The Baby-Sitter Burglaries Read online

  “I don’t know how anyone could accuse you of being a thief,” Nancy said in a low voice. “Where would you find the time?”

  “That’s just it,” Juanita said. “I couldn’t. And neither could David. He’s either working at the Magic Shop or assisting at the shows. Grandfather says David will be a talented magician himself someday.”

  “I heard that,” David said, coming up behind Juanita. “Don’t you think I’m working hard enough, Nita?”

  Juanita laughed. “You sound like Carlos.”

  “Speaking of working,” Nancy said, “what happened at Secure, David? Why were you fired?”

  He frowned. “Look—I really don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

  “I’ve got to get started on the balloons,” Juanita said. She left and went upstairs.

  “But it was your job with Secure Monitoring that made you a suspect in the burglaries,” Nancy said. “It’s important for me to know why you were fired.”

  David ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter, because you still wouldn’t know anything about the burglaries,” he said. “But I don’t have alibis for them, so I can’t prove I’m not involved.”

  “But you know the security codes in the houses that were robbed, don’t you? You installed the systems,” Nancy said.

  “No—no! I don’t know those security codes,” David said, clenching his fist. “When I installed a system I tested it with the code once or twice, but I didn’t try to remember it—and I don’t!” David glared at Nancy. “You’re worse than the police.”

  Nancy shook her head. “I’m only trying to learn more about this case, David,” she said. “Tell me, if I were a thief, how would I get into one of those houses without setting off the alarm?”

  “I can’t tell you that, Nancy,” he said. “I signed a confidentiality agreement with Secure, promising not to reveal any information about their security equipment. Besides, those are top-of-the-line systems. The average thief would have a hard time getting past the motion detectors. You’d have to—” David stopped, and ran his hand through his hair again.

  Nancy looked intently at David. “You’d have to what, David? Have the kind of information that only an employee of Secure could have?”

  David turned and walked away, muttering something about getting ready for the magic show. Nancy sighed. If David were innocent, she thought, wouldn’t he be more willing to answer her questions?

  Juanita came back into the living room, holding a bunch of balloons. She began tying them to the chairs around the table.

  “We’re home!” Mr. and Mrs. Kiley came bustling through the front door, loaded with packages. “It looks lovely, Juanita!” Mrs. Kiley said. “Here’s the cake. Let’s go into the kitchen and put on the candles.”

  It was close to one o’clock, so the party guests soon arrived as well. Children were dressed in their best clothes; the boys in neat shirts and slacks, and the girls in colorful dresses. Nancy caught her breath when a tall man with light brown hair walked in holding the hand of a dark-haired boy. It was the man she’d seen spying with the binoculars.

  Nancy went over to Juanita, who was setting out plastic glasses on the party table, and pointed to the man.

  “That’s Reese Gardner and his son, Jimmy,” Juanita said. “He’s divorced, but he spends as much time as possible with Jimmy. He even gave him a birthday party not long ago.” She looked at her watch. “It’s so late! Come into the kitchen, Nancy. My grandfather should be arriving any minute.”

  So the man with the binoculars was Reese Gardner, Nancy thought. She wouldn’t miss going to the meeting at his house tomorrow. “One more thing, Juanita,” Nancy said, following her into the kitchen. “There’s a hole in the chain-link fence outside. It looks like it was made with wire cutters.”

  Juanita looked puzzled. “Why would anyone cut the fence? I’ll tell Mr. Kiley about it right away,” she promised.

  There was a quick knock on the back door, and Juanita hurried to open it. His arms full of equipment, Diego Puentes came into the kitchen. Nancy recognized him from the flyer.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Puentes,” she said.

  “Hello, Nancy Drew,” Mr. Puentes answered cheerfully. “Please call me Diego—everyone does.”

  Nancy shook his hand, thinking that the warm look in his eyes no doubt charmed children as much as his magic tricks did.

  A young man carrying a folded table followed Diego into the kitchen. He had coal black hair and blue eyes, and was dressed in black jeans and a black shirt. He smiled at Juanita. “Is David here yet?” he asked.

