The morning matches ended. The crowds streamed toward the parking lots and food stalls. Nothing had happened. Nancy, Bess, George, and Dan ate salads and drank iced tea in a pleasant outdoor restaurant. A few players and their coaches appeared there also. But not Teresa.
Afternoon came. It was time for Teresa’s second match. Nancy and her friends watched the action closely. “She’s good,” Dan said. “Wouldn’t know her mind was on anything but the game, would you?”
George’s eyes narrowed. “She’s not at top form. She was better yesterday. There aren’t so many slashing serves today.”
All the same, Teresa was able to maintain a slight margin over her opponent, a young German woman. What was remarkable was how she was able to do so with her distinctive style. Teresa seemed to thrive on difficult shots. She would miss easy returns and fall behind, then rescue herself just in time with a dazzling display of driving shots from the back corners of the court. And of course, there were her flashing leaps and powerful slams.
“Well, we may look alike, but our games are certainly different,” Nancy whispered to George. “She’s much, much better than I am—that’s for sure.”
“You do okay yourself,” George said consolingly.
The match had almost reached the end of the second set when Nancy became aware of three figures making their way up the wooden stairs to the row of boxes: A middle-aged woman with auburn hair—Senator Kilpatrick—followed by two men in dark suits, who Nancy assumed were from the Secret Service.
The senator stopped at the entrance to the box and spoke in a low voice. “Nancy, I need to speak to you. Alone.”
Without a word Nancy rose. At a signal from the senator, Dan, Bess, and George remained in the box.
The senator led the way straight to a small concrete building just inside the players’ restricted area. It was empty except for a file cabinet, a desk, and a few chairs. “The tournament committee uses this as an office,” Senator Kilpatrick said, noticing Nancy’s surprise.
After checking the room, the senator’s guards shut the door and took up posts outside, leaving Nancy and the senator together.
Nancy was beginning to feel uneasy. “Something’s happened.”
Senator Kilpatrick’s eyes were anguished. But when she spoke her voice was absolutely level and emotionless.
“I’ve just been over at the hotel where one of the San Carlos delegates to my committee’s conference is staying. Security people there found a body in the hotel garage. It was Roberto. He’s been murdered.”
Chapter Seven
For a moment the closeness in the room made it hard to breathe. Distantly, applause and roars of approval came from the tennis courts. Somewhere near at hand a bird was singing.
Then a faint breeze came through the window and broke the spell.
Nancy wet her lips. “How was he killed? In the hotel gunfire?”
Senator Kilpatrick shook her head. “He was strangled—with a rope—sometime during the night.” She paused. “The medical examiner said there had been torture.”
“Then he might have given away the list.”
“It’s possible,” the senator said quietly.
All at once, despite the summer heat, the room was very cold. “Poor Teresa,” Nancy said at last. “Who’s going to tell her?”
Senator Kilpatrick looked at her directly. “We are. On behalf of our government, I’m going to assure Teresa that we’ll help her return home, or remain here for the rest of the tournament, as she wishes. You saved Teresa’s life. I believe she trusts you. Definitely more than she trusts anyone else around here. I want you with me when I tell her that she has to be questioned.”
“You don’t think Teresa had anything to do with Roberto’s murder!” Nancy exclaimed.
“I have no reason to think so. But she may be the only person who can give us clues that will prevent more murders. She doesn’t have diplomatic immunity to protect her from being questioned. If she’ll consent to it willingly, it will avoid a lot of . . . unpleasantness. For all of us.”
In other words, Nancy thought, the government wants me to persuade Teresa to spill the beans. Whatever they are!
If she did, it might save Teresa herself from further danger. Nancy stopped short. Had someone intended to kidnap Teresa as a lever to make Roberto talk? Or had it been the other way around? That was something she’d have to think about later. At the moment, Teresa was playing her heart out on the field, while United States government agents waited.