The Triple Hoax (13 page)

“This is terrific for an instant disguise!” George praised her.

“Let’s hope so,” Nancy said with a smile.

Casually she walked over to the magician, pretending to be nervous and in need of someone to talk to.

“I’m so worried about a friend who’s on board,” she said. “I hope he’s safe. Do you, too, have a friend or relative on the hijacked plane?”

“Yes, my wife,” the man replied. “She was coming here to help me with my work.”

Just then a voice sounded over the loudspeaker. “Attention, please! I have good news for people expecting passengers on Continental Flight 388. The hijackers have been overpowered and no one was hurt.”

A great cheer went up from the crowd and a voice called out, “Tell us more!”

The announcer, who stood at the airline counter, said that the plane would land in El Paso, Texas, where the hijackers would be turned over to the police.

“It will then refuel and continue nonstop to Los Angeles,” he concluded.

The sleight of hand man, like everyone else, looked relieved. He said to Nancy, “The plane won’t be here for a while. I’m going to leave and come back later.” He hurried away.

To pass the time, the girls walked around the airport, looking at shops and stopping to buy flowers for the Vetters. At last the flight was announced.

“Thank goodness!” said several of the people who had gathered to welcome passengers.

Ten minutes later Bess exclaimed, “I see them! I see the boys!”

The young sleuths rushed forward to greet their friends.

“We’re so glad you’re safe!” Nancy cried out. “What a frightful experience you must have had!”

Burt said, “It was hair-trigger going for a while. As far as we could learn, the hijackers wanted a free ride to South America. But we never did find out why.”

Ned took Nancy’s arm. “Now put us to work,” he said, grinning.

She laughed. “Oh, there’s plenty for you to do.” Quickly the girl detective outlined their case and mentioned the sleight of hand man as one of the suspects.

“His wife was aboard your flight,” she added.

“Wait a minute,” Ned said. “I bet I know who she is. When the hijacking was announced, she acted like a spoiled child. She made all kinds of demands, which, of course, nobody could meet, and insisted that it was extremely important for her to get to Los Angeles and help her actor husband on stage.”

“Oh, that’s how you found out who she is,” Nancy said.

Ned went on, “She became very agitated. No one could quiet her, not even the hijackers, who threatened her.”

Dave spoke up. “See that woman with the enormous blond hairdo?”

“Hm-mm, where?” George replied.

“Down there at the last ticket counter.”

George strained her neck over the milling crowd. “Oh, yes, now I see her,” she said after a moment.

“Well, that’s the one!”

“I’ll be right back,” George declared and darted after the woman. “Are you the wife of one of the Hoaxters?” she blurted out when she caught up to the stranger.

“Yes. Where is he?” the woman asked gruffly.

“He told me that he would be back later. He was here for a long time, then left.”

The woman stared at George. “Are you a special friend of his?” she demanded crisply.

George stepped back. “I—”

The woman gave her no chance for a reply. “You must be, or he wouldn’t have told you his plans.”

“You’re wrong,” George said quietly.

Her calmness nettled the blond woman. She began to shriek insults at George, gesticulating wildly.

George was so stunned that for a moment she was speechless. Suddenly the woman raised her hand and slapped George hard on one cheek. Before the girl could recover her wits, the stranger hit her again. George did not know what to do. Should she fight back or run away and avoid further embarrassment?

 

 

 

Adroitly George dodged the blows of the irate stranger. The athletic girl had taken lessons in judo and wondered if she should use her skills now. This proved to be unnecessary, however.

“I saw the whole thing!” a guard called out as he rushed up to stop the fight. “Do you wish to bring charges against this woman?”

“I think not,” George replied.

“Well, I’ll have to report the incident anyway, so if you change your mind later, you can.” He turned to the woman. “Your name, please.”

“Mrs. Horace Browne,” the woman sputtered. “My husband is a magician. He works for a famous group called the Hoaxters!”

“Lady, I don’t care whom your husband works for. It doesn’t give you the right to attack people in this airport!”

