The Thirteenth Pearl Read online

  sat down. They ordered cappuccinos and left the rose

  conspicuously on the front edge of the table. They eyed

  every patron who entered the café, but no one walked

  over to them.

  “I hope we didn't miss our date with SEEK,” Nancy

  said, looking at her watch.

  “It's only a little after eight,” Bess said. “Maybe he

  had to work late or something.”

  Nancy sipped her cappuccino. “I told my dad about

  my conversations with his clients yesterday, and he was

  upset. I hope this SEEK guy can help us find out

  what's going on.”

  Bess checked her watch again. “I guess we might as

  well go on-line while we're waiting.” Bess tapped on

  the keyboard in front of them. She typed: “hi,

  everybody. BigB here.”

  Someone typed back: “hi BigB.”

  “This stuff is so neat!” Nancy exclaimed. “Look at all

  these sentences scrolling by. How can you understand

  what they're saying?”

  “Take a look at my on-line chat guide,” Bess said,

  pulling the papers out of her purse and handing them

  to her friend.

  Nancy looked down at the papers Bess handed her,

  and read:

  : ) = smile

  : D = big grin

  : X = my lips are sealed

  : P = sticking out tongue

  : ( = frown

  LOL = laughing out loud

  BTW = by the way

  brb = be right back

  wtg = way to go!

  ttfn = ta-ta for now!

  Cul8r = see you later

  “These are great!” Nancy said, grinning. “It's like

  being able to talk on the page.”

  “Exactly,” Bess said. “You can do almost anything

  on-line that you can do in person—except meet this

  SEEK guy on time. I have to get home for my on-line

  group. I guess this meeting is a washout.”

  “Maybe it was just some kid pretending to know

  about computers so he could play a trick on us. I'll pay

  for our cappuccinos,” Nancy said. “You go ahead. I

  don't want you to be late.”

  “Thanks, Nan,” Bess said. She hurried toward the

  exit. “I'll see you in the morning,” she called over her

  shoulder.

  Nancy waved goodbye to her friend, then began to

  gather together the papers and disks she had brought

  from the office to show to SEEK. Why hadn't he

  shown up? she wondered. Was he scared off when he

  saw us talking to Byron?

  Nancy looked through her papers and realized Bess

  had been in such a hurry, she'd left her online chat

  guide behind. I hope she doesn't need it for her on-line

  meeting tonight, Nancy thought.

  Nancy paid the bill and looked for Byron on her way

  out. She wanted to say good night to him before she

  left and wish him luck with his poetry reading, but he

  was nowhere to be seen. Oh, well, she thought, I'll see

  him tomorrow.

  Nancy left the café, carrying her papers and the rose

  she had brought for SEEK. She had gotten only about

  half a block along the deserted waterfront street, when

  she began to get the feeling that someone was

  following her. She glanced back, then hurried along the

  dark street.

  Without warning, someone charged her from

  behind. Nancy screamed as loud as she could. Before

  she could scream again, her attacker hit her on the

  head, and Nancy sank to the ground!

  12. A Shocking Discovery

  “Nancy!” Bess ran up the darkened street toward her

  fallen friend. Her arrival probably scared off Nancy's

  attacker, who took off and disappeared before either

  girl could get a good look at whoever it was.

  “Bess, thank goodness you were here.” Nancy held

  her head. “Why'd you come back?”

  “I realized I'd forgotten my on-line chat guide,” Bess

  went on, “and I needed it for the meeting tonight. I

  was walking back when I saw someone jump you from

  behind and hit you on the head! Are you okay?”

  “I think so,” Nancy said. Bess helped her friend to

  her feet. “I'm not really hurt, just shaken up,” she

  admitted.

  “I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. I ran as fast as I

  could when I saw you get hit,” Bess said. “Did you see

  who it was?”

  “No,” Nancy said shakily. “You were coming up the

  street, Bess. Could you see who it was?”

  “No,” Bess said. “It's too dark. He looked slim, and

  taller than you, but I couldn't see his face. Did anyone

  else come out of the café with you? Maybe someone

  else saw what happened,” Bess persisted.

  “No, I was alone,” Nancy replied. “I looked for

  Byron on my way out to say good night, but I couldn't

  find him. Besides, I was already halfway up the block

  when I was attacked.”

  “You don't think Byron's the one who jumped you,

  do you?” Bess asked, shocked.

  “I don't know,” Nancy said, “but I doubt it. Byron

  doesn't seem like the violent type.”

  “Maybe it was SEEK,” Bess said. “Or maybe this

  SEEK guy set us up. He had to know it was you

  because you were carrying the rose. This is getting

  really scary, Nancy. You could've been hurt.”

  “I'm fine,” Nancy insisted. “I bet you're right that

  my attacker was the same person who called himself

  SEEK on the computer. Whoever it was knew we were

  looking for help on the Internet to track E-mail, and

  set up this meeting to scare us off.”

