“Thank goodness,” Nancy said.
“It’s not over yet,” the lawyer said in a worried tone. “Detective Brower isn’t going to drop this until the jade tiger is found.”
“No,” Nancy agreed. “It isn’t enough that we have to watch out for the blond-haired man, Mr. Mai’s nephew, and the ghost of Nick Finney. Now we also have to watch out for the police.”
• • •
“Is it really possible?” George asked. She was sitting on her bed in the room the three friends shared, writing a postcard to her family. “We actually have a day with no wedding chores and no detective work?”
“If you don’t count rescuing me from the police this morning,” Nancy said. “Personally, I think it’s a good idea to lay low for a while. I don’t want Detective Brower getting too interested in us.”
“I’m all for that,” Bess said. “Besides, this means we can go to the Calistoga mud baths. Imagine, sinking down into a tub of warm, energizing mud.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to rent mountain bikes?” George asked hopefully. “Remember, you wanted to lose five pounds.”
“Let’s toss a coin,” Nancy suggested. “Heads we take mud baths, tails we rent bikes. Either way, we have to be back by three to pick up Amy from school.”
Nancy tossed the coin, and George won. George found a nearby rental shop in the phone book. The three friends changed into biking gear. Nancy put on navy leggings and a white sweatshirt. George wore cutoffs and a T-shirt under her blue windbreaker. Both were surprised to see that Bess wore a pair of tight black cycling shorts and a light green cycling jersey.
“I didn’t know you bicycled,” Nancy said.
“I don’t,” Bess assured her cheerfully. “I just believe in having clothes for every occasion.”
After they packed water bottles and a light lunch, Nancy and her friends set off for the rental shop. The owner, a young woman with long, honey-colored hair, supplied the three girls with ten-speed mountain bikes that had sturdy frames and wide wheels. “You’re in a prime area for cycling,” she said. “There are dozens of off-road trails all over Marin. They aren’t open to cars, and they’re perfect for bicycles.” She pointed to a trail map on the wall behind her. “What level of difficulty do you want? Intermediate?”
“Intermediate beginner,” Bess said quickly.
The woman laughed. “I think I know the perfect trail.” She pointed to a squiggly line on Mount Tamalpais. “The loop around Lake Lagunitas is one of the prettiest rides on the mountain. And there’s only one real hill, which you can walk if you want.”
“Sounds perfect,” Bess said.
The girls soon found that the woman’s advice had been excellent. The trail circled the shores of the deep blue lake. Except for a few places where they had to either splash through streams or ride along narrow, wooden bridges, the ride was an easy one. After a while they sat down to eat a late lunch beneath a grand old oak tree.
“That was fun,” Bess said as they returned the bikes. “Do you think I lost my five pounds?”
Nancy and George looked at each other, but neither answered. Instead, George asked what time it was.
Nancy looked at her watch. “I can’t believe it,” she said with a groan. “It’s already ten of three. Amy gets out of school in ten minutes, and it will take us at least twenty to get there.”
“Don’t worry,” George said. “She knows we’re going to pick her up. She’ll wait.”
By the time Nancy and her friends arrived at Amy’s school, it was three-fifteen. “Why did we have to get stuck in a traffic jam today?” Nancy moaned as she parked in front of the low brick building. Children were still trickling out of the main door. Some headed for a nearby school bus. Others got into waiting cars. Groups of two and three walked home together.
Almost ten minutes later it looked as if the last of the children had left the building.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Nancy said, frowning slightly. “Amy should have been out by now.”
“Maybe she didn’t see us,” Bess said.
“We’ve been sitting right in front of the school, and she’d recognize her father’s car,” George pointed out. “She must have figured we weren’t coming when we were late. I guess she left before we arrived.”
Nancy got out of the car. “Maybe she’s still inside, talking to a teacher or a friend. I’m going to find out.”
As Nancy entered the school building her feeling of unease deepened. The halls were silent. She walked past empty classrooms. There was no one in sight, and her footsteps echoed loudly.
She felt a little better when she saw lights on in the school office at the end of the hall. She found a woman standing in front of a copy machine.
“Excuse me,” Nancy said, entering the office. “I’m here to pick up Amy Kirkland. Do you know where she is?”
“Amy . . . she’s a fourth-grader, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Let me try her classroom and see if her teacher is still in,” the woman said, then made a brief phone call.
A few minutes later a middle-aged woman wearing a tan dress walked in. “I’m Mrs. Shields,” she said. “Amy’s teacher.”
“My name is Nancy Drew. I’m a friend of the Kirkland family. I was supposed to pick up Amy at three, but I arrived late, and there’s no sign of her now. Did you see her leave the building?”
“Our class ended late today,” the teacher replied. “I saw Amy wait for a bit and then start walking. Sometimes Amy’s father picks her up, and sometimes she goes home on her own. They don’t live that far from the school, so it didn’t seem unusual.”
“Except that Amy was supposed to wait for me today,” Nancy said.
“She did wait for a while,” Mrs. Shields reminded her gently. “Perhaps she thought she missed you.” The teacher looked at her watch. “If Amy walked home, she ought to be there by now. Why don’t you call the house?”
Nancy made the call even though she was sure no one would be home. There was no answer.
A line of tension appeared across Mrs. Shields’s forehead. “I have another idea. Amy’s friend Patricia lives down the road from the Kirklands’. Patricia’s been out sick for the last few days. Maybe Amy stopped to visit her.”
