Captive Witness Read Online Free PDF Page B

running from the booth. “I don’t see any taps. And anyway, right after that, the line went dead, the light switched off, and I heard a crash on top of the booth. ”
    The professor peered up. “It was just the branch scraping across that broke the light wire. I don’t see any phone lines so they’re probably all underground, which rules out a wiretap. I think you’re just a little edgy about everything that’s happened.”
    Nancy bit her lip, concentrating hard. “You’re right,” she acknowledged, “but what were you doing walking out here alone?”
    “I was going to use the telephone.”
    “Why didn’t you use one in the hotel?”
    “Well, there were too many people waiting.”
    “And did the desk clerk call you over and tell you to use the pay phone down the street?”
    “Yes. Did he tell you, too?”
    “Uh-huh. Isn’t that odd?”
    The professor thought for a moment. “Yes, it is. But not as odd as the question of why they would tap a pay phone when they could so easily tap the phone in the hotel.”
    “You’ve got me. I’m dizzy thinking about it, Professor. Let’s say it was all my imagination and we can both go to bed early and get some sleep.”
    The professor escorted Nancy back to the hotel. When she opened the door to her room, she found Bess and George both sound asleep. Very quietly, so as not to wake them, she got out her pajamas and toilet articles and prepared for bed. But when she lay down, she couldn’t go to sleep right away. The tangled events of the day kept marching through her mind. She hadn’t bothered to unpack because she knew that first thing in the morning she had to make plans to leave the tour and drive to Vienna. Then she could try to locate Kurt Kessler’s missing film before the Wednesday deadline.
    On the other hand, she thought, I feel bad about leaving Dr. Bagley when the tour is being harassed and he still hasn’t figured out how to get those poor kids across the border.
    Tossing and turning, the girl detective finally drifted off to sleep, exhausted by the events of the day.
    The next morning, she was awakened by Bess’s exuberant bubbling about Salzburg. “Nancy, are you still asleep? Listen, I don’t want to miss anything! The cathedral. The puppet shows. The palace. The concerts. And Mozart’s home. Oh, I couldn’t miss that!”
    “I agree,” Nancy moaned sleepily. “If you did, our little bus driver would probably drive us all the way to Vienna screaming out another lecture about his hero.”
    “Right,” Bess agreed. “Now, when are you two getting up? It’s eight o’clock already.”
    “Eight o’clock?” came an agonized cry from under a pillow hiding George’s head. “In the morning? Oh, no! Nancy, do something. Stop her. She’s killing us.”
    But Nancy, struggling to a sitting position, yawned and shook her head. “You can stay in bed, George, but I’ve got to get up.”
    “Great,” Bess said. “Where do you want to go first, Nancy?”
    “Vienna.”
    “Vienna?” the cousins chorused as George emerged out of the covers. “What do you mean Vienna?” she asked. “We’re not due there until—when?”
    “Sunday,” Bess put in.
    “And this is only Friday,” George said.
    “I know, I know,” their friend said, heading for the bathroom. “Do you mind if I take my shower first? I really have to rush.”
    “Oh, no, you don’t.” Bess laughed, barring the bathroom door. “Not until you tell us about this Vienna stuff.”
    “Nancy Drew,” George said slowly, pointing a forefinger at the young detective, “are you going off to solve another mystery and leave us alone on this tour?”
    “Well ...” Nancy said.
    “That’s it,” George said. “I knew it. And I suppose you can’t talk about it.”
    “Only a little bit. Somebody stole a film from the festival that opens in Vienna Wednesday and I’m trying to find it. There. No secrets. Okay?”
    “Humph,” Bess said. “And all those huddles—you and the