119 The Mystery of the Missing Mascot by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

9

Hungry for Revenge

Nancy reached out in the small dark space. Immediately her hand hit something metallic. It fell to the floor with a clang, and the thick smell of turpentine spilled out, filling the air.

Choking, Nancy tried to stand up. A smooth rounded wood stick cracked across her shins.

It’s a broom, she realized. I’m in some sort of storage closet.

Her eyes were watering from the turpentine, and she was beginning to feel dizzy. She knew she had to get out the closet soon, before she lost consciousness.

Nancy tried the doorknob. The door was still locked. She groped around the knob, hoping to find a thumb-piece to unlock it from the inside. Like many older storage closets, however, this one seemed to lock from the outside only.

Reaching into her purse, Nancy pulled a credit card from her wallet. Now that her eyes had adjusted, she could just see a crack of light through the edge of the closet door. Halfway up, it was blocked by the dark shape of the lock’s bolt. She inserted the credit card, trying to push open the bolt.

She jammed the plastic card against the bolt. Nothing moved. She tried again, coughing so hard that her entire body shook.

On her third try she managed to wedge the card between the bolt and the doorjamb. As she tilted the card, the bolt slid back. Again Nancy turned the door handle, and this time it opened.

She stumbled into the hallway, squinting against the glare of the bare lightbulbs. She took in deep lungfuls of air, waiting for her coughing and choking to stop.

“Hey!” said a rough voice. “What’s all the commotion down here?”

Nancy looked up to see the tall figure of Mr. Berger coming toward her.

“You ought to know,” she said angrily.

“What?” he asked. He took a sniff of the air. “Did you spill turpentine?”

Nancy pointed to the closet. “I was pushed into that storage closet, where the turpentine spilled all over me. After you had me paged, asking me to come down to your office.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the janitor said angrily.

“You had me paged,” Nancy repeated.

The gray-haired man shook his head. “I’ve got better things to do with my time. I don’t like snotty-nosed kids down here, asking questions.”

Nancy ignored his rudeness. “Just after the bell rang, there was an announcement asking Nancy Drew to please come to Mr. Berger’s office,” she insisted patiently.

“Well, if there was, I didn’t have anything to do with it,” the custodian snapped.

“Didn’t you hear it?” Nancy asked.

Mr. Berger pointed to a small Walkman hanging from his belt. “When I work, I’m always plugged in. Can’t hear a thing except my music, and I like it that way.”

“Fine,” Nancy said. “I’ll just go up to the office and ask them who was responsible for the announcement.”

“You do that,” Mr. Berger called after her. “And stay out of the broom closet!”

Minutes later, Nancy was in the office, waiting for Mrs. Leiberman to finish a phone call.

“Nancy,” Mrs. Leiberman said, wrinkling her nose as she hung up the phone.

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