One by one, Nancy removed the drawers. Behind the bottom drawer on the right, she found a hidden compartment. She reached in and pulled out a black, leatherbound book. The title was in Braille. She handed it to Marisa.
Marisa ran her finger across the cover. “ ‘Family Bible,’ ” she read.
“ ‘A stitch in time saves nine,’ ” Nancy repeated. “ ’Money doesn’t grow on trees.’ That’s what your grandmother’s note says. Does the bible have a family tree?” Nancy asked Marisa.
Marisa opened the book and ran her fingers over the thick pages. “Here we go. On page nine.” Marisa’s fingers stopped, and she smiled. “Here’s my name. Wait a minute,” she said. “What’s this?”
Nancy moved over to look at the object in Marisa’s hand. It was a leather pouch stitched to the binding of the bible. With trembling hands, Marisa opened it. She pulled out a bill. “Is this money? It sort of feels like it—but sort of not.”
Eric craned his neck and looked. “Play money,” he moaned. “I went to all this trouble for phony fifty-dollar bills. Your grandmother was really something else.”
Nancy examined the bill. “This is real money—real money from 1874. I saw bills like this on display at the historical society the other day. They’re valuable to collectors.”
Nancy counted the bills in the pouch. “At face value, you have one thousand dollars here. I’m no expert, but it must be worth much more.”
There was a knock at the door. “Police!”
Detective Lee greeted Nancy with a smile. “I understand you’ve solved the counterfeiting case?”
An hour later Marisa and Nancy had finished giving their statements to Detective Lee. Eric was in custody, and this time he had to find his own lawyer. Nancy and Marisa were free to leave police headquarters.
“Let’s go to Café Olé,” Nancy said brightly.
Marisa groaned. “You’re kidding. I’m ready for bed.”
“It’s your birthday,” Nancy said. “Come on.”
“I see,” Marisa said. “There really is a surprise party, right?”
“Promise me you’ll pretend you’re surprised,” Nancy said. “Otherwise, Bess will kill me.”
Marisa laughed. “I think it’s the least I can do—after all you’ve done for me.”
* * *
One week later Bess and Nancy sat with Bess’s parents at the Marvins’ dining room table. “It’s lonely without Casey here.” Bess speared a section of grapefruit.
“I miss her, too,” Mr. Marvin said. “But my sinuses don’t.”
Mr. Marvin’s cold had miraculously disappeared while he and Mrs. Marvin were vacationing in Florida. But when they returned home, the cold came back more ferociously than before. The doctor diagnosed an intense allergy to dogs, and there was only one cure. Bess had to find Casey a new home. Luckily, the Marshalls had agreed to adopt Casey. Amber had done such a good job of helping to care for the puppy at the Marvins’ that her parents decided she was responsible enough to raise her for the next fifteen months.
“At least I can visit Casey whenever I want,” Bess said. “She’s growing so fast.”
The doorbell rang. Bess opened the door to Amber, Devon, and Marisa. “Where’s Misty?” Bess asked.
“We left her at our house because of your father’s allergies,” Devon explained.
“Oh, you’re eating,” Marisa said. “I can hear the silverware clinking. We should have called first.”
“That’s okay,” Bess said. “Come on in.”
Devon led Marisa into the dining room. When they sat down, Bess passed around a plate of Hannah’s lemon poppyseed muffins, which Nancy had brought over.
“We just took Casey to her first class at obedience school,” Amber said.
Devon took a muffin. “We thought you’d like a progress report.”
“She learned to sit and heel,” Amber said. “Well, sort of. But she was definitely the best one in the class.”
“I understand there wouldn’t be a class if it weren’t for Marisa’s generous donation to the Guiding Eyes,” Mrs. Marvin said. “They came very close to having to give up the project in River Heights.”
Marisa blushed. “It’s no big deal. My grandmother wanted me to use the family money for a good cause. Anyhow, I kept half of it,” she said. “And half of eighty thousand dollars is still a lot of money.”
“Enough to rebuild the Marshall family business,” Devon said. “Marisa didn’t keep the money for herself. She lent it to my father.”
“He’ll pay me back, of course,” Marisa said. “We have a written agreement,” she added. “After all, I am a law student.”
“The Guiding Eyes is naming the school’s new library for Marisa,” Devon said proudly.
“None of this would have been possible without Nancy,” Marisa pointed out.
“The breeder brought eight new puppies to the school this morning. Nancy, guess what Penny named one of them?” Amber fidgeted with excitement.
Nancy laughed. “I have no idea.”
“There was one particularly inquisitive golden retriever—a beautiful redhead, I understand.” Marisa smiled. “Her name is Nancy Drew.”
