The Clue of the Gold Doubloons Read online

  Raising one arm, he made an arc in the air. “Pirates

  Raid the Inner Harbor.' I think it'll make a great

  headline.”

  “Only it won't be true,” Nancy said quickly, though

  she wasn't sure herself.

  Mascelli jerked his thumb toward the police officers.

  “It is according to the quote' I just got from them,” he

  said. With a triumphant grin, he strode across the

  waist, waving cheerfully to the startled police officers.

  “Who was that?” Weller said, coming over to Nancy.

  “Joseph Mascelli, ace reporter,” she muttered.

  Weller shook his head. “I thought I recognized him.

  That means we'd better work fast. I don't want

  tomorrow's news sending our thief into hiding.”

  Rejoining the other officers, he led them up to the

  quarterdeck. Nancy pushed her hair behind her ears.

  Her investigating had turned up something all right.

  Too bad it wasn't going to help solve the case.

  “Selena, you're a pirate, not a beauty queen,”

  Andrew told the star during dress rehearsal two hours

  later. The officers had spent the morning interviewing

  everyone involved with the film. When they'd left,

  Nancy had asked Detective Weller if he'd discovered

  anything, but he'd tersely replied, “No comment.”

  “You're supposed to look messy, Selena,” Andrew

  continued. “For three weeks you've been on board a

  ship with no shower, wearing the same clothes.”

  Selena wrinkled her nose. She and George were

  standing at the ship's wheel, pretending to be

  navigating through a storm. Both wore their costumes.

  Nancy thought George looked great. She wore a red

  scarf tied around her head and knotted in the back, a

  loose linen shirt, and baggy breeches held up by a sash

  around her waist. A pistol and dagger were tucked into

  the sash.

  “That's gross!” Selena exclaimed with a toss of her

  long ponytail. “I don't care what the real Mary Read

  was like. I refuse to look like an old man and smell like

  an old fish.”

  Nancy laughed along with the rest of the cast and

  crew. After several hours of police interviews, everyone

  needed a chuckle.

  All morning Andrew had groused about the delay.

  Then Detective Weller had taken the director into the

  Great Cabin for an interview. Fifteen minutes later,

  Andrew had stormed out. Nancy was dying to ask what

  had made him so angry, but she hadn't been able to get

  him alone.

  “You know, Andrew,” Janie said, striding up to

  Selena, “it can't hurt to have her looking slightly

  gorgeous.” She pulled out the rawhide tie from

  Selena's ponytail and fluffed the actress's hair so the

  wind caught it.

  Selena frowned pensively as she gazed out to sea.

  The effect was perfect. Nancy thought she looked

  exotic and slightly dangerous.

  Janie stepped back and made a rectangle with her

  fingers. “Picture this shot on a publicity poster.”

  “You're right, Janie,” Andrew said with a smile. “I

  guess that's why I hired you for my production

  manager.”

  “And because I'm working for free,” Janie added

  saucily.

  Everybody laughed—everybody except George,

  Nancy noticed. George looked slightly disgruntled. Not

  that Nancy blamed her. For the last hour, Selena had

  purposefully upstaged her, reciting her lines with such

  Shakespearian passion that Daniel had finally yelled,

  “You're a ruthless pirate, Selena. Not Juliet.”

  Going up to her friend, Nancy whispered, “Hang in

  there, George. You're doing great.”

  “All right, let's try that again,” Andrew said. “Take it

  from the line where Anne Bonny says, All hands

  aloft!'“

  “Mr. Wagner!” a loud voice interrupted. Nancy

  turned to see a small group of people charging across

  the deck. She glanced at Andrew. One more delay and

  he might explode.

  But the director had hopped off his stool and was

  approaching the woman in front with his hand

  outstretched. “Ms. Weems? I'm delighted you're here.”

  Delighted? Nancy raised her brows. Behind Ms.

  Weems, a man carried a heavy camera on his shoulder,

  a WCBN news logo on his shirt.

  “A TV station?” she heard Daniel boom behind her.

  Scowling, Daniel strode across the deck to join his

  brother. From the expression on his face, Nancy

  figured he had no idea what his twin was up to.

  “More publicity?” George asked, coming up beside

  Nancy. “After the police were here all morning, we're

  already going to be in the headlines.”

  “Looks like it,” Nancy agreed. “Only Ms. Weems

  was definitely invited.”

  Just then Selena sashayed past. “Ooh, a camera.

  That's my cue to make a grand entrance.”

  “I'd like to give her an entrance—down a long plank

  into the ocean,” George growled when Selena was out

  of earshot.

  Nancy burst out laughing. “Don't tell me my friend

  George Fayne is jealous.”

  “Not jealous—frustrated.” George pulled off her

  scarf and wiped her sweaty brow. “I'm really trying to

  do a good job. I've read so much about pirates, I dream

  about them. But Selena's making every scene sound

  like something from a bad romance.”

