Nancy didn’t have a clue as to what was going on, and she waited impatiently for Kim to finish talking so she could find out.

“Don’t say that, you’re scaring me,” Kim protested. She waited, then sighed. “All right, okay. I’ll meet you at your perch in ten minutes.”

Perch? Nancy almost smiled. Was Ricardo a boy or a bird? When she heard Kim say goodbye, she started to knock again. But the door was flung open before she had a chance, and a very startled Kim Baylor was staring at her.

“Nancy!” Kim’s brown eyes widened in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I might come down, remember?” Nancy said. “Besides, your—”

“Oh, that’s right,” Kim interrupted. “So much has been going on, I guess I forgot.” She was already out the door and hurrying down the hall toward the elevator. “Listen, I can’t talk now, I’m in a rush. But I really do want to see you. Maybe when I—”

“Hey, where’s the fire?” Nancy joked as Kim kept jabbing at the elevator button. “Let’s take the stairs, and then I’ll walk you wherever you’re going. We can talk on the way.” She hurried to keep up with her friend, who was already at the stairs. “Kim, what’s going on? You look freaked, to say the least.”

Kim hurried down the stairs, her rubber beach sandals slapping on the cement. “I am freaked,” she called over her shoulder. “You just won’t believe what’s been happening!”

“Try me,” Nancy suggested.

“I will, I will, but, Nancy, it’s just too complicated to get into right now. I’ve got something really important to do, but I promise I’ll tell you everything as soon as I can.”

Frustrated, Nancy followed Kim through the hotel’s small, deserted lobby toward the street door. Kim dashed outside. Nancy ran after her, but her sandal chose that moment to slip off her foot. She bent over, put it back on, and hurried after her friend.