The Black Widow Read online

  The sharp point moved over the surface of the stone without leaving a mark.

  It was a genuine emerald.

  Stifling an urge to shout the good news to Ned, Nancy let out some of her excitement in an explosive sigh.

  “ ‘Welcome to my parlor,’ said the spider to the fly.”

  Antonio Ribeiro’s voice came from an open floor-to-ceiling window opposite the doors.

  As Nancy’s eyes focused slowly in the darkness, she saw the cold gray barrel of a gun.

  Chapter

  Fourteen

  RIBEIRO BEGAN MOVING slowly toward Nancy, a cruel smile twisting his face.

  “Miss Drew, you simply don’t know what a pleasure it is for me to have you as my special guest at last,” he said smugly. “You’ve led me quite a dance, you realize.

  “But it’s all been worth it. And now that you’ve shown me where the emeralds are, I regret that we must say goodbye. Please come down here.”

  Nancy descended slowly. “I hope you don’t think you can use that gun on me and get away with it,” she replied coolly. “You’d have the American consulate on your tail within minutes.”

  Ribeiro wasn’t moved. “On the contrary, Miss Drew. I’ve got the entire ocean at my disposal for getting rid of your body. And even if they traced your movements to this ship, we could be in another country by then, and South America doesn’t necessarily care about extraditing people to the United States. And, even were I caught and charged with your death, I could say I shot an unknown intruder in self-defense.”

  Nancy wondered wildly where Ned was. It looked as if Ribeiro didn’t know she had a companion on the ship. Playing for time, she asked, “Why did you kidnap Mrs. da Silva?”

  “Kidnapping is not one of my vices. Nina da Silva may not be the world’s brightest woman, but at least she had the sense to get out of my way and leave the cruise.”

  Suddenly, a tall dark figure came flying out of the shadows. Ned!

  The hotel manager’s right arm flew into the air as the gun went off. His bullet whizzed past Nancy’s head and shattered a window on the far side of the room.

  Nancy started forward to help Ned as he and Ribeiro grappled. “Look out!” she cried. Ribeiro was about to club Ned with the heavy gun butt.

  Ned twisted aside, and the two of them crashed to the floor amid a pile of barstools. They broke apart. Nancy bit her lip as she tried to see what was happening. Then Ned staggered to his feet.

  “Come on, Ned,” Nancy yelled. “He’s still got the gun!”

  The two teenagers ran for the open deck. By the time they got to the companionway, Nancy could hear footsteps pounding behind them. And the gangway was still five decks below them!

  Nancy’s brain was moving as fast as her feet. Ribeiro obviously didn’t know that someone had kidnapped Mrs. da Silva! If he wasn’t involved in that, then was it possible that he wasn’t the mastermind here?

  Nancy and Ned clattered down the last companionway. The gangplank was just in front of them. As they raced across the open deck, another bullet whistled through the air.

  “Get down, Nancy!” Ned shouted. He grabbed her hand, and together they rolled down the gangplank.

  “Keep going!” gasped Nancy as they hit the ground. “Head for that crowd—he won’t dare shoot at us there.”

  Nancy and Ned dashed across the wharf, ducking in and out of the shadows cast by the huge ships. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the Emerald Queen.

  No one. Nancy didn’t like that. Ribeiro couldn’t have given up so easily. And if he was chasing them, she would have preferred to know where he was.

  They crossed a broad avenue, and Nancy began to breathe a little easier. Maybe Ribeiro had given up after all—in which case there was still work to be done!

  “Ned, I don’t know how much you heard back there,” she said, “but if Ribeiro wasn’t lying, he didn’t even know Mrs. da Silva was kidnapped!”

  Ned nodded. “Yeah, I caught that,” he replied. “So that must mean Ribeiro and his accomplice aren’t telling each other everything.”

  “Yes, and I’m not sure I like that. If this accomplice has some initiative, that makes him or her that much more dangerous. All right, here’s the plan.”