  “Nancy! George! I want you to meet Maria Weems

  of WCBN-TV. We're going to be featured on the

  network's What's Happening' segment tomorrow

  night.”

  Andrew walked around, introducing the rest of the

  cast. “Ms. Weems is going to be interviewing and

  taping us this afternoon,” he explained.

  George leaned closer and whispered to Nancy,

  “Gee, I can't imagine why. Do you think they would

  have been the least bit interested in us if the

  Harborside hadn't been robbed?”

  “Just what I was thinking,” Nancy said.

  “Oh, the production has been cursed from the

  beginning,” Nancy heard someone say behind her. She

  twisted around to see Selena leaning against the ship's

  wheel, her hair artfully arranged around her shoulders.

  The cameraman was taping her while a younger man

  asked questions.

  “Not that I believe the crew when they suggest the

  ghost of Blackbeard is involved.” Cocking her head,

  Selena smiled winningly at the camera. “You'll have to

  ask Karl Kidd about that. He's the actor portraying the

  ruthless villain.”

  “That's me!” Karl boomed as he strode across the

  deck. “Ask me anything you want about pirates. I'm a

  walking encyclopedia.”

  The cameraman turned toward him, and Selena

  frowned. She waltzed over to Karl, linked arms with

  him, and beamed at the lens.

  “That woman has more moves than a hula dancer,”

  George said with a chuckle. “I think she'd do anything

  for attention.”

  “Anything?” Nancy repeated.
>
  George's eyes widened as if she realized what Nancy

  was getting at. “No . . . you can't possibly think—”

  “That Selena robbed the rooms last night?” Nancy

  shook her head. “No, but I do believe she's taking full

  advantage of it. Since she's staying at the hotel, she

  could have easily heard about the burglaries. What if

  she sneaked down and saw the doubloons?”

  “And made the anonymous tip.” George finished

  Nancy's thought.

  “Tips,” Nancy clarified. She told George about

  finding Mascelli in the ship. “He said someone called

  the newspaper this morning as well.”

  “Wow. We'll definitely be front-page news,” George

  said. “If Selena was the tipster, she'd get exactly what

  she craves—publicity.”

  “Right.” Nancy's gaze shifted to Andrew, who was

  escorting Maria Weems around the quarterdeck as if

  she were a queen.

  He's just as crazy about publicity as Selena is, Nancy

  thought. She knew he was worried continually about

  money. Could he be behind the thefts?

  It was a definite possibility, Nancy decided. He

  could have burglarized the rooms for much-needed

  cash, then cleverly left the doubloons, hoping the

  police would trace them to the film. Instant cash,

  instant publicity—not bad for one night's work.

  6. A Daring Heist

  “We're never going to get this scene shot if these TV

  people hang around,” Daniel grumbled as he came

  over, interrupting Nancy's thoughts. In his costume as

  Calico Jack Rackham, he looked just as authentic as

  George. He wore a tricornered hat, a red bandanna

  around his neck, loose green pants with a yellow sash,

  and a frayed naval uniform jacket. Around his chest he

  had a gun-belt with a pistol tucked into it.

  “And it doesn't look as if Andrew cares,” George

  said, sounding puzzled.

  “That is odd,” Nancy agreed.

  Daniel grunted. Untying the bandanna, he squirted

  water on it from a bottle he was carrying. “Newspeople

  are like hawks,” he said, wiping his neck and cheeks

  with the wet cloth. “Circling for the big kill.”

  “You had nothing to do with setting up the

  interviews?” Nancy asked.

  “No way. They'll just distract the crew, misquote the

  cast, and get their facts wrong.”

  A sharp voice drew Nancy's attention away from

  Daniel. Janie was facing Andrew, poking him in the

  chest with one finger, an angry expression on her face.

  Because they were on the other side of the

  quarterdeck, Nancy couldn't hear what Janie was

  saying.

  “What's that all about?” George asked.

  Daniel shook his head. “Andrew must have ordered

  her around one too many times.”

  “Everybody's tense,” Nancy said, though she

  couldn't help but wonder what had caused Janie to

  blow up. The production manager worked hard to stay

  professional. With all the strange things going on,

  Nancy decided she'd better have a talk with Janie.

  “We'll be back late,” George told Nancy as she

  checked her hair in the hotel room mirror one more

  time.

  “What are you and Daniel going to do after dinner?”

  Nancy asked, zipping up her denim skirt.

  George turned to face her. “We're going to Fort

  McHenry, then we'll walk back along the wharf. It's a

  beautiful night, and we need someplace quiet to

  practice our lines. So, how do I look?”

  Nancy grinned. As always, her friend was dressed

  casually in jeans, but she'd added dangling earrings,

  sandals, and a colorful vest. “You look like Daniel's

  fashion sense rubbed off on you.”

  George grinned, obviously pleased with Nancy's

  response. “What are you and Janie going to do?” she

  asked as she snapped her fanny pack around her waist.

  “I'm treating her to dinner at the hotel,” Nancy said.

