Tall, Dark and Deadly Read online

  “It’s true,” Nancy admitted. “I wonder why. I’ll have to speak to Ava’s parents and Betsy tomorrow to see what they’re hiding.”

  Bess stood up and stretched. “Well, this is the shortest mystery we’ve ever solved. And I was really looking forward to dating all those guys.”

  “You never know,” Nancy said, waving good night. “There may be more here than you think.”

  • • •

  Nancy called the Woods residence the next morning, but neither of Ava’s parents was at home. She left a message, asking them to call her. Then she looked for Betsy, hoping she could answer a few more questions. But Betsy wasn’t around either. Finally, after a quick breakfast with Bess, Nancy decided to go to her astronomy class and see whether she ran into any of Ava’s other friends.

  When Nancy walked into the classroom she was surprised to see not one but two familiar faces. Darien Olivares and Luke Jefferies were both enrolled in the course.

  Darien gave Nancy a delighted smile. She waved weakly in return and took a seat in the back of the room. She hadn’t even bothered to get the textbook, she realized. She pulled her notebook out of her bag so she could pretend to take notes.

  When she looked up Darien was slipping into a chair beside her.

  “Good morning, Nancy,” he greeted her warmly. “We meet again, under less violent circumstances.”

  Nancy smiled despite herself. Darien was trying so hard. “So we do,” she agreed. “Are you following me?”

  Darien smiled. “I should be,” he declared. “We have to pick lab partners, and I was hoping you’d work with me.”

  Darien is coming on a little too strong, Nancy thought. Why is he so interested in me? “As a matter of fact, I was going to ask Luke Jefferies to be my partner,” she said a little coolly.

  “You’re too late, I’m afraid,” Darien said. “He already has a partner.”

  Nancy looked over and saw that Luke had paired up with a dark-haired girl. In fact, most of the students had chosen partners.

  “You’re stuck with me, Nancy Drew,” Darien said with a laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m a good student.”

  And quite a flirt, Nancy thought to herself, but she allowed him to enter their names as partners on the list when it came around.

  The professor began calling off students’ names, checking them against the registration list. When he called Ava’s name, Luke Jefferies glanced at Nancy, then looked away. He looks unhappy, Nancy noticed. If Ava ran off to Mardi Gras, as Maura thought, why would Luke care?

  Nancy turned to Darien. “Ava Woods is a familiar name,” she said casually. “I think she lives in Hartley. Do you know her?”

  Darien’s dark eyes looked amused. He gave Nancy a lazy grin. “I know of her.”

  Nancy tried to draw him out. “I wonder where I could have met her,” she said thoughtfully.

  “Are you a hockey fan? Ava and that hothead Vince Paratti were quite close for a while.”

  “Vince Paratti.” Nancy pretended to search her memory. “What position does he play?”

  “Every Halloway student knows tall, dark, and handsome Vince,” Darien said, a challenge in his voice. “He’s our temperamental goalie, number one in the league. Who are you kidding?”

  “What do you mean?” Nancy asked innocently.

  Darien leaned back in his chair, staring steadily at her. “Okay, I’ll play your game. Every girl at Halloway is in love with Vince, Nancy. He’s dark and dangerous, and he sends shivers up their spines. And you want me to believe you’ve never even heard of him?”

  Nancy shrugged. “I’m not a sports fan,” she lied. “Besides, I like blonds.”

  Darien laughed. “Ooh, that hurt!” he exclaimed.

  Nancy ignored him. “Tell me more,” she said. “How long ago did Ava and Vince break up?”

  Darien shook his head. “You’re very good at avoiding questions. I think I’ll keep my information to myself. If you want to find out more about Ava Woods, you’re not going to find out from me.

  “I was asking about Vince, not Ava,” Nancy said.

  “You were asking about Ava, if I recall,” Darien corrected her. “But Vince is a very good place to start.”

  Darien was being provocative in more ways than one, Nancy realized, surprised. She turned away from him to listen to the professor’s lecture. His description of the expanding universe flickered through her mind, but she couldn’t concentrate on astronomy.

