Nancy nodded, shivering next to her.
“I’m Janet Ellsworth. I’m a friend of Elizabeth’s.” She sighed. “I’m afraid Elizabeth has gotten herself into the thick of things with this bat project,” she said.
“You’re not on the side of the bats?” Nancy asked.
“No, this road is dangerous. What just happened to you is a good example of that. It should be widened, bats or not.”
Nancy wondered what Mrs. Ellsworth would think if she knew how dangerous the road really was.
Mrs. Ellsworth went on. “If our town manager would pay a little more attention to the town budget than his regattas, we’d be in much better shape.”
“His regattas?” Nancy asked. She hadn’t heard anything about this before.
“Oh, I suppose you don’t know. John’s quite the sailor. I have a friend who works at Town Hall, and she says he spent a couple of weeks this winter sailing around the Caribbean when he should have been back here taking care of business.”
She pulled into Aunt Elizabeth’s driveway. Nancy filed away what Mrs. Ellsworth had said for later reference, thanked her for the ride, and hopped out of the car with Bess.
Aunt Elizabeth and George looked alarmed when they saw the state of Nancy’s and Bess’s clothing. When Nancy explained what had happened, Mrs. Porter frowned.
“I’ll call Gerri Spinetti,” she said, walking to the phone. “This is the last straw.”
While Aunt Elizabeth made her call to the police, Nancy and Bess ran upstairs to change. When they returned, George offered to drive them to the police station.
“Officer Spinetti says she thinks she may be able to track down the owner of that car,” Aunt Elizabeth told Nancy.
“Let’s go then,” Nancy said, eager to solve at least one part of the mystery. She grabbed a flashlight lying on the table in the vestibule. It would be good to have it later while she waited for the tow truck.
George dropped them off in front of the police station. “Much as I’d like to solve this mystery with you, I’m going to have to go back to Aunt E.’s,” George said. “I can’t leave her alone. Not after this. Aunt E. said Officer Spinetti would drive you home when you’re done. Good luck!”
When they entered the building, Nancy found the bright lights of the police station comforting after what she and Bess had been through. A plump, dark-haired woman smiled as she rose from her desk to greet them.
Her smile turned to a frown, however, when Nancy told her what had happened.
“They had no lights on?” she asked.
Nancy nodded. “And it’s not the first time we’ve seen that car.” She went on to tell Officer Spinetti about what had happened the night before.
“Can you tell me the make of the car? Or the color?” she asked.
“It was a Saab,” Nancy said. “It looked black when my headlights shined on it briefly.”
“We can run a search on the make and color of the car and see what happens,” Officer Spinetti said. “It may lead to nothing, but then again, there can’t be that many Saabs in Fairport.”
Nancy and Bess sat next to her on metal chairs as she logged on to her computer and tapped the information Nancy had given her into the vehicle database.
The computer whirred. A list of names popped up on the screen.
Officer Spinetti turned the screen toward Nancy. “There are only a few people with that car,” she noted. “Anybody sound familiar?” Her finger ran down the list and stopped at the last name.
“Sarah Connor,” she said. “No need to worry there.”
Nancy turned to Officer Spinetti. “There’s a great deal to worry about there,” she said. “We’re going to need your help.
It didn’t take Nancy long to tell Officer Spinetti of her suspicions about Sarah. She explained the threatening phone calls, the stuffed bat they’d found hanging from Aunt Elizabeth’s porch rafter, and the fact that Sarah had purchased a bat exactly like it from a local toy store.
“I know Margaret Connor well,” Officer Spinetti said, “and I’m sure she’d want to know if Sarah was doing anything dangerous. I don’t think it’s out of line to pay her and Sarah a visit tonight.” She turned off her computer. “Maybe we can get this cleared up.”
“What about my car?” Nancy asked. “It’s still sitting in the stream.”
“We’ll call a tow truck after we visit the Connors,” Gerri Spinetti said. “I don’t think it will take long.”
Nancy and Bess climbed into Officer Spinetti’s police car. On the way to the Connors, Nancy told her more about the telephone threats Aunt Elizabeth had been receiving.
“Why didn’t she call me when this first started happening?” Officer Spinetti asked. “You could have been badly hurt.”
“She thought they were just pranks,” Nancy explained. “She was hoping that if it was Sarah, she’d stop.”
“Well, obviously if it’s her, she hasn’t,” said the officer. “But she will put an end to this by the time I get through with her. I have a real soft spot for Elizabeth Porter,” she said, “and not much patience for anyone who’s annoying her.”
Nancy thought for a moment before speaking. “If you don’t mind, could I speak to Sarah first? She might be more willing to talk to someone her own age.”
Wearing a surprised expression, Officer Spinetti turned and looked at Nancy. “You sound like you know what you’re talking about,” she said.
“Nancy’s a detective,” Bess spoke up. “She solves mysteries.”
Officer Spinetti gave Nancy a long look. “Well, let’s hope you can solve this one.”
When they pulled into the Connor driveway, Nancy saw a black Saab parked in front of the garage.
