“Yikes!” Nancy whispered, glancing at her watch. “We’re already fifteen minutes late meeting Aunt Eloise!”
They didn’t want to disrupt Aileen’s report, so they moved quietly away and hurried the last few blocks to the café. Eloise was waiting at a table by the window. She waved when she saw them approaching.
“Mmm, it smells great in here,” Bess said as she and Nancy sat down. The aromas of fresh coffee and baked goods wafted through the tiny café, and a delicious-looking array of pastries and cakes was arranged in the glass counter against the wall.
Eloise’s expectant gaze flitted back and forth between Nancy and Bess. “Okay, tell me everything,” she said. “Why did you want me to bring Bess’s sales receipt? I can feel it in my bones that something is going on.”
Nancy and Bess quickly told Eloise all that had happened, stopping only to order three teas and some puffy pastries with whipped cream and chocolate. While Nancy’s aunt listened, she reached into her purse and pulled out a white charge receipt. Nancy leaned forward to examine it.
“Bess, your signature is a carbon!” she said excitedly. Seeing Bess’s confused expression, she explained, “The saleswoman said that your copy of the receipt should have your original signature on it, remember? Well, the salesperson’s writing is original, but since your signature is a carbon copy, I bet that someone stuck something else on top of this and that’s what you actually signed.”
Bess’s blue eyes widened. “That could have been the receipt for the costumes!” she exclaimed.
“So someone really is trying to set up Bess,” Eloise said, taking a sip of her tea. “And from what you’ve told me so far, your suspects seem to be Louis Clark and Howard Langley.”
Nancy frowned. “They’re not exactly the easiest people to investigate.” She sat up abruptly as a thought occurred to her. “Hey, don’t most offices close at five o’clock?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Bess replied. “So?”
“So, it’s after five now. But most department stores stay open until at least six,” Nancy said.
Eloise stared at Nancy. “You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking—are you?”
Nancy exchanged a look with Bess, then said to her aunt, “I know you feel responsible for us, but clearing Bess is really important. If sneaking into Louis Clark’s office gives us proof against him, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
After a short silence, Nancy’s aunt threw up her hands. “Well, I can’t let you two go alone. If you’re going, so am I. Nancy, you always add excitement to my life when you come to visit,” she said with a smile.
• • •
“Here goes,” Nancy said under her breath some fifteen minutes later. She, Bess, and Eloise were pretending to browse through the housewares department on the seventh floor at Clark’s. To their right was the hallway that led back to Louis Clark’s office. Luckily, the salesman was helping another customer and had his back to them.
Signaling to Bess and her aunt, Nancy started casually down the hallway. She was relieved to see that the area near Louis Clark’s office was deserted. The door was locked, but it was a simple lock, and Nancy was able to open it using a credit card. In a moment, the three were safely inside the office, with the door locked behind them.
“Look for anything unusual, or anything dealing with the parade or the explosion,” Nancy whispered. “I doubt he would hide the costumes here, but maybe we’ll find something indicating who his connection is at Mitchell’s.”
She started at Louis’s desk, while Bess and Eloise looked through the shelves and closet. All the papers on the desktop seemed innocent enough—memos, marketing reports, and publicity strategies. After quickly flipping through them, Nancy started to open desk drawers. She came to a halt at the fourth drawer down.
“What’s this?” she murmured. A small wooden rack of test tubes was nestled on top of some papers. Nancy took out the rack, then carefully uncapped one of the tubes and sniffed the fragrant, musky liquid inside. She recapped it and sniffed the liquid in another tube. It was similar to the first but slightly fruitier. When Nancy smelled the third test tube, she knew immediately that she had smelled the scent before.
“Bess, Aunt Eloise, come here!”
“What is it?” Bess asked as she and Nancy’s aunt hurried over to the desk.
“Do you have the sample of Forever that Jules gave us?” Nancy asked Bess.
