Illusions of Evil Read online

  “Yeah, it’s great,” Garraty answered. Hagan clipped off the fuse with a pocket knife. “This place should go up like rockets on the Fourth of July,” he said.

  “I just have one question,” Nancy said, stalling for time. “Which one of you tried to run me down in Grigov’s car?”

  “I may as well tell you. That was me,” Hagan put in. “I hot-wired his car and went looking for you. I figured, even if you survived, you’d think it was Grigov who tried to kill you. And then I found the knife in the trunk of his car. Wasn’t that convenient?” he asked, his face twisted in an ugly smirk.

  “So you killed Benny Gotnick with Grigov’s knife,” Nancy pressed, “and planted the cotter pin from the roller coaster in his closet.”

  “Bright girl,” Hagan snapped.

  Nancy wanted the whole story. She also knew that if she kept the men talking, it wouldn’t be long before Pulaski’s men would be on their way. All she and Ned had to do was stay alive until someone came looking for them. “How do you two even know each other?” she asked.

  Garraty gave her one of his engaging smiles. “We have Benny to thank for that. He introduced us.”

  “Was he in on this thing, too?” Ned asked.

  “For a while,” Hagan replied. “Two years ago, Benny and I were working on the Tunnel of Love together, and we found a door we’d never opened before. It led down into these tunnels. Benny saw the possibilities right away. He was up to his eyeballs in debt and figured out a way for all of us to make a ton of money. So he introduced Vince and me.”

  “I don’t get it,” Ned interrupted. “How does putting this junk down here make money for you?”

  “Simple,” Garraty said, taking over the conversation from Hagan. “Let’s say a customer wants me to get rid of a hundred barrels of toxic waste. What I used to do was send it to a chemical detox plant in Chicago. But the detox plant charged me an arm and a leg to get rid of every barrel. Are you starting to get my drift?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Ned answered.

  “Dumping the toxic waste in the tunnels is a lot less expensive. It all adds up to big money.”

  “But those drums could leak into the groundwater and contaminate the river!” she exclaimed.

  Garraty just shrugged. “What’s it to me?”

  “But why all the other crimes?” she asked. “Why kill Benny? Why sabotage the roller coaster and Adriana’s act?”

  Garraty broke in. “Don’t forget to include Nicos,” he said, almost smiling.

  “Nicos, too?” Ned said incredulously.

  “He brought it on himself,” Hagan cut in. “He found out what we were doing down here and threatened to call the cops.”

  “But because we were friends, he gave us the option of just cleaning the wastes out of here,” Hagan said. Instead, I left the power on over the midway when it was supposed to be off. He stuck a screwdriver into a socket—and zap, no more Nicos.”

  “You killed an old friend just like that?” Nancy said, horrified.

  “I had to. After the roller coaster derailment, Benny started to get cold feet. He wanted out, so he had to go, too.” Hagan explained.

  “And Freda Clarke was the perfect tool for you two, wasn’t she?” Nancy guessed.

  “Absolutely,” Garraty said. “Rand and Benny knew all about her lawsuit. It wasn’t going anywhere without big money behind it. I called her up, acted interested in her, her lawsuit, even in that bratty kid, and it wasn’t long before she was hooked.”

  Nancy felt terribly sorry for Freda Clarke. “So you don’t really care for her at all,” she said.

  Garraty snickered. “Are you kidding?”

  Ned turned his head toward Hagan. “It was nice of you to save me on that ride,” he said bitterly. “But why’d you bother?”

  Hagan put his hands on his hips and looked at Nancy. “Did you ever suspect that I was the one who’d rigged that accident?”

  Nancy stared at him, then replied. “You’re right, it was a pretty good move. It was only when you showed up at the hearing that I started to suspect you.”

  “Enough talk,” Garraty warned. He gestured for Hagan to move away. “Sorry, but you two are about to have a tragic accident.”

  Hagan glanced at Ned and Nancy. “This is a slow-burning fuse, so you’ve got about two or three minutes to say goodbye to each other. Use it well.” He pulled a match from his pocket, lit it, and set fire to the fuse. Then he and Garraty dashed out, slamming the door behind them.

  Nancy and Ned stared at the burning fuse in horror. In two minutes it would reach the explosives, and then they would be blown to smithereens!

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  NANCY WATCHED THE FUSE burn closer and closer to the dynamite.

  Behind her, Ned squirmed and strained against his bonds. Nancy felt him inhaling deeply, then heard him letting out the breath.

  “What are you doing?” Nancy asked tensely.

  “Remember yesterday at the hospital?” Ned replied, gasping as he continued to wiggle around.

  “Ned,” Nancy burst out, “we’ve got to do something to get out of here—”

  “That’s what I am doing. Garraty didn’t know it, but I tensed up when he tied me up.”

  Suddenly Nancy realized what he was up to. “You’re trying Adriana’s trick—the one she got from Houdini. You’re amazing. Remind me to give you a big kiss when we get out of this,” she said, her voice rising excitedly. “Can you get loose?”

