“I guess I blurted out my little secret when I didn’t really need to,” Victor noted. “Are you going to tell Friedbinder?”
Nancy was silent for a long moment. Then she said, “Why don’t you confess to him yourself, Victor? That would probably help things go more in your favor. I don’t think it would be fair to penalize someone too harshly for one mistake. And I suspect the people in charge at Brewster will end up feeling the same way—once they understand the circumstances.”
“I hope you’re right,” Victor said in a gloomy voice. He turned around and started the engine, then added, “It’s weird, but I feel better now that you know. Thanks for listening. I’d better get you home.”
“One more thing,” said Nancy. “Don’t confess right away. Wait a day or so.”
“Why?” he asked.
“You may be confessing to a whole new set of people,” she told him. “That’s all I can tell you right now.”
Victor whistled softly. “Sounds like big-time stuff.”
On the drive back, Nancy settled into her seat and closed her eyes, starting to plan her next move. When she opened them, she saw that they were just passing Brewster Academy.
“I just saw lights in the school office,” she said urgently, grabbing Victor’s arm. “It’s nearly nine. Who’d be there at this time?”
Victor pulled over to the curb. “Cleaning people?” he suggested, following her gaze. “Maybe they brought somebody in to work on the fire damage.”
“Maybe,” Nancy replied. “But I’d like to check it out. Do you mind?”
His answer was to drive into the school parking lot. They got out of the car and walked quietly up to the front door. To Nancy’s surprise, it was open.
“I don’t like this,” Nancy muttered. “Come on.”
Down the hallway, a fan of light spilled out from the open door to the administration offices. Nancy led the way, creeping on tiptoe, and peeked inside. Dana MacCauley and Phyllis Hathaway were standing in the far corner of Phyllis’s office, staring down at the screen of the computer terminal. Dana was shaking her head, a puzzled expression on her face.
Suddenly Phyllis let out a cry of alarm. “Dana, do something, quick!” she shouted. “It’s starting to reformat the hard disk. If we can’t save the file, our entire plan will be ruined!”
Chapter Fifteen
Nancy’s heart was pounding. She was tempted to rush in and catch the two women off guard, but there was one thing she had to check first.
Victor tapped Nancy’s arm, then whispered, “I could probably help them out.”
That gave Nancy an idea. “Yeah, go ahead,” she said quietly. “Do what you can, and keep them in there for as long as possible.”
Victor nodded, giving her the thumbs-up sign. Nancy stepped back as Victor sauntered into Phyllis’s office. “Hey, ladies, what’s the problem?” she heard him say in his most upbeat voice. “I saw lights and came to investigate. Don’t want anyone burglarizing my school.”
“Boy, am I glad you’re here!” Dana exclaimed. “Sit down and see what you can do with this.”
From the hallway, Nancy watched as Victor sat in front of the computer and began to work. She waited until they were all staring at the computer screen and then stole silently through the anteroom and into Friedbinder’s office. She didn’t dare turn on the light. Outside the security lights glistened through the foggy mist. It would have to be enough light.
Nancy tugged at the middle drawer of Friedbinder’s desk. It was locked. Taking a letter opener off his desk, she used it to work at the lock. Open, she silently urged it.
With a satisfying click the lock finally gave, and Nancy pulled open the drawer.
“Jackpot!” she murmured softly. In the dim light she saw all she needed. Eagerly she sorted through papers. There was a bit of ripped newspaper—the obituary of Ignatz Wynn. The name and address were highlighted in yellow. There was also an opened letter addressed to the deceased Mr. Wynn. Inside was a Social Security check with Wynn’s Social Security number written on it. Nancy recalled the old woman telling her that a man had come by the house. It must have been Friedbinder. He’d been snooping around for the Social Security number, and he’d found it.