The Case of the Creative Crime by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

9

A Close Call

Nancy’s eyes flew over the desk, filing cabinet, shelves, and—

The closet!

She’d been so busy going through the desk she hadn’t even seen the sliding doors to the closet. One door was half open, and Nancy dived through it. She landed on some boots with a soft thud just as the door opened.

Please, please, don’t come over here, she begged silently.

She heard footsteps on the carpet, then the squeak of upholstery as Bruce sat down at his desk. Nancy sighed in relief. She couldn’t see him from where she sat in the closet, but she heard a series of electronic bleeps as he punched a number into his phone.

“Justin?” Bruce said after a moment.

Nancy jolted to attention. The bulky boots on the closet floor dug into her legs, but she didn’t dare move. She hardly breathed, for fear that Bruce would hear her.

“Bruce here. Listen, I just wanted to let you know it’s all settled. The riverfront condo development project north of town is moving forward.”

Nancy frowned into the dim, stuffy air inside the closet. How could the condo project move forward? Unless . . . Could Marianna Pennington have decided to back out of her agreement with River Arts and let Bruce go ahead with the condo project?

“I know we’ve hit snags before.” Bruce’s voice cut into her thoughts. “Trust me, this time our problems are over. . . . What? . . . Yes, you have my personal guarantee. My lawyers are drawing up the contract right now and—”

“Mr. Pennington!” Bess cried from down the hall. “Can you help me, please? It’s important!”

I’ll say it’s important, Nancy thought. I’ve got to get out of here!

For a moment she was afraid Bruce wouldn’t take the bait. Then she heard him say into the phone, “I’ll call when the deal is final. . . . Yes, goodbye.”

He clicked off, and Nancy heard his chair shift. She held her breath, watching through the half-opened closet door. A second later she got a glimpse of the back of his khaki slacks and white shirt as he left the room.

Now! Nancy pushed herself off the bulky boots and out of the closet and tiptoed to the door. She peeked around the doorframe just far enough to see the break room.

Bruce stood with his back to Nancy. He was bent over Bess’s ankle, and Nancy could see Bess’s face over his shoulder. Miss Carlyle’s voice came from inside the room, saying, “Where’s your friend?”

Nancy caught Bess’s eye, gave the thumbs-up sign, and hurried back to the reception area. The last thing she heard before she slipped out of the office was Bess saying, “My friend must have gone to bring the car right to the front door. Thanks for all the help. My ankle is feeling a lot better now.”

Nancy hit the elevator button, and soon she was safely on her way to the lobby.

“That was close,” Bess said when she met Nancy outside a few minutes later. “Sorry I didn’t have time to distract Bruce before he trapped you in his office.

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