Contents
1 An Emergency Phone Call
2 A Fruitless Search
3 Compromising Positions
4 A Startling Surprise
5 Conflicting Clues
6 The Necklace
7 A Setup
8 A Gala Event
9 Disaster at the Dog Show
10 Useful Evidence
11 A Visit with Professor Herbert
12 The Plot Thickens
13 Risky Business
14 A Desperate Struggle
15 The Chase
1
An Emergency Phone Call
Nancy Drew dashed down the hall stairs and picked up the telephone on the second ring. “Hi, Bess!” she said cheerfully. Nancy had been expecting her friend, Bess Marvin, to call back to set a time to meet at the mall.
Instead, a strange muffled voice came through the receiver. “This is the Pentagon calling Nancy Drew.”
Nancy grinned. “Come on, George Fayne,” she said to her other best friend. “I know it’s you.”
George chuckled. “I guess I shouldn’t play around like that,” she said. “Someday the Pentagon might really phone the world’s greatest detective for help.”
Nancy laughed. “And I’ll probably hang up on them, thinking it’s one of your jokes.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you were in the mood for a game of tennis,” George said.
Just then the operator came on the line. “I have a call for Ms. Nancy Drew,” she said. “The caller says it’s an emergency.”
Nancy bit her lip. “Oh, no!” She’d kept the phone tied up all morning. “I’ll be right off,” she assured the operator.
“It must be the Pentagon now,” George quipped.
“I’ll call you back,” Nancy promised. She put down the receiver, and the phone rang immediately.
“Nancy Drew speaking,” she said, tucking a strand of red-blond hair behind her ears.
“Miss Drew!” a man’s voice blurted. “Sorry to break in—but I have an urgent problem. I need to meet with you as soon as possible.”
“Can you give me a few details over the phone?” Nancy asked.
“Y-yes, of course,” he stammered nervously.
Nancy pulled a pencil and notebook from her purse. “Let’s start with your name,” she said in a businesslike tone.
The man hesitated, and Nancy wondered whether he was afraid someone was listening in on their conversation.
“My name is Nelson Stone,” he said finally, a note of self-importance entering his voice. “I am the curator of the new Clinton Park Museum. A friend gave me your name.”
Nancy’s mind raced. She recalled her father, Carson Drew, mentioning that the museum was having some kind of legal problem. Nancy’s father was a well-respected attorney in River Heights. Then Nancy remembered that a wealthy socialite, Amanda Lane, had donated her mansion to the museum before she died. The papers had been drawn up by Carson, who had been her attorney.
But Amanda’s grandniece, Hillary Lane, had been bitter about her aunt’s donation. She felt the mansion should have remained in the family, and she was starting a legal battle to contest the donation.
“Does this have anything to do with Hillary Lane?” Nancy asked bluntly. If it did, she knew she would have to consult with her father before taking the case.
“It may,” Nelson Stone hedged. “But then again, it may not.”
“If you want me to help you,” Nancy said firmly, “you’ll have to give me specific details.”