  “Well, it's working!” Bess said. “I'm about as scared

  as I've ever been. If it wasn't Byron, who do you think

  it was?”

  “It could be any of our suspects,” Nancy said, gently

  rubbing her head where she had been hit. “It could be

  Byron, because he knew we were here. My father told

  me that Blaine knew we were online last night, so

  maybe she tracked our conversation with SEEK.

  Maybe she is SEEK! And Henry told me he had a list

  of those cases because he thought someone was

  stealing information from my dad's office and using it

  to settle these cases early. But he didn't want to say any

  more until he had proof, so I don't know if he's for real

  or just covering his tracks.”

  “Did he mention the Williams and Brown con-

  nection?” Bess asked.

  “No,” Nancy replied. “And I didn't tell him about

  my investigation, either. Henry, Byron, and Blaine are

  all under suspicion as far as I'm concerned, and they all

  seem to be trying to throw blame on one another. As

  soon as we get some real evidence, I'll tell my dad.”

  Nancy leaned over to brush off her skirt, and noticed

  a computer disk lying in the street near where she had

  been attacked. She thumbed through her portfolio

  carefully, then picked up the disk and showed it to

  Bess.

  “Look, Bess,” Nancy whispered. “It's got a Drew law

  firm label on it.”

  “It looks like one of the disks you brought from
your

  dad's office to show this SEEK guy,” Bess said. “You

  probably dropped it when you were knocked down.”

  “Nope,” Nancy said. “All the disks I brought with me

  are right here in my portfolio. This disk must have

  been dropped by my attacker.”

  “Awesome!” Bess exclaimed. “Then this is a real

  clue. We'll take the disk in tomorrow and check it out.”

  “This could prove it was an inside job,” Nancy said.

  “And who's behind it.”

  Bess insisted on walking Nancy to the bus, even

  though Nancy assured Bess that she was okay. “I can

  still catch the last half-hour of my on-line meeting,”

  Bess said. “I want to make sure no one jumps you

  again.”

  “Remind me I have to give you back your chat guide

  when we get to my place,” Nancy said as they boarded

  a bus for home. “But I sure am glad you forgot it, or

  you might not have showed up in time to save my

  neck.”

  “Let's not even think about that,” Bess said with a

  shudder. The two girls rode in silence for a few

  minutes. Finally Bess said, “Forget about my online

  meeting, at least for tonight. After that attack, we'd

  better get serious about this E-mail mystery. I can

  always catch up tomorrow night.”

  “Thanks, Bess,” Nancy said, grateful for her friend's

  help. She thought for a few minutes. “I'm afraid we

  have to admit that you and I don't have enough

  expertise to figure out who sent those files or who's

  been logging on behind us and tracking our on-line

  activities.”

  “Well,” Bess said, “we could go to the computer

  department at the college and see if someone there

  could help us.”

  “We don't have the time. The fact is, I'm not sure

  how much longer we'll be in my dad's office,” Nancy

  said. “Blaine said they're getting in some temporary

  employees to help with his new case, and we have to

  finish up the file-copying work in the next day or two.

  Without a computer expert we can trust, we have to

  turn our attention to the suspects at hand.”

  “Good idea, Nan,” Bess said. “I'll help you snoop

  around when I come in to your dad's office tomorrow.”

  “Besides,” Nancy continued, “it's clear now that

  even if you could access my father's computer system

  from outside, the information from those old criminal

  cases wouldn't be in the system.”

  “Why not?” Bess asked.

  “Because those are dead files. They've all been

  cleared off the main computer, backed up on floppies,

  and stored in these red legal files in the law library.

  And someone's looked at them recently. Someone from

  my dad's office has to be involved,” Nancy concluded.

  The girls arrived at Nancy's house and were

  welcomed by Hannah Gruen. “Bess, how nice to see

  you. I didn't know you planned on coming home with

  Nancy tonight.”

  “Hi, Hannah,” Bess said warmly. “We didn't plan on

  it, actually. Here we are.”

  Nancy put a hand to her head. “Nancy, dear, what's

  the matter?” Hannah asked with concern. “Did you get

  hurt?”

  “Oh, no, Hannah,” Nancy said, dropping her hand

  and shooting Bess a warning look. “I just have a killer

  headache. A couple of aspirins, and I'll be fine.”

  “I'll get them for you right now,” Hannah replied as

  she hurried to the bathroom.

  “Are you sure we shouldn't tell Hannah and your

  dad about what happened tonight?” Bess whispered to

  Nancy, once Hannah was out of earshot.

  “Absolutely not,” Nancy whispered back. “Hannah

  would worry herself to death. And if I tell Dad, he

  might pull us off the case before we find out who's

  behind it. I'm afraid he might accuse the wrong person

  . . . or worse, keep trusting the wrong person.”

  Hannah returned with the aspirins and a glass of

  water. “Here you are, dear. You should get some rest,

  too,” she added, looking at Bess.