Mrs. Browne stared at him in suppressed anger. Then she gave George a scorching glance, turned on her heels and walked away.

“Are you all right, miss?” the guard asked George.

“Fine.”

“Okay. Then I’ll go back to my post.”

Nancy, Bess, and the boys had caught up to George and were aghast when they saw her reddened face.

“What happened?” Burt asked.

Quickly George explained, adding, “If that guard hadn’t arrived, I would have tried one of my judo tricks on that crazy Mrs. Horace Browne ... that’s her name. So the sleight of hand man’s real name is Horace Browne. You were right, Nancy, Ronaldo Jensen is only his stage name.”

“That’s a good clue for us,” Nancy remarked.

“I’m going to have a word with that woman one of these days!” Burt muttered.

“Why did she hit you, George?” Bess asked.

“Because she thought I was her husband’s girl-friend!” George replied, making a face. The others laughed.

“What a silly idea!” Bess said in disgust.

After the group had arrived at the Vetters’ and were comfortably seated in the living room with little cakes and cups of steaming chocolate, Nancy told the boys about the mystery on which the girls had been working. When Ned, Burt, and Dave heard about the swindle with the temperature-controlled clothing material, they roared with laughter.

Ned remarked, “It’s a wonderful idea. Anybody who could invent something like that would become a millionaire.”

Nancy looked at him. “How about you? You’re majoring in science. Such an invention should be easy for you!”

“Sure,” Dave added. “You wouldn’t mind making a million, would you?”

“And taking us all on a great trip!” George said. “How many say
aye
to that?”

“Aye!” the others shouted at the top of their lungs.

Ned grinned. “Okay,” he said. “If I ever make a million on clothing or anything else, I’ll take you all to the moon!”

When the hilarity died down, Nancy said, “I have something else to tell you.” She briefed the boys on the fern-watermarked stationery.

“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll call Dad to see if he has any word for me yet,” she added and went to the telephone. Unfortunately, Mr. Drew had not been able to track down the manufacturer. “But I’ll keep trying,” he promised.

“Fern watermark?” Dave said after she had hung up. “Maybe I can help you. An uncle of mine is in the printing business. He produces bank notes, fine stationery, and all kinds of high-quality paper. Shall I call him and ask if he ever heard of the design?”

“Please do!” Nancy urged.

Dave was on the telephone for some time. When he returned, the young man was smiling. The others were sure he had learned something important.

“I have an answer for you, Nancy,” he said. “The Fern Printing Company is a small outfit located in Philadelphia.”

“Great!” Nancy exclaimed. “I’ll see if I can get the number from Information.”

After several unsuccessful attempts, she was told that the firm had no listed number. Disappointed, Nancy gave up.

“Why does a legitimate business firm have an unlisted number?” she asked herself and returned to her’ friends. They discussed the matter. Finally she said, “I’ll call the police and tell them what we know. Perhaps they can find out Fern’s private number for us.”

It took the Los Angeles police department a while to supply the information, but finally Nancy was told that the firm had problems with their bills and were temporarily using the direct line of the president.

“Thank you,” Nancy said, writing down the number. “I’ll let you know if I learn anything important.”

She hung up, then dialed the number. A woman answered. “Fern Printing Company. May I help you?”

“Yes, I’m interested in a certain type of paper—”

“I’ll connect you,” the receptionist interrupted. “Just a minute, please.”

Nancy’s heart was pounding. Was she about to make a great discovery?

A few moments passed, then a man said, “Harrison speaking. Who is this?”

Nancy evaded the question. “I understand that you manufacture fern-watermarked stationery. I haven’t been able to find it in the stores here in Los Angeles. Is there someone who could show me a sample sheet of the fern pattern?”

Mr. Harrison paused briefly. “I’m afraid we don’t have any in stock right now but I can give you the name of someone who buys from us.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Nancy replied.

“It’s Mr. Horace Browne who lives in Los Angeles.”