  Nancy felt Ned move behind her. “I think it’s working!” he yelled.

  While Ned worked to free himself, Nancy tried to keep her eyes off the fuse, now burning perilously close to her feet. A wave of panic rolled over her, but she forced herself to keep calm.

  “Hurry,” she said. “I figure we’ve only got another minute!”

  “I’m out!” Ned announced.

  Reaching around to Nancy’s back, he dug his fingers into the knot at her wrists. She felt him fumble a little.

  “Keep cool,” Nancy urged him. “You’re doing an incredible job!”

  “You’re the one who’s shouting,” Ned said with a grim smile.

  He knelt before her now, unfastening her legs. Within another few seconds, Nancy was free!

  She sprang to her feet.

  Ned glanced toward the dynamite. “How much time do we have?”

  “I’m not sticking around to find out!” she cried, running to the door and grabbing the knob. But it was locked!

  Together they charged it, crashing into its surface with a bone-crushing thud. It burst outward. They struggled to keep their balance as they careened through, running into the backstage area and then out the rear door.

  Seconds later the back of the building erupted in an enormous, fiery explosion!

  The blast picked them up and hurled them yards away. Nancy crashed into a refreshment booth and felt the flimsy wood of the structure splinter under the impact. The wind was knocked out of her, and she lay still for a moment, trying to recover. She felt bruised all over, but nothing seemed to be broken. Then she remembered Ned.

  She glanced around and saw him lying on the ground a few yards away. She limped over to him just as he sat up.

  “Ned, we made it! Are you okay?” she said, and threw her arms around him.

  “Yeah, I think so,” he answered, feeling his head with his hands. “But that sure didn’t help my concussion!” They laughed and then hugged each other in relief.

  Ned looked over at the back of the auditorium, which was in flames. “Before we go after Hagan and Garraty we’d better call the fire department.”

  “You’re right,” Nancy said.

  Just then, they heard the sound of sirens in the distance. “Someone’s already called,” Nancy said. She got to her feet and scanned the empty midway. “I wonder what happened to George. I told her to call the police if I didn’t come back in half an hour.”

  “She must have gone off to look for a phone,” Ned guessed, then stood up. “
Maybe she was the one who called the fire department.”

  “Well, we don’t have time to wait,” Nancy said. “Hagan and Garraty will get away if we don’t go after them ourselves.”

  Without another word, she took off running toward the Tunnel of Love, Ned right behind her. The two of them vaulted over the narrow moat that surrounded the ride, and soon they were both pressed up against the outside of the artificial volcano.

  “Do you think they’ve gone back down into the tunnels?” Ned asked.

  “Not yet,” Nancy guessed. “They’ll want to check to see if we’re really dead.”

  They sneaked along the outside of the Tunnel of Love, working their way toward the entrance at the front of the ride. They’d nearly reached it when the door cracked open, and Nancy saw Garraty poking his head out. He peered toward the back of the auditorium, where Nancy and Ned had nearly met their fate.

  “They’re history,” he shouted back into the building. Nancy assumed he was speaking to Hagan behind him. She gestured to Ned and counted silently, “One, two, three . . .”

  They both moved together, suddenly and explosively. Nancy reached out and grabbed Garraty by the collar, yanking him out of the doorway. At the same time, Ned crashed his shoulder into the door, slamming it shut.

  Garraty stumbled on his way out, and Nancy cracked him across the back of the neck with a stunning karate chop. The man dropped to his hands and knees, and she saw his gun fall out of his hand. She could hear Hagan banging against the door, trying to get out, as Ned strained to hold it shut.

  “Garraty’s out!” Nancy said to Ned.

  Ned was leaning hard to keep the door closed, and now he said, “I think Hagan’s gone—he’s not banging anymore!”

  “He’s probably making a break for it. We’ve got to stop him!” Nancy called to Ned. Together they pulled the door open.

  The interior of the ride was dark. “Hagan must have switched off the lights,” Nancy guessed.

  They slipped into the Tunnel of Love together and cautiously moved forward. They reached the door that led to the underground tunnel. It was open.

  “He must have gone back down there,” Nancy said. “Come on!”

  Suddenly a spotlight clicked on, and the ride gyrated into operation. Nancy heard machinery moving, and the sound of a train approaching on the tracks. On a balcony to her right, the mechanical figure of a gypsy gestured eerily. Then the spotlight clicked off. A shot rang out, and a bullet whizzed past Nancy’s ear. She and Ned dropped to the floor.

  “It’s Hagan!” Ned cried. “He’s someplace back in the Tunnel of Love.”

  “Hagan, give up, you can’t win!” Nancy called out. She knew that by now George must have called the sheriff’s office. “The police know we’re out here!”

  Hagan’s only response was the crack of another gunshot. Then the big man burst out of the darkness, charging past them as he made a break for the door that led down into the tunnels.

