Nobody's Business Read online

  “The message could also be from the ghost that’s still haunting the inn, looking for her lover,” Bess piped up.

  Andrew looked at his watch and groaned. “I don’t have time for this now. My father wants me to give him a full accounting of all the work we’ve done. I’d better leave now or I’ll be late.”

  After Andrew left with his ledger, Nancy, Ned, and Bess headed for the ballroom, where they found Dan Nichols and about ten of the Teen Workers nailing thick gray slabs of plasterboard to the wooden framework against the walls. The clattering and banging of their hammers was nearly drowned out by loud, fifties-style rock and roll blaring from the stereo on the balcony.

  “Ned, would you come up to the balcony with me?” Nancy asked. “I want to try to figure out what happened yesterday.”

  “Might as well,” Ned agreed, with a nod at his cast. “I’m not going to be much use here.”

  They climbed the back stairs to the balcony, and Nancy shone her penlight into the dimly lit alcove right outside the entrance to the balcony. The master light switch was there, now fully wired with eight black dials.

  “This must have been where Blaster was working yesterday,” Nancy said. “It’s only a few feet from the alcove to the front of the balcony, where you were working. He definitely could have turned off the lights and pushed you.”

  “I’m still not sure I was pushed,” Ned said.

  “But we are sure someone turned out the lights,” Nancy reminded him. She stepped through the open doorway and onto the balcony. There was a second light switch just inside the door.

  “This controls the lights downstairs, too,” Nancy said after quickly flipping the switch off and on.

  She thought for a moment, then said excitedly, “That means Julie could have turned off the lights. It’s possible that she sneaked up the stairs past the alcove where Blaster was working. She wouldn’t have needed to use the master switch. She could have turned the lights out from here.”

  “Maybe,” Ned said. Nancy was glad that he kept a careful distance from the balcony’s edge, even though the new railing had been installed.

  “Now that I think about it,” Nancy went on, “Julie was sent on an errand by her boss yesterday, not long before your accident. It would have been a perfect opportunity for her to come here without her boss wondering where she was.”

  As Nancy peered at the balcony switch, she noticed a reddish brown muddy substance on the lever. “Hey, Ned,” she called. “Look at this.”

  He came over and picked at the dried, cakey substance with his good hand. “Looks like clay.”

  “And it matches the color of the clay Julie was working with yesterday,” Nancy said excitedly. After searching in her purse for a slip of paper, she chipped off a sample of the reddish brown substance and carefully folded it inside.

  “Now I’d really better pay Julie another visit at the store,” Nancy said, “so I can check this sample against the clay she uses. I’m almost positive it’ll be a match.”

  Nodding, Ned said, “I think I remember Andrew saying she doesn’t work there every day, though. Maybe you can get her home address from Andrew. He has a file of address cards in his office.”

  “Good idea,” Nancy said. “While I’m at it, I’d like to get Blaster’s address, too. Do you think Andrew would mind if I looked them up now? I wouldn’t disturb anything.”

  “That should be okay,” Ned told her. “It’s not top secret information or anything.”

  Nancy and Ned went back down the balcony stairs, through the ballroom, and down the hallway to Andrew’s office, off the lobby. After knocking softly, Nancy pushed open the door. Hearing a jangling sound, she checked behind the door and found two keys hanging from hooks. One was labeled Front Door and the other said Back Door.

  “So that’s how the intruder got in at night,” Nancy murmured, half to herself.

  Giving Nancy a perplexed look, Ned asked, “What are you talking about, Nan?”

  She showed Ned the keys. “There are plenty of times when Andrew’s not in the office,” she said. “Anyone could have come in here and borrowed the keys, then made copies and returned the originals before Andrew noticed they were gone.”

  “That’s definitely possible,” Ned agreed.

  Moving over to the desk, Nancy found a circular file of address cards precariously balanced next to the phone on top a pile of papers. She pulled a notebook from her purse and jotted down Blaster’s and Julie’s addresses.

  “They both live in Melborne,” Nancy said. “That will save time if we need to visit them at home. . . . Oops!”

