Nancy swung her gaze to Lawrence. He looked even more handsome than usual, dressed in a navy sports coat and gray pants. Bowing his head right and left, he greeted all the smiling parents and giggling young girls.
“Really,” Shana grumbled. “You’d think Lawrence was some kind of celebrity.”
For a second, Nancy glanced back at Shana. Arms crossed in front of her, Shana glared at the couple as they walked into the main hall. It looked almost as if she was jealous of Lawrence and Darci, instead of the other way around.
“So what did you and Darci fight about before the gala?” Nancy asked Shana gently.
Leaning closer to Nancy, Shana glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Everything,” she said. “Darci accused me of trying to steal Lawrence away from her.” Shana rolled her eyes. “Can you believe it? Why would I want to steal Mr. Steele?” She chuckled halfheartedly at her joke. “Then I told Darci that I was tired of all her sulking and little temper tantrums. I said I wasn’t going to let her and Lawrence ruin the whole show for Madame.”
“What did she say to that?” Nancy asked.
“Well, Darci claimed she didn’t know what I was talking about, but I know she was lying. Then she kicked me out of her bedroom and said she wasn’t going to go to any stupid party in my honor.”
Nancy thought for a moment. It didn’t sound as if Darci had planned the argument with Shana in advance, which meant she probably hadn’t planned to skip the gala. But that didn’t mean she and Lawrence hadn’t schemed about breaking into the dance school. Maybe the argument had fit conveniently into their plans. That way, only Lawrence had been conspicuously absent from the gala.
But had Darci been the one who had rammed her and Bess with the van? Nancy frowned. It was hard to imagine that Shana’s sister could have been that ruthless.
Suddenly, Nancy spied Madame alone by the buffet. “Come with me, Shana,” Nancy said. “I want to tell Madame what happened tonight, and you should hear it, too.”
The two girls wove their way through the groups of chatting parents. Nancy could hear a few people grumbling about all the problems that the school was having.
At the buffet table, Nancy got in line behind the directress and began to fill her plate with triangle sandwiches and stuffed mushrooms. “May I speak with you privately for a minute, Madame?” she asked in a low voice.
Madame looked up, a wary expression on her face. “Now, dear? In the middle of the party?”
Nancy nodded. “Yes. It’s important that I talk with you before the police do.”
At the word “police,” Madame’s eyes flew open and Shana gasped. Carrying their plates, the three of them found a quiet spot across the room.
Nancy told Shana and Madame about the Mouse King surprising them in the prop room and Lawrence showing up.
“What was Lawrence doing at the school?” Madame asked, sounding puzzled.
“He said he was just driving by,” Nancy told her.
“It is sort of on the way to our house,” Shana said.
Nancy nodded. “Yes, but Lawrence may have picked Darci up earlier and taken her to the school.” Nancy then told Madame and Shana about the van ramming her and Bess in the Mustang. “Who has keys to the van?” she asked the directress.
“Why, Lawrence, of course.” Madame thought a minute, then frowned. “In fact, besides me, he’s the only one.”
“Unless someone was able to copy the key,” Nancy pointed out.
Shana shook her head. “I hate to say this, but it must have been Lawrence. It’s so hard to believe he’d do something like that. . . .” Her voice trailed away.
“There must be some mistake,” Madame scolded. “Lawrence has just been angry lately because he wanted to choreograph the whole show. I can’t blame him, I suppose, but he’d never do anything to harm me or the school.”
Nancy wasn’t so sure about that, but she wasn’t about to tell Madame. First, she needed some concrete proof.
“Thank you for telling me all of this, Nancy.” Madame patted her arm. “But I have to mingle with all of the guests. This is my chance to convince the parents that the school is just as good as it always was.”
Just then, a band in the front of the room started to play. At the same time, Lawrence strode through the crowd and up to Shana. Sweeping one arm in front of him, he gave a low bow.
“May I have this dance?” Lawrence asked with exaggerated politeness. When he straightened up, Nancy could see that he was trying to suppress a smile. “After all, I am your Cavalier.”
Shana looked at him as if she wasn’t sure if he was serious or not. “It depends. Are you going to waltz me into the dessert table? Or toss me over your shoulder into the shrimp dip?”
Lawrence chuckled. “Only if you want me to,” he teased. “It might give us good publicity for the show.”
Shana glanced over at Nancy.
“Sounds like an offer you can’t refuse,” Nancy said lightly. She didn’t blame Shana for hesitating, but she also didn’t want to arouse Lawrence’s suspicions. Besides, something in Shana’s expression made Nancy think that Shana really did want to dance with Lawrence. Was there more going on between the two of them than I’d thought? Nancy wondered. Maybe they didn’t dislike each other so much after all.
“All right.” Shana looked back at Lawrence. “But the first time you step on my toes, I’m bowing out.”
“It’s a deal,” Lawrence agreed. Shana put her hand on his arm, and the two of them headed toward the dance floor. Soon, Lawrence was gracefully twirling Shana around the other dancers in an old-fashioned minuet.
“Wow!” Nancy heard someone sigh beside her. Bess was staring at the couple with dreamy eyes. “Just look at those two dance. They’re like the prince and princess in a fairy tale.”
“Or the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Mouse King,” Nancy commented ruefully. Bess gave her a puzzled look. But before Nancy could explain that she was pretty sure that Lawrence had had a hand in the thefts, she caught sight of Darci Edwards.
Shana’s younger sister was standing with a group of girls her age. All their eyes were trained on Lawrence and Shana. The other girls’ expressions were ones of admiration and delight, but Darci had a look of intense jealousy on her face. Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth was set in a grim line.
Suddenly, Darci turned and rushed from the room.
“I’m going to follow Darci,” Nancy told Bess. “It’s time I found out what’s going on.”
Nancy hurried from the dining room and into the main lobby. Darci Edwards was nowhere in sight. Then Nancy saw the door of the ladies room swing shut.
