Read Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew Online
Authors: The Twin Dilemma
Tags: #Drew; Nancy (Fictitious Character), #Detectives, #Detective and Mystery Stories, #Family, #Models, #Girl Detectives, #Juvenile Fiction, #Girls, #Fashion Shows, #Fiction, #Teenage Detectives, #Fashion, #Mystery Fiction, #Theft, #Stealing, #Siblings, #Twins, #Mystery and Detective Stories, #Teenage Girl Detectives, #Missing Persons
Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew (10 page)
“Do you supply fabric to Millington?” Henri questioned.
Belini grumbled something unintelligible.
Then Nancy heard Henri ask if Belini had sold material to Mrs. Jenner.
“Sure. So what? She likes to sew.”
Clearly, the man was on the defensive, but before any more was said, the reporter and Grover strode out of the room. Nancy remained out of sight until they went up the stairway and she heard Mr. Belini’s voice again.
“Henri will be at the Crystal Party tomorrow night,” the man said. Then there was a click as he put down the telephone.
Obviously, he had called someone. Nancy stood stock-still, hoping to hear more, but the man made no other calls. She decided it would be better for her to try and follow the two men, rather than eavesdrop on Belini, so she hurried up the stairs and out the door.
Her eyes roamed the street, but the pair was nowhere in sight! They couldn’t have gone too far on the ice, Nancy reasoned. They must have taken a taxi.
Disappointed, she headed back to the restaurant, digging in her rubberized heels to avoid slipping. On the way, she picked up a newspaper. When she arrived, Bess and George were not there.
After the two girls had seen Russell Kaiser leave in the police car, they assumed that he was on his way to the local precinct.
“Let’s go there,” George suggested. “Maybe we’ll get a chance to talk to him.”
The girls asked the doorman for the address. He gave it to them but said, “I wouldn’t recommend bothering poor Mr. Kaiser now. He’s very upset, as you can well imagine.”
“Don’t worry,” George said. “We only want to talk to him because we might be able to help him.”
The doorman raised his eyebrows and was about to ask them how, but the girls just smiled sweetly and left.
When they arrived at the police station, they did not see the bald-headed man. Upon asking at the desk, they learned he was talking to the captain, but would be done in a few minutes. Bess and George sat down to wait.
“I bet Nancy has eaten our lunch as well as hers by now,” Bess murmured to her cousin.
“I just hope she’s still there,” George said. “Of course, Millington may only give her a half hour off, in which case she’s probably left.”
The cousins’ conversation ended abruptly as Mr. Kaiser appeared. The girls stood up quickly.
“Mr. Kaiser,” George said when he strode toward them.
He paused.
“Remember us? We met you at the Speers’ auction the other evening,” Bess continued.
“Oh, yes,” he said now. “You were with the young lady who bid on the medallion.”
“Yes. We saw the news item about the burglary and wondered if the medallion had been stolen, too.”
“You followed me here to ask me that?” he replied, incredulous.
“We’re detectives,” Bess said.
“Amateur detectives,” George added. “May we speak to you a moment? We have some information that might be of interest to you.”
Kaiser shrugged. “Why not?”
Without revealing too much about the mysteries they were working on with their friend, Nancy Drew, George explained their special concern for the distinctive medallion.
“It’s very possible,” she declared, “that the man who was bidding on it is the burglar you’re looking for. He told us he was you.”
“Not only that,” Bess spoke up, “but he seemed to want that medallion an awful lot.”
“Enough to steal it, I suppose,” Mr. Kaiser said with a glint of mischief.
“Exactly,” Bess said.
“Well, girls, I appreciate the clues, but I’m afraid you’re on the wrong track. You see, the robber wasn’t the least bit interested in the medallion. I had put it in the safe with some other things that he took. He left the medallion, though, probably thinking it was a valueless trinket.”
The girls were disappointed. “Then obviously the burglar wasn’t the man who competed with you at the auction,” George said. “But why did he introduce himself to us as Russell Kaiser?”
Mr. Kaiser shrugged. “I have no idea, and to be quite honest, I don’t really care. Now, I have other matters to take care of. If you will excuse me, please.”
He hurried off, and the young detectives left the precinct and headed for the restaurant. To their relief, they found Nancy still there, dallying over a salad.
