“If you don’t mind,” Nancy said, “would you call a tow truck on your radio and drop me off at my car?”
Officer Spinetti called a towing company, and the driver promised to get there as soon as possible. Then she drove Nancy back to the site of the accident.
“Bess, go on back to Aunt E.’s,” Nancy said as she got out of the car.
“Is that a good idea?” Bess asked. “It’s awfully dark.”
“The tow truck will be here soon,” Nancy said. “I’m not afraid to wait in the dark. And I have a flashlight.” She pulled it out of her jeans pocket.
“Are you sure?” Officer Spinetti asked.
“Positive,” Nancy replied.
Officer Spinetti and Bess drove off, leaving Nancy on the side of the road. The night was clear and chilly, with a crescent moon just beginning to rise above the trees.
Nancy shined her flashlight on the bridge, picking out the railing that had given way as the car went over. Then she saw something that piqued her curiosity.
She strode to the bridge to get a closer look. In the beam of the flashlight she saw that the break in the railing wasn’t splintered as she’d expected it to be from the impact of the car. In fact, as she examined it more closely, she could see it had been sawed apart.
She realized, with a start, that the only reason why the railing had given way when her car hit it was because it had been tampered with.
She and Bess had ended up in the stream because someone had wanted them there.
But who?
9
The Search Is On!
When the tow truck arrived, Nancy greeted the young man who drove it and pointed out the car in the stream below.
“My name’s Fred,” he said. “I’ll go down and take a look at it.
As he scrambled down the bank and waded into the water, Nancy heard a rustling in the woods behind her. When she turned she saw a man in dark clothes, standing silently. It was Mr. Tolchinsky.
“Had an accident?” he said. He stepped onto the road and approached her.
“Yes,” Nancy said. “My car went off the bridge.”
“I heard the tow truck arrive back at the house,” he said, “and came out to see what was going on.”
“Didn’t you hear us when we crashed?” Nancy asked. “That would have made a much louder noise.”
“I’ve been listening to music,” Mr. Tolchinsky said. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Nancy said.
“Good,” Mr. Tolchinsky said.
Should she tell him she knew the bridge had been tampered with? But he might have been the one who tampered with it, Nancy figured. She didn’t have a chance to decide. In the next instant, Mr. Tolchinsky turned on his heel and disappeared into the woods.
It didn’t take Fred long to hook the car up to the winch on the back of the truck and tow it out.
When the car was out of the creek, he hopped out of the truck and went around to see if there was any damage.
“Looks okay,” he said. “I’d let it dry out before you try to start it, though,” he advised.
“I don’t think I’ll be doing any more driving tonight,” Nancy said with a laugh.
“Hop in,” Fred said. “I’ll take you home.”
Nancy gave him directions to Aunt Elizabeth’s house. It wasn’t long before he turned into her driveway.
“Here you are,” he said cheerfully.
Nancy hopped out of the truck, thanked him, and went into the house. Her friends were in the parlor drinking hot cocoa with Aunt Elizabeth.
“Nancy, you look troubled,” George said.
Nancy sank into an easy chair. “I found out someone tampered with the bridge.”
“What!” Bess exclaimed.
“Someone sawed off the railing,” Nancy replied. “We never would have gone into the stream otherwise.”
“So someone deliberately forced you off the bridge,” George said, looking alarmed. “Someone planned it.”
“Exactly,” Nancy said. “And Mr. Tolchinsky showed up while Fred, the tow truck operator, pulled the car out. He said he’d heard the truck approaching. When I told him I was fine, he walked off.”
