Amber stood up and put some weight on her leg. “It still hurts,” she said, “but if I don’t walk too fast, it should be all right.”
The girls paid their bill, and the four of them headed toward the ship. Most of the other passengers were on their way back. Nancy kept looking around to see if she might spot Laura, but she didn’t see her.
The closer they got to the ship, the slower Amber walked.
“This really hurts,” she said. “If I’m going to make it up the gangway, I think I’m going to have to lean on someone.”
George volunteered.
When they reached the top, Bess said, “Why don’t we go to the clinic first so you can get that scrape bandaged? You don’t want it to get infected.”
Amber gave a little laugh. “You sound just like my mother,” she said. “No, if you’ll just take me to my cabin, that’d be great. I have some ointment and some bandages in my suitcase.”
“Are you sure?” Nancy said. “It’s no problem to stop at the clinic.”
“I’m sure,” Amber said.
The closer they got to Amber’s cabin, the faster Amber seemed to be able to move.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do once you get to Toronto?” Nancy asked her.
Amber shook her head. She took her key out of her purse, inserted it in the lock, and opened the door.
The four of them entered the room.
Suddenly, the door slammed behind them. Nancy turned to see Laura Houston pointing a gun at her.
14
Bound and Gagged
“Laura!” Bess cried. “What’s going on?”
“Be quiet,” Laura said. She turned to Amber. “What happened to your knee? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Mother,” Amber said. “I scraped it on the sidewalk when I fell.”
Mother! Nancy thought.
“You need to be more careful,” Laura said. “You won’t be much use to me if you can’t walk.”
Amber’s eyes flashed angrily. “I was trying to stop them from following you, Mother!” she said. “I only meant to fake an accident—but I really did trip. Thanks for caring so much!”
“Well, clean it up,” Laura said. “It looks awful.”
Nancy was just now starting to recover from the stunning discovery about Amber and Laura Houston’s relationship. She turned to Amber. “She’s your mother?”
Amber looked at her. “Yes. I’m such a lucky girl, aren’t I?”
“Keep quiet, Amber,” Laura cautioned.
“I’m totally confused,” George said.
“So am I,” Bess said.
“Why don’t you girls have a seat?” Laura said. “You’re not going anywhere until we’ve left the ship in Toronto, so you might as well get comfortable.”
Nancy, Bess, and George walked over to the bed on the far side of the cabin and sat down. Nancy noticed several gift boxes of candy stacked in a chair by the bed. Laura had obviously gone to one of the candy factories after all.
“Now, Amber and I have some things to explain to you,” Laura said. “Amber, make sure the door is locked.”
“Okay, Mother,” Amber said. “I see you got the candy for Uncle CN.”
Laura laughed. “Yes! He’s such a tower of strength, but he still needs his candy!”
Amber removed the boxes of candy from the chair and stacked them on the floor. She then pushed the chair in front of the door to the cabin and sat down.
“What are you going to do with us?” Bess said.
“Don’t worry,” Laura said. “We’re just going to tie you up so that nobody will find you until we’ve had time to lose ourselves in Toronto.”
Nancy looked at Amber. “I knew when I first saw you in River Heights that you were an athlete,” she said. “You’re the one who tried to push me overboard last night, aren’t you?”
“Well, I do work out with weights, but I wasn’t trying to push you overboard,” Amber said. “I was only going to put you out of commission for a while.” She looked at her mother and rolled her eyes. “What kind of people do they think we are, anyway?”
“Don’t ask!” George muttered.