“We thought for sure you’d be gone by now,” Bess said as she and George sat down. “What happened to your job at Millington?”
“I have no job,” Nancy replied, spearing a piece of lettuce with her fork, “but I do have lots of other news.”
She told about her encounters, the conversations she had overheard, and her current suspicions.
“I’m convinced Ted Henri deliberately tried to send me off on another mystery—” Nancy said.
“The auction scheme,” George put in.
“Right—because he didn’t want me near the case involving Mr. Reese.”
“And Jacqueline’s been helping her brother,” Bess remarked.
“Then her story about the kidnapping was phony,” George added.
“I’m not positive about that,” Nancy said. “Maybe she really did believe her brother was missing. Otherwise, why didn’t she appear for the fashion show? What makes less sense is that she turned up at the hotel later.”
“Also, we never did see her and Ted together at any time that evening,” George added.
“Exactly. So it’s possible that someone wanted her to believe Ted had been kidnapped,” Nancy concluded. “Someone who was determined to keep her away long enough to steal those expensive gowns!”
After the young detective’s idea took root in everyone’s mind, the other girls related their experiences of the morning.
“I’m glad the medallion wasn’t stolen, for Mr. Kaiser’s sake,” Nancy said. “And it proves that Pete Grover wasn’t the thief.”
George nodded. “If Grover is working with Ted Henri, and now we have ample proof that he is, I’m sure he’s not a burglar. Yet, he has a criminal record—he’s wanted for check forgery. I can’t figure it out.”
“Neither can I,” Nancy admitted.
“And why would he pretend to be Russell Kaiser?” Bess asked.
“Well, if his job at the auction was to set us up for a fake mystery, maybe he’d done some research. Found out about the Kaisers, their family’s lion crest, and the names of surviving members he gleaned from Galen Kaiser’s recent obituary,” Nancy said.
“Then he and Henri wrote the note to Jacqueline, using the crest as a symbol,” Bess added.
“But what was all that business about a crooked auction?” George put in.
“Just a ploy to make the newspaper announcement about the sale of the Kaiser estate even more tantalizing,” Nancy replied.
“And all of this to keep us away from their case,” George sighed. “I bet if we had combined forces we’d have solved it by now!”
“Whatever we do,” Nancy said, “I don’t think we should let on to Jacqueline or Ted that we know what’s going on.”
“Three can play pretend as easily as two,” George said, trying to sound less anxious than she was.
“And tomorrow night we’re going to get our chance,” Nancy replied.
15
Stylist Trouble
Nancy’s announcement made both George and Bess stare at her in surprise.
“What do you mean?” Bess asked.
“We’re going to the Crystal Party,” Nancy replied.
“The what?”
Nancy laughed, then repeated Mr. Belini’s telephone conversation. “Ted Henri will be there, and it must have some significance. I think we’ll be able to pick up a clue there.”
“Where is it?” George inquired.
“I bought a newspaper on the way back from the fabric store, figuring there might be an announcement about it.” Nancy turned to a page listing future social events and handed it to her friends.
“ ‘The Crystal Party,’ ” Bess read aloud. “ ‘Highlight of the fashion year. Every major designer represented. Tickets two hundred and fifty dollars. Advance reservations only.’ ”
“Well, that lets me out,” George mumbled. “Who can afford it, anyway?”
Nancy giggled. “Lots of people,” she said.
“Only the crème de la crème,” Bess said, adding, “and Miss Nancy Drew, perhaps.”
“Now, now,” the young detective said, “I have a hunch we can go to the party without paying a penny.”
“Sure, if we sneak in,” Bess said. “I could disguise myself as Lady Macaroni and you could be Baroness von Hootenanny!”
“Even if we could wangle invitations, we’d have to wear the same things we wore to the benefit,” George put in, “and I spilled salad dressing on my gown.”
“See, it’s hopeless,” Bess insisted.
“On the contrary.” Nancy smiled. “We are going to be the three most eligible young ladies there and in the three most beautiful gowns! C‘mon!”
The girls paid the bill and trailed outside, letting Nancy lead the way. Salt trucks had spread the melting grains on the street and a similar layer covered the sidewalk, so Bess was able to keep pace as the trio walked up the street.
“Where are we going?” she asked Nancy.
“To Reese Associates, of course.”
