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Surprising Answer






 

By the time they reached the outskirts of Cheyenne, the whole story was told and Nancy could hardly contain herself, she was so excited. “You must be Clarinda Winthrop’s daughter, ” she murmured over and over. “I just can’t believe it. I’ve had Arlo Winthrop’s great-granddaughter with me all this time and I never even suspected it.”

“My mother’s name is Lindy Greenfield, ” Lorna protested. “It was Lindy Thorpe before she and Daddy got married.”

“They must have changed their name from Catlin to Greenfield after they left Cheyenne, ” Nancy said. “But when we get to the house, I’ll show you some pictures of Clarinda Winthrop. I think you’ll see that she is your mother.”

“I don’t understand any of this, ” Lorna protested. “Who are the Catlins? ”

Nancy carefully explained all she knew of Clarinda’s life in Cheyenne, then listened as Lorna described her own childhood growing up in California under the name Greenfield. Her memories were happy enough, yet she seemed relieved to have Nancy fill in some of the gaps in her own family history.

“I always kind of wondered why I didn’t have any family besides Mom and Dad, ” Lorna admitted. “I mean Pete and Diane Spencer are only honorary relatives—old friends of my parents.”

“Well, you do have a family, ” Nancy assured her. “A grandfather who wants very much to find you and your mother.”

“Where do you think we should go? ” Ned asked Nancy as they entered Cheyenne. He slowed a little as they merged with the still- heavy traffic. “I mean, where will they be safe? ”

“Grace’s house, ” Nancy answered without hesitation. “We can drive directly into the garage there, so no one will see them in the car— just in case the house is being watched.” “Watched? ” Lorna looked over her shoulder. “Why would you be watched? I mean, they think they have Jenny and me up at the cabin, so...” She stopped and then asked, “Do you know something about those men, Nancy? ” Nancy nodded. “Unless I miss my guess, Barry and Fred Mathews are the sons of Tom Mathews—the man who works for your grandfather. Which probably makes them your cousins, Lorna.”

“My cousins? ” The disbelief was heavy in her voice. “But why...? ”

“Your grandfather is old and ill. Tom Mathews and his wife have taken care of him for years and I’m sure that Mr. Mathews always assumed that he would be Mr. Winthrop’s heir. Now Mr. Winthrop is trying to find his long-lost daughter Clarinda and if he does.. Nancy didn’t finish the sentence.

“But why would they kidnap me and then Jennifer? ” Lorna asked. “I mean, I’m still not sure that my mother is this Clarinda Winthrop you’re talking about.”

“I don’t know for sure, ” Nancy admitted, “but I suspect we’ll find out as soon as you call your mother. Now I think you two had better duck down, just in case.”

Nancy turned back to the front, pretending no interest at all in the back seat of the car as they drove up the drive to Grace’s garage. “I’ll open the door, ” she told Ned, getting out of the car before he could protest. As she did so, she noticed that an unfamiliar car was parked in front of the house.

Once they were in the garage and she’d closed the door, Nancy started to ask Lorna and Jennifer to wait, but before she could say anything, Grace opened the door that led into the kitchen.

“Nancy, Ned, is that you? ” she asked, switching on the garage light. “Jennifer! ” she shouted as she saw the little girl getting out of the car.

In a moment, they were all in the big, friendly kitchen, sipping hot chocolate and talking to Mr. Westmorelin, who’d stayed with Grace after he drove her home. He was full of questions about Leroy and Lindy and delighted to tell Lorna anecdotes about her parents and their life in Cheyenne before they fled.

Nancy leaned back with a sigh, relaxing a lit- tie for the first time since she’d heard Grace’s scream at the street dance. “It’s too bad it’s so late, ” she said. “I really think we should call your mother, Lorna.”

“It’s an hour earlier in California, ” Ned reminded her. “Is ten-thirty too late to call your mother, Lorna? ”

Lorna stared at the pictures Nancy had given her, then shook her head. “I guess not, ” she answered. “She doesn’t go to bed early and I suppose she might be kind of worried about me. I usually write or call once a week and lately...” She didn’t have to finish the thought.

The call proved to be a long, joyous one, but it also presented some surprises both for Lorna and for Nancy. The events of the past had been much as Nancy had guessed, but Clarinda had one bit of news that had the young detective’s usually smooth brow furrowed with worry.

