038 The Final Scene (2 page)

“Maybe Bess’s visit with Brady has started and is going better than she hoped,” Nancy said with a smile. “Maybe that new dress did the job and he’s on his knees this moment proposing.”

“I hope not,” George replied playfully. “If he even touched her hand, she’d faint. If he proposed she’d drop dead in her tracks of heart failure.”

“On the other hand, she might be—”

The sound of a single male voice crying out in the hallway interrupted Nancy.

“Help! Somebody help! Get the police!”

Nancy and George ran out of the dressing room and straight into the object of Bess’s affection. Brady Armstrong—in the flesh—was standing in the middle of the hall. His normally tan face was white, and his green eyes were wide with shock. He was having trouble breathing.

“What is it?” Nancy asked, a sick feeling in her stomach. “Are you all right?”

“In there!” He pointed back to his open dressing room. “I walked in and someone attacked me. Someone wearing a ski mask. I was grabbed around the throat,” he finally got out.

George and Nancy looked at each other. Their faces quickly turned as white as Brady’s.

“There was someone else in there, too,” Brady added, gasping to catch his breath. “A blond girl. And she’s still in there with that maniac!”

B
ESS!”
George and Nancy raced for the dressing room door, but Brady pushed ahead of them and ran into the well-lit room first.

Nancy blinked, but not from the bright light. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, or rather what she wasn’t seeing. The mystery strangler wasn’t there—and neither was Bess!

Nancy turned to Brady. “Where are they?”

Brady looked thunderstruck. “I—I don’t know. They were right here a minute ago, and—”

George was already searching for her cousin. She looked behind the leather sofa, under the heavy oak dresser, and behind the antique dressing screen.

“Bess!” Nancy and George cried out together. “Where are you?”

Only thick silence answered them.

“I take it she’s your friend. I should never have left. But I was so dazed that I just . . . ” Brady couldn’t finish his sentence. Nancy could tell he was as upset as they were.

“You couldn’t know,” Nancy said. She tried to be as reassuring as possible.

“Aren’t you Nancy Drew? I remember you from school,” Brady said.

“Uh-huh, and our friend is Bess Marvin. Do you remember her?”

Brady nodded and looked even more devastated.

Nancy searched the room once again. There had to be a logical explanation.

“Look, she’s got to be here,” George said, trying to be her practical self. Still, her shaky voice told Nancy how worried she really was. “You said she was in here with the person in the ski mask. You never left the hall, and we joined you almost instantly. There’s only one door leading out of this room. Therefore—”

As George turned to point at the door, Nancy saw three people standing on the threshold: Deirdre McCullough; Joseph Hughes, who had worked at the theater for years; and another man in a burgundy sports coat, whom Nancy had never seen before.

Behind this threesome stood an even larger crowd of people: two men with cameras slung over their shoulders; a woman with her hands full with what Nancy knew were makeup cases; and a teenage boy, a suitcase in one hand and two garment bags in the other. They looked bored and quickly set their equipment down and talked among themselves. Apparently they were used to waiting and hadn’t heard Brady’s screams for help.

Brady rushed over to the man in the burgundy sports coat. “You’re not going to believe what just happened! Someone in a ski mask tried to nab me, but he or she got this girl instead. Now we don’t even know where they are, and—”

Deirdre gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, no!” she managed to say.

“What!” The man’s face turned a deep shade of crimson that nearly matched his jacket. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

Joseph looked over at Nancy and George, whom he knew, and said, “What’s going on here, girls?”

“We don’t really know, except that Bess is missing,” Nancy said to Joseph. He looked shocked.

“Missing?”

Nancy nodded and went over to Brady to put a comforting hand on his arm. “Brady, can you tell us exactly what happened?”

Before Brady could begin his story, the man in the burgundy sports coat cleared his throat and pointedly addressed Nancy. “I’m Simon Mueller,” he said. “Brady’s and Deirdre’s manager. Not that it’s actually any of your business. Now, what I want to know is, who are you and why are you asking all these questions?”

“This is Nancy Drew,” Joseph said, coming to the girls’ assistance, “and her friend, George Fayne. You may have heard of Nancy. She’s River Heights’s best-known detective.”

Simon didn’t seem impressed. He ignored Nancy and turned to Brady. “Okay, Brady. What you’re saying is that while I was escorting those local dignitaries to their seats for the movie, someone in a ski mask tried to kidnap you?”

Nancy caught Deirdre looking at Simon quizzically.

Brady nodded. Nancy was about to ask another question when Simon interrupted her again.

“And just how did that happen?” Before Brady could answer, Simon went on. “Well? Let’s get this story over with.”

Nancy couldn’t believe the way Brady’s manager was talking to him as if he were a kid. And Brady was letting him! Also Simon wasn’t taking any of it the least bit seriously—and Bess was missing. Not able to wait any longer, Nancy spoke up impatiently.

“What happened when you got to the theater?” she asked.

Deirdre stepped forward and put a hand on Brady’s shoulder. “We came inside with a lot of local politicians and dignitaries. We stood around and chatted, then Brady said he had to change. I escorted our guests to their seats. Simon was outside still,” she said pointedly, looking at Simon.

So that was it. Simon hadn’t been with them, Nancy thought, filing away the information. “And when you let yourself into your room, exactly what did you see, Brady?” she asked.

