"Hey, girls," Rick suggested, "why don't the three of us go back to my dressing room? We can have a soda and get to know each other a little better while they're cleaning up this mess."

"Oh, we'd love love to!" crooned Bess. Elbowing Nancy in the ribs, she prompted her friend. "Wouldn't we?" to!" crooned Bess. Elbowing Nancy in the ribs, she prompted her friend. "Wouldn't we?"

"I guess that would be all right," Nancy shrugged. Until security had finished looking around, no one would be allowed near the scene of the accident anyway. And maybe she could use the time to find out a little more about Rick Arlen.

"By the way, who was that woman-Lillian somebody-who was so angry at you earlier?" Nancy asked him as they headed down the empty corridor.

"Her name is Lillian Weiss," he hissed, making the name sound snakelike. "She's the a.s.sistant director. While Luther is up in the booth playing G.o.d, she's his watchdog."

"Sounds like she's not your favorite person."

"She's not. But then, Lillian's just a n.o.body around here. I don't let her get to me-she's not worth even thinking about."

Just then they came to a door with a polished bra.s.s star on it and Rick's name above the star. "Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly," he quipped lightly. He ushered them in and closed the door quietly behind them.

The bright lights in the dressing room blinded Nancy for a moment when she stepped in.

"I love this room-it's so warm and bright. This is the place I go to get away from the craziness out there." He pointed toward the door. "Let's see, now," he mumbled. "I'd offer you a chocolate, but I'm afraid they're a little bitter. But can I get you something to drink?" Rick opened a small refrigerator.

Bess pushed a lock of blond hair behind her ear before she said, "Okay. Um, a diet soda for me."

"Pour vous?" he asked, turning to Nancy.

"The same, thanks."

"You're a very smart girl. And brave, too. Would you care to marry me?" Rick had taken Nancy's hand gently in his own, and now he offered her a bouquet of imaginary flowers with the other.

Nancy pulled her hand away and looked at him. "I have a boyfriend. Sorry," she said, apologizing.

"Ah-I'm crushed. Well, then," he purred, instantly turning to Bess and taking her hand. "How about you? Would you marry me?"

Bess's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Okay, you're on."

"Oh, you only like me for my looks," Rick complained. Nancy saw him catch a quick glimpse of himself in the mirror before he gazed back at Bess appreciatively. "But then, you're not too bad yourself."

Bess blushed. She seemed to melt into the dressing table as Rick stared at her.

Rick Arlen obviously knew how to flirt, Nancy observed. And Bess was definitely being taken in.

"Well," said Nancy, trying to break the spell, "for a guy who just barely escaped a terrible accident, you're in an incredibly good mood."

"Of course! Of course I am!" Rick said agreeably as he poured the sodas. "I was lucky. That's the best way to be if you're going to be in an accident. Don't you agree? But then, I've always been a lucky guy. I mean, I just met you two, didn't I?"

"Some people don't think the things that have been happening to you lately are accidents," Nancy said.

Rick sank into a plush chair and looked at her impatiently. "Some people are also frightened of their own shadows. Look, when you're a TV star, you have to expect a little craziness. It comes with the territory. Along with a lot of good things, too. Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful," he added offhandedly to Bess. She almost swooned into his costume rack.

She's really eating this up, Nancy thought. Bess actually seemed to take Rick's baloney seriously.

"Look, I'd better get back to the set," Nancy said, putting down her soda. "Security should have had a good look around by now, and I want to find out exactly what happened. Are you coming, Bess?" she asked.

"Is it okay if I meet you back there in a little while?" Bess responded.

"Don't worry about Bess here," Rick put in with a grin. "I'll take care of her."

That was just what Nancy was afraid of.

Pushing through the thick, soundproof door, Nancy stepped back onto the set. Immediately she saw Mattie trying to break up a fight. One of the men was William Pappas. Nancy hadn't seen the other man before. He was slim, handsome, and at that moment his eyes were ablaze with anger.

"It was an accident!" Pappas was shouting. "Technicians are only human. Now, if you'll get off my back, I'll find out who was responsible and deal with that person. I can't do anything if you're going to stand here and scream at me all day!"

"You still still don't get it, do you?" the other man shouted back. "Mattie could have been don't get it, do you?" the other man shouted back. "Mattie could have been killed killed in there! And I promise you, if so much as a hair on my client's head is ever hurt, your network will be facing the biggest lawsuit the world has ever seen! Come on, Mattie!" He grabbed Mattie's arm and marched toward the door. Nancy ducked behind a piece of scenery and continued to watch. in there! And I promise you, if so much as a hair on my client's head is ever hurt, your network will be facing the biggest lawsuit the world has ever seen! Come on, Mattie!" He grabbed Mattie's arm and marched toward the door. Nancy ducked behind a piece of scenery and continued to watch.

