Read The Scarlet Slipper Mystery Online
Authors: Carolyn Keene
Tags: #Art Thieves, #Jewel Thieves, #Women Detectives, #Detective and Mystery Stories, #Girls & Women, #Mystery & Detective, #Dance Schools, #Juvenile Fiction, #Adventure and Adventurers, #Mysteries & Detective Stories, #Fiction, #Adventures and Adventurers, #Mystery Fiction, #Women Sleuths, #Adventure Stories, #Mystery & Detective Stories, #Drew; Nancy (Fictitious Character), #General, #Smuggling, #Mystery and Detective Stories
The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (13 page)
“Please go on,” Nancy requested as the man paused.
“When the police failed, Renee asked every art dealer in France to help him. The pictures were so unusual in content and treatment that they would be readily recognizable. But no one in France had any inkling of where they were.”
“And then?” said Nancy.
“Renee talked it over with some of his friends,” the Frenchman declared. “He decided that if the portraits were not in France, then they must have been shipped abroad. I checked with customs and made a startling discovery.”
Nancy looked up quickly. “Yes?”
“I learned,” the Frenchman explained, “that a young man fitting the description of Henri Fontaine had used the name of Renee to send eleven of the pictures to the United States.”
“How amazing!” Ned exclaimed.
“Why eleven pictures?” Nancy asked. “What became of the twelfth?”
The Frenchman shrugged. “Who knows?” he said. “Perhaps it was stolen from Henri Fontaine. Or he may have sold it in order to secure funds for some of his undercover activities.”
“Undercover?” Nancy repeated, but the man did not explain.
Nancy leaned back against the step, looked up at the sky, and closed her eyes. She was recalling descriptions of various people in the case. Suddenly she remembered the Fontaines’ description of Renee as a tall, thin, gaunt-looking fellow.
Nancy straightened up. Could this man be Renee? She must find out! Smiling, she said, “As an amateur detective I could almost believe that you are Tomas Renee.”
The man started. Then he said, “You are a clever and observant young lady. Yes, I am Tomas Renee.”
It was Nancy’s turn to be amazed. She had fully expected the man to deny it.
“You seem surprised,” he said, amused. “I have nothing to hide. But I wanted to make sure you were to be trusted before I revealed my identity. Now let us get down to work.”
“What about the jewel smuggling?” Nancy reminded him.
“Oh, yes. I am inclined to think that the jewels were connected with the portraits. At the same time that the twelve paintings disappeared from my gallery, a large quantity of valuable gems was stolen in a suburb of Paris. They may have been secreted in the frames before the portraits were sent to this country.”
“Then you merely suspect the Fontaines,” Nancy remarked. “You do not have any clear evidence pointing to them as the jewel smugglers.”
“Perhaps you are right,” the Frenchman conceded. “But the Fontaines also disappeared at that very time!”
“I see,” said Nancy, rising. “Well, if I can help you, I’ll let you know.”
Renee and Ned also rose and the Frenchman said, “I have the hunch, as you call it, that you young people will solve this mystery for me. And whom have I the honor of working with? What are your names?”
Before Nancy could say anything, Ned gripped her arm and then asked Renee, “Did you ever hear of the Colemans?”
Tomas Renee shook his head slowly. Nancy was puzzled by Ned’s ruse, especially since she recalled that Coleman was his middle name.
Ned went on, “I think we’d better be on our way, dear. We can contact Mr. Renee later on if we learn anything about the Fontaines or his missing portraits.”
Half dragging and half pushing her, Ned started off through the woods. They had not gone far when Nancy asked for an explanation of what he had done.
“I don’t trust that guy,” Ned replied.
“But what was the idea of giving him an impression like that?”
“Impression like what?” Ned asked in some surprise.
“Anyone who heard you would think we’re husband and wife. Especially a man like Renee.”
Ned laughed heartily. “Well, someday I hope it’ll be true. And for your information I hope he’ll think we’re married now. If he’s a spy or a kidnapper, as I suspect, he’d better not find out your name is Drew!”
Nancy agreed and said she did not trust Renee either.
Ned remarked, “He didn’t have to tell us that long story. I’ll bet he wouldn’t have admitted his identity if you hadn’t asked him. The less he knows about us, the better!”
Nancy smiled then, took Ned’s arm in her own, and said, “You’re on the warpath, aren’t you?”
