Nancy smiled at the girl. “Tell you what. I’ve worked with the police before, and they know me. If I find out anything, I’ll let you know. How’s that?”
“Thank you, Nancy. I really appreciate it.” Janine sniffed and smiled at Nancy. Then she held out her hand. Nancy shook it.
“Janine, I’ll take you back to your room in the dorm to freshen up a little,” Kate said. “Those tears have smeared your makeup. You don’t want your mother to see you like this.”
Janine sniffed again. “Okay, Coach. But let’s hurry so I can come back and be with her.”
Kate put her arm around Janine and left the hall with her.
“Coach Boggs is really being nice,” Bess said to George.
“She is nice, but she’s also protecting the team,” George answered. “Janine has meant a lot to us this year. Kate knows she won’t play her best if she’s upset.”
“That makes sense,” Nancy said. “But I wonder why Janine is so worried about her mother. Why should anyone suspect Mrs. Sedge-wick?”
“Janine is probably just in shock because of what happened,” Bess suggested.
“Maybe,” Nancy said. “But it’s a strange conclusion for her to jump to.” She shook her head. “I hope for Janine’s sake the police lock this case up quickly.”
“Oh, no! Did you say ‘lock’?” George sounded so distressed that her two friends turned to look at her. “I think I forgot to lock the equipment room this afternoon.”
“How could you forget?” Bess asked.
George frowned. “I was in such a hurry that I think I forgot.”
“You’d better go check,” said Nancy.
George ran off without another word. As she left the banquet hall, two police officers and a detective entered. Russell Garrison led them across the room to Gideon Ray and Mrs. Sedgewick.
Nancy saw her father look at her. Then Carson Drew walked over to join the two girls.
“This could be a messy one,” he said. “Those jewels were worth a lot of money.”
“How much?” Nancy asked.
“Apparently, Mr. Ray appraised them this morning at more than one hundred thousand dollars. It looks as if he wasn’t the only one who knew what they were worth. This seems to have been a very well planned robbery. And if Mr. Garrison hadn’t invited the jeweler to be here tonight to make the auction more dramatic, the switch might never have been discovered.”
“Switch?” asked Bess. She looked confused.
“Someone took the real jewels and substituted the fakes,” Mr. Drew explained.
“That means that whoever did it knew exactly what the real brooches looked like and hired an expert to make the fake jewelry,” Nancy added.
“Exactly,” said her father.
“How do you know Mrs. Sedgewick, Dad?”
“I’ve met her a few times at charity functions. I’ve known her family for a long time.”
“Her daughter is worried that the police might suspect Mrs. Sedgewick of stealing the jewels herself to get the insurance money,” Bess said. “Isn’t that ridiculous? Why would such a rich woman steal her own jewels? Especially after she had donated them to the school?”
“It may not be as ridiculous as it sounds,” said Mr. Drew in a low voice. “I know I can trust you girls to keep this quiet. Mrs. Sedgewick decided to donate the jewels to Pineview several months ago. Since then, she’s lost quite a large part of her fortune.”
“So she needs money,” Nancy said.
“Exactly. And she stands to collect quite a large insurance payment on those brooches if they’re not found.”
Nancy nodded. “I see what you’re saying, Dad. The police might smell a motive. That’s why Janine was upset.”
The girls turned to watch the police question Mr. Ray and Mrs. Sedgewick. Nancy had seen Detective Ryan work before. She knew he was very thorough. As she and Bess watched, one of the police officers put the fake brooches in small plastic bags. Nancy knew they would be examined for fingerprints later.
Detective Ryan spotted Carson Drew and the two girls. He walked over. The detective wore a stern expression. He knew Nancy’s reputation. And Nancy knew he didn’t like other people interfering in police matters.
“Carson,” he said to Mr. Drew, “are you representing someone in this little caper?”
Carson Drew smiled. “Believe it or not, Jim, I came here tonight strictly for fun.”
“I’m sure,” Ryan said. He glanced at Nancy. “And you, Ms. Drew? Are you by any chance looking for a new and challenging case?”
“Not this time.”
“Our friend coaches the soccer team here,” Bess blurted out.
Ryan nodded. “Well, I think we’ll wrap this one up pretty fast. The jewels can’t be too far away yet, and we’re pretty sure who’s responsible for the switch.” He started off. “See you around,” he said.
“What did he mean by that?” Bess asked when he was gone.
“He means there aren’t many suspects,” said Nancy. “Not many people knew about the auction, for one thing. Even fewer knew what the brooches looked like, how they’d be handled, or when they’d be brought to the school. So the thief is most likely someone who helped to plan the fund-raising auction.”
