Tall, Dark and Deadly Read online

  Nancy sat in the small lobby while Luke hurried into an office and brought back a clipboard with a form attached. “Fill this out while you’re waiting,” he directed, before running back into the office and closing the door behind him.

  Nancy looked at the papers he’d handed her. “You and Your Dream Date,” the title read. It was a questionnaire for the dating service, she realized. She flipped through it, smiling at such questions as “Is your ideal date a moonlit walk on the beach or an expensive night on the town?” At the back of the questionnaire there were pages to “evaluate your connection” and record the success or failure of your date.

  Nancy waited for a few minutes. When Luke didn’t return she knocked on his door.

  “Done already?” he asked when he opened the door.

  “Actually, no,” Nancy said. “I’m not sure I want to use your service. I need some more information first.”

  Luke sat down behind his desk. “Don’t worry, everything’s confidential. You pay fifteen dollars to enroll, and you get seven dates free.”

  “How do you screen clients?” Nancy asked.

  “If you’re a student, that’s all you need,” Luke said. “I don’t discriminate. After all, one person’s nerd may be someone else’s prince.”

  “So how exactly do you arrange a date?”

  “Well, you ask for one, first of all, and tell me what day you need the date for. Then the computer matches you up with the perfect person. I check the day and time with him and arrange for him to pick you up at the appointed time. And of course I give you his name and phone number in case something happens.”

  “Do you keep records of every date?”

  “Yes, why?” Luke wrinkled his forehead.

  “Well, I’m just trying to get a feel for the service. You run it, right?” Nancy asked.

  Luke nodded. “It was my idea, and it’s my service. It’s a great success, if I do say so myself. I hope you’re not planning to copy it.”

  “No,” Nancy assured him. “I just want to know, for example, what will happen to this questionnaire once I fill it out.”

  Luke gave her a measuring look. “It will go into your file, along with your evaluations, the records of all the dates you agree to, and whatever else is important. Now it’s your turn to answer a question. Why all the curiosity?”

  “Actually, I’m hoping you can give me some information about someone who used your service,” Nancy said. “Can you tell me anything about Ava Woods’s date on Friday night?”

  Luke looked startled. “Ava . . . Ava Woods.” He shuffled some papers on his desk. “I don’t carry all this information around in my head, you know,” he snapped, flustered. “She’s not a regular.”

  “Couldn’t you check your files?” Nancy asked. “All I need is her date’s name.”

  “Sorry, I can’t,” Luke said, regaining his smooth manner. “It’s confidential.”

  “This is important,” Nancy urged. “Couldn’t you bend a rule this once?”

  “Tell me why you need to know.”

  Nancy sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t do that right now,” she said.

  “You have a lot of questions and no answers,” Luke said. “Why don’t you ask Ava Woods?”

  “I can’t do that, either,” Nancy said. She studied Luke for a moment, trying to decide how much she should tell him. “She’s . . . not here.”

  Luke shrugged. “Wait till she comes back.”

  “I can’t.”

  Luke stared at Nancy, his face growing increasingly unhappy.

  “Could you at least call Ava’s date and ask him to call me?” Nancy asked at last.

  “Are these two things connected?” he asked.

  “What things?” Nancy stalled.

  Luke squared his shoulders, and Nancy could see that she had lost his sympathy. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything about Ava’s date, and I can’t even contact him for you. You’ll have to speak with her when she returns. Now, if you’re not interested in registering for our dating service, I’d like to continue my work.”

  “If you change your mind, please call me,” Nancy said, standing. “I’m in Hartley Hall.”

  On her way back to the dorm Nancy wondered whether she should have confided in Luke. She had given him barely enough information to make the connection between Ava’s absence and her date, and he had jumped quickly to it, which made her suspicious. On the other hand, he seemed unsure and uneasy, as if he was hearing about Ava’s disappearance for the first time.

  When she got back to the dorm Nancy went to the recreation room to make a call. A large television sat in one corner, and a handful of students lounged on the orange sofas around the room, giving half their attention to the evening news. Nancy settled at one of the two pay phones on the far wall and dialed the Woodses’ number.

