5
An Angry Meeting
Nancy stepped out onto the porch and studied the bat in the dim glow of the overhead light. Then she tugged on the string and pulled it down.
“Ugh!” Bess cried. “Nancy, how could you?”
“Is it dead?” George asked.
Holding the dangling bat in front of her, Nancy went into the vestibule. Aunt Elizabeth sat on a straight-backed chair, with Jessie holding her hand.
“It’s not a real bat, Aunt E.,” Nancy said. “It’s a stuffed toy.”
“Thank goodness,” Aunt Elizabeth said with a harried sigh. She took the bat from Nancy and turned it over. “Kind of cute,” she said, “except for that nasty note.”
Taking it gently from Aunt Elizabeth’s hands, Nancy brought the bat into the kitchen and placed it on the table. Studying the fuzzy creature, she tried to decide what to do next. Should she leave the note as it was and call the police to have them dust it for fingerprints?
Whoever had left the bat was probably not a criminal. Even if the police found some prints, there would be no way to match them up if the prints’ owner had no police record.
She removed the pin from the note and held the paper by its edges. The letters were blocky and well-formed, and appeared to be written with a felt-tip marker. The message was written on common lined paper. No way to trace that.
The bat itself was as big around as her hand, with velvety wings and a silvery plush body. In a child’s hands it would have been cute, but here it seemed to eye her malevolently.
Bess, George, and Professor Noble joined Nancy in the kitchen.
“I hear you’re a detective,” Professor Noble said. “It appears you’ve got your first clue.”
“I can’t do much with the note,” Nancy said, “but I may be able to trace the bat.” She fingered the label sewn into a seam on its back.
Aunt Elizabeth and Jessie came into the kitchen.
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” Professor Noble asked. “This is a death threat.”
“No,” Aunt Elizabeth said firmly. “If Sarah’s doing this, then it’s the work of a frightened child, not a criminal. We’ll let it go for the time being.”
She pulled a jacket off a hook near the kitchen door. “We’ve got a meeting to go to,” she said, jamming her arms into her jacket sleeves. “Who’s riding with me?”
“Let me drive,” George said to her aunt.
Aunt Elizabeth shook her head. “I’m fine, and the driving will calm me down.”
Outside, they divided into two groups. Nancy, Bess, and George went with Aunt Elizabeth. Jessie hopped into the car with Professor Noble.
On the way, Nancy noticed how tensely Aunt Elizabeth’s hands were gripping the steering wheel. Her heart went out to her. The woman was only trying to do what she felt was right, and look what had happened!
Even though they were half an hour early, cars were already circling the green looking for parking spots. Aunt Elizabeth found a spot not too far from the Town Hall, a brick building capped with a clock tower.
When they reached the steps in front of the Town Hall, Nancy could feel the excitement of the people crowded behind her and her friends. They followed the movement of the crowd into a large, square room set up with folding chairs. A long table stretched across the front of the room, already filled with members of the town council.
Nancy and her friends found a row of seats toward the front of the hall and sat down. A few minutes later she saw Professor Noble and Jessie come in and stand off to one side. Mrs. Connor and Sarah entered shortly afterward and, Nancy suspected, deliberately chose to stand on the other side of the room.
Finally, a woman at the front of the room banged a gavel. “Who’s that?” Nancy whispered to Aunt Elizabeth.
“That’s Jeannette Oberdorf,” Aunt Elizabeth murmured. “She’s the town secretary.”
“As you all know, we’re here to talk about the widening of Old Fairport Road,” Ms. Oberdorf said, raising her voice until the crowd quieted down. “We’ve filed a petition with the United States government to allow us to alter what appears to be land that harbors an endangered species of bat. Now is the time for those who object to the road widening to say their piece.”
Nancy saw Mr. Stryker look around the crowd. His eyes rested on Aunt Elizabeth for a long time. Was he expecting her to speak up first for the conservationists?
Professor Noble walked over and took the microphone set up in the center aisle.
“I’m Martin Noble,” he began. “I teach biology at Fairport College, and I’d like to register my objection to the widening of Old Fairport Road.”
Groans were heard around the room.
Ms. Oberdorf banged her gavel again. “I want to remind everyone that we’re here to listen. Give Professor Noble a chance to speak.”
“Thank you,” Professor Noble said. “I know many of you are in favor of widening the road and couldn’t care less about bats.”
Some of the people laughed nervously.
“But what if we were talking about deer?” he asked. “Or fluffy little bunnies?”
People murmured.
“Bats aren’t the cuddliest of animals,” he went on.
“Hear, hear!” cried a voice from the crowd. Everyone laughed.
