AS NANCY STARED at the jacket, a whiff of gasoline burned her nose, sending her into another coughing fit. But before she could get her breath back, a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
“Okay, young lady,” a gruff voice said. “You’d better hand that over and explain what you’re doing!”
Nancy whirled around and found herself face-to-face with a beefy police officer, who sported a crew cut and glasses. She’d been coughing so hard she hadn’t heard him come up behind her.
“Officer, I think I’ve just found—”
“You’re coming with me, miss,” the officer cut in. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do!”
If you’ll let me, Nancy said to herself.
• • •
Forty-five minutes later, at the police station, Nancy was still trying to explain what had happened, but no one was listening.
“Look, Sergeant Balsam,” she said for what seemed like the billionth time, “if you’ll just telephone Dean Jarvis—”
“I’ll get to that, Ms. Drew,” the police sergeant said. “But first,” he continued, “I’d like you to tell me again what you were doing in those woods with that jacket.”
“I already—” Nancy began.
He cut her off. “I know, you already told me. But I have a short memory, especially when I’m talking to people who’ve been tampering with important evidence. Try telling me again.”
Nancy sighed and shifted in her chair. “I was walking along the path from the museum to the boat house,” she said wearily, “when I noticed some footprints going off into a clump of trees. Then I saw something lying on the ground in the middle of the trees. It was the jacket. When I brought it out to the path where the light was better, your officer came along.”
“Uh-huh,” the sergeant said. He frowned at her. “What would you say if I told you that a police team swept that area earlier today and didn’t find a jacket or anything else? Would that make you think again about your story?”
“I’m sorry, Sergeant,” Nancy said firmly. “I’ve just told you what happened. Either your crew missed the jacket earlier or it wasn’t put there until later.”
“You wouldn’t have been in the process of putting it there yourself, would you?”
Nancy reminded herself to be patient and polite. “If you would just call Dean Jarvis,” she repeated, “he’ll tell you who I am.”
“A detective,” Sergeant Balsam said with disdain. “Is that right? An amateur detective. And you think you’re going to make fools of the police by solving this theft when we can’t. Is that right, Ms. Drew?”
“No, of course not, Sergeant. But sometimes I can find out things that the police can’t—because I’m an amateur.” Somehow, she didn’t think the sergeant would appreciate hearing that.
“Uh-huh.” The sergeant straightened up and adjusted his gun belt. “Would you mind telling me where you were at the time the fire in the boat house was discovered?”
“Not at all. I was at the dedication ceremony for the new rowing tank. I was standing with four friends, all of whom can vouch for me. I’ll be glad to give you their names if you like.”
“Later, maybe. And what did you do at that point?”
Nancy thought back, then replied, “We went around to the front of the boat house to watch the fire fighters.”
“Together?”
“Together,” Nancy replied with a nod.
“And was Rob Harper part of your group?”
Nancy hesitated for a moment. She didn’t want to make things worse for Rob than they already were, but she couldn’t lie to the police. She just hoped he wasn’t counting on his friends to give him an alibi.
“He was with us when the ceremony started,” Nancy said, choosing her words with care. “I don’t recall seeing him when the fire was discovered. There was a lot of confusion.”
“So I hear,” the sergeant said. “But he rejoined you while you were standing in front of the boat house. Is that right?”
“That’s right,” Nancy said.
“At that time, was he wearing this jacket?” Sergeant Balsam pointed to the purple and orange jacket.
“No, just a sweater,” Nancy replied, with a sinking feeling. The evidence was all too neatly pointing at Rob.
“I see.” The sergeant walked over to his desk and picked up the telephone. Keeping his back to Nancy, he dialed and spoke in a low voice to the person who answered. When he hung up, he said, “All right, Ms. Drew. I just spoke to Dean Jarvis. You can go. But let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t interfere with our investigation. You’ll just muddy the water for us, and that can make us feel real angry.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Balsam,” Nancy replied. As she stood up, she added, “What about Rob? Is he free to leave?”
Without answering Nancy’s question, the sergeant walked out of the room. A few moments later he returned with Rob.
“Nancy!” Rob exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“That’s a long story,” Nancy told him. She looked at the sergeant. “May we go now?”
“Yes,” he said gruffly. Shooting Rob a wary glance, he added, “But don’t think you’ve heard the last of this.”
“Let’s go,” Nancy said to Rob. “The others are probably worried about us.”
As they walked back to the campus, Rob told her about the questions the police had asked him. “I can’t believe they think I set that fire. I mean, crewing is the most important thing I do at Emerson,” he said, shaking his head. “I would never sabotage the boat house!”
