“Opportunity,” Nancy said. “Your canvas bag was the easiest to get to.”
“You mean there’s still a chance that someone will try to steal our things too?” George said.
“Exactly. It’s very important that we try to act as normal as possible,” Nancy said. She thought for a minute. “We don’t want whoever did this to know we suspect why it was done.”
Bess and George agreed with Nancy that that was the right idea.
In keeping with their plan, the girls had dinner as usual with the Lowes and Laura Houston. When Nancy, Bess, and George arrived at the restaurant, though, it was as if they had traveled back in time a couple of days. Laura seemed to be in a really good mood again.
Nancy shrugged. “It may turn out to be a personality disorder after all,” she whispered. “I say we keep an eye on her.”
By the end of the evening, after everyone decided to turn in for the night, Nancy felt Laura Houston was just back to her old self.
As they headed out of the restaurant Bess said, “Well, were we wrong or what? She really must have just been tired when I talked to her earlier. I’m sure everything we thought about her can be explained.”
“You’re probably right,” Nancy said.
The next morning, after the ship docked in Port Huron, Nancy, Bess, and George spotted Laura going down the gangway.
“I wonder if she’d mind if we tagged along,” Bess said.
“Let’s ask her,” Nancy said.
“Come on! We’ll lose her if we don’t hurry,” Bess said, “and I can go only so fast on these crutches.”
The girls left the ship and in a few minutes were close enough for Laura to hear George’s call. “Laura! Wait up!”
Laura slowly turned around and gave the girls a big smile. “Well, this is a surprise! I thought I was going to have to see Port Huron by myself.”
“You don’t mind if we tag along?” Nancy said.
“No,” Laura said. “Why should I?”
“What happened to the Lowes?” Bess asked.
“They’re meeting friends here in Port Huron,” Laura said. “They’re going to be busy all day.” She gave the girls another one of her dazzling smiles. “I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me last night to ask if I could attach myself to you. I guess I just thought three young people wouldn’t want to hang around with someone old enough to be their mother.”
“Goodness!” Bess said. “I’d never think of you as my mother.”
Laura blinked, then grinned. “Well, I guess that’s a compliment.”
Bess blushed. “I just meant that you …”
“I know what you meant, Bess,” Laura said. She locked arms with her. “I’m glad you want to spend the day with me.”
Nancy had to admit that she was somewhat disarmed by Laura’s charm—although some niggling doubts had begun to creep back into her mind about this woman. It was going to be hard to remain objective, she knew, but it was very important that she do so. Something wasn’t quite right.
As the women strolled through the downtown streets of Port Huron, Nancy tried to keep the conversation going. She wanted to see if Laura might betray a hidden agenda. Two hours into their window-shopping, though, Laura had said nothing out of the ordinary.
“Let’s have lunch at the Edison Inn,” Laura said. “I’ll buy.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” Nancy protested.
“I know I don’t, but I suggested it. I’m getting hungry,” Laura said. “Bess can talk to me some more about her designs over lunch.”
Bess stopped and looked at Laura. “Are you really still interested in them?” she asked.
“Of course I am,” Laura said. “Whatever gave you the idea that I wasn’t?”
George glanced at Nancy and raised an eyebrow.
When they reached the Edison Inn, a waiter showed them to a table by the window that looked out on the St. Clair River.
“This table has the best view of the Bluewater Bridge and downtown Sarnia, Ontario,” he told them. “You can also see the freighters passing by.”
“Wonderful,” Nancy said. “Thank you.”
For a few minutes they admired the view, then they made their selections from the menu.
“Laura, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Bess said. “What happened to your necklace?”
Laura blinked, seemed flustered for a moment, then put her hand to her throat. “Oh, you mean that gold necklace?” she said. “Well, unfortunately, it caused me to get a rash on my throat! I decided that I’d better not wear it anymore.”
“I rarely wear jewelry myself, for that same reason,” George said.
“I love that color of fingernail polish,” Nancy said. “What do you call it?”
Laura looked at her nails. “Mountain raspberry,” Laura said. “It’s such a delicious shade, don’t you think?”
