Braddock had written twenty-seven mysteries. One or more of those mysteries probably contained a kidnapping. Had the author set up a real-life kidnapping? Maybe she was mad about something and was seeking revenge. But for what? The title of the book was The Repeating Gunshot. The kidnapper’s note had said history would repeat itself. Was there some connection?
“What’s this book about?” Nancy asked George.
“It’s really scary,” George said. “This young English woman is kidnapped and taken to an old, decrepit mansion in the countryside. She thinks she’s going crazy because she keeps hearing this gunshot over and over, but there’s no gun and no one there to shoot it. Fifi saves her and solves the mystery, though, in the end.”
“Interesting,” said Nancy. “Let’s hold on to this book.”
The girls headed back into the foyer and ran into Bess.
“Find anything?” Nancy asked.
Bess shook her head. “Looks like no one went into the other rooms. There’s even one of those ‘Welcome to the Hotel’ fruit baskets on the dining-room table that nobody touched.”
“Except you,” Nancy said, motioning toward the apple core in Bess’s hand.
“It’s only sixty calories,” Bess said, smiling sheepishly. “It’s definitely allowed on my new diet.” Bess was slightly plump, and she was always on a diet. George said this was because Bess was always thinking about food.
There was a knock at the door. Nancy went to open it. A huge, bearlike man with watery blue eyes and a full head of white hair stood at the door. He wore a gray uniform with a patch on the shoulder that said “Buckingham Hotel Security,” and he was smoking a fat cigar.
“You’re not Sally Belmont,” the man said, puffing on his cigar.
Nancy recognized his raspy voice. He was the security guard she had spoken to on the phone earlier. “Of course I’m not,” said Nancy in an exasperated tone. “She’s been kidnapped.”
The security guard shook his head and exhaled a cloud of smoke. “You crazy mystery people! You’re all alike. You get caught up in this mystery thing, and it’s me who gets stuck riding up and down the elevators investigating one false alarm after another.” He started to walk away, but Nancy grabbed his arm.
“Please come in,” she said. “It will take us only a minute to prove to you that we’re not lying. Just look in the bedroom.”
Reluctantly, the security guard allowed himself to be led into the suite.
“I’m Nancy Drew, the girl who called,” Nancy introduced herself. “And these are my friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne.”
“Ray Sherbinski,” the man said. “Chief of security. Okay, junior detective, which way?”
Nancy pointed to the door dangling off its hinges. Sherbinski walked into the master bedroom and surveyed the damage. Then, without a word, he turned around and headed for the front door.
“Well?” Nancy asked. “Aren’t you going to do anything?”
Sherbinski pulled a folded piece of paper out of his breast pocket and handed it to Nancy. Nancy read it.
“You see?” said Sherbinski, taking short puffs on his cigar. “It’s exactly what I was expecting.”
“I’m missing something,” said Bess. “What’s he talking about?”
“This memo is addressed to Mr. Sherbinski,” said Nancy. “It says that a fake mystery will be staged today as part of the convention.”
“And this is it,” said Sherbinski. “So much for your kidnapping.”
“Then where’s Sally Belmont?” George asked. “She’s still missing.”
“She’ll show up,” Sherbinski replied.
“But she said she’d meet us here,” Bess insisted. “Why would she tell us that if she knew she wasn’t going to be here?”
“She probably set you up to discover the false crime. Somebody had to do it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got real business to attend to.” Ray Sherbinski stepped out of the suite and shut the door firmly behind him.
“I don’t buy it,” said Nancy. “Maybe someone really did send him that memo, but I’m convinced this kidnapping is real.”
“What do we do now?” George asked.
“We’ll just have to find Sally Belmont ourselves,” Nancy replied. “Come on.”
As Bess and George followed Nancy out the front door, they saw Will Leonard letting himself into the room next door. He was still wearing his sunglasses.
“Mr. Leonard,” Nancy called. “Can we speak to you, please?”
Will Leonard turned his back on them. “Autograph time is over,” he said shortly.
“We didn’t want your autograph before, and we don’t want it now,” Nancy said.
At this Will Leonard turned around. “Excuse me?” he said. Then he recognized them. “Oh, I remember you. You’re the girls who got the special treatment from Sweet Sally. So? Did Madam President give you a tour of the Presidential Suite?”
“No, she didn’t,” Nancy said. “Because she’s been kidnapped.”
Will Leonard was unimpressed. “We’ve both been kidnapped at least half a dozen times,” he said with a shrug. “Didn’t you see last week’s episode, ‘The Sands of Time’?”
“We’re not talking about the show,” Bess said. “Sally Belmont’s been kidnapped for real.”
“We found this pinned to her bedspread,” Nancy said, handing him the note.
