False Moves (12 page)

“But now you can go to the police and let them handle the rest of the case, right?”

Nancy shook her head. “Sorry. It's still my responsibility. Besides, laying my hands on that pin is going to be the most satisfying part of the mystery! I definitely won't give up that moment.”

Brad groaned. “You have got to be kidding.”

Nancy stared at Brad, her gaze holding his. “No, Brad. I've never been more serious in my life. I'm going to find that diamond. Nothing's going to stop me now. Nothing!”

• • •

Nancy had been so excited Thursday night that she had barely slept at all. She had just kept going over her theory again and again. Even after she had been through the whole scenario half a dozen times, she couldn't find any flaw in her thinking.

At the theater the next morning she was determined to get the evidence she needed to put Colby and Katya away—and she was determined to get the diamond. That meant keeping a close eye on the two thieves.

Tentatively, she knocked on the door of the studio where Colby was rehearsing Katya for a new solo piece. “Who is it?” came Colby's voice from inside the studio.

Nancy opened the door and stuck her head into the room. “Hi,” she said. “I heard you two were working together in here. If it wouldn't bother you, I'd really love to watch. I've never had the
chance to see anyone with your talent rehearse before.”

Colby hesitated, then turned to Katya. The tall, blond dancer broke into a smile. “Certainly, dear,” she said, her Russian accent heavy.

Colby looked puzzled. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Of course,” the dancer replied. “Come in and have a seat.” She motioned to a chair in front of the mirrors.

Nancy stepped inside and shut the door firmly behind her. “Thanks,” she said. She had the feeling Colby and Katya knew she was stalking them, but for some reason they didn't seem very worried. Or at least Katya didn't. Why? Nancy wondered. Could they have found the shoe with the missing diamond in it?

She was pretty sure they hadn't because the warning note she had gotten the day before said they were still looking. It wasn't likely that they'd found it since then. At least she hoped they hadn't.

Colby walked over to the tape deck and pushed the play button. Lush symphonic music poured out of the speakers. “Okay,” he said to Katya, “let's take it from the beginning of the second section.”

Katya marked a few steps, her movements very small, until the music came to the right spot. Suddenly she broke into full, smooth dancing. The
result was breathtaking. To Nancy, it looked flawless.

But after a few moments, Colby clapped his hands to stop the dancer. “The extension in arabesque should begin on the count of five, not four. Let's try it again.” He rewound the tape, and Katya began a second time.

The two artists ran through the dance over and over, making minor corrections, arguing over the rhythm of the steps and searching for that tiny extra bit of stretch that would make the dance perfect. To Nancy, it was a fascinating process.

She could see that both Colby and Katya pushed themselves very hard. They weren't satisfied with the piece until they'd been over it countless times. They were incredibly dedicated and talented. It was unthinkable that James had decided not to rehire the two of them. Nancy could almost sympathize with them for stealing the diamond in order to get back at James Ellsworth.

Almost. But not quite. All Nancy had to remember was their attempting to kill her in the empty elevator shaft.

“What do you think, Katya?” Colby finally asked after an hour and a half of nonstop rehearsing. “Should we call it quits for the day?”

“No! I think the piece could use quite a bit more work. Let's continue.”

“Okay,” Colby replied. He rewound the tape once more, and Katya began all over again.

Nancy listened to the short conversation intently. All through the rehearsal Colby and Katya had been having little exchanges like that. Colby would turn to Katya and ask her opinion. Then, whatever Katya decided, they would do, just as when Nancy had asked to watch the rehearsal. Colby hadn't decided until he checked with Katya first.

And she remembered how Katya had persuaded Colby to let her and Brad go when they'd been caught eavesdropping. It was becoming very clear to Nancy that Katya really knew how to control the artistic director.

Also, it was becoming increasingly difficult to imagine Colby as the brains behind the diamond theft. As it was hard to imagine Katya being manipulated by him. Katya's personality was much stronger than Colby's.

And finally something Katya had said kept coming back to Nancy. “One little object like that shouldn't be able to make so many problems.” She had said that the first day they had met in the video room. Finally it dawned on Nancy that
she
was the one who had used the word
object
to describe the gem. And that meant she had written the threatening letters, not Colby.

Nancy felt like shouting. Colby didn't plan the robbery, Katya did!

Nancy watched the beautiful dancer extend her leg perfectly. Of course, Nancy told herself, I should have seen it long ago. Colby's so devoted to Katya that he'd do anything for her—and he probably has. Like luring me into the elevator shaft!

I've got to finish this case once and for all, Nancy thought urgently. Katya's private dressing room—I've got to search there. Suddenly Nancy felt as if she couldn't wait one more second. I have to search that room—now. And since Katya and Colby are going to be rehearsing for another hour, I've got the time to do it without being caught!

The next time the dancers stopped for a moment, Nancy spoke up. “Uh, thanks for letting me watch. I've really learned a lot! But I've got some stuff to do myself, so I think I'll be going. Thanks again.”

“See you later,” Katya called as Nancy hurried out of the studio.

It didn't take Nancy more than a few minutes to find Katya's dressing room and jimmy the lock. She stepped in and closed the door quietly behind her. Seven or eight pairs of pointe shoes lay under the vanity table and Nancy went for those first. But, as she already knew, there was nothing inside any of them.

Nancy turned the slippers over and inspected the numbers and letter on the hard leather bottoms. “Size five, double A, made by X,” Nancy
said softly to herself. “That information might come in very handy later.”

