The Old-Fashioned Mystery Read online

  Nancy took a sip of her hot chocolate. “I don’t know. He might have. He sells antique keys in his store. Maybe he stole the key so he could sell it!”

  “But it wasn’t in the case,” George pointed out.

  “Maybe he already sold it,” Nancy replied.

  “Or maybe he secretly took it out of the case when he saw us coming,” Bess added.

  George looked doubtful. “I don’t know. He’s so nice. He doesn’t seem like a thief.”

  “I know what you mean,” Nancy said. “Still, we should put him on the suspect list since he does sell keys.”

  “And he seemed like he was trying to get us away from the case,” Bess pointed out.

  Nancy nodded. “We’d better write all this stuff down. It’s getting complicated.”

  She reached into her backpack and pulled out a blue notebook. It was a special detective notebook her father had given her for writing down clues.

  She turned to a fresh page, uncapped her purple pen, and began writing:

  THE CASE OF THE MISSING KEY

  SUSPECTS:

  1. Mr. Ortiz at the Ye Olde Antique Shoppe

  *Bess had the key with her when we were in his store last night.

  *He sells antique keys in his store.

  *He didn’t want us near the case where he keeps the keys.

  Nancy glanced up from the notebook. “Any other suspects?”

  “That mean Brenda Carlton!” Bess said, waving her spoon in the air. “She wanted to win the essay contest for herself. Maybe she stole the key because she was mad about not winning!”

  George nodded. “She was in the Book Nook last night, remember? She could have stolen the shopping bag then.”

  “That sneak!” Bess said with a pout.

  “Come on, Bess. We don’t know Brenda’s our thief. Not yet, anyway.” Then Nancy thought of something. “What about that boy, Gary? The one who threw the snowball at you? He was at the Book Nook too!”

  “Yeah, maybe he took the key!” Bess said, nodding. “Write that down, Nancy!”

  Nancy picked up her purple pen and wrote under “Suspects”:

  2. Brenda Carlton

  *She was at the Book Nook last night at the same time as us.

  *She was mad about not winning the contest.

  3. Gary from River Heights Elementary School

  *He was at the Book Nook last night too.

  *He and his friend were making fun of Bess about the contest.

  *Maybe he was mad that someone from his school didn’t win the contest.

  Nancy put her pen down. “I just thought of something,” she said slowly. “We’re going to see at least one of our suspects tonight.”

  “Who?” Bess demanded.

  “Brenda!” Nancy replied with a grin. “We’re all invited to the Carltons’ holiday party, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah,” George said, her brown eyes twinkling.

  “If Brenda’s our thief, maybe we’ll have the key back tonight!” Nancy exclaimed.

  • • •

  That night, Nancy walked into the Carltons’ house with her arm linked through her father’s. She was dressed in a red velvet party dress, white tights, and black patent-leather shoes. Her father was dressed in a dark gray suit.

  “Wow, this is some party, Pudding Pie,” Mr. Drew said, whistling.

  “Definitely!” Nancy agreed.

  The inside of the Carltons’ house had been transformed into a holiday wonderland. There were white icicle lights hanging from the ceilings. The wood floors were covered with fake glittery snow. There were wreaths and mistletoe and garlands everywhere.

  An enormous Christmas tree stood in the center of the living room. It was covered with real candles and strings of popcorn and cranberries. Next to the tree was a big wooden sleigh full of presents.

  The place was jam-packed with people. Nancy guessed that there might be a hundred guests there.

  “Welcome, Carson, thanks for coming!” A tall, dark-haired man strolled across the room and shook Mr. Drew’s hand.

  “You remember Mr. Carlton, Nancy,” Mr. Drew said.

  Nancy shook Mr. Carlton’s hand. “Hi, Mr. Carlton. Thank you for inviting us to your party.”

  “Mrs. Carlton is in the kitchen getting more hors d’oeuvres,” Mr. Carlton said. “And Brenda’s over there by the punch bowl. I’m sure she’d love to see you, Nancy!”

  Nancy wasn’t so sure about that. But she nodded and said, “Okay, Mr. Carlton. Thanks!”