"Dwayne, please, calm down!" Mattie protested. "No one was trying to hurt me! I was nowhere near the accident!"

"It's the network's responsibility to protect you from things like this, Mattie. Look at those shards of gla.s.s! What if one of them had cut your face? Your career would be ruined."

"n.o.body is going to get hurt, Dwayne," Pappas said, calmer now. "This is never going to happen again. Now, will you please get out of here so we can clean up this mess and get on with the show?"

As Dwayne stalked off, Nancy heard Pappas remark to Mattie, "It's just my luck that that idiot agent was here today. The last thing I need is a nervous Nellie on the set the day the roof falls in. No offense, Mattie, but the man is a complete fool. Excuse me, please, will you?"

As Pappas breezed by her, Nancy grabbed Mattie's elbow, and they followed him. The producer walked immediately over to the chief of security and began asking questions. Nancy and Mattie got as close as they could without being noticed and listened intently.

"It looks like an accident, plain and simple, Mr. Pappas," the security man was saying.

"Thank you," Pappas muttered. Then he strode directly over to where the lighting technicians were gathered. "Which one of you was responsible for checking the lights this week?" he asked.

"I was," admitted one of the men unhappily. It was the man with the beard who had talked to Nancy and Bess earlier. "But they checked out fine. In fact, just this morning-"

"What's your name?" asked Pappas darkly.

"Uh, MacPherson, Mr. Pappas, but-"

"You're fired, MacPherson. Stop by the front office and pick up your severance pay. I don't ever want to see you around here again, understand?" Before the man could say another word, Pappas was gone.

Mattie and Nancy looked at each other. "You've got to believe me," Mattie whispered urgently. "That was no accident, I'm sure of it!"

Nancy sighed. If security thought it was an accident, it probably was. Still... "I think I'll take a look around myself. You never know."

There wasn't much to see. All the gla.s.s from the broken light had been swept into a pile in the corner, and the light itself was in pieces against the wall. Each piece had been tagged for reference. Security seemed to have done a thorough job.

Nancy was about to give up and go back to Rick's dressing room but decided to take a last look around. As she walked over to the back wall of the living room, a flash of something metallic caught her eye, and she bent to the floor. There, almost completely hidden from view, was a piece of metal with a bolt attached. One edge of the metal was shiny, as if it had been sc.r.a.ped or cut.

Nancy walked over to the lighting technician, who was gloomily gathering his things together. "Excuse me," she said, "but-could I ask you a question?"

The man turned around and looked at her for a moment. "Oh, hi, I remember you. You're the girl who saved Rick's life," he said with a smile. "I guess I should thank you. I'd have been in real real trouble if he'd gotten hurt." trouble if he'd gotten hurt."

"You don't have to thank me," Nancy waved him off. "But you could tell me what this is." She showed him the bolt she'd found.

"Why, that's a C-clamp. They're used to hold the lights on the bar."

"Does it look odd to you? Is there anything strange about it?"

MacPherson studied the clamp briefly. "One end's been sawed," he gasped. "Almost clean through. The rest looks like it snapped off. This must be- But if-"

"Just what I was thinking," Nancy said, agreeing. "That was no accident this morning. The light was rigged so it would fall. Somebody tried to kill Rick Arlen-and almost succeeded!"

Chapter Four.

"DO YOU BELIEVE me now now?" Mattie was on the verge of tears as she pleaded with the chief of security. She and Nancy had just shown him the broken clamp. "I've been telling people for weeks that someone was after Rick, but n.o.body believed me. You've got to believe me now!"

"Now, Mattie," Pappas said, patting his leading lady on the arm. "Let's not get hysterical and blow this out of proportion."

"Well, I'll be," the security man muttered as he examined the C-clamp. "Where exactly did you say you found this, young lady?"

"By the back wall of the set," Nancy replied.

"Well, it proves the light was sabotaged. No doubt about it."

"This is just what I need," Pappas muttered in frustration. "I don't have enough problems without someone sabotaging my show!"

"Mr. Pappas, who actually has access to this stage?" the chief wanted to know.

"Well, the crew and the actors, of course. n.o.body else, really. Maybe an occasional guest, but they all register at the front desk."

"Wasn't there a tour group in here earlier today?" Nancy asked.

Pappas snapped his fingers. "Right!"

"And some of them were mad at Rory Danner, too," Nancy said.

"You don't suppose some crazy fan could have-" Pappas shook his head.

"There're a lot of nuts out there, Mr. Pappas," the chief said. "All it takes is one person who can't tell fantasy from reality."

