Free The Swami's Ring by Carolyn Keene Page B

He glared at Nancy. “Trouble seems to abound when you and your father are in our midst,” he said sarcastically.
    The young detective gulped, ignoring the comment. Instead, she leaned close to the technician.
    “Please try not to move too much,” she said gently. “You could have a concussion.”
    The man blinked his eyes slowly, murmuring, “I’m okay. That kid only tapped me.”
    But the eyes closed again, and the fingers stopped moving.
    Ned, in the meantime, appeared in the doorway. “Rosemont is sending an ambulance right away,” he said.
    “That’s good,” Nancy said, noting the lump that had swelled through the victim’s thinning hairline.
    “There is no need for you to stick around,” the manager told the couple. “I will take care of Vince from here on.”
    Nancy, however, did not wish to leave the theater until the ambulance arrived, so she and Ned returned to the lobby. The two large, glass doors were open now, and an approaching siren soon stopped as the hospital vehicle pulled in front.
    “What was the announcement I missed?” Nancy asked her friends as two men in white uniforms wheeled in a stretcher.
    “The star apologized for the interruption,” Bess said, “but said they couldn’t go on under such circumstances.”
    Burt revealed a handful of money. “Everybody got a refund on their tickets,” he said.
    “I wonder why they didn’t offer to honor them for another evening,” Nancy said.
    “Well,” George replied, “I did overhear one woman say to another that she doubted that she would want to come to such a poorly run operation again.”
    “What’s on tomorrow night?” Dave inquired.
    “Nancy has the schedule,” Bess said.
    “Whatever it is,” Nancy put in, “I have a strong hunch that unless they strengthen security around here, the program could fall apart like this one did.”
    Now the group watched the ambulance team carry Vince through the employees’ door. His head did not move as he lay on the stretcher.
    How long would it be, Nancy wondered, before he could tell her about the incident? Had Vince expected the visitor, or was it a surprise attack?

14
    Flannery Foolery
    While the group followed the stretcher out, the festival manager hurried briskly toward his office.
    “Boy, he’s unfriendly,” Bess said as they stepped out under the dark sky.
    He was more than unfriendly, Nancy thought. He was downright antagonistic.
    Since the performance had been cut short, the young people decided to stop somewhere for a light snack, giving them a chance to discuss a plan of action.
    “Come to think of it,” Nancy said, “I’ve yet to meet Dr. DeNiro.”
    “Young or old?” Ned asked.
    “Young,” Bess smirked, causing a mock frown to form on her listener’s face.
    “And rather nice-looking,” George said.
    “I thought you said you wanted to go to the Flannery house,” Ned said to Nancy.
    “Oh, that too.”
    “Well, I’m free tomorrow, if you want company,” the young man offered.
    “I could use an extra pair of eyes,” Nancy teased.
    “How about my sunglasses, then?” George said in a laughing voice.
    “I’d rather take Ned, thank you,” Nancy grinned.
    As the conversation faded into light banter, the group temporarily forgot about the latest developments in the mysteries. When Nancy’s telephone rang early the next morning, however, she was surprised and happy to hear Angela Pruett’s voice.
    “I’ve been so concerned about you!” Nancy told the harpist.
    “I’m sorry. I should have called you sooner,” Angela said, wavering as she went on. “But I received a short message from Phyllis.”
    “Yesterday?” Nancy interrupted.
    “Yes, and she said she wanted to meet me at Swain Lake Lodge in the afternoon.”
    Nancy listened intently as Angela explained how she had waited almost two hours for her sister to arrive, but she never did.
    “I finally inquired at the desk,” Angela said. “That’s when I discovered a second message from