Make No Mistake by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

hurt a flea. They’re high-strung, but they’re sweethearts.” As if to prove it, Tony whistled softly, and the big dogs loped over to him, giving little yowls of happiness when Tony petted them. “Fred was probably terrified when you went in there. He’s afraid of strangers.”
    â€œI didn’t go in, I was pushed,” Nancy told Tony. “Hard.” She gazed intently at him.
    Tony’s mouth dropped open. “But nobody was even here. I was out getting dinner. When I came back and saw the door was open, at first I was afraid a burglar was in here. But I guess I just left it unlocked.” He smiled sheepishly. “Sometimes I get so caught up in my work I forget to lock up.”
    He led her back to his office, switching lights on as he went and checking out the entire area.
    â€œWhoever pushed you is gone now,” he said as they sat down, Nancy at his desk chair and Tony in a gray metal folding chair. “Did you get a look at the person?”
    â€œNo. Anyone could have gotten in the front door.”
    â€œMmmm.” Tony frowned. “Well, nothing seems to be missing, so I guess if the person was a burglar, you scared him off. Hey, you still haven’t answered my question,” he said. “What were you doing here?”
    Nancy watched him for a second before answering. She wasn’t sure, but it didn’t seem as if Tony had been the one to push her. He seemed genuinely surprised to see her. Besides, why would he push her into Fred and Max’s room if he knew the big dogs wouldn’t harm her?
    On the other hand, if he knew Nancy didn’t know the dogs were harmless, he could have locked her in the room just to scare her or to teach her a lesson.
    Nancy frowned. The only thing the incident did was reinforce her feeling that she was right to be looking into the Matt Glover case. Someone didn’t like her snooping around, and someone had tried to do something about it.
    â€œI wanted to see you,” she told Tony at last. It was true, even if she did get in a little snooping while she was at it. “I wanted to ask you some questions.”
    â€œLike what?”
    She decided to confide in Tony—up to a point. “I went to the offices of the Clarion in Chicago this afternoon,” she said. “I spoke to Matt Glover’s editor. She identified a photograph of him and confirmed everything he’d said.”
    Nancy took out the article Sheila McCoy had given her and handed it to Tony. “Here’s a sample of one of his earliest pieces for the Clarion. He was using the name Gary Page then.”
    Tony smoothed the crumpled photocopy and scanned it briefly. He was about to hand it back when something caught his eye. “Jake Loomis!” he exclaimed. “I always wondered what happened to him. He left town a few years ago.”
    Nancy felt a prickling sensation along the top of her scalp. “Jake Loomis used to live in River Heights?” she asked.
    â€œSure. He was the gardener out at Glover’s Corners. He worked there for years. Wow, this brings it all back! Yeah, Loomis must have left when Matt was about fifteen or sixteen. He always had dreams about setting up his own business.”
    â€œHe seems to have succeeded, judging by this article.”
    â€œYeah.” Tony leaned forward and said in an urgent voice, “Look, this is all beside the point.What I want to know is, what are you doing about exposing this fake Matt Glover? I mean, surely you can see by now that I’m right about him.”
    No, Nancy couldn’t. She didn’t know whom to believe. She didn’t really trust Tony or Matt. Tony wanted Matt to be a fake, so that Giralda’s Environmental Action would get a piece of Mr. Glover’s fortune. Since he hadn’t mentioned the money he’d be receiving from the estate, maybe he wasn’t playing straight with her.
    She wanted to find out more about Tony’s