Captive Witness by Carolyn G. Keene Read Free Book Online Page B

to put the car in gear.
    Burger did as he was ordered. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the big, brown car began to move, its left rear wheel sending some gravel and rocks into the valley as it slipped slightly. The whole car tilted and, with a soft lunge, pulled up until the right rear wheel spun into contact with the ground and rolled to safety.
    “Masterful driving,” Gutterman said, patting his henchman on the shoulder. From the back seat, neither Ned nor Nancy let up on their tormentors.
    “Oh, masterful,” Nancy said. “Wasn’t it, Ned?”
    “Wonderful. Almost as good as the way he was driving when he went through the guardrail.”
    The two young people strived to make their captors so angry that they would open the back door to get at them. Nancy’s plan could then be activated. While Ned attacked, she would fire her tear-gas “book” and perhaps they could finally escape.
    But Gutterman and Burger were in a self-congratulatory mood. They even began singing as Burger continued to take the car higher into the mountains, this time at a more reasonable speed.
    After several hours of driving, however, Burger pulled the car off on a dirt road and drove to what appeared to be a shepherd’s hut. He stopped about a hundred feet away and turned around, almost backing over an extremely steep gorge in the process.
    Nancy gulped again. “I don’t know what they’re going to do to us, Ned, but whatever it is, it has to be better than being locked in a high-powered automobile driven by Herr Burger.”
    “Absolutely,” Ned concurred. “But what do you suppose they have in mind?”
    The young couple soon found out as both Burger and Gutterman got out and walked around to the right-hand back door. “Now,” Gutterman rasped as he unlocked the door with one hand while keeping the other thrust threatingly in his coat pocket, “you get out, Miss Drew. And you, Mr. Nickerson, you stay far over on the other side of the car if you know what’s good for you.”
    Ned glanced down at Gutterman’s pocket. Was there a gun inside? he wondered. Reading Ned’s mind, the girl detective cautioned him.
    “Don’t do anything, Ned, please.”
    “Where are you taking her?” the young man demanded.
    Gutterman flashed his evil smile, but said nothing. When Nancy got out, the door was shut and locked. Ned was left alone, helplessly watching the two men lead Nancy toward the shack.
    But as she entered what appeared to be a crude building, she was amazed to find it beautifully cozy with sparkling, waxed floors, a cheery fireplace, a pretty rug, and upholstered furniture.
    “Being a shepherd must pay very well,” Nancy murmured, gesturing at the expensive furnishings. “But the shepherd doesn’t own this anymore, does he?” she added, looking hard at Gutterman. “The wolves have taken over.”
    Gutterman shrugged. “Wolves. Sheep. I have no time for your small talk, Miss Drew. Let’s get down to business.”
    “Excuse me,” Nancy said, “but it was a long drive up here. Do you have a powder room where I could freshen up a bit?”
    Gutterman pointed to a door at the far end of the room and, with an expansive bow, indicated that Nancy would find what she wanted there.
    Will there be a window? she wondered. If so, will it be big enough for me to squeeze through? Her experienced eyes roved over every inch of the cottage searching for something, anything, that might produce a way out of the trap.
    Once inside the bathroom, she saw there was no lock on the door. Obviously, Herr Gutterman had used this building for previous interrogations and didn’t want his prisoners to lock themselves in while they plotted their next move.
    Glancing swiftly around, she discovered a window but, unfortunately, it was high up and much too small even for a willowy eighteen-year-old.
    After splashing water on her face, she dried off with a towel and looked in the mirror.
    “Think, Nancy,” she hissed. “Think. Don’t just stand there.”
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