Nobody's Business Read Online Free Page B

from the rafter up there,” Ned added, pointing.
    â€œWe thought it was a person,” Bess said, putting her hands in the pockets of her pastel pink overalls, which she wore over a matching long-sleeved T-shirt.
    Andrew tucked the dummy under his arm and looked anxiously around the empty lobby. “Please don’t mention this to anyone else,” he said. “If word of this gets out, my work crew might panic, and I can’t afford any more delays. I’m going to throw this thing out before anybody sees it.”
    Nancy followed as Andrew walked to the front door, flung it open, and went outside. The day was so cloudy and overcast that everything seemed to melt into a monotonous dark gray.
    â€œDo you have any idea who might have put the dummy there?” Nancy asked.
    Andrew shrugged, then tossed the dummy into a large green Dumpster just outside the entrance. He covered the dummy with some large plastic garbage bags that had been lying on top of the other debris.
    â€œAndrew,” Nancy said gently, “I know about Julie. If you think she’s out to get you, I wish you’d tell me. The only way I can help you is if you’re honest with me.”
    â€œIt’s not Julie,” Andrew said, staring at the trees beyond the inn. “I know her. She’d never do something like this.”
    Nancy couldn’t tell if Andrew really believed what he was saying or if he was covering up for Julie. Maybe he still loved her and didn’t want her to get in trouble. After all, Andrew hadn’t been the one who wanted to break off their engagement.
    â€œLook,” he said, turning to face Nancy. His hazel eyes were troubled behind his wire-rimmed glasses. “I appreciate the fact that you’re looking into these pranks for me. But lay off Julie, okay?”
    â€œI know you still care about her,” Nancy sympathized, “but I can’t ignore the facts. Julie was in the inn yesterday, and she ran away from me right after the wailing music was played.”
    Honk! Honk!
    Nancy turned toward the parking lot and saw asmall caravan of cars pull in, followed by the red Teen Works bus.
    Andrew put on a cheerful smile and waved at the teenagers who were piling out of the bus. “Let’s just try to forget about all this stuff, okay?” he said to Nancy. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
    â€œHi, Andrew!” Colleen called, stepping out of the bus in a full-length sheepskin coat and striding up the path in brown lizard-skin cowboy boots similar to the black ones she’d worn the day before.
    â€œWhat’s on the agenda for today?” Colleen asked as several of the teenagers gathered around her. Most of them wore jeans, sweatshirts, and sneakers.
    â€œDon’t tell me,” said Natalia Diaz. “We have to climb on more ladders and do more wiring.”
    A tall, skinny guy with cornrow braids turned to Andrew. “I guess Natalia never told you that she’s afraid of heights.”
    â€œIvan!” Natalia laughed, giving him a playful poke in the ribs.
    â€œWe’ll be finishing up the wiring today,” Andrew said without laughing. “Also, cutting and threading pipes for the bathrooms and the kitchen. Electrical people, talk to Eddie Garcia in the ballroom. Plumbing people, work with Dan Nichols in the dining room. Colleen, Ned, Bess, and Nancy, I’d like to show you guys the basement.”
    As everyone headed into the lobby, Colleenremarked, “I thought we’d never see the mysterious basement. Did you finally get a hauler to come pick up all the junk down there, Andrew?”
    â€œYes, believe it or not,” Andrew told her, rolling his eyes. “He’ll be here the day after tomorrow, so I want to get everything out and ready for him before then. Anyway, Dan Nichols, our foreman, wants to pour a cement floor Friday, so the area has to be clear.”
    â€œSounds like a tall order. It’s