A Secret in Time (3 page)

She shook the clock slightly, and again she heard the rattle. There was no mistake—the noise was coming from inside. But how could this be? Nancy wondered, thinking that Mr. Gordon was a very careful man. He never would have returned the clock to Nancy if a piece inside were loose.

Placing the clock on the bed, Nancy opened the glass door. Then she used the screwdriver attachment on her pocketknife to remove the screws around the clock face. Nancy pulled off the two hands of the clock and swung the face open. A small object fell onto her comforter.

As she saw the gleam of red and green gems, Nancy realized what had been inside the clock. It was the missing rose brooch!

For several moments Nancy stared at the beautiful brooch lying on her comforter. Though it was flat, it really did look like a rose. The petals were outlined in gold and filled in with tiny rubies. The graceful stem was formed with emeralds. A single emerald leaf extended from the stem.

No wonder Mr. Brown had been so upset, Nancy thought. The brooch was breathtaking and clearly very valuable. He'd certainly be happy to hear she'd found it. Nancy frowned as she wondered who could have hidden the brooch inside her clock.

It was easy for Nancy to figure out why the piece of jewelry had been stashed. Whoever had tried to steal it hadn't gotten out of the gym before the police began their search. In the confusion while everyone was lining up, the thief had hidden the brooch inside
the clock, planning to retrieve it later. After all, Mr. Gordon had displayed the clock with the face open to reveal where the notebook from her first case had been hidden. Anyone could have dropped the brooch inside and closed the face.

It wasn't as easy to answer the more important question of who the thief was. Nancy tried to recall the faces of the people she'd seen near Russell Brown's display when he had cried out. There had been a couple of women and a heavy man, but she couldn't recall any specific features. With a sigh, Nancy realized the thief could have been almost anyone.

Taking a handkerchief from her dresser drawer, Nancy wrapped up the brooch, She was careful not to smudge any fingerprints that might remain on it. Then she lifted the receiver of the telephone extension in her room and dialed the number of the River Heights police station.

“Chief McGinnis, please,” she said to the officer who answered. “It's Nancy Drew.”

The chief of police got on the phone right away. “Don't tell me you're on another case,” he said.

Though Nancy couldn't see him, she could tell Chief McGinnis was smiling. He had often worked with Nancy's father, Carson Drew, who was a lawyer in River Heights. And Nancy herself had worked with the police chief on several cases.

“Not exactly,” Nancy replied. “But I think I may have solved a case I wasn't even working on. I found
the piece of jewelry your officers were looking for at the antiques expo.”

“Already?” Chief McGinnis sounded surprised and pleased. “That's got to be a record, even for you. How did you find it?”

Nancy told him about discovering the brooch inside her clock. Then she explained her theory of how it might have ended up there. “Do you want me to bring it to the station?” she asked.

She heard Chief McGinnis sigh. “I'11 tell you,” he said, “we're going crazy here right now. We've got a holdup at the liquor store, a missing child, and a hit-and-run. Since the brooch has been found and is in good hands, I think we can wait until tomorrow. Have you got a safe place to store it?”

“My father's safe,” Nancy said. “It's heavy-duty.”

“Good. Put the brooch away and come by the station late tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, I'll call the owner and tell him we've got it. I'll see you and the brooch tomorrow.”

After Nancy hung up, she carefully lifted the handkerchief-wrapped brooch and took it downstairs to her father's study. She unlocked the safe, placed the piece inside, then closed the door securely. There was just one more thing she had to do. She walked down the hall and paused outside the kitchen door.

“Hannah?” The housekeeper turned from the piecrust she was preparing, and Nancy said, “I'd like to
make a quick visit to Bess and George. I'll be back in time to help with dinner.”

“Go ahead,” Hannah said. “I wasn't going to start for another half hour at least.”

“Thanks,” Nancy said, giving Hannah a kiss.

• • •

Nancy found her two best friends sitting on the porch in front of George's house. As Nancy walked up the front path, she saw that the girls were eating red, white, and blue Popsicles.

