The E-Mail Mystery (Nancy Drew Book 144)

by Carolyn Keene

  “And what were you doing in here?” Blaine asked, glancing at Nancy’s computer screen as Henry had a few moments before.

  “I just had to put something in my portfolio,” Nancy answered. “Henry walked in on me while I was doing your copying, and started up a conversation. I didn’t want to be rude, so—”

  “Well, sometimes you have to be rude to get your work done,” Blaine said coolly.

  “And sometimes you have to go out for an early lunch.” Blaine and Nancy turned to see Mr. Drew standing in the door of the library. “Would you care to join me, Nancy?”

  “I’d love to, Dad,” Nancy said, glad to be saved from the confrontation with Blaine. “I’ve been wanting to ask you some questions about these cases I’ve been filing for you.”

  Blaine looked from father to daughter. “I guess I should get a bite to eat myself,” she said. “I always get a little testy when I’m tired or hungry.” Nancy noticed Blaine tried to smile. “I should probably get Henry to eat something, too. I’ve been pretty tough on him today. Sorry if I spoke sharply, Nancy.”

  “That’s okay, Blaine. I understand,” Nancy said. She picked up her portfolio and exited through the reception area with her father.

  “How about the Steak and Ale?” he asked as they waited for the elevator.

  “Sure,” Nancy said. “That place really is a hot spot.”

  “What makes you say that?” her father asked with a smile.

  “Yesterday when I delivered those documents to Williams and Brown, I heard one of the partners making plans to eat there. And Blaine went there, too,” she added as they walked out of the lobby into the bright sunlight.

  Nancy and her father walked to the restaurant and settled in a comfortable booth. They scanned the large menus, and when the waiter arrived, both ordered hamburger platters.

  “With a side order of onion rings,” Mr. Drew added, smiling at Nancy. “I know you love them.”

  Nancy asked for a green salad with her burger, instead of fries. “I’ll be getting enough grease from the onion rings, thank you very much, Dad.”

  Once they had ordered, Nancy asked her father for a little more background on her growing E-mail mystery. “Tell me about some of the clients that settled so early. Like that guy who called the house yesterday, Bob Jamison. Why was he so scared?”

  Mr. Drew smiled at his daughter’s intelligent question, but his eyes showed his concern about the cases. “I represented Bob two years ago when he was a victim in a hit-and-run car accident. He came to see me last week, when he got hurt falling off a faulty ladder he’d just bought. But the day after the preliminary interview, the insurance company for the store offered a small settlement, and as you know, Bob called to say he wanted to take it.”

  “Did he tell you why he decided to settle so early?” Nancy asked.

  “No,” her father replied, shaking his head. “I tried to call him back yesterday when I got to the office, but he wouldn’t take my calls. If he was worried that the old accident might endanger the case, I would have told him otherwise. The opposing attorneys might have tried to make something out of that, but there would be no basis in fact. The injuries were quite different, and they were all carefully documented by the doctors and the hospitals each time. And anything in our preliminary interview is privileged information. But as you said yesterday, some people are intimidated by courts and lawsuits and lawyers, so he might have felt pressured to give in early.”

  “Pressured by whom?” Nancy wondered aloud. “And with what?” Then the waiter arrived with their food, and Nancy and her father settled into their big hamburgers, sharing a large plate of onion rings. Nancy looked around her at the other lawyers and professionals enjoying their lunches, probably talking business, making deals, discussing cases.

  After the meal, while they were having coffee and sharing a piece of apple pie, Nancy decided to tell her dad something about her discovery of the E-mail log file and Henry’s list of clients, and ask him what he thought they might mean.

  “Dad, when I was copying those files yesterday, I happened to read the E-mail transmission log. Someone in your office sent E-mail to Williams and Brown—on the first day you got each case. And Henry Yi has a handwritten list of all those clients, too,” she added. “Did you speak to him about your concerns?”

