ronments.”
“Oh? What about all those marmots of his?”
Nancy asked.
Bess shrugged. “He must have had a change
of heart.” Her face lit up again. “And not only
that, he’s going to be staying right in this hotel.
We might even meet him! Wouldn’t that be
awesome? George is going to be so jealous
when she hears.”
“We haven’t met him yet,” Nancy pointed
out. To herself, she wondered about the rock
star’s change of heart. Was it for real or simply
a good excuse for a TV special? “I had a rather
eventful morning myself, Bess.”
She told her friend about what Brad had
said and the attempt to run her off the road.
“Nan, that’s terrible!” Bess exclaimed. “You
could have been killed!”
“Well, I wasn’t. And the main thing is, this
attack shows that we’re on the right track. The
poachers are getting desperate.”
“So what’s our next move?” Bess asked.
“Lunch,” Nancy said firmly. “I don’t know
about you, but I’m starved.”
Downstairs, they found the dining room
crowded. As they were waiting by the hostess
station, Edith and Gerald Turkower came in.
“Well, hello again,” Edith said with a smile.
Just then the hostess came over. “I have a
table for four by the window,” she announced.
“Wonderful,” Edith said brightly. “Why
don’t we all eat together?”
“Sure,” Nancy replied. Here was a perfect
opportunity to find out more about the
Turkowers.
The hostess led them to a round oak table
near the window and handed them menus.
“The cutthroat trout caught in the Yellow-
stone Lake are supposed to be the best in the
world,” Gerald told them, placing his cameras
on the windowsill.
“Really?” Bess closed her menu. “I’ll try it.”
“So will I,” Nancy said.
“I’ll just have the vegetarian platter,” Edith
said. “It’s a little chilly in here, don’t you
think?” she added, slipping into a beige sweat-
er with a fur collar.
The waitress came and took their orders. As
she left. Nancy asked casually, “How’s the
hunt for whistling marmots going?”
Edith made a face. “Not very well. We
haven’t even seen one yet.”
“What about you, any luck?” Gerald asked.
“Why, yes,” Nancy replied. “There’s a re-
search group here studying the marmots. I
visited their camp yesterday and saw a couple
of them at one of the feeding stations. They’re
every bit as cute as I expected, too.”
Nancy paused as the waitress placed bowls
of green salad in front of everyone.
Nancy picked up her fork and took a bite of
salad. Then, leaning forward, she lowered her
voice. “A guy from the group told me that
some of the marmots are missing.”
She scrutinized the Turkowers and thought
she saw an uneasy expression in Gerald’s eyes.
“Do you think someone is stealing them?”
he asked.
Nancy shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Gerald put down his fork. “I suppose it’s
possible that someone on the Emerson team
might be stealing marmots,” he mused. “Col-
lege students are always short of cash.”
Nancy’s breath caught in her throat. She had
never mentioned Emerson College!
Had Gerald noticed her reaction? With a
wary expression, he added, “I think I saw an
article about that research project. Maybe we
should pay them a visit. Edith won’t be happy
until she’s had a chance to watch the little
critters in action.” He beamed fondly at his
wife and winked.
Edith smiled back at him. “In some ways,”
she began, “a marmot would be better off with
us than in the wild. We’d give it such a good
home,” she cooed. “Gerald and I are staunch
animal rights supporters. Why, I’ve even be-
come a vegetarian.”
Nancy noticed the startled expression on
Bess’s face, but before she could figure out
what caused it, their broiled trout had arrived.
After lunch the Turkowers excused them-
selves, saying they planned to drive to Yellow-
stone Lake.
“That couple is definitely phony,” Bess said
in the main lobby.
“What makes you say that?” Nancy asked.
Bess rolled her eyes. “If Edith is so into
animal rights,” she demanded, “why was she
wearing a sweater with a mink collar?”
“Maybe it was fake fur,” Nancy suggested.