No Laughing Matter

  “I’ve, uh, got to run an errand,” Lisa said quickly. “Good to see you guys.”

  After Lisa had left, Nancy tried to explain to a distracted Peter why she and Ned had come. Nancy mentioned the possibility that Matt had been framed, and Peter became noticeably uneasy.

  “Look, until I found that check I never would have thought Matt was a crook,” Peter said. “But I knew there had to be a reason he was keeping me from handling his big accounts. When I found the check from Over the Rainbow I knew what that reason was.”

  Or perhaps Peter simply wasn’t ready for the responsibility, as Matt had claimed. Judging from the mess on his desk, he was definitely having a hard time handling the business on his own.

  Nancy and Ned tried to get more detailed information about where and how Peter had found the check, or if he knew anything about a money-laundering operation, but he brushed off their questions. “Look, I have a lot of work to do. So if you wouldn’t mind?” The accountant nodded toward the door.

  Nancy exchanged a frustrated look with Ned. They obviously weren’t going to get anything more out of Peter. Thanking him, they left the office.

  “I don’t know, Nan,” Ned said as soon as they were outside. “Is he just totally disorganized, or is he hiding something?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question,” Nancy told him. “And how does Lisa fit in?” She shook her head slowly. “Maybe I’ll find some answers at Over the Rainbow. I’m due there in about fifteen minutes, so I’d better go.” She glanced down at her black pants and white shirt, which were required attire for the comedy club’s waitresses. “I’m glad I thought to put these on before I left home.”

  Checking his watch, Ned said, “Maybe I’ll go to the library and check newspaper articles about the trial. I’ll talk to you tonight.”

  Nancy kissed her boyfriend goodbye, then drove to Over the Rainbow. When she walked into the comedy club, the first thing she heard was Bess’s laughter. Nancy saw that Bess and Rusty were rehearsing. She couldn’t hear the words, but Bess was obviously having the time of her life.

  “Hey, Nancy. Catch.”

  Nancy turned in time to see a white apron flying toward her. She caught it just before it hit her face.

  “Lesson Number One,” Tony Fry said from behind the drinks counter. “Always be prepared for flying objects at a comedy club. Especially when the comics are bad.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” Nancy said, laughing. “Where’s Bianca?”

  “In the office.” Tony flicked a thumb toward the staircase, then turned his attention to a man wheeling a dolly loaded with cardboard cartons into the club. As Nancy started up the stairs, she heard the man call out, “Delivery.”

  Upstairs, a rectangle of light spilled out into the darkened hallway from an office. Nancy found Bianca behind one of two identical wooden desks that took up most of the space in the room. A large, leather-bound accounting book was open in front of her, one cover resting on the phone. As Nancy walked in, the manager rubbed her eyes and smiled.

  “Hi, Nancy,” Bianca said. “Glad to see you. I’ve got to get these books ready for the accountant, but I’ll take you down to Jenny Reilly, the other waitress. She’ll show you the ropes.”

  Nancy tied on the apron Tony had thrown her as she followed Bianca back down the stairs. After showing Nancy where to leave her jacket and purse, she led her to the waitress station, near the kitchen door. A girl with short blond hair was piling salt and pepper shakers onto a tray.

  After introducing Nancy, Bianca said, “I’m turning the new recruit over to you, Jenny.” Then she turned and went back up the stairs.

  Jenny gave Nancy an easy smile. “Boy, am I glad to see you. It’s been crazy here! Why don’t you grab some silverware and napkins, and we’ll talk as we work. Did Bianca explain how the club works?”

  “All I know is that the comedy shows are at seven and nine, and the restaurant opens at five-thirty,” Nancy said. She smiled at Jenny. “I guess it’s up to you to tell me the rest.”

  “Okay, let’s take it from the top.” Moving over to the tables, Jenny placed salt and pepper shakers while Nancy set out the napkins and silverware.

