Read The Bungalow Mystery Online
Authors: Carolyn Keene
Tags: #Embezzlement Investigation, #Women Detectives, #Detective and Mystery Stories, #Girls & Women, #Children's Stories, #Adventure and Adventurers, #Guardian and Ward, #Juvenile Fiction, #Bungalows, #Detectives, #Mysteries & Detective Stories, #Inheritance and Succession, #False Personation, #New Books March 2002, #Mystery Fiction, #Adventure Stories, #Drew; Nancy (Fictitious Character), #Theft, #Orphans, #Mystery and Detective Stories
The Bungalow Mystery (5 page)
She set two wooden trays with doilies, napkins, and silver. Then, after placing bread and butter on each, Nancy poured two glasses of milk. Lastly, she made a crisp salad of lettuce and tomatoes and marinated it with a tangy French dressing.
While waiting for the casserole, Nancy went back to the living room. Hannah was reading the evening paper.
“You’re a wonderful help, dear,” the housekeeper said gratefully, looking up. “Tell me, did you enjoy your vacation?”
“It was lovely,” said Nancy, and described the resort. She then told Hannah of the adventure on Twin Lakes and of Laura Pendleton and the Aborns.
“Hannah, wouldn’t it be nice if Laura could visit us sometime soon?”
“It certainly would.”
By now their supper was ready and Nancy brought it in on the trays. After they had eaten, she put the dishes in the washer, then helped Hannah, who was using crutches, upstairs to bed. Nancy then went out to put her car in the garage, and returned to the house just as the clock was striking eight. She went to place the call to Carson Drew.
Nancy looked at the series of numbers on the slip of paper Hannah had given her:
942 HA 5-4727
She dialed the long-distance number, and after one brief ring the phone on the other end was picked up.
“Hotel Williamston,” the switchboard operator answered.
“May I speak with Mr. Carson Drew?” his daughter requested.
“One moment, please.”
There was a pause, then the operator’s voice said, “I’m sorry but Mr. Drew checked out this evening.”
“Did he say where he was going?” Nancy inquired in amazement.
The desk clerk said no. Nancy thanked him and hung up, feeling oddly upset. It was unlike her father to change his plans without calling home to tell where he would be. Could anything have happened to him? she wondered.
Since Hannah was asleep, Nancy did not awaken her to discuss the matter. Leaving on a light in the lower hall, she went to her own room and unpacked, deep in thought. As she hung up her dresses in the closet the young sleuth wondered if her father might be following a new clue in another city.
Deciding that this probably was what had happened and that she would hear from her father the next morning, Nancy felt reassured, took a bath, and went to bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.
Several hours later Nancy was awakened by the sound of a dull thud. She sat up and groped for the bedside light. Turning it on, she got out of bed and slipped into her robe and slippers.
“I hope Hannah hasn’t fallen out of bed,” Nancy thought worriedly, and hurried down the carpeted hall to the housekeeper’s room.
Peering in the bedroom door, Nancy saw that Hannah was sound asleep. Puzzled, Nancy went back to her own room. The girl detective had almost decided she had been dreaming, then she heard an even louder noise.
The creaky window in the ground-floor library was being opened! Someone was entering the house!
Alarmed, Nancy decided to call the police and tiptoed to the bedside telephone in Mr. Drew’s room. When the sergeant answered, she told him she would unlock the front door.
Nancy tiptoed quietly down the stairs. Upon reaching the ground floor, she eyed the closed door of the library, located at the far end of the living room. Not a sound came from the library which Mr. Drew used as a study.
With bated breath Nancy moved toward the front door and opened it. At that instant the library door was flung open. A man’s dark figure was outlined in the doorway. Nancy’s heart skipped three beats.
As Nancy debated whether to run outdoors or upstairs, she heard a loud chuckle. At the same time, a table lamp was turned on.
“Dad!” cried Nancy in disbelief, as color flooded back into her face. “Is it really you?”
“Of course!” said Carson Drew, a tall, distinguished-looking man who right now seemed a little sheepish.
He placed the brief case he was carrying on a table, then walked toward Nancy with outstretched arms. His daughter rushed into them and gave Mr. Drew a loving kiss.
“You’re the best-looking burglar I’ve ever seen!” Nancy declared, and told her father of fearing the house was being entered. Then she clapped a hand to her face. “The police! I notified the police when I heard the window creaking open.”
At that very moment father and daughter heard a car stop outside. Two policemen rushed in.