  “It’s Nancy Drew,” she said when Mr. Woods answered the telephone.

  “Nancy!” he said with forced cheerfulness. “I don’t suppose you’ve found Ava yet.”

  “Not yet, but I’m working on it,” she said sympathetically. She filled him in on her actions so far and told him what Betsy had said about Ava’s car not being parked on campus.

  Mrs. Woods, who had picked up on another extension, sucked in her breath. “This really is serious, isn’t it?” she said. “Should I call the police about the car?”

  “It would be useful to see if they’ve found it,” Nancy said. “I’ll give them a call. I won’t go into much detail, but if it hasn’t turned up, that might tell us something.”

  Mr. Woods found a copy of the registration and read Nancy the license number. After promising to give them daily reports, Nancy hung up and dialed the police.

  “I’m looking for a car,” she told the officer. “I’m not sure it was stolen, but it appears to be missing, and I wonder if you have a record of it.”

  “Appears to be missing?” the man asked skeptically. “Did you lend it to someone?”

  “A friend might have borrowed it, but I’m not sure,” Nancy said, then gave him the license number and description. She waited, hearing the soft tapping of computer keys as he searched.

  “I don’t have anything here,” he said at last. “When was the last time you saw the car?”

  “Friday,” Nancy told him. “Could you call me if it turns up?”

  “Are you the owner?” he asked. “If it turns up, we’ll contact whoever registered the plates.”

  “Perfect,” Nancy said. “Thank you so much.”

  She headed up the stairs toward her room. As she neared it she saw that the door to Betsy’s and Ava’s room was ajar. “Betsy?” Nancy called as she pushed the door open.

  The blinds were partly closed. Through the half-light of early evening, Nancy could see that Betsy wasn’t in the room.

  But someone else was. A young woman with blond hair was seated at Ava’s desk, going through her drawers!

  Chapter

  Three

  NANCY GASPED. “Ava?” she asked, flipping on the light. “Is that you?”

  The young woman turned, and Nancy saw that she was quite striking, with huge amber eyes and hair like gold. Nancy had never seen her before.

  “I was looking for Betsy or Ava,” Nancy said. “Am I in the wrong room?”

  The blond woman smiled slowly. “I hope not. I was leaving a message for Ava myself.” She gestured to the desk. “I was looking for paper.”

  “I’m Nancy Drew, a friend of Ava,” Nancy said, sticking out her hand.

  “I’m Maia Edenholm. Ava works for me.”

  Nancy looked at Maia again. With her long, straight hair and jeans, she could easily have passed as a Halloway student. But up close Nancy could see that she was older, perhaps in her midtwenties.

  “She works for you?” Nancy repeated.

  “Yes. My fiancé and I run a program for helping elderly people.”

  “Of course,” Nancy said. “The Elderly Assistance program.” She paused. “Where’s Betsy?”
<
br />   Maia shrugged. “I haven’t seen her. But more to the point, where is Ava?”

  “No idea. I just wondered why the door was ajar,” Nancy said airily, trying to be vague. “Is there a problem?”

  “Only that Ava didn’t show up for work today, and my client, Mrs. McCarthy, is screaming about it,” Maia said. “Is she sick?”

  “I think she took a long weekend,” Nancy hedged.

  Maia seemed surprised. “Did she tell you that?” At Nancy’s curious look, she continued in haste, “She didn’t mention it to me or Peter. It’s really caused some problems.”

  “I’m sure she’ll clear everything up when she returns,” Nancy said mildly.

  “Where did she go?” Maia asked.

  “She didn’t say,” Nancy said. “I haven’t seen her for several days, though. You didn’t have a clue she was leaving?”

  “No. It does seem abrupt. Do you think it’s suspicious?”

  Maia was mimicking Nancy’s own style of answering every question with a question, Nancy realized with surprise. Aloud she said, “Suspicious? For a college student to get away for a few days?”

  Maia shrugged. “She always seemed level-headed to me. But if she’s this unreliable, maybe it would be better if she stopped working for us.”