  Nancy reached out to steady the circular file, which had started to slide down the stack of papers. She pushed some of the papers aside so she could set the file down on the desk. As she did, a bright red ink stamp on several of the papers caught her eye.

  “ ‘Overdue,’ ” she read aloud, then peered more closely at the papers. “These are bills. Electrical cable, five hundred dollars,” she read off one. “Copper pipes, seven thousand dollars.”

  Shuffling through the papers, Nancy saw that every single one of them was a bill, and they were all overdue.

  Nancy did some quick mental calculations. “These run into tens of thousands of dollars!” she exclaimed.

  Looking over her shoulder, Ned observed, “Andrew wasn’t exaggerating when he said he was in debt.”

  “And his debt is even worse than we realized,” Nancy said. She pressed her lips together, concentrating as an idea began to form in her mind. “Maybe Andrew wasn’t joking when he said he’d be better off if the inn never opened,” she said slowly.

  “What are you saying, Nan?” Ned asked.

  Nancy paused, gathering her thoughts. “You’ve said Andrew’s always been afraid to stand up to his father,” she said at last. “Maybe Andrew was causing all the problems because he didn’t want responsibility for the inn and couldn’t figure any other way out.”

  Ned’s mouth fell open. “You mean . . .”

  Nancy nodded. “Maybe the person sabotaging the inn is Andrew himself!”

  Chapter

  Seven

  NANCY GASPED as she realized something else, so horrible she could hardly even think about it.

  “Andrew was the person closest to you when the lights went out,” she said softly to Ned. “He would have had the best opportunity to turn off the lights and push you off the balcony.”

  “No way!” Ned protested vehemently. “Andrew would never do anything to hurt me. Besides, why would he do something like that?” he asked. “Hurting me won’t save the inn.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t want to save it,” Nancy said. “If he’s really desperate to get out of his father’s clutches, he might do anything, even hurt you, to stop the renovation. He could have caused all these accidents and written the threatening notes so that it would seem like it wasn’t his fault that he failed.”

  Ned shook his head. “That’s not like Andrew,” he insisted. “He’s not the bravest person in the world, but he’s not a liar.”

  “He’s not a renovator, either,” Nancy reminded him. “He wants to be an actor, right? You admitted that he’s only working for his father because he’s too scared to say no.”

  Ned’s expression darkened, and he turned away from Nancy, slowly leaving the office.

  “I know it’s upsetting,” Nancy said, following him into the lobby. “But think about it. Most of the damage was done at night. Andrew could have stayed late, after everyone left, and written the notes or rigged up the dummy.”

  Turning to meet Nancy’s gaze, Ned said, “But what about the ghost noises coming from the stereo?” Ned asked. “Andrew was standing in the ballroom with us when that happened.”

  “He could have used a remote control,” Nancy suggested.

  “But we didn’t find a tape or anything in the stereo with ghost noises on it,” Ned said. “Andrew couldn’t have removed it because we were with him the whole time.”

  Ned had a po
int, Nancy realized. “But if he’s working with someone—”

  “I’m glad someone’s working.”

  Nancy jumped at the sound of Andrew’s voice behind her and Ned. Whirling around, she saw that Andrew was just coming in the front entrance, his ledger under his arm.

  “Who are we talking about?” Andrew asked.

  “Um, my father,” Nancy quickly lied. “He’s just hired a new partner at his law firm.”

  Shooting Nancy a hard look, Ned walked quickly over to Andrew and put his left arm around his friend. “How’d it go with your dad?” he asked.

  Before Andrew could answer, Colleen appeared between the marble columns framing the front hallway. “Do you guys have a minute?” she asked. “I’m calling a little powwow in the ballroom.”

  “Right now?” Andrew asked, grimacing. “I don’t think we can spare the time. My dad says if we don’t pick up the pace, he might have to fire Teen Works and get a professional contractor.”

  Colleen drew herself up straighter. “My kids are very professional,” she said in a defensive tone. “You’ll be lucky if we stay on the job after all that’s happened here. That’s why I’d like to have a meeting with you, as a matter of fact.”

