Dance Till You Die by Carolyn Keene Page A

under Lucas’s name. “He once served a sentence for assault with a deadly weapon,” George whispered to Nancy.
    B.D. was reading from the police file. “It says here he used to be an ambulance driver, if you can believe it. But he got busted for pilfering medical supplies.”
    â€œMedical supplies,” Nancy echoed. Her eyes widened. “Like ether?”
    B.D. snapped his fingers. “Yes! Lucas might have a supply of that kind of stuff on hand.” He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a bulky file. “I want to show you something else,” B.D. said. He handed her a dog-eared leather day planner. “This was Etienne’s daily schedule book,” the detective explained. “We found it in the glove compartment of his car.”
    Nancy scanned the book, which was crammed with notations about Etienne’s daily activities. “Look at the section for today—October Thirty-first,” B.D. directed her.
    Nancy turned the pages until she reached October 31. The section was empty except for a cryptic notation: E 2h.
    â€œWhat do you make of that?” he asked.
    Nancy thought for a moment. “ ‘E’ is the in crowd’s nickname for the Edge,” she said. “AndEtienne’s French, so ‘2h’ probably refers to two A.M. ”
    â€œSo he was planning to meet someone at the Edge at two A.M. ,” George commented.
    Nancy stared at the notation in Etienne’s day planner. “I’m sure this meeting was something significant,” she said. “The club is closed before two A.M. , so Etienne might have been up to something when he planned the appointment for that time. I’d like to wait at the club tonight after it closes to see if anyone turns up at two.”
    B.D. looked uncertain. “That’s definitely unorthodox,” he said, starting to object. Then he shrugged. “As long as you’re admitted to the club while it’s open, it can’t be called breaking and entering. Just keep your head down and don’t give yourself away if anything develops. I’ll order extra patrol cars to keep an eye on the place, as well.”
    â€œWhat about Gaetan,” Nancy said, handing back the day planner. “Are you changing your mind about him as a suspect in the murder and the kidnapping?”
    â€œWe never had any evidence on him with regard to the abduction,” B.D. replied. “And so far all we have is circumstantial evidence in Etienne’s murder—the threat that Gaetan left onthe answering machine, plus the fact that Etienne owed him money. We can’t hold him much longer without solid evidence.”
    Nancy thanked the detective. Then she stood up and glanced at her watch. “We’d better get home and change into our costumes, George,” she said. “This is one Halloween party I definitely don’t want to miss!”
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    By eight o’clock Nancy, George, and Bess were standing in line in front of the Razor’s Edge. Nancy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to get used to the unfamiliar feel of roller skates. She’d packed an extra pair of shoes in case she got tired of skating. George was practicing rope tricks with her lasso.
    â€œBess, your outfit is a smash,” Nancy said, taking note of several admiring glances from guys who were standing nearby. “Too bad you couldn’t wear it yourself.”
    â€œThere’s always next year,” Bess said. “But, anyway, I don’t mind being a woman of mystery in this ninja outfit of yours.”
    It was time to go in. Lucas was not at his post, Nancy noted. Some other doorman was taking his place.
    Soon the Halloween bash was in full swing. Itwas fun to stand around, taking in everyone’s costumes. Nancy couldn’t decide which was her favorite—each costume seemed more appealing than the next. She waved to a couple that