“Not really. I never wore them. They were always in the vault. Some people in my family knew. But no one who would have a reason to steal them.”
“So you think it’s someone connected with Pineview?”
“I hate to think that,” Mrs. Sedgewick said. “I went here myself when I was young. I had some wonderful teachers.”
“Like Mr. Morse?”
“Oh, yes. In fact, Jonathan Morse was a good friend of my father’s. He often came to our house to dine.”
“I met Mr. Morse this morning,” Nancy said. “I really liked him.”
Ellen Sedgewick smiled. “He’s an excellent artist, too. He can paint, sculpt, and do wonderful sketches. I always said if he hadn’t been so dedicated to his students, he could have gone very far in the art world.”
“Well, we all have to make choices,” Nancy said. “I’m sure thousands of Pineview girls are glad Mr. Morse chose as he did.”
“You’re very perceptive, young lady.”
“By the way, may I ask why you’ve come here today?” Nancy said.
“I’m going to see Russell Garrison. I have an awful feeling he thinks I had something to do with the robbery. I just want to convince him I didn’t.”
“That might not be a good idea,” Nancy said. She sounded almost stern.
“Why not?” asked Mrs. Sedgewick.
“Because you haven’t been accused of anything. If you talk too much about being innocent, people might start suspecting that you really do have something to hide. The best thing for you and Janine to do is to wait until the real thief is caught.”
“Maybe you’re right, Nancy. All right, I’ll follow your advice. I just hope someone finds the culprit soon. This whole thing really has me worried. But I won’t pay a visit to Russell.”
“I will,” said Nancy. “And I’ll let you know how things are going.”
Mrs. Sedgewick got back into her car and pulled out of the lot. Nancy watched her go. Once the car was out of sight, Nancy went inside the administration building and headed for Russell Garrison’s office.
The hallway was deserted. Most of the staff had already gone home for the day. As Nancy approached Russell Garrison’s office, she heard loud voices. Two people were arguing. Nancy walked closer. She strained to hear what the voices inside the office were saying.
“That’s not fair,” the first voice shouted. “I shouldn’t have to do that. You told me before that you would take care of everything!”
The second voice replied, but it was too quiet to make out the words.
“I’m warning you, Garrison. Don’t cross me. You’re no institution here. There are some people who wouldn’t mind seeing you go, too.”
The office door was flung open, and Jonathan Morse came charging out. He was so angry that he didn’t even see Nancy at first. He ran smack into her.
This time, though, he didn’t stop. His face was beet red with rage. He brushed right past Nancy and continued down the hallway.
Very curious, Nancy knocked on the headmaster’s open door.
Garrison had his back to the door. He didn’t see who was knocking. “Jonathan, I refuse to discuss this further,” he said over his shoulder. “You’ll do as you’re told or I’ll—”
He turned to see Nancy standing in the doorway. His mouth dropped open for a moment with surprise and annoyance. Then he forced a smile.
“Why, Ms. Drew. I wasn’t expecting you. But then, I guess this is how detectives work. Doing the unexpected. Come in, please.”
Nancy entered the office. Before she could say anything, Garrison spoke again.
“I’ve just had a very distressing talk with Mr. Morse,” he said. “You remember him. It seems that some of our trustees are worried about his age. They’d like to see him retire. I told him I would do everything I could to let him stay and teach. But the way he was just now—upset and nearly out of control—I’m not so sure the trustees are wrong.”
Nancy marveled at how calm Mr. Garrison could appear so soon after such a big argument. She wondered whether he was telling the truth.
“I thought Mr. Morse was one of the school’s favorite teachers,” she said.
“He is. But sometimes I wonder. After all, he is in his seventies. Maybe the girls just think of him as a grandfatherly type.”
That wasn’t how Ellen Sedgewick had described him. And just a few hours before, Mr. Garrison himself had told Nancy how valuable Mr. Morse was.
“We really should have a definite retirement age,” Mr. Garrison continued. “That would keep this from becoming such a problem. In fact, I think I’ll bring that up at the next meeting. Now, what can I do for you, Ms. Drew?”
“I have some questions about the robbery,” Nancy said.
“More unpleasantness.” Mr. Garrison sighed. “This hasn’t been a very good few days.”
“I was wondering whether you’d remembered anything since our last talk. Maybe there was someone else who could have gotten to the jewels between the morning examination and the auction.”
“I told you everything I knew last time.” He sounded a little annoyed. “The same things I told the police.”
“I’m sure you did,” Nancy said. “But tell me something else. How important to the school is this Canadian Cup soccer tournament?”
Garrison seemed surprised by the question. “What does that have to do with the jewel theft?” he asked.
