Read Online Dance Till You Die by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page B

twist on this thing,” B.D. said. “We’ll try to sort it out back at the station once we haul in Orakuma for questioning.”
    B.D. held the door open for the coroners’ men as they wheeled the gurney outside. “The homicide squad will go over this place with a fine-tooth comb,” he said to Nancy after the ambulance pulled out. “In the meantime I’m going to round up Gaetan.”
    â€œI have a couple more things I want to check out,” Nancy said.
    B.D. nodded and headed for his cruiser. “Callme at the station with anything you dig up,” he said. “I’m always happy to have my assistant sleuth on the job,” he added with a grin. Then he hopped into his cruiser and Jones pulled away.
    Nancy sat in her car, the keys balled up in her hand. “Well, it looks like B.D. is hot on the trail of Etienne’s murderer,” George said to her, breaking through Nancy’s thoughts. “I can’t believe Gaetan killed him—although there did seem to be bad blood between the two.”
    â€œI’m not completely convinced that it was Gaetan who killed him,” Nancy said, starting the engine and pulling into traffic. “There’s no question that Etienne was up to his eyeballs in some kind of nasty business. We’re practically positive he was one of Bess’s kidnappers, but his murder could be totally unrelated to his quarrel with Gaetan.”
    The sun hung low on the western horizon. “It’s dinner time,” Nancy said. “Let’s go back to Bess’s house. I want to see how she’s doing, and it’ll give me a chance to tell her what happened to Etienne, and also what we found out about Tom Kragen today.”
    A patrol car was sitting in Bess’s driveway when Nancy and George pulled up. “I’m glad to see they’re keeping her under surveillance,” Nancysaid. “Now that it seems like Bess’s kidnapper may be a murderer as well, she could be in more danger than ever.”
    Bess’s mother was setting out fried chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes as they went inside. Mr. Marvin was working late at the office, she told the girls.
    â€œI’m trying to get Bess to eat,” Mrs. Marvin said. “You two are just in time to join us.”
    â€œThat makes my mouth water just looking at it,” George said hungrily, eyeing the dinner her aunt had spread before them.
    Bess greeted them all with quick hugs before joining them at the table.
    â€œWould you two please tell my mom that a kidnapping is no excuse for going off a diet?” she said with a laugh. Then she sighed and reached for a chicken leg. “Well, maybe just this once,” she muttered, taking a bite.
    Nancy filled her in on the day’s events. Bess’s blue eyes widened when she heard about Etienne’s death. “Even though I didn’t meet him, it’s awful to hear that he was killed. And you say he was one of the people who abducted me?”
    Nancy described the tattoo she’d seen on Etienne’s arm. “It was a green phoenix, rising out of the flames,” she said.
    Bess nodded vigorously. “That’s it exactly. Itjust looked like some kind of eagle to me,” she said.
    â€œThen there’s no question that Etienne was one of your kidnappers, Bess,” Nancy said. “And the other one, the one who probably killed Etienne, is a cold-blooded murderer. The question is, who was his accomplice? And why did they abduct you?”
    Bess shook her head, bewildered. “I just can’t imagine how all this happened, or who’s behind it,” she said.
    Nancy went on to describe what had happened earlier in the day at the Kragen quarry, including all the photographs that Tom had taken of Bess over the past year, and the fact that he claimed to be dating her.
    â€œTom Kragen and me? Yuck!” Bess said indignantly. “I’m really going to give him a