En Garde (Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective Book 17) by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

right?”
    “Indeed,” Ned’s dad agreed.
    “In that case,” I said, “there’s a reporter down there who needs a little talking to.” As we drove out to the station, I told him about the unfair coverage of the fencing tournament incident. As I expected, once I appealed to Mr. Nickerson’s journalistic ethics, he was eager to help.
    The station receptionist recognized Mr. Nickerson and waved us in past the desk. We found the reporter, Kelly Chaffetz, pouring herself a cup of coffee in the newsroom. Standing next to her was a young malereporter wearing a backward baseball cap.
    As soon as Mr. Nickerson mentioned the fencing story, Kelly Chaffetz looked guilty. “I know what you’re going to say,” she said, holding up one hand. “I feel terrible about that story. But we needed something dramatic for that night’s newscast, and we had such great footage of that brawl between the two coaches! Time ran out before I could find the second coach, the Hungarian guy, to get his side of the story. My bosses rushed the story onto the air too soon.”
    The other reporter broke in. “In my opinion, the station should have sent someone from the sports desk. Fencing is a sport, you know.”
    Kelly Chaffetz flashed him a look of annoyance. “Come on, Derrick. There are fencing tournaments in this area at least once a month, and the sports department was never interested in them before. I figured it was fair territory—a local color feature. All sorts of eccentric people show up for these tournaments. That’s what first intrigued me when Mr. Mourbiers called.”
    Mr. Nickerson and I traded glances. It was just as I had suspected! “Paul Mourbiers called the station and gave you the story idea?” I asked.
    Kelly Chaffetz nodded.
    Mr. Nickerson gave her his best skeptical editor’s frown. “And then you gave him an exclusive on-camerainterview afterward to tell his side of the story. Was that ethical?”
    She bit her lip. “But I couldn’t find the other guy in time!”
    Mr. Nickerson put on a look of grave concern. “Is there any chance you’d give Bela Kovacs some airtime another evening, to set the story straight?”
    Ms. Chaffetz looked wary. “Possibly. But I’d have to check with my top boss.”
    “Dave Markus?” Ned’s dad said. “Why, he’s an old buddy of mine. We used to work in Washington, D.C., together. Could you show me the way to his office? I’d love to stop in and say hi.”
    Kelly Chaffetz led Mr. Nickerson down a nearby hallway. I was left with the sports reporter. He couldn’t wait for his colleague to leave so he could get a word in. “That was so clearly a sports story,” he said. “Kelly blew it. Unfortunately, I bet Markus will never agree to put Bela Kovacs on the air. That would make the station look like it’s admitting a mistake. He hates to have the station look bad.”
    I thought fast. “There’s another way you could get the truth out,” I said. “Do a background story on the history of fencing. That way, you could give Bela Kovacs a chance to appear on camera, looking like an expert instead of a madman. That might help fix his reputation.”
    The reporter looked interested. “That’s a great story idea! I could dig into the archives and see what we’ve got. We have the best sports videotape archive in the state. We must have some footage of Olympic fencing.”
    That triggered another idea. “Really? You know, Paul Mourbiers first met Bela Kovacs at the 1976 Olympics—he said so in Kelly’s interview. If you could show these two guys back in their Olympic heyday, it would make a perfect local angle.” And I’ll find out how that feud of theirs got started in the first place, I thought.
    The reporter grinned. “You have a real nose for news,” he said. “Ever thought about going into journalism? By the way, what’s your name?”
    An hour later my eyes hurt from staring at grainy videotapes. Derrick and I were sitting in a tiny, windowless room, going through the