Chapter 21 The Clue of the Broken Locket by Carolyn Keene
Behind the Curtain
Nancy and her chums had no intentions of leaving the scene. Convinced that Colleen and Francis were engaged in some sinister plot, they cautiously crept closer.
In her anxiety to hear them, George moved far out on a little promontory overlooking the river, which provided a clear view of the picnic spot where Colleen and Francis had spread their lunch.
“Do come back,” Nancy whispered anxiously. “The bank may cave in at any——”
The warning died in her throat. George let out a wild yell as the river bank suddenly gave way beneath her. To the horror of her friends, she toppled forward, falling with a great splash into the water a few feet below!
“She’ll drown!” Bess cried fearfully.
Nancy already was plunging down the bank. She found George sitting upright in two feet of water, her face and hands covered with mud.
“Look at me!” the girl moaned.
Nancy waded out and helped her to her feet.
“Are you hurt?”
Gingerly George moved her arms and legs.
“Everything seems to work all right,” she said ruefully. “But look at my clothes!”
“They could stand a trip to the cleaner’s,” Nancy admitted, laughing.
The girls had forgotten Colleen and Francis completely. The appearance of the two from behind the bushes, however, reminded them that they were in an awkward position.
“Spying, weren’t you!” Colleen said accusingly, before anyone could speak. “Trying to hear what we said!”
“Have you a guilty conscience?” Nancy asked sharply.
“Of course I haven’t! And I don’t go prying and snooping around!”
“You followed us here from River Heights!” Francis berated, regarding Nancy with antagonism.
“We were picnicking on these grounds long before you came,” Nancy retorted coldly. “However, I am not ashamed to admit that I was interested in your conversation, for I heard my name mentioned.”
Francis and Colleen exchanged frightened glances. How much had Nancy heard?
“Let’s get away from here,” Colleen said quickly to her companion. “We can find some other place where folks won’t be eavesdropping!”
They quickly gathered up their things, launched their boat, and rowed rapidly downstream.
“Good riddance!” Bess remarked feelingly. “Nancy, what do you think they were plotting to do?”
“I’m sure I don’t know. If George hadn’t tumbled into the river we might have found out what they were up to.”
“I’m terribly sorry,” George murmured contritely. “I hope you don’t think I did it on purpose!”
“Hardly,” Nancy laughed. “We must get you home as soon as we can.”
“And give up your trip to Crown Point? You were counting on it, Nancy.”
“It can wait until another day.”
“You’re disappointed, I know. Why do I have to be so awkward, anyway?”
Nancy and Bess led the dejected girl back to the parked automobile. She insisted upon sitting in the rumble-seat so that she would not plaster the upholstery with mud.
It was growing late when the girls reached their respective homes. Hannah met Nancy at the door of the Drew residence.
“You had a telephone call this afternoon from Jolly Folly.”
“Anything important, Hannah?”
“It was from Mrs. Blair. She seemed excited about something.”
“She always is,” Nancy remarked wearily.
“She said to tell you to drive out just as soon as you got home. And to bring your father, too.”
“What does she want with him?” Nancy asked alertly.
“She wouldn’t say.”
“I can’t imagine any legal matters that would require his services,” Nancy mused thoughtfully. “It seems strange, asking both of us to come. Has Father arrived yet?”
There was no need to answer, for at that moment Carson Drew drove into the garage. Nancy went out to deliver the message.
“The last place in the world that I care to visit is Jolly Folly!” he announced firmly. “I’m not going!”
“Oh, you must!” Nancy pleaded. “It may be something important.”
“Just a whim of that silly actress, more than likely,” Mr. Drew growled. “I have a book I want to read.”
“Let it go for tonight,” Nancy wheedled. “You know you don’t like to have me drive alone over dark roads.”
“Well, if you’re determined to go, I suppose I can stand it. But we’ll make the visit short and snappy!”
The attorney would not think of starting for the Blair estate without having had his dinner. Nancy went to the kitchen to urge Hannah to prepare it as quickly as possible.
“How were the cakes?” the housekeeper asked casually as she dished up some mashed potatoes.
“The cakes?” With a guilty start, Nancy recalled that the picnic had ended before anyone had touched them. She stammered:
“I’m sure they were as delicious as they looked!” Then she ran from the kitchen before the housekeeper could ask her any more questions.
Eight o’clock found Carson Drew and his daughter at the Blair estate. A maid answered the bell and conducted them to the living room where the actor and actress awaited them.
Mrs. Blair arose to greet them, but there was a certain restraint in her manner which Nancy noticed at once. She did not have long to wonder what might be wrong.
“I think I have been robbed!” Mrs. Blair announced dramatically.
“Robbed!” Nancy echoed. “Are you sure?”
“My diamond locket has mysteriously disappeared. I’ve searched the house from top to bottom and can’t find it.”
“Did you value it highly?” Mr. Drew inquired.
“It was worth at least eight thousand dollars, and I carried no insurance on it.”
“Have you notified the police?” Nancy questioned.
“No, I didn’t think it was a case for them to handle. I thought you might be able to tell me what became of the locket, Miss Drew!”
“I?” Nancy repeated. “I don’t know what it looks like!”
She was conscious of the sharp glance which Mrs. Blair bestowed upon her. Carson Drew also observed the expression, and his lips tightened into a thin line.
“Colleen told me before she left that you had telephoned to someone about a locket.”
Nancy rapidly reviewed the various telephone calls she had made while at Jolly Folly. She could not recall having mentioned a locket—even the broken one she had found—to anyone. Moreover, Colleen certainly had not heard Nancy’s telephone call to Hannah the day the twins had been adopted. With a sinking heart it dawned upon her that Colleen had involved her in a plot.
“She must have been mistaken, Mrs. Blair.”
“Another thing, Miss Drew. My friend, Boots Dunbar, reported that she had seen you in the garden one evening with something that shone like gold in your hand. You hurried away before she could question you.”
“Are you sure that you had lost your locket at that time?” Nancy asked adroitly.
Mrs. Blair was momentarily nonplussed.
“I don’t know when I lost it,” she confessed. “I had it in my pocketbook, and when I went to get it this afternoon it was gone.”
“It seems to me you were unwise to keep a valuable piece of jewelry in such a place,” Mr. Drew interposed.
“That’s neither here nor there,” the actress said impatiently. “My locket is gone and I mean to get it back!”
“But why question Nancy? I am sure she knows nothing of it.”
“Perhaps she does, and perhaps she doesn’t,” the actress responded tartly. “Let me ask you one thing, Miss Drew. Weren’t you in my bedroom while I was gone?”
Nancy felt herself fairly trapped.
“Yes, I went there to take back a gown that Colleen had worn while you were away. She ripped it in trying it on and I mended it for her.”
Mrs. Blair accepted this excuse in stony silence. Although she was careful to make no accusations, it was plain to both Nancy and her father that the actress did not believe a word of what the girl had said.
“I assure you that the only reason I went to your room was because I was trying to shield Colleen,” Nancy continued earnestly. “If you will look at the drape of your red evening gown——”
She broke off suddenly, her eyes riveted upon the heavy velvet curtains directly behind Mrs. Blair. Distinctly she had seen them move!