Chapter 15 The Clue of the Tapping Heels by Carolyn Keene
Hidden Money
Nancy and George awoke after a fairly restful sleep at Headquarters. The strange events of the night were now clear to them, and when Officer Flynn came to question the girls, they told a straightforward story which was impressive.
“So you are the daughter of Carson Drew,” the man grinned at Nancy. “Is that right?”
“Yes,” the lawyer’s daughter replied. “I should like to telephone to my father at once.”
“The chief says to take you out to the Heights and check on your story,” the man answered after he had consulted the desk sergeant. “If it’s as you claim, you’ll both be released right away.”
The chums bore the policeman no ill will, for they knew he was trying to act fairly. During the ride to the Drew home he chatted pleasantly with them, telling about his own two daughters, Hila and Lila, who were twins.
“This is the house,” Nancy indicated as they came near her own residence.
Hannah Gruen, hearing the police car on the gravel drive, ran out to greet the girls.
“Thank goodness, you’re back safe and sound!” she exclaimed joyfully. “Where in the world did you go last night? You’ve frightened us nearly out of our wits.”
“It’s a long story,” Nancy said quickly. “I’ll explain everything later. Just now I’d like to have you tell Officer Flynn that George and I aren’t criminals or anything of the sort.”
“Criminals!” cried the housekeeper indignantly. “Whoever heard of such a thing?”
“I can see that we’ve made a mistake,” the man admitted. “I didn’t know what to think last night, finding them in the Temple of the Stars. Omar, the Egyptian, pulled a fast one on the police all right. He’s the fellow we’re after now.”
“The man meant to kidnap us,” Nancy declared. “I made a mistake in telling him my name. Is Father here, Hannah?”
“He went away early this morning without even waiting for breakfast.”
“Did he say where he was going?”
“I think probably he went to see Detective Keely,” the housekeeper replied. “Mr. Drew was so upset that I didn’t question him.”
Nancy wished to find him at once, so while Officer Flynn took George home she busied herself at the telephone. Her father was not at his office, nor could she arouse anyone at Detective Keely’s residence.
It did not occur to the girl that Mr. Drew might have gone to the bank. After leaving the post office the lawyer had dropped into an eating place. As he drank a cup of coffee he studied the ransom note again. It read as follows:
“Place three thousand dollars in unmarked bills under the triangular-shaped stone at the foot of a large oak tree in Prichard’s Lane on Road Twenty. If you do this within the next twelve hours you will receive a valuable clue regarding your daughter. If you fail, or if you notify the police, you will never see her again.”
The message was signed with three X’s instead of a signature.
“Obviously, this is the work of a rank amateur,” Carson Drew told himself. “An experienced crook never would have written such a note as this and he would have asked for more money. I’ll bait my trap and catch the fellow.”
The lawyer went to a telephone and held a lengthy conversation with Detective Keely. When he had finished speaking it was time for the banks to open, so Mr. Drew took out three thousand dollars from his account and placed the bills in an old wallet.
“Now to find Prichard’s Lane!” he told himself grimly.
A road map did not show the locality. After he had inquired at several filling stations he learned that the Lane was nearly thirty miles from River Heights in a wild, isolated district.
Nancy’s father overcame his desire to make all possible speed, and drove along at a leisurely pace. He did not wish to arrive too soon for that might ruin his entire plan.
Reaching Prichard’s Lane a few minutes after eleven o’clock, the lawyer left his car on the main highway and walked slowly up the narrow road. There was no sign of anyone in the vicinity, yet Nancy’s father believed that his movements very likely were being observed. The dense bushes on either side offered ample protection for anyone lurking there.
A short distance ahead Carson Drew saw a large oak tree. As he came up to it he noticed the triangular stone lying at its base. Without the slightest hesitation the lawyer stooped and placed the wallet under the marker. Then he turned, glanced neither to right nor to left, and walked back to the car.
“I hope Detective Keely follows my instructions in every detail,” he thought, as he drove away. “If he fails, it will mean a long, hard search to capture the culprit.”
Mr. Drew drove directly home, intending to get an hour’s rest before taking up the search again for his daughter. As his car rolled into the driveway, a girl came running out to meet him. For a moment the lawyer could not believe his eyes.
“Nancy!” he cried, springing from the car to clasp her in his arms.
“Were you much worried about me, Dad?” she cried.
“Worried? Nancy, I’ve been half frantic. After I received the ransom note I was sure you had been kidnaped.”
“Dad, you haven’t paid any money!” Nancy gasped.
“Three thousand dollars. I left the bills under a stone in Prichard’s Lane.”
“Jump in your car and hurry right back there before the crook finds it!” the girl urged anxiously. “You don’t want to lose three thousand dollars!”
Mr. Drew smiled.
“I don’t expect to, Nancy.”
“The money may be picked up at any moment. Let’s go out there now and get it.”
The lawyer shook his head. “That would ruin my entire plan, Nancy dear. I mean to catch the fellow when he takes the money.”
“How can you capture him when you aren’t even on the scene?”
“Detective Keely has hidden himself in a tree near the entrance to the Lane. He has a pair of field glasses, so he will be able to see anyone who comes near the site of the triangular-shaped stone.”
“He might not reach the Lane in time,” Nancy said nervously.
“He is there all right,” Carson Drew replied confidently. “As I passed beneath the tree he dropped three pebbles as a signal.”
“I’d feel a lot better if you had the money,” Nancy sighed. “Anyway, Detective Keely’s time will be wasted, for I already know who sent you the ransom note.”
“Tell me everything that happened last night,” the lawyer requested.
Nancy revealed her unpleasant experiences at the Temple of the Stars and gave a fairly good description of Omar, the astrologer.
“He’s probably the one who sent the note,” Mr. Drew nodded. “The thing for us to do will be to have him arrested before he discovers that you and George managed to escape.”
“Yes, if he learns that we’re gone he’ll more than likely skip out.”
“Jump into the car, Nancy,” the lawyer urged. “We’ll go straight to the police station.”
This time the girl found a very different reception awaiting her. She and her father were ushered into a private room, and the Chief himself apologized for the suspicion cast upon Nancy.
“It doesn’t matter at all,” the girl said pleasantly. “Officer Flynn was trying to do his duty and I bear him no grudge.”
“The important thing now is to arrest this man who calls himself Omar,” Carson Drew broke in impatiently.
“It shall be done at once,” the Chief promised. “In fact, Sergeant Flynn went down to the Temple nearly an hour ago with orders to bring Omar here for questioning.”
“I’ll wait for him then,” the lawyer replied. “I’d like to talk with the fellow myself.”
“I think that can be arranged, Mr. Drew. Sergeant Flynn should be back any minute now. Just make yourself comfortable.”
Carson Drew and his daughter did not have long to wait. Scarcely fifteen minutes had elapsed when the door opened to admit Flynn. He smiled at Nancy, who introduced him to her father.
“Did you take your man into custody?” the lawyer questioned without preliminaries.
“I’m sorry to report that I didn’t, sir,” the sergeant answered regretfully. “I guess Omar got wind of the fact that we were after him. Anyway, the Temple is deserted.”