Bess rummaged through her bag and pulled out the small vial of perfume, which she handed to Nancy. Nancy pulled the top off and sniffed. Then she took another whiff of the liquid in the test tube.
“Nancy, what does this have to do with the parade?” her aunt asked, looking confused.
Nancy couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice as she said, “I think Louis Clark is trying to steal Mitchell’s exclusive perfume!”
Chapter
Eight
YOU’RE KIDDING!” Bess exclaimed. She sniffed the two fragrances. “They really do smell exactly the same,” she agreed.
“Yes, but that doesn’t seem like enough to prove that he stole Mitchell’s scent,” Eloise pointed out.
Her aunt had a point, Nancy realized. Looking back in the drawer, she saw a sheet of paper with several formulas written on it. Next to the formulas labeled #3, there was an asterisk and the word Forever, followed by a question mark.
“Here’s our proof!” Nancy exclaimed. She pointed to the #3 label on the test tube she was holding, then showed Bess and her aunt the matching formula on the sheet.
“Plus Louis’s handkerchief was found at the warehouse,” Bess added excitedly. “That must be why he broke into the lab, to steal the formula!”
Nancy’s aunt still didn’t look convinced. “I think you should be sure before you go accusing the owner of one of the biggest department stores in New York. Why don’t you ask Jules if this formula is an exact match of the formula for the perfume?
“Good idea,” Nancy agreed. “We still don’t know if Louis is connected to the sabotage, either.”
While Bess and Eloise finished searching the office, Nancy tiptoed out to the reception area and made a copy of the formulas on the photocopy machine behind the receptionist’s desk.
When Nancy returned, she could see that her aunt appeared nervous. “We’ve been here an awfully long time,” Eloise said. “Shouldn’t we—”
Her hand flew to her mouth as the doorknob to the office rattled. “Oh, my!” she whispered. A moment later they all heard the sound of a key being inserted in the lock.
“Hide!” Nancy whispered urgently.
Eloise and Bess dashed for the closet while Nancy ducked under the desk. Nancy’s heart pounded in her chest as the door opened. Then a voice muttered, “Uh-oh, forgot the vacuum cleaner.”
Nancy let out a sigh of relief as the door closed again and the person’s footsteps receded down the hallway. “It was the cleaning lady,” she whispered to Bess and her aunt. “Let’s get out of here before she comes back.”
They quickly returned the test tubes and formulas to Louis Clark’s desk drawer. Then, slipping the copy of the formulas in her pocket, Nancy led the way back out to the housewares department. A muffled announcement told them that Clark’s was about to close, so the three blended in with the crowd exiting the store.
“My, that was a close one!” Nancy’s aunt said once they were out on the street. “I don’t know about you two, but all of this excitement has made me hungry again.”
Bess pointed to Los Amigos restaurant down the street. “How about Mexican?” she suggested. “I want nachos, tacos, the works.”
Nancy grinned at her friend. Bess was cheerful and hungry—she seemed to be back to her old self. Things were definitely looking up!
• • •
“It’s too bad Eloise decided not to come to the club with us,” Bess said as she and Nancy entered Inverted later that night.
“I guess the club scene just isn’t for her,” Nancy said, speaking loudly to
be heard above the pulsing rock music. “Besides, she said herself that she was too exhausted by all our snooping around to do anything else tonight.”
After dinner, Eloise had taken a cab back to her apartment, stopping first to drop off the girls at Inverted, a club in a deserted warehouse area. Now, after checking their coats, Nancy and Bess paused to look around the club.
There were pink plastic tables, and billowy taffeta curtains covered the walls of the large room. The place looked as if it had once been a garage for a trucking company—several steel garage doors remained, blending in with the eclectic decor. A long bar stretched against one wall, and the tables were scattered around the dance floor. Platforms with more tables had been constructed at various levels, with industrial metal staircases leading up to them. Women wearing glittering dresses and men in suits stood side by side with teenagers with dyed hair and leather jackets.
“Look, there’s Dan,” Bess said, pointing.
