The Perfect Plot Page 3

  Julian tore open the envelope with the solution in it and passed the paper inside to Kate, his hand lingering on hers a second longer than it had to. Kate read the paper.

  “The winner is Vanessa Van Ness,” she then announced. “I must add an honorable mention to Nancy Drew also.”

  As the applause died down, Julian and Patrick carried away the dummy and the props from the challenge. Nancy and George circled the table to find their name cards. Nancy was seated between Patrick and Bill, while George was across the table, between Vanessa and Julian.

  Once Patrick and Julian had joined the rest of the group at the table, Nancy turned to Patrick and said, “That was fun. I just hope the real butler didn’t find our game upsetting.”

  Patrick grinned at her. “Actually, there isn’t one. Never was. Aunt Dotty made do with a cook-housekeeper, who retired after she died.”

  “What about her?” Nancy asked, nodding toward a young woman in a maid’s uniform who was serving the soup.

  “We hired her and three others, along with a cook, just for this conference,” Patrick replied.

  “I’m sure the museum will be a huge success,” Nancy said. “Was your aunt planning it for a long time?”

  Patrick chuckled. “If she was, she didn’t tell anyone,” he replied. “We were all surprised to hear about it when her will was read.”

  “All?” Nancy repeated. “Do you have a lot of relatives?”

  “No, just me. I meant Kate and Mrs. Margolis—Aunt Dotty’s housekeeper. And, of course, Maxine and Bill. My aunt had hinted that they’d be in her will. But she must have been worried about leaving enough money for the museum, so she made the gifts to her friends quite small. They must have thought they’d be remembered a little more generously than they were.”

  “You must have been disappointed, too,” Nancy said. As the words left her mouth, she realized she was prying into personal territory. “Sorry— you don’t have to answer that,” she added quickly.

  Patrick didn’t seem to mind. He smiled and said, “I was surprised. We never talked about it, but I thought the estate would come to me. Still, turning Mystery Mansion into a museum was obviously close to my aunt’s heart, so for her sake, I’m doing whatever I can to help bring it about. Besides, the foundation is giving me a decent salary and letting me live here for free while we get the place set up.”

  Smiling, Patrick smoothly changed the subject. “I’ve heard about some of the cases you’ve solved,” he said. “How does George figure into your detective work?”

  Nancy suppressed a grin. It was obviously George, not the cases, that Patrick was interested in.

  She and Patrick turned as Erika spoke from the other side of Patrick. The editor didn’t appear to be very happy about the attention Patrick was giving Nancy and George. Touching his arm, Erika said something in a sultry voice, too low for Nancy to hear. Patrick gave Nancy an apologetic smile and turned his attention back to Erika.

  As the maid served their second course, roast beef with scalloped potatoes and string beans, Nancy turned to Bill Denton. For the rest of the meal, she listened to him brag about the great deals he’d negotiated for Dorothea’s books.

  Nancy was relieved when dinner was over and Kate announced, “Friends, this is an important moment for the Mystery Mansion Museum. In a few minutes we will install Dorothea Burden’s unique collection of gold figurines in their new home. Will you all come with us to the display room?”

  Nancy, George, and the others followed her back through the living room and into a long hallway. At the far end of the hall was a set of double doors, which Kate unlocked and pushed open.

  “Please go in,” she said. “We’ll be right back.” She beckoned to Patrick, and the two of them left the room.

  “Nancy, look at this place!” George whispered. “Is all this stuff real?”

  Good question, thought Nancy. A wooden gallows, complete with hangman’s noose, stood in one corner, stretching almost to the high ceiling. Arranged on the walls were daggers and pistols of every sort, some of them obviously very old. A mannequin in the center of the room was dressed in an antique lace-trimmed costume. Sinister brown stains surrounded a small hole in the breast of the dress. Nancy couldn’t suppress a small shiver.

  Near the door was an empty glass display case that was lit by two small spotlights. Nancy and George joined the others in a semicircle around the case. When Patrick and Kate returned, Patrick was holding a leather box tooled in gold, about a foot wide, two feet long, and three inches thick.

  Smiling at the group, Kate said, “We wanted to give you all a chance to see Dorothea’s figurines up close before we put them in the display case. Patrick?”

  Nancy and George leaned forward. From the brochure, Nancy knew the figurines were very special, not just for the gold and precious jewels they were made of, but also for the artistry and care that had gone into making them. She felt a tingle of anticipation as Patrick lifted the lid of the leather box with a flourish.

  Vanessa Van Ness was the first to react. “It’s empty!” she cried. “They’re gone!”

  Chapter

  Four

  NANCY COULD hardly believe her eyes. The rich blue velvet lining of the box was indented in about twelve places, each space ready to receive one statuette. All the spaces were now empty.

  “Oh, no!” George said in a horrified voice.

  Next to her, Patrick reacted as if he were in shock. He stood perfectly still and stared down into the box. After a moment of stunned silence, everyone started talking at once.

  “Bravo, Julian,” said Professor Coining. “For our after-dinner entertainment, I suppose you expect us to grill one another until we find out who stole the little trinkets.”

