Free Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew by The Twin Dilemma

it. A slight hum indicated that the elevator was indeed operating!
    “Thank goodness,” the girl detective murmured, and stepped inside the car.
    When she arrived on the ground floor, she found the main entrance unlocked. Instantly, she rushed outside to hail a taxi. The driver gabbed cheerfully, trying to engage her in conversation, but Nancy felt so tired all of a sudden she could only raise enough energy to suppress a series of yawns. By the time she reached the apartment, she was ready to fall asleep.
    “Nancy!” Aunt Eloise cried upon seeing her. “Where have you been?”
    The torrent of questions that followed from Bess and George woke the girl up immediately.
    “We were just about to call the police!” George exclaimed.
    “Oh, I’m glad you didn‘t,” Nancy said, dropping into a chair.
    She spun out her story as fast as she could, then listened to the others. Bess and George had made phenomenal discoveries, she told them.
    “So it seems that the guy we saw in the restaurant today is the real Chris Chavez,” Bess said.
    “And the one who introduced himself to me at the party is someone else,” Nancy put in. “Just who is he?”
    “Well, we know he’s a friend of Jacqueline‘s and he knows her brother,” George commented.
    “If I’d never heard about Ted Henri, investigative reporter,” Nancy said, “I’d wonder if he weren’t a figment of her imagination.”
    “Maybe Jacqueline’s involved in the design thefts and when she heard you were coming to town, figured she had to cover up somehow,” Bess suggested.
    “But taking off the way she did before the fashion show and leaving Aunt Eloise in the lurch only drew attention to herself,” Nancy replied.
    “That’s for sure,” George said. “It made everybody suspicious.”
    “Us in particular,” Bess concurred. She grap pled with her bewilderment. “Jackie’s behavior doesn’t make any sense at all.”
    “Precisely,” Nancy responded, “and I’m too tired to worry about it tonight. Let’s try to figure out things tomorrow.”
    Before going to bed, however, Aunt Eloise spoke to Nancy alone.
    “What are you going to do about that job you supposedly have at Millington?”
    “Oh, I’m going back there tomorrow morning.”
    “After all that’s happened to you? I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Aunt Eloise objected. “Of course, you realize you were locked in that workroom on purpose.”
    Nancy nodded. “But I want to find out who did it and why!”
    Aunt Eloise still looked doubtful. “At least promise me you’ll discuss it with your father first.”
    “I’ll call Dad in the morning. And please don’t worry, Aunt Eloise.”
    In spite of her exhaustion, the young detective slept fitfully that night. When she awoke the next morning, her eyelids were puffy and she had trouble keeping them open.
    “Didn’t you sleep?” George asked Nancy.
    “Not very well.” She yawned.
    “This will wake you up,” Bess said, putting a glass of grapefruit juice and the morning newspaper in front of her.
    Nancy sipped the juice, allowing her eyes to fall on a small headline. Bess and George watched them pop.
    According to the newspaper, Russell Kaiser’s co-op apartment had been burglarized the night before! No mention was made about the nature of missing items, but Nancy wondered about the medallion. Had it been stolen and was there a connection between Kaiser’s impostor and the robbery?
    “I’d say it’s a good thing we came along on this visit,” George said. “Otherwise, Nancy, you’d be working forty-eight hours a day on these mysteries!”
    Nancy laughed, dropping a piece of bread in the toaster. “You’re absolutely right,” she said, “and I have a hunch I’m going to need lots of energy again today!”
    “Are you heading back to Millington?” Bess inquired.
    “Definitely. I want to see Mr. Iannone first thing.”
    “What should we do?” George asked.
    “How about visiting Russell Kaiser?” Nancy