Free The Whispering Statue by Carolyn Keene

question reminded Nancy that she had promised to tell him and his wife about her case. Without going into detail or involving Mr. Basswood directly, she said she was trying to trace a collection of books he had been commissioned to sell. Since he was uncommunicative on the subject, she was hoping to pick up some clues at the shop.
    When they reached the club, Bess and George were waiting for Nancy. After she had thanked the Thompsons and introduced them to her friends, Bess drew her aside. “Come into Mr. Ayer’s office,” she whispered excitedly. “He has some news for you.”
    The girls excused themselves and hurried off to talk to the manager. He gave Nancy a broad smile. “Miss Lynbrook,” he said, “you’re certainly on the right track. Mrs. Merriam was here. In one of the books that Ned bought she found a letter which had been written by her uncle to her father but never mailed.”
    “That’s a marvelous clue!” Nancy exclaimed. “There’s no doubt that the books are hers.”
    “It certainly looks,” said Mr. Ayer, “as if Mr. Basswood is guilty of fraud.”
    George spoke up. “What are you going to do—have him arrested?”
    Nancy shook her head. “Not until I notify my father. By the way, Mr. Basswood’s assistant is in the hospital.”
    “What!” the others cried.
    Nancy told them about Mr. Atkin suffering a heart attack. “I wonder how he is. When I go back to the shop this afternoon, I’ll find out.”
    Bess asked, “When you were in Mr. Basswood’s office, did you see anything suspicious?”
    “No, but I saw an interesting notation on his desk.”
    She told about the note saying M De K 500 on acct. Nancy asked Mr. Ayer if she might use his phone to get in touch with her father. He nodded and she put in the call. Mr. Drew was neither in his office nor at home. According to his secretary, the lawyer was in Washington.
    “If he calls here, I’ll give him your message,” she told Nancy.
    The girls went to the dining room for lunch but did not talk about the mystery, afraid that someone might overhear them. Nancy, however, could not keep her mind off it.
    “One thing seems certain,” she said to herself. “Since Mr. Atkin has access to Mr. Basswood’s office, he must know what’s going on and is in league with his employer.”
    She was determined to do more sleuthing in the shop. When Nancy arrived there, she asked Mr. Basswood how his assistant was.
    He answered nonchalantly, “Oh, he’ll be all right. Atkin gets these attacks once in a while. Doesn’t watch his health.”
    At that moment a customer arrived and Nancy asked if she could help him. This was the beginning of a very busy afternoon for her. Mr. Basswood did not wait on anyone, so Nancy had no chance to do any investigating in the shop. At four o’clock sharp he told her to go and locked the door behind her.
    As she walked toward the taxi stand, the young detective said to herself, “If I had this job as my real livelihood, I’d certainly ask for higher wages. Mr. Basswood is a selfish old meany. In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve brought him over a thousand dollars in sales.”
    Nancy was cheered, however, by the one possible clue she had discovered—the mysterious M De K notation.
    A visitor was waiting for her at the yacht club. A pleasant, serious-faced man of about forty said he was Sylvester Holden and had come to examine the statue on the front lawn.
    In a low tone he said, “Your father sent me.”
    Nancy nodded. Mr. Ayer, Bess, and George followed Nancy and Mr. Holden outdoors. The sculptor carried a small bag of tools.
    “This is a fine piece,” he remarked as they approached the statue. “I suspect it is a reproduction, however.”
    He took a strong magnifying glass from his tool kit and spent several minutes going over the statue. Presently he brought out a chisel and tapped the marble.
    “It doesn’t ring,” he said. “An original would. This piece is made from marble dust mixed with a