Action! (13 page)

“We need to get this equipment packed up and the costumes back to the shop,” Morris announced. “Then all of you have a week off. At least.”

“At
least
?” I asked.

“Well, we’re not going to be able to film in this cave for a while.” Morris swung his arm toward the
gaping cavern that now filled the back of the cave. “And it turns out that we have the heist story completely wrong. At least the end of it. That means more rewriting and reshooting.”

Morris let out a sigh as he looked out at the cast and crew. “It also means more money. A
lot
more money,” he admitted. “As you know, there have already been a lot of production problems on this shoot. I’m honestly not sure if we’re going to have enough in the budget to continue.”

“Oh, no,” Bess whispered.

I felt my heart sink down to someplace near my stomach. “This is awful,” I said to Bess. “Everyone has worked so hard.”

And I’d been having fun. I was shocked to realize it, but I had. Sure, I was nervous every time I got in front of the camera. But I was finally starting to get the hang of the acting thing, and I wanted to keep working on it.

Now it looked like my acting career would be over before I’d even finished the movie!

After Morris’s announcement we all took the bus back to the compound. One by one, cast and crew members headed off to their cars for the lonely drive home.

“Let’s go get lunch before we head home,” George
suggested. “I want to hear all the details about Nancy’s archeological dig.”

We all piled into my car and went to a local diner for sandwiches. By the time we started back to the soundstage to pick up my friends’ cars, I had realized that there was one more loose end to the mystery of the Rackham Gang and Ethan Mahoney that needed to be tied up.

“I have to make a detour, okay?” I asked Bess and George on our way to the production compound.

“An ice cream kind of detour?” Bess asked hopefully.

“I wish,” I answered. “I want to stop by Mrs. Mahoney’s. We have to tell her what we found out about her family. And I think we should do it in person.”

“Good idea,” George said. “Not fun, but a good idea.”

Not fun
was right. I was still trying to figure out what words I should use to tell Mrs. Mahoney that her husband’s ancestor was a thief and a murderer when we pulled into the long circular driveway in front of her gigantic house.

“Everybody out,” I called. I needed moral support if I was going to do this. Mrs. Mahoney is one of my favorite people in River Heights, and I hated the fact that I was going to upset her.

We all climbed out of the car. I led the way up to
Mrs. Mahoney’s door and rang the bell. The elderly lady gave a bright smile when she saw us standing there. I wondered how long the smile would last when she found out the reason for our visit.

“Oh, hello! What a nice surprise, Nancy, Bess, George. Please come in, come in,” Mrs. Mahoney told us. “I don’t bake—I’m not that kind of old lady.” She patted her short gray hair. “But I did just buy some wonderful ginger snaps at the store. Perfect for dunking. Would you like some, girls?”

My stomach turned over at the thought of food. I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat anything until I told Mrs. Mahoney the bad news. But Bess was already nodding.

At least the cookies and tea gave me a little more time to think of how I wanted to break the news. Unfortunately, a
little
more time wasn’t enough. I still didn’t know what I wanted to say when we were all seated in Mrs. Mahoney’s grand dining room with the goodies laid out in front of us. I took a sip of my tea, buying even more time.

“So what can I do for you girls?” Mrs. Mahoney finally asked. “Nancy? Are you raising funds for one of your charities, dear?”

“Um … no,” I said. I do work with a few different charities in River Heights, and I can always count on Mrs. Mahoney to help out, whether I’m collecting
for the animal shelter or the children’s art museum. She’s willing to donate to any worthy cause.

“Nancy found out something about Ethan Mahoney,” George blurted out.

“Ethan?” Mrs. Mahoney repeated. “You mean Ethan Mahoney, my husband’s ancestor?”

“That’s the one.” I sucked in a deep breath, then started to talk. “I’m sorry to tell you this, Mrs. Mahoney, but Ethan wasn’t quite the person you probably think he was. I know he’s a beloved member of your family, but … well, it, um …” I had to just spit it out. “It turns out that he hired the Rackham Gang to steal the money from his safe. Then he killed them and took the money back. Esther Rackham knew about the whole thing. In fact, it’s likely that she only married him because she wanted a share of the cash.”

There was a brief silence. Mrs. Mahoney frowned at me, trying to understand everything I’d just said so quickly. I leaned forward, ready to comfort her. But then the woman started to laugh.

