Free Nancy Clue Mysteries 1 - The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse by Mabel Maney

settled, Midge put a leash on Eleanor, and off they went.
    It was a quiet walk to Cherry's car. Midge appeared to be deep in thought. Besides a few questions about the mysterious disappearance at the hospital, which Cherry answered in as brief a manner as possible, Midge said nothing. They walked for about twenty minutes, going slowly so the dog could take her time and sniff interesting spots.
    "Babies are hard work, aren't they?" Midge murmured as she scratched behind the dog's ears.
    "What a nice girl," thought Cherry. "I hope that someday I have a roommate just like her." When they got to Cherry's car, Midge lifted Eleanor into the back seat. The three of them made their way home, not realizing that trouble lay ahead.

----
CHAPTER 8
----
Kidnapped!

    "What's this?" Cherry exclaimed as she reached the darkened front stoop and found the door ajar.
    "There's been a breakin!" she cried, her keen eyes noticing the forced lock. "And the porch bulb has been unscrewed."
    Midge dashed into the house and called for Velma, but there was no reply.
    There was a crash from upstairs. Midge flew up the staircase with Cherry at her heels. Next to Velma's bed was a little gray cat, lapping up spilt milk.
    "Oh, kitty!" Midge cried, scooping up the shards of glass before the cat could cut her paws. Cherry searched the rest of the house, but Velma was nowhere to be found! She ran back upstairs to join Midge, who was standing in the middle of Velma's room staring at the bed. "Midge, could it be Velma's gone out for a walk?" Cherry asked hopefully.
    Midge shook her head. "Something suspicious has happened," she said. Tears ran down her face.
    "I'll call the police," Cherry said, handing Midge the clean handkerchief she always kept in her purse in case of emergencies.
    "No police!" Midge cried.
    By the tone in her voice Cherry could tell the desperate girl meant business. What was it about the police that alarmed Midge so?
    Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Hello? Anyone home?" called a masculine voice.
    "Up here!" Midge yelled. "That's our chum Tom," she explained.
    The man coming up the stairs was tall and slender with large basset-hound eyes. In his arms was Eleanor.
    "Midge, what's going on? The door was wide open and Eleanor was left on the stoop. Is Velma back yet? She left so quickly I didn't even get a chance to say hi."
    "You saw Velma!" Midge cried. "Where? When?"
    "Velma's mysteriously disappeared," Cherry added solemnly.
    "Velma's disappeared? How frightful!" Tom cried.
    "Where did you see Velma? What did she say?" Midge asked impatiently.
    Tom deposited Eleanor on the bed and sat down. "She was leaving the house when I walked up. I came over to see if you girls wanted to hear my new Sinatra record, but before I could speak to Velma, she got into a car with two men and drove off. I'm sure she saw me, but she didn't wave or anything," he said. "Frankly, my feelings were a little hurt."
    "What men? What car?" Midge cried.
    Tom shook his head. "No one I've seen before, and believe me, I would have remembered these characters." He shuddered. "One man had on a long black coat that was buttoned all the way up to his chin and a hat pulled low over his face. He looked like a spy or a government worker. I guess some people find that style attractive, but I must say I prefer a softer look." He smoothed the leg of his beige pleated pants, which were pressed with a razor-sharp crease.
    Something about Tom's description of the man rang a bell in Cherry. Where had she run into a man clad in a long black overcoat?
    "Oh, no!" Cherry shrank back in her chair. "I just remembered! I saw him on the way to Idaho!"
    "What?" Midge and Tom chorused.
    "Was he driving a shiny red convertible?" asked Cherry excitedly.
    "Yes!" Tom admitted.
    "What is it, Cherry? What do you know?" Midge asked.
    "I had a most unpleasant exchange with an unsavory fellow driving a red convertible back in Washington, not long after leaving the hospital. Oh, dear," Cherry