048 A Date With Deception by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Nine

BESS LOOKED OUT at the empty stretch of beach behind Eloise’s property and yawned. “It’s only six-thirty in the morning,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “There’s nobody here but the sea gulls.”

“That’s the point,” Nancy told her. “We can talk without being interrupted.”

“We could do that at the house, over cocoa,” Bess pointed out. “Hot cocoa,” she added with a shiver.

“Come on,” George told her. “Run a few minutes and you’ll get warm.” She and Nancy headed for the wet sand and began an easy jog. Bess tagged along behind, still yawning.

It wasn’t long before they all were warm and wide-awake. They slowed to a walk, and Nancy told them what had happened the night before.

“Dmitri Kolchak?” Bess looked horrified. “I can’t believe it!”

“I can,” George said grimly. “You remember what Nancy said, Bess—he used to be a pilot. That makes him an excellent connection, and his job as chaperon is a great cover.”

“I guess so,” Bess said reluctantly. “But the plans were stolen a while ago. He wasn’t even here then.”

“But he could be the brains behind the whole operation, and he’s here to get the last of the plans now,” George said.

“Why else would he have followed me to Jetstream last night?” Nancy asked.

“Maybe he didn’t follow you,” George said. “Maybe he was there already, to meet his contact—Bill Fairgate. When he happened to see you, he decided to try to scare you off.”

“I thought of that,” Nancy said. “Remember the car ‘accident’ at the beach, Bess?”

Bess nodded. “Of course I remember. I guess it was a warning, just like the note you got.” Bess thought a minute. “What about Jacques?” she asked. “Do you think he’s involved?”

“I don’t know,” Nancy admitted. “Maybe not. I really don’t know anything about Jacques. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to him, except when he was explaining to me about the car. But I’m almost positive about Dmitri.” She stopped and used her toes to dig out a shell half buried in the sand. “I should have known it was Dmitri in that car last night even before I saw him,” she said. “All that time he had his bright lights on only meant he wasn’t familiar with the car.

“And that note on my windshield?” Nancy went on. “Sasha was right about that—there is something weird about it. ‘Stop now your investigation,’ ” she quoted. “That now is in a funny place. Funny for someone whose first language is English, that is.”

“Right,” George agreed. “Dmitri’s first language is Russian.”

Suddenly Bess’s eyes widened. “Nancy—maybe he’s KGB!” she whispered. “I was joking when I suggested it, but now I think I might be right. He’s leaking the plans to the Soviet Union!”

Nancy shook her head. “I don’t think so. Jetstream doesn’t make military planes or anything. This isn’t a breach of national security—it’s industrial espionage. And anyway, those plans definitely went to France. It’s weird. I wonder how Dmitri got involved as a go-between. You’d think it would be either an American or a French person.

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