  How did all of the facts fit together? Nancy wondered. Ava’s fight with her parents, her blind date, and her hotheaded ex-boyfriend didn’t seem to be connected.

  Betsy was a mystery, too. She’d never mentioned Vince. She could have forgotten, Nancy supposed, but the combination of two obviously headstrong people seemed interesting, at least. Ava’s parents and her roommate all seemed to be hiding something.

  Even Darien was not exactly straightforward. Nancy wondered if he knew something about Ava’s disappearance. Could that explain his interest in Nancy?

  She was itching to leave the lecture and get to work, but she didn’t want to arouse Darien’s suspicions. First she wanted to talk to the dean about Ava’s disappearance during spring break last year. He might also be able to tell her more about Campus Connections and some of the students she’d met.

  When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Nancy hurried to the administration building. Dean Selig had just stepped into a lunch meeting, and his secretary was reluctant to disturb him except for an emergency. Remembering what Betsy had said about Ava’s date, Nancy left a note asking the dean for a list of students living off campus, then headed back to the dorm.

  Bess was waiting in the lobby. “I got our meal cards,” she began, “but judging from that determined look on your face, we won’t be eating lunch today.”

  Nancy grinned. “We’ll eat,” she assured her friend. Throwing her arm over Bess’s shoulder, she guided her upstairs. “Remember the guy who threw the snowball at me yesterday? Well, he was in my class today, and he seems to know more about Ava than he’s telling. His name is Darien Olivares. I’m going to see what I can find out about him.”

  “I could try to date him,” Bess offered.

  “No. I have someone else for you to date,” Nancy replied. “Darien told me Ava has an ex-boyfriend named Vince Paratti. See if Luke has him on a list. He’s a hockey player.”

  “I love athletes,” Bess murmured, tossing her blond hair.

  “Bess, I don’t know what’s going on here,” Nancy cautioned. “Darien said Vince is a real hothead. It could be a false lead—or he could be dangerous. Try to set up the date, but don’t go on it without me.”

  Nancy and Bess reached the third floor landing. “Let’s see what Betsy has to say about Vince and Darien,” Nancy suggested. “That way we can at least get started.”

  Nancy knocked on Betsy’s door, but there was no response.

  “She’s at lunch, I guess,” Bess ventured. “Maybe we can catch her in the dining room.”

  As the two girls debated what to do, the phone in Betsy’s room rang.

  “Do you think—” Bess began.

  “I don’t know,” Nancy cut in, “but we’d better find out. Do you have a credit card?”

  “A meal card!” Bess said gleefully, handing it to her. “Quick!”

  Nancy slipped the card into the crack of the door as the phone continued to ring. “Don’t hang up,” Nancy urged silently as she tried to push the latch back.

  The phone stopped ringing, and Nancy heard the click of an answering machine.

  “Stay on the phone!” Bess shouted, practically in Nancy’s ear. “Leave a message!”

  Nancy felt the latch give and pushed the door open. As she reached for the phone she heard an elderly woman’s voice on the answering machine.

  “Ava? Ava, where are you?”

  “Hello?” Nancy said breathlessly into the receiver.

  “Ava?”

  “No, it’s not Ava. I’m a friend of h
ers,” Nancy said. “Who is this, please?”

  “I’m looking for Ava. It’s very important. Do you know where she is?”

  “No, I’m sorry,” Nancy began, but the woman interrupted.

  “Tell her to call me. She’ll know who this is. Please, it’s urgent. Just tell her I got a call about the box.”

  “What box?” Nancy asked quickly.

  “The box is the key,” the woman said, as if she hadn’t heard the question.

  Then there was a click, and before Nancy could respond, a dial tone hummed in her ear. The mysterious caller had hung up!

  Chapter

  Five

  NANCY TURNED TO BESS. “This is crazy,” She said, shaking her head.

  “What’s crazy?” Bess asked.

  Nancy told her about the conversation she’d just had with the elderly woman. “She said she got a call about the box.” Sinking onto Ava’s bed, Nancy sighed. “This lady doesn’t fit into our picture.”

