The Magician's Secret (Nancy Drew Diaries #8)(20)

The locksmith’s van was already pulling into the parking lot. We ran to meet the elderly man. He was wearing a suit that was frayed with age, but he had close-cut hair and a clean-shaven face. The sign on his truck read GALLOWAY GETS IT DONE.

“You’ll need a 505 wrench with a needle-nose tip for this one,” George told Mr. Galloway before we’d actually introduced ourselves.

“Really?” he looked at her with a shocked expression. “You’ve seen this mystery box?”

“No,” George admitted. “I’m just saying that’s what I’d take if I were you.”

“All righty then.” He just shook his head as he grabbed that wrench plus a few others.

“We’re here to show you the way,” I said.

“Lead on,” Mr. Galloway replied.



Judge Nguyen’s chamber was packed. In one corner there was the magician and his lawyer. In the other were my dad and Ned. Ned tipped his head to me when I entered with George, Mr. Galloway, and Bess.

Judge Nguyen sat in her oversize leather chair, gazing at us all, with the mystery box on her desk.

The box was made of the most beautiful polished wood I’d ever seen: red mahogany with thin ribbons of a lighter blond oak. Engraved into the sides and top were ornate swirls and designs that looked as if they came from India, with interlocking loops and flares. The depth of the carvings made the wood shine and shimmer, giving the effect that the wood itself was flowing like a river.

I couldn’t take my eyes off those carvings. The mysterious box held me in a spell.

Judge Nguyen stood and said, “This box was originally found among John Smallwood’s things at the Towering Heights Resort. He has sworn all along that the box does not belong to him and that he does not know how it came to be in his room.”

She looked at my dad and continued, “Because Mr. Drew and Ned Nickerson are Smallwood’s legal team, I feel that it is important for them to be here at the opening. If jewels are inside, Mr. Smallwood will be immediately arrested, pending a full investigation.” She looked at a notepad on the side of her desk. “I presume he is standing by at your house, Mr. Drew?”

My dad nodded.

I threw my dad a smile. Smallwood and Hannah were probably sitting at the table, enjoying leftover lasagna.

The judge glanced at the locksmith, who was clearly ready to get to work. She reviewed pertinent facts. “The box was collected at the hotel and moved to an evidence locker in the courthouse for safekeeping until it could be opened. Sometime during Mr. Lonestar’s magic act on Saturday, the box disappeared from the evidence locker. It has been missing until today.”

“Just because it reappeared in my client’s hotel room does not mean that the box or its contents belong to Mr. Lonestar,” Madeline Summers put in.

“True,” the judge said. She turned to me. “Nancy Drew, you were at the magic show the day the box disappeared. I’ve been told that you and your friends have some information to share.”

I glanced at Ned. So that was how he gotten us in; he’d promised that I’d reveal what we’d discovered.

I bit my tongue. I wasn’t ready for this. I hadn’t solved the mystery yet. But if I declined to comment, I’d be kicked out of the room and miss the box opening.

I sighed. “Everything we’ve discovered points to Drake Lonestar as the gem thief,” I said.

“Objection!” Mrs. Summers stomped to the center of the room. “Miss Drew cannot make accusatory statements like that! She has no proof that my client is the thief.”

I directed my gaze at the judge and said, “I’m not saying he did it, Your Honor. I’m saying that everything is pointing to the likelihood that he took the gems.”

“Go on, Miss Drew,” the judge told me.

“Drake Lonestar was in town several days before the burglary. He knew his courthouse trick would be performed here in River Heights. His personal timeline fits the timeline of the crime, and his arrival wasn’t a coincidence, like he’d led us all to believe.” I looked back over my shoulder at Lonestar, who radiated a cool calmness.

“The lies keep piling up from there. His bodyguard, Hugo, told everyone that he was dating Lonestar’s ex-wife, Gritty Grand. Hugo has no such relationship with Ms. Grand. Lonestar came to town with his daughters, claiming they were Gritty’s nieces.

“Although there’s no proof he has ever met John Smallwood, Lonestar moved from the Riverview Hotel to the Towering Heights Resort and was placed in the room across the hall from the suspected thief.” I had one last thing to say. “The break-in at the jewelry shop showed some classic hallmarks of a magic act.” I explained about the video loop and the gum on the floor. “Magic is about illusion. Often elements are set up in advance of the actual trick.” I looked directly at Drake. “Right, Mr. Lonestar?”

“Enough!” Madeline Summers roared. She turned to her client. “Don’t answer that.”

Drake Lonestar settled his eyes on mine. I felt a chill go up my spine as he glared at me.

Judge Nguyen cleared her throat, demanding the attention of everyone in the room. “It does seem, for now, that the evidence points to the magician as the gem thief.” She told Officer Collins, who’d been standing near the door, “Take the handcuffs off Mr. Lonestar. He’s not going anywhere.” Then she pointed at her desk. “Let’s open this box and see where this case goes next.”