Bess nodded emphatically. "Uh-huh. The ranger told us this morning. He's coming to make a television special about the importance of leaving animals in their natural environments."
"Oh? What about all those marmots of his?" Nancy asked.
Bess shrugged. "He must have had a change of heart." Her face lit up again. "And not only that, he's going to be staying right in this hotel. We might even meet him! Wouldn't that be awesome? George is going to be so jealous when she hears."
"We haven't met him yet," Nancy pointed out. To herself, she wondered about the rock star's change of heart. Was it for real or simply a good excuse for a TV special? "I had a rather eventful morning myself, Bess."
She told her friend about what Brad had said and the attempt to run her off the road.
"Nan, that's terrible!" Bess exclaimed. "You could have been killed!"
"Well, I wasn't. And the main thing is, this attack shows that we're on the right track. The poachers are getting desperate."
"So what's our next move?" Bess asked.
"Lunch," Nancy said firmly. "I don't know about you, but I'm starved."
Downstairs, they found the dining room crowded. As they were waiting by the hostess station, Edith and Gerald Turkower came in.
"Well, hello again," Edith said with a smile. Just then the hostess came over. "I have a table for four by the window," she announced.
"Wonderful," Edith said brightly. "Why don't we all eat together?"
"Sure," Nancy replied. Here was a perfect opportunity to find out more about the Turkowers.
The hostess led them to a round oak table near the window and handed them menus.
"The cutthroat trout caught in the Yellowstone Lake are supposed to be the best in the world," Gerald told them, placing his cameras on the windowsill.
"Really?" Bess closed her menu. "I'll try it."
"So will I," Nancy said.
"I'll just have the vegetarian platter," Edith said. "It's a little chilly in here, don't you think?" she added, slipping into a beige sweater with a fur collar.
The waitress came and took their orders. As she left, Nancy asked casually, "How's the hunt for whistling marmots going?"
Edith made a face. "Not very well. We haven't even seen one yet."
"What about you, any luck?" Gerald asked.
"Why, yes," Nancy replied. "There's a research group here studying the marmots. I visited their camp yesterday and saw a couple of them at one of the feeding stations. They're every bit as cute as I expected, too."
Nancy paused as the waitress placed bowls of green salad in front of everyone. Nancy picked up her fork and took a bite of salad. Then, leaning forward, she lowered her voice. "A guy from the group told me that some of the marmots are missing."
She scrutinized the Turkowers and thought she saw an uneasy expression in Gerald's eyes.
"Do you think someone is stealing them?" he asked.
Nancy shrugged. "I have no idea."
Gerald put down his fork. "I suppose it's possible that someone on the Emerson team might be stealing marmots," he mused. "College students are always short of cash."
Nancy's breath caught in her throat. She had never mentioned Emerson College! Had Gerald noticed her reaction? With a wary expression, he added, "I think I saw an article about that research project. Maybe we should pay them a visit. Edith won't be happy until she's had a chance to watch the little critters in action." He beamed fondly at his wife and winked.
Edith smiled back at him. "In some ways," she began, "a marmot would be better off with us than in the wild. We'd give it such a good home," she cooed. "Gerald and I are strong animal rights supporters. Why, I've even become a vegetarian."
Nancy noticed the startled expression on Bess's face, but before she could figure out what caused it, their broiled trout had arrived.
After lunch the Turkowers excused themselves, saying they planned to drive to Yellowstone Lake.
"That couple is definitely phony," Bess said in the main lobby.
"What makes you say that?" Nancy asked.
Bess rolled her eyes. "If Edith is so into animal rights," she demanded, "why was she wearing a sweater with a mink collar?"
"Maybe it was fake fur," Nancy suggested.
"No way!" Bess scoffed. "I can tell the difference, believe me."
"Come on, Bess. I just saw the Turkowers head out the front door. I want to check out their room."
Nancy led the way to the house phones and asked the switchboard for the Turkowers. After half a dozen rings, the operator said, "Sorry, Room three twenty-six doesn't answer."
Nancy and Bess climbed the stairs to the third floor. At the Turkowers' door. Nancy rapped lightly, then tried the knob. It was locked. After a quick glance up and down the hall, she pulled a small case of lock picks from her shoulder bag and went to work. A few moments later the door sprang open.
"Bess, you stand guard while I search the room," Nancy said. Bess nodded and Nancy slipped inside.
Like the room Nancy and Bess were sharing, this one had rough-hewn plank walls, brass beds, and an old-fashioned washstand complete with porcelain bowl and pitcher. The window looked out onto a steaming geyser field.
Nancy opened the oak wardrobe in the corner. The right side held women's clothes. To her amazement, there were only three outfits hanging there. Nancy had expected Edith to be like Bess and bring virtually everything she owned.
She moved to the dresser and started pulling drawers open. Quickly, she riffled through a pile of men's shirts and sweaters. She came up empty-handed.
As she pushed the drawer closed, she noticed that it seemed to be sticking. She pulled it all the way out and held it up so she could see the underside. There was a manila envelope taped to the bottom of the drawer.
Carefully removing it, she opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of fax paper. There were no headings, simply a list of animals, each followed by a dollar amount and one or two locations. She scanned the list, her eyes stopping at an entry that said: "Whistling Marmot-$400-$500-Yellowstone Park."
Someone had inked a little star next to it.
Shocked, Nancy realized that she was looking at a list of how much wild animals would bring on the black market.
Taking care not to crease the fragile sheet, Nancy put it back in the envelope and retaped it to the underside of the drawer. Then she took one last peek at the room to make sure she hadn't left anything out of place and slipped out the door.
On the way downstairs, she told Bess what she had found.
"Well, that settles it," Bess declared. "I knew right from the start that Edith and Gerald weren't ordinary tourists. They're in the marmot black market up to their necks."
Nancy frowned. "I still think someone from the Emerson group has to be involved, too. All the thefts, not to mention Brad's and Ned's injuries, point to an inside job."