  Nancy started across the room. At the buffet table, she ran into Bess and George. They were helping themselves to some cupcakes and apple cider.

  Bess was wearing a powder-blue dress and a white bow in her hair. George was wearing a navy-blue dress with gold buttons.

  “Hi, guys!” Nancy said, waving. “When did you get here?”

  “About ten minutes ago,” Bess replied. “My mom and dad and I came with George and her mom and dad.”

  A maid came by with a tray. “Would you care for a canapé?” she asked the girls.

  George stared at the tray. “What’s a can-a-pay?”

  “Well, canapés can be different things,” the maid replied. “These are crackers covered with salmon eggs and cream cheese.”

  Bess wrinkled her nose. “Salmon eggs? No, thank you!”

  After the maid walked away, Nancy turned to Bess and George. “I was thinking,” she said in a low voice. “Instead of giving Brenda the third degree about the missing key, maybe we should try a different plan.”

  “Like what?” George asked her.

  “Like, why don’t you two go talk to her and keep her busy?” Nancy suggested. “While you do that, I’ll go peek in her room.”

  “Nancy, that’s brilliant!” Bess exclaimed. Then she made a face. “There’s just one problem.”

  “What?” Nancy asked her.

  “We have to talk to Brenda!” Bess grimaced.

  Nancy giggled. “You can do it. I know you can! Just don’t let her come upstairs before I’m back, okay?”

  “But what if she goes upstairs anyway?” Bess asked.

  “Then I’ll hide in the closet,” Nancy joked.

  “Okay,” George said.

  Nancy waved good-bye to her friends and headed out into the hallway. Then she went up the stairs to the second floor.

  There were lots and lots of doors. They were all closed. She wondered which one was Brenda’s bedroom.

  She came across one that had the initials B. C. on it. The letters were red with white polka dots.

  That must be Brenda’s room! Nancy thought.

  She put her ear to the door and listened. She didn’t hear anything. She opened the door and went inside.

  Brenda’s room had a big four-poster bed with a lacy white canopy over it. There was a wooden desk with a purple computer on top of it.

  Walking on tiptoe, Nancy looked around the room. She peeked in the closet. She peeked under the bed. There was no sign of the Muller’s shopping bag—or the key.

  She was just about to give up when she saw something poking out from behind the purple computer.

  Nancy glanced behind the computer. It was a small Muller’s shopping bag!

  But before she could pick it up, she heard footsteps outside the door. She clamped her hand over her mouth and tried not to panic.

  Was she about to get caught snooping in Brenda’s room?

  6

  Bad News

  The footsteps came closer. It sounded like more than one person.

  Nancy looked around frantically for a place to hide. She was about to get caught snooping in Brenda’s room!

  The closet! she thought.

  Nancy made a beeline for the closet and shut the door behind her. She wedged herself in the back, behind a bunch of dresses. Just then, she heard the door to the bedroom open—and more footsteps.

  “Bess! George! Why are you two following me?”

  Nancy recognized Brenda’s voice.

  “We just h
ad to see your room!” That was George’s voice.

  “It’s sooooooo beautiful!” That was Bess.

  “Wow, check out that purple computer! That’s the coolest computer I’ve ever seen!” said George.

  “Well, uh, thanks.” Brenda sounded surprised that Bess and George were being so friendly to her. “I just need to get my velvet hat out of my closet. It matches my dress.”

  Closet? Nancy clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from making any noise. This was not good! She was about to get caught!

  The doorknob to the closet turned. Nancy gulped.

  “Oh, but that dress looks great without a hat,” Bess said quickly.

  The doorknob stopped turning.

  “You think so?” Brenda said.

  “Bess is right!” George piped up. “You should definitely go hatless. Besides, you have really pretty hair. You don’t want to cover it up with a hat.”

  “Really?” Brenda said.

  “Let’s go back downstairs! Brenda, why don’t you show us that Ping-Pong table you were talking about?” Bess suggested.

  “Hmm, okay, maybe.”

  Their footsteps went away. Nancy poked her head out the door. The three girls were gone.

  “Whew!” she said to herself.

  Nancy went back to Brenda’s computer and took a quick look at the Muller’s shopping bag. She sighed in disappointment. The only thing inside was a red silk scarf. There were no pink mittens, and there was no key, either.