  Nancy hated to split up, but she saw no other way. “You’ve got to go back and keep an eye on the emeralds. I’ll go up to Sugarloaf to get Captain Brant. The police may not listen to me, but they will listen to him.”

  Ned nodded reluctantly. “Okay, boss lady. But you’d better be careful. Ribeiro’s bound to figure out where you’re headed, and he might be desperate enough to come after you.”

  “Oh, Ned.” Nancy put her arms around him and kissed him. “You’re the one who should be careful. I’m giving you the dangerous job. I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Ned smiled into her eyes, and Nancy tried to swallow her uneasiness.

  They parted, diving into the festive crowd, and Nancy began to thread her way toward the cable-car landing.

  This isn’t going to be easy, she thought after several breathless minutes. The crowd was so dense that it could take hours to reach the landing.

  Dodging a drunken reveler, Nancy headed for a side street. She’d have to take a detour. It was better than trying to get through a solid mass of people.

  The narrow alley she found herself in was less crowded, but by no means clear. The air was still and heavy away from the waterfront, and Nancy peeled off her sweatshirt. Taking a deep breath, she shoved her way past a crowd of masked children.

  Several minutes later Nancy realized she had dropped her sweatshirt. With nothing but her bright yellow cotton T-shirt on, she was starting to feel chilled.

  What was worse, she was lost, hopelessly lost. Taking all the side alleys to avoid the crowds, she had completely lost her sense of direction. And Ned had the map.

  She stopped at a newsstand to catch her breath and ask for directions. “Por favor, una mapa,” Nancy tried in Spanish.

  The fat proprietor looked at her stonily. “No mapa,” he said. He obviously didn’t appreciate having to work while everyone else went to Carnival, and he was going to let Nancy know about it.

  “Importante!” Nancy added in desperation. She had to get to Sugarloaf—and fast.

  The shopkeeper stared at her and, grunting with the exertion, reached a grubby map from one of the dusty upper shelves.

  Nancy figured she was about ten minutes away from the cable-car landing. At least she hadn’t gone too much off the track in her wandering.

  “Thanks!” she yelled over her shoulder at the sullen shopkeeper as she left the dingy store.

  As she moved into the street, she caught sight of a figure in a white uniform out of the corner of her eye. Ribeiro! He had found her somehow! Nancy cursed her luck. She’d have to lose him and hope that he didn’t figure out where she was going.

  Nancy ducked around a corner and found herself in the midst of a garish group of dancing people. She crouched under the wing of a large man dressed like a bird and managed to stay hidden in the group as they moved through the street, dancing and singing.

  But when they turned up a wide avenue, which would take Nancy away from the landing, she left their protecting numbers and hurried forward.

  Head down, she fought her way through the surging mass of people. She seemed to be the only one heading for the cable cars—everyone else was going to the center of town.

  Not looking carefully, Nancy ran smack into someone. She tried to raise her head but could only stare at a white ship’s uniform. Strong arms seized her and pinned her arms to her sides.

  Now I’m dead! thought Nancy.

  Chapter

  Fifteen

  NANCY STRUGGLED, TRYING to break free. Then, suddenly, she was released and looked up.

  “Hey, blue eyes, what’s the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost!”

  Nancy stared. “Randy!” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

  “Why do you k
eep asking me that? It’s fate, pure and simple. Now, more to the point, what are you doing here? Is someone chasing you?”

  “Ribeiro. I thought you were Ribeiro. I thought I was about to be killed!”

  “You’ve figured something out!” Randy’s green eyes gleamed with excitement. Surprised, Nancy stared at him.

  “How did you guess that?” she asked.

  “No guessing, Watson. Deduction,” Randy said smoothly. “Why else would he bother to chase after you? You either have something that he wants, or you know something he doesn’t want you to. Right?”

  “Impressive!” Nancy raised her eyebrows. “You’re absolutely right. I figured out what he’s been looking for. It’s a cache of emeralds that he and Mrs. da Silva’s husband stole together. I know where they are. Unfortunately, so does Ribeiro.”

