Chapter 7 The Mystery of the 99 Steps by Carolyn Keene
Exciting Steps
As Bess pointed toward the lamppost, the man crouching behind it seemed to realize he had been discovered. He sprang up and plunged into a mass of bushes and trees behind him.
“Let’s chase him!” Nancy urged, and the whole group took off in pursuit.
George reached the other side of the shrubbery first. She cried out, “I see him! He’s heading for the back street!”
When they came to the Rue du Cloître, they could see their quarry running to the south.
“We mustn’t let him escape!” called Mr. Drew. “You girls go on. I can’t run as fast as I used to.”
Nancy soon caught up to George. But at the corner of the Quai de l’Archêveché, they were stopped by a policeman wearing a tight-fitting, dark-blue tunic suit, white gauntlets, and a high-crowned, peaked cap.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” he called out in French.
Nancy pointed down the street toward the fugitive. “He is a suspect trying to get away from us!”
The officer’s eyebrows lifted. “Suspected of what?” he asked.
For a moment Nancy was stumped. What did she suspect the man of? Only of being Claude Aubert’s brother. Finally she said, “He has been watching and following us. We want to find out why.”
By this time Mr. Drew and Bess had reached the group. The lawyer introduced himself and the girls and showed his identification.
“I beg the pardon of the Americans,” the policeman said, and waved them on.
But Nancy shook her head. “Too late. Look!”
At that moment the long-armed man was jumping into a taxi. Disappointedly his pursuers watched it drive out of sight.
The policeman said cheerfully, “If the man is following you, he will be seen again. What is his name?”
“We do not know,” Nancy replied. “We think it may be Aubert. By any chance, have you ever heard of a Claude Aubert?”
The officer stared at her. “Mais oui, mademoiselle! Claude Aubert is a well-known forger. Some time ago he faked the signature on a large check and was nearly caught by our captain, but he got away. You mean, that man you were chasing is Claude?”
“No, he’s in jail in the States,” Nancy replied, then added that Captain McGinnis was going to get in touch with the Paris police. On a hunch she asked whose signature Claude Aubert had forged. The group was astounded to learn it was that of Charles Leblanc! The “frightened financier”!
Nancy and her father were elated over this clue, which might prove a strong link between his case and Nancy’s.
As calmly as she could, Nancy asked the officer where Claude Aubert had lived at the time he vanished. The policeman gave her the address of an apartment house in the section of Paris known as the Left Bank.
The Drews thanked him for the information and walked back toward Notre Dame. Mr. Drew suggested they have lunch at one of the sidewalk cafes instead of returning to the hotel, then go to Aubert’s apartment house.
“That would be fun,” Bess said eagerly. “Some fine French food will step up my brainpower. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Nancy?”
Her friend laughed. “This mystery is becoming so complicated, I can use all the help you can give me.”
Mr. Drew selected a pleasant cafe and the group seated themselves at a small table. After their luncheon orders of cheese soufflé had been given, the lawyer said in a low tone, “Monsieur Leblanc’s office building is not far from Aubert’s apartment.”
George asked, “Do you think that fact has a bearing on your case, Mr. Drew?”
The lawyer shrugged. “At least it’s a strange coincidence.”
When they finished eating, Mr. Drew suggested that on their way to the Left Bank, they stop at the famous Louvre to view some of the paintings and statuary. A taxi took them to the massive museum which had once been a palace.
Bess sighed. “It would take us a week to see everything in this place,” she commented.
Mr. Drew smiled. “You’re right, Bess, but there are certain priceless art objects you must not miss—for instance, the Winged Victory.”
George grinned. “She’s the lady with the wings but no head, isn’t she?”
“That’s the one,” Mr. Drew answered.
“The Venus de Milo statue is here too,” Nancy said.
“That’s right.”
George chuckled. “She’s the beautiful lady without any arms. Where did she lose them?”
“I haven’t heard,” the lawyer said with a grin, “or I might look for them.”