  “No,” her father replied. “I haven’t talked about this with anyone at the office. But it’s not necessarily suspicious that he compiled a list like that,” he continued. “I told you, he’s the computer expert around the office. He probably was keeping track of settled cases so we’d know what had to be cleared off the main computer system—what you’re doing now. And as for the E-mail log file, that could have been notification to Williams and Brown that we would be handling the cases. It doesn’t mean anyone sent them information they might use to force a settlement. Besides, who in my office would do such a thing?”

  “Well, isn’t it a little strange that all of the cases that settled early were handled by the same law firm?” Nancy persisted.

  “Williams and Brown usually represents the insurance company interests, so it’s not all that surprising they’re involved in all these cases,” her father replied. “And I know Bill Williams and John Brown—they’re solid guys, with a successful law practice. They’d never do anything like try to intimidate my clients. That’s against the law, for one thing. They could be disbarred. And they’ve got a nice family firm over there—”

  “I know, I know,” Nancy interrupted. “When I was delivering those files to their office yesterday, I overheard Williams saying to an insurance agent that Brown’s son had joined the firm when he got out of law school. And then Brown was talking to his son in the elevator about how proud he was of him for saving money for their insurance company clients.”

  Mr. Drew laughed. “John Brown’s always talking about that son of his. He was telling me at the Northeast Legal Convention that John Junior was having trouble at Walker Law. I’m sure his father’s glad he turned out to be an asset to the firm.”

  “Walker Law?” Nancy asked. “Didn’t Blaine Warner go there, too?”

  “Yes, but she was a superstar, number one in her class,” her father replied. “We were lucky to get her.”

  “Who knows?” Nancy shrugged. “Maybe there’s some new associate at Williams and Brown who’s hooked up with an expert computer hacker and figured out a way to hack into our computer system and steal passwords and E-mail out sensitive files and—”

  Mr. Drew laughed. “I think you’ve got mystery on the brain, my girl. That sounds far too complicated to me. And I don’t think anyone here in my office would be involved in anything underhanded, or send out privileged information via E-mail or any other means.”

  Nancy had her own suspicions about the people in her father’s office, but decided not to tell him until she had more proof.

  Nancy settled back in her booth, and picked up her coffee. Her eyes drifted past her father’s shoulder—she had been concentrating on him during their conversation—and she nearly fell out of her seat. There was Henry Yi grinning at her from the next booth!

  8

  Scared Away

  “Henry,” Nancy squeaked, startling her father.

  “My name’s not Henry,” Mr. Drew said, smiling at his daughter. Then he followed her gaze and turned around to look behind him. “Oh, hi, Henry; hi, Blaine. You were right, Nancy. This is the lawyers’ hot spot.”

  “Hi, Carson,” Blaine said warmly. “Hi, Nancy. I decided I was being too hard on everyone, so I offered to take Henry out to lunch.”

  “And I, of course, graciously—and hungrily—accepted,” Henry said, wiping his mouth.

  Nancy sat absolutely silent, stunned that both Blaine and Henry might have overheard some or all of the conversation with her father. “Hi, guys,” she said weakly. “I guess this is what they mean when they say you never get out of the office. The office comes with you.”

  “Especially you,” Blaine said, talk
ing to Nancy but gazing at Carson Drew. “You live with the boss.” She pulled out an envelope of cash to pay the check.

  “So, you got to the bank after all,” Nancy said. She looked at the thick wad of bills.

  “Oh, um, yes, I went after work last night,” Blaine said, hastily stuffing the envelope back in her purse.

  Nancy’s father paid for their lunch, and the foursome picked up their coats and bags, preparing to leave the restaurant.

  “Blaine’s taking me to court this afternoon,” Henry said to Nancy, “so you should have the library to yourself, unless Byron shows up to keep you company.”

  “I’ve got a lot of work to keep me busy,” she replied.

  Back at the office, Carson Drew went into his private office, and Nancy returned to the law library to continue her chores. While she performed the routine tasks, her mind was occupied with questions about the case.

