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Grigov!”
    â€œAdriana’s old partner?” George exclaimed. “But why would he try to run us off the road?”
    â€œI told you how he threatened me in the parking lot at Riverfront, didn’t I?” Nancy reminded her friend. “That’s where I saw his car, and it was definitely a sporty black number—European, I think.”
    â€œSo you’ve got another suspect now,” George remarked.
    â€œYes.” Nancy sighed. “And it’s also pretty clear that someone wants me off the case.”
    â€œDon’t you think we’d better go back into Conklin Falls and report this to the sheriff?” George asked.
    Nancy nodded in agreement. “I’ve got some questions I want to ask him about the roller coaster accident anyway.”
    The two friends got back into the car and headed into town. Within ten minutes they had found the headquarters of the sheriff’s department, a two-story brick building on the main street, right next to the courthouse. The deputy on duty directed them to Sheriff Pulaski’s office.
    The sheriff rose from behind his desk as Nancy and George came through the door. He was a compact, fit man of about fifty or so, whose brown hair was shot through with gray. Nancy immediately recognized him from the television news segment the night before. She quickly introduced herself and George, and Pulaski shook their hands. He took a seat behind his desk, while Nancy and George sat down opposite him.
    â€œWhat can I do for you?” the sheriff asked.
    Nancy got right to the point. She briefly explained her involvement in the case at Riverfront Park and then told him about being run off the road by a man in a car that looked like the one owned by Adriana’s ex-partner.
    The sheriff instantly turned businesslike and pulled a report form out of his desk. “So you figure it was this Mikhail Grigov character,” the sheriff said. “Did you actually see him behind the wheel?”
    â€œNo, the glass was tinted so dark that I couldn’t make a positive identification,” Nancy said.
    â€œDid you get the license number?” Pulaski asked.
    Nancy bit her lower lip. “Not exactly.” On the way back into Conklin Falls, George had been able to remember the first two letters of the plate. Nancy gave them to Pulaski now. “I realize that’s not a lot to go on.”
    â€œNo, it isn’t,” the sheriff agreed. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. “And I really don’t see what Grigov stands to gain by threatening you or sabotaging Riverfront— if it’s been sabotaged.”
    Nancy told the sheriff about the roller coaster’s missing wheel block.
    â€œSounds like an accident to me—” He ran his hand through his hair, which sprang up into a cowlick at his touch.
    George stared pointedly at Nancy, silentlycommunicating a thought Nancy shared—that Pulaski wasn’t going to be much help to them.
    â€œBetween you and me, I don’t think there’s any real mystery here, Nancy. But the state inspectors will figure it all out,” he went on. He grinned up at her. “Why don’t you give it a rest?”
    Nancy was starting to get frustrated. “I realize the evidence is sketchy,” she began intently, “but there’s definitely trouble at Riverfront, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime would you file a report about what just happened to us on River Bluff Road?”
    Pulaski seemed taken aback by Nancy’s determination. He rubbed the side of his nose and said, “Right. And we’ll see if we can track down Grigov, bring him in for questioning, that sort of thing.”
    â€œThank you,” Nancy said firmly, then stood up. She gave the sheriff her number at home, then she and George left his office.
    â€œI think you might have won him over at the end there, Nan,” George said as