Nancy Clue Mysteries 2 - The Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend (31 page)

"By the look on your faces, I'd say we arrived in the nick of time," George joked as she passed around containers of the creamy concoction.

"It just gets better and better around here," Midge said sourly.

Midge tossed Jackie a spoon. "Why not?" Jackie sighed.

"What are we going to do now?" Nancy wondered aloud as she dug into the Peppermint Stick ice cream.

"Maybe we'll be able to convince the Chief to turn over your evidence," Cherry said hopefully.

"I can't wait for something that might never happen," Nancy said. "I have to do something now. Right now! But what?"

" '0 ill-dispersing wind of misery!' " Cherry sighed.

Nancy cocked her head. "Where have I heard that before?" she wondered.

"It's from Richard III," Cherry explained. "My twin brother Charley played the Duchess of York one summer at Boys' Camp," she said, adding, "He was surprisingly good in the role. It took quite a lot of makeup to disguise his masculine good looks, but the wardrobe department did a won derful job, and he pulled off the part to great acclaim."

"Cherry, that's it!" Nancy cried. She kissed her chum and then did a delightful little jig around the kitchen table. Cherry had no idea why Nancy was suddenly so gay, and she was too delighted even to ask. For the first time since their arrival in River Depths, Nancy seemed more like the Nancy Clue Cherry had fallen in love with-an excitable girl undaunted by any task set before her!

Nancy rushed into the den and was soon whispering excitedly on the telephone. Nancy had obviously thought of some grand scheme, but what could it be? She returned a few minutes later with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Did you find an attorney?" Jackie quizzed her.

"Better than that," Nancy said mysteriously. "Bess, George, we've been invited to visit Mr. Donald."

Bess and George gasped in delight at the thought of seeing their beloved high school drama coach. Then they looked to each other in confusion. Had Nancy gone mad? Was this really the time for a social call?

"Who's Mr. Donald?" Cherry asked.

"He's our local drama coach," George explained. "He's an expert when it comes to costume and disguise, and-" Suddenly, her handsome face lit up. She grinned at Nancy. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I think it's a grand idea!" she cried. She grabbed Bess by the hand. "Let's go!"

"Take us with you," the others urged.

Nancy agreed. "But you mustn't try to talk me out of my plan," she made them promise. They each gave Nancy a smart three-finger salute. "Scout's honor," they chorused.

"Let's go, then," Nancy exclaimed. "We haven't a minute to lose!"

The seven girls squeezed into Nancy's snappy convertible. The back seat was so crowded, Cherry had to sit on top of Jackie! Nancy smoothly backed the large automobile out of the tree-lined driveway and onto Maple Street.

"We forgot Lauren! " Midge suddenly remembered. Nancy put on the brakes, and Midge raced inside the house to get the girl.

"That was awfully nice of you to go get her," Cherry remarked when Midge returned with Lauren in tow.

"Nice, nothing," Midge sneered. "It's simply a precaution. I had an image of the house burning down in our absence," she grinned.

After a smooth ride through the exclusive suburb of River Depths where the Clues had made their home, then through the bustling downtown filled with afternoon shoppers laden with packages, and over a set of bumpy railroad tracks, they reached a part of River Depths filled with dilapidated Victorian homes. Many of the oncegrand homes had sat empty since Nancy was a child. People preferred the clean lines and modern living afforded them in the suburbs.

Nancy pulled her convertible in front of an old, sprawling manse that had seen better days. When she rapped on the door, it was opened tentatively by an elderly woman. "Who is it?" she called, in a high, reedy voice that quivered with age.

Nancy giggled. "It's Nancy Clue here to see Mr. Donald," she replied.

Cherry didn't see what was so funny. She hated to think of this elderly woman living in a run-down mansion. "This must be Mr. Donald's mother," Cherry realized. "At least she's not living alone in this big place."

"Follow me, dears," the woman said. They passed rooms stuffed with trunks and suitcases, piles of fabric and all sorts of bric-a-brac, to a parlor overlooking a lush garden.