  Randy grabbed her arm. “You know where they are?” he cried. The passing crowd turned, looking interested. Randy grimaced and pulled Nancy into the shelter of a shop doorway. “Have you seen them?” he went on in a lower voice. “Where are they?”

  Nancy pulled her arm away. Suddenly, she felt acutely uneasy. Why was he so excited? “Randy,” she said, making it into a joke, “it sounds as if you’ve got a vested interest in those emeralds yourself.”

  “Me?” Randy threw back his head and laughed. “Come on, Nancy! I’ve just never been close to that much money before. It’s natural curiosity. But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. So where were you running to just now?”

  Maybe it was just natural curiosity. “Up to the restaurant on Sugarloaf,” Nancy told him. “Captain Brant’s up there, with Dad and Mrs. da Silva.”

  “Mrs. da Silva’s back? Well, well. Want company?”

  Nancy didn’t. “Um, actually, Ned and I got separated,” she improvised, “and I’ve got to find him first. Guess I should try the hotel.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Randy said, taking her arm again. “You might need the protection.”

  “Wait a minute!” Nancy cried. She was getting more and more uneasy. “Randy, you still haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in the hospital?”

  “I never checked in,” Randy said, shrugging. “I was feeling fine. Whoever tried to kill me with that dart miscalculated his dosage. Curare can be lethal in concentrated form, but when diluted, it works as a muscle relaxant. There was only enough on the dart to relax me—all the way to unconsciousness.” He grinned, rubbing his neck reminiscently.

  Bong! Alarm bells started going off in Nancy’s head. Why hadn’t she seen it earlier?

  She flashed on Randy slapping at a mosquito as they walked into the deserted dining room. Then on herself in sick bay, holding Randy’s dinner jacket. The curare on the lip of the pocket—like the smear on Nancy’s hand when she’d touched the dart. That stain on Randy’s jacket pocket could mean only one thing.

  Randy must have been carrying the dart in his pocket and then stuck it into his neck while pretending to slap at a mosquito. The curare had taken effect quickly, and within five minutes Randy was unconscious. No wonder Nancy hadn’t been able to figure out where the shot could have come from. It hadn’t come from anywhere at all.

  Randy had drugged himself!

  It was all clear. The letter to R, the things Ribeiro should have known about but didn’t, the doublecross that Nina da Silva denied . . .

  He must have drugged himself to divert my suspicion from him, Nancy thought. And he’s been manipulating me from the start.

  Nancy suddenly realized Randy was after her, and that realization must have shown on her face because Randy was gazing quizzically at her. “What’s up?” he asked. “Something wrong?”

  “Uh—no,” Nancy said quickly. “I just remembered something I have to do. Look, Randy, I’ll be fine on my own. And you really can’t be feeling so great yet.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Randy reassured her. “I can keep up!”

  “No!” Nancy said quickly. She had to think fast. “I mean—well, to tell you the truth, Ned’s jealous. I don’t think he’ll be happy to see me with you.”

  There was a pause, then Randy shrugged. “Well, okay,” he said.

  “See you later!” Nancy waved and walked away. Her knees were shaking, but she managed not to let it show.

  Where to first? she wondered. The police won’t believe me if I tell them this story. I don’t have any evidence! No, I’ve got to get up to Sugarloaf—it’s the only option. Randy might even go there himself, now that he knows we’ve found Mrs. da Silva. They could be in real danger. I’ll just have to beat him there!

  Nancy began to walk toward the dark mass of Sugarloaf’s cone.

  She stopped on a street corner to let a procession of yellow-robed people go by. Probably members of a religious sect, she guessed. As they marched, they chanted an eerie dirge, punctuated with heart-rending wails. Nancy tapped her foot impatiently against the curb, waiting for them to pass.

  When they had finally gone by, Nancy ran across the street to a man who was selling noise-makers from a big cardboard box.

  She was about to ask him for directions to Sugarloaf when, mirrored in a darkened shop window, she caught a flash of white in the crowd. She spun around, and saw a man in a ship’s uniform. His cap of sun-streaked golden hair glowed in the light of a street lamp. As she stared, he grinned knowingly at her.

