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Studio Clue






 

“Kidnapped! Are you sure? ” Nancy asked.

Again the call came over the loudspeaker, interrupting the model before she could reply.

“Miss Jacqueline Henri, will Miss Jacqueline Henri please come to the desk, ” the voice repeated.

“I’ll be back, ” she told the girls abruptly and walked away.

“If she believes her brother was kidnapped, ” George said, “what’s she doing here? ”

“Maybe he was supposed to be here, ” Nancy suggested, glancing in the direction of the lobby.

The hotel desk was not visible from where the girls stood and Nancy wondered how much longer it would be before the young woman returned.

“Maybe she said that only to keep us from following her, ” George remarked after several minutes.

“Come on, ” Nancy said, leading the two cousins across the corridor. “Let’s see if we can find her.”

As they stepped into the main lobby, they were astonished by the number of people with suitcases crowding the registration area.

“They must’ve come in on a late plane, ” Nancy observed.

“Or a bus, ” George said, directing everyone’s attention to a man in a driver’s uniform.

He pushed his way through the crowd, waving his hands and talking at the same time. The hubbub dissipated as the group huddled around him.

“I don’t see Jacqueline anywhere, ” Bess commented.

“She could’ve met someone and left, ” Nancy said, and hurried toward one of the desk clerks, asking if he knew where the stunning, black-haired woman had gone.

“I haven’t seen her at all, ” the young man replied, “and from your description, I’m sure I’d remember her.”

Then, on a sudden thought, she approached the bus driver. He had been outside the hotel when Jacqueline left, if, in fact, she had. But to Nancy’s chagrin, the man said he had not seen her, either.

“Let’s go back to the ballroom, ” Nancy said. “I’m sure Aunt Eloise is wondering what has happened to us.”

As the trio weaved between tables, several patrons stopped Nancy, complimenting her performance and the gowns she had worn.

“Absolutely exquisite, ” someone said from behind, causing Nancy to turn toward the dance floor. “Miss Drew? ” The young man who spoke stepped closer, aligning himself under the soft light of a chandelier.

Nancy judged him to be in his thirties, despite the deep lines under his gray eyes. “Did you say something? ” Nancy asked.

“I was just about to invite you to dance, ” came the unexpected reply.

The orchestra was switching tempos and Nancy nodded. She followed the stranger to the center of the floor where several other couples were trying unsuccessfully to keep from bumping into each other.

“I don’t know your name, ” the young detective said as the two began to dance.

“It’s Chris, ” he said. “Chris Chavez. You took Jacqueline Henri’s place on the program, didn’t you? ”

“Mm-hmm, ” Nancy replied casually. “Do you know her? ”

“Doesn’t everyone? ”

“I guess so.”

Chris swirled her away from him, but held her hand firmly, drawing her back.

“Do you do a lot of modeling? ” he inquired.

“As a matter of fact, ” Nancy said, “this is the first time I’ve done anything like this. I’ve modeled before, but not on this scale.”

“That’s really hard to believe. You looked so professional up on that runway, ” Chris went on. Despite the dim light, he could see the blush in Nancy’s cheeks. “I hope I’m not embarrassing you, ” he said.

“Oh, no, ” the girl said, starting to giggle. “I was just thinking how happy it would make our housekeeper if I changed careers.”

Her dance partner appeared bewildered. “What’s your current occupation? ” he asked as the music finished at last.

“I’m a detective, ” Nancy said. Now it was her turn to watch for a change of expression, but to her surprise, there was none. Chris made no comment. Instead, he trailed her to the table where Bess and George sat with Aunt Eloise and Marjorie Tyson, and Nancy introduced him to her friends.

“Not the Chris Chavez.” Marjorie grinned. “The photographer? ”

Chris nodded. “And I’d like to take a picture of Nancy in that gorgeous gown she wore earlier.”

“Well, I’m sure that can be arranged, ” Aunt Eloise said enthusiastically.

Bess, meanwhile, tugged on Nancy’s arm. “George and I were wondering where you went, ” she whispered. “We didn’t realize you had met such a handsome man. Does he have a couple of friends? ”

“I don’t know. Shall I ask? ” Nancy replied.

The blond girl giggled while the young photographer jotted down his phone number and handed it to Nancy. “I’ll be at the studio tomorrow, so let me know if you can come by, ” he said, then walked off quickly.

