Perfect Plot (4 page)

“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!”

N
ANCY 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 out.

“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!”