As she pulled on her team hat, she caught sight of Dede, Krista, Rosie, and the rest of the Kappa team.
“We finally got the clue from the administration building,” Dede said, holding up a slip of paper with a grin.
“Good luck,” Nancy told her. She headed for the doors, then paused with her hand on the carved wood. “Have you guys seen Dennis?” she called back to the Kappas.
Krista rolled her eyes. “That guy is so full of himself. He practically bowled us over outside the administration building just now. He just kept going. No sorry No excuse me. Nothing.”
“Which way was he headed?” Grant asked.
“East,” Dede said. “Toward the dorms.”
Grant took the campus map from his backpack and looked at it. “The MacClaren Center is in the total opposite direction from where he was going,” he said, frowning.
“We’d better split up,” Nancy said. “Grant, you’re the best climber. You’d better head over to the MacClaren Center to get the banner.”
“I’ll go with him,” C.J. offered.
“The rest of us can look for Dennis on the east side of campus,” Nancy said. She took the map Grant held out, then pushed through the wooden door into the bright sunshine. “Let’s go!”
“What about the police? Shouldn’t we tell them what we suspect?” George asked.
“Let’s wait till we find Dennis,” Ned said. “He’s the one we need to talk to.”
Nancy scanned the map of the campus as she, Ned, George, and Randy headed east. Grant was right about the MacClaren Center, she realized. It was on the far western side of campus, not far from Fraternity Row. Dennis must have been going somewhere else….
“But where?” Nancy murmured. She ran her finger over the buildings on the east side of campus. One of the dorms? The Academic Quad?
“What’s this?” she asked, pointing to a square on the map that wasn’t labeled.
Ned glanced over Nancy’s shoulder at the spot. “That’s the old theater building. It’s been abandoned for years, but I heard the college is planning to turn it into rehearsal space for the music department.”
“There’s an old theater building?” Nancy pulled the clue from her pocket and skimmed it. “Oh, my gosh … Look at the years next to the initials. The most recent one is 1966. How old is the MacClaren Center?”
Ned frowned. “It just opened last year.”
“Which means the Clues Challenge banner isn’t there. It’s on the roof of the old theater building!” George picked up her pace, jogging forward on the snowy path. “We’d better hurry if we want to catch up with Dennis.”
Ten minutes later they angled around the bell tower, and the building came into sight. It was five stories tall, with boarded-up windows and crumbling bricks.
“That fire escape is ancient,” George said, jogging through the snow toward the building. “It looks like it’s rusted totally through in some spots. I don’t know if we should risk climbing it.”
Nancy’s eyes flew over the area, taking in every detail. “Footprints!” she said, following the prints off the path. “They go around to the other side of the building.”
She, Ned, George, and Randy kicked through the snow, following the footprints. As they rounded the corner of the building, Nancy’s eyes fell on a thick rope dangling from the roof.
“Someone’s up there, all right,” George said.
“It’s got to be Dennis.” Randy reached into his jacket pocket, then frowned. “I’ve got a cell phone in my Jeep,” he said. “I’ll call the police.”
Nancy watched him jog back the way they had come. Then she took hold of the rope and started to climb. She placed a boot carefully against the wall and pulled herself up with the rope, angling her body out from the bricks.
“Steady,” George called as Nancy’s boot slipped on the snowy wall.
Step by snowy step, Nancy made her way upward. Wind whipped her hair over her eyes, and her fingers felt stiff and numb. But finally she grabbed the top bricks and pulled herself on to the roof. As soon as she let go of the rope, it went taut again. It would just be a few minutes before Ned and George made it up to join her, but Nancy decided not to wait for them.
She looked out over the roof. A series of vents and towers blocked her view. Nancy followed the footprints, circling around the obstacles until she was finally able to see the far side of the roof.
“Dennis!” she called.
He was bent over a wooden crate near the far wall.
“Huh?” Dennis jerked upright, shooting a surprised glance at Nancy. In his left hand was a wooden medallion, with two masks painted on it in gold, one happy and one sad.
Nancy’s mind raced a mile a minute. She still didn’t know for sure that Dennis was behind the blackmail or the sabotage. But she decided to take a chance.
“Tell me something, Dennis,” she said. “When did you realize Mr. Lorenzo was really Andrew Papazian?” she asked.
Dennis’s mouth fell open. “How did you know?”
Yes! thought Nancy. Dennis’s slip confirmed it. Mr. Lorenzo was Andrew Papazian. And Dennis definitely knew his real identity.
“Blackmail is a serious crime, Dennis,” she went on.
“One you’re going to jail for,” Ned added, appearing next to Nancy.
Dennis’s mouth hardened into a tight, angry line. “Oh, yeah?” he challenged.
In three powerful strides he plowed through the snow to the edge of the roof. He sent a puff of white powder flying into the air as he slid his legs over the side. For a second he balanced on the edge, with the lower part of his body hanging out of sight.