“Are those Frosty Freeze specials?” Nancy asked as she climbed the porch steps.

“It's Fr-fr-fr-fr-frosty good,” George Fayne said, reciting the company's advertising slogan. Her long, lean frame was stretched out in a wicker chair. She still wore her Frosty Freeze uniform, a smock and a white nylon baseball cap, which covered most of her short brown hair.

It was funny, Nancy thought, how George and Bess were so different, even though they were cousins. Taller and slimmer than Bess, George had the build of a natural athlete. She also had a practical, down-to-earth way of looking at things. It was nice that none of their differences got in the way of their close friendship.

“Want one?” Bess offered, removing a Popsicle from an ice-filled cooler next to her chair. “They have only seventy calories.”

“I'm too excited to think about food right now,”
Nancy said, sitting down on the top step. “You'll never guess what I found.”

“Uh-oh,” Bess said. “Why do I have the feeling that we're not going swimming tomorrow?”

“You found the brooch,” George guessed, her brown eyes gleaming. “Bess told me what happened this afternoon. I knew you'd figure it out.”

Nancy shook her head. “I didn't do anything except try to put my clock back on the dresser. I heard a rattle, and when I looked inside, I found the brooch.” She grinned. “It wasn't exactly brilliant detective work.”

“The old clock strikes again,” Bess said dramatically, taking another bite of her Popsicle.

“So do you have any idea who put it there?” George asked.

Nancy shook her head. “It could have been anyone.”

“Anyone could have
stolen
the brooch,” Bess pointed out. “But it would have been much harder to hide it inside the clock when Mr. Gordon was right there.”

“That's true,” agreed Nancy. “But after Russell Brown let everyone know what happened, there was so much confusion that the thief may have had the chance. And Mr. Gordon was right behind us when we went to help Mr. Brown, remember?”

George leaned forward. “So since he was with you, he probably didn't have a chance to hide the brooch.”

“Well, he might have had time, if he had gone
directly to the clock after he stole the brooch. He was the person with the best chance to hide it, except for—”

“Don't even think it!” Bess cried. “I know what's going through your mind, Nancy, and there's no way it's possible.”

“I know you've always admired Lydia,” Nancy said, “but she's got as good a chance of being guilty as anyone else. Think about it. Lydia said she was shopping during the time the brooch was stolen, but she didn't return with any packages. And she was alone at Mr. Gordon's booth right afterward. She would have had the perfect opportunity to hide the brooch inside the clock.”

“Well, what about Henry Gordon?” Bess said. “He knew about the space behind the clock face.”

“So did Lydia and anyone else who looked at the clock,” Nancy said. “Remember what was printed on the card? And the clock face was open.”

Bess thought for a moment. “Mr. Gordon's the only other person who was alone with the clock. And you told me he seemed awfully eager to deliver the clock to you himself rather than have you take it. Maybe he wanted to remove the brooch before he gave the clock back.”

Nancy had to admit Bess had a point. “I'll put him on my list,” she said. “Along with several hundred other suspects. Chief McGinnis wants to see the brooch tomorrow morning. Do either of you want to go with me? Maybe we can go swimming afterward.”

“I've got to work,” George said. “But let me know what happens. You can call me on my new mobile phone.” Reaching down beside her on the porch floor, George pulled out a black leather case and removed a slim black phone with an antenna. “Isn't this great?” she asked. “I can call anyone in the world on this. And other people can call me, wherever I am.”

“She hasn't talked about anything else since she bought that thing,” Bess said, rolling her eyes. “I'm surprised she doesn't keep it under her pillow at night.”

“No way,” said George, laughing at Bess. “I recharge it at night. Here's my number if you ever need it, Nan.” George reached into the pocket of her Frosty Freeze smock and pulled out a little card on which she'd already written her number. Nancy took the card and put it in her wallet.

“I'll go with you, Nancy,” Bess offered. “What time?”

“The chief said late morning, but maybe we could go over to Past Perfect beforehand. I'd like to question Lydia and Mr. Gordon. I'll pick you up at ten, okay?” Nancy glanced at her watch. “Oops, it's later than I thought. I promised Hannah I'd help her with dinner.” Getting to her feet, Nancy ran lightly down the porch steps. “'Bye, George.” she called over her shoulder. “See you in the morning, Bess.”