“Where’s the burglar?”
“Right here,” Mr. Drew confessed. “I forgot my house key. Sorry to put you to this trouble.”
The policemen grinned and one said, “I wish all our burglary cases were solved this easy!” A few minutes later the officers left.
Mr. Drew explained to Nancy that he had hesitated about ringing the doorbell and disturbing Mrs. Gruen and Nancy. Recalling that one of the windows in the library did not close completely and needed repair, he removed the screen and opened the window.
“I’m sorry I scared you. I flew home tonight rather unexpectedly and didn’t have a chance to let you know, Nancy.”
“Has there been a new development in your embezzlement case, Dad?” she inquired.
Mr. Drew nodded. “Yes, but since it’s late I suggest we both go to bed. We can talk about it in the morning.”
Nancy stifled a yawn. “Good idea,” she agreed.
Father and daughter turned off the lights and went upstairs. Both slept soundly until eight o’clock the following morning when Nancy was awakened by Hannah.
“Get up, sleepyhead!” said the housekeeper. Teasingly she prodded Nancy’s foot with the tip of a wooden crutch while leaning on another one. “It’s a beautiful day!”
Nancy jerked awake, rubbing her eyes. “Hannah!” she gasped. “What are you doing up?”
The housekeeper smiled. “One day of staying off my feet will keep me well for a year,” she declared. “Besides, I feel fine this morning.”
“But Dr. Darby said—” Nancy began.
“Stuff and nonsense!” Hannah replied tartly. “He left me these crutches to use and that’s what I intend to do with them. Nancy, is your father home? I noticed his door is closed.”
“Yes, Hannah.” Nancy related the burglar scare.
The housekeeper smiled in amusement. Then, with a swish of her skirt, she turned and clumped out of the room. She paused at the door, winked at Nancy, and said:
“Pancakes and sausage at eight-thirty—and you tell your dad that I’m going to squeeze some extra-juicy oranges.”
Mr. Drew was awake also. Nancy could hear the buzz of his electric razor! It was good, she thought, for the little family to be home again.
In half an hour they were seated in the cheerful breakfast room. As they began to eat, Mr. Drew caught up on the latest news and listened with concern to the story of Nancy’s two storm adventures.
“I’m grateful that you’re here safely beside me,” he said gravely.
When the lawyer heard about Laura Pendleton and the Aborns, he frowned. “I agree with you, Nancy, it does sound strange,” he said. “But you should not interfere with Laura and her guardians unless she asks you to. They may turn out to be very nice people.”
“I agree,” said Hannah, then added pointedly, “But if things should prove otherwise, Mr. Drew?”
“Then I’d be happy to help Laura have another guardian appointed by the court,” the lawyer replied. “In the meantime, Nancy, let’s invite Laura to spend a few days with us very soon.”
Nancy beamed. “Thanks, Dad. That’s just what I wanted to do.”
When the meal was finished and the dishes had been put in the washer, Mr. Drew and Nancy went to his study, a comfortable room with book-lined shelves, deep-seated leather chairs, and a wide, highly polished mahogany desk.
Nancy sat down in a yellow club chair, then said eagerly, “Come on, Dad, don’t hold out on me any longer about this case of yours.”
Mr. Drew smiled, and absently fingered a glass paperweight. Sitting down, he began to talk.
Mr. Drew’s client, a Mr. Seward, was the president of the Monroe National Bank in Monroe. It had branches throughout the country, including one in River Heights. During a recent audit, many valuable securities had been discovered missing from the main bank’s vault. Most of the securities were bonds which read “Payable to Bearer.”
“How dreadful!” said Nancy. “It means that whoever has the bonds can cash them.”
“That’s right.” Mr. Drew said that the bonds belonged to various bank clients throughout the country. In all cases the clients had inherited money and had asked the bank as custodian to invest it for them. A Mr. Hamilton was put in charge. This was a very common bank procedure: the bank made the investments and paid the dividends to the individual, thus relieving the person of handling his own transactions.
“I was called in on the case,” Carson Drew said, “by Mr. Sill, manager of our River Heights branch, when Mr. Seward advised him that a number of the missing securities belong to residents in our community. Mr. Seward felt this was an odd coincidence.”
“It is,” Nancy agreed. “Have you any idea who might have taken the property?”
Mr. Drew said no. So far the evidence pointed to Mr. Hamilton, although the man was a highly trusted officer.
“What about the people who work in the vault?” Nancy asked, wrinkling her forehead.