  Nancy put the bag back and headed downstairs. She found Brenda, Bess, and George in the family room.

  Nancy glanced at Bess. Bess mouthed the words: “Did you find the key?” Nancy shook her head.

  Brenda grinned at Nancy. “Where have you been? I bet I could beat you at table tennis with one hand tied behind my back!” she bragged.

  “No, thanks,” Nancy said to Brenda. “Hey, remember when we saw you at the Book Nook yesterday?”

  Brenda narrowed her eyes. “Yeah? What about it?”

  “You didn’t happen to see a little shopping bag there, did you? From Muller’s department store?” Nancy asked her.

  Brenda frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  Nancy was about to say something else when Mr. Marvin walked into the room. He was holding a glass of punch.

  “Oh, there you are, pumpkin,” he said cheerfully to Bess. “You girls having fun?”

  “Yes, Daddy,” Bess said, nodding.

  “Say, have you girls had any luck tracking down the key to the city?” Mr. Marvin asked Nancy.

  Brenda’s eyes grew enormous. “The key to the city is missing?” she demanded.

  “Daddy!” Bess whispered, putting her finger to her lips.

  Brenda glanced at Bess and then at Mr. Marvin. She broke into a gleeful smile.

  Oh, no! Nancy thought. Now Brenda knows. And she can’t keep a secret!

  On the other hand, Nancy realized something important: Brenda didn’t know that the key was missing. Which meant that she didn’t steal it!

  • • •

  By Sunday at four o’clock, downtown River Heights was jam-packed with people. The Holiday Streetwalk had officially begun.

  Almost everyone was dressed in old-fashioned costumes. There were women in velvet dresses and capes. There were men in stroller coats and top hats.

  Nancy and her friends were dressed in old-fashioned clothes too. Nancy wore a brown velvet coat and matching hat, with a red bow at her neck. Bess wore a fancy beige coat with a black muffler. George wore a striped dress with a red velvet smock over it.

  Even Chip was dressed in a costume. She was wearing a red-and-white sweater.

  “This would be so much fun,” Bess whispered to her friends, “if it weren’t for the fact that the key is still missing!”

  The three girls had spent the day trying to find the key. They had gone back to the Book Nook and the Ye Olde Antique Shoppe with Mr. Marvin. They had walked up and down Main Street, just in case Bess might have dropped the bag somewhere. They had even gone to the lost-and-found department at the River Heights Welcome Center.

  But there was no sign of the key anywhere.

  Bess glanced over her shoulder. Her parents, the Faynes, Carson Drew, and Hannah were walking a few feet behind the girls.

  “My parents said that we have to find the key by the time the tree-lighting ceremony starts,” Bess whispered. “Otherwise, we have to tell the mayor and Mr. Farnsworth. Dad thinks they’ll probably cancel my part in the ceremony and just have the mayor greet Santa and Mrs. Claus! Everyone will be super-mad at me when they find out that I lost the key!” She sniffled.

  “Don’t worry, Bess, we’ll think of something,” Nancy whispered. “We still have a little time.”

  “Yeah, but not much,” George pointed out. “It’s already starting to get dark.”

  Nancy glanced around. Downtown looked so pretty with twinkling lights and holiday decorations everywhere. Storeowners were standing out on the sidewalk, passing out cookies and cups of hot cider. There was a group of carolers on the corner, singing Christmas carols.

  Just then, Gary—the boy from River Heights Elementary School—walked by. His parents were dressed in costumes. Gary was dressed in jeans and a ski parka.

  Nancy stopped. “Hey, Gary!”

  Gary stopped. He glanced at Bess and blushed. “Hey,” he mumbled.

  His father put his hand on his shoulder.

  “Gary, isn’t there something you want to say to Miss Marvin?”

  Gary’s face turned even redder. “I’m sorry about hitting you with that snowball,” he said to Bess. “It . . . was a dumb thing to do.”

  “I think Gary was upset because he wanted someone from his school to win the contest,” Gary’s mother told Mr. and Mrs. Marvin. “You know, like him.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Gary said, looking embarrassed. “Anyway, I’m sorry. I won’t do that again.”