  Julian stared at the professor as if he had lost his mind. “I didn’t arrange this,” he said, nervously stroking his beard. “I never even saw the statues.”

  “Are you serious?” Erika asked dubiously. “This isn’t another of your staged crimes?”

  “Of course it isn’t,” Julian burst out.

  “Maybe they were taken away to be cleaned or something,” Bill Denton suggested. “You know—before they went on display.”

  He turned expectantly to Kate, but she hadn’t seemed to hear him. Her face was taut with strain, and her eyes were still glued to the empty case.

  Finally she blinked. “I promise they were in the safe in this box. Armand Wasserman—he’s the foundation’s president—insisted we keep them in a secure place.”

  “Who knows the combination?” Nancy asked.

  “Nobody,” Kate replied. “I mean, I do, and Armand, but nobody else. Why are you all staring at me that way? I didn’t steal the figurines.”

  “Then whoever did must be an expert safecracker,” Patrick said. “Aunt Dotty spent a lot of money on that safe. It’s a good one.”

  The blood seemed to drain from Kate’s face as she put her hands on the edge of the display case to stop herself from falling. Julian sprang up and helped her to a chair.

  Nancy’s mind was racing, her detective instincts on alert. “Who was the last person to see the figurines, and when?” she asked.

  “I believe I was,” Professor Coining said. “I had the privilege of examining them this morning. I intend to write a paper on the significance of those particular characters in Dorothea’s books. I studied the figures for perhaps half an hour.”

  “Alone?” Nancy asked.

  The professor hesitated, then said, “For some of the time, yes. But the figures were in their case when Kate returned it to the safe. Ask her, if you don’t believe me.”

  “That’s right,” Kate confirmed. “I glanced inside, just to make sure all the figures were secure. They were.”

  Vanessa had been listening intently to the conversation. Now she asked, “When was this, dear?”

  “Just before lunch. About noon, I guess.”

  “So the figures could have been stolen at any time between noon and now,” Nancy pointed o
ut.

  “No, they couldn’t,” Maxine said. “I went into the study to read at around five o’clock, and I stayed there until our get-together in the living room. Nobody came in the whole time.”

  “And I was in and out of the study all afternoon, from just after lunch until around five,” Kate added.

  “We really need to get these times down as exactly as possible,” Nancy said. “When was ‘just after lunch’?”

  Kate thought for a moment. “I don’t know—one-thirty?”

  “Then it sounds as if the most likely time for the theft was between noon and one-thirty,” Nancy said. “George and I are in the clear. We didn’t even get here until nearly five. Anybody else?”

  “The staff,” Kate said. “They arrived in the middle of the afternoon, and none of them has ever been here before. I doubt if they’ve even heard of the figurines, and they certainly wouldn’t know where they were kept.”

  “I arrived after five also,” Erika said, obviously relieved.

  “And so did I,” Vanessa said. “Of course, any one of us could have paid an earlier visit secretly. . . .”

  “Someone would have had to buzz you in,” Kate pointed out. “Ordinarily, that someone is me, but with all the comings and goings this afternoon . . .”

  “What times are we talking about?” Bill asked. “Noon to one-thirty? Let’s see, I was on the phone with Leo Mallet, a client of mine in Chicago, from a little before noon until about one. He’s a very talkative guy. Then I decided I had to talk to him in person, so I went out to my car.”

  “We went down together, remember?” Professor Coining put in. “I was walking along the hallway, and you cannoned into me as you left your room. I was on my way for a stroll on the grounds, so I walked you to the parking lot.”

  Bill Denton nodded. “I drove into Chicago, spent a little time with Leo, and drove straight back. I got here a little before five.” Smiling, he added, “I guess I’ve got an alibi.”

  “I don’t,” Julian said, glowering. “I didn’t go into the study, but I was all over the rest of the house, setting up the mystery challenges for the weekend.”

  With a shrug, Maxine said, “Don’t fret. I don’t have one either, and I already admitted that I spent time alone in the study. That doesn’t mean I’m a thief.”

  Nancy had been listening carefully to the other guests. Was one of them a thief? It certainly seemed like it, but which one? This wasn’t going to be an easy case to solve—all the suspects were mystery experts!

  “What about the police?” George asked. “Shouldn’t we call them and report the theft?”

  “I don’t think we should rush to do that,” Kate said. “I’d like to find out what Armand thinks before we bring officials in. With a distinguished group like this, we ought to be able to solve the crime and recover the figures without a scandal.”

  Nancy studied her curiously, but Kate wouldn’t meet her eyes.

  “I think we should report the theft,” Nancy said, “but I’m a guest here. It’s not up to me to decide.”

  “What about searching the house?” Patrick suggested.

  “It’d be a waste of time,” Julian said, rolling his eyes. “A place this size, we could search for weeks and still miss something as small as those figurines.” After an uneasy silence, he added, “If nobody minds, I’m going to turn in early.”

  There were murmurs of agreement from some of the others.

  Taking a deep breath, Kate said, “All right. I’ve decided to ask Nancy Drew if she’ll take charge of investigating the theft. I’m sure you all know her reputation as a detective. If any of you think of anything that might help solve it, please tell her right away.”

