Nancy Drew Files – Case 95 – An Instinct for Trouble

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.

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