  Nancy listened carefully as Jenny explained how to place orders, where to pick up the food from the kitchen and beverages from the drinks counter, and finally where to put dirty dishes. She and Jenny would each be responsible for half of the restaurant’s dozen tables. The job was going to be a lot of work, Nancy realized, and it wouldn’t leave much time to keep an eye on Tony and Bianca.

  By the time Nancy and Jenny finished setting up, some of the comedians had begun to arrive. One of them shyly said hello to Jenny and slipped backstage. “That’s Simon,” Jenny told Nancy, rolling her eyes. “He’s incredibly shy in real life, but on stage he’s an amazing performer.”

  She took a pile of napkins and gestured for Nancy to sit at one of the tables at the back, near the bar. “This is the quiet before the storm,” Jenny said. “If we fold these now, it’ll mean one less thing to do to set up for the second show.”

  “How do you like working for Bianca?” Nancy asked as she reached for a napkin.

  “She’s okay, but she’s been uptight for the past few months.” Jenny lowered her voice before adding, “I’m sure you heard about the scandal with the accountant.”

  “I think I saw something about it in the papers,” Nancy said casually. “Did you know him?”

  Jenny shook her head. “No, but his junior partner used to come in pretty often to pick up the books. I think his name was Peter. He’d mostly stay at the beverage counter, talking with Tony.”

  Hmm, Nancy thought. Could it be that Peter had been working with Tony and Bianca to set up Matt?

  Nancy was about to ask Jenny about Tony, when she saw Bianca walking toward them. “Is everything going okay?” she asked.

  “Nancy’s a natural,” Jenny said with a grin. “We’re running low on guest checks, though.”

  Bianca glanced toward the club’s entrance, where a man in a brown uniform was waiting with a clipboard. “I have to supervise this delivery around back,” she said, frowning. “The box of guest checks should be upstairs on my desk.”

  “I’ll get it,” Nancy offered quickly. With Bianca out back, she’d have a chance to snoop a little.

  Bianca was already halfway out the door. “Thanks, Nancy,” she called over her shoulder.

  Getting up from the table, Nancy hurried toward the stairs. “Oh—excuse me,” she said. She had almost run into a short man with graying dark hair coming down the stairs. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind. He just nodded and continued down the stairs.

  Nancy went up the stairs and into Bianca’s office. “Better find those guest checks first,” she murmured to herself. She didn’t see a box on Bianca’s desk, but there was a small cardboard carton down by the legs of the other desk. Bending to pick it up, Nancy saw that it was taped shut. She slit open the tape with her thumbnail and opened the box.

  No guest checks in here, she thought. She began idly flipping through the papers, which were receipts for various items—beverages, meat, cheese. . . .

  “What’s this?” she murmured out loud, staring at a receipt for sixteen cases of champagne. Over the Rainbow didn’t serve alcohol, so why was there a receipt for champagne?

  Nancy felt a rush of excitement as she continued flipping through the receipts. “Gaming chips—five hundred decks of cards!”

  These receipts couldn’t be from Over the Rainbow. They had to be from some other business, Nancy thought. Based on what she’d seen so far, it was from a gambling operation!

  Chapter

  Six

  NANCY FELT A RUSH as she stared at the receipts. This could be a lead—a big one!

  Her mind flashed back to Dennis Lassiter’s talk at the prison. He had made his money gambling and then laundered the profits by writing phony receipts to pretend he’d earned the money in his grocery business. Maybe Matt had been right, maybe the same thing
was happening here. Maybe someone was running a secret gambling operation and using Over the Rainbow as a front! That was the only explanation Nancy could think of for that box of receipts.

  Nancy reasoned through her theory. Someone would take these receipts, total the amounts, then create fake receipts so it looked as if the money had been spent on supplies for Over the Rainbow. The comedy club’s profits would also have to be inflated, to include the amounts made from the gambling operation.

  She didn’t see any record of gambling profits in the box, though. A few receipts weren’t proof of an illegal gambling operation, but they did give her something to go on.

  Nancy took a second look at the receipt for the poker chips and cards. It was from a company called Gleason’s. Fantorelli, Inc., was the name of the company on the champagne receipt. Neither company had an address listed.

