Nancy asked Mrs. Houston about joining them, but the well-dressed woman said that she didn’t want to hurt the feelings of the people with whom she was already sitting.
Bess finally decided on a doll for her mother, then the girls spent the remainder of the day checking out the rest of the town’s shops, cafés, galleries, and restaurants.
But Nancy didn’t forget her promise to Craig: that she would keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. It was easy to do, since people had been asked to wear name tags to identify them as passengers on the SS Great Lakes. That way, they could take advantage of special offers from the Sturgeon Bay merchants. But Nancy noticed no suspicious activity whatsoever. All of the passengers seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.
When it came time to return to the ship, the girls were very reluctant to leave.
“This is one place I want to spend some more time in,” Nancy said. “Door County, Wisconsin.”
“Me too,” Bess agreed.
As they climbed up the gangway, Nancy’s cell phone rang. It was Craig again.
“Two new male passengers are boarding the ship here,” he said. “One of them could be our fugitive.”
“Do you know what they look like?” Nancy asked.
“Not so loud,” Craig said. “They’re right behind you.”
6
Bess’s Accident
At Craig’s warning Nancy stumbled and fell. While a concerned Bess and George helped her up, Nancy took a good look at the two men behind her.
The first man fit the stereotypical description of a mobster. Nancy tried to never stereotype people, but given that she knew the man might be the expected jewel thief, she couldn’t help but wonder about him.
“Nancy!” Bess said. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Nancy assured them. “It’s nothing.”
She let the first man pass them. Nancy was sure he had seen her fall, but he didn’t offer to help in any way. She made a mental note of that.
The second man looked like a professional athlete. He was muscular and clean-cut. If she stayed with stereotypical descriptions, there was no way he could be the fugitive.
“Are you sure you’re all right, miss?” he asked. “That was a nasty fall.”
Nancy gave him a big smile. “I’m okay,” she said. “My ankle just gave out on me.”
The man returned her smile. “That’s happened to me on the football field before,” he said. “I’m Brad Snider. I play for—”
“I thought I recognized you!” George said. “You’re going to be on this ship? Cool!”
George linked arms with Brad Snider and almost pulled him up the gangway, leaving Nancy and Bess looking at each other in amazement.
“I’m certainly glad I didn’t really hurt my ankle,” Nancy said, and laughed. “I’d still be lying there!”
“You probably need to have it looked at, just in case,” Bess said.
Nancy linked arms with her. “There’s nothing wrong, Bess. I fell on purpose,” she whispered. “It was my way of getting a look at those two men behind us.”
Bess stopped and gave her a look of admiration. “Nancy Drew, you never cease to amaze!”
“Oh, Bess … I wasn’t checking them out!” Nancy said. “That was Craig on my cell phone. He must have been watching us reboard from one of the upper decks. He thought one of those men might be the fugitive he’s looking for.”
“Oh. Well, it can’t be Brad Snider,” Bess said. “Even I’ve heard of him.”
“If I had to choose right now, I’d vote for the first guy,” Nancy said. “He looks capable of robbing a lot of jewelry stores.”
“Oh, you mean the one who just walked by when you were on the gangway and didn’t say a thing?” Bess asked. “He did look creepy!”
“But we still need to keep an open mind about this,” Nancy said.
Nancy and Bess found George and Brad at the elevators.
“Brad’s on deck 4,” George said. “After he’s settled in, we’re going up to the pool to do some laps.”
“Well, that certainly sounds exciting,” Bess said.
Nancy gave Bess a dirty look. “Don’t be tacky,” she whispered. “I think it sounds like fun,” she said, turning to George and Brad.
When the girls were back in their suite, Bess fell into a chair. “Well, this is just great! Nancy’s on a case, and George has a boyfriend. What happened to this wonderful trip we had planned to take together?”
“Bess! Brad’s not a boyfriend,” George countered. “He’s a fellow athlete! He’s going to help me with my strength training.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Bess muttered.
