149 The Clue Of The Gold Doubloons Read online

“Also known as Scott Harlow, a waiter at the

  Harborside Hotel.”

  “No wonder he was able to get a master key card.

  Selena was his accomplice?”

  “No. Selena was the cat burglar.”

  Weller looked surprised for only a second. Then he

  shook his head.

  Nancy grabbed the railing as the police boat sped

  up. Two officers wearing baseball caps balanced on the

  bow. Siren blaring, light flashing, the boat quickly drew

  alongside My Treasure. The two officers threw

  grappling hooks onto the deck, hooking the police boat

  to the yacht.

  Nancy caught sight of Chance, hunched over the

  steering wheel in the small cabin. Selena stood in the

  stern, legs straddled for balance, the gun pointed at the

  police boat.

  “Drop the gun, Ms. Ramirez,” Weller shouted

  through a bullhorn. The police officers had drawn their

  guns and aimed them at her.

  “Stop the boat, Curran!” Weller hollered.

  Chance cut the engine, and both boats slowed to a

  stop. Hands raised, he came out of the cabin. “I'm

  unarmed,” he shouted.

  Selena stood firm. “Stay behind me,” she snapped at

  him. “We're not giving up.”

  “Selena,” Nancy called. “This isn't a movie. If you

  shoot someone, you'll go to jail—forever.”

  Selena didn't budge. Then suddenly, with an eerie

  wail, she dropped her arms. The gun fell to the deck.

  Using the grappling hook, Weller pulled My Treasure

  alongside the whaler. One officer jumped in and

  picked up the gun while the other kept his weapon on

  Selena.

  “I give up!” she cried, huge tears rolling down her

  cheeks. “I'm so sorry. But he forced me to do

  everything!” Turning, she pointed a trembling finger at

  Chance.

  Nancy thought she'd seen Selena's best perfor-

  mance, but this topped them all.

  “He's the mastermind!” she continued to sob. “He

  told me if I didn't help him with the thefts, he'd ruin

  my acting career.”

  Chance was so astounded that for a second he didn't

  react. Then he gave a low growl and lunged for her,

  grabbing her around the neck.

  Weller jumped into the boat and helped the officer

  pull the two apart. “Cuff 'em,” he barked. “Then read

  them their rights. I'll radio for a transport car to meet

  us at the dock.”

  Nancy pulled the coat tighter around her chest.

  “Nice acting, Selena,” she said after the officer had

  handcuffed her. “Only this time, no one's clapping.”

  Tossing her hair behind her shoulders, Selena gave

  her a haughty look. “My award-winning performance is

  just beginning, Drew.”

  “I don't think a judge will be too impressed.” Nancy

  glanced at Chance just as the officer pulled his hands

  behind him and snapped on the cuffs.

  He gave her a lopsided smile, and for a second he

  looked so much like the guy she thought she knew that

  Nancy almost smiled back.

  “You were right,” he said with a resigned shrug.

  “After this last heist, Selena was going to throw me to

  the wolves to save her own skin. I'm sorry, Nancy,” he

  added before the officer led him into the cabin.

  “I'm sorry, too . . . Scott,” Nancy whispered.

  Selena and Chance had been as daring, cunning, and

  greedy as pirates, and just like the pirates of old, they'd

  lost in the end.

  “Wow, what a story!” Harold exclaimed the next day

  on the Swift Adventure.

  “Really,” Andrew chimed in. “We should make it

  into a movie.”

  “I second that.” Daniel waved one hand in the air. “I

  can see it on the marquee now—Andrew Wagner's The

  City of Pirates starring the famous actor Daniel

  Wagner.”

  “Just don't make me play Selena,” George said, and

  everyone started laughing.

  The cast and crew had gathered on the ship for a

  buffet breakfast before Friday morning's shoot. Nancy

  hadn't told anyone the details of Chance and Selena's

  arrest. She didn't have to.

  The night before George, Daniel, and Andrew had

  met her at the police station. Joseph Mascelli was

  already there along with WCBN. The story had made

  the morning headlines and the morning news.

  “Nancy, you didn't really suspect I was the cat

  burglar?” Eli asked for the third time.

  Nancy laughed at his expectant expression. “I sure

  did,” she told him, and everybody clapped him on the

  back.

  She turned to Karl and Janie. “I even suspected you

  two when I spotted Janie after she told me she was

  going back to the hotel. You were following her, Karl,

  and both of you were traveling fast. The next instant I

  heard the police sirens coming from the hotel.”

  “Whoa.” Karl rocked back on his heels. “That must

  have looked suspicious.”

  “Really suspicious after I lied to you when you asked

  me about it,” Janie said. “But I was too embarrassed to

  tell you what happened. After I met you for dinner,

  Nancy, Karl called me at the hotel. We met on the

  wharf.”

