The Triple Hoax by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-12-06T18:51:26+00:00

“Have you called your daughter?” Nancy asked.

“Yes. She has heard nothing. I told her I would gladly pay the money, but she is afraid Dolores may not be returned even though the ransom is paid. That’s why I’m so upset. I don’t know what to do and I can’t ask anybody to help me!”

“Why not?” Nancy countered. “We girls will continue to work on the mystery for you.”

The woman pointed out there was another part to the note that they had not read yet.

“Turn it over,” she directed.

The remainder of the message warned Senora Mendez that harm would come to Dolores and her family if anyone contacted police or detectives.

The Mexican woman walked up and down the living room in great agitation. “So you see,” she said, “I’ll have to ask you girls to forget the case!”

Nancy, Bess, and George were stunned. They appreciated the grandmother’s concern about the safety of her family, but the young sleuths did not want to give up trying to find the child.

Nancy went to the distraught woman and put an arm around her shoulders. “We are not part of the police and we are not professional detectives,” she said soothingly. “We are only amateurs and the note does not include us. Please let us continue to work on your case.”

Senora Mendez hugged Nancy and kissed her, then consented to let the girls proceed in their hunt.

“But what can you possibly do?” she asked. “You have no idea where the kidnappers have taken my Dolores!”

“We suspect,” Nancy replied, “that the Hoaxters are involved in this, as I told you before.” She paused.

“Yes, yes, go on,” the woman urged.

“We found out,” Nancy continued, “that they have gone to Los Angeles. Possibly they took Dolores with them. The whole troupe left here abruptly without giving the theater manager any advance notice.”

“Oh, if you could only find Dolores!” Señora Mendez said, gazing at the three girls in admiration.

Nancy examined the ransom note more carefully, reading the words over and over. “I believe there’s a code message hidden in the wording.”

“It’s hidden all right,” Bess commented.

“A message for whom?” George asked.

Nancy replied, “My guess would be that it was intended for someone connected with the kidnappers.”

“But why would it be folded again and again before being sent to Senora Mendez?” Bess questioned.

Nancy was thoughtful. “Perhaps this folded note was not meant for her. It could have been delivered to Senora Mendez by mistake. Suppose there were two identical notes,” Nancy went on. “One was folded, the other not even creased. The plain one may have been the ransom note for Senora Mendez, the folded one a copy for a confederate.”

“I still don’t get it,” Bess admitted.

“The clue to a hidden message for the confederate must be in the folds!” Nancy declared.

“But there’s a fold under every word,” Bess said. “That’s the strangest kind of code I ever heard of.”

“Maybe the fan is the identification of the group.” Nancy said.

“You know,” George spoke up, “this reminds me of a game we used to play as children.

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