Strangers on a Train (Nancy Drew Diaries #2)(18)

"It’s okay,” I said. "I understand how money troubles can get you down.”

"Yeah. But when you get right down to it, I’m lucky I get the chance to, like, follow my bliss. That’s enough reason to stay optimistic, right?” She grinned. "And hey, the trip’s not over yet. Who knows, maybe somebody’ll get eaten by a grizzly bear and I’ll be there to document it!”



I noticed Tobias and his father making their way down the aisle. “Looks like your seatmate’s back,” I told Wendy. "I should go.”



“Okay. But hey, thanks for listening.”

"Anytime.” I got up, exchanging greetings with Tobias and his father as I passed them.

Then I wandered up toward Hiro’s seat. I’d been just about ready to cross Wendy off the suspect list, but this changed everything. Was it time to move her to the top?

Hiro was deep in conversation with another passenger. Not wanting to interrupt, I kept moving past his seat, planning to check the next car for Tatjana and Scott.

Before I reached the door, Alan caught up with me. "Hey,” he said. “Glad I caught you. We heard we’re about to pass through an area where you can sometimes see moose grazing in a field right along the train tracks! Come check it out.”

"Oh. Urn . . .” That did sound cool. But I wasn’t really in the mood for wildlife watching.

But I should have known better than to protest. Alan wouldn’t take no for an answer. Before I knew it, I was heading back toward our seats.

When I got there, I saw that George had moved across the aisle to sit with Bess. "What are you doing over there?” I asked.

George shrugged. "Bess had better snacks,” she said. “Anyway, this is your chance to snag that window seat for a while.”

"Good point.” I glanced at Alan. "You don’t mind, do you?”

"Go for it.” He waved a hand toward the seats.

I sat down by the window, and he took the seat beside me. For the next few minutes we watched for moose, but there was no sign of them.

"So where are the meese?” George asked, sounding impatient. "Guess they’re not out today,” Alan said.

"Don’t worry,” Bess put in. "Even if we don’t see any now, everyone says we’ll see tons of them on our tour through Denali tomorrow. The wildlife viewing is supposed to be spectacular there.”

"Cool.” George grinned. "Think I’ll get to pet one?”

"I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Bess said. “Moose actually injure more people in Alaska every year than grizzly bears.” “Really?” George sounded skeptical. “Where’d you hear that?” "It’s one of the fun facts in the brochure about this land tour,” Bess said. “Didn’t you read it?”

After a bit more bickering, the cousins went back to peering out their window, while Alan and I did the same. The two of us chitchatted about the scenery we were passing. But soon I was feeling restless again. The clock was ticking, and I didn’t want to miss my chance to check out our suspects while we were all trapped on the train together.

"Excuse me,” I said. "Think I’ll go explore the train a little.”

"No way, you can’t leave now,” Alan said with a grin. "We might still spot those moose!”

"No, seriously.” I lowered my voice. "I want to go have a look around, ifyou know what I mean.”

His eyes widened. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “Wait—do you have a new lead or something? Did one of the suspects do something suspicious?”

He was whispering, sort of. But his voice still seemed way too loud. "Shh,” I cautioned, hoping the people in the seats nearby weren’t paying attention.

“Oops. Sorry.” He pressed a couple of fingers to his mouth, pretending to lock his lips shut. “But seriously,” he whispered. "If you need help...”

“No, it’s okay.” I sighed and leaned back in my seat. "Actually, it can probably wait.”



******





We still hadn’t seen any moose—and I hadn’t done any more investigating—by the time Hiro stood up and said it was time for our section of the car to head downstairs for lunch. George hopped to her feet immediately.



"Finally!” she exclaimed. "I’m starved!”

“Really?” Bess raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Even after eating all my pretzels and my granola bar?”

George ignored that and stepped into the aisle. “Come on, let’s get down there.”

Alan stood and moved into the aisle behind her. "After you, ladies,” he said, sweeping a hand forward in a little mock bow.

Bess smiled. “So gallant!” she cooed.

I crawled out of my seat and straightened up. “Thanks,” I told Alan. As he leaned down to grab his knapsack off the floor beneath the seat, I caught up with Bess and George. When we started down the stairs, we saw Tobias and his family ahead of us. The little boy turned and spotted us.

“Hey, where’s Alan?” he demanded.

“Right behind us.” Bess glanced over her shoulder. “At least I thought he was.”