“I tried to reach my father two years ago, Miss Drew, ” she said. “I saw his name in a newspaper article and I thought that he might have mellowed through the years, so I wrote him a long letter. I told him all about my life and about his granddaughter and great- granddaughter.”

“You contacted him? ” Nancy gasped. “But he never said a word about it. Did you actually talk to him? ”

“I got a letter back, telling me that he wanted no part of me or my family. It was plain that he hadn’t forgiven me at all.” Clarinda’s voice betrayed her pain.

“Mrs. Greenfield, your father had detectives searching for you less than six months ago and he hired my father to find you just last week. Why would he do that if he knew where you were? ” Nancy asked. “Are you sure the letter was from him? Was it in his handwriting? ”

“It was typewritten, ” Clarinda replied, her tone changing. “I thought it was strange at the time, but the signature looked like his, so…

Nancy sighed. “I doubt very much that your father ever saw that letter, Mrs. Greenfield. I have a feeling that the same people who have been holding your daughter prisoner here kept that letter from Mr. Winthrop. Tom Mathews handles all of Mr. Winthrop’s affairs, so that probably means he opens all his mail.”

“What do you think I should do, Miss Drew? ” Clarinda asked. “And what about Lorna and Jennifer? Are they still in danger? ”

“They’ll be safe enough here tonight, ” Nancy said, her mind whirling with plans, “but I think your father might be in danger—especially once Barry and Fred discover that Lorna and Jennifer are gone from the cabin.”

“You don’t really think they’d hurt him? ” “Your father is a very wealthy man, Mrs. Greenfield, ” Nancy reminded her, “and some people can be terribly greedy.”

“How can I protect him? ”

“Well, I was planning to call the River Heights police to do that, but it might not be a bad idea for you all to fly back East together as well. I think it’s important for you to see your father soon. You could meet Lorna and Jennifer in Denver tomorrow, before anyone here knows what is going on. Could you do that? ” “Of course.” There was no doubt in Clarinda Winthrop Greenfield’s voice now. “Leroy and I will make the calls right away and let you know as soon as we have reservations. But is it safe for Lorna and Jennifer to be seen leaving Cheyenne? ”

“That’s part of my plan, ” Nancy continued. “Ned, my friend, will drive them to Denver while I stay here and pretend to keep looking for Jennifer. If we’re lucky, I’ll be able to keep them so busy following me, they won’t even think about checking the cabin. Once you and your father are all safe, the police can start hunting for Barry and Fred.”

It was after midnight before the entire plan was completed and everyone could go to bed, but Nancy climbed the stairs feeling better than she had in days. Everything seemed to be working out just perfectly.

“Nancy, ” Grace called, stopping her halfway up the stairs.

“Is something wrong? ” Nancy said, noticing that Grace was frowning.

“I forgot to tell you—there was a phone call earlier, from your housekeeper.” Grace sighed. “She called right after I got home and I made a note of it, but when you came here with Jennifer and her mother, well, I completely forgot to tell you.”

“What did she say? ” Nancy asked. “Has she heard from my father? ”

“Well, she didn’t go into detail, but that’s why she called. She said she’d received another letter from him and she wanted you to know about it. I told her that you’d call as soon as you got in.

Nancy looked at her watch and swallowed a sigh. “It’s much too late to call her now, ” she said. “I guess I’ll just wait and telephone her first thing in the morning.”

“I’m sure that will be all right, ” Grace said. “I mean, I did tell her that you were following a lead and might be very late getting home.”

“As long as she’s heard from Dad, everything must be under control, ” Nancy agreed. “Thanks for telling me.”

“I’m just sorry I forgot until now.”

“I’m so glad you weren’t hurt when they kidnapped Jennifer. We were worried about you, ” Nancy told her.

“They just took me by surprise, ” Grace said. “One minute we were watching you dance, the next I was on the ground and they were running off with Jennifer.”

“Well, it worked out for the best, anyway, since they led us to Lorna, ” Nancy commented.

“And now they’re safe and the mystery is solved, so you can sleep peacefully.” Grace smiled up at her.

“That sounds like a very good idea, ” Nancy agreed. “Good night and thanks for everything. You’ve really helped solve this mystery.”

“I’m just glad it is going to have a happy ending, ” Grace called as Nancy made her way along the hall to the smaller guest room where she’d moved her things so that Lorna could stay with Jennifer.

“Me, too, ” Nancy agreed, but her step was no longer light for she was sure that Hannah hadn’t called about an ordinary letter. She was very much afraid that something had happened to her father!

 






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