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

Then Becca had called, begging me and my friends to come solve her mystery. Our cover story was that we’d won the cruise in a contest. When Alan found out we would be staying in a luxury four-bedroom suite, he’d practically begged to come along. He was an environmental studies major at the university, and this trip was supposed to give him a head start on his sophomore year research project. That was nice for him, but it made things kind of complicated for the rest of us. See, Becca had sworn us to secrecy—we weren’t supposed to tell a soul why we were really onboard the Arctic Star. Not even Alan. Had I just blown our cover?

“Nancy! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Alan exclaimed, hurrying toward me. “Did you get lost on the way to the bathroom or something? You’re missing some amazing views.”



“Nope, I was just chatting with Becca, that’s all.” I forced a smile, studying Alan’s face. Had he overheard what Becca and I were talking about? His gray eyes looked as guileless as ever. Or did they? Something about the way they were peering into mine made me wonder just how much he’d heard while coming up the stairs...

I dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. Alan was pretty much an open book. Like I said, he’d declared his adoration of Bess the first time they’d met. In fact, he seemed to blurt out pretty much every thought that entered his head. If he’d heard anything important, I’d know it.

"We’d better get back out there,” I told him, still smiling. "I don’t want to miss any more scenery.”

"Smile and say Alaska!” Alan sang out.

Bess giggled, tossing back her blond hair as the sea breeze whipped it across her face. "No way,” she said. "If I say that, my face will look funny. I’ll stick with the traditional.” She struck a pose leaning against the gleaming brass railing, with the Skagway shoreline behind her. "Cheese!”

Alan snapped the photo. "Gorgeous!” he exclaimed, hurrying over to let Bess check out the screen on his digital camera.

George rolled her eyes. "Are we going to stand around here taking pictures all day, or are we actually going to get off this ship and do something?” she grumbled.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her aside, dodging a few excited passengers who were rushing toward the gangplank leading to the dock below. "Leave Alan alone for a sec,” I said quietly. "I’ve been dying to tell you what Becca just told me.”

“What?” George immediately looked interested. Shooting a quick glance at Alan to make sure he wasn’t close enough to hear us, she lowered her voice. “Was it about Vince and Lacey? Did they finally fess up to leaving that nasty note in your luggage?”

Right. That was another unexplained occurrence from earlier in the cruise. The note had read,



I HOPE U GET LOST JUST LIKE UR BAG—@ THAT U STAY LOST!





“No. But the cops caught the jewelry thief.” I quickly filled her in.



When I was finished, George let out a low whistle. “So it wasn’t anyone from the ship? That’s weird.”

“I know, right? There’s no way he got through security on his own.” I glanced over at the exit station set up near the gangplank. Several crew members were there, dressed in Superstar’s crisp navy-and-silver uniforms, running ship IDs through a scanner as passengers disembarked for the day’s shore stop. Even though the area around the exit was chaotic, with dozens of excited passengers shouting and laughing and eager to start their day in Skagway, the ship’s staff maintained perfect order, channeling each person through the scanner station before ushering him or her down the gangplank. Watching the well-organized procedure made it seem impossible that anyone could board unscanned or undetected.

"So who helped him get aboard?” George wondered. "He must have an accomplice, right? A crew member, or maybe another passenger?”

Instead of answering, I cleared my throat loudly. “Get any good shots?” I asked Alan, who was coming toward us with Bess on his heels.

"Of course.” Alan winked. "It’s easy to get good shots when you have such a beautiful model.”

George smirked. She doesn’t have much patience for gooey romantic talk. Especially when it came from Alan. "Enough with the photo session,” she said. "Let’s get off this boat and have some fun.”

"Speaking of fun,” Bess said as we all wandered toward the exit station, "what’s on the agenda for today?”

"You girls weren’t there when Scott came around at lunch yesterday, so I signed us up for a few things,” Alan said. He glanced around. "Where is Scott, anyway? He said I should check in with him about the exact schedule.”

“I don’t see him.” I scanned the exit area, which was growing more crowded by the second. Half a dozen raucous redheads— members of a large family reunion—had just entered. I also spotted a few other familiar faces. But I didn’t see the lean, tanned form of Scott, the shore excursion specialist, anywhere.

A statuesque blond woman in a Superstar uniform saw me looking around and stepped toward me. "May I help you, Ms. Drew?” she asked in a husky voice heavily shaded with an eastern European accent.

“Oh, hi, Tatjana.” I smiled at her, though I couldn’t help a flash of unease. Tatjana worked for Becca, and she’d almost caught the two of us discussing the case a couple of times. "Um, we were just looking for Scott so we could check about today’s trips.”