The Mystery At Lilac Inn Part 4

Everyone crowded behind Nancy, as she beamed the light into a wood-walled closet. It had a musty odor.

"I don't remember seeing this in the floor plans of the inn," Emily said, puzzled, as Nancy stooped and shone the flash on something on the floor. It was a crushed, but still fresh lilac flower!

"It was those other blossoms which made me think there might be a concealed entrance into this room."

"Nancy, you're a genius," said Mrs. Willoughby. "I never dreamed this spot was here. The thief must have been hiding in the closet."

"But where did he go?" John asked.

Nancy was feeling the rear wall of the closet. Her fingers touched a small metal latch. She turned it. A second panel slid open soundlessly. Beyond was the coat closet off the lobby of the inn!

"This must be how the jewel thief got in and out of this dining room," Nancy announced. She walked on into the lobby, followed by the others.

"Look!" Helen exclaimed, and pointed to a lilac bud near the front door.

Nancy examined the bud which proved to be fresh and moist. "The thief probably wore a sprig of lilacs. That makes me think the person was a woman."

Mr. Daly agreed with Nancy. He admitted that he had not known of the hidden closet, and was perplexed as to who could have learned of it.

"These panel openings must have fallen into disuse before I purchased the inn," he remarked.

"One thing's certain," said Nancy. "The thief not only has an intimate knowledge of the original floor plan of Lilac Inn but also knew two other things: that Emily was to receive her diamonds tonight, and where Mrs. Willoughby was to present them."

"Too bad I didn't get back sooner tonight," said John, frowning. "I might have met the thief. Incidentally, she must have had an accomplice to work the lighting system."

"But how could they communicate at just the right moment if one of them was in the cellar?" Helen asked.

"I can answer that," said Mr. Daly. "The panel board for the light control is directly under that private dining room. The floor is worn so thin that conversation upstairs can be heard down there."

Nancy nodded. "After the person in the cellar was sure the thief was hidden again, he or she turned on the lights to make the whole thing look like a temporary outside power failure."

"What shall we do now?" Maud asked nervously.

"Call the police immediately," Nancy advised.

"No!" Emily cried out.

Everyone looked at her in surprise. Emily flushed, but remained adamant.

"If people hear we've had a robbery," she argued, "it may discourage them from coming to Lilac Inn. Calling in the police will mean newspaper publicity. d.i.c.k and I have worked too hard to risk it."

"It will be a shame if you don't recover the diamonds," Helen spoke up. "But if you report the theft, at least you can collect the insurance, Emily, and use that money for the inn as you planned."

At this remark Mrs. Willoughby's face again turned ash-white and the others thought she was about to faint again. "Insurance. Insurance," she said hoa.r.s.ely. "There isn't any! I thought the jewels were safe in the bank vault and let the insurance policy lapse!"

Everyone listening was stunned and tears came to Emily's eyes. She turned to Nancy and asked in a trembling voice, "What shall I do?"

It was Helen who spoke up. "Have Nancy take over the case of your missing diamonds, Emily. I guarantee she'll unearth them!"

All the others backed Helen's suggestion eagerly except Maud. The social director merely raised her eyebrows.

The amateur sleuth smiled. "I'll be glad to do what I can, Emily, but this is a big a.s.signment. If I don't succeed very soon, will you promise to notify the police?"

"It's a bargain, Nancy."

John whistled. "Miss Nancy Drew, detective, you're not going to have much time for skin diving."

Nancy laughed. "I'll find time."

John cautioned the Willoughbys to make sure all first-floor doors and windows were kept locked at night. He himself went outside to make another tour of the grounds. Emily rea.s.sured her unhappy aunt and persuaded her to go to bed. Maud said she would follow.

The three girls decided to check the window and door locks in the various rooms. Emily took the kitchen and offices, while Nancy and Helen headed for the other rooms. Minutes later they met in the lobby to report everything locked.

Helen gave a huge sigh. "Nancy, aren't you exhausted after all this excitement?"

