“Jewelry!”
“Uh-huh. You know what this means, George? Those fake brooches could have been made right at Pineview.”
“You’re right, Nan,” George said. Then she gasped. “And if that’s true, it would mean the thief would have to be Jonathan Morse!”
13
Hot Pursuit
Nancy looked at her friend. Then she looked down at the book again. There was no doubt that the green goop pictured on the page was what she had found on her hand.
“Plastilene is used for other kinds of model making, of course,” she said hopefully to George. “It could just be a coincidence.”
“Nancy!”
“I know. I just hate to think that Mr. Morse could be involved in this crime.”
“Just ‘involved’? Are you saying he worked with someone else?”
“Yes. He couldn’t have pulled off this robbery alone. If he did make the fake jewels, he had to have an accomplice. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the accomplice was the one who started all this.”
“But why would Jonathan Morse get involved? All he wants to do is teach at Pineview.”
Nancy looked at her friend. “You may have answered your own question, George,” she said.
Before George could reply, both girls were suddenly aware of someone standing over them in the aisle.
“Interesting reading matter, Ms. Drew,” Mr. Garrison said. “I see you haven’t followed my advice and given up. How foolish of me to think you were interested in soccer.”
Nancy smiled at the headmaster. “I didn’t know you were interested in lapidary, Mr. Garrison. Is it a hobby of yours?”
“Pineview is my only hobby, I’m afraid.” His eyes bored into Nancy’s. “I hope we don’t have to have another talk, Ms. Drew,” he said.
“I’m trying to solve a crime.”
“And I’ve already told you to stop. My school has suffered enough from this scandal. Let’s put it behind us, shall we?”
“I want that, too,” Nancy said quietly. “We both want what’s best for Pineview.”
“I seriously doubt it,” Mr. Garrison said. Then he turned to George. “And by the way, Ms. Fayne. Your job performance will be coming up for review soon. I hope you put Pineview before your personal friendships. Have a good day, ladies.”
“I don’t like that man at all,” Nancy said after he had left.
“You wish he was the thief, not Jonathan Morse, don’t you?” George remarked.
“George, you know me. I’ve never let personal feelings get in the way of a case before. I’m trying not to now. There’s no evidence connecting Mr. Garrison to the theft. Only a couple of if’s and maybe’s. Certainly not enough to build a case on.”
“What are you going to do about Jonathan Morse?”
Nancy craned her neck to look for the art teacher. She spotted him sitting by himself about six rows behind them. “I don’t want to accuse him of anything,” she said. “I think I’ll just let him know I’m getting close to finding the thieves. Maybe then he’ll talk to me.”
She took her book and walked down the aisle to where the old man was sitting.
“Mind if I sit down for a minute, Mr. Morse?”
“You’re always welcome, Ms. Drew,” said the elderly man. “It’s been a long time since I’ve flown. I’m thoroughly enjoying the flight.”
“It’s been a smooth one so far,” said Nancy. She sat down and put the book in her lap. Its title was in plain sight of the art teacher.
“I have something here you might enjoy reading,” she said.
“Really? What’s that?”
“A book on lapidary, about crafting jewelry. I remember your saying that you haven’t had much experience with it.”
The teacher squirmed a little in his seat.
“Well, no, I really haven’t.”
“I happened to pick this up at the library this morning. You can look at it if you like.”
“I didn’t know you were so interested in lapidary,” said the teacher.
“I’m actually interested in solving a crime. I thought this might help. It gives me more information about jewelry making. For instance”—Nancy flipped open the book—“I learned that something called plastilene is often used in making fake jewelry. You know, when I left your room the other day I had some green stuff on my hand that looked a lot like plastilene.”
Jonathan Morse coughed twice. He moved around again in his seat.
“Yes, we use plastilene for some of our projects,” he said. “But I don’t teach jewelry design.”