“Yes, and I’m going to do something about it,” he declared. “I want you to walk to the car and drive to police headquarters. Get hold of Captain Crane and a couple of his patrolmen and bring them back here. I’m sure Renee’s story won’t stand up when the police question him about his activities. I’ll return to the house and keep him there.”
“If Renee plays innocent,” said Nancy, starting off, “at least we can have the house searched. Helene and Henri may be there. Somehow, Ned, I just can’t bring myself to believe they’re guilty of this jewel smuggling.”
“Nor can I,” said Ned.
He left her, and Nancy hurried on toward the car. She had nearly reached the road when suddenly a coat was thrown forcefully over her head and both hands were pinned behind her.
Nancy screamed but the sound was too muffled to carry far.
“So you are Nancy Drew!” her captor snarled. “Double-crosser! You will never notify the police, and you will be sorry you ever tried it!”
CHAPTER XVIII
A Dancer’s Footprints
RENEE snatched the keys to Ned’s car from Nancy’s hand and whipped a rope from his pocket. Nancy fought unsuccessfully to free herself.
Renee mumbled to himself while he was binding Nancy. She caught a word here and there. “... their car must be at the end of this trail she and her boyfriend made—I’ll move it. Nobody will find it until after I escape.”
When the young sleuth’s hands and ankles were securely bound, the man dragged her through the woods. Stones and twigs scratched her, and she gritted her teeth against the pain. In a few minutes Renee stopped and Nancy heard a car door open. She was lifted off the ground and shoved onto the floor behind the front seat.
Renee drove the car down a rough, twisting road. Nancy guessed that he was running it deep into the woods to hide it.
Presently the man stopped the car with a jerk and turned off the ignition. He snatched the coat from Nancy’s head, and before she could scream for help, stuffed a gag in her mouth.
Glaring at the girl, Renee said, “You will mind your own business from now on and not interfere with mine! If you disobey, I shall not be so easy on you the next time.”
He rolled up all the windows and slammed the door shut, leaving Nancy huddled on the floor. At first she struggled, but as the car became stuffy, she began to feel faint.
“Oh, I hope Ned is more watchful than I was,” she said to herself. “Renee must have followed us and heard us talking.”
One thought after another whirled through the young sleuth’s mind. Renee had, no doubt, told them a suave but completely untruthful story. Otherwise, why would he be afraid of the police?
Nancy was now confused as to whether or not Helene and Henri Fontaine were innocent. Instinct told her they were blameless, but the evidence seemed to be contradictory.
Nancy’s thoughts returned to Ned. What was he doing? Had Renee returned to the house or made his getaway at once?
Ned, a quarter of a mile away, was worrying about Nancy. When he had reached the farmhouse, Renee had not been in sight. Ned had pounded on the door, but there had been no response. He had entered the building and searched it thoroughly, but had found no one.
As Ned went outdoors, he was amazed to see Renee hurrying up the lane.
“I’d hoped to find you here!” the man said excitedly. “Your wife’s had an accident down the road. I’m going to phone the police!”
As Ned stood stunned, realizing Renee meant Nancy, the man dashed into the house. Ned was torn between a desire to get more details about the accident and a wish to help Nancy immediately. Deciding on the second move, he ran down the lane and turned to the highway.
After sprinting nearly half a mile, Ned stopped. He suddenly realized that Renee could not possibly have come this far and then return to the farmhouse in the length of time that had elapsed.
“Maybe someone came along and took Nancy to town,” he concluded.
Or perhaps Renee’s story had been a hoax! The only way to find out was to question him.
Turning, Ned ran back down the highway. While he was still some distance from the lane, he saw a black sedan pull out of it and speed off.
Ned was not close enough to read the license number, but he could see that there were four people in the vehicle. In the rear seat sat a blond young man and a girl with dark hair.
“The Fontaines!” Ned cried out involuntarily. “They had been prisoners in that farmhouse after all! But where had they been hidden?”
Ned wondered whether Renee had been in the sedan. He ran to the house and knocked loudly. No one answered, so he went inside. Renee was not anywhere on the first floor. The bedrooms also were empty.
“I’ll phone the police,” Ned decided. “Maybe Nancy did reach headquarters after all.”
