The Clue at Black Creek Farm (Nancy Drew Diaries #9)(23)

Where to get E. coli?

Jack had entered that question just two weeks before.

A chill went up my spine. Am I sitting at the computer of the person who tried to kill me? Maybe not. There could be a totally reasonable explanation.

Or . . .

“Nancy?”

I nearly jumped ten feet in the air at the sound of a voice from the doorway.

“What are you doing in here?”





CHAPTER NINE





Caught in the Act


THE VOICE WAS JULIE’S.

Uh-oh. I struggled to push my overtired, overworked brain into action.

“Is that Waikiki?” I asked, pointing to the photo of a smiling Julie and Jack on a beach that served as the computer’s desktop. “Because it’s so weird, but I could swear I was on that beach last year.” I took a step back from the computer and gave an awkward laugh, looking around like I was just realizing I was in Jack and Julie’s room. Julie watched me, a little crease of confusion forming between her eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, I know I’m being nosy,” I went on. “I just spotted that photo from the hall and it brought back all these memories of this great vacation I took. . . . I think I’m a little loopy from lack of sleep!”

Julie’s eyes warmed with sympathy, and she stepped into the room. “I can relate,” she said with a little smile. “Actually, that’s Costa Rica, not Hawaii. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Jack and I took a vacation there last year and stayed in this gorgeous little eco-resort. We slept in a hut right on the beach. It was amazing.” She sighed, looking at the photo, then shook her head. “Of course, that was before I lost my job, back when we had disposable income.” She laughed a bitter little laugh.

“What?” I asked.

Julie shrugged. “Oh, I lost my job as an investment banker last year. You know—they keep saying the recession is over, but for bankers, is it really?” She smiled, like she was making a joke, but when I didn’t laugh, the humor left her face. “Anyway . . . finances have been a lot tighter lately. In fact, Jack and I originally came out here to look for houses in the area. We’re thinking about selling our apartment in Chicago.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You can’t quite afford it anymore?” I asked, filling in the blanks.

Julie nodded, then shifted her eyes uneasily. “And we’ll need more room for the baby,” she added. “And it won’t exactly hurt to have Jack’s parents just a few minutes away. Abby’s such a peach, she’s offered to watch the baby a few days a week for me if and when I find a new job.”

Money problems? It seemed Jack’s potential motivation to destroy Black Creek Farm went even deeper than I thought.

Julie smiled brightly. “Anyway,” she said, “I came upstairs to look for you because Sam just came back. He says someone vandalized the chicken coop and killed three of the chickens! Can you imagine?”

I shook my head, then caught myself. “Yes,” I said. “I mean, no, I can’t imagine wanting to do that. But it doesn’t surprise me that it happened. I actually saw the person out there. . . .” I couldn’t help shuddering, remembering that tense moment when the intruder had looked up and seemed to spot me peeking around the coop. What would have happened if I hadn’t been able to outrun him? Or her, I reminded myself.

Julie was watching me with sympathetic eyes. “How horrible,” she said. “I’m so glad you got back to the house safely.” She paused, shaking her head. “Honestly, I can’t believe what’s been going on at the farm these past few days! I thought coming to the country would be relaxing. But this is more stressful than the city!”

I smiled ruefully and nodded. “Maybe you’ll need to go back and, like, listen to car alarms going off for a while to relax,” I suggested.

Julie laughed. I noticed then that her eyes looked tired; she must have been telling the truth when she said she hadn’t been sleeping well lately. “Well, I think I’m going to take a shower,” she said, gesturing to a door that opened off the rear of the room—a private bathroom, I guessed.

“Oh, of course,” I said, moving toward the door to the hallway. “I’m sorry to keep you. I should get downstairs to hear the latest, anyway.”

Julie smiled as she brushed past me. I paused in the doorway, watching her flip on the light and push open the door. Just as she ducked inside I saw it, thrown over a towel rod.

A black hoodie.

I had to bite my lip to keep from letting out a gasp.





CHAPTER TEN





A Clear Message


“NANCY, WHY ARE YOU DRIVING like a maniac?” Bess grabbed the handle on the passenger-side ceiling of my car and gave me a horrified look as I just barely missed the bumper of an old Chevy, skirting around to pass it on the right.

It’s your fault for going so slow, I thought when I saw the driver glance up in alarm, and then scolded myself. Stop it, Nancy. Don’t be the kind of driver you hate.

“I’m sorry, Bess,” I said. “I just really need to get home and talk this out with you and George.”

Bess raised her eyebrows. “So you have a theory?”

“I do. And it took so long to make our report to the police and get out of Black Creek Farm, I was beginning to think I’d never get to share it with you.”