  The tension in the room was so thick that Nancy felt she could cut it with a knife. No one said a word as Colleen led the way into the ballroom. About fifteen people, including Bess, sat on the floor, eating sandwiches and drinking cans of soda.

  “Well?” Andrew asked, crossing his arms.

  “I’m concerned,” Colleen began. “There’ve been too many accidents on this job. I just don’t feel comfortable having these kids in danger. We can’t risk another fall like the one that happened yesterday.” She nodded toward Ned’s fractured arm. “That’s why I think this renovation should be called off, at least until we figure out who’s responsible for all the problems here.”

  Andrew quickly scanned the teenagers’ faces. “I’m concerned about everyone’s safety, too,” he said. “But I can’t afford to stop the renovation. We’ve lost too much time and money as it is.”

  “It’s too dangerous to continue,” Colleen insisted.

  Natalia Diaz spoke up from where she was sitting cross-legged on the floor. “It’s more than dangerous. It’s depressing,” she said. “We’ve worked so hard here, but lots of the stuff just gets undone.”

  “Hey,” Colleen said, going over to hug Natalia. “Your moods are upsetting me even more than all the accidents. Cheer up, guys!”

  The teenagers looked at one another. After an uncomfortable silence, Colleen clapped her hands and strode back and forth in front of the group. “I know the perfect thing to get us all out of this slump,” she said, her green eyes sparkling. “Let’s have a party!”

  “Now?” Master Blaster asked hopefully.

  Colleen laughed. “I was thinking about after work hours—like, how about tomorrow night? We can have it at my house. I’ll call a caterer, and Blaster can provide the music, of course. If you all show up, it’ll be a big bash.”

  A round of cheers echoed in the ballroom, and Andrew looked expectantly at the teenagers. “So? Does that mean we can get back to work?”

  “For now,” Colleen said. “But if there’s any more trouble, you’ll be hearing from me.”

  “Fine,” Andrew said with a resigned sigh. “Meanwhile, lunchtime’s over, folks. Everybody back to work.”

  As the group broke up, Bess got to her feet and came over to Nancy. “I guess I’d better keep an eye on Blaster,” she whispered cheerfully, watching the deejay as he headed into the hallway.

  “This time I’m coming with you,” Nancy said firmly. “I want to find out what he knows about Ned’s fall from the balcony.”

  The two girls followed Blaster into the hall, past the dining room, to the last room on the left. Like the bathrooms upstairs, this room was bare, with pipes sticking out of the framework walls in a few places.

  “Can we help, Blaster?” Bess asked, pushing up the sleeves of the yellow sweatshirt she wore over her jeans.

  Master Blaster grinned when he saw Bess. “Do you know anything about electricity?” he asked.

  “Not really,” Bess admitted.

  “That’s funny,” Blaster said, moving a step closer to Bess. “Because as soon as you walked into the room, I felt a power surge.”

  Bess’s face turned red, and her eyes sparkled with pleasure. Obviously, Nancy was going to have to keep an eye on both of them!

  “What are you working on?” Nancy asked as the deejay knelt on the floor by a tool chest and pulled out a pair of metal clippers. He deftly sliced through a heavy electrical cable attached to the wooden wall frame and pulled out a black and a white wire.

  “I’m wiring some outlets,” he said, taking a rectangular metal box from his tool chest. Swiftly and efficiently he ran the wires through a hole in the top of the box and clamped the metal box to the drywall stud.

  “Pretty impressive,” Nancy said as she watched.

  Master Blaster shrugged. “It’s a living.”

  “You don’t sound too excited about working here,” Nancy said. “Or maybe it’s just all the strange things that have been happening.”

  “It’s just that I won’t be working here for too long, that’s all,” Blaster said.

  Before Nancy could probe further, Bess said, “It’s just until you become a top deejay and record producer.” Turning to Nancy, she said, “Blaster’s told me all about his music.”

  “It’s very fresh,” Blaster said. “Sort of a mix of my own melodies and lyrics over existing music and sound effects. It’s hard to explain.”