  Nancy went through the information she’d collected so far. “Ava is missing,” she began. “Her parents asked us to look for her but didn’t tell us about a huge fight they had. Betsy reported Ava missing, but she hasn’t told us anything else. Luke Jefferies knows something about Ava’s date, but he won’t tell me about it. Darien is sticking to me like glue, and I think he has something more than flirting in mind. And now we have an elderly woman calling with a desperate message about a box.”

  “Well, what about that box?” Bess wondered aloud. “Could it be connected to the date? Or to the astronomy course? Darien and Luke are both taking that class.”

  “I don’t see a connection there.” Nancy shook her head. “Today was the first class. Which reminds me, we’d better eat before our afternoon classes.”

  After a quick lunch Nancy checked her schedule and discovered she had several hours before the astronomy lab started.

  “I’m going to visit the Elderly Assistance program,” she told Bess. “Do me a favor. Call the dean and see if he can tell you anything about Vince Paratti.”

  “No problem.”

  Nancy turned back. “And if you can, try to reach Mr. and Mrs. Woods again.”

  “No problem there, either.”

  Nancy grinned and hugged her friend. “I know it’s more than one favor. You’re a lifesaver, Bess. I’m really glad you came.”

  Bess giggled. “So am I. I’ve never had a chance to date on the job before.”

  Nancy set out for the Elderly Assistance office, which she’d found in Ava’s address book. She got there in less than ten minutes. It was one of several attached offices in a strip mall in the center of town. Through the display windows, she could see a small reception area decorated in light blue. A sign on the door said Back at Two.

  Checking her watch, she saw it was five after two. She pressed the buzzer, but no one answered, so she returned to her car and waited.

  After listening to the radio for a few minutes, Nancy saw a car pull up in the space next to hers. Maia Edenholm got out, and then a man stepped out from the driver’s side. That must be Peter, the man Maia had mentioned, Nancy decided, the director of the program and Maia’s fiancé. She could see flecks of gray in his thick black hair and guessed he was in his early forties. Nancy gave them time to go inside and get settled before she rang the bell.

  Maia buzzed Nancy in. From the puzzled look on her face, Nancy could see she was trying to place her. “You’re . . .” she began, then stopped.

  “Nancy Drew,” Nancy said, extending her hand. “We met in Ava Woods’s room.”

  “Of course.” Maia’s expression shifted to one of alarm. “Did you give Ava my message?”

  “Not yet,” Nancy said pleasantly. “She hasn’t returned.”

  “I’m glad,” Maia said, her face brightening. “Not that she hasn’t returned, of course, but that you haven’t delivered my message. I’m afraid I was annoyed yesterday. I didn’t really mean to fire her. Our clients love Ava. She’s welcome to work with us for as long as she wants to.”

  “Well, I’m sure she’ll be delighted to hear that,” Nancy said tactfully.

  “That couldn’t be why you came, though,” Maia prompted.

  “Well, partly,” Nancy said. “But I also want to know more about your program.”

  “Oh.” Maia gave Nancy an appraising look. “Just a sec.” She disappeared through a door and reappeared a few minutes later.

  “Come on in,” she invited.

  Nancy walked into a large office. The desk, which dominated the room, was nearly buried under a mess of papers. A key ring the size of a dessert plate was lying near the computer. Books were piled haphazardly on the floor according to size. The man she had just seen outside stepped forward to greet her. He was handsome and tanned, with an easy, athletic gait.

  “I’m Peter Hoffs,” he said. “Have a seat, and don’t mind the mess. It’s always like this.” His eyes fell on the key ring, and he tossed it at Maia. “Yours,” he said. “Put it away.

  “Maia said you’re Ava’s friend,” he continued, turning to Nancy. “Any friend of Ava’s . . .” He let his voice trail off and gave her a smile. “You know the old cliché. What can I do for you?”

  “I met Maia the other day on campus,” Nancy began, feeling her way. “Later I asked around about your program, and everyone had wonderful things to say about it. I thought I’d come by for more information. I was thinking there might be something I could do.”

