Enemy Match

by Carolyn Keene

  Nancy got up and paced the floor. “Oh, Dad, this is frustrating. We all know what he means. He’s going to do something to make Nina sleep. But what? Put sleeping pills in her food or drink?”

  “Possibly,” Mr. Drew said. “Or worse.” Nancy sat down, deep in thought. Nina had mentioned that Calisher had packed his bags. This meant he was preparing to flee the town, perhaps flee the country. He was just waiting to collect on his bet. He would not leave until the match was over. But what was he planning to do to Nina? The only way to trap him on the charge of fixing the tennis match was to let him make his move. If the police intervened now, he would be tipped off—and still no evidence.

  According to Silk, the documents in the safe were enough to convict Calisher, probably of the same mail fraud that had implicated Mr. Ford. But suppose the documents were not legible when they were dried out?

  Nancy jumped up. “Well, I can’t do anything about the contents of the safe, Dad. That’s in your hands. But I can try to save Nina. I’m going to go over there right now.”

  “Good luck,” said her father. “And both of you please be careful.”

  Nancy and Midge started off for the Calishers’ street. They pulled up in front of a gray, Victorian-style house, and Nina waved from the wide porch. Then she came down the steps, and together the girls walked next door.

  “Mr. Calisher and Aunt Emily went out,” Nina reported as they joined the policeman, who had gotten out of his unmarked car.“Mr. Calisher got back just after you called, Nancy, and as soon as I told them I was going next door, they left.”

  “That must have been before I arrived,” the detective said. “No one has come or gone since I got here.”

  Nancy made a face. “I sure hope they didn’t disappear for good,” she said. “Let’s go upstairs and check the closet.”

  On the way to the second floor, Nina asked Nancy how she knew that Mr. Calisher might have planned to drug her, and Nancy told her what she had overheard at Foxhall Mansion.

  When the group arrived in the bedroom, the closet door was open.

  “The bags are gone!” Nina cried out.

  “Oh, no!” Nancy said. “They must have been afraid that we were on to them, so they left. But it seems to me Mr. Calisher wouldn’t just give up on the tennis match. He needs that money or Silk’s men will get rough with him.”

  “But how can he do anything to Nina if he isn’t here?” Midge asked.

  “I don’t know,” Nancy said.

  The policeman shrugged. “Well, I have instructions to guard you, Nina. I’d better get down and watch the house. If you need me, you know where I am.” With that, he went back to his post.

  “It’s strange the Calishers left like that, without even writing me a note,” Nina said thoughtfully.

  “I know,” Nancy admitted. “I just can’t believe he would take off without the money he stands to make. Why don’t we just wait and see if we hear from them tonight.”

  “Meanwhile, could we get something to eat?” Midge piped up. “I’m starved!”

  Nina laughed. “Let’s raid the refrigerator.” The girls went into the kitchen and Nina opened the refrigerator door. Suddenly she cried out in surprise. “Here’s a note. This is where they left it!” she said.

  “Note?” Nancy asked. “Let me see it.”

  Nina took a bottle with a piece of paper attached to it out of the refrigerator. “This is my special protein drink,” she explained. “It’s made with milk, juices, vitamins and minerals. It’s my coach’s recipe and I have it every night and early in the morning before a match.”

  She took the message off the bottle and handed it to Nancy, who unfolded it and read aloud:

  “Dear Nina: Aunt Emily and I will be out late tonight, so please don’t wait up for us. But be sure to drink your energy booster.

  “Love, Uncle Aaron.”

  Nancy looked up in time to see Nina uncap the bottle and lift it to her lips. “Nina! Don’t drink that!” she cried out.

  Nina jumped. “Oh, I almost forgot!”

  Nancy took the bottle. “I’ll bet he put a strong sleeping potion in here. If you drink it, you’ll probably be out for twenty-four hours.”

  “Are you sure, Nancy?” Nina asked.

  “No. But we can’t take any chances. We’ll have the drink analyzed. Also, Midge and I will stay with you tonight in case the Calishers come back.”

  Nancy went to call her father, who promised to have a policeman pick up the bottle to take to the lab.

  “Good,” Nancy said. “Oh, and Dad?”

  “Yes?”

  “Could you ask him to bring over some hamburgers? There wasn’t much in the refrigerator.”

  Mr. Drew laughed. “Consider it done.”

  Half an hour later, a young detective arrived with a bag of hamburgers and soda. He took the bottle and drove straight to the police laboratory with it, while the girls hungrily devoured the food.

  The next morning, the girls were awakened by the telephone ringing. It was Mr. Drew. “Great news, Nancy,” he reported. “The booster bottle Calisher left for Nina contained enough sleeping potion to keep her in dreamland for a whole day. And the documents are dry and readable. Mr. Ford will be free after the formalities are taken care of, which shouldn’t take long. I’m sure I can speed things up.

