Free Murder On Ice by Carolyn Keene Page B

need to be alone.”
    â€œSay no more,” Bess replied promptly. “Gunther and I will make ourselves scarce.”
    â€œThanks,” Nancy said.
    â€œBye.” Bess waved. “Take it easy.”
    Nancy found Ned drinking hot chocolate in a secluded booth in the back of the Overlook’s coffee shop. “How are you doing?” he asked as she made her way toward him.
    â€œI have definitely been better,” Nancy said. She dropped into the seat across from him.
    â€œMaybe we should forget this case,” Ned said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, “and go on a ski vacation.”
    â€œThat would be very funny if I weren’t so upset,” Nancy replied. She signaled to the waitress to bring her a hot chocolate, too. “By the way, did Luke get those car keys from you?”
    Ned looked up, surprised. “No. I haven’t seen him.”
    â€œI guess after what Michael said to him he was too angry to come and find you.” Nancy quickly related the story to Ned.
    â€œWow, that’s bizarre.” Ned’s face was serious when Nancy had finished.
    â€œAnd Luke obviously feels very guilty about the accident,” Nancy added.
    â€œYeah,” Ned replied. “Michael really pushed a button in him, bringing the whole thing up like that.
    â€œOh, well. Since Luke didn’t catch up with us, I guess we can take the Jeep home,” Ned went on. “It would have been a real pain to walk all the way back to the lodge on this bum ankle—and I mean that literally.”
    The waitress brought Nancy her cocoa and she began to sip it slowly. “So, did you find out anything about Luke?” she asked.
    Ned drained the last of his hot chocolate. “Not much. He’s new to this area, just arrived during the past couple of months. Two college girls who work here part-time were definitely interested in him, but he wasn’t interested in them.
    â€œYou know,” he added, “whether the guy’s a creep or a crackpot or a menace to society, I think he really does care for George.”
    â€œI don’t know whether that makes the situation better or worse,” Nancy said darkly.
    â€œAnyway, the opinion of the athletes around here is that Luke’s a very experienced skier. They say he’s obviously had some serious racing training and that he’s good enough to win medals in lower-ranked races—his bad leg would slow him down too much for the high-ranked ones. But he completely avoids all ski competitions, won’t even watch them.
    â€œHey,” Ned said suddenly, glancing out the coffee shop’s large windows, “it looks like a storm is on the way. Maybe we ought to get going.”
    By the time Ned and Nancy had paid their bill and hurried out of the coffee shop, the sky wasleaden, the air heavy and damp. Ned handed Nancy the keys to the Jeep, and she turned on the ignition. Soon they were speeding down the drive.
    The approaching storm made the wrought-iron gates to the Overlook appear more ominous than glamorous. As the Jeep neared them, two enormous yellow snowplows came rumbling through, heading toward the hotel. Nancy had to jerk the Jeep to the right to avoid them.
    â€œClose call,” Ned commented.
    â€œI know. I haven’t got the hang of this thing yet.”
    They passed through the open gateway and out onto the mountain road. The wind whipped through the ripped canvas top. Wet snow began to drift down. “Hang on to your hat!” Ned shouted.
    â€œWhat?” Nancy shouted back, her eyes intent upon the twisting road.
    â€œI said—” The rest of Ned’s words were lost in the roar of the wind.
    Nancy shot a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. Then the steering wheel gave a convulsive jerk in her hands, and she turned her attention strictly to her driving. They whizzed around a loop in the twisting road, and she brought her right boot down on the