The Magician's Secret (Nancy Drew Diaries #8)(16)

“That’s the oddest part,” Candy said. “According to the police, none of the doors showed any sign of forced entry. The alarm never went off. Even the security tapes show nothing unusual.” She shrugged. “It’s as if the stones just disappeared—like magic.”

That’s what I figured.

Candy went on to tell us that the security equipment was kept in a small room that was always locked; Candy had the only key. While George examined the security system and Bess checked out the cabinet where the gems had been stored, I went outside to make a quick phone call.

Ned answered on the first ring.

“Where are you?” he asked. “Should I run to your side? Do you need to be rescued?” I smiled. It did happen occasionally, though I’d rescued Ned about as many times as he’d rescued me.

“No. Not this time.” I laughed. “No knight in shining armor necessary. But you can help me out with something. Do you know why John Smallwood was in the jewelry shop that day?”

It had been bothering me for a while. Why would a thief, especially a retired thief, go into a jewelry store? Seems like he was asking for trouble.

“A date,” Ned said simply.

I had no idea what he was talking about. “Huh?”

“Apparently, he met Candy at the River Run Coffee Shop the day before. She didn’t give him a phone number, but she told him where she worked,” Ned explained. “The jewelry store is in the same mini-mall. So he went to the shop at closing time, then hung out to see if she’d have dinner with him.”

“That’s kind of romantic,” I said.

Ned gave a small laugh. “But while they were out, the store was robbed, and before the night was over, Mr. Smallwood was arrested.”

“What a terrible first date,” I remarked.

“Hopefully, when your dad clears this up, they can try again,” Ned told me.

“Hopefully,” I echoed, then thanked him and said good-bye.

Bess was waiting for me. “I just got off the phone with your dad,” she said.

“About what?” I asked.

“I wanted to know how many jewels were stolen and their value,” she replied.

“I think Ned said the jewels were worth millions,” I noted.

“?‘Millions’ is too vague when it comes to gems.” Bess snorted. “It’s precisely three and a half million dollars in fifteen stones: six emeralds and nine rubies.”

“Only fifteen stones?” I was surprised. “Those are some mighty gems.”

“Big and flawless. Very valuable.” Bess nodded, then said, “I’ve been thinking about how Gritty wants to raise one million dollars for her clothing line. Three point five is way better than just one measly mil.”

“I’ve been thinking about that too.” I took Bess’s arm. “Let’s get George and move—”

Just then, from the back of the shop, we heard a scream.

“George!” I cried.





CHAPTER ELEVEN





Clue by Clue


“LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND!” George was standing in the security room doorway, gripping a small box.

“The gems?” I asked, expelling a sigh of relief that she was okay.

George snorted. “Better.”

“Better than the gems?” Bess said, squinting at her cousin. “What could be better?”

“Videotape!” George cheered.

“Right,” Bess said. “I think you are sleep deprived.”

“No, no,” George said. “I mean, yes, I am sleep deprived, but this is our most important clue yet.”

I was listening.

“Nancy, there are some gaping holes in my theory here, but try this,” George started. “What if . . .” Her eyes lit up in the darkened room. “What if, after Smallwood left the shop, there was someone else already there? Maybe someone who knew Smallwood, like a partner, or maybe someone else. At this point it doesn’t matter.”

She shook her head as if to clear it. “Let’s just say, once the shop was officially closed, if a person broke into the security room, they’d have had access to the entire system. The security tapes could have been tampered with, and whoever stole the jewels could have simply played footage from any other night.” She held up the tape box. “The tapes would have shown that all was quiet even though the thief was inside. Then there is just the matter of disabling the alarm and opening the gem case.”

“Sounds possible,” I said. “I like that idea better than to think the gems magically disappeared.”

“Me too,” George said adamantly. “There’s always an explanation for everything.” She handed me the tape. “The police missed this one. There’s a backup unit for the security equipment in a cabinet. That machine had been tampered with; it was set to play, not record.”

Candy let us use the machine, and we quickly discovered that George was right. The tape showed looped footage of a quiet night. She’d found our most important clue so far. Someone had been in the security room when Candy left for her date.

“I’m not sure how they got in,” George was saying as we walked from the room. “I mean, this door was locked, the front door was locked, the back—”