She sauntered over to look at the array of Washington, D.C., souvenirs in the store windows.

I wish I had a picture of Roberto with me to show the store owners, she thought. She’d have to come back with that later, after finding out when the same clerks would be on duty.

Where else could Roberto have gone to quickly, out of sight of Teresa? The restrooms?

“Negative,” Dan reported, emerging from the men’s room.

It seemed unlikely that Roberto would have risked going into the ladies’ room, but Nancy checked it just in case. Also negative.

There was nothing left to investigate but the baggage lockers themselves. They could only be rented for twelve hours at a time. Roberto would have to have planned a trip back to the airport twice a day to check the merchandise-

Something’s not adding up, Nancy thought, frowning. I’m sure the airport was the only place Roberto could have hidden the hit list. Unless he had it on him when he died.

He couldn’t have, or bodies other than Roberto’s would have started turning up.

By then Dan and Bess had returned, followed soon by George. “Pretty smart to advertise the tennis tournament out here,” George said, nodding toward the novelty store. “Should bring in a lot of tourists.”

Nancy only nodded. She was still lost in thought. Bess slipped an arm around her. “Come on. Dan’ll drive us home. He says the FBI will go through this place thoroughly first thing in the morning.”

They headed for the car. It was waiting, locked tightly, just where Dan had left it. Before unlocking it Dan went over it from top to bottom with an electronic beeper. “Just in case,” he said tautly. “Though a listening device would be more likely than a bomb.”

Dan unlocked the car, and they climbed in quickly. He paid the parking fee at the exit gate and began driving around the spiral of roads that led to the Memorial Parkway. There weren’t many cars at that time of night.

“Hey, that’s the second time that big gray car’s changed lanes with us,” Bess said suddenly.

Nancy sat up straight. “What big gray car?”

Bess pointed. Dan stole a glance over his shoulder, and his eyes narrowed. “I’ve seen that car before tonight.”

“I’ve seen it before, too,” Nancy said. “If it’s not the one I was kidnapped in, it’s the spitting image of it!”

“Car rental company license plates,” Dan noted. He read them out to George, who wrote them down. Then he radioed in to the police.

“Okay.” Dan grinned humorlessly. “Let’s lose ’em.”

He put on a burst of speed. The gray car fell behind. Nancy remembered the speed it was capable of and felt a twinge of apprehension. But the car made no move to catch up with them, and her tension eased.

“Almost home,” Dan said reassuringly to Bess, who cuddled close to him.

By then the parkway was practically deserted. That shows how late it is, Nancy thought drowsily.

Suddenly lights flashed in her eyes. No, not lights. Mirror reflection-

Nancy sprang up in the seat just as the big car bore down on them, ominously close.

“What-?” Dan yelped as the headlights, turned to high beams, hit him right in the eyes.

The gray car struck them from behind, and the little station wagon swerved with a sickening lurch.

Dan fought desperately for control. But before he regained it the killer car struck again, ramming the wagon toward the guardrail.

The lightweight wagon leaped into the air-and then crashed through the rail. It plunged down the steep embankment with Nancy and her friends inside.

Chapter Ten

“What do you mean, you almost got killed in a car crash?” Ned’s voice shouted through the telephone receiver into Nancy’s ear.

It was three a.m.-two hours after the accident. In that time Nancy and her friends had been rescued by patrolmen in a passing police car who had seen the wreck. Dan had succeeded in convincing them that it was all a classified government matter. Unfortunately, that had involved notifying Senator Kilpatrick.

While Dan was getting chewed out by his superiors, Senator Kilpatrick was on the telephone to Nancy’s father, who chewed her out for putting his daughter in such a dangerous position. Then Carson Drew had spoken to Nancy.

“Dad, I’m all right,” Nancy had insisted. “Dan did a wonderful job of getting the wagon under control. He got us out before the fire could start. We’re all just fine!” Nancy said, rubbing one of several bruises.

“Things are far from fine,” her father had interrupted. “Marilyn finally told me the whole story. I’m flying down tomorrow.”

Soon after Carson Drew got off the phone, the much needed call came through from Ned. Nancy almost cried, she was so tired and so glad to hear his voice. But the note in hers only made Ned more worried.

“I’m coming down with your father,” Ned said immediately.

“Ned, you really don’t need to. I’ll take care of myself, I promise. And if I don’t, Dan will.”

“The way he did tonight? Exactly who is that character?” Ned asked suspiciously.

Nancy laughed. “A very smart, go-getter jock who’s a whiz kid for the local police and who-I think-is angling for a job with Senator Kilpatrick. You’d like him. And he,” Nancy added with emphasis, “likes Bess.”

She was relieved to hear Ned laugh. “Okay, I get the message. Maybe I’m going overboard worrying, but I love you.”

“I love you, too. And thanks for worrying. I’ll call you if I need you, I promise.”

“How about calling ’cause you want me?” Ned asked. Nancy laughed and put down the phone, feeling much better.

The next thing she knew, it was nine a.m., and Bess was shaking her awake. “The senator’s on the phone.”

Nancy struggled to a sitting position, still half-asleep. “Where is everybody?”

“George took the bus to Loudon to watch Teresa warm up for the afternoon match. Dan’s gone out to buy a newspaper. He’s already brought us breakfast. He didn’t want room service to know anyone’s in here. Nancy, come on! The senator’s practically spitting bullets!”

Nancy reached for the phone.

“About time!” the senator’s husky voice said crisply. “I want to see you. At the tournament. Be there by ten-thirty.”

“Has anything more happened?” Nancy demanded.

“I can’t talk.” The senator hung up.

“You look awful,” Bess said frankly, reappearing with a container of orange juice and a bag of doughnuts.

“What do you expect after we sat up talking till five?” Nancy bit into a doughnut, eyeing Bess. “I must say you’ve recovered remarkably. And you got even less sleep, I’ll bet.”

“Dan must be good for me,” Bess said. “Nancy, go back to sleep for a little longer. You don’t have to go to the tournament this minute. Teresa’s got a whole gang of bodyguards.”

“You mean the government finally came through?”

“Not ours. Hers,” Bess said. “Roberto’s murder also made the headlines down there. The San Carlos government’s calling it a ‘provocative international incident.’ Their people are keeping surveillance on Teresa, and our people are keeping surveillance on them.”

“Scratch the sleep,” Nancy said resignedly. “I’m taking a shower and going out there.”

By ten-thirty she was out at Loudon College, just in time to join George and watch the end of Teresa’s workout. “This place is really crawling with cops today,” George reported. “All types and all nationalities. Things are getting sticky.”

“Tell me about it,” Nancy retorted glumly, thinking about the hit list.

“If you ask me,” George said decidedly, “Roberto’s death was deliberate political murder.”

“I agree,” said Nancy. “But by which side? We don’t even know for sure whether forces inside or outside San Carlos are responsible.”

One thing was certain. Keeping everything hush-hush was rapidly becoming impossible.