  “Wonderful!” Nancy cried out.

  “If you bring Nina down to headquarters, she can have a reunion with her father before the match. John is here now.”

  “We’ll be right there!” Nancy said.

  “Oh, one more thing,” Mr. Drew added. “We’ve recalled your guard. You won’t need him any longer, and he’s going to follow you over here.”

  Nancy rushed to tell Nina the news, and ten minutes later the three girls were on their way to police headquarters. Tears of joy ran down Nina’s cheeks when she saw her father, and the two embraced. “Oh, Father, you’re free—free! It’s as if a nightmare has turned into a dream,” his daughter sobbed in his arms.

  Finally Mr. Drew spoke up. “Nina, I hate to rush you, but you’ll have to get to your game. Your dad can come with you; he’s been released even though we haven’t finished the paperwork.”

  “What about the Calishers?” Nancy inquired. “They didn’t come home last night.”

  “The police have sealed all roads and the airport,” Mr. Drew said. “They won’t get away. Now why don’t you and Midge run along and watch Nina win.”

  “I hope she does,” Midge spoke up. “It’s Friday the thirteenth today. I’m not sure that’s good.”

  “Oh,” Nancy exclaimed. “I almost forgot! That means I can still make it to the bicentennial rehearsal tomorrow!”

  Nancy phoned the bicentennial office and spoke to the delighted Mrs. Milton. Then she and Midge headed to the tennis club and took seats next to the beaming Mr. Ford.

  Nina was so happy that she played better than she ever had before and swept to victory over her talented opponent in straight sets.

  After the game, Nancy and Midge went to the locker room to say good-bye to the young tennis star. Nina hugged them both. “Oh, Nancy, if it hadn’t been for you and Midge, there’d be no victories at all.”

  “Watson,” Midge murmured.

  Nina kissed her on the cheek. “Watson— Nancy—we’ll stay in close touch. You’ll always be my very best friends!”

  The girls and Mr. Ford parted with the promise to see each other again soon. Then Midge and Nancy headed for their car.

  “Hey,” Midge said suddenly, “Shouldn’t you call Bess and tell her you’ll be able to make the rehearsal? She must be having a giant fit by now.”

  Nancy laughed. “You’re so right.”

  They headed for a pay phone, and Nancy rang the Marvin house. When Bess came on the line, she exploded with joy. “I’ve heard from Mrs. Milton!” she cried. “And you know what? Kimberly’s mother just called. Kim’s in bed with a bad headache. Oh, I’m so tempted to send her a bouquet of sour grapes. Just hurry home, Na
ncy.”

  Nancy and Midge arrived in River Heights in time for dinner that night. Midge received permission from her father to sleep at Nancy’s house and was preparing to leave with her friend for rehearsal the next day when Mr. Drew pulled into the driveway.

  “I have lots of news!” he announced to the two girls. “First of all, John Ford won’t have to go through another trial. He is planning to resume running his business and to persuade Sam Jackson to work for him.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Nancy cried.

  “Yes, it is,” Mr. Drew agreed. “Now, are you ready for the next part? The Calishers were arrested at the airport shortly after the match, and Bull Tolliver and Ivan Foster were caught after trying to smash through a police roadblock. A thirteen-state alarm has been issued for the notorious Mr. Silk, which will make it impossible for him to hide very long.”

  “Did Mr. Calisher confess?” Midge asked. She was beaming with excitement.

  “Yes. He has admitted not only the mail fraud and the attempts to fix the tennis matches, but also the framing of his partner, Ford, so he would wind up with all the assets of the business. He had enormous gambling debts and was under pressure from Silk to repay the money. When he overheard Nina on the phone asking Nancy to help her find out who was threatening her, he became very upset. He had Ivan Foster tail Nancy to scare her away—but, of course, it didn’t work.”

  “What about Mrs. Calisher?” Nancy inquired.

  “She was absolved of any direct guilt. Calisher said she didn’t know about his criminal activities, and there was no evidence to hold her. As Nina knows, she was basically a good person who only knew her husband as an unfortunate gambler. She’ll live with her sister from now on and let time help her straighten out her life.”

  “Well then,” Nancy said with a big smile, “everything is back to normal.” Secretly, the girl detective wondered how long things would stay that way. She had no idea that soon she would encounter The Mysterious Image.

  At that moment, the front door burst open and Bess Marvin rushed in. She skidded to a stop in front of her friend. “Nancy, take my pulse. Kimberly just called the office. She’s made a miraculous recovery and will be on the float as runner-up. But now she wants the ladies-in- waiting not only to curtsy, but to blow kisses, and—get this—to both her and you. She even put herself first!”

  Nancy, Midge, and Carson Drew broke into laughter. “As I said,” Nancy giggled. “Everything’s back to normal!”