  If Over the Rainbow was being used to launder money, someone had to be keeping records. If she could only find them!

  “Nancy? Find those checks yet?”

  Nancy jumped at the sound of Jenny’s voice. Her urgent gaze swept the room, landing on a box on the chair by the door. The flaps were partially open, and she could see the guest checks inside. “Yes. I’ll be right down,” Nancy called back.

  Quickly she grabbed the tape dispenser from Bianca’s desk and sealed up the box of receipts again and placed it back on the floor next to the desk. Then, taking the box of guest checks, she hurried back downstairs.

  Tony glanced at her as she placed the guest checks at the waitress station. He looked as if he were going to ask her something but stopped himself as a burly man stepped into the club.

  “Tony!” the man said, slapping the bartender on the back. “Terrible weather we’re having,” he said in a fake British accent. “Pip, pip and all that. Cheers.” The man practically bent over double in laughter.

  Tony laughed politely, but Nancy thought he seemed a little nervous. “Um, hello, Johnny.”

  Nancy studied the man more closely. This had to be Johnny Spector, the club’s owner. He was a big man with thinning gray hair, blue eyes, and a jolly red face.

  “And who’s this?” the man asked, turning to Nancy. “Every time I turn around, there’s a new employee working for me and I’m the last one to know. I’m Johnny Spector. I own this place.”

  “I’m Nancy Drew,” she told him. She couldn’t help smiling at his flamboyant style. He acted like a character from a movie.

  “Now, Nancy, don’t work too hard,” Johnny went on. “I like my employees to have a good time. This is a comedy club, after all. If you look unhappy, no one will laugh at any of the jokes because they’ll think my waitresses hate working here. So have fun.”

  Nancy laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m already having fun.”

  As Johnny continued to joke with Tony, Nancy looked around for Jenny. She didn’t see her anywhere among the tables, but she did notice that several customers had been seated in her section. Nancy was about to bring them menus when the double doors to the kitchen were opened and Jenny emerged with a plate of french fries.

  “I sat a party at tables three and four in your section,” Jenny said. “Go get ’em, tiger.”

  During the next half hour the rest of Nancy’s tables filled up and she was busy taking orders and delivering soft drinks. She was just bringing the first table their food when Rusty went on stage and introduced the first comedian.

  “You’ve probably seen Bernie around town already. We’re lucky to have him with us at the Rainbow tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, Bernie Weinstock!”

  Nancy watched as Bernie solemnly took his place behind the microphone. He had a very whining voice and immediately started complaining about just about everything. Not everyone is a born comedian, Nancy thought to herself. But when he delivered his punchline, she couldn’t help laughing out loud. His deadpan act actually turned out to be quite funny.

  Glancing around the club, Nancy didn’t see Bess anywhere. She was dying to tell her about the receipts. Bess was probably backstage waiting to go on. Besides, Nancy was too busy to take a break.

  For the next hour or two, Nancy ran back and forth, filling food and drink orders. She didn’t have a chance to observe Tony and Bianca, but from what she could tell Bianca remained up in the office most of the evening. Tony appeared to be as busy as Nancy was and didn’t do anything suspicious that she could see.

  Nancy was delivering sodas to one of the tables when she noticed Bianca standing next to Johnny’s table. She was nodding as he talked to her, but Nancy didn’t miss the frown on her face, nor the way her gaze flitted uneasily around the club. She seemed nervous—and so had Tony when Johnny first arrived earlier. Then again, if they were involved in laundering money for a gambling operation, it would make sense that they would be nervous around Johnny.

  After delivering the sodas, Nancy rushed to the kitchen to pick up two dessert orders. When she returned to the floor, the entire crowd was roaring with laughter. She saw Bess and Rusty doing their sketch.

  Nancy hardly recognized Bess, who was wearing a brown wig with big red bows tied around its thick braids. Bess kept interrupting Rusty, who played the lumberjack role. Nancy didn’t have time to really listen to the skit, but from the loud laughter that kept ringing out, she could tell that the crowd loved Bess.

