Stop the Clock (Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective Book 12) by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

to fashion. When I went into the living room, Bess had a comment. “Nancy,” she said, “we really don’t mind waiting until you get ready—”
    I rolled my eyes. “I am ready, Bess!” I said.
    Bess actually blushed. She’d been serious. “Oops!”
    George and Ellis were dressed in track suits. “I see you two have been out running,” I said.
    “Well, we didn’t actually make it to the track,” George said. I detected some anger in her voice, so I knew that something had happened to irritate her.
    “It’s my fault,” Ellis said with a wide smile. “I just got to talking to Bess about all kinds of different things, and the time just got away from us.”
    I was getting the picture. George had made a date with Ellis to run in the park. Ellis, who couldn’t stand it if a girl didn’t fall all over him, decided that it was more important to bring Bess into his camp than to honor his promise to run with George. What a jerk.
    Just then I heard the telephone ring. Since I knew Ned was taking a test, and the only other peoplewho call me were both standing in front of me, I doubted it was for me. I was wrong.
    Hannah appeared at the door to the living room. “Nancy, it’s Mrs. Corning,” she said. “She sounds really upset about something.”
    I went into the kitchen and picked up the receiver. “Good morning, Mrs. Corning,” I said, as cheerfully as I could.
    “There’s nothing good about it, Nancy,” Mrs. Corning said. “Everyone’s stories are gone—and now we have no theme for the celebration. And you’re aware of our tight deadline. I’m afraid your carelessness is going to ruin the library celebration!”

6
     
    This Is Not a Coincidence!
    I was so stung by Mrs. Corning’s accusation that I couldn’t speak at first—and before I could find any words, my ear was assaulted by a loud dial tone. Mrs. Corning had hung up.
    “What’s wrong, Nancy?” Hannah asked. “From the look on your face, I know that wasn’t good news.”
    “Hannah, this library celebration is turning into a nightmare,” I managed to say. “I’m beginning to think that I’m one of those people who brings everyone bad luck.”
    “Nancy Drew! What are you talking about?” Hannah exclaimed. “I have several scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, where people you’ve helped over the years are praising you to the skies. We can look at them again if you need to . . .”
    Hannah threatens to pull out the scrapbooks whenever I’m feeling frustrated. But that wasn’t really what I needed at that moment. “That’s okay. But, well, my luck may have just run out,” I said. I still couldn’t believe how angry Mrs. Corning had sounded. “I’ll tell you more about it later.”
    When I got back to the living room, I saw that my friends had heard me talking to Hannah. They looked pretty worried. “I have to go to the library,” I said. “It’s kind of an emergency. Do you three want to ride with me?”
    Ellis looked at his watch. “I would, Nancy, but I have the morning off, and I wanted to do some errands after George and I ran this morning.” He turned to George and shrugged. “Sorry we didn’t make it to the track,” he said. “What about later today?”
    “I can’t,” George said. She must have realized how frosty that sounded, so she added, “But I’ll call you tomorrow and see if we can set up something else.”
    “Okay,” Ellis said. He gave her one of his big smiles. Frankly, it seemed even phonier now than the first time I saw him do it. “You’re welcome to join us,” he said to Bess.
    “I’ll pass, Ellis,” Bess said, then turned immediately to me. “Let’s take care of this emergency.”
    Out of the corner of one eye, I saw Ellis frown—but he quickly covered it up.
    “See everyone later,” Ellis said.
    “Okay,” I said.
    I waited until Ellis had let himself out before I filled my friends in. “That was Mrs. Corning,” I said. “It seems that all the remembrances about the clock that