Peter Hancock was the name of an embezzler who had worked as an accountant at a bank in New York. It had been Nancy’s careful detective work that had uncovered his fraudulent activities and sent him to prison.
Menacingly, Paula stepped closer. “Peter Hancock was my father. You sent him to prison, and now he’s dead!” Paula’s eyes were gleaming. “He escaped a few months ago. But he died—in this very wilderness. And you’re going to die here, too!”
“So,” Nancy said quickly, “you rigged this whole thing to get me here.”
“That’s right,” Paula replied, brushing a strand of her matted hair out of her eyes. “There wasn’t any contest—just like there wasn’t any White Water Rafting, Incorporated. Both those tricks were part of a plan to get you on the river, where I could teach you a lesson, once and for all.”
“So you picked your winners at random?”
“Yes,” Paula bragged.
“Well, that was smart,” Nancy said, stalling. If only the group on top of the tower could hear her above the wind! “People are always putting their names into a box for one contest or another. I guess you figured they’d think they’d just forgotten about entering this one.”
“You got it, Nancy Drew.” Paula sneered. “You’re bright, all right. Too bad you’re not bright enough to get yourself out of the mess you’re in now.”
Nancy ignored her. “And you sent the letter to George because you knew that she’d be enthusiastic about a white water rafting trip,” Nancy prompted.
“Of course I knew it. I’ve been doing my homework. I know all about you and your friends. It was a sure thing that George Fayne would ask you to come on this trip with her.”
“The map? The missing barricade?”
“They were easy,” Paula said scornfully. “You know, you would have made a lot less trouble for me if you’d sailed off that cliff.” She sighed. “But I’m glad those tricks didn’t work. It’s going to be a lot more fun to watch you die.”
“What about the slipped mooring line?” Nancy asked before Paula could make a move. “Was that another one of your clever tricks?”
“I figured it would be interesting to watch the expressions on your friends’ faces when we fished your body out from under the falls,” Paula explained. She stepped up closer to Nancy. “But I’m getting tired of all this talk.”
Nancy retreated a step higher. Just three or four more steps and she’d be on the tower’s lower platform. If she could lure Paula up there, she might be able to maneuver her into a more vulnerable position. “Max—” Nancy said, “was he in on your plan?”
Paula gave a disdainful laugh. “Not at all—at least not until he began to figure out what was going on. Of course, I didn’t count on his capsizing the raft—”
“I guess that was a stroke of good luck for you,” Nancy put in. “It put one of the rafts out of commission. When that happened, you probably thought it would be a better idea to get me off into the woods and kill me there.”
“Very impressive brainwork, Detective Drew. When the first raft was destroyed, I had to finish off the other one, too—to keep you from going downriver the next morning. And I nearly did get you in the woods.”
“You certainly did. If it hadn’t been for Ned—”
“The boulder would have crushed you,” Paula finished. She smiled cruelly.
“You know, I’ve got to admire you,” Nancy said, grudgingly. “We actually thought you were dead—that Max had killed you and was out to kill us, too. I bet I know how you arranged that,” Nancy said.
“I don’t care if you know or not,” Paula snapped, her face twisting. She lunged for Nancy, surprising her.
Nancy took two steps up and back but couldn’t escape Paula’s grasp on her arm. They fell together onto the wooden deck of the platform. Nancy felt Paula’s elbow dig into her side. She rolled onto her back and raised her feet, catching Paula’s shoulders. Then she shoved as hard as she could.
With a howl of rage, Paula launched herself forward from the railing. “I’m going to kill you!” she shouted, but this time Nancy was ready for her. As Paula rushed with full force, Nancy sidestepped adroitly and tripped her.