The two men began moving back, away from the crowd of tourists. Nancy started after them.
“Mr. Garrison!” Nancy shouted.
The headmaster looked around. He seemed unsure whether someone was shouting at him.
“Here! Mr. Garrison!”
Then he spotted her. His face flashed a mixture of surprise, hatred, and panic, all at the same time. He tucked the bag under his arm and started walking quickly toward the path that led under the Falls. The second man, realizing something was wrong, quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Nancy and George pushed their way through the crowd toward the gate. There was a line to get in. But Garrison barged through it to the gate. He jumped over the turnstile, right in front of a startled ticket taker.
Nancy and George didn’t have time for formalities, either. They leapt over the turnstile after the headmaster. “I hope that ticket taker calls security right away,” George muttered.
Garrison started to run. He carried the bag of jewels under his arm like a football player and used his free hand to push people out of his way. Nancy and George raced after him as he headed down the narrowing path toward the Falls. The sound of the cascading water grew louder. The mist created by the constant spray rose around them like a rain cloud.
As they chased the fleeing headmaster, George gasped, “What if he throws the jewels into the Falls?”
Nancy’s eyes widened. If the headmaster did that, the jewels would be lost forever. “Let’s hope he’s too greedy,” she panted. “Come on, George. Step on it!”
The path suddenly narrowed and the large number of tourists slowed Garrison down. A group of visitors taking pictures blocked his path. He tried to fight his way through them, but then he realized he couldn’t make it. Out of breath, he turned to find himself face-to-face with Nancy and George.
“So this is how it ends, eh?” he said, smiling. The roar from the Falls had become almost deafening by now. “I must say, you are a stubborn young lady. Maybe I should have made your hot chocolate even stronger.”
“That’s not your style, Mr. Garrison.” Nancy tried to keep her voice calm. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy doing what you did.”
Garrison laughed. “Don’t be so sure. My one shot at the brass ring? If I was willing to sacrifice a teacher like Jonathan Morse, what makes you think I would have spared you?”
“Let’s not argue over details, Mr. Garrison,” Nancy said. “The point is, it’s finished. If you’ll come quietly and turn yourself in to the police, maybe they’ll go easier on you.”
“Sure, and simply let me return to Pineview and live happily ever after.”
“You and I both know that’s impossible,” Nancy said.
“You and I both know something else, too,” answered Mr. Garrison with a smile.
“What’s that?”
“All I have to do is toss this bag over that railing and you don’t have a shred of evidence. It’ll be my word against yours.”
“What about Jonathan Morse?”
“Do you really think he’ll admit his guilt with his job at stake?” Garrison began to edge closer to the rail.
Nancy moved quickly to cut him off. But Garrison spun to his left and threw the bag toward the rail.
Nancy lunged, but the bag was beyond her reach. She watched her entire case heading into the Falls. And she could do nothing to stop it.
17
The Canadian Cup
As Nancy turned, she saw George take a big step and leap high into the air. It seemed impossible for her to reach the bag. But instead of trying to grab it with her hands, George did a perfect soccer scissors kick. She caught the bag with her foot and flipped it over her head as she fell backward.
Russell Garrison, startled, just stood there as Nancy pounced on the bag and clutched it under her arm. Then, as he began moving toward her, a security guard and a police officer rushed up and grabbed him.
“What’s going on here?” the security guard demanded.
“They tried to steal my bag,” Mr. Garrison said quickly.
“His bag,” said Nancy, “contains two stolen brooches from the Pineview School. Their soccer team is playing for the Canadian Cup at the Clayton-Bagdall School. People there can back up what I’m saying.”
“The jewels are mine, I tell you,” Mr. Garrison growled.
“If they’re yours, buddy, how come you were running away from two young girls?”
This time Mr. Garrison didn’t answer. “Let’s go,” said the police officer. “We’ll clear this up at the school. If the brooches are yours, you have nothing to worry about, right?”
The police officer and Garrison followed Nancy, George, and the security guard. As they walked toward the parking lot, Nancy nudged George in the ribs.
“That was a better save than I ever saw Janine make.”
George smiled. “I taught her everything she knows.”
• • •
After dinner, several members of the Pineview crowd gathered in the lobby of the hotel. Kate was there. So were Ellen and Janine Sedgewick, as well as a couple of the other girls from the team. There was a big game to play the next day, but by now everyone had heard that Russell Garrison and Jonathan Morse had been arrested.
“Mr. Morse was a victim,” Nancy said. “He saw his life being ripped away from him by a ruthless man. He felt he had no choice but to make the fake brooches for his boss.”
