A Date with Deception by Carolyn Keene Page B

little glow of excitement. Susan and she were thinking along the same lines. That meant she might be on to something!
    Engines, she mused. It could be in the design, which would be Bill Fairgate’s territory. Or the engineering. Eileen Martin would know about that.
    â€œListen,” Susan said, “you told me you’re a detective. You’re not asking these questions just because you’re curious, right?”
    â€œRight,” Nancy admitted, glancing at Gary and George. “I think something fishy’s going on, too. But I’m afraid I can’t tell you any more.”
    â€œHow about this?” asked Susan. “I’ll keep bugging Jetstream to tell me what’s going on. Maybe my editor will even let me do another story, just to keep them on their toes. I’ll share anything I find out with you. If you learn anything, you tell me first.”
    â€œIt’s a deal,” Nancy said with a grin.
    Susan left a few minutes later, and Gary turned to Nancy. “I hope she never gets around to publishing my story,” he said. “When Jetstream fired me, they said they’d keep the whole thing quiet as long as they got their plane out before Aviane did.” He shook his head. “I’d really hate for my parents to read about this. I haven’t told them yet.”
    â€œMaybe you won’t have to,” Nancy told him. She pulled the warning note out of her pocket and showed it to her friends. “I found this on my car a little while ago,” she said. “I don’t know who wrote it, but I’ll find out. And when I do, you’ll be cleared, Gary.”
    Gary looked relieved, but George frowned. “Whoever wrote this had to know you’d be here tonight,” she said. “I guess that lets Bill Fairgate off the hook.”
    Nancy shook her head. “Not if he’s working with somebody else. I don’t think all the plans have been leaked yet. I’m not saying it’s BillFairgate, but whoever it is could be leaking them to a go-between.”
    â€œSo what do we do now?” George asked.
    â€œI need to know more about those Jetstar plans,” Nancy said. “They’re the key to what’s being leaked.” Suddenly she stood up. “You guys dance some more,” she told them. “I’m going for a drive. This band is great, but I need quiet to think tonight. If I’m not back when you’re ready to leave, make sure Bess gets a ride home.”
    Grabbing a handful of pretzels, Nancy left the Lobster Tank and got into her car. The Jetstream complex was probably locked up like a fort, and she knew she couldn’t get in that night. Every fort had a weak spot, though, and Nancy was determined to find Jetstream’s.
    The jet manufacturing company was about a fifteen-minute drive from the Lobster Tank. Nancy cruised slowly by the front gate, which was lit by so many floodlights it looked as if it were noon instead of ten o’clock at night. Nancy didn’t see a guard as she drove by, but she was sure one had to be around somewhere.
    She kept on driving until she came to a place where she could safely pull off the road. Across from her was the fenced-in Jetstream complex. There were lights dotted along the fence, but they were spaced far enough apart so that there were long patches of darkness.
    Wishing she wasn’t wearing white, Nancy got out of the car and crossed the road to thefence. It was high, but it was chain link. Easy to climb, she thought. She was tempted, but she decided not to risk it. Not only did she have to get inside the grounds, she would have to get into the building, and even if she found a way, she wasn’t going to do it right then.
    Keeping an eye on the building, Nancy moved on down the fence. After a couple of minutes she spotted an entrance into the building. There was a single light above it, but the door itself was in shadow at the bottom of a couple of steps.