  Nancy grabbed for Hagan. Her fingers clutched at his ankle. He tripped and stumbled through the door, screaming as he fell headfirst down the steps. There was a terrific crash, and then the sound of Hagan groaning.

  Nancy and Ned raced to the top of the steps and peered down. The force of the big man’s impact had been so great that the rickety stairs had collapsed. Now, he lay sprawled on the tunnel floor, the broken staircase pinning him down.

  “We’ve got him now!” Ned cried out. “Should we go down and see how he is?”

  “Let’s let the police do the honors,” Nancy said, her breathing still ragged.

  “Fine,” Ned replied, wrapping her in his arms and holding her tight against his strong chest. Then he tilted her chin toward him. “Now, as I recall, you owe me a kiss.”

  • • •

  “So Rand Hagan was working with Garraty all along,” Adriana Polidori said, crossing her long legs in front of her. She was wearing a black silk jumpsuit with a patent leather belt. “I can hardly believe it. And he murdered my uncle—” She shook her head, an expression of deep sorrow crossing her face.

  She was sitting on one of the mahogany chairs in Carson Drew’s office, the morning after Garraty and Rand had been captured. George lounged in the seat next to her, with Ned perched on the arm. Carson was at his desk, and Nancy stood behind him, gazing out the window.

  Nancy and Ned had spent a good part of the night before at the Conklin Falls Police Station explaining the intricacies of Garraty’s plot to Sheriff Pulaski. Hagan had suffered some minor injuries from his fall, but the sheriff had assured Nancy that he would be well enough to stand trial with his partner.

  Now Nancy turned to Adriana. “He also murdered Benny Gotnick,” she commented.

  “And did his best to kill Nancy and me,” Ned added.

  Carson reached out and grabbed Nancy’s hand. “Needless to say, I’m overjoyed that a certain detective—with the help of her boyfriend—is responsible for putting him away.”

  Adriana looked at Nancy, her eyes still shining with tears. “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said.

  “Nor I,” came a deep voice at the door.

  It was Mikhail Grigov. He had his shoulder against the doorframe and was watching them intently.

  “I’ve been less than cordial to you, Nancy, I know,” he went on, giving her a wry grin. “But as far as I’m concerned, you’re a heroine. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for Adriana.”

  Nancy bowed her head toward him, accepting the compliment gracefully.

  “However, I still wish you could convince this stubborn woman to give up Riverfront Park,” he said, sweeping his hand toward Adriana theatrically.

  The magician laughed. “Never! Polidori’s Magicworld lives!” But then she sighed. “Of course, we’ll have to see what the city is going to do about cleaning up Garraty’s illegal dump site. And then I’ll want to explore the possibility of filling in the tunnels as well as hiring people to rebuild the whole backstage area of the auditorium.”

  “That’ll take anywhere from six months to a year,” Carson put in.

  “That’s right,” Adriana agreed. “Which means that Riverfront Park must remain closed for this season. I shudder to think about the unsuspecting crowds who passed through the park while that poisonous waste sat in the ground beneath them.”

  “So what will you do now?” George asked.

  Grigov spoke up. “Adriana has agreed to tour with me,” he said with a smile.

  Nancy glanced over at her father, but his expression remained impassive.

  “I’ve got to work,” Adriana explained. “That’s the only way I’ll be able to put the past behind me.” She looked at Carson then. “But I’ll be back next winter with a whole briefcase full of plans.”

  For a minute Carson caught her glance and held it.

  “Freda Clarke will love that,” George commented wryly, reaching down to her injured foot.

  Ned punched her playfully in the arm. “Stop messing around with your cast.

  “But it itches,” she complained.

  “Actually,” Adriana began, “I got a call from Freda Clarke last night. She apologized and said that she wouldn’t oppose my future plans for Riverfront Park.”

  “Pretty classy,” Ned said.

  Still, Nancy felt deeply sorry for the woman Vince Garraty had so callously manipulated. She decided to take George for a visit to Chris Clarke just as soon as she could.

  They chatted on for a little while, then Adriana rose to go. Nancy and her father came around the desk and walked her to the door.

  The magician paused there briefly to shake hands with George and Ned and give Nancy a hug. She turned to Carson.

  “I warn you, you haven’t seen the last of me,” she said wistfully.

  Carson grinned. “I should hope not. You’re my client, after all.”

  Nancy glanced toward Grigov, who’d been watching the proceedings quietly. She wondered what he thought but decided not to worry about it.

  Then Adri
ana was gone.

  George and Ned followed her out the door.

  “So, Dad,” Nancy said gently once they were alone, “are you sorry to see her go?”

  “Yes and no,” he said with a small shrug.

  “She’s a beautiful and fascinating woman,” Nancy reminded him.

  “That’s true,” he replied, then smiled. “But I already have one of those. And that’s enough for any man!”

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Simon Pulse

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  Copyright © 1994 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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