“I’m not sure. As you said, there are still two more ports of call,” Nancy said. “I think we’ll just have to wait and see.”
As Nancy and George window-shopped along Alpena’s streets Nancy kept an eye out for older female passengers meeting with nonpassengers. When they had finished walking along what could be considered the “touristy” streets, though, Nancy hadn’t seen anyone who wasn’t doing the same thing she and George were: shopping.
The girls had a light lunch at the Alpena House, then continued their circle of the downtown area.
“Oh, we’re back at one of the shops I wanted to duck into, Nancy! The Thunder Bay Tea Room and Gift Shop,” George said. “Let’s see what they have.”
The Thunder Bay Tea Room and Gift Shop defied description. Its stone walls were large and thick, and in between them the girls found every imaginable kind of ware.
“I could spend hours in here,” George said. “I wish Bess could have come.”
“She’d love it, wouldn’t she?” Nancy agreed.
“Isn’t this place incredible?”
Nancy and George turned to see Laura Houston smiling at them. “I haven’t been anywhere else,” she said. She had several packages in her hand. “I can’t seem to get out of here. I’ll buy some things and tell the clerk that’s it, then I’ll spot something else I have to have.”
“Sounds like this place is a trap,” Nancy said. “Maybe we should leave right now.”
George shot Nancy an incredulous look.
“I was just kidding,” Nancy said, smirking.
“You won’t believe what’s downstairs either,” Laura said. “Things down there are even more interesting because they’re from the town.”
“Oh, that’s what we want, Nancy,” George said. “There’s no sense in buying something you could get anywhere.”
“Well, I’ll see you back on the ship,” Laura said. “I’m going back now so I can visit with Bess.”
“She’d love that,” Nancy said.
After Laura Houston left them, Nancy and George found the stairs leading down to the basement.
When they got to the bottom of the steps, they stopped and stared in amazement. First of all, the main basement room was huge—but Nancy could also see that there were various other rooms opening off the main room.
Nancy looked at her watch. “We don’t really have all that much time, George, so we’d better get started.”
Slowly but surely, they made their way through the room.
“We’re the only ones down here, Nancy,” George said. “I wonder why that is?”
Nancy shrugged. “Maybe the other customers don’t know it’s here, or maybe they’ve found everything they want upstairs.”
As Nancy and George passed one of the smaller rooms, Nancy saw some shell jewelry that looked really interesting. “Let’s look in here. Normally, this can be cheap and tacky,” she said, “but I think this person knows what he or she is doing.”
They worked their way toward the back of the room, where several exquisite necklaces were displayed. Nancy had just picked up one to examine it when she heard the door to the room slam shut.
Nancy looked at George. “I wonder how that happened,” she said. She put the necklace down and went over to the door, a rush of panic beginning to creep up her spine.
The door wouldn’t budge.
“Let me try,” George said. She gave a run at the door and hit it with her shoulder, but it still wouldn’t open.
“Let’s use my cell phone,” Nancy said. She took it out of her purse and was just starting to dial when she saw LOOKING FOR SERVICE flash across the display. “Oh, great! No service. It must be these thick walls.”
George started banging on the door. “Help! Help!” she shouted. She turned to Nancy. “We’ll miss the ship if we can’t get out of here.”
“I know,” Nancy said. “And if you’re not on board when it leaves, no one looks for you.”
8
The Real Laura Houston
All of a sudden, the door clicked open, revealing a startled elderly man.
“How did you two get in here?” he demanded.
“We were just looking around, and the door shut on us,” George said.
“It must have been a draft,” Nancy said. “Sorry. We’re going to miss our ship if we don’t hurry.”
“There’s no draft in here!” the man shouted at them as Nancy and George raced toward the front entrance to the store. “This building is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar!”
In the distance they heard the ship’s horn sounding.
“Oh, George!” Nancy shouted. “It’s leaving!”