Bess announced, “One thing I want to see is Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Mona Lisa.”
Mr. Drew said that apparently this was considered the most valuable art treasure in the Louvre, since it was more heavily protected than any of the other pieces.
When the group reached the famous painting, they found it guarded by an iron rail and two uniformed men, who carefully watched each visitor.
“Mona Lisa’s face is lovely,” Nancy remarked. “Just looking at her portrait gives me a peaceful feeling.”
The River Heights visitors stayed for an hour in the famous old building. Then, weary, they decided to stop walking and drive across the Seine to Claude Aubert’s former home. The concierge in charge of the apartment house was a rather gruff man of about fifty. At first he seemed unwilling to answer any of their questions about the forger.
“It was bad enough having the police come here disturbing me!” he complained, growing red in the face. “Who are you?”
Nancy smiled disarmingly. She decided to shoot a direct question at him. Could she get him to answer?
“What’s Claude Aubert’s twin’s name?” she asked.
Without hesitation, the concierge replied, “Louis.”
Nancy could hardly keep from shouting her delight. Mr. Drew, Bess, and George also found it difficult to maintain calm expressions.
“Oh, yes,” Nancy said nonchalantly. “Let me see, where does Louis live?”
The man did not answer at once, but finally he said, “It is out in the country. I do not know the name of the place.” Suddenly he went on, “You know, Louis is the bright one. Claude is a bit slow. He just does what his brother tells him to.”
Mr. Drew put in casually, “Louis keeps busy, no doubt. We saw him today from a distance. What’s he doing now?”
“Oh, he is some sort of scientist. That business with formulas and flasks and such is beyond me.”
Nancy’s intuition told her they were getting nearer and nearer to an excellent clue. Again she smiled at the concierge. “Would it be possible for us to see where Claude used to live?”
Actually Nancy did not expect to find any clue in the apartment. What she did want to do was count the number of steps to Aubert’s living quarters. It was just possible there might be 99 and there would be some significance to this!
“I can show you which apartment it is,” the concierge replied. “But I cannot admit you because a young man and his wife occupy it now.”
As he led the way up the stairs, Nancy moved backward to the front door. Then, as she walked forward again, she began to count. It took her ten steps to the stairway. She added each tread as the group climbed. On the second floor there were ten steps to the next stairway. The concierge went on up, and Nancy continued to count. When they reached the top, she found there were 69 steps in the two stairways.
“Maybe—just maybe—” Nancy told herself.
Would there be ten steps to the Aubert apartment? There were. The total was 99!
“But now that I have the information, how can I use it?” Nancy thought. “The number may have been a signal between Louis and Claude or between Claude and some pals of his to meet here in connection with his forgeries. But where does it fit in with Mrs. Blair’s dream?”
Meanwhile, the Drews and their companions had pretended to gaze with interest at the apartment door, then returned to the front entrance. Mr. Drew thanked the concierge, hailed a taxi, and the callers went back to their hotel.
“I have a surprise for you girls this evening,” said Mr. Drew. “We’re invited to a soirée. It’s being held by friends of mine especially for you girls to meet Monsieur Charles Leblanc and see what you can learn.”
“It sounds wonderful!” Bess remarked.
The lawyer turned to his daughter and smiled. “If you can get as much information from Monsieur Leblanc as you did from the policeman and the concierge, I’ll buy you a special gift from Paris!”
Nancy laughed. “I’ll do my best to win it!”
After tea and a short rest, Mr. Drew and the girls dressed in evening clothes and taxied to a beautiful mansion near the Bois de Boulogne Park. The large stone building had several steps leading up to a massive carved doorway. The house was brilliantly lighted, and strains of music from inside floated to the ears of the arriving guests.
“How divine!” Bess murmured.
Mr. Drew alighted first. He was just helping Nancy out when a car came up behind their taxi, and without braking, smashed into it. Despite her father’s efforts to save Nancy, she was knocked off-balance and thrown full force to the pavement!