Nancy’s heart began to pound. What an incredible revelation!

“He should be listed in the phone book,” Mr. Harrison went on. “But here’s his address anyway.”

Nancy wrote it down quickly. “Thank you very much,” she said. “I’ll send you an order as soon as I’ve seen Mr. Browne’s paper.”

“Fine. It will be available soon.”

Nancy rejoined her friends. “Guess what!” she said. “I found out that Horace Browne is using the fern watermark!”

“That proves the ransom note was written by him!” George exclaimed. “Nancy, what terrific evidence!”

Ned added, “Now all we do is find out his address and confront him with the proof.”

“I have the address, too,” Nancy said. “All we have to do is look up his number.”

George went to get the phone book. But to their dismay, the young people found that Horace Browne was not listed.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Ned remarked. “If he’s a crook, he’d keep under cover.”

“Right,” George said. “It wouldn’t be wise for us to call and let him know we’re coming. He’d be sure to suspect something.”

Nancy agreed. “Tomorrow we’ll see him personally. It’s too late now. Meanwhile, I have another idea. Why don’t we go to the Hoaxters’ show?” She turned to Ned, her eyes twinkling. “How would you like to do a little detective work at the theater?”

 

 

 

Ned smiled at Nancy. “Do you want me to go up on the Hoaxters’s stage and pull a few tricks of my own?”

“In a way, yes. When they take your wallet, there’ll be a piece of paper in it torn from a small notebook. In the corner will be the Vetters’ phone number.”

Ned’s eyebrows shot up. “What for?”

“As bait. I want to get the fingerprints of the man who rifles through wallets. Afterwards, I’ll dust the paper with magnetic powder so the prints will become visible.”

Ned whistled, “Smart move! How to get evidence without really trying.”

“That’s right. Just make sure that the paper is still in your wallet when it’s returned to you after the show. It will prove that the Hoaxters are the first link in the criminal chain.”

Ned pretended to be puffed up with his assignment. He stuck his fingers into the armholes of his sleeveless sweater and paraded around the room. The others laughed and wished him luck.

George said, “There’s only one catch. If Mrs. Browne is on stage, she may recognize you.”

Nancy suggested that when they arrived at the performance the boys go in by themselves and find seats on the left of the auditorium, while the girls would sit on the right.

Ned and his fraternity brothers agreed to the plan, and Burt added, “This way we won’t be connected with Nancy Drew, the well-known girl detective!”

Nancy smiled but did not reply. She decided that she must telephone Senora Mendez and find out if there had been any further word from the kidnappers. When she heard the phone ringing in the Mendez residence, Nancy had a few seconds of hope that the child might have been returned. But as soon as her Mexican friend answered, the young sleuth knew she was wrong.

“The dear child has not come back to us,” Senora Mendez told her, “and we still have no idea where she is.”

“Have you or Dolores’s parents received any other ransom notes?” Nancy asked.

“Yes, two. But both were fakes.”

“What do you mean?” Nancy asked.

Señora Mendez said that money had been requested in both of them. It had been delivered to the specified places, but was never picked up.

“Oh, Nancy, I’m so worried that Dolores may be held for another reason besides money,” the child’s grandmother wailed. “I was told that certain people steal children and sell them to couples who want to adopt them.”

The thought horrified Nancy, but she said calmly, “I doubt that anyone would do this with a girl as old as Dolores. She would be bound to reveal her name and where she came from and would be returned to you.”

Senora Mendez said this thought made her feel better. “My private detective picked up one clue that makes it seem almost certain that Dolores is in Los Angeles,” she added. “He was so sure of it that he personally called the Los Angeles police and told them his suspicions.”

“What was the clue?” Nancy asked eagerly.

“One of the recent ransom notes had been made up from words cut from a newspaper just as before. My detective, who lived in Los Angeles for years, remembers that one of the papers in that city uses a special type of print in its entertainment section that he has never seen anywhere else. He’s positive the words were taken from that paper.”