The Case of the Twin Teddy Bears by Carolyn Keene

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

10

Just in Time

Quickly Nancy flattened herself on the floor of the balcony. But she knew that if Larry O’Keefe looked up, he’d be able to see her.

And what about Ned? she wondered. Had he been able to hide?

“Be-e-e-p.” Nancy heard a car horn honk once.

“Larry? Is that you?” Bess shouted plaintively from the Mustang. “My car won’t start. Can you help me?”

“Your car won’t start?” Nancy heard Larry say. The rest of his words were muffled by the loud honking.

Raising her head, Nancy peeked over the edge of the balcony. Larry had turned and was heading toward the Mustang.

It was now or never. Crawling like a caterpillar, Nancy made her way to the railing. She glanced at the Mustang to make sure Larry wasn’t looking up at the building. Then, jumping up, she climbed over the railing.

Hanging on to the railing, Nancy lowered herself over the balcony’s edge, then dropped to the snow-covered grass.

A hand reached out from the bushes and grabbed her arm. “Get in here,” Ned whispered, tugging at Nancy’s coat.

She scrambled into the space between the bushes and the apartment building. Ned pulled her close so that they were well hidden behind the evergreen boughs.

“That was a close one,” Nancy whispered.

“Thank you again, Larry,” Nancy heard Bess call out a few seconds later. There was no reply. Footsteps rang out on the concrete steps. Through the leaves Nancy glimpsed Larry’s coat as he went into the apartment building.

“Now!” Ned whispered, and the two took off for the Mustang. Bess had the doors open. Nancy dived into the driver’s side the same instant Ned jumped into the passenger seat.

“Boy, you guys!” Bess exclaimed from the backseat. “I thought you’d be caught for sure.”

Nancy turned the key and started the motor. “Me, too,” she said breathlessly. “That was quick thinking, Bess, to distract Larry like that.”

Turning in his seat, Ned looked at Bess with a puzzled expression. “But wasn’t Larry a little suspicious when the car did start right away?”

“He did look at me as if I was a total idiot,” Bess said, laughing. “But I told him it was my friend’s Mustang and I wasn’t used to driving a car with a stick shift.” She giggled. “When that Jaguar drove up and Larry climbed out, I almost died!”

Nancy glanced over at the Jaguar as she backed out her Mustang. She noticed that the car had temporary license plates, a good sign that Larry had just bought it.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Bess continued. “So I honked the horn to get his attention, and then it popped into my mind to pretend that the car wasn’t starting.”

Ned laughed, then turned back to Nancy. “Well, our big break-in was a bust. We’ll never find out if O’Keefe has the bears stashed in there.”

“Or whether Larry wears boots with patterned soles,” Bess added.

“True, but it wasn’t a total waste,” Nancy said as they drove away from the complex. “The fact that Larry O’Keefe is now driving a Jaguar tells us plenty.

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