Nancy recognized Jill’s dark-haired assistant. He was up on one of the platforms, sitting with Bonnie and several other people. Neil was also there, talking to the actress Pam Hart. Nancy didn’t see Jill or Greg Willow, though.
The two girls made their way across the club and up the stairs to the platform. At a distance they saw Jules Langley and his father. Several hellos sounded out, and Dan stood up and asked Bess to dance with him. Nancy sat down next to Neil.
“Hi. How’s everything?” she asked.
“Busy.” Neil ran his hand through his brown hair. “Jill’s still back in her office at the store. There’s some problem with police security for the parade.”
It was difficult to hear him with the music blaring, so Nancy leaned closer. “Mmm, nice cologne,” she commented.
“Thanks. You’re getting a preview,” Neil explained, grinning at her. “It’s Forever Male, Mitchell’s exclusive cologne. It goes on the market next month, along with the women’s perfume. I’m one of the few people to be wearing it already.”
“That’s right. Jules mentioned a cologne when he gave us a tour of the cosmetics lab yesterday,” Nancy said. “Oh—before I forget . . .” She reached into her bag and pulled out Neil’s Mitchell’s ID card. “You left this at Kim and Karen’s Grill today.”
Neil looked surprised as he took the card from her. “I was wondering where this went,” he told her. “Thanks.”
“How did you get along without it?” Nancy asked. “Don’t you need it to get around the store?”
“I got a replacement,” he replied, his gaze sweeping over the dance floor below. Nancy noticed him frown as he focused on something.
Looking down, she saw that Bess was talking to Greg Willow. He had an uncomfortable expression on his face, and he kept glancing nervously around the club.
“I really don’t think our grand marshal should be involved with Bess,” Neil said.
Nancy felt herself bristle. “If you’re talking about the sabotage, Bess is not guilty,” she insisted. “Can’t you see that someone is setting her up—”
Her voice trailed off as she glanced down at the dance floor again. Greg was gesturing angrily at Bess now—it was obvious that he was yelling at her. For a moment Bess just stared at him, red-faced. Then she abruptly turned away and hurried toward the club’s exit.
“Oh, no!” Nancy didn’t even bother to say goodbye to the others. She grabbed her purse and raced down the stairs after Bess. She caught up with her at the coat check.
“Bess! What happened?” Nancy asked.
Tears were streaming down Bess’s face. “Greg t-told me that he can’t see m-me anymore because no one thinks the grand marshal of the parade should be seen with the lead sabotage suspect!”
“That’s awful!” Nancy said. She grabbed their coats as they were handed over, tipped the woman, then hurried from the club with Bess. Within moments, they had hailed a cab, and Nancy gave the driver her aunt’s address.
Nancy put her arm around Bess’s shoulders. “I know it must be hard to have Greg treat you so terribly,” Nancy said. “First thing tomorrow I’m going to call Jules and find out if the formula we found in Louis Clark’s office really is for Forever. If it is, that’s a good start to proving to everyone that you’re innocent.”
Bess nodded, but she still didn’t look very hopeful. For the rest of the ride back to Eloise’s apartment, she remained silent. Once Nancy let them in the front door with her key, Bess headed straight for the bedroom.
“You girls are home early,” Eloise said, stepping out of her bedroom in her nightgown and robe. “Bess, Greg just called.”
Bess’s mouth dropped open in amazement. “He did?”
Eloise nodded. “He said he wants to meet you, alone, at the parade studio, so you can talk things over and clear everything up.”
“The parade studio?” Nancy echoed, frowning. “But he was just at Inverted. That’s nowhere near Brooklyn.”
“I’m sure he said the parade studio,” Eloise insisted. “It does seem rather strange, though.”
Bess was already hurrying back toward the door. “Maybe it’s not so strange,” she said. “Maybe he thought of something that might lead to the real culprit,” she said excitedly. “Yes, that must be it. I’ve got to get over there.”