• • •

Nancy loved entering Henry Gordon's store. Walking into Past Perfect was almost like stepping into another time. Tall wardrobes stood among rolltop desks, four-poster beds, and high-backed armchairs.

At the sound of the door chimes Mr. Gordon appeared from the back of the store. He was wearing the same tiny round spectacles he'd had on at the antiques expo, and another old-fashioned suit with a vest. At the high school, he'd looked out of place, but in his store he fit in perfectly.

“Good morning, girls.” He greeted Nancy and Bess warmly, but Nancy thought she detected some worry in his eyes. “Is anything wrong with the clock?”

“Not exactly,” Nancy told him. “You might say I got it back in even better condition than I expected.”

Mr. Gordon smiled. “That's my policy, to return things better than I received them.”

Nancy glanced around the store. “Are we alone?”

Mr. Gordon nodded, looking a little puzzled.

Nancy reached into her purse and pulled out her handkerchief, gently opening the folds to reveal the rose brooch. “I found this inside the clock when I got home.”

Mr. Gordon gasped. “But how—”

“That's what we'd like to know,” Nancy said. She rewrapped the brooch and put it into her purse.

“You don't think I . . . ?” Mr. Gordon began, his face reddening.

“I'm not accusing anyone,” Nancy said quickly. “I
was just wondering if you could tell me who was watching the clock at the expo, and if there was ever a time when it wasn't being watched.”

“Lydia and I were both at the booth the entire time,” Gordon said, “except when Lydia took her break, and when I joined you at Brown's booth after he discovered his brooch was missing.” The antique dealer became thoughtful. “You don't think Lydia . . .”

“I don't know,” Nancy answered. “But we can't rule anyone out.”

Mr. Gordon stared into space over Nancy's shoulder, frowning as if trying to make up his mind about something. “You know,” he said finally, “I wasn't going to mention this, but something very strange happened here at the shop last night after I left. When I arrived this morning, I noticed that some of my papers had been rearranged. And all the boxes brought back from the expo had been opened. Nothing was taken, though.”

“Was there any sign of forced entry?” Nancy asked.

He nodded. “The window to my office was open. I'm sure I closed it last night before I left.”

“Don't you have an alarm system?” Nancy asked, glancing at all the valuable things in the store.

Mr. Gordon shook his head. “Maybe I'm too old-fashioned,” he admitted, “but I still trust people.” Then his expression brightened. “But if someone
did
break in, that rules out Lydia. She's got a key.”

“She could have made it look like a break-in,” Nancy pointed out. What she didn't say was that Mr. Gordon, too, could have faked a break-in to make himself look less suspicious.

“Speaking of Lydia,” Bess said, “where is she?”

“She called in sick today,” Mr. Gordon said. “She has some sort of flu.”

“Hmmm.” Nancy couldn't help wondering if there might be a connection between the break-in and Lydia's sudden illness. “Do you mind if I take a look at the window?” she asked.

Mr. Gordon led her and Bess through the store and into his office. Boxes lined one wall, and antique prints hung on the other three walls. The window was just above a small wooden desk.

Nancy went over and looked at the window. “I see the latch is closed now,” she said to Mr. Gordon. “Did you lock it last night?”

He gave her a sheepish look. “To be perfectly honest, I don't remember. But I can tell you I will from now on. And I'm going to get an alarm system, too.”

Nancy unlocked the window and opened it, but she didn't notice any scratch marks on the paint or the windowsill. The entry hadn't been forced.

Just then the quiet in the shop was shattered by the ringing of bells. Nearby, a grandfather clock chimed eleven o'clock, and the sound was echoed by smaller timepieces all over the store.

“We'd better go,” said Nancy. “We've got to take the brooch to the police station. I hope you don't mind if I tell Chief McGinnis about your break-in.”

“Not at all,” Mr. Gordon replied. “Please keep me informed.”