Free Heart of Ice by Carolyn Keene

firmly.
    â€œBut, Alex, we aren’t positive it’s her,” Kara countered. “And she’s already paid for the trip and gone through snow school. We can’t just tell her she’s out.”
    â€œI have to agree with Kara,” Nancy put in. “Of course, there’s still Hank Moody as a suspect. So we don’t know anything for sure.”
    Alex hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. “I suppose it would be foolish of her to try to pull something with all of us on the trip,” he said. “We’ll let her come, but let’s keep an eye on her at all times.”
    â€œAll in a day’s work,” Nancy joked, then signaled to Ned that she wanted to leave.
    â€œListen,” Nancy said as Ned folded up the newspaper he’d been reading and slipped it under his arm, “I want to head over to Outrageous Adventures to see if I can dig up anything on Hank Moody.”
    â€œI’m game,” Ned responded. “Let’s go.”
    â€œDo you want me to come in with you?” Ned asked in the car outside the dark office building.
    â€œI could use your help searching,” Nancy answered, “but on second thought, it would be better if you stayed outside to keep watch.”
    â€œOkay, gorgeous,” Ned answered, leaning over and planting a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep watch with me?” he asked when they had pulled apart, his brown eyes twinkling with mischief.
    â€œNed Nickerson,” Nancy said, swatting him on the arm playfully. “Are you trying to keep me from my case?”
    â€œOf course not,” he said, “but with the chilly winter air blowing outside, I can’t help but wish you could stay here and keep me warm.”
    â€œI’ll be back soon,” Nancy promised, and gave Ned one last peck before slipping out of the car quietly to pick the front lock.
    Since the front office had no windows, the room was pitch black. Nancy slipped her lock-picking tools back into her coat pocket and pulled a penlight out of her purse. A second later the beam lit up the room.
    Nancy moved toward Hank’s office, where she took off her coat and went through his desk drawers. It was filled with papers and business envelopes, but Nancy found nothing of interest.
    Nancy noticed a stack of papers on top of the desk and began to sift through them. A recent credit card bill had a charge of three hundred and fifty dollars to Pacific Airlines—the airline that Lisa had flown to Tacoma!
    Nancy checked the date of the bill, and saw that the transaction took place the same day Lisa’s ticket was issued! Had Hank Moody bought Lisa’s ticket? Was she working for him? Nancy wondered as she pulled a pen out of her purse and jotted down the credit card information.
    Nancy moved toward the small table near the window with pictures of Hank’s family. The first photo showed a much younger Hank. He was on top of a mountain, smiling at the camera with a young, attractive woman by his side. Probably his wife, Nancy guessed.
    After scanning the next photograph, Nancy knew it had been taken a good many years earlier. There were lots of smiling faces in the picture, and Nancy recognized the woman from the other photo standing near Hank. One of the children in the picture seemed familiar, but Nancy couldn’t place her.
    After putting the second photo down, Nancywent back through the reception area to look for the gear room. The third door she opened into a room with the musty smell of camping gear.
    Nancy slowly made her way down one aisle. She wasn’t exactly sure what to look for, except possibly a lot of fancy-looking gear with the Alpine Adventures name stitched into it. She passed the backpacks and the sleeping bags and made her way back toward the door along an aisle with cookware, stoves, and water filters.
    When she turned down the third aisle, she found stacks of