Chapter 9 The Clue of the Dancing Puppet by Carolyn Keene
Shadowing
“Joe, what happened?” Nancy asked the young mechanic.
“I have something to show you,” Joe told her. “It’s important!”
“I’ll come right away,” Nancy promised.
She returned to the dinner table and told the others about the message. Then Nancy, Bess, and George said good-by to Mr. Drew and Mrs. Gruen and hurried off to the garage. When they reached it, Joe led them to a car which he said had been brought in a short time before.
“It needs front bumper and headlight work,” he said significantly. “Nancy, maybe this belongs to the fellow you’re looking for—the one who rammed into your convertible!”
For several seconds Nancy, Bess, and George gazed at the damaged car, a late-model, black four-door sedan. Its bumper had been jammed back, and both headlights were broken.
“If the man who ran into you,” said George, “is the owner of this car, how in the world did he make his getaway without headlights?”
Joe laughed. “When people are desperate, they’ll take chances. This guy probably drove off in the darkness and hid his car some place until daylight.”
“I notice this car has California license plates,” Nancy remarked. “Who is the owner?”
“He gave his name as Owen Whipley,” Joe replied.
“And where is he staying?” Nancy prodded.
Joe looked a bit sheepish. “He didn’t say, and I didn’t bother to ask. He told me he’d be back for the car in about three days. Oh, yes, he also said he was just passing through this area. Somebody got in his way, he said, and he swerved into a tree.”
“Of course his story could be true,” Nancy said. “But I’m going to make two tests. First, I’ll back up my car and see if our fenders are the same height from the ground.”
She did this, and they came together exactly. Next, she took a magnifying glass from the glove compartment of her convertible and trained it on the front of the black sedan.
“Flecks of light-blue paint on here,” she reported. “Joe, you take a look and see if you think they match the paint on my car.”
The garageman made a careful examination and confirmed Nancy’s suspicion that this was the car which had run into her convertible on the lonely country road.
“I’ll call Chief McGinnis at once,” Nancy said. “He’ll probably send men here to take samples of the paint and give them a laboratory test. That’s the only real way to be sure.”
The chief greeted Nancy with a warm hello. He listened attentively to her story, then said, “I’ll dispatch two detectives at once to make an investigation.”
When the officers arrived they told Joe that he was not to permit the suspected car to leave the garage.
“Drain all the fuel from it,” one of them ordered, and this was done at once.
“I guess we can’t do any more now,” Nancy said as the officers packed up their equipment preparatory to leaving.
The three girls drove off and returned to the Van Pelt house. The evening’s performance was still in progress, so they decided to go into the theater and watch it. Noiselessly the three friends slid into seats at the back and listened attentively.
“Sounds pretty good,” George remarked admiringly.
Whenever Tammi Whitlock was on stage, Nancy watched her intently. Without moving her lips, Nancy repeated the lines after the actress. She wished she dared to imitate the other girl’s gestures as well, but felt she should not do this for fear of being misunderstood. However, she scrutinized carefully each movement which Tammi made.
“She’s graceful and moves her body in rhythm with the meaning of the play, as a dancer does,” Nancy thought.
Presently Bess smiled. She leaned over and whispered to the girls, “Kathy’s magnificent tonight. You know what I think? I think Bob Simpson likes her and she’s thrilled at the attention he’s paying her.”
George and Nancy nodded. Then George, with a low chuckle, whispered, “But watch out for fireworks from the leading lady when it dawns on her!”
As the show was drawing to a close, Nancy turned to the cousins and said, “In connection with our mystery, I’d like to find out where each one of the actors and actresses goes after taking off the grease paint and changing out of costume.”
“Okay,” said George. “What are Bess’s and my assignments?”
Nancy suggested that Bess hurry backstage and watch what went on there. “Maybe you’ll hear some of them say where they’re going.”
George was to cover the dressing rooms in the house. “I’ll take the special section of the parking lot reserved for the Footlighters,” Nancy concluded.
As the entire cast was taking bows from the enthusiastic audience, the three girls hurried off to their posts. Nancy decided to keep out of sight, and hid behind a large truck which belonged to the Van Pelt estate. It was rarely used now and not likely to be moved at this time.
As Nancy watched, she noticed that the first actors and actresses to leave the dressing rooms were young married couples.
“They’re probably going home,” Nancy decided.
Other performers came out alone or in couples. Among these was Kathy Cromwell, walking beside Bob Simpson. The two were laughing and looked very happy as they climbed into a station wagon and went off together.
“Bess’s hunch was right,” Nancy thought.
The last person to come out was Tammi, who went directly to her car. To Nancy’s amazement, the leading lady seemed surprised to find a young man in the driver’s seat.
“Chuck!” Tammi hissed, then added angrily, “I told you not to come here! Suppose somebody sees you!”
To Nancy’s further amazement, the stranger behind the wheel said to Tammi icily, “Shut up and get in! Remember? We have a job to do!”
As Tammi and her strange companion pulled away from the parking lot, Nancy came out of hiding. She was puzzled by the remarks between the couple.
What kind of job did they have to do? Where were they going? Did it have anything to do with the mystery of the dancing puppet?
“I have half a mind to follow them!” Nancy told herself. “But it might not be safe to go alone. Oh, dear, if only Bess or George would come out!”
As if in answer to her wish, George appeared from the house. Instantly Nancy called to her, “Hurry! We haven’t a moment to lose!”