Read Online 095 An Instinct for Trouble by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page B

the icy water. She had just enough time to fill her lungs and clamp her mouth shut before the river swirled over her. She fought her way to the surface and tried to make it to the nearest bank, but the raging current pulled her downstream.
    As an eddy spun her around, she got one last glimpse of the platform she had just been pushed from and saw Bess frantically making her way through the stunned crowd, trying to reach the riverbank.
    The current tumbled her again, pushing her into a somersault. Nancy flailed her arms wildly and managed to keep her head up, but she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.
    Downstream, a boulder rose up above the surface about half a dozen feet from shore. If only she could get to it, she thought, she might have a chance of saving herself.
    Nancy put all the energy and determination she had into powerful strokes and kicks. Just as she was sure she couldn’t keep it up any longer, the rock was right in front of her. She wrapped her arms around it and took a deep breath.
    “Nancy! Over here!”
    Startled, she looked over and saw Gerald Turkower standing on the riverbank near her.
    “Hang on!” he shouted, cautiously stepping off the bank. He inched forward, the water swirling around his knees now, then leaned forward and stretched out his hand. Nancy reached out and grasped it. Gerald steadied himself, then reeled Nancy in to the bank as if she were one of those cutthroat trout he had talked about at lunch.
    Nancy’s legs were numb and wouldn’t hold her up. “Thanks,” she said to Gerald through chattering teeth.
    “Nancy! Are you all right?” Bess demanded, running up.
    “C-c-cold” was all Nancy could manage.
    Gerald took off his fleece-lined leather jacket and draped it around Nancy’s shoulders.
    Bess turned to him. “Where did you come from?” she asked curiously.
    His eyes flickered. “I was in the woods, taking pictures.”
    Nancy looked sharply at him and struggled to find her voice. “Was anybody with you?”
    she asked after a second.
    Gerald shook his head. “Come on. Nancy, I’ll help you to your car. You need to get in and turn the heater on full blast. How did you happen to fall in?” he asked as they walked.
    “I didn’t,” she replied. “Somebody pushed me.”
    “What?” Gerald’s face registered shock, “Are you sure? Couldn’t you just have been jostled?”
    Nancy shook her head. “I distinctly felt two hands shoving against my back. It was no accident, take my word for it. Did you see anything, Bess?”
    “No. I’m sorry,” Bess replied on the verge of tears. “I was looking-at the falls.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” Nancy said. “You had no reason to think somebody was going to push me in.”
    As they reached the car, Gerald told Nancy to go back to the hotel and take a hot shower.
    “I’ll drive. Nan,” Bess offered. “You relax.”
    Nancy gave Bess the keys, then thanked Gerald again for rescuing her.
    “I’m glad I was there to help,” he replied, holding the door for her.
    Bess turned on the heater, and soon Nancy stopped shivering. “It was a man who pushed me,” she said. “As I went over the railing, I got an impression of his hands. They were too big and hairy to belong to a woman. Oh, Bess,”
    Nancy said, interrupting herself. “Your binoc-
    ulars! They must have fallen into the river with me. I’m so sorry.”
    “Do you think I care about some old binoc-
    ulars when I just watched you nearly drown?”
    Bess scolded.
    As Bess turned into the hotel parking lot, she continued, “Who could have pushed you?”
    “I don’t know. I just don’t know. In fact, I don’t know what to think anymore.”
    A large, shiny bus was stopped in front of the hotel entrance. People were spilling out of it onto the sidewalk.
    “Look, Nancy,” Bess said excitedly, point-
    ing out the bus, which said Randy Dean Pro-
    ductions. “Do you think Randy’s with them?”
    she asked.
    Nancy smiled. “I doubt if a big star like