“The lights were off, so I turned them on. And that’s when I saw her—the blond girl—sitting over there on the sofa. She had a gag in her mouth.”

Out of the corner of her eye Nancy saw George shudder slightly. Bess’s situation was even worse than she imagined.

“I think I asked her something, like what was she doing here,” Brady continued. “That was when the man in the ski mask attacked me.”

“Was this person a man?” Nancy asked.

“Well, no . . . I mean, I don’t know, actually,” Brady said after considering. “With that mask on I didn’t see a face, but I thought it was a man.

“He grabbed me around the throat, but I pushed him back and he lost his balance. Then I ran into the hall to get help.”

Brady shook his head and dragged his fingers through his thick black hair. “I wish I had done something to help that poor girl. She looked so scared. But I thought I needed help.” He gave Nancy and George a long look. “You don’t know how rotten I feel about this.”

Nancy found herself staring into Brady’s green eyes. He really did look upset.

“So this person in a ski mask still has your friend?” Deirdre asked. Tears glittered on her
long lashes. Her famous green eyes were wide with concern as she patted Brady with a perfectly manicured hand.

“It looks that way,” Nancy said. “And who knows where he’s got her!”

“We’ve got to do something, Nan,” George said.

Joseph shook his gray head. “She’s such a sweet child. Worked here one summer, you know. I got to be really fond of her—”

Nancy cut him off. “I know, Joseph, but just standing here isn’t going to get her back. Every minute counts in a kidnapping case.”

“So what’s the plan?” George asked. She looked at her friend expectantly.

“Well, there’s only one door leading out of this room and no windows,” Nancy observed. “First we have to figure out how they left this room.”

“Well, actually . . . ” Joseph walked over to the large closet and carefully opened the door. “This old theater has secret passageways everywhere. And here’s one of them.”

He pulled back the clothes that were hanging in the wardrobe, including Brady’s white space knight costume, to reveal a small sliding door in the back wall.

“Where does this door lead?” Nancy asked.

“To the leading lady’s dressing room,” Joseph
replied. Then he grinned sheepishly. “In the old days, when this was still a full-time theater for plays, there was usually a romance going on between the stars who played this theater. I’d say there was quite a bit of traffic through this door over the years.”

“So the kidnapper had to have taken Bess out this door after Brady left the room,” George said excitedly.

Nancy took a deep breath and realized she and George were thinking the same thing. “And they could still be in the leading lady’s dressing room!”

“Well, let’s have a look,” Joseph said. And he slid the door open.

One by one they slipped through the narrow door and entered the other room. Joseph stumbled through the darkness to the opposite wall. Nancy held her breath, hardly daring to hope as he flipped on the light.

One quick glance around the room told her everything. Bess wasn’t there. This room was the same size as the leading man’s, but it was decorated with a white satin sofa, a pink chaise longue, and a delicately carved dressing table with a gilded mirror. It had been a beautiful, glamorous room. Now it was a little worn and threadbare.

“This room is as empty as Brady’s,” George
said, sounding defeated. “We don’t know any more than we did.”

“Yes, we do,” Nancy replied. “Now we know how he got her away from us.”

“How?” Brady looked completely puzzled. “I mean, I know how he got her out of my dressing room, but how did he get her out of here. Since Bess obviously isn’t here.”

“While Brady, George, and I were searching Brady’s dressing room, the abductor probably sneaked her out into the hall. Before Deirdre, Simon, and the crew got here, it had to be empty.”

“But where are they now?” Joseph asked.

Nancy exhaled out loud as she realized, “They could be anywhere. From here she could have been taken to the basement or upstairs or out an exit or they could still be here in the theater.” She finished slowly.

“Look, I’m sorry about your friend. But I honestly think she’ll turn up. It’s probably just a stunt to meet Brady. Brady and Deirdre have to get dressed to greet their fans during the intermission, and they’ve got to do it now.”

“Mr. Mueller, this is no stunt, I can promise that,” Nancy said, giving Simon a hard look. “And I’m going to find her even if we have to cancel your premiere.”

“Go right ahead and try, young lady,”
Simon said. “You’ll have a lot more than me to contend with. You try to tell all those fans why Brady and Deirdre won’t be showing.” He pulled on Brady’s arm and started toward the door. “By the way, Ms. Nancy Drew, private detective, your friend is still in the building,” he threw over his shoulder.

“Wait a minute, Simon,” Brady said, stopping short. “What makes you think she’s still here?”

Simon answered Brady sincerely. “The theater is full of people right now. It’s surrounded by cops. It would be simpler for him to hide her than to try to leave with her. Now, come on, Brady. Let’s go.”

“I think we’d better call the police,” Nancy said. “This is a kidnapping, after all.”

“Can’t we just go and get a police officer from outside the theater?” George wanted to know.

“No, I think we’ve got to call headquarters and make it official.”

“You can use the phone in my office, Nancy,” Joseph said, “and I’ll go alert the theater’s ushers and guards to what’s happened. They can all help look for her. Don’t worry, girls. If Bess is in this theater, I promise you, we’ll find her.”

Nancy looked at George and saw tears
pooled in her friend’s eyes. Nancy couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen George cry.

“I guess we have a new case, Nan,” George said. Her voice was thin and choked.

Nancy nodded and swallowed down the knot that kept rising in her throat. She had a case all right—one she had to solve right away. Her friend’s life depended on it.