Missing!
Nancy looked at Bess in alarm. Cindy, missing? Right at the start of such a big assignment? This could ruin her career!
“Maybe Bess and I can help find her,” Nancy said to Carlo.
“No, no, no,” Carlo said. He smiled, but he couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes. “It is nice of you to offer. But I am sure she made a mistake about the time, that’s all.”
“I spoke to Cindy yesterday afternoon,” Charmaine said. “She said she’d see me at eight-thirty sharp. She even asked if she could come earlier, but I told her not to bother—no one would be ready for her.”
“Could she have been in an accident?” Bess wondered.
Charmaine replied, “Cindy doesn’t have a car. She would probably have taken a taxi here. Ms. Bowers said she was going to call the police and the hospitals. I don’t know what else we can do. We can’t exactly go out and search the whole city of Chicago.”
“This is a big fuss about very little,” Carlo insisted. “I am sure Cindy will be here any moment. But I must announce the delay.”
He turned, cupped his hands around his mouth, and said loudly, “Your attention, people! We are making a small change in the schedule. Everything is pushed back two hours. Thank you.”
A buzz of conversation filled the big room. A young woman with incredibly short black hair hurried over. She was wearing a clean white smock.
“Ah, Ghalia,” Carlo said, taking her arm. To Nancy and Bess, he added, “Ghalia is one of the best makeup artists in Chicago. We are very lucky to have her on our team.”
“Thanks, Carlo,” Ghalia said, with a quick smile. “But I’ve got a conflict. You see, I’m due at another session at noon.”
Carlo squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We will have you out in plenty of time.”
“I know Cindy,” Ghalia persisted. “I’ve made her up for two or three fashion shoots. I’ll need forty-five minutes to do a good job on her. All those angles that make her face so beautiful make my job tough.”
Carlo rolled his eyes. “I know all this, Ghalia,” he said patiently. “I am not new to this business, you know. You will have the time you need, or else we will postpone the shoot.”
A balding man in a dark suit came up in time to hear Carlo’s last words. “Postpone the shoot?” he said, his voice rising. “Carlo, you can’t! This campaign’s on a very tight schedule—and a tight budget, too. We’ve got no room for cost overruns.”
The man reached inside his jacket toward his shirt pocket. As he did, Nancy noticed yellow stains on his first two fingers. She wasn’t surprised to see him pull out a pack of cigarettes.
“Sorry, Mr. Pike,” Charmaine said quickly. “No smoking in the studio. You can go upstairs to the office, if you like. It’s empty.”
“Ridiculous,” Pike muttered, as he slid the cigarettes back in his pocket. “Anyway, listen, Carlo. Do you realize how much our company has riding on Healthibits?”
Stella stepped forward and said to Pike, “Sherman, I’m delighted that you could come down to watch this morning. But you put this ad campaign in the hands of our agency. Don’t you think you ought to let us do our job?”
“Oh—sorry, Stella,” Pike said. “But you know how much this campaign means to us . . . and to me, personally. I can’t help feeling involved.”
Carlo looked around at the crowd gathering to listen. He frowned. “Stella, Erik, Sherman—I think we should all go upstairs to my office. We can talk more comfortably there.” He started away, then looked over his shoulder and added, “Charmaine, please look after Bess and Nancy. Show them around and explain what is happening.”
The crowd broke up. Charmaine smiled at Nancy and Bess. “It’s not always this crazy around here,” she confided.
“What do you think happened to Cindy?” Bess asked.
Charmaine shook her head. “I don’t know,” she replied. “To tell the truth, I’m worried. Cindy and I, we’re pretty tight, and I know how excited she was about this job. She wouldn’t just not show up. Anyone in the business will tell you how reliable and hardworking she is, even people who may think she has weird ideas.”
Nancy instantly caught the hint of something odd in Charmaine’s words. “Weird ideas?” she repeated.
Charmaine hesitated. “I’m not saying I think they’re weird, but . . . well, not long ago Cindy was booked for an ad for a big cosmetics company. Then she found out that they test their products on animals. She thinks animal testing is cruel, so she turned down the job. Ms. Bowers was furious about it, but Cindy wouldn’t give in.”
Nancy nodded, taking in the information. “You mentioned Ms. Bowers before,” she said. “Who’s she?”
“Ann Bowers?” Charmaine replied. “Oh, I forgot you guys aren’t in the business. If you were, you’d definitely know her name. She’s the head of one of the most important modeling agencies in the Midwest. Signing with her was Cindy’s first big break. Ann Bowers can open all kinds of doors for a model. And she really believes in taking care of her ‘girls.’ That’s why Cindy’s mom was so pleased when Ms. Bowers offered to let Cindy stay at her apartment.”
“You mean Cindy shares an apartment with her boss?” Bess asked, puzzled.
Charmaine laughed. “Not really. Ms. Bowers is more like her housemother,” she said. “She’s always got two or three of her teen models living with her. It makes their parents feel better about their kids living in the big city. She’s got this huge apartment over on Lake Shore Drive. It must have ten or twelve rooms. Cindy has her own bedroom, and so does her friend Gayle. Gayle’s with the Bowers Agency, too.”
Nancy made a mental note to talk to Ann Bowers as soon as possible. She would probably know as much about Cindy’s activities as anyone.
“Do you have any idea why Cindy didn’t show up this morning?” Nancy asked Charmaine.
Charmaine shook her head. “I wish I did,” she said with a sigh. “I know she’s had some problems lately, but I can’t believe she’d blow something as important as this.”
Bess glanced at Nancy, then asked, “Problems? What kind of problems?”
Charmaine made a face. “Oh, just boyfriend problems,” she answered. “She’s been seeing this guy, Cody Charles. He’s in law school. He’s an okay guy, I guess, except that he’s kind of down on her modeling career. I don’t know why—she’s got a fantastic future. Maybe he’s a little bit jealous of her success.”
“He wouldn’t abduct her just because he doesn’t like her career,” Nancy pointed out. “Still, he may have some idea of what happened to her. Do you know his phone number?”
“I think Cindy gave it to me once.” Charmaine leafed through her address book. “Yeah, here.” She scribbled the number on a scrap of paper, then led Nancy to the phone.
Cody answered on the second ring. When Nancy explained why she was calling, he immediately sounded alarmed. “Let me get this straight,” he said. “Cindy didn’t show up at the studio this morning? And Ms. Bowers doesn’t know where she is?”
“That’s right,” Nancy replied. “Do you—”
