“Revenge,” Nancy replied simply, and she told everyone the story of Peter Hancock.
“So she didn’t care who else got hurt in the process,” Tod put in, shaking his head.
“You’re right,” Max said, sounding the slightest bit stronger. “On the cliff, she said she was going to kill me because I knew too much. And she told me she’d kill everybody else if she had to—just to get to Nancy Drew.” He turned to Nancy with a lopsided grin. “That’s what I was trying to tell you when I pulled you into the woods this morning. I didn’t mean to knock you out. I just wanted to warn you about Paula.”
“I wasn’t sure about the mooring line,” Max went on, “but I saw her push the boulder down on you yesterday—”
“You did?”
“Yeah, and when I saw you walking by yourself, I figured it would be a good time to let you know about the danger you were in.”
Nancy looked at Max curiously. “When did you realize what was going on?” she asked. “Was it before you saw Paula take the compass?”
“I guess it was when I began to suspect that she was the one who holed the raft,” Max answered. “You see, when you told me you were a detective, I suddenly remembered I’d seen your picture in the local newspaper after Peter Hancock’s trial.
“I realized then that you were the person who’d blown the whistle on Paula’s father. And yesterday morning, when Paula made the crack about the ‘famous girl detective,’ I began to suspect that she had it in for you.”
“Hmm,” said Nancy. “You didn’t suspect Paula till yesterday? Then you couldn’t have been the person who made the phone call warning me not to take this trip, could you have, Max?” Nancy turned slowly to Mercedes. Mercedes stepped forward wearily. “You were trying to protect Paula, isn’t that right?” Nancy asked her gently.
Mercedes broke into tears. “If you’d known her before her father died, you would understand—” She looked up. “I’m so sorry, Nancy. I never wanted you to get hurt—or anyone else, either. Really.”
“How did you know what Paula was planning?” Nancy asked.
“Well, I knew how unbalanced Paula had been since my uncle Peter died—you know, they found his body only a few miles from here. Anyway, I found your name on the list of ‘contest winners’ that Paula gave me when she told me about the trip.”
Nancy frowned. “Didn’t you question her?”
“Sure I did, but she said she just wanted to teach you a little lesson. I called you just in case, I guess. I thought the call might make you bring along some extra protection.”
“Ah,” Nancy said. “That’s why you were snooping around in my pack—you were trying to see if I had a weapon or something, to scare Paula with it if I had to.”
Mercedes nodded tearfully. “Sort of. But I don’t know what I would have done if I’d found one. I wanted to protect you, but I wanted to protect Paula, and after she was dead, I didn’t think there was any point—”
“—in dragging up the past,” Nancy finished.
Ned got the tarp out of the shed and covered up Paula’s body. “She must have been crazy with grief over her father’s death,” he said grimly.
“She was,” Mercedes said, sobbing heavily. “She was.”
“I think we were all a little crazy,” George said later that afternoon as they boarded one of the helicopters that came to pick them up.
“Maybe next time you’ll listen,” Bess said, trying to comb the tangles out of her hair with her fingers. “We could have been sunning ourselves for the last three days.” Then she brightened. “But I think I’ve lost five pounds.” She glanced toward the front of the helicopter where Max was lying on a stretcher. “And I’ve met Max. So it wasn’t a total loss.”
Ned settled himself next to Nancy. “It wasn’t a romantic holiday,” he said softly to her, “but at least I had you in sight the whole time.”
Nancy sighed, thinking of how scratched and bitten she must look. “Yes, and what a sight.”