The Clue of the Gold Doubloons by Carolyn Keene

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

8

A Close Shave

“You can’t arrest George. She and Daniel have been set up!” Nancy protested to Detective Weller. “If the burglar has a master key card, he or she could have sneaked into our room and put the costumes under the bed. Neither of us has been here all night.”

“Put your hands in front of you, Ms. Fayne,” Weller said, holding up the handcuffs.

“Nancy, tell him there’s no way I could have burglarized those rooms.” George’s face had turned pale.

“I already have,” Nancy said. “He knows he’s making a big mistake.”

“I have no choice,” Weller told them. “The evidence is stacked against your friend.” Taking hold of George’s arm, he snapped the cuffs around her right wrist, then her left wrist.

“Officer Reaves,” he barked. “Escort these ladies to my office and start processing Ms. Fayne. I want fingerprints, photos, the works. I’m going to pick up Mr. Wagner.”

“Nancy,” George whispered in a frightened voice as Officer Reaves came into the hotel room. “This can’t be happening.”

Nancy squeezed her friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of this,” she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

The videotape and the stashed costumes were very incriminating, Nancy realized. She knew she’d have to do some fast investigating to prove that George was innocent.

• • •

Nancy shifted in the chair at the police station, trying to get comfortable. It was six o’clock on Wednesday morning, and she’d been dozing on and off since George had been brought in. About half an hour after they’d arrived, Daniel had been escorted into the station by two police officers. Before he even saw Nancy, he’d been whisked into a separate office for interviewing.

Sitting up, Nancy rubbed the crick in her neck. She hadn’t spoken to anyone since George had been arrested. Obviously, Weller was avoiding her. Whenever he saw her, he headed in the opposite direction.

Earlier, Nancy had called her father, Carson Drew, who said he’d take the first plane to Baltimore if George needed him. Nancy thanked him, but told him that first she wanted to find out for sure if George had been charged with a crime.

“Ms. Drew?” Detective Weller came down the hall, a coffee mug in his hand. He’d taken off his jacket, loosened his tie, and rolled up the sleeves of his now-wrinkled shirt. When he drew closer, Nancy noticed how bloodshot his eyes were.

She straightened in her seat. “Are you finally going to tell me what’s going on?”

“Your friends are being released. We didn’t charge them with anything.”

“Thank goodness.” Relieved, Nancy sank back in the chair for a second before asking, “What made you change your mind?”

“We lifted a fingerprint from the penthouse suite that matched a print belonging to Chance Curran, a cat burglar who has committed a string of robberies up and down the East Coast in the past two years.”

“A cat burglar? And you don’t suspect George and Daniel at all?” Nancy asked.

“Curran has been known to work with a female accomplice, but since none of the prints we found in the suite match either one of your friends’, we’re letting them go.

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