Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew Read Online Free PDF Page A

important expose about a fake operation at an auction house.”
    “I don’t think we should talk about that,” Jacqueline interrupted. “I’m sure Ted wouldn’t appreciate it.”
    “Why not? If Nancy is to help you, she has to know what’s going on.” The young man paused a moment, then continued. “It seems that some auction house here in Manhattan has sold spurious reproductions of antique jewelry to a number of people, including dealers.”
    “But surely they would know the real stuff from the fake,” Nancy commented.
    “That’s what makes the case so interesting,” Chris remarked. “Obviously, there must be a very talented artisan involved in the scheme—”
    “Or an agile assistant who substitutes the fake items for the real ones after the customers’ bids are in,” Nancy concluded.
    “Very astute,” Chris complimented her. “Maybe you ought to work with Ted.”
    “Except that he prefers to work alone,” Jacqueline added.
    “As it is,” Nancy smiled pleasantly, “I already have my own mystery to solve.”
    The curiosity in the faces of her listeners encouraged the young detective to explain.
    “You see, Mr. Reese, the designer, has asked me to help him find a thief.”
    “Really?” Jacqueline asked, throwing a quick glance at Chris.
    “In fact,” Nancy continued, “several gowns, which you were to have modeled last night, Jackie, disappeared from the hotel.”
    “How terrible!” Chris exclaimed. “Do you have any leads yet?”
    “Nothing definite,” Nancy said vaguely. She decided not to mention the stranger she had discovered in the dressing room.
    “Forgive me for saying this,” Chris went on, “but I think you ought to leave that sort of investigation up to someone with experience.”
    “Like Ted Henri?” Nancy replied, her mouth becoming a thin line.
    “Nancy has had a lot of experience as a detective,” Bess defended her friend.
    “Oh, I’m sure she has,” Chris answered. “It’s just that you never know how tough things might get, and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, or you, for that matter.”
    “Well, nothing has so far,” George spoke up.
    “Even so,” Jacqueline commented, “Chris is right.”
    “And to think we were going to offer to look for your brother—undercover, of course,” Nancy said quickly.
    “We were?” George raised her eyes with uncertainty.
    Jacqueline looked at Chris with an urgent, almost pleading expression and fidgeted with the handle of her bag.
    “What do you think?” the model asked him.
    “It’s up to you,” he sighed.
    “We wouldn’t do anything to mess up Ted’s investigation,” Bess put in.
    “I imagine he’s trying to gather as much evidence as he can against the auction house,” Nancy said. “I’m sure he doesn’t want police interference, so we’d have to keep a low profile.”
    “It’s a good idea, isn’t it, Chris?” Jacqueline pressed.
    “Yes, so long as these young ladies think they’re able to handle it,” the photographer replied. “Tell me, Nancy, how do you plan to start your search for Ted?”
    Nancy was thoughtful for a moment, then smiled. “Well, first we have to find the lion’s crest!”

6
    Medallion Mystery
    “I wonder what the lion’s crest means,” Bess said, pondering Ted Henri’s message.
    Nancy was thinking about the variety of architecture she had seen throughout the city, especially the pair of stone lions that flanked the entrance to the New York Public Library. Was it possible that a lion’s crest existed somewhere on a building where Ted might be hiding out?
    “How about the auction houses?” George put in. “Do any of them have a lion’s crest on the canopy?”
    “Not to my knowledge,” Chris said, “but it’s possible.”
    As he spoke, Bess picked up a thick telephone directory and began to scan the classified section.
    “Look at all the auction houses!” she exclaimed in discouragement. “There must be a hundred of them!”
    “Not quite that