The room was nicely furnished with worn but comfy furniture, two threadbare red velvet overstuffed chairs, and dark wood bookshelves packed with hundreds of leather-bound volumes. Asleep in a wicker basket were three darling little black poodles.

"That's Mitzi, Bitzi, and Fritzi," the woman said as the girls exclaimed over the darling little pets. "Would you girls care for tea?" their hostess asked. "I have fresh-baked biscuits and gooseberry jam."

"Yum," Bess replied. When the others admitted their car ride had left them famished, the woman excused herself. "I'll be right back," she said, with a twinkle in her eye.

"Why, Mr. Donald's mother is lovely!" Cherry exclaimed. "How nice that she lives here with her son, overlooking this lovely garden."

"Yes, they get on quite famously," Bess said. Then she burst into a fit of giggles. Soon George and Nancy joined her in her merriment.

Midge frowned. Something very queer was going on here! "When are you going to let us in on the big secret?" she asked.

But Nancy only smiled and said mysteriously, "You'll see."

"Oh, look, Midge," Cherry cried. One of the poodles was walking on her hind legs-right toward Midge!

"She's smart enough to be in the circus," Midge remarked.

"They were circus dogs," a man with a thick English accent declared. A butler in full uniform carried a silver tray into the room. It was laden with plates of biscuits and fruit, a pot of jam, and a large china teapot. "They were members of Her Majesty's Royal Circus until their retirement," he explained. "Tea is served," he announced.

"Isn't Mr. Donald joining us?" Cherry wondered.

"All in due time," the butler said. Was it Midge's imagination, or did the barest flicker of a smile cross his face?

"Will there be anything else?" he asked.

"Thank you; that will be all, Jeeves," Nancy giggled.

Cherry picked up a cup of tea and a plate of goodies. She was more puzzled than ever about what they were doing there! "Who would ever have expected an elderly woman with an English butler to live in such a shabby part of town!" she cried aloud.

Just then a handsome man with short silvery hair and an impish grin, came walking through the garden. He was clad in black cashmere slacks, soft black leather slippers, and an emerald-green jacket almost the same color as his sparkling, lively eyes. The white silk scarf tossed casually around his neck gave him a dashing air, like a movie star or a pilot, Cherry thought.

"I heard you girls were here," he said casually.

"Hello Mr. Donald!" George and Bess cried in unison, thrilled to see the fellow who had, year after year, turned the annual show at the local girls' camp into the theatrical event of the summer.

Mr. Donald listened eagerly as Nancy introduced him to the rest of the gang and explained the unusual circumstances under which they had met. His eyes shone in delight when he heard the story of their adventure during The Case of the NotSo-Nice Nurse. "What fun! " he enthused when he heard that the girls had rescued a convent of kidnapped nuns and accidentally killed the evil priest who had masterminded the dastardly plot.

"I hope our little town doesn't prove dull to you girls after all your adventures in San Francisco," he said. "Especially you, Detective Jackie Jones. Why, as a big-city detective, you must have all sorts of adventures every day. I'm afraid this town can be a little backward."

"Backward is hardly the word," Midge groaned. Nancy quickly filled Mr. Donald in on the dramatic events of the last few days, including Mrs. Meeks's boorish behavior during her visit to the Clue household.

"I never did like that Mrs. Meeks," Mr. Donald fumed. "She's always pulling me aside at parties and asking for decorating advice. And then she never listens to a word I say, goes out and purchases the most hideous things, and tells everyone I choose them," he shuddered. "She paired nubby tweed couch covers with raw-silk floral draperies! Imagine!

"She's going to ruin my reputation one of these days," he declared.

"She's already ruined Nancy's," Bess declared hotly. The girls told him the details of her visit, including the campaign she and others like her were waging against Hannah.

"Poor dear Hannah," Mr. Donald said sadly. "I can't for a minute believe she killed your father, Nancy. I think some intruder did it, and Hannah unwittingly wiped off the gun, and left her prints by mistake. Hannah's only fault, as far as I can see, is that she's a very tidy housekeeper," he declared.

