The Nutcracker Ballet Mystery (16 page)

pointy-toed footprints in the snow. Roger must have

been the one wearing shoes like that.”

Excitedly, the four of them got out and began to

look around. When Nancy searched the snow on the

curb by the last blue car, she found what she was

looking for: footprints with clearly pointed toes. They

led directly to the third building. Quietly, the four of

them stepped into the outside foyer.

They all stood in front of the rows of mailboxes, and

Nancy said, “Look.” She pointed to the white strip

under the box for apartment 3B. R. L. Wolaski was

written on it.

“So do we call the police now?” George asked.

Lawrence held up his tire iron. “No way. It’s four

against two. By the time the police come blasting in

here, who knows what Grace and her whacky sidekick

will have done to Shana.”

Nancy turned and laid her hand on Madame’s arm.

“Madame, why don’t you take the van and drive to the

nearest phone? Call Chief McGinnis and tell him to

send a squad car over.”

“No,” Madame replied firmly. “I want to confront

Grace myself.”

“I’ll do it, Nancy,” George offered. “I’ll call Bess and

Darci, too.” Grabbing Madame’s keys, George hurried

back to the car.

Nancy took a deep breath. “Now it’s only three

against two.”

“Yeah. But we do have the element of surprise,”

Lawrence said.

“Maybe. Unless they’ve been watching us from a

window.” Motioning the others to stay put, Nancy

walked back to the sidewalk and looked up. The two

windows on the third floor were dark. Were Mrs.

Wolaski and Roger just pretending not to be home?

Nancy rejoined Lawrence and Madame Dugrand in

the foyer.

“I’m ready.” Madame’s eyes were determined.

Nancy took a deep breath. “Then let’s go.”

Cautiously, the three of them went up to the third

floor. Nancy put her ear to the door of apartment 3B

and listened. All seemed quiet.

She took her lock-picking kit from her purse and

unlocked the mechanism.

When she quietly swung the door in, she saw the

apartment was dark. When her eyes adjusted, Nancy

was surprised to see Shana sitting in a chair in the

center of the room. Her mouth was gagged and her

hands were tied behind her with rope. Shana looked at

Nancy with frightened eyes. Then she tried to cry out

in a muffled voice.

“Shana!” Lawrence shouted, pushing past Nancy.

“No! It’s a trap!” Nancy cried. Grabbing Lawrence’s

arm, she tried to stop him. But it was too late.

Someone sprang from behind the door and whacked

Lawrence on the back of the head with a cane. The

dancer crumpled to the floor.

It was Roger. He turned and smiled wickedly.

“Welcome, Ms. Drew.” He raised the cane menacingly.

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Nancy

glimpsed something that would help her out of her

predicament. It was the Mouse King headpiece, which

she figured Roger and Mrs. Wolaski had stolen in a

last-minute attempt to ensure that the ballet would be

ruined.

Without giving Roger a moment to react, Nancy

picked up the headpiece and swiftly yanked it over his

head.

From inside the Mouse King head Roger emitted a

muffled squeal of anger as he groped for Nancy. She

had put the piece on backward, so that Roger was

completely blinded and had no idea where he was

standing in relation to Nancy. He turned in a

semicircle, desperately swinging the cane to try to

strike her.

Nancy tried to grab the cane, but just then Roger

stumbled on a coffee table and, with a screech, fell to

the floor. Crouching down, Nancy dug her fingernails

into Roger’s skin, squeezing the tendon in his wrist,

hard. He immediately cried out in pain and loosened

his grip on Gertrude’s cane.

Nancy tossed the cane to the other side of the room,

then looked around for something with which to tie

Roger. She grabbed the gold tie cord from the drapes

behind her and quickly bound his wrists together.

Madame came running up with the tie cord from the

other set of drapes, and Nancy expertly wrapped and

knotted it around Roger’s ankles. Finally, she pushed

the sputtering man into an arm chair. “Don’t move,”

she told him.

Roger whined something unintelligible from inside

the costume. Just then, a commotion in the hall made

Nancy turn and step out. Madame Dugrand was

grappling with someone at the top of the steps. Nancy

had been so busy subduing Roger that she hadn’t heard

Mrs. Wolaski approaching. The ex-wardrobe mistress

was attacking her prime target—Alicia Dugrand.

“Madame!” Nancy cried out. Gertrude had the

directress bent over the stair railing. Madame’s eyes

were wide with horror.

Dashing forward, Nancy grabbed Gertrude’s arm

and tried to pull her off. To Nancy’s surprise, Madame

suddenly gritted her teeth and gave a powerful shove,

throwing Gertrude against the wall.

Without her makeup and wig, Gertrude Wolaski

looked very different. She had short brown hair, very

few wrinkles, and a trim build.

“You’re not winning this time!” Gertrude shouted to

Madame. Hands raised like claws, she rushed for

Madame’s face. The directress nimbly jumped

sideways. Then, reaching out with her leg, she kicked

Gertrude in the thigh. Gertrude stumbled sideways

and lost her balance. Then, with a cry, she rolled down

the steps.

