Circle of Evil Read Online Free PDF

it?”
    Squinting into the sun, Nancy saw that Zach, the bartender, was standing over her, his dark eyes sparkling.
    â€œI’m surprised to see you lying down on the job,” he said, joking. “Joanna said you were a great detective, so I figured you’d be out trying to track down the necklace nabber, not soaking up the sun.”
    Sitting up, Nancy swung her legs over the side of the lounger and laughed. “Promise not to tell Joanna,” she said. “If she finds out I’ve been swimming instead of looking for suspects, she’ll never forgive me.”
    â€œMy lips are sealed,” Zach told her. “But just between you and me, do you think maybethe trail starts here at the club?” He shifted the tray of cold drinks he was carrying.
    Slowly, without looking at him, Nancy slipped on her sandals. She needed those few seconds to think of what to say and how to say it. Suddenly she remembered what Zach had said about Mr. Fairchild’s rare book. And at that moment it hit her—the trail did start there. She was sure of it! Maybe Zach was just asking an innocent question, or maybe he was in on the robberies. It didn’t matter at the moment. What mattered was that Nancy suddenly realized that she had to be very careful. If the robbers were there, then they’d know about her interest in the case and would be watching every move she made.
    â€œI’m not sure where the trail starts,” she said, casually standing up. “But when I find out, you can bet I’ll be on it. Right now, though, I think I’ll go into the clubhouse and get something to drink. I’ve had enough sun for a while.”
    Smiling at Zach, Nancy made her way slowly into the clubhouse. Max Fletcher was there, she noticed, looking sleepy. When he saw her, he nodded and yawned at the same time, and Nancy wondered how anyone who was head of a big electronics company could be sitting around on a weekday. Then she realized thathe probably had plenty of people working for him and didn’t always have to go into the office himself.
    Nancy ordered a soda, and Zach gave her a big wink as he served it.
    What was the wink for? Nancy wondered. Sipping her soda she tried to relax. Forget him for now, she told herself. There are plenty of other people here to keep an eye on.
    At that moment, one of those people came into the clubhouse. Mike the lifeguard, probably on a break, walked quickly inside. He looked around, frowned, and then moved off toward a stairway. Nancy took a last sip and decided to follow him. Going down the broad stairway, Nancy found herself in a long, narrow hallway and saw Mike just turning the corner at the end of it. Nancy walked a little faster, passing the women’s locker room, and turned at the end of the hall. She passed the boiler room and saw Mike disappear into the men’s locker room.
    That lets you out, Nancy told herself. But maybe by some lucky coincidence Ned was in there, she thought. After all, that’s why he had come—to check out the places she couldn’t go.
    Nancy doubled back down the hall, and as she passed the women’s locker room, she thought that she might as well wash the chlorineout of her hair. She went into the bright yellow- and orange-tiled room, which had at least twenty shower stalls with glass doors.
    As Nancy walked in, another girl, who was at the far end of the room, whirled around. She had short, curly carrot-red hair and big brown eyes. She looked frightened.
    â€œSorry,” Nancy said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
    â€œThat’s okay,” the girl said quickly. “I was just leaving, anyway.” Dropping a white canvas carryall on a bench, she hurried out of the room.
    â€œHey, you left your bag!” Nancy called after her. The girl didn’t come back, but Nancy decided she probably would once she missed the bag.
    Picking up her fluffy white towel, Nancy peeled off her bathing suit