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Contest Winner






Dare to read: Нэнси Дрю и Братья Харди

(https://vk.com/daretoreadndrus)

ПРИЯТНОГО ЧТЕНИЯ!

 

Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories: Volume Seventy

 

The Broken Anchor

Copyright, 1983, by Simon & Schuster/ Wanderer Books

Cover artwork © 1983 by Ruth Sanderson

 

Nancy receives an invitation to the Sweet Spring Resort on Anchor Island, Bahamas. Her father calls upon her assistance and she sends Bess and George down to Anchor Island to investigate why someone sent Nancy plane tickets. Her father, Carson, is in Miami and is investigating an abandoned boat. They discover inside the boat are newspaper clippings of Nancy's former investigations.

 

Contest Winner

 

“Did you enter another contest, Nancy? ” Hannah Gruen asked the pretty eighteen-year-old who was eating her lunch.

“Not lately, why? ” Nancy smiled up at the Drews’ housekeeper.

“This came in the mail.” Hannah handed her a large brown envelope.

Nancy stared at it for a moment, seeing the handwritten “Contest Winner” that had been scrawled above the typed name and address.

“Sweet Springs Resort, Anchor Island, Bahamas? ” she asked, arching an eyebrow. “I know I didn’t enter any contest there.”

“Why don’t you open it and see what you’ve won? ” Hannah said impatiently.

“You should have been a detective, ” Nancy teased as she followed her suggestion.

The doorbell rang as she shook out the contents of the envelope, and in a moment Hannah admitted Bess Marvin and George Fayne, Nancy’s best friends. “What did you win, Nancy? ” Bess asked, seating herself at the table. “Hannah told us about the letter.”

“When did you enter a contest? ” George asked. Tall and dark-haired, she was quieter than her blond, pretty cousin.

Nancy giggled. “I think it must be a mistake, ” she answered. “I didn’t enter any contest.” “What do they say? ” Hannah asked.

Nancy scanned the letter, then handed it to George so she could read it aloud.

“Dear Miss Drew.”

“You have been selected by the Sweet Springs Resort to receive a week-long holiday for two. Your reservations are waiting and airline tickets are enclosed. We can promise you an exotic and beautiful holiday on a very special island. We will look forward to welcoming you when you arrive in Nassau on Friday.

“Till then, our congratulations, Miss Drew.”

George studied it for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s signed the owners and staff of Sweet Springs Resort, but no specific names.”

“Oh, how exciting, ” Bess gasped. “When do you leave? ”

Nancy handed her the plane tickets. “These are for tomorrow, ” she answered.

“Do you think it’s a legitimate offer, Nancy? ” Hannah asked as she brought glasses of iced tea and a plate of sandwiches for the other two girls.

“It could be an advertising gimmick, ” George suggested. “After all, you and your father are quite well known, Nancy. And this announcement is a bit of a mystery.”

“Oh, you must go and see, Nancy, ” Bess said, giggling. “It would be so romantic to vacation on an island in the Bahamas.”

“Well, I don’t know, ” Nancy mused, intrigued by the prospect, yet skeptical of the way it had come about. “I’ll have to check into it more carefully, and with Dad gone…”

“Where is your father? ” George asked, taking the brochure that had come with the letter.

" He was called to Miami early this morning, ” Nancy answered, leaning over to look at the bright pictures. “I don’t know what it was all about.”

“This certainly looks like a wonderful place, ” Hannah observed, studying the brochure. “If the offer is genuine, Nancy, it would be a shame to let it pass.”

“How could I find out? ” Nancy asked, her gaze on the picture of the elegant pink building with its burgundy tile roof.

“You could call your travel agent and see if the place is for real, ” George suggested.

“And I suppose the airline could tell me about the tickets, ” Nancy agreed, getting to her feet, lunch now forgotten.

“I don’t know how she can bear to even ask questions, ” Bess said, munching a sandwich as she studied the photograph of a white sand beach dotted with sunbathers. “I’d just start packing and worry about the details later.”

George shook her head. “This is the offseason down there, isn’t it? ” she asked no one in particular. “I thought most of these places closed at the end of May.” She scanned the descriptive paragraphs quickly.

“Does it say they’re closed? ” Bess asked. “No dates at all, ” George reported, her fingers ruffling her hair. “Just a lot of words about beautiful beaches, boat trips, swimming, fishing, things like that.”