Madame stared down the steps in silent horror. Her

attacker was sprawled on the second floor landing, not

moving. “Oh, Nancy. I didn’t want to hurt her.”

Madame clutched Nancy’s arm.

“She gave you no choice,” Nancy told her gently.

Just then, two police officers came running up the

stairs. They stopped on the second floor landing and

looked down at the body, then up at Nancy and

Madame Dugrand.

Behind the two officers was Chief McGinnis. His

gray brows shot up in surprise. “Nancy, are you all

right? Your friend called and explained what was going

on, but I had no idea.”

Nancy nodded. “There’s another one up here.” She

pointed to the open apartment door. Roger sat in the

chair grunting angrily as he tried to free his wrists. The

headpiece had twisted to the side, so that it looked as

though the Mouse King was looking right at Nancy.

She stepped inside the room to find Shana sobbing

in Lawrence’s arms. He had untied her and was

stroking her hair. Now that Nancy could see that

everyone was okay, she wearily slumped against the

wall. It was finally over.

“From what Roger has confessed,” Chief McGinnis

told Nancy, George, and Bess on Friday night, “it was

all Gertrude Wolaski’s idea. She contacted Roger—

who is her nephew—about six months ago, and even

set him up in the apartment.”

“And he needed money, so he went along with

everything,” Nancy guessed.

The chief nodded. “Roger claims his aunt assured

him that no one would get hurt, which is the only

reason he decided to help her. But I don’t know, these

two both seem a little nuts to me.

The four of them were standing outside the dance

academy’s recital hall. Chief McGinnis was wearing a

suit and tie, and Nancy, George, and Bess had on

holiday dresses. Inside the hall, a large crowd was

waiting eagerly. It was opening night of The

Nutcracker.

“And what about Gertrude?” Bess asked. “She was

lucky she only broke her leg in the fall.”

The chief shook his head. “Gertrude claims that

there is no such person as Grace Turner. She says

Madame Dugrand made that whole story up.

“What? That’s crazy,” George interjected. “We saw

Gertrude’s house. It was wall to wall with Grace

Turner’s ballet pictures.”

“Poor Gertrude,” Nancy murmured. “She’s still

trying to get at Madame.”

The chief nodded. “Right. But with Roger telling us

everything, she won’t get too far. He’s admitted to

stealing both sets of ornaments, starting the fire, and

loosening the barre. He claims his aunt did everything

else.”

“What about ramming us with the van?” Bess asked,

her hands on her hips. “And almost running me over

with the snowmobile?”

“Well, he’s hedging on those, since they’re pretty

stiff charges. But I think we’ll nail him.”

Nancy sighed. “I’m just glad we caught those two in

plenty of time. We all worked really hard, and I think

this year’s Nutcracker is going to be fantastic.”

Chief McGinnis’s eyes twinkled. “And I’m sure

Madame will be happy to hear that I talked to my old

friend at the firehouse. He’s agreed to extend the time

she has to fix those violations.”

Bess peered into the recital hall. “If the next three

nights are this crowded, it should help straighten out

the school’s financial problems.”

“And with all the good publicity, Madame should get

some of her students back.” Nancy nodded toward the

front of the hall. Several reporters were sitting in the

front row.

“I almost fainted when Lawrence and Shana danced

the pas de deux yesterday at the dress rehearsal,” Bess

said dreamily. “It was too romantic.”

Nancy smiled. “I guess they finally realized how

much they care about each other.”

“Well, I’m glad everything turned out so well,” Bess

said. “Lawrence is even going back to New York with

Shana. Can you believe it? He’s determined to make it

this time.”

“And Darci will be the top dancer at the school,”

Nancy added. “That should make her happy.”

Just then, the lights began to dim.

“I think we’d better get to our seats,” Chief

McGinnis said. The four of them hurried down the

aisle, sitting down just as the curtain began to rise,

revealing the Christmas party scene of the first act.

When Nancy saw how beautiful the stage looked,

even she had to gasp. Mrs. Farnsworth’s ornaments

glittered and danced in the spotlight that shone on the

Christmas tree. The graceful dancers began to twirl

onstage in their gorgeous costumes, all bearing gifts,

including the nutcracker doll for young Clara.

George leaned toward Nancy. “Another successful

Nutcracker performance,” she whispered. “Thanks to

Nancy Drew!”

Nancy and George looked over the collection of props and

boxes in the prop room. “Before we leave this afternoon, I

have to make sure those tree ornaments aren’t here,” Nancy

told her friend.

“Maybe we should move the pillar out of the way, so we can

reach the boxes behind it,” George said. “I’ll push from

behind. You stay in front and keep it from falling forward.”

The girls were able to move the pillar about a foot before it

began to topple. As she and George steadied the column,

Nancy looked up. The ceiling was so dark, she couldn’t see

very well. But when she stepped back she saw something that

startled her. Perched on the top of the pillar was a wooden

nutcracker doll. It grinned down at her with a sinister smile.

“George, stop!” Nancy cried as the three-foot-tall doll began

to teeter on the edge of the pillar.

But Nancy’s warning came too late. The nutcracker doll

toppled from the column—heading straight for George’s

head!

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