  How could Williams & Brown scare her father’s clients? They would open themselves up to disbarment if they interfered with another lawyer’s client. Besides, Nancy mused, they had to have a contact inside her dad’s office—and I know it’s not Ms. Hanson, even if her name is on the E-mail.

  Checking the door to be sure it was closed and she was alone, Nancy called up the file for Jeannette King. After looking for her phone number at the bank, she dialed.

  “River Heights Savings and Loan,” a woman’s voice said.

  “Hello, this is Nancy Drew. May I please speak with Jeannette King?” she said.

  “Certainly. May I say what this is in reference to?” the woman asked.

  “It’s regarding a confidential legal matter,” Nancy replied.

  There was a pause, and then another woman came on the line. “This is Jeannette King,” she said cautiously. “How may I help you?”

  “Ms. King, this is Nancy Drew, Carson Drew’s daughter. I’m just following up on some of his recent cases, and I wanted to ask you why you settled your case so quickly.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Drew, or whoever you are, I don’t discuss legal matters over the phone,” Ms. King replied quickly, and hung up.

  Okay. I understand her desire for privacy, Nancy thought. Then she dialed the number for James Fox’s political office.

  “James Fox for Mayor,” answered a bright male voice.

  “Hello, this is Nancy Drew. May I please speak with Mr. Fox?”

  “What is this regarding?” the man asked.

  “A recent legal case Mr. Fox decided not to pursue,” Nancy replied, reading through his file.

  “Hold one moment, please,” the man said. Nancy waited, and then he came back on the line. “I’m sorry, the candidate is unavailable at this time. Thank you for calling.” The line went dead.

  That’s two, thought Nancy. She dialed the number for Harriet Wasser.

  “Wasser Real Estate,” a female voice answered the phone.

  “Hello, I’d like to speak with Harriet Wasser, please,” Nancy said politely.

  “Who may I say is calling?”

  “I’m calling from Carson Drew’s office,” Nancy replied. She could hear voices in the background.

  “Harriet, it’s someone from that lawyer’s office,” the woman’s voice called out in a muffled tone. Nancy couldn’t hear the words of the angry reply. Then the woman spoke into the telephone. “I’m sorry, Ms. Wasser doesn’t have any dealings with Mr. Drew’s firm at this time.” And she hung up.

  Oh boy, thought Nancy. This was going to be hard. She called up the file on Bob Jamison, and dialed his phone number.

  “Jamison Construction,” a pleasant voice answered the phone.

  “Hello, I’d like to speak with Bob Jamison, please,” she said.

  “May I ask what this in reference to?” the voice asked politely.

  “I’m calling from Carson Drew’s office,” she said.

  “Hold one moment,” the voice said quickly.

  An angry man picked up the phone. “Who is this?” he asked.

  “Mr. Jamison?” Nancy said. “This is Nancy Drew, Carson Drew’s daughter. I’m just following up on some recent cases here in the office and—”

  “Look, Ms. Drew, I told your father I wanted to settle this case right away, and that’s all I have to say. I don’t know what’s going on over there, but I won’t be dealing with your firm again.”

  “Mr. Jamison, there must be some misunderstanding. You’ve had a long professional history with my father, and I’m sure—”

  “I’m sure it won’t go on, not when I get threatening phone calls whispering about private information from prior cases in your office. Yesterday I was just scared, but today I’m mad. You’d better not call me back, unless you want a new lawsuit on your hands. There are other lawyers in this town, you know.” He slammed the phone down.

  Nancy sat back, stunned. Someone had been threatening her father’s clients with information from his old case files. But who? And why?

  Nancy decided to look through Carson Drew’s personnel files for more background on the suspects. She accessed the administrative directory. She knew Ms. Hanson scanned in job applicants’ résumés, as well as any notes from interviews held with prospective lawyers, paralegals, and interns. Nancy scrolled through the long list of files, searching for background information on Henry Yi, Blaine Warner, and Byron Thomas.