  “Sorry, but we don’t have any openings,” Peter said.

  “Oh, I see,” Nancy said. “You must have a long list of people waiting to work here.”

  “We do,” he agreed. “I like to think it’s because we’ve got such a good program.”

  “Well, it can’t hurt to hear about the program, anyway, in case you’re shorthanded one day,” Nancy said.

  The phone rang and Maia jumped up. “I’ll get it,” she volunteered, leaving the room. Peter leaned back in his chair and swung his long legs up onto the desk.

  “First thing,” he began, “we’re not a welfare-type program. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. But our clients are fairly comfortable, financially. They’re people who are getting on in age. They have no family nearby to help them, and they need things done now and then.”

  As Peter continued Nancy could see that those who worked for the program did more than just a few occasional chores. Each assistant, like Ava, visited as many as four clients every week, one each afternoon. They did shopping, housecleaning, and errands. Sometimes they just kept the client company. Peter and Maia also provided professional references, recommending doctors, lawyers, and other specialists when their clients needed them.

  Peter’s description was smooth and sure, as though he gave it every day. When he finished, Nancy had only two questions.

  “Can I ask how much the assistants make?”

  “Not much. We pay minimum wage,” Peter said. “Our clients aren’t rich, you know. We charge just enough to pay our overhead and expenses. I’d love to make the service completely free, but right now we can be charitable only in our feelings.”

  “And do you organize any help for your clients?” Nancy continued, thinking about Ava’s mysterious caller and her reference to a box. “Storage, moving—things like that?”

  Peter looked puzzled. “Sure, but most of our clients stay put. And they don’t need to store anything, because their families have moved away and left them alone in their houses. If anything, they have too much room.”

  Nancy smiled and nodded. When she didn’t offer anything further, Peter asked, “Is there a special reason you asked?”

  “My uncle has a moving company,” Nancy fibbed. “I could put you in touch with him if you need something like that. He sells supplies, too: string, tape, plastic covers, boxes. . . .” She let her voice trail off.

  Peter Hoffs didn’t react to the word “boxes” at all. Checking her watch, Nancy realized her afternoon astronomy lab was scheduled to start so
on.

  “Well, thank you very much for your time,” she said, getting up to leave. “If you do have any openings, even for one day a week, please give me a call. I’d love to help.”

  Peter Hoffs wrote down her name and the telephone number at the dorm. “I’ll call you the minute I need some help,” he said, “or a mover.”

  • • •

  Nancy got to the astronomy lab a few minutes late. The professor was explaining the parts of a telescope to prepare the class for a visit to the campus observatory.

  Luke and his partner were on the other side of the room. Nancy chose an empty seat in the middle of a group, far away from Darien. She wanted to be free to investigate, and she wouldn’t be if Darien were at her heels.

  The outing to see the telescope would give her a chance to go to the dating service when Luke wasn’t there, she realized. But when the professor finally finished his explanation, Darien materialized at her side.

  “You didn’t sit with me,” he teased her. “Has some blond guy stolen you away?”

  Nancy winced. “No, actually I was trying to get a job,” she said. “Why don’t you meet me downstairs? I’ll just be a minute.”

  “I’ll wait here,” he insisted. “I don’t want you to slip out of my sight.”

  “You want to hang around outside the ladies’ room?” she asked with a smile.

  Darien blushed. “I’ll wait downstairs.”

  Nancy waited until the class left for the observatory, then headed down the hall in the opposite direction. After finding a back exit, she made her way downstairs. The class was nowhere in sight.

  She hopped into her car and drove to Campus Connections. The lobby of the building was quiet and deserted. Nancy pressed the button and waited for an elevator.

  She stepped out of the elevator on the third floor. Quickly she took out her lockpick and opened the door to the dating service’s offices. Inside, she saw that the door to Luke’s office was ajar.

  Nancy left the lights off, relying on the afternoon sun coming in through the windows. She turned on Luke’s computer, then checked his file drawers but found them locked. Deftly she went through the desk, looking for the keys. It took only a moment to find them.