Dwayne cursed loudly as Nancy dragged Lillian into a foggy corner on the set. She left Lillian there and began to walk toward the sound of Dwayne’s voice. She had to get the jump on him from behind.
Then she heard a sound that made her heart sink. It was the sound of a giant fan—the wind machine.
“Very clever, Nancy Drew,” came Dwayne’s voice through the diminishing fog. “But there’s an antidote for every poison, or vice versa.”
The fog was now down to a very small area, and Nancy knew that her time was running out. Crouching down, she took a deep breath and prepared to make a desperate dive at Dwayne. He would still have the gun, she knew. She had only one advantage—surprise.
Rearing back, Nancy flung herself through the air at Dwayne. At the last moment, he turned and saw her. The two of them fell together, toppling over each other, and Dwayne’s gun emptied itself.
Chapter Seventeen
“Those were gunshots coming from the set!”
“Quick, this way!”
When the police raced onto the set they found Dwayne Casper flat on the floor. On top of him was Nancy Drew, holding his arms in a double hammerlock.
“His gun is on the floor over there,” she told the police breathlessly as they relieved her of her burden.
“Nancy!” Eloise exclaimed, rushing over to her.
“I’m fine, really, Aunt Eloise.”
“Well, all the karate lessons in the world wouldn’t have helped if this bullet had come any closer!” Eloise poked at the sleeve of Nancy’s jacket. In it was a charred round hole the size of a dime.
Nancy looked down at the hole, her heart skipping a beat. “Please, don’t tell Dad,” she begged. “And I promise I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Throwing her arms around her niece, Eloise sighed. “Oh, Nancy, I’m just glad you’re alive!”
Bess rushed up to them and threw her arms over theirs in a three-way hug. “Thank goodness, you’re all right!” she cried. “When we heard the shots—” She couldn’t go on.
The police had handcuffed Dwayne, who stood there passively, a dull look in his eye.
“Do you know how close I was to paying Arlen back for all he’s done to me?” he began telling the police officer, who stood impassively beside him clutching his arm. “Do you know how long I worked to get this close?” Dwayne muttered bitterly, his hands locked behind his back.
“Tell your story to the sergeant, buddy,” the police officer said. “Ms. Drew, I’ll need to get a statement from you and from Ms. Weiss. Would you see that she makes it down to the station house?”
“Of course,” Nancy agreed. In all the commotion, she hadn’t even given a thought to Lillian. Apparently, the fright had been a bit too much for her—she’d fainted.
“I had to call the police, Nancy,” Eloise was explaining. “Something told me you weren’t safe, and I had to.”
At the door, Dwayne spun around suddenly. “Rick Arlen was going to die. He should have died! And I would have killed him if it hadn’t been for you, Nancy Drew!”
“Whew.” Bess sighed as the officer pushed Dwayne outside. “He’s crazy—”
“He’s in the right hands now,” Nancy added soberly. “And not a moment too soon, either.”
“Flight four-seventeen will be boarding at gate three in five minutes.”
“That’s our flight, Aunt Eloise,” said Nancy, putting down her luggage so she could give her aunt a hug.
“You must promise me you’ll come again soon—maybe in the fall?” Eloise asked. “And give your father my love, will you? Goodbye, Bess—I hope I’ll see you again soon.”
But when Nancy and Bess turned to go, they heard their names being called out.
“Nancy! Bess, wait!” A familiar voice floated down the airport corridor. Turning around, Nancy saw a radiant Mattie Jensen running toward them, her auburn curls flying around her face. “We couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye,” she cried.
Beside her, Rick Arlen was cradling two large bouquets of roses in his arms. He handed the first to Nancy and said, “Thank you for saving my life, Nancy—I don’t know what I would have done without you.”