  “It sounds really original,” Bess said. She seemed to have totally forgotten about the case.

  With a stern look at her friend, Nancy said to Master Blaster, “It must have been pretty weird yesterday, up in the balcony, when all the lights went out. What happened? Did you flip the dining room switch by accident?”

  Blaster’s cocky demeanor vanished instantly. His face reddened, and his hands shook a little. “I swear I didn’t do it,” he said. “I was running a check on the downstairs lights when it happened. Eddie can back me up.”

  Master Blaster seemed awfully nervous for someone who claimed to be innocent. “I guess the person who did it must have run right past you, then,” Nancy said. “Did you hear or see anything strange while you were working up there?”

  Blaster shook his head, then suddenly became very intent on screwing the metal plate into the wall. “I didn’t see anything,” he said hesitantly. “I had my back to the stairs and my ear to the walkie-talkie.”

  Nancy felt certain that he was lying. She was about to press him for more information when Andrew poked his head in through the doorway.

  “Can you give me a hand, Blaster?” Andrew asked. “I need some help in the ballroom.”

  “Sure,” Blaster said, standing up quickly. He looked relieved to have an excuse to leave.

  Shrugging at each other, Nancy and Bess followed the guys back into the ballroom. Andrew went over to stand beside a pulley that was attached by a cable to the old crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Ned, Colleen, and half a dozen other teenagers were gathered nearby.

  “It’s time to take this baby down,” Andrew said. “It’s been up since 1913, but it’s damaged beyond repair.”

  “Too bad,” Nancy said, admiring the grand chandelier.

  Andrew placed both hands on the pulley’s winding mechanism. “I need you and Ivan to help me crank this, Blaster,” he said.

  The deejay stood beside Andrew and the boy with cornrow braids. With all their strength they turned the crank. Nancy saw beads of sweat break out on the three guys’ foreheads as they began to slowly lower the chandelier.

  “That thing must weigh a ton,” she commented.

  “It’s so sad,” Bess said. She moved toward the chandelier and craned her neck so she could see it. “It’s kind of like the end of an era.”

  “Hey, Bess,” Nancy
began with a worried glance toward where Andrew, Master Blaster, and Ivan strained against the crank. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to stand—”

  The sudden sound of tinkling glass overhead drowned out Nancy’s warning. Looking up, she felt her breath catch in her throat. The cable had ripped almost in two, and the chandelier was swinging crazily.

  The next thing Nancy knew, there was a ripping noise and the chandelier was hurtling down through the air, straight toward Bess’s head!

  Chapter

  Eight

  NANCY LEAPT FORWARD, throwing her weight against Bess and knocking them both out of the way. A split second later the chandelier landed with a deafening crash against the floor.

  For a moment the two of them lay motionless, stunned and breathing heavily. Thousands of shards of broken crystal surrounded them. Worried cries rang out in the room, and she and Bess were soon surrounded by Ned, Andrew, and the others.

  “Are you okay?” Ned asked, his brown eyes filled with concern.

  Nancy sat up gingerly. “I think so,” she said. “Bess?”

  “S-still in one piece,” Bess said in a squeaky voice. With Blaster’s help, she rose to her feet. “Thanks, Nancy. That’s probably the zillionth time you saved my life, but it means just as much every time.”

  Looking gravely from Nancy to Bess, Andrew said, “Maybe Colleen’s right. This job is getting too dangerous. If people’s lives are in danger—”

  “We’re fine,” Nancy assured him, taking Ned’s hand as he helped her up.

  “But who knows what’s going to happen next?” Andrew said, shaking his head. “I just increased my insurance coverage, but I don’t think it’s going to be enough if these accidents keep up.”

  Hearing Andrew’s words, something clicked in Nancy’s mind. Insurance! she thought excitedly. That could be the whole key to what was happening.

  Maybe Andrew had decided to junk the whole project and collect on his insurance, Nancy thought. He could blame the inn’s failure on the saboteur, and he’d be able to get back some of his father’s investment. That way he’d be free to go to California and pursue his acting career, and no one would ever have to know that he was the one causing the accidents in the first place.