  “Please don’t decide that because of what I said,” Nancy urged. “I haven’t seen her for a while, and I have no idea why she didn’t show up for work today.”

  “My decision is based on Ava, not you,” Maia assured her. “My client was very, very upset, and I have to protect her from that. I’m sure you understand.” She gave Nancy a frosty smile. “When you see Ava, please tell her we no longer need her at Elderly Assistance.”

  “I’ll tell her to call you,” Nancy promised. “I’m sure she’ll be very upset about Mrs.— What did you say her name was?”

  “McCarthy, Jeanette McCarthy.”

  “I’ll tell her,” Nancy said, watching Maia go.

  Nancy sat down at Ava’s desk, not sure whether to leave the room with the door unlocked. Had Maia been probing for information? she wondered. She could understand why Maia would be upset that Ava didn’t show up. Then there was the matter of Mrs. McCarthy. Could she be the woman who’d called Ava?

  “There you are!” Nancy recognized Bess’s voice and turned to see her friend standing in the doorway. “I’ve been running up and down the stairs looking for you. Where have you been?”

  “Just wait till I tell you,” Nancy said.

  “Well, I’m all ears, but mostly I’m all stomach,” Bess replied. “The one thing we forgot to get from the dean was meal cards, although from what I’ve heard, it’s just as well. I ordered a pizza, and it ought to be here any minute.”

  “Great,” Nancy said. “All of a sudden I’m starving. I have a problem, though. I’m not sure whether I should leave this room.” She told Bess about finding Maia in Ava’s and Betsy’s room and gave her the highlights of the conversation.

  Bess shook her head. “Well, don’t worry about the door being open,” she said. “If you walk down the hall, you’ll see that half the doors are ajar. I guess people don’t bother to lock them unless they’re leaving the dorm. Betsy’s probably in the rec room or something.

  “Besides,” Bess continued with a superior smile, “the locks are no great security. Have you seen them? Even I could pick something that flimsy, and that’s a miracle.”

  Nancy examined the lock and saw that Bess was right.

  “Sit down, Bess. I’m going to use Betsy’s phone.” She dialed Information, asked for a number for Jeanette McCarthy, and wrote it on a scrap of paper. Then she dialed the number.

  “Mrs. McCarthy,” she began when an elderly voice answered the telephone, “my name is Nancy Drew, and I’m calling for Ava Woods.”

  “Yes?”

  “This may seem odd, but she asked me to find out if you were trying to reach her.”

  There was a pause. “Well, not anymore. We were trying to find her this morning. Is Ava there now?” Mrs. McCarthy asked.

  “Not right here, no,” Nancy said.

  “Is she sick? Mr. Hoffs said she was sick.”

  “She was called away on an emergency, and she won’t be back for a few days,” Nancy improvised. “She didn’t mention anything to you?”

  “No, nothing at all, but I guess that’s the nature of emergencies, isn’t it? Please tell her I hope everything is okay, and I’ll see her when she returns.”

  “Mrs. McCarthy,” Nancy continued, “I’m taking messages for Ava, and I wondered if you could help me. A woman called to remind Ava about a box, and she didn’t leave her name. Was that you, by any chance?”

  “No, I’m sorry. You could try her teachers or her parents,” the woman suggested.

  Nancy thanked her for her help and hung up.

  “You look as if you struck out,” Bess said, seeing Nancy’s expression.

  “Well, Mrs. McCarthy didn’t seem desperate to reach Ava, and she said she didn’t know anything about a box.”

  “Time for dinner, then,” Bess said happily, tucking her jeans into her boots as she stood. “Why don’t I bring the pizza to your room? Mine is a mess.”

  Nancy agreed. She dashed off a note asking Betsy to call her and begged for five minutes to take a shower. She had just finished dressing when the pizza arrived.

  As they ate, Nancy told Bess about her talk with Betsy, and Bess reported on her day.

  “I stood in line forever,” Bess moaned. “And when I finally got to register, almost all of the classes were filled. I got you into astronomy, which is Ava’s class.”

