Nancy interrupted. “Teresa, listen to me! This could be a trap!”
Teresa shook her head violently. “No! He mentioned things no one not close to Roberto could know. The poetry book Roberto gave me—the message he wrote inside.” She grabbed Nancy’s arm. “This amigo, he wants to ask me questions. Questions that may give us a clue to some message Roberto could have left me!”
“I’ll go with you,” Nancy said at once.
“No, I must go alone, but that is not the problem.” Teresa drew herself up proudly. “With Roberto dead, I do not care about the risk! I must find that list, or his death will have no meaning.”
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
Teresa leaned forward. “There is only one time this man can meet me. At six o’clock tonight. But Nancy! At six o’clock I must be at the tennis tournament.”
Nancy frowned. “I thought your match today was earlier.” She looked at her watch. “Right now, in fact.”
Teresa cut her off. “It was postponed until tomorrow. One of my opponents took sick and must be replaced. The stadium will open again at five today, and at six I am to play a doubles match. Not part of the tournament. It is a benefit for the poor people in my country—an American man and I will play against the girl from Canada and her coach. Roberto was supposed to be my partner, but—” Teresa forced tears back sternly. “It has been advertised. How can I not show up there? How can I be in two places at one time? Nancy, help me!”
In two places at one time—Nancy looked at the girl from San Carlos, almost unrecognizable in the baggy uniform and the cap that concealed her hair. Aside from the suntan, she could have been Nancy herself in disguise.
“I know how,” Nancy breathed. “You play the doubles match. I’ll go to your meeting.”
“Nancy, I told you you cannot—”
Now it was Nancy’s turn to interrupt. “Wait a minute! I play tennis—not as well as you, of course, but I’m good. You said yourself it’s a doubles match. I’ll play in it for you—as Teresa Montenegro. And you’ll go to your meeting—as Nancy Drew!”
Nancy tiptoed across the living room to the other bedroom. “Bess!” she hissed, opening the door. “Come to my room. We need you. You, too, George.”
“I don’t understand,” Teresa whispered, bewildered, when the three girls returned.
“You will. Just listen.”
Quickly Nancy outlined her brainstorm. It would require acting skill, but Nancy had that from many previous cases. And she was sure she could persuade Teresa to play her part. It also required alterations, not just of appearance but of mannerisms and of Nancy’s tennis game.
George grasped the possibilities first. “I can coach you, Nancy. I’ve learned lots of Teresa’s techniques, thanks to this morning’s workout. I’ll try to make your tennis look as much like Teresa’s as I can.”
“But what about little things like skin and hair color?” Bess objected.
“That’s where you come in,” Nancy said promptly. “You’re the fashion and beauty expert. Run out and buy whatever’s needed at a drugstore. Be prepared to give me a cut and blow-dry. Teresa, go back to your room before your chaperon pushes the panic button. I’ll arrange to have her receive a diplomatic invitation she won’t dare turn down. George, get on the phone to the senator. Tell her we”—she emphasized the word—“need the use of a tennis court that can provide absolute privacy. Tell her I’m testing out a theory, but don’t tell her anything else.”
As the other three sprang into action, Nancy sat down quietly. She felt as if the room were whirling.
Teresa’s meet was vitally important—and this was the only way it could take place without alerting the terrorists. Of that Nancy was absolutely sure.
She was absolutely sure of something else as well. She had only a few short hours to complete the transformation—not just of her appearance but of her tennis game.
She, Nancy Drew, expert detective but amateur athlete, was about to play before a thousand or more people. Play against people good enough to be professional. Play well enough to carry through a triple deception—of the United States government, of the public, and of the San Carlos agents assigned to keep Teresa Montenegro in line.