Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew by The Twin Dilemma Read Free Book Online Page A

outside again.
    “Just think of it this way. If you had bought that outfit, Dave would have thought something had happened to the good old Bess he once knew! Besides, it would have looked better on a thinner girl.”
    “Good old Bess. That’s me,” Bess sighed. “I guess I’m just never going to be very sophisticated.”
    When they reached the apartment again, they were still talking about their excursion. George described the silver-black creation Bess had wanted to purchase, then they discussed the visit to the police station. Nancy was flabbergasted when she heard about the photograph they had seen.
    George mentioned something that had been on her mind. “If Pete Grover is the impostor, though, why would he have deliberately introduced himself to you?” she asked Nancy.
    “I have no idea.”
    “What about the papers your father sent? Did they come?” Bess inquired.
    “No. A few letters arrived for Aunt Eloise. That was all. But I figure Dad must’ve mailed everything by special delivery, which means it could turn up here almost any time today.”
    The girls prepared a light lunch, and when they were done, it was almost two o‘clock.
    “I really ought to go to Mr. Reese’s office,” Nancy decided.
    “If you want us to wait here, we will,” George offered.
    “But suppose the papers come and Nancy has to do something with them right away?” Bess objected. “No, I think she’d better stick around.”
    “I agree,” Nancy said, “but I’d hate to spend the entire day cooped up in Aunt Eloise’s apartment waiting for something that might never arrive. Maybe Dad’s secretary can tell me where he is. I don’t like to disturb him during a business meeting, but what else can I do?”
    She called the attorney’s office once more and, to her delight, discovered that her father had returned earlier than expected.
    “What’s up, dear?” Carson Drew asked pleasantly.
    “Did you send me a telegram today?”
    “No.”
    “And some important papers?”
    “Papers? Why, no!”
    As quickly as she could, Nancy gave an account of recent events, ending with the mysterious message.
    “It was a phony, Nancy,” her father said gravely. “Someone obviously didn’t want you to leave the apartment for a reason!”

9
    Fashion Accusation
    But who? And why would anyone play such a mean trick on me? Nancy wondered.
    When Mr. Drew heard about the events at the fashion show, he sounded even grimmer. “It seems to me that someone thinks you’re getting too close for comfort.”
    “Thanks for the compliment, Dad, but I don’t feel very close to anything.”
    “Maybe you just can’t see the forest for the trees,” the lawyer said. “And before you get lost in the wilderness, I want you to promise to call me every day!”
    “I will, Dad. And I won’t get lost. You’ll see.”
    His deep, reassuring voice was enough to bolster Nancy’s confidence. “We have a lot to do,” she told her friends. “I’ve been thinking about my conversation with Jacqueline this morning.”
    “And?” George prompted.
    “And I wonder if she has passed information along to the fashion thief who figured he’d keep me from going to Reese Associates today.”
    “You think Jacqueline is an accomplice in some way?” Bess asked in disbelief.
    “No, but she could be an innocent conduit.”
    Her listeners pondered the idea for a moment.
    “She and Chris are the only people who know you’re trying to help Mr. Reese,” George said.
    “Also, it was only moments after I talked to her that the telegram came,” Nancy added.
    “Maybe we ought to talk to her again,” George suggested.
    “She’s probably working now,” Bess said. “A model who’s as popular as Jacqueline would be in great demand.”
    “I’d like to visit Mr. Reese first, anyway,” Nancy stated. “I don’t want to give away my schedule again—”
    “Especially to a thief!” Bess interrupted.
    When the girls arrived at the designer’s office, Nancy was