  “How do you know?”

  “The students in each class are listed on the bulletin boards. I had to trade with someone else to get you in. I was almost jealous when I realized you’ll have night labs. You’ll be gazing at the stars with cute guys.”

  Nancy sipped her drink. “What did you pick?” she asked.

  Bess smiled. “It’s a course in myths and legends. I’ve already learned why people throw rice at weddings.”

  Nancy raised her eyebrows, and Bess went on. “It was in the course description. People used to throw rocks and twirl knives around the bride and groom to ward off evil spirits. But I guess that was too dangerous, so they changed it to rice.”

  “See? You’re getting something out of school already,” Nancy teased.

  Bess grabbed a pillow and threatened to throw it. “Your note said you went to Campus Connections. How did it go?”

  “I’m not sure,” Nancy replied. “The guy who runs it, Luke Jefferies, seemed nervous when I started talking about Ava’s date, but I couldn’t get him to tell me anything about it.”

  “Did he tell you who Ava went out with? Any description?”

  Nancy shook her head. “He said the information is confidential. Betsy thinks Ava’s date’s name was Jim and he lives off campus.”

  “Great. I should be able to date him,” Bess said confidently.

  Nancy stopped in midbite, and Bess burst out laughing.

  “After registration, I couldn’t sit around and do nothing,” she explained. “So I went to Campus Connections and signed up. I just got back.”

  “Bess,” Nancy cautioned, “we don’t know what we’re getting into here. Dating this guy Jim could be dangerous—that is, if we ever find him,”

  “Well, you obviously can’t do the dating and poke around asking questions. Besides, I’m an expert on guys. I’ll find our mystery man if I have to date every one of them on Luke’s list.”

  “I won’t let you go alone, Bess. It’s too dangerous,” Nancy insisted.

  “Fine, you can follow me, then, but no interference,” Bess warned.

  As the two girls cleaned up from dinner, there was a knock on Nancy’s door. Maura Parker stuck her head in.

  “Just wanted to see how you were getting along,” she said with a smile.

  Nancy introduced Maura and Bess, and the three girls chatted for a moment. Suddenly a
nother girl appeared in the doorway.

  “Maura,” the girl said, ignoring Nancy and Bess. “Have you seen Woods today? I’m going crazy trying to find her.”

  “Good luck,” Maura said. “I think she took off again.”

  “Again!” The girl groaned. “I loaned her a couple of albums. Now I’ll never get them back. Let me know if you see her.” She walked away.

  Nancy turned to Maura. “Are you talking about Ava Woods?” she asked, trying not to seem excited. “I know her from high school. Do you know where she is?”

  Maura shook her head. “No, but call her house. Her parents should know.”

  “I don’t think they do,” Nancy said casually. “I called them when I got here, and they didn’t mention anything.”

  “They’re probably just covering up for her again,” Maura said, making a face. “Ava and her mom had another one of their big fights at the end of last week. Ava was yelling loud enough for the whole dorm to hear. Try asking her parents directly. I know they know where she is!”

  Chapter

  Four

  NANCY INVITED MAURA to sit down, and then asked, “Do you remember what Ava was saying when you heard her arguing with her mother?”

  “I think she wanted to go to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and her parents wouldn’t let her,” Maura said. “She said she was going anyway. If you know Ava, you know it’s not the first time this has happened. Last year it was spring break. Her parents didn’t want her to go anywhere, but she took off for Florida. Mrs. Woods called the cops, and Ava was pretty embarrassed when the police tracked her down in Miami.”

  “That must be why the Woodses didn’t want to call the police this time,” Nancy said. “Was the fight on Friday?”

  “It could have been,” Maura said, standing up. “Or maybe it was Thursday. I don’t remember. Call the Woodses if you need to know.”

  “No wonder Betsy was concerned about telling the Woodses that Ava was gone,” Nancy said when Maura had left. “Betsy was probably afraid she’d get Ava in trouble.”

  “But the Woodses didn’t mention the fight!” Bess said indignantly. “We could be wasting our time.”