The Case of the Disappearing Diamond by Carolyn Keene

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

8

A Desperate Message

The explosion awakened Carson Drew from a sound sleep. His first thought was of Nancy. He darted down the stairs and threw open the front door. Nancy and Ned were enveloped in a cloud of smoke. As the smoke started to thin out, Mr. Drew could see that they were unharmed. He wrapped his arms around his daughter. “Nancy, Ned, are you all right? What happened?”

It was several minutes before either Nancy or Ned could speak. They went inside the house, coughing and gasping for air. Their eyes were burning from the gases let off in the explosion. Tears streamed down their faces.

Hannah Gruen had heard the explosion in her room, too. She was wrapping a bathrobe around herself when she caught sight of Nancy and Ned still trying to catch their breaths.

She rushed over to them and cried, “Are you all right?”

Nancy nodded and gave the housekeeper a reassuring hug. “Yes . . . we’re okay.”

“Hannah,” Ned said wiping his eyes with the back of his hands, “could you get us a couple of washcloths?”

Nancy and Ned were seated side by side on the couch when Hannah returned. They placed the wet cloths over their eyes. After several minutes, the burning sensations in their eyes subsided.

“I think I’ll fix us all a cup of tea,” Hannah said once she was sure the two young people were going to be all right.

Carson Drew returned from checking the mailbox and announced, “When you pulled the envelope off, you also pulled an attached string that was rigged to a loud but not very dangerous explosive.”

“So it was just one more warning from the Roget’s thief,” Nancy said wearily.

“It looks that way,” her father answered. “I’ll call the police right now. They’ll probably dust the box for fingerprints tomorrow, but I’m sure whoever planted the device was smart enough not to leave prints behind.”

Everyone had calmed down by the time they had finished the tea and cookies Hannah served. When Nancy walked Ned to the front door she forced a tired smile and said softly, “As you said earlier—never a dull moment.”

• • •

Nancy stayed close to home on Sunday. Early that morning, the police had come to the house to check out the mailbox. After they had gone, Nancy’s father left to catch a flight to New York so that he could be well rested and prepared for a Monday morning business conference in that city. Ned had returned to Emerson, and Bess and George were at a family reunion in nearby Montclair.

Nancy was happy to have some time by herself. She spent the day quietly. After she read the Sunday paper, she curled up in a chair by the fireplace with a book.

The phone rang shortly after two o’clock. Nancy took the call at her father’s large mahogany desk in the den. She automatically reached for a pen as she lifted the receiver.

The voice on the other end said, “Hello, my name is Larry Holtz. I’d like to speak to Nancy Drew.

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