  “Apology accepted,” Bess told him.

  Nancy turned to Gary. “Hey, wait a minute. You were at the Book Nook on Friday night. Did you see a small Muller’s shopping bag there? And did you maybe pick it up by accident?”

  Gary frowned and shrugged. “No.”

  “Not even a key?” George piped up.

  Gary frowned again. “Huh?”

  “I don’t think he knows anything about the key,” Bess whispered to Nancy.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right,” Nancy whispered back.

  Nancy and her friends bid Gary and his parents good-bye. They started heading down the sidewalk again when a voice rang out behind them.

  “Bess? Bess Marvin?”

  Nancy, Bess, and George turned around.

  A tall blond woman dressed in a long black coat rushed up to Bess. She was holding a pad of paper and a pen. Nancy wasn’t sure who she was. But she looked familiar.

  “Bess Marvin, is it true that you lost the key to the city?” the woman demanded.

  7

  A Pink Clue

  Bess stared at Nancy with a look of total panic.

  How did this woman find out about the missing key? Nancy wondered.

  Mrs. Marvin’stepped up to the woman. “Excuse me, I’m Mrs. Marvin, Bess’s mother. Who are you?”

  The woman flashed a smile. “Alice Stone from Today’s Times. Rumor has it that your daughter lost the key to the city. Any comment?”

  “Today’s Times. That’s Brenda’s dad’s newspaper!” George whispered to Nancy.

  “That big-mouthed Brenda must have blabbed my secret!” Bess whispered fiercely.

  “How did it happen?” Ms. Stone prompted Bess as she scribbled in her pad. “Was it stolen? Do you know who did it?”

  “We have no comment to make,” Mrs. Marvin said huffily to the reporter.

  The Marvins grabbed Bess by the hand and pulled her away from Alice Stone.

  “Oh, my!” Hannah exclaimed to Nancy. “It’s impossible to keep a secret from these reporters, isn’t it?”

  “Especi
ally when Brenda Blabbermouth knows the secret too,” George grumbled.

  “Bess Marvin! Bess Marvin!”

  Nancy turned around. A man was jogging down the sidewalk toward Bess. He had a microphone in his hand. Next to him was a young guy who was holding a TV camera. The camera had a logo on it: WRIV-TV.

  “Oh, no, that’s a TV reporter!” Bess moaned. “Everyone in River Heights is going to know that I lost the key to the city!”

  The reporter stopped in front of Bess. “Casey Cameron, WRIV-TV,” he said. “Which one of you is Bess Marvin? I’m wondering if I could get a comment from you about the missing key to the city!”

  The Marvins looked angry. But before they could say a word, Nancy stepped up and smiled at Casey Cameron.

  “I’m Nancy Drew, Bess’s friend,” she said. “Meet us at the Christmas tree when the tree-lighting ceremony starts. You’ll get your story then!”

  Before Casey Cameron could respond, Nancy grabbed Bess’s arm and began walking in the other direction.

  “Nancy, why did you tell the reporter that we’d have a story for him?” Bess whispered to Nancy as they hurried away.

  “I just wanted to get rid of him for you,” Nancy whispered back. “Besides, we will have a story for him. We’ll find the key by then.”

  “How?” Bess moaned. “It’s less than an hour till the tree-lighting ceremony. Mom and Dad said we have to tell Mr. Farnsworth really soon.”

  “We’ll find it,” Nancy said confidently.

  But Nancy didn’t feel as confident as she sounded. Deep down, she wondered, Is the key lost forever?

  Nancy knew that she had to put her worries aside, though. She made a quick plan. She told Bess and the others that she wanted to do one final sweep of the Ye Olde Antique Shoppe and the Book Nook.

  They went to the Book Nook first. Ms. Sandback was there, handing out hot cider to customers. “I still haven’t seen your shopping bag,” she told them.

  They all headed over to the antique store next. Mr. Ortiz’s news wasn’t any better. “Nope, no bag, and no key,” he said.

  Nancy thought that Mr. Ortiz wasn’t acting guilty at all. Still, if he was the thief, he could be pretending to be innocent.