Free (#20) The Clue in the Jewel Box by Carolyn Keene

to put the ornament in his safe!”
    “Fine. See you at the picnic this afternoon.”
    “It is sweet of Helen to give it for me,” Katherine said with a smile.
    After picking up her car at the service station, she dropped Bess and George at their homes, then stopped at police headquarters to find out if there was any news of the pickpocket. Chief McGinnis said that a suspect had just been brought in for questioning.
    “May I see him?” Nancy requested.
    “Certainly,” the officer replied.
    Well acquainted with both Nancy and her father, he frequently received useful clues and tips from them. In fact, Nancy had solved so many cases that the chief jokingly declared Nancy to be an unofficial member of his staff!
    The man who had been captured was placed in a line-up with other suspects. Nancy studied each person as he stood on a platform under a powerful light. The wiry built pickpocket she had hoped to identify was not in the group.
    “Sorry,” she said regretfully. “I’ve never seen any of these people before.”
    As Nancy was about to leave the building, an irate man burst in.
    “You policemen!” he fairly shouted. “I’ve been paying taxes here for twelve years, and what do I get in return? Nothing! When I need a policeman, I can’t find one! And when I finally get one, he arrests the wrong man!”

CHAPTER XI
    The Island Trick
    “If you have a complaint to make, the lieutenant will take it—over at that desk,” a sergeant told the complaining man.
    He calmed down a bit and directed his remarks to the chief. In a bitter voice he revealed that his wallet had been snatched while he was standing in front of a store.
    He had shouted for a policeman. The officer had arrested a man, who immediately established his innocence. Shortly afterward the wallet, empty, had been found in an alley.
    “You can bet the thief had an accomplice,” the angry victim declared. “When the policeman came on the run, I heard someone in the crowd whistle as if in warning.”
    “You did not see the person who whistled?”
    “No, I didn’t.”
    The lieutenant promised he would do what he could, and made a routine report. After the indignant man had left headquarters, the officer gazed rather apologetically at Nancy.
    “What can we do?” he asked with a shrug. “Money can’t be traced, unless the bills were marked or the serial numbers recorded.”
    Chief McGinnis said, “Nancy, I believe you’ll have to turn your talents to this case.” There was a twinkle in the eyes of the good-natured officer.
    “Too busy today,” she joked in return.
    Homeward bound, Nancy began to wonder whether this latest theft had been committed by the same man who had stolen her father’s wallet, and who was also responsible for the purse snatchings in River Heights.
    “Somehow I must recover the money for the Boys Club, and the valuable papers Dad lost!” she thought resolutely. “This afternoon, I’ll be at Helen’s picnic for Katherine. Maybe tomorrow a new clue will come my way!”
    The young people were to go by motorboat far up the river to Star Island. The outing promised to be an especially enjoyable one.
    Ned Nickerson came for Nancy in his car. Upon reaching the dock, the couple found that the other picnickers had arrived ahead of them. Ned’s college friend Bob Dutton escorted Katherine. George Fayne and an athletic young man, Burt Eddleton, had come together, and Bess had brought her favorite date, Dave Evans.
    “Everyone is here,” Helen declared, counting all of her guests, who numbered twelve.
    Two motorboats, to be operated by Jim Archer and Ned, had been rented for the outing. The passengers were divided between the crafts, and Jim started off. The ropes of Ned’s craft were about to be cast off when a shout came from shore.
    “Hey, wait a minute!” Francis Baum ran to the dock, followed by his dog. Thinking that he might have a message for her from his grandmother, Nancy asked Ned to wait. In a low voice she told