“Oh, boy. I hope Mr. Reese is in a better mood than the one we left him in,” George commented.
“I hope so, too, because I’d like to persuade him to take us to the Crystal Party.”
To the girls’ relief, the man’s temper had subsided. He even seemed unusually happy, judging by his enthusiastic welcome.
“I just received some very exciting news! Come into my office,” he said, adding as they took seats. “Zoe Babbitt has decided to buy everything you modeled the other night, Nancy. Can you imagine? Everything!”
“Congratulations,” the visitors chimed in together.
“She said it didn’t matter one bit that most of the designs might have been scooped by another dress house,” the man went on. “There’s nothing like a Reese original, she told me.”
“So you were worrying unnecessarily,” George said.
“Well, I still don’t know how my other clients will feel, but it’s nice to know I haven’t lost Mrs. Babbitt.”
“Will she be at the Crystal Party?” Nancy inquired.
“Most certainly, and wearing one of my winter creations, I suspect.”
“Speaking of winter creations,” Nancy continued, “we came by today for a reason.”
The man perked up his ears. “Is it my turn to ask what
you’ve
discovered?”
you’ve
discovered?”
Nancy smiled. “Well, we’ve discovered some facts, but it’s really too early to discuss them.” She was worried that the temperamental designer might inadvertently slip something to the wrong people.
But Reese’s curiosity was aroused. “Well, what exactly
did
you find out?” he pressed the girl.
did
you find out?” he pressed the girl.
“As I said, I can’t tell you yet.”
“Can’t tell me?” he bristled. “But I’m the man who—”
“Mr. Reese,” George interposed, “it’s important to keep things confidential—for now.”
“Tomorrow night could produce the final chapter,” Bess added.
Seizing the chance, Nancy quickly expressed how crucial it was for the young detectives to attend the Crystal Party.
“I can arrange that easily. On one condition, though,” Mr. Reese bargained. “That you tell me everything.”
“I promise,” Nancy smiled. “After the party.”
The man grumbled in annoyance, but finally agreed to obtain invitations. “And what are you planning to wear?” he inquired.
“I suppose my old green skirt and blouse,” Nancy said.
George mentioned her dress with the oily stains on it and Bess shrugged helplessly.
“Well, you can’t go to the Crystal Party looking like Cinderellas before the ball,” Mr. Reese said. He strode to the doorway, addressing a secretary. “Find Rosalind for me.”
Nancy was surprised to hear that Rosalind had been rehired by Mr. Reese after he fired her and she went to work for Millington. Now the young detective was doubly happy she hadn’t revealed her discoveries to Reese!
Soon Rosalind appeared. She returned the girls’ hellos with a silent nod, then glanced at the designer. “Yes, Mr. Reese?”
“You remember Miss Drew?” the designer said to her.
“Of course,” she murmured.
Nancy tried not to seem too obvious about her examination of the woman’s face, which contained thin lines and shadows under the small eyes. The skin was paste white, giving her a sickly appearance.
Mr. Reese instructed Rosalind to bring in several gowns. “One for each of the girls,” he told her.
Without inquiring about size, she looked at them from head to toe, then hurried out of the room.
“She’s a whiz,” the designer commented.
“I thought you fired her,” Nancy couldn’t resist saying.
“I did, but she came back.”
“On her own volition?” Nancy asked.
“Well, I didn’t get down on my hands and knees, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
Nancy ignored the comment as Rosalind reappeared with a variety of silks, taffetas, and velvets.
“Those are fine,” Mr. Reese said to the assistant. “Now help them make selections.”
“That one’s gorgeous!” Bess exclaimed, eyeing a royal-blue taffeta dress with a broad ruffle around the bodice. “May I try it on?”
Rosalind was already leading the girls to a cubby of dressing rooms. “You can’t leave here unless you do,” she said.
While Nancy and George settled on their choices, Bess was trying to zip up the narrow waist.
“I was almost positive this would fit you,” the stylist said to her.
“I’m flattered—really flattered,” Bess squeaked as the woman forced the zipper to close. “Only problem is, I can’t breathe!”
“I can fix that,” Rosalind said, tapping her fingers on her chin.
“You can?” Bess said hoarsely. “Right away?”
Instantly, the woman pulled the zipper down and the girl let out a heavy sigh. “How are you both doing?” she called out cheerfully to her friends.
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