“What will Ned think when he sees you on the cover of some famous magazine—and photographed by the world-famous Chris Chavez? ” George teased Nancy.

“Ned Nickerson, ” Nancy replied, referring to her boyfriend from Emerson College, “won’t think anything because he won’t see any such thing.”

“Want to bet? ” Bess winked.

“It’s not so farfetched, Nancy, ” her aunt said instantly. “You could become a top model like Jacqueline.”

“But I don’t want to be, ” Nancy declared. “I’m very happy doing what I do. Which reminds me—what do you know about Jacqueline Henri? I assume Bess and George told you about our encounter with her.”

“Yes, they did, ” Marjorie said. “I really don’t know very much about her. You should have asked Chris.”

Chris! Nancy thought, irritated that she had literally let him slip through her fingers.

“I’m going to call him in a little while, ” she declared.

“You are? ” Bess repeated. “But it’s after midnight.”

“He only left a few minutes ago, so I’ll try his house in half an hour, ” Nancy decided.

The ballroom had begun to empty as Nancy made her way down the quiet hallway to a phone booth not far from the dressing room. The overhead lights had been turned off, but the sconces on the wall were still lit.

Nancy gasped as the silhouette of a man played across a distant, smoke-colored mirror. She ducked into the booth, waiting for the stranger to show himself.

Where’s the security guard? Nancy wondered, suddenly aware that the precious designer clothes had been left unprotected. Although chains had been strung through the garments and locked, the girl detective knew that a professional thief wouldn’t be easily discouraged.

Now the mysterious figure hurried across the room to the door, as if he suddenly realized he had left it open by accident. Nancy stuck her head out at the same moment, linking eyes with him!

He had small, even features, and despite the streak of gray in his hair, he looked fairly young. He also wore a tuxedo, causing Nancy to assume that he had attended the fashion show.

“Who are you and what are you doing in here? ” she asked boldly.

The intruder responded with a cold, angry stare. He strode past the girl, not saying a word. She decided to postpone her phone call to Chris, and dashed quickly into the dressing room. So far as she could tell, nothing had been disturbed, but before she returned to her table, she reported the incident to the hotel desk.

“Perhaps the man was just an interested admirer, ” Aunt Eloise told Nancy when she related the story. “It doesn’t pay to be too suspicious, dear.”

The young detective would have been the first to agree under other circumstances, but she did not argue the point. As it was, she barely could keep her eyes open on the way back to the apartment.

In spite of her exhaustion, however, Nancy tossed restlessly. Who was Jacqueline’s brother and why did the young model imagine he had been kidnapped? The same questions rose in her mind as she awoke the next morning.

Before I do anything, though, I’m going to call Dad, Nancy decided.

She dressed quickly and joined her aunt and the other girls at the breakfast table, where they planned the itinerary for the day, beginning with phone calls home and one to Chris Chavez, who invited them to come to his studio later that morning.

Then, leaving Aunt Eloise, who was to meet Marjorie Tyson at the hotel office, the young detectives headed for Mr. Reese’s. Nancy was not entirely surprised to learn that he wasn’t there.

“He is flying to Palm Beach today, ” the receptionist said, “but he left this envelope for you, Miss Drew.”

Nancy opened it immediately, discovering several sketches of the missing gowns, along with other pertinent information.

“When will he be back? ” Nancy inquired.

“Tomorrow, perhaps.”

“There are too many disappearing acts around here to suit me, ” Bess whispered to George.

“You can say that again, ” her cousin replied. “I think—”

“Let’s go, ” Nancy interrupted, and turned to leave. “Our next stop is the studio of Chris Chavez! ”

On the way, she studied Mr. Reese’s sketches, almost memorizing them, and advised Bess and George to do the same.

“If only one of these gowns turned up in my closet, I’d be thrilled! ” Bess said, as their taxi halted in front of a seemingly deserted store. “Is this the studio? ”

“Guess so, ” Nancy said as they stepped out.

The chill in the air had left a thin layer of frost on the window, so the visitors could not see inside. The door was open, though, and they entered.

“Anybody home? ” Nancy called out across the empty foyer.

No one answered.

At the end of the hall was another door and an unshaded lamp shone brightly.

“Somebody must be here, ” Bess commented, walking forward. Nancy and George followed.

Suddenly, two voices rose in argument and the hall door slammed shut!

 






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