"That settles it!" Pappas exclaimed. "From now on this set is closed to anyone not directly involved in the show." Yelling across the studio, Pappas repeated his order for everyone to hear. "That means no guests, no agents, no mothers, fathers, sisters, or brothers. I want this set sealed tighter than a pharaoh's tomb!

"Now, we'll take a couple-hour break and then back to work. If you need anything, I'll be in my office."

After Pappas walked away, Nancy turned toward Mattie.

"Thank goodness he gave us a break," she told Nancy. "I've got to go rest." Rubbing her eyes, she added, "See you later. And thanks again for saving Rick's life." Flashing Nancy a grateful smile, Mattie walked off the set.

Since the set was closed to guests, Nancy and Bess had to leave. Nancy began to make her way back toward Rick's dressing room to collect Bess. But she soon realized she must have gone through the wrong door or made a wrong turn somewhere. One long corridor led to another, and for a moment Nancy didn't know which way to turn. Then the sound of a door slowly opening caught her attention. Instinctively knowing that she shouldn't be there, Nancy moved back into a recessed doorway and waited silently.

Nancy could just see Lillian Weiss nervously looking both ways before stepping into the hall. Once the door was closed behind her, Lillian seemed to relax. Nancy's heart was in her throat as she realized Lillian was heading straight for her. Nancy opened the door behind her and slammed it, making it sound as if she had just come through that door. She stepped out into the corridor.

"Well, well," Lillian said, greeting Nancy with a snarl. "Is our fair rescuer lost and helpless?"

"Yes, I guess I am. I was looking for Rick's dressing room, actually," Nancy told her. Well, it was almost the truth.

"Continue down this corridor and make your first left," Lillian snapped. "And by the way, it was nice knowing you. I'm sure now that Pappas has closed the set, you won't be around anymore. Too bad. I'm sure you were Rick's favorite little bodyguard." With a smug smile, Lillian continued down the hall and disappeared around a corner.

The room that Lillian had come out of turned out to be the prop room. After making sure she was alone, Nancy ventured inside.

At first she was overwhelmed by what she saw. The room was huge, with several long aisles. Stacked from floor to ceiling, making an incredible clutter, were thousands upon thousands of items-anything that could ever possibly be needed on the set of the show. As organized as the room seemed to be, with everything numbered and labeled, there was no way to keep it all neat. Dust covered some of the items that hadn't been used recently, and Nancy felt her nose begin to itch.

There seemed to be n.o.body there, but when Nancy sneezed, she heard a rustling in a far corner. A copy of the Daily News Daily News moved, and a grizzled head poked out from under it. The old man had a mop of unruly white hair flowing out from an ancient orange cap. moved, and a grizzled head poked out from under it. The old man had a mop of unruly white hair flowing out from an ancient orange cap.

"Who's there?" a crackly voice called. "I'm awake, I'm awake. On the job all the time, yessir! What can I do for you?"

Nancy couldn't help smiling at the wizened old man. He wore red suspenders, which held up a pair of baggy gray pants, and he was covered with as much dust as everything else in the room. Nancy would have almost believed that he had been sleeping there uninterrupted for years.

"Sorry, I must have opened the wrong door," she said, apologizing.

"Oh, it's good to have a little company," the man said. "This week has been just kitchen stuff and living room knickknacks, day after day. I've been sitting here reading my paper all week without seeing a soul."

"But wasn't the a.s.sistant director in here just a moment ago?" Nancy said.

"Who? Lillian? Nah, haven't seen Lillian in ages. The only time she ever came into the prop room was to complain that a butcher knife didn't look sharp enough. I had to put a little oil on it to give it that threatening gleam when the camera panned in on it. That's an old prop man's trick, you know."

"Achoo!" Nancy couldn't help sneezing again. "Are you sure no one was in here earlier?" she asked again, persisting.

"Absolutely one hundred percent, young lady. And n.o.body gets anything by me."

That's what you think, Nancy thought as she said goodbye to the prop man. As she stepped back into the corridor and made her way to Rick's dressing room, Nancy's mind was in a whirl. Maybe one of the fans from the tour group had had tampered with the klieg light. She supposed it was possible. But even so, something funny was definitely going on. What had Lillian been doing in the prop room? And why was she so hostile? Nancy was determined to find out. And that meant she had to get onto the set again the next day and do some more checking around. tampered with the klieg light. She supposed it was possible. But even so, something funny was definitely going on. What had Lillian been doing in the prop room? And why was she so hostile? Nancy was determined to find out. And that meant she had to get onto the set again the next day and do some more checking around.

Here I am, she said to herself as she turned a corner and saw the familiar door with the star on it. Wait till I tell Bess what I found!

A moment later, after a quick knock, she threw open the door, smiling broadly. What she saw made her stop dead. Bess was in Rick's arms, and they looked about a split second away from a kiss too steamy for TV!

Chapter Five.