  Karl hung his head. “I begged her to lend me

  money,” he said. “She told me no. I was so desperate, I

  got a little . . . uh, insistent.”

  “You mean rough,” Janie clarified. “I told him he'd

  been playing Blackbeard too long.”

  “I'm just glad you told the police about My

  Treasure,” Nancy told Karl. “It saved me from a long

  night tied up in the cabin.”

  “The cops are going to go after that gambling racket,

  too,” Karl said. “Though as long as I'm in Baltimore,

  I'm going to be checking over my shoulder for those

  goons.”

  Andrew threw him a pretend punch. “And we're

  going to be here a week longer than we thought.”

  Everybody turned to face him. “Why?” Lian asked.

  “We don't have Selena to slow us down with her

  million requests.”

  “Yes, but we do have extra footage to shoot.”

  Andrew was grinning happily.

  Nancy glanced at Daniel, who looked just as smug.

  “With all the publicity,” Daniel explained, “we have

  heard from networks from all over, each wanting to buy

  the rights to the film. One of them, Broadcast Times,

  called us this morning and made us an offer. But if we

  go with them, they want to expand the film from a half-

  hour to an hour. I think Seeing Double Productions

  has its first hit!”

  Everybody cheered, but the cheers quickly died

  down, and Nancy heard grumblings among the cast

  and crew. She couldn't blame them. Most were staying

  in budget hotel rooms that they were paying for out of

  their own pockets.

  Andrew chuckled. “Oh, did we forget to tell you the

  best news? We've accepted Broadcast Times's offer,

  and it's such a good deal, you're all going to get paid!”

&nbs
p; Hearty cheers broke out this time. Linking arms,

  Janie and Lian swung each other around. Harold and

  Eli shouted, “Better props! A new microphone!”

  “What's going to happen to Selena?” Janie asked

  Nancy.

  “Are you hoping she'll get life?” George asked.

  “In a cell with no shower and makeup,” Janie added

  while everybody laughed.

  “I'm not sure what will happen,” Nancy admitted.

  “The police are gathering evidence to build a strong

  case. Of course, kidnapping me will be added to her list

  of crimes. Plus, the two are wanted in several other

  cities.”

  “Did you ever figure out who—or what—they were

  planning to rob last night?” George asked. “You know,

  the big heist.”

  Nancy shook her head. “Detective Weller thinks it

  has something to do with the convention group that

  had just come into the hotel Thursday for the weekend.

  A lot of wealthy businesspeople and their spouses. The

  group is known to bring lots of jewelry and cash.”

  “But how did Chance and Selena know which rooms

  to burglarize?” Janie asked.

  Harold laughed. “Really. If they'd gone into my

  motel room, they would've found day-old french fries.”

  “Chance used his job as a waiter to get friendly with

  the customers.” Nancy sighed for a minute, realizing

  how good he was at duping people. “He'd chat them

  up, all the while finding out what their plans for the

  night were as well as checking out the size of their

  wallets. Most of them would sign the bill with their

  room number. Once he'd stolen the master key card, it

  was easy as pie.”

  “What I can't figure out is why Selena used the

  doubloons to cast suspicion on the ship,” Daniel asked.

  “It seems so risky.”

  “My guess is she wanted to point the police in the

  direction of the ship so when the hotel got Anne Bonny

  and Jack Rackham on tape, they'd arrest Daniel and

  George. Once the police had two suspects in custody,

  Selena and Chance would be free to make their last

  heist and get out of town.”

  “What a smooth operation,” Janie said. “And who

  would have thought that Selena was the mastermind.”

  “Not me!” Harold, Eli, and Karl chorused. “We were

  too busy being starstruck,” Eli said.

  “Speak for yourself,” Daniel cut in. “I was too busy

  being annoyed with her acting.”

  George shook her head. “And to think she was

  actually the best actor of us all.”

  Andrew put his arm around Nancy's shoulder. “She

  fooled everybody but Nancy.”

  Nancy shook her head. “Wrong. She had me fooled,

  too. I just hope she doesn't pull the wool over the

  judge's and jury's eyes.”

  “Speaking of acting,” Daniel straightened. “Who's

  going to play Mary Read now that Selena's in jail?”

  “Nancy, of course,” Karl Kidd boomed. “Anyone

  who can foil two real pirates can handle the role of

  Mary Read.” Pulling a pistol from the waistband of his

  pants, he held it out to Nancy.

  Nancy grinned. Now that the mystery had been

  solved, she was ready to throw herself back into the

  film.

  Taking the pistol, she brandished it in the air. “All

  right, mates,” she said in her best pirate's voice. “Let's

  get this film rolling. Before I make everybody walk the

  plank!”