  “I won't be staying long, Hannah,” Bess assured her

  warmly. “Nancy and I just have to go over a few things

  so I'll be prepared to help out tomorrow,” she added

  honestly.

  Bess and Nancy went up to Nancy's room.

  “I'm going to do something I haven't done since

  third grade,” Nancy said. She took out an old blue

  notebook and turned to a clean page. She spoke out

  loud as she jotted some notes. Bess read over her

  shoulder.

  Clues:

  Log file showed MHans transmitted E-mail to

  Williams & Brown the first day cases received. File

  was erased from hard drive, but Nancy had printout

  and backup copy.

  Nancy overheard conversations between an

  insurance rep and Williams about settling cases,

  which saved Williams & Brown money. Brown

  complimented his son on how he handled insurance

  cases.

  Someone eavesdropped on Nancy's conference

  room phone call to Bess, when Nancy talked about

  her suspicions on the settled cases.

  “You didn't tell me about that,” Bess said as Nancy

  scribbled away.

  Someone named SEEK answered Bess's posting

  on local computer users' group. Meeting set up at

  the Cyber Space, but SEEK didn't show up. Nancy

  carried rose, and she was attacked.

  Computer disk from Carson Drew's office was

  discovered where Nancy was attacked. Who left it—

  Henry, Byron, or Blaine?

  Suspects:

  Henry Yi: Computer whiz who made handwritten

  list of clients in the settled cases. Claims someone is

  stealing information. Is attentive to Nancy—hangs

  around when she's working. May have overheard

  Nancy's conversation with her father about the

  settled cases in the restaurant, when he was in next

  booth with Blaine Warner.

  Blaine Warner: Seems to resent Nancy's

  presence. Walked into the lobby of Williams &

  Brown's building when Nancy was there, and went

  to lunch in the same restaurant with Brown and son.

  Was at Sacred Cow restaurant when Nancy and Bess

  made plans to go on-line and in the office the

  following night when they did.

  “Maybe she is SEEK,” Bess muttered. “Who says it

  has to be a guy?”

  “Good point, Bess,” Nancy said as she continued

  writing.

  Blaine and Henry were at Steak & Ale restaurant

  when Nancy and father discussed the settled cases.

  Byron Thomas: Clearly comfortable navigating

  the Internet. Always hiding papers and computer

  disks. Bess and Nancy trailed him to the Cyber

  Space. But he confessed only to writing poetry. Is

  someone at Williams & Brown paying him money he

  needs for law school to E-mail sensitive information

  from the old case files?

  “Well, there it is,” Nancy said. “The clues, the

  suspects . . . and tomorrow we'll find out what's on this<
br />
  computer disk.”

  “Let's sleep on it,” Bess said. “I'm ready to sign off.”

  The next day Bess and Nancy met in the lobby of

  Carson Drew's office building early in the morning.

  “How are you feeling, Nan?” Bess asked quietly,

  concerned for her friend's recovery after the attack the

  night before.

  “I'm fine, Bess, thanks,” Nancy replied. “I even went

  for my run this morning.”

  “Better you than me,” Bess said with a grin. “I'd

  rather let my fingers do the running.”

  Then Ms. Hanson appeared, and the three of them

  rode the elevator upstairs together. Nancy explained

  Bess's presence in the office. “Nice to see you again,

  Bess,” Ms. Hanson said warmly, shaking her hand. “I'm

  sure Nancy will be glad to have your help. That file-

  management work can be really tedious.”

  “Oh, I'm sure Nancy and I will find some way to

  make it interesting,” Bess said, her blue eyes twinkling.

  “Oh, I'm sure you and Nancy are interesting all by

  yourselves.” A friendly male voice came from behind

  them. Henry Yi joined them with a flashing grin.

  “Good morning,” he continued, sticking out his hand.

  “My name's Henry. What's yours?”

  “Ah, the primo paralegal,” Bess said, smiling. “My

  reputation precedes me,” Henry said. “I'm thrilled.”

  “My name's Bess Marvin,” she went on. “I'm

  Nancy's friend, and I'll be working with her for the

  next few days.”

  “If your file management skills equal your poise and

  beauty, I'm afraid your work will be done all too soon,”

  Henry said.

  Bess rolled her eyes. “We'd better get started, Nan,”

  she said, turning to her friend, “or I'll get fired before I

  even get hired.”

  “Your father and Blaine are in court this morning,

  Nancy,” Ms. Hanson said. “And Byron's doing some

  research down there, so you two should have the

  library to yourselves.”

  “Great,” Nancy said. “We'll get a lot done.” The two

  girls moved off to the law library and set up at two

  adjacent computer stations. Nancy gave Bess a list of

  the cases, and they started copying files off the

  computer system and onto floppy disks for storage.

  Once the computers were up and running, Nancy

  reached into her portfolio and produced the disk she

  had found in the street the night before. Bess popped

  it in her disk drive.

  The two girls looked carefully at the screen as Bess