“Bess, wait! This could be dangerous,” Nancy cautioned, but she could see her friend wasn’t going to change her mind. “Well, I’m going to go with you, then. There’s no way you’re going to that warehouse all by yourself.”
“Be careful, girls,” Eloise said. “Nancy, your father would have my head if he knew I was letting you go. If you two aren’t back here in an hour and a half, I’m calling the police.”
Nancy kissed her aunt. “Don’t worry, we’ll be home before then.”
• • •
“Bess, I think I should go inside with you,” Nancy said, staring out the cab window at the entrance to the Mitchell’s warehouse. The street was deserted, and she didn’t see the guard or Greg anywhere.
“No, Nancy. Greg said he wanted to see me alone,” Bess said firmly. “I’ll be fine.”
Nancy frowned. “I’ll give you five minutes,” she agreed reluctantly. “But then I’m coming in to check on you.”
Bess agreed, then got out of the cab and hurried to the entrance. Nancy was surprised to see that she had no difficulty opening the door. Could Greg have left it propped open for her? But then, how had he gotten in? Had Neil lent him his Mitchell’s ID? Had he talked the guard into letting him in?
The more Nancy thought about it, the more concerned she became. The guard didn’t appear. After a few minutes, she couldn’t stand waiting any longer. After instructing the taxi driver to wait for her, Nancy got out and hurried toward the warehouse entrance. She paused outside the door, cocking her head to one side.
In the distance she could make out the faint sounds of sirens. The high-pitched whine grew louder, and moments later two police cars were barreling down the street toward the warehouse, their lights flashing. A black sedan was right behind them.
Nancy froze with fear as all three cars screeched to a stop at the curb in front of her. Jill jumped out of the black car, spoke briefly to the four officers, then led them into the warehouse.
“Jill! What are you doing here?” Nancy asked.
“I could ask you the same thing, but I don’t have time, Nancy,” Jill said. She quickly led the officers through the door and down the long hallway to the parade studio.
Nancy followed, a feeling of dread welling up inside of her. “Jill, I think you should know—”
Before Nancy could say anything more, Jill opened the door to the studio, and she and the officers rushed in. Nancy gasped as she stepped in after them.
The parade studio was bathed in light. Bess was standing in the center of the warehouse, her eyes wide with terror.
Half a dozen balloons were laid out on the floor around her—slashed to pieces!
Chapter
Nine
I KN-KNOW THIS l-looks bad,
” Bess stuttered. “When I got here, the b-balloons were already slashed. Honest!”
Nancy hurried over to Bess and put an arm around her friend. “We just arrived a few minutes ago,” Nancy explained to Jill and the police, one of whom was the detective who had questioned Jill about the fire. “Bess got a message to meet Greg Willow here.”
Detective Green crossed his arms over his chest and glanced around. “Well, I don’t see him, do you? All I know is that once again we’ve got a problem with the parade, and once again Bess Marvin is in the middle of it.” He took a notebook from his back pocket and flipped it open. “All right, why don’t you tell me the whole story?”
While Bess told Detective Green what had happened, Nancy went over to Jill, who was examining the slashed balloons. Jill’s face was a mask of anger. “Where’s the guard?” she snapped, looking around the cavernous room. “Why didn’t he stop this?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Nancy said. “He wasn’t outside when Bess and I arrived. Listen, about Bess—”
“I can’t even look at her anymore, Nancy,” Jill cut in, lowering her voice. “I know you think she’s innocent, but she’s been connected to almost every attack on the parade. I’m sorry, but I just don’t trust her.”
The two of them turned as one of the officers called out urgently from a float on the other side of the studio, “Detective! Over here!”
Nancy and the others hurried over to the young officer. He was bending over a uniformed guard who was bound and gagged.
“Oh, no!” Bess exclaimed, her hands flying to her face. “Is he okay?”
The officer quickly untied the guard and removed his gag. The guard looked surprised to see so many people in the parade studio. “I’m okay, except for this nasty bump,” he reported, gingerly rubbing the back of his head.