Nancy admitted that she was a bit tired. "Two burglaries in one day and a car mishap are quite enough." She smiled wearily. "Helen, what's your theory about the theft of Emily's diamonds?"

The dark-haired girl hesitated. "I'm sure it's an outside job but-"

"Out with it, Miss Corning," Nancy urged. "Whom do you suspect?"

"John McBride!" her friend blurted. "I like him very much, but he was away most of today. Yet Emily said he was here to help fix up the inn during d.i.c.k's absence."

"Yes, she did," Nancy admitted. "But I can't believe John has anything to do with either the theft or the mysterious happenings at Lilac Inn."

The young sleuth's eyes had been roving back and forth across the floor, since it was instinctive with her to be hunting for clues whenever a mystery confronted her. Something glinted in a corner under a chair. She went to pick it up as Emily came into the lobby.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

"Believe it or not, it's my stolen charge plate!" Nancy answered. "I may be jumping to conclusions, but I'm sure now that my impersonator is the jewel thief. She dropped the charge plate from her pocket or purse, probably when she put the jewel case in it."

"This is positively eerie," Helen remarked. "Maybe that fake Nancy dropped something else."

The girls started a search and presently Helen found a tiny envelope, farther under the chair. Nancy's name and address were typed on it!

"The charge plate must have been in this and slid out," she said. "My impersonator must have decided to type the envelope to be sure that she did not make a mistake when the clerks at Burk's Department Store asked for her address for the sales slips. I notice the letter a is faint."

Suddenly Nancy chuckled. "Em, you didn't want the police notified about the jewel theft, but here's a chance to get police help without telling them."

"How?"

"Chief McGinnis knows that my charge plate was stolen by an impersonator," Nancy answered. "With this typed clue, maybe he can find her. And I suspect that when he does, your thief will be caught!"

Nancy called Chief McGinnis at his home. She told him about the charge plate and envelope, and her suspicion that her impersonator, though not known to the inn's owners, must have been there.

"Please send the plate and envelope to me for fingerprint a.n.a.lysis," Chief McGinnis requested.

Nancy promised she would and hung up, wishing she could have reported the jewel theft to him. It was after eleven o'clock when Helen and Nancy said good night to Emily and walked to their cottage. Both girls fell asleep almost as soon as their heads touched the pillows. But around three in the morning, Nancy was partially awakened by a noise.

"What was that?" she thought, looking around the cottage with sleepy eyes. She listened. But all was silent now. Finally Nancy went back to sleep.

She awoke at seven. Helen was still asleep. Nancy put on a casual sweater and skirt and loafers. She tiptoed from the cabin and headed for the inn. No one else seemed to be outside.

For the next half hour Nancy looked near the front door for footprints, lilac buds, or anything else to give her a clue to the jewel thief. She found nothing.

She strolled around back and met Hank, the gardener, who greeted her pleasantly and said he had decided not to give up his job. "My injured leg's better. But I have other worries now," he said. "Some outdoor equipment was taken last night from the tool shed."

"Really?" said Nancy. "What?"

Hank led her to the small wooden structure used by the outdoor workers. "We're missing several shovels, rakes, some wire, and small parts," said Hank. "But worst of all, an expensive jig saw that Mr. Farnham just bought is gone."

"More thefts," thought Nancy. Aloud she asked, "Is the shed locked at night?"

Hank said it was, and that he was responsible for securing the shed after work. "Probably none of the other men thought to ask Miss Willoughby for the spare key to lock up when I wasn't here."

Nancy examined the soft dirt outside the shed. There were a number of footprints, all blurred and leading in different directions. As Jim, Gil, and Luke-the three other gardeners-reported for work, Nancy questioned each of them in turn. They confessed that they had forgotten to lock the shed, and said they had no idea who might have taken the tools. Before Nancy left the men, she suggested that Hank search the grounds once more before reporting the theft.

As Nancy started up the front porch steps of the inn a few minutes later, she was hailed by John McBride. "Look what I found!" he cried triumphantly.