Bess moaned. “Why don’t we ever get wonderful surprises like this? ”

“I guess…, George stopped as Nancy came back into the kitchen. “What did you find out? ” Nancy kept her expression solemn for a moment, but then she could bear it no longer and grinned at her two friends. “It seems to be genuine, ” she answered. “The plane tickets are confirmed all the way to Nassau, and though this is a bit late for a vacation in the Bahamas, the travel agent says the Sweet Springs Resort has a good reputation. He suggested that it might be a promotional offer.”

“So are you going? ” Bess asked eagerly.

“I won’t know till I talk to Dad, ” Nancy replied.

“Can’t you call him? ” Hannah asked.

Nancy shook her head. “He didn’t know where he could be reached when he left. He should be calling me pretty soon, though.” The girls returned their attention to the luncheon that Hannah had provided, discussing the clothes that Nancy should take and the possibilities of her finding a mystery to solve once she arrived on Anchor Island. They’d progressed to ice cream and brownies when the telephone rang.

“I’ll get it, Hannah, ” Nancy called, leaping to her feet and hurrying into the office.

“Hi, honey, ” her father replied to her greeting. “How are things on the home front? ” “Busy and confusing, ” Nancy answered. “Oh, has something happened? ” There was concern in Carson Drew’s tone.

“Something nice, I think, ” Nancy replied, then explained about the holiday she’d been offered, finishing, “The only bad part about it is that the plane tickets are for tomorrow and I don’t suppose they can be changed.”

“How do Bess and George feel about the trip? ” Carson asked, surprising her.

“They think we should go.” Nancy hesitated, then continued, “What do you think, Dad? Will your business allow you to leave tomorrow? ” “I’m afraid neither one of us can leave that soon, honey. I’m going to need you here, ” her father said. “However, I do have a suggestion.

“Why don’t you let Bess and George take the plane tickets and the reservations for the resort?

You can all fly to Miami tomorrow, and they can go on to the island and make reservations for us to join them as soon as we’re finished here.” “Oh, Dad, that would be wonderful, ” Nancy gasped. “I know they’d love the chance to visit the island—but do you think it will be all right with the resort people? ”

Her father laughed. “Since they offered the reservation free, I’m sure they will be happy to have two paying guests in addition. However, if there is any problem, George or Bess can call us when they get to the resort.”

“Now tell me about the case you’re on, ” Nancy said, her curiosity aroused as she realized that her father hadn’t mentioned anything beyond the fact that he wanted her to come to Miami. “Is there something I can help you with? ”

“There certainly is, ” he replied. “In fact, that’s why I’m calling. I’ve been summoned down here to investigate a real mystery.” “What kind of mystery? ” Nancy was intrigued.

“Well, when the authorities contacted me, they said that it was about an abandoned boat. They think I can identify the owners.”

“Can you? ” Nancy asked when he hesitated for several seconds.

“I haven’t actually seen the boat yet, ” he continued. “It’s up the coast from Miami, and this morning they seemed more anxious to ask me questions about my background and about you. In fact, they’d like you to join me.”

“Me, why? ”

“Well, according to the sheriff, the boat had been stripped of any identification before it was abandoned. In fact, the only clue that they found on board was a file of newspaper clippings.”

“Newspaper clippings? ”

“All concerning cases where you’ve helped me solve mysteries, ” her father explained.

“Then the owners of the boat were interested in us? ” Nancy frowned. “That makes two mysteries today.”

“Two? ”

“Well, I don’t know how I could win a contest that I didn’t enter, and now we seem to have fans who’ve disappeared off their boat.” “Do you think you can arrange to get down here tomorrow morning? ” her father asked.

“What flight are those tickets for? ”

Nancy got the tickets and gave her father the information, adding that she’d already inquired about another seat being available, since she’d hoped that Bess and George would be able to accompany her, if her father couldn’t. He laughed at her words. “Always one step ahead of me, aren’t you? ” he teased.

“Just trying to be a good, efficient daughter, ” Nancy answered with a giggle.

“Efficient enough to locate the owners of the abandoned boat, I hope, ” he told her. “We’ll have to solve that mystery before we can go on to the resort to find out why they’ve been so generous to you.” He hesitated, then added, “You are sure that you didn’t enter some contest or drawing or something? ”

Nancy laughed. “I’d never forget a contest that had a prize like this, Dad. Just wait till you see the brochure. It really looks like a fantastic place for a vacation. Our travel agent said that it’s normally booked full during the winter season, so I doubt that this is a promotion to get new customers or advertising.”

“Then what is it? ” her father asked.

“A mystery, ” was the only answer she could give him.

 






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