Into Thin Air by Carolyn Keene

“but next time, come to me before it gets dangerous. Is that clear?”
    â€œI promise,” Nancy said.
    When Chief McGinnis said they could go, Nancy drove Mark and George back to River Heights. They stopped at Bess’s house to see if their friend was back from her date. She was, and she waved them into the Marvins’ comfortableliving room, where they flopped down on the overstuffed sofa and easy chairs.
    Nancy listened with half an ear as Bess gave them all the details of her date. She was thinking hard, and some of the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place.
    â€œSo how was the helicopter ride?” Bess inquired at last.
    George and Mark quickly filled her in. Her big blue eyes grew increasingly wider.
    â€œYou were almost killed!” she exclaimed when they were done.
    â€œBut we weren’t, thanks to Nancy.” Mark turned to her. “You’re amazing,” he exclaimed, getting up and planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Not only did you save us, but you turned my klutziness into something that helped you figure out a piece of the puzzle.”
    â€œMark, it’s time to stop thinking of yourself as a klutz. The fact is, you’ve done a fantastic job on this investigation from day one,” Nancy told him. “You haven’t made a wrong move yet.”
    â€œExcept that when I had Johnson, I blew it,” Mark said, with a frown.
    â€œI think I know what Nancy’s getting at, Mark!” George put in. Her brown eyes opened wide as realization struck. “You didn’t blow the case. Johnson must have had advance warning.” She checked Nancy for confirmation of her idea.
    â€œThat’s right.” Nancy nodded. “Johnson had an accomplice. Someone helped him. Someone warned him. And someone alerted him to the fact that we were going up in that helicopter tonight. The big question now is—who?”

Chapter

Thirteen
    T HE FOUR SAT IN SILENCE for a minute, thinking over Nancy’s question.
    â€œCould Mac have let the information slip innocently, Nancy?” George suggested at last. “He might have left our names on a log in his office in a place where anybody could see them.”
    â€œThat’s possible, I suppose,” Nancy said, although she was unconvinced. “But it wouldn’t explain all the other things Johnson seems to have known about. Let’s see, who else knew about our ride? Aside from Hannah and Ned, I didn’t tell a soul.”
    â€œThe only ones I told were my parents,” George said.
    â€œI didn’t say anything,” Bess piped up.
    â€œWell—” Mark gulped. A flush started creeping up his face from his throat. “I, um, actually told a couple of people we were coming out here tonight.”
    Everyone turned to him.
    â€œWell, I didn’t say why I was going up in a helicopter,” he said, defending himself. “It’s just that someone at the pizza place asked me what I was doing tonight.”
    â€œYou said you told a couple of people,” Nancy probed. “Who else?”
    â€œWell, I mentioned it at work, so there were several people around, including a few customers. But I didn’t recognize any of them.”
    â€œThat’s just great,” George muttered sarcastically.
    â€œAnd then there were the Bradford sisters,” Mark continued. “They were on the porch this morning, and we started chatting. Me and my big mouth. Oh, and I told Linda, too, last night when we were on the phone. But I’m sure she didn’t tell anyone.”
    â€œOkay,” Nancy said, “There’s no sense in getting upset about what’s already happened. Just be more careful in the future, okay, Mark?”
    â€œSure will,” Mark promised, his head still hanging.
    â€œCan we go now?” George asked, “I’m beat.”
    â€œYes,” Nancy said, standing up. “I want toget a good night’s