“Not necessarily,” Ned said. “The thieves may have figured we’d think that way.”
Nancy dipped her index finger in the condensation from her water glass and drew circles on the tabletop. “Are we assuming that the money was stolen during that fight Lance told us about?”
“Well, of course,” George said. “It’s like, you’re walking down the street and somebody with a hot dog gets ketchup on you. And while he helps you wipe it off, his partner steals your wallet.”
“Or that other one I heard about,” Ned said. “You go to catch a plane. At the security barrier you put the bag with your computer on the conveyor belt for the scanner. Somebody pushes ahead of you. When he goes through the gate, it buzzes. He empties his pockets and tries again. No good. He takes off his belt and his watch. Still no good. Finally he gives up and walks away. But by then his accomplice and your computer are halfway to Dallas.”
“Before, we were looking for somebody inside the IFC,” Nancy pointed out. “But Lance didn’t recognize the guys who got into the fight.”
“Say this is political,” George suggested. “Whoever’s in back of it would probably have friends off campus with the same beliefs who would be willing to help. They wouldn’t even have to know the reason, just that it was to help the cause.”
“So any two guys from—call it Country X—could be suspects,” Ned said. “Whew. What a mess.”
“Most people aren’t going to take that kind of risk,” Bess said. “Not unless they’re desperate. If you just want to help some political cause, why not hold a bake sale instead?”
Nancy and the others laughed.
“Sure. I can see it now,” Ned said. “ ‘Support extremism, buy a brownie!’ ”
“It is funny,” Nancy said. “But Bess has a good point. Whoever did this must have a solid motive, not just the opportunity.”
“I hate to say this,” Bess said hesitantly. “But we know one person who needs money really badly, right away. If Joann can’t pay her college bills, it could end up ruining her whole life.”
Nancy nodded slowly. “I thought of that. And she was alone at the table when she relieved Lance. She could have easily switched the envelopes.”
“Now, wait a minute,” George protested. “I’ve gotten to know Joann a little. We talked a long time last night. Sure, she’s very upset about her situation, even desperate. But she is not a crook!”
“What if she saw all that cash sitting there and she just couldn’t stop herself?” Bess offered.
“I’m sorry, but that won’t work,” Nancy said. “If the envelope of cash had simply disappeared, maybe. But this was no spur of the moment crime. The thief had to have planned it. It took time to cut up the paper for the substitute envelope.”
Their orders came. They put the conversation on hold while they ate. Nancy accepted a few of Ned’s french fries and a taste of Bess’s pie, but it was just to be sociable. Her appetite was gone. She had a terrible feeling that, however this investigation turned out, innocent people were going to get hurt.
Ned walked them back to the dorm. George and Bess said good night and went upstairs. Nancy stayed with Ned a little longer.
He put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, with his lips on her hair.
Nancy reached up and took his hand. “For what?”
“I so wanted us to have a fun, carefree time this weekend,” he said. “Music and dancing. Lots of interesting people to meet and things to eat. It didn’t exactly turn out that way.”
“Don’t be silly,” Nancy said with a laugh. “We have had lots of music and dancing, and more to come. And the people I’ve met are certainly interesting . . . a little too much so! As for things to eat, well, I’ll never forget that goulash.”
“Are you sorry we roped you into investigating this case?” Ned asked.
“Not a bit,” Nancy assured him. “It’s a serious business, but besides that, it’s fun. Not ha-ha fun, but exciting, involving . . . you know what I mean.”
“I hoped you’d feel that way,” Ned said. “I’d hate to think you held it against me.”
“The only thing I want to hold against you is me,” Nancy told him. She went on to prove that she meant what she said.
• • •
Upstairs, Nancy unlocked the door to Dina’s room and opened it very quietly. A dim light shone in the far corner.
“Nancy?” Dina said. “I’m still awake. I was waiting for you.”
“Sorry I’m back so late,” Nancy said.
“It is I who must be sorry,” Dina said, sitting up in her bed. “I am so ashamed of myself. I have acted like such a fool.”
Nancy felt her shoulders tense up. Was Dina about to admit that she stole the money?
“What do you mean?” Nancy asked cautiously.
Dina stood up and began to pace around the room. “Once when I was little, my teacher said I was cheating on a test. I screamed a terrible name at her. Then I tore up my paper and ran from the room. I would not go back to school. Every morning I screamed and cried and made myself sick so my parents would keep me home.”
“How awful,” Nancy said.
“Yes, it was,” Dina said. “I do not excuse myself. I gave my parents great concern. But at last the teacher told the headmistress that I had not after all cheated. The headmistress told my parents. When I returned to school, I was moved to the class of a different teacher.”
Nancy thought she saw where this was going. She began to relax.
“As I say,” Dina continued, “I do not excuse myself. It is a failing. When I am accused of something I did not do, I become crazy. I strike out at everyone, friends and enemies alike. I say things I do not mean. I cannot help myself, it is my character. But afterward I am ashamed.”
“You’re talking about what happened tonight, with Vlad?” Nancy asked as she changed into pajamas.
“Of course,” Dina said. “He and I have many issues between us. If he wrote that terrible e-mail, I will not forgive him. For him to say I was at the table before the money was taken . . . it was not kind, but it was true. I was there. I did not take the money. But was it unreasonable of him to wonder? I should have answered him, not attacked him.”
