Free False Notes by Carolyn Keene Page A

do?” she said, playing with a crumpled straw wrapper someone had left on the tabletop. “At the rate the River Heights Police Department moves, they’ll get around to investigating sometime next Tuesday.”
    “Joke about it if you want,” I said grimly. “But Leslie could be in deadly danger—and I think we need to do whatever we can to help her.”
    My friends exchanged a glance. “All right, Nancy,” Bess said. “We’ll help if we can. But what do you think we should do?”
    I took a deep breath. “I think we should tail Granger.”
    “Oh, yeah,” George said sarcastically. “Because that worked so well the last time.”
    “No, listen,” I said. “I’m not talking about going to his house this time. We know where his office is. We can go there right now and wait for him to come out. Then we’ll follow him.”
    “Why?” George asked bluntly.
    I shrugged, not wanting to admit that I was feeling a little less than confident about my own plan. “The deadline for the paperwork is getting close,” I said. “Granger’s probably going to be keeping an eye on Leslie from now on, wherever she is. Maybe he’ll lead us there.”
    Bess’s forehead crinkled slightly. “But I thought you said he wouldn’t want to have any contact with Leslie—you know, so she couldn’t identify him after he lets her go. So what good will it do to follow him?”
    “Look,” I said, feeling frustrated. Normally I love it when my friends ask intelligent questions about my cases—they help me figure things out. But at the moment, I didn’t seem to have any good answers for them. Or for myself. “We need to do something. And since Granger is our only suspect, he’s also our only lead. Now, are you with me, or not?”
    Bess and George glanced at each other. They both shrugged.
    “I guess so,” George answered for both of them. “I mean, we’re not about to let you run off after a possible kidnapper all by yourself.”
    It wasn’t exactly the rousing vote of support I might have hoped for, but it would have to do. “Good,” I said.
    At that moment the man behind the counter called out our names. Our sandwiches were finally ready. We each grabbed a beverage from the cooler near the counter. After paying for our food, we headed outside.
    “Come on,” I said. “We’ll take my car. That way you guys can eat while I drive.”
    Bess looked doubtful, but George was already heading for the passenger-side door. “Sounds good to me,” she said, reaching into her bag to pull out her sandwich.
    We didn’t talk much on the short ride to the building where Granger’s office was located. My friends were busy eating, and I was busy thinking.
    Were they right? I clutched the wheel tightly as I waited for a red light to change. Was this a waste of time?
    “Yo!” George mumbled through a mouthful of food. “Earth to Nancy. It’s not going to get any greener.”
    With a start, I realized that the traffic light had changed. I stepped on the gas quickly, causing my car to lurch forward and almost cut off the engine. Bess winced, but kept quiet. I managed to keep us moving, and a moment later I was pulling to the curb directly across from the exit to a parking garage beneath a tall office building.
    “So now what?” Bess asked, taking a sip of her jumbo-size soda.
    “Now we wait.” I cut the engine and leaned back in my seat. “When Granger comes out, we’ll follow him.”
    George looked skeptical. “What if he already left?” she asked. “It’s after five o’clock.”
    “Granger didn’t get as rich and successful as he is by cutting out at five every day,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Don’t worry; he’s still there.”
    I reached for my sandwich, ignoring the dubious glances my friends were exchanging.
    We sat there in my car and waited. And waited. And then we waited some more.
    An hour passed, and then two. All of our sandwiches were long gone. My friends were bored and grumpy, and I