Free The Secret at Solaire by Carolyn Keene Page B

fear. She was the one who’d screamed.
    â€œYou’d better sit down for a minute,” Alain said, taking Rhonda by the arm and gently leading the heavy woman to a boulder on the side of the road. “You’re hyperventilating. Try to control your breathing. Slow it down.”
    Nancy bent down to examine the fallen wooden sign. A crosspiece had hung from the two wooden posts, and the Solaire sign had been attached to the crosspiece by rawhide strips. Maybe the sign fell because the rawhide wore out, Nancy thought.
    Then she examined the sign more closely, and a shiver ran through her. Both strips of rawhide had been sliced halfway through, allowing the weight of the sign to tear the rest of the way through the rawhide. It looked a lot like the work of whoever had sabotaged the weight machine.
    Nancy glanced up at Alain, who was still trying to calm Rhonda. “I think you ought to take a look at this,” Nancy called to the trainer.
    A few minutes later, he came over and examined the rawhide strips and the fallen sign.
    â€œAre you going to tell me this was an accident, too?” Nancy asked.
    â€œI—I—” Alain stammered.
    â€œWhat is going on here?” Melina shrieked. “First Whitney is hurt, and now this! Were you trying to kill all of us? You deliberately led us through this gate.”
    â€œThat’s because it’s exactly one and a half miles from the gym,” Alain said, regaining his composure. “We always take this route on the first run. And nothing like this has ever happened.”
    â€œExcept for the weight machine,” George reminded him.
    Alain glared at her. Then his face went red as he saw a silver Mercedes approaching. “Wonderful,” he muttered. “Just what I need now—a visit from Jacqueline.”
    A few moments later, Jacqueline emergedfrom the Mercedes. “What has happened to the sign?” she asked, sounding nearly hysterical. “How is anyone supposed to get in or out of the spa with a sign lying in the middle of the road?”
    Alain began what seemed to be a lengthy explanation in French.
    Jacqueline cut him off angrily and called Hank Meader from her car phone. Nancy heard her ask Hank to bring the truck and remove the sign. Then she turned and addressed her guests. “I must ask your forgiveness. I do not know how this could have happened. I am just so glad that no one was hurt. If you will please follow Alain back to the gym, we will see that nothing like this happens again.”
    â€œI don’t believe you,” Melina said angrily. “Yesterday it was an accident in the gym, today there’s another one out here. Just how many of these near-disasters do you expect us to risk? Solaire isn’t safe, and you know it!”
    â€œThat’s not true,” Jacqueline said, but Nancy noticed that the woman’s voice was shaking slightly.
    Melina stalked off toward the gym, and most of the others followed. Only Nancy, Bess, and George remained with Jacqueline.
    â€œJacqueline,” Nancy said, “this was no accident. Did you see how the rawhide strips were cut?”
    Jacqueline nodded, brushing a silver-blond strand of hair away from her face.
    â€œWho would do something like this to you?” Nancy asked.
    â€œI don’t know,” Jacqueline said, her eyes still fixed on the sign. “We have never had enemies in the past. Perhaps someone is jealous of our success.”
    Jacqueline’s explanation didn’t sound very convincing to Nancy. “Can you think of anyone specific?”
    Jacqueline shook her head. “No one.” She looked up. “Thank you for your concern. Now, I’m afraid I must go.” Before Nancy could stop her, the Frenchwoman got into her Mercedes, drove around the sign, and sped away from the grounds.
    â€œPoor Jacqueline,” Bess said. “I think this was a terrible shock to her.”
    â€œI don’t,” Nancy