  “Can a hungry man still get a burger?” a familiar voice spoke up behind Nancy as she finished delivering the desserts.

  It was Keith O’Brien. Nancy felt a wave of nervousness and hoped he’d remember not to say anything to blow her cover.

  Her worries disappeared a moment later. “You look new. How long have you worked here?” Keith asked innocently. Nancy saw the playful glimmer in his green eyes, but he gave no other sign that they had ever met.

  “This is my first day,” Nancy answered. After he gave his order, she quietly filled him in on the receipts she had found in the upstairs office. “I’m going to try to look around later for any bookkeeping that indicates there really is a money-laundering operation,” she concluded. In a louder voice she added, “A burger and onion rings. Will that be all?”

  He nodded and Nancy went to the kitchen to place the order. A loud round of applause told her that the first show was ending. Groups of people began calling for their checks, keeping Nancy very busy.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Peter Sands had entered the club. The accountant was standing by the drinks counter, talking with Tony.

  Nancy immediately turned her back to the bar. She hadn’t counted on Peter showing up. If he saw her he really could blow her cover! Luckily he was so engrossed in his conversation with Tony that he didn’t seem to notice anyone else.

  He must have come for the accounting book, Nancy thought, recalling the ledger she’d seen Bianca working on earlier. Nancy couldn’t help wondering if he had a second purpose in coming. What if he were picking up the box of receipts from upstairs?

  On the spur of the moment Nancy made a decision. She had to see the accounting book before Bianca handed it over to Peter!

  Nancy was bringing change to a customer when Bess bounded toward her from backstage. “Hey, what did you think of my comedy debut?”

  “You were amazing!” Nancy said, shifting her position so that her back was still to Peter and Tony. She quickly told Bess about finding the box of suspicious receipts, then explained why she didn’t want the accountant to see her. “Bianca’s talking to Johnny, so now’s my chance to go upstairs to the office to get a look at the book.”

  Bess shot an appraising glance at Tony and Peter. “And you want me to keep those guys busy?”

  Nancy nodded. “You guessed it. I shouldn’t be more than a few minutes.”

  “No problem,” Bess said, grinning. Nancy watched as her friend bounced over to the two guys and asked them what they thought of her act.

  Nancy smiled as Tony and Peter both launched into an animated conversation with her. Way to go, Bess! After glancing over her shoulder to make su
re Bianca was still talking to Johnny, Nancy walked up the stairs and into the office.

  Closing the door behind her, she hurried over to Bianca’s desk. The desktop was clear, so she began opening drawers, searching for the leather-bound accounting book she’d seen Bianca working on earlier. She made her way down to the bottom drawer.

  “Yes!” she crowed in an excited whisper. The book was there, lying on top of some loose files. Taking it out, she placed it on the desktop and opened it.

  Suddenly Nancy paused, cocking her head to one side. Was that a noise out in the hall? She tip-toed up to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening. When she didn’t hear anything, she started back for the desk.

  She had only gone a step or two when she heard the door swing open. Before she could turn around, she felt something hard crash down on the back of her head.

  Blinding pain flashed down her spine, and Nancy’s knees buckled beneath her. Then everything went black.

  Chapter

  Seven

  OOOH . . .” Nancy’s head was pounding. With a huge effort, she finally managed to open her eyes. A lot of good it did—she was staring into complete darkness.

  Where was she? She felt around on the floor and pushed herself up onto her knees, then onto her feet. Groping around with her hands, she felt the solid wood of a door and something woolen brushing against her face. Stumbling over a pair of boots, Nancy realized she was in a closet.

  She felt for the doorknob and was relieved when the door easily swung open. The office was empty now, Nancy saw. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, then looked around.

  “Oh, no!” she groaned, as her gaze landed on Bianca’s desk. The accounting book was gone. So was the small box containing the gambling receipts.

  Nancy winced as she felt the back of her head—a bump had already formed. She fought against the pain, trying to clear her head. Who could have knocked her out?