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remembered the man she’d seen meeting Sharpless on the mezzanine. She figured he must be a friend of the newsman.
    Just then Nancy heard a buzz in the room. She turned and saw Gina stroll in, in a dressy black pants outfit that bared her midriff. Nancy also spied Ned, hanging back by the doorway.
    â€œGina, look at these cool shots I took of Evan Sharpless,” Sally said eagerly.
    Gina leaned over the light table. “Sharpless?” she scoffed. “I don’t know why everyone is fawning over him here. He may look good on the TV screen, but I wouldn’t call him a reporter.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Sally argued. “He won the Hazelden Prize.” She looked hurt, but Gina didn’t seem to notice.
    â€œWell, he must have paid off the judges,” Gina said with a dismissive wave.
    â€œPay off the judges? That sounds more like your style, Gina,” Jane Sellery said, speaking up from behind.
    Whirling around, Gina narrowed her eyes. “I don’t need to pay judges to win, Jane,” she said. “Sally and I are creating a yearbook theme display that will amaze everyone. We’ll win the top award, fair and square!” With that, she swept out of the room.
    Jane chuckled. Sally looked away, embarrassed. “I’d better go,” Nancy murmured, deciding to keep her eye on Ned and Gina. Jane and Sally barely noticed as Nancy slipped away.
    Walking down the corridor, Nancy peered into room after room, looking unsuccessfully for Ned and Gina. Finally she checked her copy of the workshop schedule. The students were due to have lunch in fifteen minutes. She went back down the other corridor to the banquet room.
    Slipping through the door, Nancy saw Bess laying silverware on the round tables. She spotted George, too, who looked up and waved Nancy in. With her short, dark, curly hair and athletic build, the lifeguard’s warm-up outfit looked great on George.
    â€œI’m on my lunch break,” George said. “Any developments?” Nancy had filled her in about the case the night before, as the three girls settled into their hotel room.
    Nancy shook her head. “The only thing developing around here is film in the students’ darkroom,” she quipped.
    A tall, dark-haired young waiter appeared at George’s side. “George, you know the rules—no socializing with the hotel guests,” he said, wagging a finger teasingly at her. His hazel eyes sparkled.
    â€œCut it out, Paul,” George said, grinning. “This is my friend, Nancy. Nancy, this is Paul Lampedusa.”
    As Nancy shook his hand, she noticed George blush. So, Nancy thought, George has already met a guy. Well, at least one of us is finding romance.
    Just then Bess hurried over. “He’s here again!” she moaned. George and Nancy looked toward a nearby doorway. Ralph, the bellman Nancy and Bess had met the previous afternoon, leaned into the room and waved at Bess.
    â€œHe won’t leave me alone,” Bess said through her teeth as she forced a smile. “I thought being at the hotel would help me see more of Gary Ruxton. I didn’t bargain for a lovesick nerd!”
    Soon the double doors swung open, and the students flooded in. Nancy, still on the lookout for Gina—and Ned—sat at a table by the door.
    She’d just started to chat with the others at her table when she saw Sally Harvey in the doorway, camera case slung over her shoulder. Her face looked pale. Nancy jumped up and ran over to her. “Sally, what’s wrong?” she asked.
    Sally spoke in a small, tight voice. “Our room has been broken into—again!”
    Leaving Sally where she was, Nancy found Bess, asked her to find Mr. Ruxton, then hurried off with Sally. “Gina returned to my class before lunch, and we went to drop off my cameras in the room,” Sally explained in the elevator as the girls went up to the seventh floor. “When we got there,