Cold as Ice by Carolyn Keene

Ned said, “the rest of the morning, we try to get more evidence to clear Rob. Then, after lunch, we tear ourselves away from the case and do something carnival-y—and that includes you, Detective Drew,” Ned added sternly.
    â€œHow about hitting the slopes?” Jerry suggested. “It’s a good day for it.”
    Seeing their eager expressions, Nancy let out a resigned laugh. “Sounds good to me,” she said.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    Three hours later Nancy was in Susan’s dorm room, fastening the shoulder strap of her new turquoise ski overalls. She quickly checked her reflection in the mirror. The color of her outfit made her eyes seem even more blue.
    It had taken longer than she expected to try to get in touch with Whorf. She got an answering service, and they refused to put her call through or give her his home phone number. She hadn’t made any progress at all, and now she was late to meet the rest of the gang downstairs.
    She was just reaching for her skis when Susan came in.
    â€œHi,” Susan said, brightly. “Great overalls. Going skiing?”
    â€œYes,” Nancy replied, smiling. “Do you want to join us?”
    â€œI wish I could, but I’m working at the museum all afternoon,” Susan replied.
    â€œToo bad. And you were up so early this morning, too. Don’t you ever get a chance to goof off and relax?”
    Susan seemed surprised by the question. She looked down, then mumbled, “Yeah—I mean, sure.”
    Nancy gave her a curious look, then remembered that everyone was still waiting for her. “Well, I’ll see you later.” Gathering up her equipment, she left the room.
    All six of them managed to squeeze themselves and their ski equipment into Jerry’s battered sedan for the half-hour drive to the ski area. At the base lodge, they put on their boots, then stacked their skis on the rack outside while they went into the lodge to buy lift tickets.
    In line, Nancy glanced through the big windows of the lodge snack bar, then did a double-take. She was staring right into the eyes of William Whorf. Whorf quickly lowered his glance, but Nancy knew he had recognized her before looking away.
    They were nearly to the ticket booth when Ned said, “Look, Rob, there’s one of your favorite people. Try to keep cool, okay?”
    Greg, Susan’s boyfriend, was just pushing off toward the chair lift.
    â€œThe earring!” Rob exclaimed. “He must have slipped it in my pocket the other night at the student center. That’s why he wanted to pick a fight with me!”
    He made a move as if to leave the line and go after Greg, but Ned grabbed his arm. “Not now,” he said. “We’re supposed to be having fun, remember?”
    Rob grumbled but remained with the group as they got their passes and headed for the slopes. As the chair lift carried Nancy and Ned up the hill, she thought about Rob’s accusation. She wasbecoming more and more positive that Greg was the thief they were looking for. He was probably the one Whorf had gotten to do his dirty work. Greg certainly had a grudge. Something was nagging at her, though—some detail she couldn’t quite remember. But what?
    At the top of the slope, she wiggled her shoulders to loosen up, did a couple of knee bends, and glanced over at Ned. “Ready?” she asked.
    He nodded, and she pushed off. The snow was great, several inches of powder over a firm base, and she adjusted her line to pick up speed. Noticing a small mogul just in front of her, Nancy crouched lower, then sprang up as she swooped up it. Grinning, she felt herself become airborne.
    In a flash, Nancy realized that something was terribly wrong. Her right ski! It had come loose! In another instant she was going to hit the ground with one ski on and the other dangling at the end of the safety strap, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it!

Chapter

Thirteen
    N ANCY