  It was Randy. He was following her.

  Nancy’s blood hammered in her ears. So he knew she knew. I should have guessed something was up when he let me go so easily, she realized.

  Now he not only knew where Nancy was headed, but it was getting pretty obvious he had something in mind—something special for her. He was trying to scare her by following her. Nancy had to admit he was doing a good job.

  She must stand out like a beacon in her bright yellow T-shirt. What an idiot she was to have lost her sweatshirt! She could have kicked herself. How could she escape him?

  Then, looking down at her shirt, Nancy had a sudden inspiration.

  Putting on a burst of speed, she raced down the block, turned left, ran down another block, turned left again, and slowed to a rapid walk. There—she had doubled back and was retracing her own steps. Now she had to get someplace where her yellow blouse wouldn’t advertise her presence.

  After another minute or two, Nancy caught sight of the little yellow-robed band as it wended its way toward the bay.

  She hurried forward, pausing for a moment to snatch a gaily colored square of cloth from an old woman who was waving it in the air. Nancy pressed a handful of coins into the old woman’s outstretched palm. “Thanks!” she called as she began to knot the cloth around her reddish gold hair. Then she ran on, turning once to see the old woman staring after her, mouth agape.

  Pushing and ducking, Nancy made her way to the heart of the group of chanters. Not one of them seemed to notice her arrival. So far, so good. With her black jeans out of sight, her hair covered, and her yellow shirt matching the chanters’ robes, it would be almost impossible for anyone on the sidewalk to spot her.

  When she dared to look up at the crowds, Randy was nowhere in sight. She was surprised to see that her group had crossed a wide boulevard already, and was almost at the end of the bay, where the waterfront gave way to the beach. Sugarloaf towered on her left. She’d made it.

  Nancy detached herself from the group and jogged down the curve of the beach to the cable-car landing, pulling off her headscarf as she ran. She knew she was conspicuous against the white sand, but she couldn’t worry about that now. She just had to get up to the top of the mountain.

  The landing was deserted. One car sat in the loading bay; the other must be up at the top already. Nancy knocked on the door of the lighted switch, booth, and a tiny elderly man opened it and looked suspiciously at her.

  “Please—I have to get to the restaurant,” she said.

  The operator didn’t move. Pulling out some money, Nancy pressed it into his hand, pointing up the s
lope and then at herself in hopes that he would understand the urgency of her gestures.

  “Car leaves in ten minutes,” the man said suddenly.

  So he did understand her! “This is an emergency,” Nancy said. “I know it’s inconvenient, but please—people’s lives may be at stake!”

  “Car leaves in ten minutes,” he repeated. “We wait for more passengers.”

  Nancy wanted to scream. Time was ticking away. Randy could be here any minute! She tried again. “Look, I’ll pay you for your time,” she offered. “I’ve got a traveler’s check right here.”

  The operator looked over Nancy’s shoulder, off into the distance. “Okay, get in,” he finally said. “Pay up top.” He waved her toward the cable car.

  “Thank you very much,” Nancy said fervently. She opened the door and climbed into the car. The operator stood by the switch in a waiting attitude.

  Impatiently, Nancy leaned out the window. “Hey, what are We waiting for?” she called.

  The operator looked at her as if she were a little slow on the uptake. “Other passenger,” he explained in a patient voice.

  Other passenger! “But you just said—” Nancy began. She never finished the sentence. She didn’t have to.

  Her question was answered for her as the doors shut behind the other passenger, who’d just climbed on board.

  It was Randy Wolfe!

  Chapter

  Sixteen

  NANCY LUNGED FOR the door, but Randy was too quick for her. He stepped in front of it and barred the way with his hands. “What’s your hurry, blue eyes?” he said, mocking her.

  Nancy spun around, filling up her lungs to scream. Maybe there was still time to get the cable-car operator’s attention! But her scream was cut short, coming out as a muffled squeak, as Randy caught her around the waist and, with a sharp blow to her midriff, sent the breath whooshing out of her.