Free Portrait in Crime by Carolyn Keene Page B

I’m doing.”
    â€œIf anything happened to him?” Nancy repeated. “Didn’t that seem odd to you?”
    â€œHe always said things like that,” Megan said.
    Nancy was torn. She didn’t know whether to trust Megan, but she was sure she didn’t trust Bob Tercero. All she had was his word that the Vanity belonged to the gallery.
    â€œI’m going to leave the painting with you, Megan,” Nancy said finally. “I’ll go back to the gallery and see if there’s some proof to the claim that they own it. But I need a picture of it. Do you have a camera?”
    â€œA Polaroid,” Megan offered. “Will that do?”
    â€œThat’s perfect,” Nancy said as Megan left to get the camera.
    Nancy took a picture of the painting and walked down to the front door. “Megan, will you promise to keep the painting safe until I find out what’s going on?” she asked.
    â€œThat’s why I have it,” Megan replied softly. “Because Nicholas wanted me to take care of it.”
    On the drive back home, Bess and George tried to convince Nancy to put the mystery aside and go with them to the beach.
    â€œJust for an hour!” Bess pleaded. “I finally pried George away from Gary so we could all be together. We can discuss the case, I promise.”
    â€œOkay, okay.” Nancy gave in, laughing. “Can we stop at home and get our suits, or do you want to go like this?”
    â€œI’ll let you stop at home only if you promise not to read your mail or answer the telephone,” Bess threatened with a grin.
    The girls changed and gathered their beach gear. It was the first time in a while that they’d had time to relax and talk alone. The beach was crowded, but they found space to spread out their towels. The first thing they did was to slather sunscreen on their bodies.
    â€œI don’t know how these people stand it,” Bess said, looking at the magnificent modern houses that dotted the beach above the vegetation line. “Imagine having all these strangers lying around in your front yard.”
    George snorted. “Like us, you mean?” she asked as she lay back and closed her eyes.
    Bess laughed. Then she put on an elaborately casual tone of voice. “Did I tell you Tommy and I are going out alone tonight? Without anyone else?”
    â€œYou mean, like on a date?” George asked.
    â€œNot like a date!” Bess corrected her. “It is a date. Our first official one. All the others involved casts of thousands.” Smiling smugly, she continued to rub sunscreen onto her arms.
    â€œThat’s great, Bess!” Nancy said.
    â€œAnyway, I need advice on what to wear,” Bess told them. “Something devastatingly gorgeous.” She began to look a little worried. “Actually, now that I think about it, I should be shopping right now!”
    â€œHold on,” Nancy said. “Where are you going?”
    â€œUh, I’m not sure. Pizza and a movie, I think.” Bess closed her eyes in rapture. “I have butterflies in my stomach! I haven’t been this nervous about a date in ages.”
    â€œPizza and a movie isn’t that big a deal,” George said dryly. “You can leave the evening gown in the closet, I think. Relax, Bess!”
    Nothing could put a damper on Bess’s mood. She babbled and commented on everything she saw. Nancy tried to concentrate on Bess’s bright chatter, but the mystery kept intruding. She was itching to find out if the gallery owned thepainting, but she wasn’t anxious to run into Cynthia or Bob.
    â€œNancy, did you hear me?” Bess asked, exasperated.
    Nancy looked up guiltily.
    â€œI said, look at the sailboats. They’re really racing in this wind.” Bess sighed. “Honestly, when you’re on a case, you’re hopeless!”
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    Nancy waited until just before closing time to go back to the