She carefully replaced the shoes, then slid open the vanity drawer. Stage makeup, false eyelashes for performances, hair clips, baby oil for removing cosmetics—the drawer was a jumble of small items. Nancy reached way into the back of the drawer. If there was anything hidden in the vanity, it would be there. But she found nothing.

Suddenly the door of the dressing room flew open with a startling bang.

“I had a feeling I'd find you here,” Katya cried. “That's why we cut our rehearsal short. And I've caught you with your hand in my vanity table. Nancy Drew, what right do you have to be here?”

Nancy snatched her hand from the drawer and turned to face her accuser. Her heart was pounding, but she did her best to sound calm. “When I began this case, I got clearance from James Ellsworth to search any place for the Raja diamond. Right now, that means here!”

To Nancy's surprise, Katya didn't get furious. Instead, she laughed. “You sound like Ana when she tried to get poor Belinda arrested. Who me, a jewel robber? What a crazy idea. Why would a famous, successful dancer want to risk ruining her career for a diamond? I've got plenty of money—and plenty of jewels of my own.”

“For revenge!” Nancy countered. “Revenge
against James Ellsworth for not rehiring you for next season.”

“No, dear, I am retiring. It has nothing to do with James. Because my ankle is weaker now, I feel that the time is right. James made sure everyone in the press knew.”

Nancy sucked in her breath. Katya definitely knew how to cover her tracks. How was she ever going to convince people that her suspicions about the dancer were true? The answer was, she couldn't, not without the diamond itself.

Katya was staring at Nancy.

“These thieves are dangerous,” she said in a monotone, her eyes vacant and staring, her jaw set in a taut line. “If you mess up their plans again, it could be the last mistake of your life. And, Nancy, we wouldn't want anything horrible to happen to you, would we?”

A
RE MY LASHES
on straight, Ellen?” Bridgit turned to one of the other dancers and fluttered her false eyelashes at her.

Ellen giggled. “Yeah, but you need a little more mascara on the left one,” she said teasingly.

Bridgit made a face. “What are you trying to do, get me onstage looking like an idiot?”

“No one can tell from the audience,” Ellen countered. “Besides, people never watch us corps dancers, anyway, only the principal ballerinas.” She peered into the mirror herself, applying an extra few drops of rouge.

Nancy shook her head and joined in the conversation. “You're
wrong about that. I always check out the corps. I'll bet I'm not the only one, either.”

“Okay,” Ellen said, “I'll take your word for it.”

Nancy smiled. It was great fun watching the corps ballerinas preparing for that Friday night's performance. They smoothed their hair into perfect buns; a dab of Vaseline kept any stray hairs in place. A few were already dressed in their tutus, while others were still warming up in their sweat clothes.

Actually, it was hard to believe these girls were about to dance in front of hundreds of people. They joked and laughed as if they were getting ready for a high school play.

The evening was going to be exciting, Nancy was sure. CBT was premiering a new version of the classic ballet
Giselle,
with Belinda dancing the lead role. And even though Nancy still didn't like her very much, she couldn't deny that Belinda was a magical dancer. She wouldn't have missed the show for anything—except finding the Raja diamond.

And, if she were lucky, being backstage with the dancers might just give her some idea about where those missing shoes were.

Nancy knew she should go and join Brad, who was sitting alone, waiting for her in the wings. He was stuck watching yet another ballet, but he'd said he'd come that night to keep her company.

And now she'd
deserted him. But she felt it was important to listen and ask questions in the dressing room. At least they'd be backstage together during the show. She needed him, also, in case Katya and Colby made another attempt to intimidate her into silence.

Of course, Brad hadn't been much help in the past. But if
he
weren't able to help, there was always Ned—he'd be backstage, too. And Nancy knew she could count on him if anything got out of hand.

“Hey, Marlene, could you zip me into my costume?” Ellen called across the dressing room to one of the other dancers.

“Sure,” Marlene said. She stood up and walked toward her friend in her still untied shoes. She tugged on Ellen's zipper, then tied a satin bow at the top of the costume. Sitting down again, Marlene began to lace up her slippers.

“Did you find the pointe shoes I left near your locker?” Ellen asked her friend. “I saw they were your size, so I figured they belonged to you. I guess they must have fallen into my bag by accident.”

“Oh, was that you who put them there?” Marlene wanted to know. “Thanks for returning them, but they weren't mine. They were the right size but the wrong shoemaker. They were heavy, too. Must have been a crummy manufacturer.”

Nancy couldn't help but join the conversation.

“Uh, where did you say you put those shoes?” she asked Marlene seriously. She couldn't hide the urgency in her voice because she was remembering a few days earlier when Katya had asked Bridgit if she had found, some shoes that she might have accidentally put into her dance bag. She could have mistaken Ellen's bag for Bridgit's. Maybe these were the shoes that Katya was looking for. The shoes that Nancy was looking for herself! The shoes with the Raja diamond.

Marlene shrugged. “I just left them lying around the corps dressing room. I figured the dancer they belonged to would find them.”

“You said they were the same size as yours,” Nancy remarked. “What was that?”

“Five, double A. I can't remember the maker, though.”

Nancy gasped. The same size as Katya's! It couldn't be just a coincidence. They had to be the ones in which the prima ballerina had hidden the Raja diamond.

Nancy bit her lip thoughtfully. Perhaps it really had been an accident that Katya's shoes had gotten mixed up in someone else's bag. Then again, Katya probably put them there on purpose in case the police did happen to search her bag as she left the theater. That way, there wouldn't be any chance of her getting caught with the pin. What she hadn't counted on was Ellen finding them first and trying to return them.