know how to talk to you without hurting you. Weâve been friends for so long, but now youâre a million miles away from me.â
George sighed. âIâm just not sure I can trust you,â she said. âYouâre saying all these horrible things about Luke, and you donât even know him!â
âArenât you at least going to let me explain why? I think there are things youâd better know about Luke,â Nancy said seriously.
George shot her a frightened glance. âLike what?â
âLike he may be connected with Nedâs accidentâand mine, too.â
âOh, come on, Nancy!â George exclaimed.
âGeorge,â Nancy pleaded, âyou know something about Luke, and youâve got to share it. Before someone else gets hurt.â
âListen, Nancy,â said George quietly. âIâve helped you on a lot of cases, but no way am I going to help you investigate me!â
Nancy paused to think. At last she said earnestly, âLook, if Lukeâs such a great guy, then convince me! Tell me what you know about him.â
Georgeâs eyes dropped.
âYou canât, can you?â Nancy persisted. âBecause you know something about Lukeâs past, and itâs not good.â
âYou donât know what youâre talking about!â George cried.
âIt has something to do with a place called the Broken Leg Café, doesnât it?â
Suddenly, uncharacteristically, George began to cry. With a burst of energy, she skied quickly away.
Nancy closed her eyes despairingly. What am I going to do with her? she thought. She resisted the temptation to run after George. She knew sheâd blown it with her; she just hoped she hadnât blown the whole case, because now she was sure that one of her best friends was intimately involved!
Nancy walked slowly back to the lodge and found Ned alone in the lounge. âHow did you make out?â he asked.
Nancyâs shoulders sagged. âI couldnât havedone worse. George thinks Iâm against Luke for no reason, and sheâs ready to defend him to her dying breath.â
âLetâs hope not literally,â Ned said.
Nancy winced. âI did find out one thing, though,â she added. âGeorge jumped when I mentioned the Broken Leg Café.â
âSo you are getting somewhere.â Ned limped over to Nancy and gave her a reassuring hug.
Nancy smiled. âYouâre not doing too badly with that ankle.â
âIt doesnât hurt much.â Ned grinned. âIf I stay off it today, I think Iâll be able to ski tomorrow.â
Nancy returned his hug. âSo what are you going to do about skis? Liz says every pair is rented now.â
âThatâs all taken care of,â Ned replied smugly. âI phoned Big Birch and arranged to rent a pair there. We can drive over in the morning and pick them up. Maybe we should stop off at the Overlook Hotel while weâre at it. I hear theyâve got a huge hot tub.â
Bess and Gunther walked into the lounge just in time to hear Nedâs last comment. âWeâre going dancing at the hotel tonight,â Bess chimed in. âWhy donât you come along? Youâll have fun even if you canât dance.â
Ned looked at Nancy. âYou want to?â
âSure! We deserve to have a little fun on this vacation!â Then Nancyâs face became more serious. âHave you two seen George?â
Gunther and Bess nodded. âWe just passedher,â Gunther said. âShe was looking for Luke and she seemed very upset. Is something wrong?â
Nancy hesitated. âI had a talk with her about Luke. She thinks Iâm picking on him.â
âOh.â Gunther nodded. âI begin to understand. Our ski instructor is a bit of a mystery, yes? Perhaps not so good for your friend.â
Before Nancy could ask Gunther what he meant, George herself walked in.
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