Hidden Meanings by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

swim,” George urged her. “You could use some relaxation. You look tense.”
    â€œAnd for good reason.” Nancy groaned as she flopped down on a poolside chair. George sat beside her, and Nancy told her about the note she’d found in Gina’s room.
    George made a face. “You don’t think Ned would fall for a gooey routine like that, do you?” she said. “Besides, you don’t know that he’s done anything to encourage her.”
    â€œShe doesn’t need encouraging,” Nancy said, scowling. “And he obviously hasn’t told her he’s already involved. He’s just eating up the attention.”
    â€œOf course he is. He’s only human,” George reminded her. “Look, Nan, I know this is hard for you. But you just have to trust the guy.”
    â€œI know, I know,” Nancy said. “But seeing this little flirtation go on right under my nose is really frustrating.”
    â€œSo what’s going on with the case?” George asked. Nancy knew she was trying to get Nancy’s mind off Ned, and it worked. By the time Nancy had recounted the day’s developments, she felt calmer.
    â€œWell, there’s not much going on here,” George said. “Not many people swim in the middle of the day.” Scanning the pool, Nancy saw two ten-year-old boys playing tag in the shallow end, and one man swimming laps.
    â€œJane Sellery told me she always takes an after-dinner swim,” Nancy noted. “Watch for her this evening. She’s tall, with red hair.”
    â€œI will,” George commented.
    The two girls fell silent, each wrapped up in her own thoughts. “I like the way they’ve planted those trees and shrubs around the sides of the terrace,” Nancy finally said.
    â€œThat plant’s a rhododendron—we have one like it in our backyard,” George commented. “It’s really pretty when the flowers bloom.”
    Nancy nodded, looking at the nearby bank of greenery. “And this one next to it is hemlock,” she commented, fingering a small evergreen.
    â€œHemlock—like the poison?” George asked.
    â€œNo,” Nancy said, “poison hemlock is an herb, with fine leaves. It looks almost like parsley. But speaking of poisons . . .” Nancy stood up to examine a narrow-leafed evergreen bush with white blossoms. “This is oleander. This is deadly.”
    â€œHow do you detectives end up knowing so many grisly facts?” George declared with a shudder.
    â€œI sat in once on a med school class on accidental poisoning,” Nancy explained.
    Just then out of the corner of her eye she saw the man who’d been swimming. He was sitting at a nearby table, drying his hair and beard with a towel. Nancy recognized him as the man who’d met Evan Sharpless on the mezzanine the day before.
    Suddenly the man saw Nancy watching him. Scooping up his clothes, he scurried into the men’s locker room.
    â€œThat guy sure is acting strangely,” Nancy said. “I saw him yesterday with Evan Sharpless.”
    â€œMaybe he’s a reporter, too,” George suggested. “Maybe he’s leading a class. Why don’t you ask him?”
    â€œI will, if he comes back out,” Nancy said.
    â€œWhy wait?” George asked. “Hang on, Nan, I’ll try to find him.” Before Nancy could protest, George marched boldly to the door of the men’s locker room and called out for the attendant.
    Impressed with George’s resolve, Nancy sat waiting anxiously. She unconsciously snapped a twig from the oleander bush, watching the milky white sap ooze out. Then, remembering how poisonous the plant was, she tossed the twig into a litter basket.
    Finally George returned. “Either he ran out the doorway leading to the hotel, or he’s hiding somewhere inside,” she said. “The attendant barely saw him run past.”
    Nancy laughed.