Free High Risk by Carolyn Keene

whispered. “We’ve got company.”
    She watched as two uniformed officers got out of the patrol car and approached Bess. The taller of them said, “This is an off-limits area, miss. I have to ask what you’re doing here.”
    â€œOh—officers,” Bess began in a quaveringvoice. Then she put on a big smile. “I’m so glad you came along! Otherwise I might have been stuck here all night.”
    All night? What was Bess up to? Nancy wondered.
    â€œYou see,” said Bess, “I was on my way home from my friend Sally’s house—she just moved here from River Heights, into the cutest little apartment. I forget the name of the street, but it’s right near here. Anyway, I got onto this weird side road instead of the highway. And then my engine started making these noises, like ping-ping. So I pulled in here, because I was scared something was wrong and the car might blow up.” She paused for a breath and Nancy stifled a giggle.
    â€œNothing happened, though,” Bess hurried on. “So then I figured I would look under the hood and see if there were any loose screws or anything like that, so I got out of the car and shut the door—only I left the keys inside.” She pointed through the car window, and Nancy saw the officers bend down to peer inside.
    â€œBut when I tried to open the door again, it was locked!” Bess concluded with a big sigh. “I swear, I can be so dumb sometimes! Do you think you could help me get my keys out?”
    â€œAh—certainly, miss,” the taller policeman said.
    The shorter officer went back to the patrol car and got a thin metal slat. He slid it down between the window and the insulating strip on Nancy’scar, then struggled to unlatch the lock. A moment later the door was open. After thanking them profusely, Bess climbed in. Then, with a jaunty wave of her hand, she started the engine and drove away. The two officers looked after her, and Nancy saw the shorter one shake his head. Then they, too, drove away.
    When Nancy was sure they were gone, she signaled to George that the coast was clear, then crawled the rest of the way out of the duct. George followed. After they were safely on the ground, Nancy told her about Bess’s performance. They were still giggling when Bess came back to pick them up five minutes later.
    â€œWay to go,” George told her cousin. “How did you manage to pull that story off?”
    â€œWell, when I saw the police car, I was totally scared,” Bess told them. “They had already seen me, so I couldn’t move the car. But then I remembered I had Nan’s keys, so I opened the door a crack, tossed the keys in, and then I locked the door. I did it all with my back to them, so they’d think I was struggling to open the door.”
    â€œYou were fantastic, Bess!” Nancy exclaimed as they drove away from the warehouse. “You fooled them completely!”
    â€œI know. I felt bad about lying, though,” Bess said with a sigh. “The tall one was kind of cute, you know. He had the sweetest brown eyes.”
    â€œBess!” Nancy and George shrieked in unison. Then the three of them burst out laughing.
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    The phone rang soon after Nancy got up on Monday morning. It was Ned, and his voice vibrated with excitement over the phone.
    â€œNan, I remembered where I’ve seen that blond girl before—the one who was with Toby Foyle in Conchita’s,” he said. “She works in the accounting department at Mutual Life!”
    â€œYou’re kidding!” Nancy exclaimed.
    â€œNo. I didn’t make the connection because I’ve only seen her at work, and she looks different from the way she did at the restaurant,” Ned explained. “She wears sensible suits, glasses, and no makeup. I guess she’s one of those people who likes to keep her work life separate from her play