He held out Emily's white velvet jewel case!

CHAPTER VII.

A Diver in Peril "JOHN, you found the diamonds!" Nancy exclaimed.

The young man opened the case and displayed its contents. The twenty diamonds, of various sizes, glinted in the morning sunlight.

"Astounding, isn't it?" John grinned, adding that he had found the case under one of the lobby windows. "I must have missed it last night."

"Will you show me the spot, please? I must have missed it too."

John led Nancy to a clump of China-blue lilac bushes, and pointed out the place where he had found the case.

"The thief must have dropped this, but I can't figure out why she didn't come back for it," John remarked.

"She may not have known until later that she had dropped it. By that time she probably was afraid of being caught," Nancy replied.

Just then Emily came outside. She was beside herself with joy upon seeing the jewels.

"John, you're a darling!" she cried. "Let's go to the patio and tell the others."

"Isn't this wonderful?" Mrs. Willoughby exclaimed. "And none of the diamonds is missing!" she added, counting.

"Are you sure?" Maud gave John and Nancy suspicious looks.

Nancy was about to make a sharp retort but refrained. The social director seemed determined to be unpleasant, and the young sleuth decided to ignore her insinuating remark. John just looked amused.

"Aunt Hazel," said Emily, "I think these jewels should be put in a safe place at once. Since I'm going to sell them, I think our jeweler friend in Benton, Mr. Fabian, is the person to keep them. And he can also make a new appraisal of the diamonds."

Emily's aunt nodded. "I'm so happy for you, dear."

Emily continued, "I might sell a few of the smaller diamonds today. We need cash immediately to take care of some outstanding bills."

Just then, Hank walked up to the group to tell Emily of the disappearance of the tools. The gardener a.s.serted that he had conducted a thorough search.

An interested expression came over John's face and he said, "I'll search." Nancy wondered if anything unusual lay back of his offer.

Everyone went inside to breakfast. When the meal was finished, Mrs. Willoughby said to Emily, "I'd ride in to town with you, but I have a headache."

Emily insisted that her aunt rest. "Nancy and Helen will go with me, I'm sure."

The girls said they would be happy to. At once Maud asked if she might join the group. "All right," Emily said without enthusiasm.

Before they left, Nancy telephoned Hannah Gruen, reporting the loss and recovery of the diamonds and the finding of the charge plate. She chuckled. "Actually I'm out of a sleuthing job, Hannah, so I'll see you soon."

"But you haven't found out who your impersonator is," the housekeeper said. "She may keep on making trouble for you."

"You're right. I must find her. Now tell me about yourself."

The Drews' housekeeper reported an uneventful night and that a police guard was still posted at the house. "Your father wired he would be detained until tomorrow evening."

"Well, I'll be seeing you. 'Bye now."

On the ride to Benton, Nancy and Emily decided it was best not to mention to the jeweler the disappearance of her diamonds the previous night. "Even though I have them back, exaggerated stories might still get around."

When the group entered Fabian's Jewelry Store, Emily asked to see the owner. The pleasant-faced man greeted her cordially and was introduced to the other girls. Then Emily opened her jewel case.

"My, what a lovely collection of stones!" Mr. Fabian exclaimed.

He picked up a small diamond and studied it closely. Frowning, he put on his jeweler's eyepiece, examined the gem, then dropped it into the case. Diamond after diamond was scrutinized in this manner. Emily watched anxiously.

When Mr. Fabian put down the last gem he looked hard at Emily. "Is this a practical joke?" he asked. "These stones are only gla.s.s!"

Emily's face blanched. Helen and Maud were speechless.

Nancy was dismayed. Had the thief planted fake stones for some sinister purpose? "What is it?" she asked herself.

The jeweler was saying, "These are excellent imitations, Emily. Where did they come from?"

"Why-er-they were my mother's. I always thought they were real."

"I'm sorry," The jeweler smiled sympathetically, as he handed the case to Emily. Almost in a daze, she thanked him and the others followed her from the shop.