  “She needs a little TLC after today.”

  “Good idea,” George said, waving goodbye as she

  left.

  Fifteen minutes later Nancy and Janie were seated

  in the hotel restaurant at a table overlooking the Inner

  Harbor. Janie had put on a one-piece red dress. Her

  straight brown hair was smoothed behind her ears and

  pinned with a butterfly barrette.

  “You look great tonight,” Nancy commented as she

  opened her menu.

  Janie shrugged. “Not that anybody will notice.”

  “Oh? Were you hoping someone in particular would

  notice?” Nancy teased lightly.

  “No. It's just that hanging around Selena, I feel

  invisible. Guys look right through me.”

  “Hey, Nancy and . . . ?” Scott came up, his order pad

  in hand.

  Nancy smiled. “This is Janie Simms, the production

  manager on the film. George and one of the other

  actors are out sightseeing and practicing lines.”

  Scott's eyes lit up. “Nice to meet you, Janie. As far as

  I'm concerned, being a production manager is the best.

  So much control. So much responsibility.”

  “So much grief,” Janie added with a sigh. “If the

  crew doesn't like the food, they complain to me. If the

  cast doesn't like the schedule, they complain to me. If

  the director needs a scapegoat ...” Her voice trailed off.

  “Sounds like a fun job,” Scott joked.

  “Scott's interested in filmmaking,” Nancy said.

  “Why don't you come watch tomorrow?” Janie

  suggested. “The Good Morning Baltimore show is

  going to be taping it for one of their programs.”

  “Count me in,” Scott said. “You guys are famous,

  you know. Today you were splashed all over the front

  page of every newspaper. Pretty exciting, huh?” He

  glanced back and forth at Nancy and Janie as he spoke,

  then said in a low voice, “The word around the hotel is

  that the thief had a master key card to break into the

  guests' rooms.”

  Nancy pricked up her ears. She'd never thought

  about pumping Scott about the thefts. Now she

  realized what a perfect source he would be.

  “Then the thief had to have a link with the hotel,”

  Nancy guessed.

  Scott pointed his pad at her and said, “That's what

  the police think. Yesterday afternoon they interrogated

  everybody from laundry workers to waitpersons.”

  “So we weren't the only ones harassed,” Janie said

  with a snort.

  Nancy stared at her menu, her thoughts on Scott's

  news. Had the police uncovered any new evidence

  about the burglaries? she wondered.

  After the two gave Scott their dinner orders, Nancy

  asked Janie, “What do you think about Detective

  Weller's accusation that one of the cast or crew

  members is the thief?”

  “I think it's baloney,” Janie stated firmly. “I know

  everybody working on the film. We've either worked

  together before, or I went to school with them.”

  “Even Karl Kidd?” Nancy asked.r />
  “We worked on a Shakespeare production together.

  Karl's a little wacky, but he's no thief.”

  “Mind if I ask what you and Andrew were arguing

  about this afternoon?”

  With a sigh, Janie slumped back in her seat. “The

  same thing we always argue about—money. Yesterday

  Andrew worried over every delay. Then today he

  invites the TV crew onboard. We lost several hours of

  filming. Tomorrow he's got the morning show coming.

  I reminded him that we can't afford any more delays.

  He basically told me to shut up.”

  Nancy listened carefully, taking it all in. It sounded

  as though her hunch about Andrew was right. It would

  explain why he had done such an about-face on the

  money issue.

  “Your salad has arrived,” Scott announced. With a

  dramatic swoop of his arm, he set Nancy's plate on the

  table, knocking her purse onto the floor.

  “Oops. Sorry,” he apologized, stooping to pick it up.

  Nancy laughed. “When Scott visits tomorrow, Janie,

  you'd better keep a close eye on him. We don't need

  another person falling overboard!”

  When they had finished dinner, Nancy suggested

  catching the concert at Pier Six.

  “Thanks, but I'd better head back to my room,”

  Janie said. Janie and several of the other crew members

  were staying at a smaller, budget hotel several blocks

  away.

  “It's been a lo-o-ng day.” Dropping her napkin on

  the table, Janie stood up. “Thanks so much for dinner.

  I needed a break.”

  “Glad I could treat you. See you tomorrow.” Nancy

  watched her friend leave, then leaned back and waited

  for the check. Janie's information about Andrew was

  certainly incriminating. She wondered if Detective

  Weller had uncovered information about the film's

  money problems yet.

  “A big tip for your thoughts,” Scott said, coming up

  beside her. Nancy glanced up. He had such a friendly

  smile on his face that she couldn't help smiling back.

  “Actually, I was thinking I should give you a big tip

  for your thoughts,” Nancy said. “What else are the

  hotel employees saying about the thefts?”

  “They're all saying I didn't do it!' ” he declared in a

  mock-indignant voice, then laughed. “Really, I don't

  know anything more. But if I hear anything else, I'll let

  you know.”

  “Thanks. And see you tomorrow,” Nancy added as