  “He’s in the living room,” Juanita replied. Then she turned toward Nancy. “Nancy, this is Max Karn—he’s my grandfather’s new assistant. Max, meet Nancy Drew.”

  Max grinned at Nancy. “Hi, Nancy. I hope you’re staying for the show.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” she said, smiling at him. Diego stacked some packages next to the door in the kitchen that led to the basement. Then he and Max headed down the hall with the table and the rest of the equipment, with Juanita and Nancy behind them.

  In the living room, George and Bess were rounding up the children and seating them on the floor to watch the magic show. Nancy started to sit down on a folding chair, then staggered and almost fell on the floor. Someone had jerked the chair out from under her. Carlos was holding on to the chair and grinning wickedly.

  “Carlos,” she said with a squeak, trying to get her breath back. “You could have hurt me. You’re supposed to sit on the floor with the other kids.”

  “I’m a detective, too! See?” Carlos said. He pulled his notebook out from his pocket. “I want to sit in a chair like you.”

  Nancy looked down at Carlos, not sure whether to be annoyed or flattered. Juanita walked up and pointed to the floor. Carlos sat down and stuck out his bottom lip.

  Nancy turned her attention to the center of the living room. Black sheets were hung over the windows to shut out the bright afternoon sun. Max and David stood behind the table, which was now draped with a dark cloth. “Ladies and gentlemen,” David announced, “may I present—Diego the Great!”

  Diego swept into the room, wearing a long silk cape and a black top hat, and carrying a black wand with a silver tip. He winked at his audience as the children cheered, then he nodded to Max. He turned off the lights, then shone a spotlight on Diego, who looked truly magical in the dark room.

  Max went over to stand beside David at the table. Diego put his top hat down, then looked at Max and frowned. “I don’t need two assistants for this set of tricks,” he said. He turned to the audience. “Shall I make one of them disappear?”

  “Yes!” the children shouted. David handed Diego a black sheet. He draped it over Max’s head, covering him completely. Diego tapped the top of the sheet with the magic wand and said, “Begone!” The sheet collapsed into a heap on the floor. The children gasped. Diego picked up the sheet and waved it.

  Max must have ducked under the table, Nancy thought, behind the cloth. She was certain of it after Diego began to pull things from his top hat, which was still on the table—a pitcher of water, a live rabbit, and a long brass cane. Then he pulled out a dove, which spread its wings and flew around the room. The children squealed in delight, but Mrs. Kiley looked worried.

  The dark room made the magic tricks look wondrous, and even Nancy was amazed when a white silk scarf pushed itself out of Diego’s pocket. It grew longer and longer until it reached the top of Diego’s head and wrapped itself into a turban.

  Looking regal and mysterious, Diego turned to David. “What did you do with Max?”

  “But, sir, you made him disappear!”

  Diego frowned. “Well, now I need him again. Get him back—immediately!” he demanded.

  “Yes sir,” David said. He picked up the black sheet and held it behind the table. “Abracadabra and Kalamazoo—Max, I’d come back if I were you!”

  The sheet rose slowly into the air. David snatched it aside. Max yawne
d and opened his eyes. “Where was I?” he said in a sleepy voice.

  The children screamed and laughed in amazement. Max and David darted into the kitchen and came back pushing a tall cabinet with paneled doors. They placed it beside the table.

  Diego opened both doors of the cabinet. It was empty. He motioned David inside, shut the doors, and waved his magic wand in front of the cabinet.

  Diego opened the doors again. David was still inside, grinning. Diego turned to the audience with a surprised look on his face. “It didn’t work!” he cried. He tilted his head and looked at the children. “Maybe if you said a magic word, it would work.” Diego shut the doors again.

  The children shouted, “Abracadabra!” Diego waved the wand, then threw open the doors of the cabinet. David was gone! The children cheered. Max turned the cabinet around. David was not behind it.

  Nancy moved closer, took a good look, then exchanged glances with Bess and George. The cabinet was really empty.

  Max stepped back against the wall, out of the spotlight. Diego waved the magic wand with a flourish. “Now you children can answer a question for me. What’s at the end of a rainbow?”