Nancy gave him a sympathetic look. She believed him, but considering the evidence so far— the jacket, his disappearance during the dedication ceremony, and his being suspended from the crew team—it would be tough to prove his innocence.
“Look, Rob,” she said, “where exactly did you go when you left the dedication ceremony? It’s important for you to establish an alibi. Everybody knows you weren’t at the ceremony, because the coach thanked you by name and asked you to stand up.”
“He did?” Rob asked, surprised. “I didn’t know that. I’m glad I had the sense to duck out. I don’t know if I could have stood that, after everything that’s happened.”
He took a deep breath before continuing.
“I was feeling so . . . I don’t know, restless and upset about being off the team that I decided to go for a run across campus to Foster Gate, then back the long way by the heating plant.”
Nancy nodded. “Did you see anybody you know?”
“The cops asked me that, too,” he said. “And I’ll tell you what I told them. I didn’t notice anybody. I’m not saying I didn’t pass a few people, but I didn’t pay any attention.”
Nancy sighed. If nobody saw him, it would be impossible to find someone who could verify his story. Rob sure wasn’t making her job any easier. “What about your jacket? Are you sure you left it in the boat house?”
“I’m positive!” he shouted. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve done nothing for the last half hour except answer questions about that stupid jacket.”
“Do you have any idea how it could have gotten soaked with gasoline?”
He raised his hands, palms up, in a gesture of exasperation. “How should I know?” he said miserably. “I don’t understand any of this. I mean, when I woke up this morning I was just a normal student like everyone else. Now all of a sudden I’m a major criminal!” He shook his head. “Do you realize that on top of setting the boat house fire, the cops think I stole those jewels? Can you believe it?”
“I can’t believe you did it,” Nancy admitted. “But you’d better face the fact that the police have good reason to suspect you. And it looks as if somebody is trying to give them better reasons.”
Rob looked at her in disbelief. “You mean someone’s setting me up?”
Nancy nodded. “It looks that way. Can you think of anybody who might want to get you in trouble?”
“Not this kind of trouble,” he said. “I’m not saying everybody’s a friend of mine, but I usually get along with people.”
Nancy studied Rob’s face. His expression was sincere. “Okay,” she said reassuringly. “But if anything comes to mind, let me know.”
Another twenty minutes brought them to the student center. As they walked in the door, Ned called out, “Nancy! Rob!” and rushed over to them. “I was so worried. What happened to you?” he asked, taking Nancy’s hand in his. “We thought you’d get here an hour ago! We were just about to go look for you.”
“I might as well tell everyone at the same time,” Nancy said, leading Ned over to the others.
While Nancy told them about finding Rob’s jacket and being taken in for questioning by the police, Rob stood by silently, a gloomy expression on his face.
Jerry turned to him, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Ol’ buddy, it sounds to me like somebody is fitting you for a frame.”
“I already told Nancy, nobody dislikes me that much,” Rob said in a downcast voice.
“But maybe somebody simply wants to send the police off on a false trail. Maybe the reason you’re the target is that the thief happened to find your jacket and realized that he could use it.”
“You mean the thief might not have any connection at all to Rob?” Bess said. “Then how on earth are we ever going to track him down?”
“The usual mixture,” Nancy said. “Sound thinking, hard work, and a touch of good luck.”
“I sure could use the good luck,” Rob said, smiling weakly. “But let’s not talk about my problems anymore. It’s Winter Carnival, after all.”
Nancy was glad he was making an effort to cheer up, even if it was only for everyone else’s sake. Glancing over Rob’s shoulder, Nancy saw someone who wouldn’t help his mood.
Rob was unzipping his parka and starting to take it off just as Susan Samuels walked past. She ducked to dodge his outstretched arm, but ended up falling against him. She tumbled to the stone floor.
“Sorry,” Susan and Rob said at the same instant. As he reached down to help her to her feet, she looked up and recognized him.
“Get your hands off me!” Susan said, pushing him away.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—” Rob began.
“You heard her, Harper,” a deep voice said.
Nancy turned to see a guy who was half a foot shorter than Rob, but just as wide and muscular. He was wearing a motorcycle jacket and a long wool muffler in the Emerson colors of purple and orange. He grabbed the collar of Rob’s parka and added, “Back off!”
Rob pushed the guy’s hand away and said, “Get lost, Forsyte. What makes you think you can give me orders?”
For an answer, the other guy planted his feet solidly on the floor and drew back his arm to throw a punch at Rob’s face!