The Nutcracker Ballet Mystery (4 page)

Madame Dugrand’s.”

Once inside the restaurant, the girls found the booth

they’d thought of as theirs when they were ten. Nancy

and George slid in one side and Bess sat across from

them. The waitress brought menus and water, then

left.

“I’m going to have a turkey club sandwich, then the

pineapple delight with extra coconut,” Bess declared

eagerly.

“I’m too hungry to decide so quickly. What are you

going to have, Nancy?” George asked.

“Shhh!” Nancy told her friends suddenly. She

nodded toward the front door of the restaurant. “Isn’t

that Lawrence from the dance school?”

Peering over her shoulder, Bess nodded. “And

Shana’s sister, Darci.”

“So what’s the big deal about that?” George asked in

a low voice.

“Nothing, I guess,” Nancy replied. “But did you guys

see how funny Darci acted after Shana fell? It looked

as if she couldn’t have cared less.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” George said. “Are Darci and

Lawrence going together?” she asked Bess.

“I don’t know,” Bess replied. “But Darci did have

her heart set on dancing with Lawrence in The

Nutcracker. She wanted to be the Sugar Plum Fairy,

but then Madame asked Shana to come back to dance

the part.”

“So Lawrence is partnering Shana now instead of

Darci,” Nancy said thoughtfully. “No wonder she gave

her sister such a dirty look.”

“I can see why Darci might be upset about the

change,” George said. “But I’d think Lawrence would

be thrilled to have such a great dancer for his partner.”

Bess leaned closer. “Oh, Lawrence has a grudge

against Shana, too. Mrs. Wolaski told me he was

supposed to choreograph all the big dance scenes. But

when Shana came back, Madame split the scenes

between Shana and him. He was not happy.”

Nancy looked back at the couple. Darci was standing

awfully close to Lawrence, and his arm was casually

around her shoulders. He had blond curly hair and a

great dancer’s build.

“I’d say Lawrence was at least a couple of years

older than Darci,” Bess commented.

George and Nancy agreed. Just then, the two

dancers started down the aisle toward them. Quickly,

Nancy stuck the menu in front of her face. George and

Bess did the same.

After picking up two sundaes at the counter,

Lawrence and Darci took the booth directly behind the

girls. They were close enough for Nancy to hear their

conversation.

“You should have seen it, Lawrence,” Darci said

delightedly. “One minute Miss High and Mighty Shana

was up there showing off for everyone, and the next

moment she was flat on the floor. It was a total

wipeout!”

Lawrence laughed. “That’s just what Shana needs to

bring her back down to earth. I wish I’d been there to

see it.”

“Maybe another little accident might convince

Shana to go back to New York where she belongs,”

Darci suggested.

“I don’t know,” Lawrence said slowly. He paused, as

if he might say something more.

Holding her breath, Nancy leaned closer toward

their booth. She didn’t want to miss a word.

“I have a feeling it will probably take more than just

a little accident to get rid of that sister of yours,”

Lawrence continued. “And knowing you, Darci, you’re

just the person to think of one!”

Bess’s eyebrows shot up. “That sounds like a threat,”

she whispered excitedly.

Nancy nodded and put her finger to her lips. It

definitely seemed as if Darci Edwards could have

played a part in her sister’s accident. But why? Was she

that angry because Shana had gotten the role of the

Sugar Plum Fairy?

Nancy remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Edwards had

been very ambitious for their three daughters. Maybe

they’d pushed too hard, and the girls had ended up

competing with one another.

Nancy’s thoughts were interrupted when the

waitress asked, “What will you ladies have?”

While Bess and George ordered, Nancy listened to

Lawrence and Darci discuss Darci’s part in The

Nutcracker. Darci didn’t sound happy about being

Dewdrop at all.

Once Darci and Lawrence were gone and Nancy

had ordered her food, she said, “I guess Darcy is pretty

angry at her sister.”

“Angry!” Bess exclaimed. “Isn’t that sort of an

understatement? Darci and Lawrence both want to get

rid of Shana.”

“Neither of them actually admitted removing the

screws from the demonstration barre,” George pointed

out.

Nancy nodded. “George is right. The only thing we

know for sure is that Darci and Lawrence both have

reasons why they’re angry at Shana,” she said. “That’s

not exactly a crime. But ...” Pausing, she tapped her

spoon on the table in thought.

“But what?” George prompted.

Nancy pointed the spoon at George. “But if I were

Darci and Lawrence, I’d be pretty mad at Madame

Dugrand, too. After all, she’s the one who naked Shana

to come back.”

“Mad enough that they’d try to ruin the school?”

George asked. “That seems kind of drastic

Bess shook her head. “We’d better warn Shana

about those two.”

“Not yet,” Nancy cautioned. “We have to be careful.

After all, Darci is Shana’s sister.”

“Still, I think we should keep our eyes on Darci and

Lawrence,” Bess said emphatically.

“I agree,” Nancy said. “And now that George and I

are in charge of props, tomorrow we’ll be at the dance

academy to do just that.”

It was snowing Friday morning when Nancy parked

her Mustang in front of the dance school.

“It looks as though George is going to have great

snow for skiing this morning,” Nancy said to Bess,

tossing her keys into her shoulder bag as they got out of

the car. George was meeting them at the dance school

just before lunch.

With a shiver, Bess brushed away the snow-flakes

that had landed on her nose. “George can have her

skiing. Me, I’d rather be in a nice warm room.”