  The children shouted, “A pot of gold!”

  “Look!” Diego pointed to the ceiling with his wand. Colored lights were glowing and shifting, and finally formed into a shimmering rainbow. Nancy could see Max near a spotlight with revolving colored panes. Diego waved his wand, and a white light traveled along the arc of the rainbow to the side of the room. A golden pot shone in the light.

  “Come, children,” Diego said. “Let’s gather around the pot to see what’s inside.” The children jumped up and ran to the pot. But when they looked inside, it was empty. Diego came up and shook his head. “Someone must be playing tricks on me. Who took my gold coins?”

  He looked at the children, then his eyes grew wide. “There’s one!” he cried. He snatched a gold coin from behind Robbie’s ear. The children gasped. “It’s real magic,” said one of the boys. Then the children laughed as Diego discovered more gold coins, in their ears, under their chins, and behind their backs.

  At last the lights came on. Diego held up three gold coins. “These magic coins are for the birthday boys—Robbie, Jamie, and Corey,” he said. Diego handed each boy a shiny gold coin and wished him a happy birthday.

  Nancy smiled as she looked at the delighted faces of the children. Then she narrowed her eyes, studying each face. She realized she didn’t remember seeing Carlos during the time Diego was pulling the magic coins out from around the children. That was strange. She stood up and looked around the room. Carlos was gone. Was he up to some new mischief?

  Nancy dashed into the kitchen. It was empty. The birthday cake was on the counter—in one piece. Nancy breathed easier. But the basement door was open. She walked to the door and looked down the stairs into the dark basement.

  She found the light switch, and was about to switch it on, when Carlos came clattering up the stairs toward her, his face white. “Someone’s down there!” he yelled. “It’s a burglar!”

  5

  Secrets at the Shop

  Trembling, Carlos hugged Nancy’s legs. Nancy looked down the basement stairs. “I don’t see anyone,” she said, patting his shoulder. “Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

  “It didn’t work,” Carlos said. “But somebody’s down there!”

  “I’ll check it out,” Nancy promised. She took Carlos back to the magic show, and he joined the other children, who were sitting down once again and watching Diego the Great perform.

  Nancy grabbed her penlight from her purse and went back to the kitchen. Max was packing doves into his pockets from a cage by the basement door. He smiled and whispered, “Shh . . . don’t tell the kids.” His pockets full, he went into the living room.

  Nancy opened the basement door and looked down the stairs. She flicked the light switch on the wall, but the lights didn’t come on. She turned on her penlight and walked down the stairs.

  She stepped slowly into the basement, which was full of shadows. Her feet hit something. Nancy stumbled, then fell down hard on the concrete floor.

  She groaned and sat up. She shone her light on a tricycle. Baby-sitting can be dangerous indeed, she thought, looking at her arm.

  She found a light switch and tried it. The lights came on, and she looked around. Both windows were shuttered, which was why the room had been so dark with the lights off. Nancy noticed a game table and shelves of games in the comfortably furnished room. She saw a Secure transmitter and remembered that Bess had said that the Kileys had a Secure system. She looked up at the wires, and followed them through the basement. The system looked just like the Larsens’.

  Nothing in the basement seemed out of the ordinary, so Nancy went back upstairs. In the living room, David and Diego were packing up their equipment. The magic show was over. Mrs. Kiley was stacking presents in three separate piles. Carlos was holding gifts up to his ears and shaking them. “I’m helping you, Mrs. Kiley,” he said.

  Mr. Gardner was standing with some of the other parents. He turned and frowned at David. Why? Nancy wondered.

  Max was talking to the triplets, smiling as they showed him the coins Diego had given them. They held the coins tightly and wouldn’t even hand one to Max.

  Max laughed as he knelt next to Robbie and his brothers. “Remember—don’t try to spend them, or the magic will go away,” Max said.

  He stood up and looked at Nancy. “This is a great business—you know? Diego makes a lot of kids happy,” he said.

  “You and David were terrific, too,” Nancy said.

  “Thanks.” He looked up as Diego called out his name. “I’m over here!” he yelled. “Well, see you later, Nancy—I have to help pack up the van.”

