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if it had been added on after the house was built. “And the wind is blowing the other way. I’ll bet some of the firefighters could get the furniture out of there without the fire spreading to them.”
    Chief Cody shot Jeffrey an annoyed look. “I guess we might as well try,” he said. He turned away and began barking orders to his team through the walkie-talkie.
    “I’m so sorry about your house,” I told Jeffrey. “How did the fire start?” He gazed at me blankly. I figured he was probably in shock. “I’m Nancy Drew,” I added. “I’d like to help in any way I can.”
    “Th-Thank you,” he stammered.
    “Here’s a piece,” called one of the firefighters. Jeffrey turned and ran toward the large armoire that two men had just lugged from the house. It was badly damaged by the smoke and heat, but still in good enough condition that it could be restored to its original state. I felt a little bit better looking at it—at least Jeffrey wouldn’t lose
all
of his antique collection.
    But he acted as if it was burned beyond recognition. “It’s ruined!” he cried. “Utterly destroyed!” Jeffrey threw his arms around the armoire in a dramaticgesture. I noticed him plucking at something on the back of it as he embraced the piece of furniture.
    “Get out. Get out now,” I heard Chief Cody command. I looked back at the house to see that the wind had changed. The dark smoke that had been blowing away from the addition had begun blowing in the opposite direction. Clouds of toxic smoke and smoldering embers were now billowing right onto the one part of the house that had seemed safe.
    I glanced over at Jeffrey. The poor guy had the worst luck in the world. It didn’t look like they’d be able to save any more of his valuable furniture. The two firefighters who had carried the armoire came running back out of the house just as a spark hit the roof of the addition and set it aflame. One of them went over to Jeffrey and handed him a laptop computer.
    “I was able to grab this,” the firefighter said. “Sorry we couldn’t save more.”
    Jeffrey took the computer and looked at it for a moment. Then he hurled it back toward the burning house with a bellow of anger. “It’s useless!” he cried. “This is all useless!” He stormed off toward a black SUV parked in the driveway. He got in and peeled out without saying another word.
    I shot a look at Chief Cody to see how he was handling Jeffrey’s anger. But the chief was busy organizinga plan to keep the fire from spreading to the nearby trees and houses. He stood surrounded by about five firefighters.
    The house was still in the midst of bright orange flames that leaped into the sky. I could tell that the entire place would be destroyed. My eyes were beginning to sting from all the heat and smoke. It was time for me to leave. But as I turned to go, I realized that something was nagging at the back of my mind. What had Jeffrey been plucking at on the back of his armoire?
    The chief and his colleagues were still huddled together. No one was paying any attention to me. So I pulled the collar of my shirt up over my mouth and nose to block out the smoke. Then I took a few steps toward the house, and the armoire, which had been abandoned on the front lawn. I ducked behind the large chest to see if I could find anything on the back. To my surprise, the back of the armoire was an entirely different color from the front. The piece had appeared to be made of rich reddish cherrywood. But the back was beige and made of pressed wood—usually the mark of less expensive furniture. And right in the middle of the pressed wood was a big sticker that read O’REILLY BROS .
    I frowned and leaned in closer. The edges of the sticker were singed and the smoke had blackenedthe lettering. But I could still read it. “O’Reilly Brothers furniture?” I murmured. “How odd.”
    O’Reilly Bros. is a big store on the outskirts of town. They sell cheap furniture, the kind that’s