I shot a look at Bess and George. They seemed as confused as I was.

“That’s priceless,” Mrs. Mahoney said when she finally stopped laughing. “My late husband was so proud of his family fortune, and he only had it because he was related to a true villain!”

Bess reached out and patted Mrs. Mahoney’s hand. “No one will blame you for what Ethan and Esther did.”

“They’d better not,” Mrs. Mahoney declared. “I’m only a Mahoney by marriage.”

“And you don’t mind if the whole story comes out in the movie—
if
there ends up being a movie?” George asked.

“Not at all,” Mrs. Mahoney answered. “It’ll make a much better picture, if you ask me.”

“You’re right!” Bess cried. “And, Nancy, now you’ll have a really meaty part. An honest-to-goodness femme fatale.”

“True,” I answered, smiling. I liked the idea of playing someone wicked. “If we make the movie now.”

“But I told you I don’t mind a bit,” Mrs. Mahoney said. “Don’t stop just to respect my family—tell the truth.”

“I know,” I told her, smiling. “But rewriting the script and shooting new scenes might put us too far over budget.”

“Really? Well, I can fix that.” Mrs. Mahoney reached into her purse and pulled out a checkbook. Then she started to laugh again. “Imagine, my husband’s money paying for a movie that spills the beans about how bad his ancestors really were. I love it!”

She wrote out the check and signed it with a flourish. Then she handed it to me. I felt my eyes go wide as I saw the amount.

“Thanks, Mrs. Mahoney. We’ll get this over to Morris Dunnowitz right now,” I told her. “And we’ll make sure you get a front-row seat at the premiere!”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Mrs. Mahoney said as she showed us out.

George, Bess, and I piled back into my car, and ten minutes later we were back at the movie compound. We ran straight to Morris’s office.

“Look what we got for you!” I cried, waving the check as I rushed inside without knocking. “Mrs. Mahoney gave us money for the movie!”

Then I realized Morris had a visitor. “Oh!” I cried, shoving the check back into my pocket. “I’m so sorry. I’ll wait outside.”

“Not at all,” said the man sitting across from Morris. “Your news sounds much too exciting to wait.”

“Nancy, this is Peter Wyszinski,” Morris said.

I recognized the name immediately. “You’re the new CEO of Rackham Industries,” I said as I reached out to shake Mr. Wyszinski’s hand. “I’m Nancy Drew,” I told him.

“Ah, Carson’s daughter,” Mr. Wyszinski said. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“You might want to make that
very
pleased,” Morris
suggested. “Nancy’s a sleuth extraordinaire. I suspect she’s the one who found those millions that belong to your company.”

I shook my head. “No, that would be my friend George here,” I said. I grabbed George’s arm and pulled her forward. “George is a computer wiz. She did some digging in Jeffrey Allman’s hard drive and found those overseas accounts where he stashed the cash that he stole from Rackham Industries.”

“Well then, you have my unending gratitude,” Mr. Wyszinski told George. “You’ve saved my company from going bankrupt during the first month I’m in charge of it!”

“Mine too,” Morris said. “George, because of what you did, Mr. Wyszinski is investing in our movie, so we can finish it.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” I cried. I pulled Mrs. Mahoney’s check back out of my pocket and handed it to Morris. “Mrs. Mahoney wants you to have this—it’s another donation toward making the movie.”

Morris took it with a big smile. “Thanks, Nancy. I’ll go see her tomorrow to thank her in person.”

“And here’s something just for you.” Mr. Wyszinski handed George a check for one thousand dollars. One thousand! You could have heard her squeals of joy all the way down in the bottom of the river cave.

George turned to me immediately. “I’m giving
you a hundred dollars for those sneakers you paid for,” she told me.

“And you’ll be giving the rest to me, for safekeeping,” Bess informed George. We all know how irresponsible George is with money.

“As long as you promise not to embezzle it,” George teased. Everyone laughed.

“Hey, what is everybody standing around for?” I asked. “We’ve got a script to rewrite! And it’s going to have some juicy lines for me.”

It probably meant
lots
of juicy lines. But the idea didn’t scare me. “I’m not going to let you down,” I told Morris. “A thief and a villain—
that’s
a role an actress-detective lives for. I can’t wait!”