  Nancy found George helping Juanita set up a party game. “Can I talk to you a minute, George?” Nancy asked, and pulled her friends aside. “Did you see anyone leave the living room before I did?”

  George frowned. “Sorry, Nancy, but I didn’t even see you leave. Diego had me just as fascinated as the kids. He made David reappear in the cabinet, and Max did some tricks with doves. Then I had to help set up games for the kids,” she said.

  “Well, I’d better talk to Carlos,” Nancy said. “I promised him I would check out the basement, but I’m sure he just imagined he saw someone.”

  Carlos was blindfolded and giggling as he played pin the tail on the donkey. The other children were dancing around him, as he tried to attach the Velcro tail to Bess’s hair.

  When his turn was over, Carlos ran past Nancy. “Carlos—wait!” She stopped him in midflight by stepping in front of him. “I searched the basement but didn’t see anyone,” Nancy said. “Are you sure you saw someone?”

  Carlos’s eyes lit with excitement. “Yes—I’m sure,” he said firmly. He pulled his notebook out of his pocket. Nancy saw a paper fall out of the notebook, but Carlos snatched it up and crammed it in his pocket.

  He tapped the notebook with his pencil. “I was investigating a mystery, just like you do,” he said, “but the light was broken. Then a burglar jumped at me! Or maybe it was a ghost—ghosts live in basements!”

  “Thanks, Carlos.” Nancy shook her head as he ran off again. It looked as if Carlos’s wild imagination had sent her on a wild-goose chase.

  After the triplets opened their presents, the cake and other refreshments were served. Soon after, the guests began to leave. Max and Diego had already left, but Nancy found David talking to Juanita.

  Juanita smiled at Nancy. “Did you enjoy the show, Nancy?”

  “I loved it—and I’d like to learn more about magic,” Nancy said. She turned to David. “Do you think I could have a tour of the Magic Shop?”

  “Sure,” David said. “Why don’t you and your friends come by about eleven o’clock tomorrow morning? I’ll open the shop early.”

  “Sounds great. Thanks, David,” Nancy said.

  Nancy found Bess and George and told them about the Magic Sh
op tour set for the next morning. Afterward, they could drop by Reese Gardner’s block watch meeting.

  • • •

  The next morning they met David at the Magic Shop. It was on Front Street, near the river. As David waved them through the door, Nancy looked around in wonder. The walls were covered with shelves, displaying items like top hats and odd-shaped boxes with false bottoms and trick doors. One shelf held collapsible birdcages and hat racks, designed to be folded almost flat and pulled out of a carpet bag.

  “Wow,” George said. “This place is incredible.”

  “Oh my gosh—look at this!” Bess rushed over to stare at a glowing green skull floating above a shelf. “How does it do that?” she asked David.

  David grinned. “I can’t reveal all our secrets. But come over here and I’ll let you have a close look at a few tricks.”

  David picked up a stick. “This is a coin wand. Did you know that every time we handle a silver coin some of the silver wears off and is dispersed into the atmosphere,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve all seen coins thin from wear. A coin wand collects the silver from the atmosphere.”

  David’s eyes twinkled as he waved the wand in the air and a coin appeared at the end of it. Then he shook it over a box and Nancy heard it clatter into the box.

  “It isn’t really true—about the silver—is it?” Bess whispered to Nancy.

  David laughed. “No, Bess, it isn’t. This wand is operated by a battery,” he said. “See, it has two slots on each side of the tip of the wand. A half coin is attached to a pivot in each slot. When I turn the switch on, the coin seems to leap off the wand, but with the switch off, the coin retreats into the wand and it looks like an ordinary plastic wand. The sound of a coin dropping off was made when I jiggled the box, which is already full of coins.”

  Nancy smiled. “You had me fooled. What about rope tricks? How do magicians escape when their hands are bound?” she asked.

  David pulled out some rope. “Tie my hands, George,” he ordered. He offered her his left wrist. George tied a tight loop around it. “Okay, now I’ll turn around so you can tie my hands together behind my back.”