  Nancy was surprised. Of course she was ready to help in any way she could, but it would have been nice if Kate had asked her before making that announcement. Warning all the suspects that she was on the case wasn’t going to make her task any easier either!

  As people began to leave for their rooms George approached Nancy, her hands in her pockets. “What now? Should we start a search for the figures?” she asked.

  Nancy shook her head. “Julian’s right. Even a team of experts would need days to do a thorough search of a place this size. I would like to check out that safe, though.”

  The two girls went over to Kate, who was still standing next to the empty display case. When Nancy explained what she wanted, Kate smiled and said, “No problem. Dorothea’s study is on this floor, in the west wing. It’s the last doorway on the left. You’ll need the key.”

  “You mean the study is kept locked?” Nancy asked.

  Kate’s cheeks turned pink and her gaze shifted around the room. “Usually,” she said, “but this afternoon I was in and out so much that it seemed silly to keep locking it.”

  “What about between noon and one-thirty?” Nancy asked. “Was it locked then?”

  Kate hesitated. Finally she said, “I think so, but I’m not absolutely sure. I’m sorry.” She handed Nancy the key.

  “There’s so little to go on,” George said as she and Nancy went to the study. “I hope we find something in the safe.”

  The study was a cozy room, with a small fireplace, an antique desk, a reading chair, some oak bookcases, and a wooden file cabinet. The safe was built low into the wall, hidden behind a cabinet door that now stood ajar.

  Nancy and George knelt down and studied the safe. “There’s no sign of tampering on the door,” George pointed out. “Whoever opened it must have known the combination.”

  “Not necessarily,” Nancy told her. “This sort of lock is hard to crack but not impossible for an expert. The question is, who around here—”

  “Shh! Listen!” George put her hand on Nancy’s arm while she cocked her head to one side.

  There was something, Nancy realized. It sounded like the murmur of distant voices. But where was it coming from?

  Suddenly the murmur grew louder and she could make out a few menace-filled words.

  “I know what you did,” the voice said. “I know, and I’m going to make sure you don’t get away with it!”

  Chapter

  Five

  THE VOICE fell silent as mysteriously as it had begun.

  Nancy and George stared at each other, wide-eyed. When George started to say something, Nancy held her index finger to her lips as a warning to be silent. She scanned the room. The voice had seemed to come from near Dorothea’s desk. Nancy crooked a finger to George, and the two of them began to tiptoe in that direction.

  Suddenly a noise came from beyond the desk. It sounded like a door closing, followed by the click of a lock. It seemed to come from near a small table set against the wall. The table was bare.

  Frowning, Nancy knelt down and peered under the table, then motioned for George to do the same. Set into the base of the wall was a louvered heating vent. The voice had obviously traveled through the heating duct from some other room.

  Nancy touched George’s shoulder and pointed to the door of the room. She didn’t want to say anything, in case their voices traveled back through the vent to the other person, giving them away.

  Once outside Nancy told George her theory, then asked, “Did you recognize that voice?”

  George shook her head. “To tell the truth, I’m not even sure it was a man or a woman.” She was worried when she asked, “Do you think the person was talking to us?”

  “I doubt it,” Nancy replied. “He or she would have to know we were in the study just now and know which heating duct came in there. No, my hunch is that we overheard someone threatening to expose the person who stole Dorothea’s gold figurines. If we only knew where the voices came from and who was talking to whom, we could probably crack this case.”

  She started to add something, but a yawn took her by surprise. Glancing at her watch, she said, “It’s too late to track them down now, though. We’d better turn in. Tomorrow I want to hunt down the plans of the house and trace that duct.”

  • • •

&
nbsp; On Saturday morning Nancy awoke when a sunbeam slid through the crack between the velvet curtains and hit her face. She rolled over and covered her head with the pillow, but it was too late. She was awake.

  Seeing that George was still sound asleep, Nancy got quietly out of bed and dressed in jeans and a turtleneck. She grabbed her leather jacket and tiptoed out of the room. It was still early, before eight. Maybe a walk in the garden would help her to think clearly about the theft of the jeweled figurines.

  She left the mansion by way of the sun room and walked through the rose garden toward the end of the house that was under repair. It was a perfect Indian summer day—the sky was a flawless blue, and the sun was beginning to take the early-morning chill from the air. Nancy breathed in the scent of rich loam and dew-wet grass.

  As she walked past the side of the house, she noticed what looked like the entrance to an old-fashioned maze. She strolled over to it. The boxwood hedges that made up the walls hadn’t been trimmed in a while. Just inside the entrance, some of the branches were broken, making the maze look like a thicket.

  Nancy decided that exploring the maze could wait for another time. In spite of the rising sun, the hedges were too dark and cold to be inviting.

  Nancy wound around a pile of lumber, making her way toward the front corner of the mansion. She paused next to a flagstone path that made its way between flower beds that were ablaze with autumn color. Nancy followed the path down into a hollow with a tiny stream at the bottom. The house was out of sight now, hidden by the rise. Ahead, a set of stone steps led up to the white summerhouse she had glimpsed from her room the day before.