Beneath the canvas flat no one moved. By craning her neck Nancy could just see one of Ned’s hands sticking out.
“Ned!” Nancy screamed frantically. “Ned, are you all right?” But there was no response.
Chapter
Seventeen
NED!” NANCY SCREAMED again. She listened for a response, and finally there was a faint murmuring coming from underneath the flat. But Nancy couldn’t make out the words.
Nancy felt torn. Should she let Katya Alexandrovna go and run to help Ned? Or should she keep her grip on the dancer?
“All right, all right! What’s going on here?” A police sergeant marched onto the stage. How did he get here? Nancy wondered. Trailing behind him were three officers, James Ellsworth, and—Brad.
The sergeant motioned to the flat. “Okay, pick that up,” he ordered two of the policemen. Then he turned toward Nancy who was still holding Katya pinned to the floor. “Get those two on their feet,” he told the third officer. “And make sure neither one gets away.” Obviously, he wasn’t sure which of them was the crook.
But Nancy didn’t care. She was too worried about Ned. The police officers lifted the flat up.
Ned was lying on Colby, holding his arm behind his back in a wrestler’s hold. Ned smiled over his shoulder. “Glad you dropped in,” he told the police. “I was too busy holding on to this crook to push that flat away.” He let go of Colby and then stood up.
Nancy was ready to run over and throw her arms around Ned, but she stopped herself in time. For a moment she had forgotten that they weren’t a couple anymore.
Instead, Belinda walked over to Ned. Oh, no, Nancy thought, she’s going to kiss him again. Do I really have to watch this?
But Belinda wasn’t smiling. In fact, she looked so furious, she was practically green. “Ned Nickerson!” the dancer screamed. “I can’t believe you’ve done this!”
Ned’s eyebrows rose. “Wh-what?” he asked, completely confused.
“You’ve ruined the ballet! Of all the selfish, horrible things to do! I never want to see you again. Ever!”
Nancy looked away, embarrassed for Ned. How could Belinda humiliate him in front of all those people. But, Nancy decided, it really made Belinda look bad. After all, she had just insulted the guy who’d captured the diamond thief!
As Belinda stalked off, the police sergeant approached Nancy. “Well, young woman, maybe you can explain what’s going on here. This Brad fellow says you’re the detective around here.”
“Brad?” Nancy asked, turning to him. “How did you get involved in this?”
Brad stared at Nancy seriously. “When things started getting wild here, I went and called the police from the pay phone in the lobby.” Then he muttered an afterthought. “That’s what you should have done in the first place.”
Nancy stared at Brad sadly. He still couldn’t think of her as a detective, and she couldn’t have fun with a guy who’d rather stay home and watch videos than jump into an adventure. Nancy frowned. Nice as Brad was, there wasn’t anything between them. And she could tell that he felt the same way.
She knew for certain that she and Brad weren’t going to be seeing each other in the future. She hoped they’d both find other people and maybe even stay friends, but she wouldn’t really miss him as a boyfriend.
“Okay, let’s have that explanation about what’s going on here,” the sergeant said, cutting in on her thoughts.
“It’s simple, Sergeant. I’ve caught the thieves who stole the Raja diamond last week.” She pointed first to Katya, then to Colby. “And what’s more I’ve found the diamond itself.”
“You’re kidding,” Brad gasped.
Murmurs of “amazing,” and “I don’t believe it,” ran through the crowd.
“It’s true. The pin was hidden in a pair of Katya’s pointe shoes all along. The whole case became easy once I realized they were in the lost and found.”
“Well, let’s have it,” the sergeant said.
But Ned was already walking over with the slippers tucked under his arm. He had held on to them all during the fight. He couldn’t stop smiling. “How about letting Nancy reveal it,” he said. He handed the shoes to her.
Nancy turned her concentration to the pink satin shoes. She unwrapped the ribbons, then stuck her hand into the toe of the first shoe. There was a wad of lamb’s wool inside. But she could feel something hard beneath it. Slowly and with mounting excitement, she pulled out the pin with the Raja diamond. It sparkled brilliantly under the stage lights. It really was a magnificent gem!
Nancy turned to Katya. “Well, here’s the proof. Your shoe with the diamond inside. I really hoped it wasn’t you, Katya, but when it became clear that it was, I had no choice but to track you down.”
Katya sighed. “It was a brilliant plan. And we would have gotten away with it, too, if you hadn’t come snooping around. You almost got hurt very badly a few times during your investigation, and for that I really am sorry. We didn’t want to hurt you but the closer you got to discovering us, the more necessary that became.”
“Tell me if this is right. You planned the robbery for money and to get back at James for forcing you out. You figured the robbery would make a lot of problems for him and, in the end, discredit him as the managing director. You convinced Colby to help you because he was going to be out, too. And because he’s so devoted to you.”
“Yes,” Katya admitted. “And James deserved it. He’s ruining this ballet company. They shouldn’t get rid of us, they should get rid of him!” She threw James a look of pure hatred.
“Colby attacked him the first day I was investigating just to throw suspicion on James,” Nancy explained to the group.
“It’s good that you’re willing to confess,” the sergeant said to Katya. “That ought to cut a few years off your prison term.”
Nancy turned to Andre, who was standing with his arm around Ana. “So, you two were searching in the storage area for the diamond just to save Ana’s reputation and recover the jewel for the Rajas?”
Ana nodded.
James peered at her angrily. “You tore up the whole costume room just for that? Do you know how much damage you caused? It’s going to take thousands of dollars to repair all those clothes!”
Nancy moved over and laid a hand on James’s shoulder. “I’ve got one question for you. What job did Belinda do for you? At first, I thought it was the diamond robbery.”
James glared. “Certainly not. It was a little fund-raiser I planned. She danced. That’s all. Audiences love to watch her because she’s so young and beautiful, so they buy more tickets. That’s what’s most important to me—the tickets.”
“That’s exactly your problem,” Colby spat out. “You put no value on a great artist like Katya because she’s a bit older.”
James threw Colby a snide look, but he didn’t answer him. “So now, with Katya out of the way, Belinda’s career will really be able to take off. She’ll be cast in all the major roles.”
Nancy frowned. It really was sad that a fabulous dancer like Katya and a talented director like Colby would no longer be with the company. Nancy realized then that it didn’t bother her anymore that Belinda was becoming a star now that things between her and Ned weren’t going well.
Feeling better than she had in a few weeks, Nancy turned to Ned. “Thanks for helping me on this one, Ned. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Ned grinned. “To tell you the truth, Nancy, it was fun—except for the part with the elevator shaft. Anyway, I think we should go out and celebrate a mystery well solved!”
Nancy laughed. “Sure. How about the River Heights Café tomorrow night.”
“Our old favorite club for dancing,” Ned mused nostalgically. “I couldn’t have thought of a better idea myself.” He put his arm around her shoulder. Then, despite the crowd of people watching, he bent down and kissed her gently on the cheek.
Nancy couldn’t help but smile. “What was that for?” she asked, surprised.
Nancy sighed happily. She was sure that kiss wasn’t just for old times, but also for the beginning of good times ahead.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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