“Yeah,” Ned agreed. He trailed his fingers idly up and down her spine. “But this time, there are just these crazy things that keep happening. Since there’s no real crime, it’s hard to know whether any of the things are tied together.”
“It’s all so bizarre,” Nancy said, moving a little closer to Ned. The touch of his fingers tingled through her. At that moment, Sammy looked up and saw what Ned was doing. She glared at him and then turned back to Mercedes.
George pushed a brown curl out of her eyes. “You know, I’m beginning to think that maybe the most bizarre thing of all was my winning the contest in the first place.”
Nancy nodded. “None of the other kids can remember entering the contest, either. It’s as though this whole thing were invented.” A shadow fell across her shoulder and George’s cautioning glance made Nancy stop talking.
“So you’ve had your first taste of rafting,” Max said, squatting down next to Bess. “Did you like it?” His voice was friendly, but his eyes were watchful. From the way Max had reacted when Bess asked about his scar, Nancy knew she would have to be cautious questioning him.
“Yeah, we’re having a good time,” Nancy said casually. “And we’re getting curious about the rafting business. Are there many rafting companies on Lost River?”
Max picked up a stick and turned it in his fingers. “Maybe a half-dozen or so. Most of them are headquartered up at the Junction.”
“Have you and Paula worked together often?” Nancy asked.
“Nope,” Max said, shaking his head.
Nancy waited, hoping he would say something else. “We’re sort of curious about her company, White Water Rafting,” she went on. “The sign on the building looked new. Has she been in business long?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And the contest,” Nancy pressed. “What do you know about the contest?”
“Nothing,” Max replied. “Paula just hired me to run the raft for this trip. She didn’t even tell me there was a contest. I heard that from one of the kids after I got here. It seemed a little weird to me.”
“Weird?”
“Oh, you know—I mean, what was she running a contest for, anyway? But what do I know? I’m just a rafter. I don’t know anything about the business end.” He raised an eyebrow, “You sure are asking a lot of questions.”
Nancy shrugged. “Just curious.”
“You know, I’ve got this feeling that I know you,” Max said. “Like maybe I’ve seen your picture somewhere. Have you been on television or something? Are you famous?”
“No, I wouldn’t say I’m famous.” Nancy decided it wouldn’t hurt to tell him who she was. “Actually, I’m a private detective.”
“A pretty famous private detective,” Ned put in proudly. “Internationally famous.”
“So maybe you have seen her picture,” Bess added. “She’s been in the newspapers more than once.”
“A detective?” Max asked, surprised. “You mean a private eye, like in books and on TV?”
Linda and Ralph wandered over. “A girl detective?” Linda asked curiously. At that, Mike and Tod broke away from the fire and joined the others. They listened intently.
“That’s right,” Nancy said, laughing.
Max gave her a long look, as if he were trying to remember something. “What kind of cases have you worked on?” he asked.
“Oh, all kinds,” Nancy said modestly. “Blackmail, sabotage, embezzlement, murder, theft . . . you name it—”
Suddenly Max gave a quick flicker of recognition—and then, just as suddenly, it was as if a shutter had closed down over Max’s eyes. He stood up abruptly. “Got to see about a few things,” he said. And he walked quickly away.
Bess looked at Nancy anxiously. She got to her feet, too. “I think I’ll just make sure Max isn’t angry about something.”
Nancy watched Bess follow Max as he walked away. Why had he gotten so upset? She could swear that he recognized her—but she couldn’t remember meeting him, and he wasn’t exactly the kind of person she would forget. Was Max trying to decide whether to tell her something? That was possible—but it was also possible there was something he would go to any lengths to keep her from finding out.