Nancy said nothing. Obviously, in her earlier phone conversation, she hadn't told Mr. Donald all of her story.

"She's even spread the rumor that Midge is Frank Hardly and Nancy's fiancee," Bess giggled, adding, "We're letting her believe what she wants."

Mr. Donald stared at Midge with a director's probing gaze and then said, "Come to think of it, Midge, you do look awfully like Frank Hardly-same strong shoulders and determined jaw." He rifled through a nearby scrapbook. "Ah, yes. Summer of 1957. Frank Hardly in As You Like It. Frank played Rosalind; rather well, as I remember." He held the book up so all could see. "Take away the long curls and the dress, and you have Midge!"

"Why, Frank and Midge look so similar, they could be sisters! " Cherry cried.

Mr. Donald got a sly look in his eye. "We'll take care of Mrs. Meeks," he grinned. "Later."

He snapped the book shut. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Nancy nodded. She followed him out of the room. "Wait here," she told her chums.

Cherry frowned. If she didn't know Nancy so well, she'd think she was almost sneaky sometimes! She quickly put all unpleasant thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on her delicious cup of tea. A crash from the front of the house startled her so, she almost dropped her cup.

"Where's Lauren?" Midge yelped. She left the room and was back in a flash with the young girl. "Sit down and don't touch anything," Midge scolded the youngest member of their group.

Lauren scowled but did as she was told.

"She knocked over a suit of armor," Midge explained, adding, "Thankfully, there were no dents in it."

"My brother Charley would just love Mr. Donald! " Cherry enthused. "They have an awful lot in common, what with the way they use their talents to liven up dull interiors."

She vowed to tell Mr. Donald about her brother and his artistic tendencies but forgot all about it when the door opened and Mr. Donald emerged with an attractive, older, pleasantfaced woman clad in a simple gray dress and a starched white apron.

"Oh, hi there, Hannah," Bess and George remarked casually.

"Hannah! How did you get out of jail?" Cherry cried excitedly. "Does Nancy know you're here?"

"Nancy knows I'm here," Hannah assured her.

Cherry gasped in shock, for it was Nancy's voice that came out of Hannah's mouth!

"Your own mother wouldn't know you," Cherry almost blurted out, stopping herself just before making the terrible mistake of mentioning Nancy's long-dead mother.

Bess and George examined their chum's tidy gray hair styled in a neat bun, stern yet loving eyes, and neat-as-apin outfit. "Golly!" they cried. "You really do look just like Hannah!"

"Wow, Mr. Donald, you really are the King of Disguises!" George exclaimed in admiration. "You practically had me believing you had a mother!"

Everyone laughed at the expression on Cherry's face when she realized there was no Mother Donald or English butler.

Nancy quickly explained her scheme. "I'm going to visit Hannah alone in her cell, slip into this disguise, make Hannah up to look like me, and switch places with her. Hannah will walk out of prison a free woman. That way, she can recuperate in peace at home and without the strain of a trial until you girls get back the evidence and clear our names. That is, if you don't mind searching for it on your own."

"We'll do anything to help," they chorused.

"But what if they discover your ruse? Your house is the first place they'll look," Jackie said.

"Hannah will be out of sight in the secret attic room," Nancy said. "No one knows it's there but us. And even if they discover my trickery and think to search the house, they'll never find that room."

"But Lauren found it," Velma pointed out.

"Yes, she did," Midge agreed. "But then again, Lauren seems to have special skills in finding secret places. I have another question about your plan, Nancy: What if Hannah refuses? How will you convince her to go along with this scheme?"

Nancy's eyes sparkled. She obviously had thought of every detail! "Hannah won't refuse," she said. "She'll be so relaxed after Cherry gives her a cup of tea laced with Valium, she'll agree to anything."

Cherry gasped in horror. Was Nancy asking her to dupe an unsuspecting, elderly woman? Cherry gulped hard. She had taken a solemn nurse's vow, one in which she'd promised that her nursing duties would supersede all others, including those of girlfriend. "I can't administer medication against someone's will," she said firmly, hoping Nancy would realize the predicament she was placing her in.