“They’re being checked on now. Most of these employees have worked for the bank a long time, however. At present two of them are on vacation, so the investigation may take some time.”
“Couldn’t you find out where they went?” Nancy asked.
“We’ve tried that,” her father replied, “but they’re not at their homes and the neighbors don’t know where they’re vacationing. We’ll just have to wait until the men get home.”
“I see,” Nancy agreed.
“The main thing is,” said Mr. Drew, “that Mr. Seward doesn’t want any publicity about the theft. The bank will continue to pay dividends to the security holders, of course. My assignment is to find the missing property and the guilty person.”
“A big order,” said Nancy. “How are you going to do this?”
Carson Drew said he was presently checking on employees other than Hamilton who worked in the custodian department. Also, he was trying to find out if there might be a tie-in between the thief and one or more of the persons whose property was missing.
“There must be several people behind this theft,” the lawyer explained. “It’s pretty difficult in these times to rob a bank, with all the security measures they employ. Nothing is impossible, however, if a plan is well worked out.”
“Sounds like an exciting case, Dad,” said Nancy. “What can I do to help?”
In reply Mr. Drew gave Nancy a slip of paper with four names on it and their corresponding River Heights addresses. They were: Mrs. William Farley, Mr. Herbert Brown, Mrs. John Stewart, Mr. Stephen Dowd. None of the names was familiar to the young detective.
“These are the local people whose securities are missing,” Mr. Drew said. “Think of some reason to meet these people,” he directed. “See what kind of homes they have, and try to get an insight into their characters. This is a very vague assignment, but I feel you may find out something incriminating about one of them—you see, we have to be very careful not to arouse suspicion in a case of this type.”
“I’ll do my best,” Nancy assured him.
“The out-of-town names I’ll check myself,” her father explained. “They live in various large cities around the country, so I’ll have to be away a good bit during the next few weeks.”
“I’ll get busy on these names right away,” Nancy said. She gave her father a quick hug. “You’re an old dear to let me help you!”
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” the lawyer warned. “An embezzler can be a dangerous person. And in this case whoever is behind the thefts is playing for big stakes.”
The young sleuth said she would take every precaution. As Nancy stood up, the telephone rang.
“I’ll get it, Dad,” she offered, and hurried to pick up the receiver of the hall phone.
A low-pitched feminine voice said tersely, “Nancy? Nancy Drew?”
“Yes. This is Nancy speaking.”
As she held on, waiting for the caller’s identification, she heard sounds of a scuffle on the other end of the receiver. This was followed by a cry of pain and a loud
crash!
crash!
CHAPTER VI
An Invitation to Sleuth
“WHO is this?” Nancy asked.
But the caller had cut off the connection. What had happened to her? Nancy wondered. Certainly she had sounded very distressed. Nancy hung up and waited for a second call, but the phone did not ring.
“Who was it?” Mr. Drew asked, coming into the hall.
Nancy told what had occurred.
“You didn’t recognize the voice?” he remarked.
“No, so I can’t call back. Oh dear, someone is in trouble, I just know it. And here I stand helpless to do a thing! It’s maddening!”
“It certainly is,” her father said. “Well, dear, I must run down to the office.” Presently he left the house.
After seeing that Hannah was comfortable, Nancy went to her bedroom and thoughtfully opened the closet door.
“This is as good a day as any to start Dad’s investigation,” she thought.
Nancy took out a two-piece navy-blue dress which made her look older than her eighteen years. Next, she found a pair of comfortable low-heeled pumps.
For several minutes Nancy experimented with various hair styles. She finally chose a simple off-the-face arrangement. Nancy put on tiny pearl earrings, dusted her nose lightly with powder, and finally added a dash of lipstick.
After she had changed her clothes and given herself a final appraisal, Nancy went to Hannah’s room to tell her she was going out for a while.
“Gracious, Nancy,” said the housekeeper, giving the girl a sharp glance, “you look awfully businesslike today. Where are you going?”
“Dad asked me to look up something for him,” she said. “I’ll be back in time for lunch.”
Other books
Stardust by Robert B. Parker
Heritage of Cyador (saga of recluce Book 18) by Modesitt, L. E., Jr.
Origin in Death by J. D. Robb
The Better to Bite by Cynthia Eden
Smuggler's Dilemma by Jamie McFarlane
Death Canyon by David Riley Bertsch
The Guardian of Threshold by A. A. Volts
Cape Cod Kisses by Bella Andre, Melissa Foster