Nancy laughed as the two of them carefully made

their way up the still-icy walk. When they entered the

dance school, Bess glanced at her watch. “It’s nine

o’clock now. When shall we break for lunch?”

“Come to the prop room around noon,” Nancy

suggested. “George should be here by then, and the

three of us can eat together.”

“I’ll ask Mrs. Wolaski to join us, too,” Bess said,

starting downstairs. “I think she’s kind of lonely since

her husband died last year.”

“Okay. See you then.” Waving goodbye, Nancy

headed down the main hall. The prop room was on the

left-hand side, directly across from studio A.

Flicking on the lights, Nancy glanced around the

large room. Boxes of every size and description littered

the concrete floor. Some of them were stacked to the

metal support beams that crisscrossed the ceiling. The

unfinished room, with its brick walls and no windows,

still looked like an old warehouse. The place was cold,

dusty, and damp.

Shivering, Nancy wrapped her coat tighter around

her. She had no idea where to begin, and from the

looks of things, Mrs. Patterson hadn’t either. In

addition to the boxes, the room was filled with larger

props: everything from pieces of furniture to pink

flamingos and even a bicycle. Nancy had almost

decided to ask Madame Dugrand for help when she

spotted what looked like a list taped to the wall.

Nancy wove her way around several painted panels

that had fallen to the floor and checked the list.

Nutcracker Props was printed in bold letters across the

top of the first page. Many of the things on the list had

been checked off.

“I hope that means they’re accounted for,” Nancy

muttered to herself. Reading carefully through the

entire list, she began to verify the checked items.

Behind a stack of wood, she found the toy cannon that

the soldiers would fire at the mice during their battle

scene. And in the corner was the sled little Clara and

her prince would ride to reach the Land of Sweets.

Next on the list, Mrs. Patterson had checked off the

Christmas tree ornaments.

Nancy looked at one stack of boxes. The ornaments

could be in any of these, she thought. She carefully

opened the boxes one by one, finding all kinds of

props: tambourines, dolls, wrapped Christmas

presents, as well as cans of paint and brushes. But she

couldn’t find any ornaments. Nancy knew they were

important. Without them, the Christmas tree in the

party scene would look very bare.

Nancy let out a frustrated sigh. Great, she thought.

First day on the job and I’m already missing something.

Then she spied the back door that led to the recital hall

stage. Maybe Mrs. Patterson had put the ornaments on

stage already.

As she walked across the room, Nancy wiped her

dirty hands on her jeans, then opened the door. Three

steps led to the left side of offstage. The area was dark

and quiet and smelled like stale smoke. For a second,

Nancy hesitated. What if there was a saboteur, and he

or she was lurking around ready to set another fire?

No, that was silly, she chided herself. Besides, if he

or she was there, Nancy was ready to face the person.

Cautiously, she walked out onto the stage, hunting

for the box. The big wooden Christmas tree was in the

center of the stage, but there were no ornaments

hanging on it. Then Nancy checked backstage, behind

the heavy curtain. As she swept the curtain aside with

her hand, she noticed something white on the floor

beneath it.

She stooped to pick the object up. It was a white

lace handkerchief with the initials G. T. embroidered

on the edge.

G. T. Who involved in the dance school had those

initials? Nancy wondered. With a shrug, she stuck the

handkerchief in her back pocket and went back down

the three steps into the prop room.

Making a quick decision, Nancy left the dark room

and went into the main hall. She hated to disturb

Madame Dugrand with one more problem, but she

needed to find out where the ornaments were. If there

weren’t any, Nancy was going to have to come up with

some before dress rehearsal the following Thursday.

That was less than a week away.

“Excuse me,” Nancy said, sticking her head into

Madame Dugrand’s office. The directress looked up

from her paperwork. Through the window beside the

desk, Nancy could see that the snow was falling faster.

“Nancy!” Madame Dugrand exclaimed. “How is

everything going, dear?”

“I’m afraid I can’t find the box of ornaments for the

Christmas tree,” Nancy replied. “They’ve been checked

off the list, but they’re not in the prop loom or on the

stage.”

“What?” Madame sprang to her feet. “Oh, I hope

they aren’t lost! We’re using Rebecca Farnsworth’s

ornaments this year, and they’re priceless antiques.”

“Maybe I overlooked them,” Nancy said quickly. She

hadn’t realized how upset Madame would be. “Or

maybe they were just checked off by mistake and

haven’t been delivered yet.”

“Maybe.” Walking around her desk, Madame began

to pace up and down in front of Nancy. “But whatever

happened, you must find them. Those props are very

important. See those pictures?” Madame added,

pointing to the wall beside her desk.

Nancy nodded as she looked at the display of gold-

framed photos.

“These particular pictures,” Madame Dugrand said,

gesturing toward a cluster of five photos, “are publicity

shots from my former ballet company’s Nutcracker.”

Nancy moved closer for a better look. In one picture

Clara was holding the Nutcracker doll, and in another

the Candy Canes posed in the Land of Sweets. “It

looks lovely,” Nancy said.

“Thanks to the wonderful costumes and props we

had,” Madame said. “That’s why I’ve collected them

both so carefully over the years. Every season I try to

add something new, a small treat for my faithful

patrons. This year, the Farnsworth ornaments were to

be that treat. That’s why it’s so important that we find

them.”

Nancy was about to swear she’d track down the

ornaments no matter what when the phone rang.