Sabotage at Willow Woods (Nancy Drew Diaries #5)(14)

Julia moved closer, patting Carrie’s arm. “She’s right, Carrie. Come on—you’re the best man, or woman, for the job. You know that. Block all this out—that’s the only thing that matters.”

Carrie took a deep, shuddering breath and shook her head. “It’s not the only thing that matters. Keeping my sanity matters too! I just wasn’t prepared for any of this.”

Bess cleared her throat. “Carrie,” she said softly, “if you suspend your campaign, the bad guy wins, and your sports complex will never happen. Is that what you want?”

Carrie looked away. She didn’t say anything, but she let out a little whimper.

I took a seat in the folding chair I’d been leaning on. “Carrie, have you heard of any environmental concerns about building the sports complex?”

Carrie turned to me, opening her eyes wide. “Do I know it’s not a perfect plan? Sure. There are pros and cons. But I really want to do something to help the athletics program at BHS. I mean, I got so much from my time there.”

I opened my backpack and fished out the old, creased flyer Barney had given me, then passed it across the table to Carrie, Bess, and George. “I know sports are important to you. But some people are saying that a bunch of old forest will need to be cut down to build the field.”

Carrie let out a deep sigh and wiped her eyes. “Oh, I’ve heard a little about that.”

“Could the center be relocated?” asked George hopefully. “Maybe there’s a way for everyone to win here. Does the forest have to be half-flattened to build the football field?”

Carrie shook her head, pulling her mouth into a tight line. “No,” she said, her voice becoming stronger. “For a lot of complicated reasons, having to do with topography, irrigation, and a lot of environmental engineering reasons, the football field would only work in this one particular place—where the forest is now. That’s the only affordable solution. It’s unfortunate, but I’ve tried to address it in our plans. We’re going to plant a hundred new trees on the existing football field to make up for the trees lost. Isn’t that enough?”

Bess and George made encouraging noises, but I stayed quiet. I knew that Barney and Eloise would emphatically say that no, that was not enough. And I could see their point. There’s a difference between a hundred-year-old tree growing in a unique forest environment, and a newly planted tree. I could respect that Carrie was trying to address the concerns, but I could also see why the Green Club was still opposing her plans.

George stood and gestured to me and Bess. “Guys—can we talk for a sec?” she asked, gesturing outside. I nodded and stood, telling Carrie and Julia that we’d be right back. George, Bess, and I walked out the door, and George pointed to a bench sitting in a small garden just across the street.

“So,” I said, settling down with my backpack at my feet.

“So,” George said with a sigh, settling heavily down next to me. Bess sat down next to her and crossed her ankles. “It just gets worse and worse, Nance. I used to be opposed to the sports complex, but the more that happens, the more I feel like I want to support Carrie’s plan just to show these yo-yos that they can’t bully her!”

I nodded, and Bess frowned sympathetically. “I know Carrie wants the best for the town,” I said. “I just hate that whoever’s behind this, he or she isn’t letting their ideas speak for themselves.”

George nodded too, grimly. “They sure aren’t. Listen, I’ve been using some special software to analyze the voice recording from last night.” Before George had given me the flash drive to dangle in front of Ms. Meyerhoff, she’d copied the recording onto her tablet. “Carrie is right—it’s definitely been tampered with. There are all these cuts, meaning that whoever made this took out huge pieces of what Carrie was saying to manipulate the message.”

“That’s terrible,” I said, though a little part of me was happy to learn that Carrie had been telling the truth.

“It is terrible,” Bess said, shaking her head. “And the worst part is that it worked. About half the donors who attended the dinner last night have cut off their support for Carrie’s campaign. She’s worried she won’t be able to pay her employees this week! Even if we can convince her to keep fighting, I’m not sure the money will hold out much longer.”

I sighed deeply. “I hate it when evil is winning,” I murmured.

“Me too,” said George, picking at a peeling bit of paint on the bench. “Did you learn anything at the school that might help?”

“Maybe.” I pulled the packet of papers Eloise had given me from my backpack and explained what had happened, from the apparent dead end with Ms. Meyerhoff to my off-the-cuff poetry slam—

“Are you kidding?” Bess said, looking at me with apparent delight. “You seriously dropped the mic, Nance?”

I shrugged. “I think so. I’m not sure. Honestly, the whole thing is a blur. But what’s important is it seemed to convince Eloise to talk to me. . . .”

I went on, explaining how Eloise had brought me back to her locker—and how a sheaf of BTA stationery had fallen out of it.

“Whoa!” George cried. “Seriously? So the Green Club is behind this!”

I sighed. “I’m not so sure,” I said. “I haven’t had time to think it through. Eloise does seem really passionate, but I still can’t really imagine her doing that,” I said, gesturing back to Carrie’s headquarters.