer Joe Rees will be driving the float. You will be well protected and guarded.”

“Thank you, Nancy,” she said. “I’m sorry for any mean things I ever said about you behind your back. You really are a good friend.” Then she closed the door.

This was the first time it occurred to me that whoever had started the nickname of “Fancy Nancy” was actually trying to get back at me. The name was an attempt to drive me crazy, just the way that someone who didn’t like me would want. Lexi’s honesty was very real, so I knew she wasn’t the one who’d started the name, but it could very well have been someone in her circle of fro-yo friends. I needed to take a closer look at my enemies to find out the truth.