Carolyn Keene. Stay Tuned For Danger

“Nancy!” Bess called out in surprise when she saw her friend waiting for her at the door to the apartment. “What are you doing up?”

“Excuse me,” Nancy answered in a low voice, careful not to wake her aunt. “But what are you doing up is the question.”

Bess’s eyes were sparkling. “Oh, Nancy,” she said breathily. “New York is so wonderful! I’ve never really noticed before how incredible it is. I just have to live here someday. Soon.” Turning to her friend, Bess continued, “We went everywhere. We rode around Wall Street and went to the South Street Seaport and then to this incredible disco, Le Grandine. Absolutely everyone there knew Rick. And he likes me. I mean, he really likes me! This could be it! This could be the man I’ve been looking for all my life!”

“Bess,” Nancy began as gently as she could, “didn’t you think it might be just a little dangerous to be going out with Rick in the middle of the night when someone is trying to kill him?”

Bess looked annoyed. “Don’t spoil this for me, okay?” She walked past Nancy into the apartment and went to their room.

Nancy glared at her friend as she disappeared down the hall. Bess could be so irritating sometimes. Earlier that day she had narrowly missed getting herself killed, and here she was laughing in the face of danger. “You think I’m being silly?” Nancy asked, following after her.

“Of course I do! They arrested the guy, didn’t they? Rick convinced me that the runaway cab was only an accident. Besides, nobody would mess with Rick. You should feel his muscles—they’re like steel!”

Bess slipped out of her satiny dress and kicked off the slingbacks she had worn to go dancing. Too tired to change into a nightgown, she fell back on the bed in her lacy pink slip.

“Oh, Nancy,” she murmured excitedly. “He’s so wonderful—and so cute.” Reaching over, she snapped off the light between their beds. “Am I going to have happy dreams tonight!”

As Nancy lay in her bed, watching the light of dawn brighten the room, she couldn’t help worrying about Bess. This was obviously more than just a schoolgirl crush. And Nancy was more convinced than ever that this fairy-tale romance was not going to have a happy ending.

The clock by Nancy’s bed read 9:04 a.m. Bess was still asleep, a contented smile on her lips. Nancy figured she’d be out for a few more hours.

The apartment was quiet. Looking out the window, Nancy saw only one person on the street. The whole city seemed to still be asleep. At eleven, she’d be going out to brunch with her aunt and Mattie, but that was still two hours away.

After pulling on her favorite jeans and slipping her new yellow sweater over her head, Nancy decided that a walk might be just what she needed to help her think and unwind.

Stepping out onto the street, Nancy took a deep breath of the fresh spring air. The birds were singing, and the golden-green leaves on the trees swayed in the morning breeze. On this quiet Sunday morning, with church bells ringing in the distance, New York seemed like a small nineteenth-century town. Nancy loved it. As she walked, she imagined she was part of that older, simpler time.

After a while she came to a tiny park tucked between two buildings. The morning sun was just beginning to warm the benches, and a few people were out with their children, pushing them on swings and watching as they ran and played. Nancy couldn’t help herself; she sat down on a bench and let the sun warm her face, relaxing for the first time in days.

A minute later the touch of a hand on her shoulder made Nancy jump. Glancing around, she found herself looking into the dark eyes of Lillian Weiss.

“Well, if it isn’t our fair rescuer,” Lillian smirked. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Nancy was puzzled. New York was a huge city. The odds of running into someone that she knew were small, to say the least.

“Mind if I sit down?” Lillian asked casually. “I’m dead tired. Haven’t slept all night.”

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