“This was Mother’s,” Nancy said sadly.
Cherry fingered the bauble, a hand-forged piece of silver cleverly bent into the shape of the luckiest of charms. Diamonds ringed the U-shaped piece. She turned it over and read the inscription aloud. “Rebecca Clue, May 1937.”
Nancy explained the origin of the unusual brooch. “Mother was a talented equestrian, and she won this for jumping through hoops. Just a few weeks later, her roadster crashed and she perished in its fiery flames. I was too little to remember much, except that she was very beautiful, and very kind, and—” Cherry, whose keen nurse’s eye missed nothing, spotted tears in Nancy’s bright sapphire blue eyes.
“Let’s see what else you’ve got,” Cherry said briskly as she examined the baubles in Nancy’s lap with keen interest. “How pretty!” she cried as she slipped her hand through two thin gold bangle bracelets dotted with diamonds and held them up so they sparkled in the bright sunlight.
“Those were my sweet-sixteen presents from Father,” Nancy said, almost in a whisper.
Cherry gulped hard and quickly took off the bracelets. Golly, she was a lucky girl! She had a mother and a father, and even if Father was so busy with his real-estate business he sometimes didn’t come home for days at a time, well, at least she had parents. And a twin brother, too, and a courageous Collie named Lady. Why, Nancy had nobody! Cherry quickly corrected herself. “Nancy’s got me,” she thought happily. Cherry just knew that, in time, she could make up for all the things Nancy had lost.
She looked sadly at her chum, who was holding up a simple pair of emerald drop earrings that exactly matched the color of Cherry’s eyes.
“These should bring a pretty penny,” Nancy said. “Enough for this repair, the rest of our expenses to River Depths, a whole bunch of fashionable frocks for you and Velma, overalls for Lauren, and a fresh pair of trousers for Midge.”
While the other girls had plenty of outfits, thanks to Nancy, and Lauren had packed two pairs of dungarees, Midge had come unprepared and been stuck in the same pair of trousers for days.
“How like you to think of others first!” Cherry cried. “And while it’s true that at this point Midge’s pants should be burned, I don’t need a new frock. I’d go naked first before letting you sell those earrings! Didn’t you tell me those earrings were a family heirloom? Why, I’d walk the last one thousand one hundred fifty-seven miles to Illinois before I’d let you sell them,” she declared stubbornly.
“You won’t get nearly what those gems are worth,” Midge remarked. “Besides, you’d better save them for later. There’s no telling when you’ll need to cash them in.”
“I have plenty of money at home,” Nancy assured them. “Besides, as the last living Clue, I’m sure to inherit everything.”
“Not if you’re convicted of murder,” Midge thought darkly. She kept her mouth shut, though. Nancy had made up her mind, and Midge could see nothing she said would change that. “Maybe things will turn out for the best,” Midge thought. But she didn’t really believe it. Not for one minute.
“I’m going to walk to town,” Nancy declared as she tossed her things back in her jewelry box. “I’m dying of thirst.”
“I think a nice, cool drink would be refreshing,” Cherry agreed.
“Let’s go, then,” Nancy urged. “My treat.”
Cherry felt badly when she realized that from now on, everything was going to have to be Nancy’s treat. Cherry had spent all her spare change on postcards to send to her parents, clever trinkets fashioned from native rock for her brother Charley, and packages of rock candy for her nurse friends. “Even if Nancy is the reason we’re taking this trip, it still isn’t right that she has to pay for everything,” Cherry thought, vowing that once she got back to her job on the Women’s Psychiatric Ward at Seattle General Hospital, she would save every extra penny until Nancy was paid back in full.
“Or maybe I’ll find a nursing job in Illinois,” she thought dreamily, “and I can pay Nancy back in person!” The last eight days had been the happiest time of Cherry’s life, and Nancy’s, too, she was sure! Cherry decided to wait a little longer before springing her dream on Nancy—the dream of becoming an Illinois nurse! Luckily, she knew there were always plenty of jobs helping unfortunate people wherever she went.
“As soon as this whole horrible murder mess has blown over, and Nancy is back to normal, I can let her in on my secret.” Cherry thought with a smile. Golly, she could hardly wait to see the look on Nancy’s face when she told her the news!
“We’ll stay behind and find Lauren,” Midge and Velma volunteered.
“Thanks, Midge and Velma,” Cherry said. She was touched that her friends had offered to stay behind in the hot, dusty place. “Even though I’m sure they’d rather take a brisk walk to town, they know that Nancy and I want to be alone.”
Before the girls began their walk into town, they changed into comfortable walking shoes. Cherry donned a pair of stylish penny loafers. Nancy chose a pair of leather-soled ballerina slippers. But there was one problem!
“These shoes don’t go with my outfit!” Cherry wailed, looking ruefully at her flared skirt and soft blouse, which was just right for a long car ride, but entirely too fussy for a casual stroll. Nancy saved the day by pulling a matching red and white gingham skirt and blouse ensemble with a wide white belt from her suitcase.
Cherry ran behind a bush to change her costume, and minutes later she and Nancy were ready for their walk to town.
“According to our map, there’s a town called Dust Bin two miles east,” Nancy reported.
“Sounds romantic,” Cherry thought dreamily. “We’ll be back in approximately one hour,” she waved good-bye. As soon as the couple was out of sight, Midge pulled Velma close.
“We’re finally alone,” Midge murmured happily, nuzzling Velma’s neck while stroking her soft dark hair. “I finally get you all to myself.”
Velma blushed. “I thought we were supposed to be looking for Lauren,” she murmured as Midge pulled her toward the car.
“Oh, yeah,” Midge said, all flustered. “I forgot. Stay here,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” Within minutes, Midge had located their young chum. She was not at all surprised to find Lauren standing in the middle of a quarry. And in her hands was a large rock.
“I found a cool rock with a fossil of a crustacean in it!” Lauren called up in delight. “It’s really keen down here—you guys should join me!”
Midge smiled. “Nancy and Cherry went to town to get help. Don’t wander too far off. They’ll be back in an hour,” she called out.
Lauren flashed Midge the okay sign. Midge, convinced that her motherly duty was done, raced back to the car … and to Velma!
She was delighted to see that Velma had assured them some privacy by putting up the top of the convertible and was now stretched out languidly on the wide, soft white leather back seat, using Nancy’s plaid stadium blanket as a pillow.
“This is a great car, don’t you think?” Midge grinned as she kicked off her penny loafers and climbed into the wide back seat. “It’s costly to repair, but, boy oh boy, the back seat sure is big!” She slid one hand under Velma’s snug shell top. “Gosh, Velma, the last few days have been torture!”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Velma replied huskily, hiking up her skirt and slip so she could wrap her legs around Midge’s hips. She ran her hands down the front of Midge’s white, short-sleeved Orlon shirt.
“Oops,