Finding a phone in one of the bedrooms, he called quickly. “Has Nancy Drew come in to see you?” he asked Captain Crane.
The officer said he had not seen the girl but would ask the other men on duty at headquarters. In a few moments he returned to the phone.
“Miss Drew is not here.”
Ned quickly told his story, saying finally, “I’m afraid Nancy may have been kidnapped.”
“Do you want me to send out an alarm for the black sedan?” the captain asked.
“Yes,” Ned replied, “and I would like some police out here to help me hunt for Nancy.”
By this time dusk had fallen. The frantic youth began to visualize Nancy in the hands of the ruthless smugglers. As he tried to put the horrifying thought out of his mind, a car turned into the lane. With a sense of relief, Ned saw a red blinking light on its roof. The police!
Two men had been sent. One of them was Officer Donovan. Ned told them of his and Nancy’s second meeting with Renee.
“He tricked me into leaving the house with his story of an accident. Then he escaped by car with three other people,” Ned finished.
“Looks bad!” said Donovan. “Suppose we start our search where Miss Drew began her walk through the woods to your car.”
Ned led the way. It had grown almost dark and the men had to use their flashlights to pick up the trail. They stopped and searched carefully at the scuffle-marked spot where Nancy had encountered Renee.
“From here, only a man’s footprints go in this direction,” Donovan pointed out. “Looks as if he was pulling something. I’d say your friend was dragged from here.”
“Then she can’t be far away!” Ned cried. “Renee isn’t a husky man and couldn’t have dragged Nancy far. Maybe he was heading for my car. I left it not far from here.”
About a hundred yards farther on they came to the place where Ned had left his car, but it was not there. Tire marks indicated that it had been driven down the road. Quickly Ned and the two policemen followed the tread marks.
Presently they came to a place where a car had been driven off the dusty thoroughfare and into the woods. Ned’s heart sank. What was he going to find when they reached his car?
They had not gone far when the tracks of the automobile stopped. This could mean only that the car had been backed out again.
“Nancy’s kidnappers drove in here temporarily, probably to avoid some passing car,” Ned said.
Donovan laid a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Don’t be so sure of that,” he said. “A car might have pulled in here for a number of reasons.”
They pushed farther along the road. After a few hundred yards they came to a second trail that led into the woods. Hopefully, the searchers turned in and followed it.
Suddenly the flashlight beam picked up the outline of an automobile. But upon closer inspection they found it to be just a rusted car that apparently had been junked some time ago.
Ned and the officers retraced their steps and continued the search. The road turned almost back on itself. It occurred to Ned that if Renee had kidnapped Nancy, he could have hidden her and the car temporarily. A shortcut back through the woods could explain the speed with which he had reached the lane to his farmhouse.
At this moment the flashlight’s beam showed a car a short distance ahead.
“That’s mine!” Ned shouted, pointing toward the cream-colored convertible. “Nancy! Nancy!”
The youth ran to the car and yanked open the door. On the floor behind the front seat lay Nancy. Ned untied her and removed the gag.
“Oh, Nancy, are you all right?” he asked fearfully.
“Y-yes, Ned,” she said in a daze. After several deep breaths she was able to tell her story. She hobbled around to restore circulation to her arms and legs.
“This is a fine end to my plan for a nice ride and dinner this evening,” Ned said.
“I’m sorry, Ned.”
Ned suggested that they start for home at once and stop in a restaurant on the way.
“But I’m a sight,” Nancy protested. “I couldn’t go anywhere to dinner. I’ll tell you what. There must be some food at the farmhouse. Let’s go up there and help ourselves. Then we can do a little investigating in the house.”
Ned shook his head in amazement. Turning to the policemen, he said, “Nancy Drew never gives up until she has solved a case!”
They all climbed into the car and Ned drove back to the farmhouse. Donovan contacted Captain Crane and made a report. The captain ordered him to guard the farmhouse overnight. The other officer was to return to headquarters as soon as the house had been investigated.
Ned had hoped Nancy would take it easy, but she insisted that what she needed was exercise. Together they opened several cans of food they found on a shelf, and warmed the contents. The police officers, who had eaten earlier, inspected the grounds.
When the improvised meal was finished, Nancy accompanied the officers on their investigation of the house. Upstairs, they checked the bedrooms one by one. Finally Nancy asked to borrow Officer Donovan’s flashlight.
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