Contents
1 A Friend in Need
2 Three Strikes
3 Stakeout
4 The Kingfisher
5 Trouble on Wheels
6 A Secret Revealed
7 Quicksilver
8 Back from the Grave
9 Dragon Latches
10 Unsettling Questions
11 Kidnapped!
12 A Warning from the Past
13 A Hidden Threat
14 An Odd Reunion
15 Fire on the Mountain
16 Case Closed
1
A Friend in Need
“Isn’t this the most perfect dress in the world?” Bess Marvin sighed and held up a short, ruffled pink dress with skinny shoulder straps. Straightening its hem, she carefully laid the dress on the Drews’ living room couch. “It’s a little tight,” she explained, “but I’m going to lose five pounds before the wedding. What do you think? Isn’t it adorable?”
Nancy Drew brushed back a strand of reddish blond hair and studied the dress. She bit back a smile. Bess was always going to lose five pounds. And she was always buying some adorable dress that didn’t quite fit. Nancy tried to find a tactful answer. “Well,” she said, “it’s very pretty, but . . .” Nancy paused.
“But is it really the sort of thing you wear to be a bridesmaid?” asked Bess’s cousin, George Fayne.
“Joanne says everyone should wear whatever they want,” Bess said.
“That sounds like Joanne,” Nancy said. Joanne Koslow, who was a few years older than Nancy and her friends, had been one of Bess’s neighbors. Even as a little girl, Joanne had loved unusual clothing. She and Bess had been especially close friends. Now Joanne lived in northern California, where she worked as a photographer. She was marrying her boyfriend, Keith, and she had invited all three friends to the celebration. Nancy knew the wedding would be fun. She was also sure it would be anything but traditional. “Have you picked out your dress yet?” she asked George.
“No, she hasn’t,” Bess answered, looking genuinely worried. “And the wedding is less than two weeks away. George, we have to find you a dress.”
Although they were first cousins, Bess and George were very different. Bess considered clothing to be one of the most important things in life. George, whose first love was sports, didn’t care what she wore as long as it was comfortable. And their looks were as different as their personalities. George had an athletic physique, dark eyes, and short, curly brown hair. Bess’s hair was long and blond. She had blue eyes and was shorter than her cousin.
Bess put her dress back in its box and tugged on her cousin’s arm. “Let’s go. I’m taking you shopping now.”
“Help,” George moaned.
Just then the door to Carson Drew’s study opened, and Nancy’s father stepped out, casting a worried glance at the cousins. “Is there a problem here?” he asked.
“Yes,” George said quickly. “I’m being taken shopping against my will.”
“I see,” Mr. Drew said.
George shook off her cousin’s arm and ran a hand through her short, dark hair. “Isn’t there a law against that—forced shopping?”
Carson Drew, who was a well-known lawyer, tried to keep a straight face. “Not that I know of,” he replied with a chuckle, “but I’ll check into it. Speaking of things to check into, Nancy, do you remember Terry Kirkland?”
“You mean your friend in California?” Nancy asked. “The artist who makes those gorgeous stained-glass windows?”
“The very same. I just got a call from him. It seems he’s having a rough time. His wife died a few years ago, and he’s been raising his daughter, Amy, on his own. Well, his house was broken into twice in the last week. That frightened the sitter so badly she quit. Meanwhile, there’s been a lot of interest in his work. He has a few big art shows coming up, but Amy’s in school, so he can’t take her with him. Naturally he’s afraid to leave her alone.”
“Can’t he hire another person to take care of Amy?” George asked.
“I’m sure he could,” Carson Drew replied. “But that isn’t the sort of thing you do overnight. It’s hard to find someone to trust with your only child. Nancy and I were unusually lucky to find Hannah.”
Nancy’s own mother had died when Nancy was very young. Even though she’d never met Amy, Nancy felt immediate sympathy for the girl. Nancy had been raised by her father and their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. To the Drews, Hannah was a great deal more than a housekeeper. She’d become part of their family, and Nancy couldn’t imagine life without her.
Nancy’s blue eyes, so much like her father’s, sparkled as they met his. “Sounds as though Terry could use some help.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Mr. Drew said.
