Free Don’t Look Twice by Carolyn Keene Page B

say?”
    Nancy nodded. “It sure is. Thanks for stopping me,” she murmured. That had been a close call!
    â€œOf course.” Bernard changed the subject. “Well, we got all the work done. See how fast we can work when we have to?”
    â€œThe gallery looks fantastic,” Nancy told him sincerely.
    â€œWhat do you think of the show?” he asked.
    â€œIt’s, uh, really great,” Nancy said. She was trying not to stare at Bernard. She didn’t know why, but there was something about his voice that was beginning to grate on her.
    â€œYes, Hans Pieters isn’t as well known as some of the other Dutch masters, but his work is really quite nice,” Bernard remarked.
    Just then Nancy felt a strong arm around her waist. It was Ned. Nancy introduced him to Bernard, and then the three of them stood gazing at one another for an awkward moment.
    â€œWell, I really should be mingling. Nice to see you both. Enjoy yourselves,” Bernard said. He smiled a quick, polite smile and disappeared into the crowd.
    â€œNice tie he had on,” Ned remarked with a grin, fingering his own hot pink printed one. “So—seen any of our suspects yet?”
    â€œNo.” Nancy frowned. “I guess we should start looking for them.”
    After an hour Nancy and Ned met up again. “No luck?” he said. Nancy shook her head.
    â€œThat was thirsty work. I’ll go get us a couple of sodas,” offered Ned.
    Right after Ned left, George came hurrying to Nancy’s side. “I just saw Martha by the buffet table,” she announced, “talking to Mr. Mason.”
    Nancy was excited. How did I miss them? she wondered. “Come on, let’s see if we can listen in.”
    When she and George arrived at the buffet table, Martha was standing by herself, filling a plate with carrots and green peppers. Mr. Mason was no longer anywhere in sight.
    Martha glanced up and spotted Nancy. “Hi,” she called, coming toward the two girls with a friendly smile.
    Nancy was taken aback. She’d thought for sure that Martha would try to avoid her because of the bungled kidnapping attempt the night before. Maybe Martha hadn’t figured out that Nancy knew about her involvement, though.
    â€œSo what do you think?” Martha asked, waving a hand around at the paintings. “A lot of hype, just for these moldy old paintings, huh?”
    â€œYou don’t like Hans Pieters?” Nancy asked, even more surprised.
    Martha made a face. “His stuff is a waste of time. Bernard wanted to do an exhibit of modern paintings, but of course Jonathan wouldn’t hear of it. Jonathan has a one-track mind, as far as art goes.”
    â€œIf you don’t like Mr. Mason’s choices, why do you work for him?” George asked bluntly. Nancy could tell by the narrowing of George’s eyes that her friend found Martha irritating.
    â€œI work with Bernard,” Martha replied with abrittle smile. “He’s the only reason I’m here. Bernard is a brilliant curator. If Jonathan would only step aside and let him run this place, we’d all be better off.”
    Nancy frowned. Martha sounded quite devoted to Bernard—and not at all fond of Jonathan Mason. Was that the key to this case? Could it be that Martha was trying to drive Jonathan out so that Bernard could take his place?
    Nancy thought of the scene earlier that day, when the painting of the little boy had disappeared. Was that an attempt by Martha to discredit Mr. Mason, perhaps by making it appear that the painting had been stolen? It seemed farfetched, but it was still a possibility.
    How did the kidnapping fit into all of this, though? Nancy couldn’t figure that part out. Maybe she should probe a little.
    â€œSo, I hear you were behind my adventure on Friday night,” Nancy said casually.
    â€œAdventure?” Martha frowned. Then her expression cleared. “Oh, right, Tim told me