The Bike Tour Mystery by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

9

Slipping Away

Holding her breath, Nancy sidled around the floor-to-ceiling display case. Was it the same man she’d seen at Shannon? The same man who’d been talking to Rhonda in the alley that morning?

Peeking around the corner of the display case, Nancy got her first really good look at the mystery man. His broad shoulders, massive forehead, and terse expression were what had drawn her attention before. Now she took in his short, greasy brown hair and small, dark eyes. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties. Beneath the formal-looking overcoat, he wore faded jeans and sneakers.

As the man looked over his shoulder, Nancy ducked so he wouldn’t see her. “Miss?” she heard his harsh, nasal voice call out to the shopkeeper.

“Yes?” The shopkeeper strolled over to him.

“The sign says this pattern is called Clostermeade Manor,” the man said. His accent certainly sounded Australian, Nancy thought.

“Yes, that’s what the potter named it.”

“I had an aunt who was parlor maid at Clostermeade Manor before she came out to Australia,” the man said. “She always showed me pictures of the place. Tell me, would Clostermeade be near here?”

Leaning forward to listen, Nancy brushed accidentally against a display shelf. The ceramic pieces on the shelf wobbled and clinked.

She could hear the man hastily plunk down the mug and brush past the sales clerk. Nancy whirled around and pretended to browse on another shelf. Please don’t recognize me, she wished silently.

Then she heard a heavy tread and the shop door swishing open. Nancy sprang to where she could see the doorway. A broad-shouldered back, clad in black wool, was shoving hurriedly out to the street.

“George, come on!” Nancy called her friend.

George, well-used to Nancy’s sudden moves, set down the casserole dish she’d been admiring. “I’ll be back,” she promised the shopkeeper as she bounded across the store, following Nancy out to the street.

Nancy hesitated a moment on the sidewalk. “The way his body tilted, I’d guess he went to the right,” she decided, and sprinted down the sloping street in that direction.

George was right behind her. “Who was it, Nan?”

“The Australian guy with the missing pinkie!”

Nancy felt pretty sure she’d seen a black shape turn left by the red-painted shop front across the way. Dodging and weaving through the afternoon shopping crowd, she raced around the corner after him.

Her quick eyes picked him out up ahead, this time popping into an alley to his right. Nimbly, Nancy leaped over a woman’s shopping bag set down on the cobbles, and ducked under a display of finely woven shawls. She couldn’t lose the trail this time!

Running into the mouth of the alley, Nancy spied the black coat up ahead. The man was running hard now—obviously he knew Nancy was after him. She urged her legs to go faster, willing herself to ignore the sore muscles of two days’ bicycling.

The man swung left into a larger street. I’m closing in on him now, Nancy thought triumphantly. But as she turned left at the corner, she skidded to a halt.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.