  After a moment Nancy came upon Byron Thomas’s résumé. He had graduated from Marks University with a degree in English literature, and was a student at Barnes Law School. She could see from his employment history that he had taken a year off to earn money for his law school tuition, as he had said.

  Next, Nancy found Henry Yi’s résumé. He had attended Taft College and taken a specialized course after graduation to become a paralegal. “I guess he must be pretty smart, or my dad wouldn’t have hired him,” Nancy murmured. “But his résumé’s all over the place. It seems as if he didn’t—or doesn’t—know what he wants to do.” In college, Henry studied mathematics, computer programming, political science, English literature, molecular biology and biophysics, and philosophy.

  Finally Nancy called up Blaine Warner’s impressive résumé. Blaine had attended Walker Law, a very prestigious school, where she had been the first female editor of the Law Review. She had won many victories in mock court proceedings, and she had graduated with a perfect grade-point average.

  Blaine also had held summer intern positions at some large law offices in the city, but Nancy didn’t see any connection to Williams & Brown. “Other than John Brown Junior’s going to Walker Law,” Nancy said softly. “But it’s a big school. They might not even have known each other.”

  The library door opened, and Nancy quickly returned to the section on the closed cases. Byron Thomas entered, head down, carrying a stack of books and papers. He nodded hello to Nancy and set up at one of the other computer stations.

  As they both tapped away at their keyboards, Nancy heard the telltale whine of a modem dialing another computer on the telephone line. She looked up and saw Byron staring back at her. He quickly turned away, then said, “I have to go online to use the Lexis-Nexis legal database.”

  “Oh, I’ve heard of that,” Nancy said. “All law students and lawyers use that for research, right?”

  “Yeah,” Byron mumbled. He looked at the crumpled papers on his desk and typed away.

  “Byron, let me ask you something,” Nancy said. “Do you know if the Internet’s all connected? When you go on the World Wide Web or use Lexis-Nexis or just send E-mail—are they separate, or are they all linked together?”

  “The Internet is one big network of networks,” Byron said, still typing.

  “What do you mean?” Nancy asked.

  Byron paused in his entry and looked up at her. “Well, big organizations have their own computer networks—lots of computers linked together. And each computer in the network has a unique ID number. You can tell what kind of organization a computer is in by the last part of its Internet address—”

 
“Is that an IP address?” Nancy asked, remembering the term Bess had used.

  “That’s right,” Byron said. “IP stands for Internet Protocol. So, as I was saying, the last part of that name tells you what kind of organization the computer belongs to. For instance, educational institutions, like schools and universities, all end in ‘edu.’ Government offices, like NASA or the White House, end in ‘gov.’ Military groups, like the navy or the air force, end in ‘mil.’ And commercial companies, like television networks or computer manufacturers, end in ‘com.’ ”

  “Thanks,” Nancy said with a smile. “This is interesting. Then all these networks are linked together, and that makes up the Internet?”

  “That’s how I understand it,” Byron answered. “There are other sub-networks that use other communications protocols. There’s UUCP, for Unix-to-Unix Copy Program, and USENET, where the newsgroups are stored, and BITNET, which believe it or not, stands for ‘Because It’s Time.’

  “I think there are also separate networks for banks and private bulletin boards. But they all have to use the phone lines, so I guess they could be connected in some way. You should ask Henry. He’s the computer whiz around here.”

  “You sound like an expert as far as I’m concerned,” Nancy said. “Where’d you learn all that stuff about the Internet anyway?”

  “Oh, you know, they teach you how to navigate the Net in law school, so you can do legal research on-line, download articles, things like that. You really can find out almost anything over the Internet,” he continued. “There’s an amazing amount of information available, if you know how to access it. But I’m no expert, really,” he concluded.

  “Well, you sure seem to know a lot,” Nancy said, rising and stretching her legs. “Mind if I look in? I’ve heard Lexis-Nexis can be really interesting.”

  As she began to walk toward Byron’s machine, he almost jumped out of his chair, and abruptly switched off the computer. Nancy looked at him with alarm.