Just as the girls were finishing their laps, Nancy and the others heard Janine yell, “Leave me alone, Kelly! You have no right to say that!”
“Why? Does the truth hurt?” Kelly shouted back. “Everyone at school is talking about it. Even the newspaper said your mother needs money.”
By the time Kate, George, and Nancy reached the two girls, they had started shoving each other. Kelly had a faint smile on her face, as though she enjoyed the confrontation. But Janine looked close to tears.
“I won’t have this behavior on my team,” Coach Boggs said as she pulled the girls apart. “Especially now.”
“Then tell her to keep her opinions to herself!” Janine cried.
“Hey, it isn’t my mother who needs money so bad she has to steal from the school.”
“Kelly, stop that!” Coach Boggs snapped. “No one knows who took those jewels Saturday night.”
“Kelly will do anything to upset me, just so she can take my place in a game,” Janine said to the coach.
“Both of you girls had better remember that this is a team,” Coach Boggs said sternly. “I’ll be happy to get rid of anyone who works against the team’s spirit. Understand?”
Janine and Kelly nodded sheepishly. Then Kelly headed for the showers. Along the way she stopped to talk with a couple of her teammates.
“She’s never going to leave me alone, Coach, I just know it,” Janine said in a low voice. “She started in on my mother the minute we got to practice today.”
Coach Boggs sighed. “I’ll talk to her again.” She turned to Nancy and George. “See you two later.”
Coach Boggs trotted briskly after Kelly. Nancy approached Janine. “Are you all right?” she asked.
The girl sniffed. “All I can think about is the jewel theft. I knew if people found out we need money right now they’d start to think my mother might—” Janine blinked back her tears and looked at Nancy. “Do you think my mother stole those brooches?” she asked. “I mean, it looks so bad. . . .”
Nancy knew what Janine meant. The case was so mystifying that Janine was wondering about her own mother.
“I just have to know what really happened,” Janine said. “Won’t you find out who did it, Nancy? Even if you can’t catch the thief, maybe you could at least prove my mother is innocent. Please, Nancy.”
What Janine didn’t know was that, in her own mind at least, Nancy had taken up the case the day before. Now was her chance to make it official.
“All right.” Nancy smiled sympathetically and patted Janine’s shoulder. “You win, Janine. I’ll take the case.”
4
Suspect
It was late afternoon when George and Nancy left Pineview School. They were going to stop and pick up Bess before heading to Nancy’s house. Nancy was anxious to talk to her father.
“You don’t really think there’s a chance Mrs. Sedgewick is a thief, do you?” George asked.
“I don’t know who stole the brooches,” said Nancy. “My hunch is that Mrs. Sedgewick is innocent, but I’ve got to learn more about the case before I can be sure. Anyway, if she is involved, I don’t think Janine knows anything about it.”
“I’d hate to think Mrs. Sedgewick is dishonest,” George said. “Janine really looks up to her mother.”
“George, how big a deal is this Canadian Cup Tournament?” Nancy asked.
“Very big,” George said. “It’s open to a large number of private schools in the United States and Canada. Most of them are old and wealthy, like Pineview. Kate mentioned once that winning the cup would do more than just bring honor to the school. She says the school’s alumnae are very competitive about the tournament. A victory would mean more alumnae donations to the school.”
“Hmm. Interesting,” Nancy said. “I suppose the alumnae of the other schools feel the same way. What if someone wanted to ensure that a certain school won the Canadian Cup? What would be the best way to make sure Pineview lost?”
“Janine’s our strongest player,” George said right away. “Without her we probably couldn’t win.”
George’s eyes widened. “Nan, you don’t think someone would try to frame Mrs. Sedgewick just to upset Janine,” she said.
“It’s farfetched, I admit,” said Nancy. “But we’ve got to look at all the angles. I’ll know more after I’ve talked to Dad and Mrs. Sedgewick and Mr. Garrison.”
“But if someone is trying to ruin the team’s chances and this trick doesn’t work,” George said, “then Janine might be in some kind of danger.”
“I know,” said Nancy. “That’s one reason we need to work fast.”
• • •
Carson Drew was at home when the three girls arrived. The radio was playing softly.
“Anything new on the jewel theft, Dad?” Nancy asked as she, George, and Bess entered the living room.
“Not yet. The police are questioning everyone connected with the jewels and the auction.”
“How much do you know about the Sedgewicks’ money problems?”
Nancy’s businesslike tone of voice was all too familiar to her father. “Nancy, are you—”
“Janine Sedgewick begged me to help. She’s afraid someone will accuse her mother of stealing the jewels to get the insurance money.”
Carson Drew leaned forward and turned off the radio. He looked tired. “Nancy, you know Detective Ryan doesn’t want you on this case. This is a big-time robbery, and—”
