“You’re lucky,” she told her, as she rubbed some salve on Nancy’s foot. “You must have stepped on just one of its tentacles. If you’d been badly stung, your friends might have had to carry you in here.”
Nancy smiled in relief as the medicine started to ease the stinging. The doctor gave her the tube of salve, and after thanking her, Nancy, Bess, and George took the elevator to Kim’s room. Kim’s mother had just arrived, and she greeted the three girls with tears in her eyes.
“I just don’t understand how this could have happened!” Mrs. Baylor pulled a fresh tissue from the box on Kim’s bedside table and wiped her eyes. “I was against this trip in the first place. I should never have let her come!”
Nancy reached out to touch Mrs. Baylor’s arm. “You can’t blame yourself,” she said gently.
“Oh, I know.” Mrs. Baylor smoothed back her hair and blew her nose. “I’m just so worried. The police don’t seem to be very hopeful about finding the driver or the car. They were nice, but I can tell they’re not going to spend a lot of time on this. Meanwhile, my daughter’s lying here unconscious!”
Nancy, Bess, and George stared at Kim, not knowing what to say. The doctors had told them that Kim was stable, that things looked very promising for her. But she still hadn’t wakened, and it was hard to sit and just watch her. It made them feel helpless, and that made them feel edgy.
Nancy was especially edgy. First of all, Kim’s mother couldn’t seem to stop crying. Not that Nancy blamed her. Her daughter had been run down; she had every right to cry. But all the sniffing and nose-blowing and sobbing made it hard to think. And Nancy needed to think. She was still in the dark about what was going on, despite the fact that she had two good leads—the picture of the girl and Ricardo. He was obviously mixed up in it, but how? And exactly what was he mixed up in? Maybe Dirk Bowman knew. His not-so-subtle hint made Nancy very curious, and she wished she could be with him at that very moment.
But one glance at Bess told Nancy that she’d better keep that wish to herself. Between the man-of-war sting and visiting Kim at the hospital, Nancy hadn’t had a chance to explain things to her. Not that she had much explaining to do. She hadn’t come on to the guy; he’d come on to her. Bess would realize that.
Actually, when Nancy thought about it, Dirk had started coming on to her as soon as she had mentioned what had happened to Kim. Perhaps he had more than just information for her. Nancy couldn’t pass up a chance to learn something. She’d talk to Bess as soon as she could.
About the only thing not annoying Nancy was her foot. It was feeling better by the minute, so she knew she could make good on her promise to Ricardo—she’d be back. That was what was really making her edgy—she wanted to get out of the hospital and back on the trail.
“Oh, how lovely!” Mrs. Baylor exclaimed suddenly. Nancy glanced up and saw that a good-looking guy had just entered Kim’s room carrying a big arrangement of flowers. He was wearing a brown uniform, so he must have been from a flower shop. He set the basket on the table, gave Kim a close look, then quickly left the room.
“That was so nice of you girls,” Mrs. Baylor said tearfully.
George looked embarrassed. “Don’t thank us,” she said. “I’m afraid we didn’t send them.”
“Then who did?” mused Kim’s mother.
Nancy reached over and carefully pushed aside the daisies and carnations, but she could find no card. Strange, she thought. Why would somebody send flowers without a card? And just who had sent them?
Kim’s mother started to cry again. “This is like a nightmare,” she sobbed. “Who on earth would want to hurt my daughter?”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Baylor,” Nancy told her. “But I promise you, I’m going to find out.”
When Dirk Bowman arrived at the Surfside Inn the next morning to pick her up, Nancy was sure of one thing—Bess was no longer upset with her. She understood what Nancy had to do. However, she was still hurt, and she was furious with Dirk for dumping her so rudely.