Contents
1 Aunt Elizabeth’s Award
2 A Dangerous Threat
3 Fly-by-night
4 Hanging by a Threat
5 An Angry Meeting
6 Secrets Overheard
7 A Splash in the Dark
8 A Cry of Innocence
9 The Search Is On!
10 A Veil of Secrecy Lifts
11 A Faked Report
12 There . . . and Gone!
13 A Crack in the Puzzle
14 Aunt Elizabeth Disappears
15 Rescue in the Dark
1
Aunt Elizabeth’s Award
“George, I’m so glad you persuaded us to come to Connecticut with you,” Nancy Drew said. She slid out from behind the steering wheel of the car they’d rented at the train station. “What a pretty town Fairport is!”
George Fayne smiled. She closed the car door and joined her slim, golden-haired friend on the sidewalk. “It’s like a postcard picture, isn’t it?” she said.
George looked into the backseat of the car and saw her cousin, Bess Marvin, struggling with the clasp of her backpack. “Hurry up, Bess,” George called.
“Sorry,” Bess apologized as she clambered out. “I was looking for my camera, but I guess I must have packed it in my suitcase.”
The town green of Fairport stretched out before them. The square took up several blocks and was anchored at one end by a white spired church and at the other by a gazebo, festive with crepe paper decorations fluttering in the spring breeze. In between lay an expanse of clipped grass and tall, stately trees.
Frowning, George ran a hand through her short, dark hair and scanned the crowd gathering around the gazebo. “Aunt Elizabeth told me she’d meet us before the ceremony, but I don’t see her.”
“Why don’t we follow the crowd?” Nancy suggested. “After all, they’re here for the same reason we are—to see your aunt.”
George’s aunt, Elizabeth Porter, was her great-aunt on her father’s side of the family. The people of Fairport had gathered to give her an award for her lifelong efforts as a conservationist. Since George’s parents hadn’t been able to attend, George had asked Nancy and Bess to join her instead, offering a week’s vacation at her aunt’s colonial home as an added enticement. The two friends had eagerly accepted the invitation.
“Is that her?” Bess asked. She pushed a strand of blond hair behind her ears and placed her other hand above her eyes to shade them from the bright spring sun. She pointed to a gray-haired woman standing in the middle of a circle of people.
“That’s her,” George replied, walking faster. Nancy and Bess hurried after her.
“Aunt Elizabeth!” George called.
Elizabeth Porter turned when she heard her name, and her face broke into a wide smile. “George! I’m so glad you’re here.”
George gave her aunt a big hug. “These are my friends,” she said, introducing Nancy and Bess.
Elizabeth Porter shook their hands. “I’ve heard so much about you both,” she said, her blue eyes twinkling, “and all your adventures. I hear you’re quite the detective, Nancy.”
“I’ve solved a few mysteries,” Nancy replied, smiling modestly.
“Well, there’s nothing mysterious going on here,” Elizabeth Porter said, laughing. “Just an old lady getting a plaque.”
Nancy knew right away that she was going to enjoy getting to know George’s aunt. Elizabeth Porter was a spirited woman who clearly wasn’t afraid to make a joke at her own expense.
According to George, her aunt was an avid gardener who had spent many years launching and organizing beautification projects around the town. She was also a strong-willed woman who had definite opinions about almost everything, but who was also admired for her ability to get things done.
“Mrs. Porter?” A young man came up to George’s aunt and took her elbow. “Are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Mrs. Porter replied jauntily. She let herself be led to the gazebo and climbed the stairs to the platform.
Nancy, Bess, and George stepped back into the crowd and waited for the ceremony to begin.
“Well, she’s gotten herself involved in another controversy,” Nancy heard someone behind her mutter. Without turning, she continued to listen.
