The Sinister Omen

by Carolyn Keene

  Sitting in a chair, tied up and gagged, was Errol! Nancy stared at him, then removed the gag.

  "Oh, Nancy, dear me, thank you. Thank you," the butler murmured. "Will you please untie me, too?"

  Nancy stepped back. 'T'm sorry, Errol. But I can't!"

  "Why not?" the startled man asked.

  "Because I saw it all. I know, Errol. And Tm sad that a trusted and valued employee like you could stoop to something like this!"

  Errol's face fell. "I thought I deserved more than what I got after a lifetime of service to her," he said. "Well—" His voice trailed off. Then he lifted his eyes pleadingly to Nancy. "Would you mind giving me a glass of water?

  The gag dried out my mouth. Please"

  Nancy nodded and went to the cupboard. She took out a glass and filled it at the sink.

  When she turned to bring it to him, she gasped.

  Errol had freed himself from his bonds and now leaped up from his chair. Apparently, his confederates had not tied him securely!

  Before Nancy could flee, he was upon her. The glass tumbled out of her hand as he pushed her against the sink. "It was your misfortune to get in my way, Miss Drew. But you see, it's not too late for me," the butler hissed. "Obviously, I can't let you tell the police, can I?" With that, his hands closed tightly around her throat!

  17. Hydrofoiled!

  Nancy gulped and tried to push him away. Now the sound of the siren was quite loud and the police car was perhaps only two blocks away.

  Suddenly, the butler let go of her. He rubbed his hand over his eyes and made a gesture of defeat.

  "I can't do it," he mumbled. "I can't hurt you. I can't hurt anyone. It's not my nature. I'm sorry about what they did to Mrs. Palmer's things. But I won't go to prison like an animal."

  With that, Errol ran out and disappeared into his room, locking the door behind him before Nancy could stop him. A moment later, she heard the outside door slam. A car started and roared off just before the police pulled up in front.

  Nancy ran to the door and threw it open. Two Fort Lauderdale poHcemen were walking up the steps.

  "I'm glad you got here!'' she cried. "I'm Nancy Drew and I called you about the burglars."

  The shorter of the two officers smiled at her. "I'm Detective Maniello. Miss Drew, were you up on the roof screaming a little while ago?"

  "Yes," Nancy replied, "I certainly was. Two men were coming after me. You should see what they've done to Mrs. Palmer's living room."

  The policeman sighed. "Another burglary. I knew it. The minute she called us to lift our round-the-clock guard, the thieves were ready."

  "That's true," Nancy said. "But now I can give you a very good description of at least one of the burglars, which should certainly help, and I also know that Mrs. Palmer's butler, Errol, is involved with them and let them in."

  "That will help a great deal," Detective Maniello confirmed. "But what I'm afraid of is to face Mrs. Palmer before we catch the criminals!"

  Nancy smiled. "You won't have to face her right now because she's out."

  The officers took notes as Nancy described the crime and the criminals. Then, after thanking her for her thoroughness, they left.

  Soon afterward, Susan and Mrs. Palmer arrived and were greeted with hugs by the young detective.

  "I'm so glad to see you,'' Nancy exclaimed.

  "Goodness, what a hugger you are," Mrs. Palmer cried. "I take it something has happened?''

  "I'm afraid so," Nancy said sheepishly.

  ''And you didn't catch them?" Mrs. Palmer challenged, a hint of her old fire in her eyes.

  "No, but I saw them and I know who tipped them off. If you'll just sit down a minute, I'll explain."

  "I told you, I never sit!" Mrs. Palmer said firmly. "Now what happened?" She started to move toward the parlor.

  "Oh, please, don't go in there yet!" Nancy begged.

  ''Don't be childish. I'm no stranger to trouble and I can imagine what hap—" The woman stopped as she saw the ruins of her living room. She was silent for a moment, rocking slightly, which prompted both girls to hold out their arms protectively. But Mrs. Palmer shrugged them off.

  "Stop that now! Tm perfectly all right. Do you think Tm going to have a heart attack over some upholstery? I mean, this isn't the Palace of Versailles. Susan, call the upholsterer in the morning. Get all this repaired."

  Mrs. Palmer stamped back and forth, anger in her feet as they came down hard on the floor. Then she stopped and pointed her stick at Nancy. "Well," she demanded. ''What were they after? And did they get it?''

  "I . . . I . . ."

  "You don't know."

  ''Not yet. But I'm much closer. It's just a matter of checking out a few things. When the police pick up the two men, we'll know."

  "Oh, bother," said Mrs. Palmer, banging the end of her cane on the floor. "You're starting to sound like a politician, Nancy."

  Susan McAfee cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but Nancy's been on the job only two days and nobody expected her to catch the crooks single-handedly. I think she should be congratulated for—"

  "Yes, yes, she's done a good job. Forgive me. I'm just upset that all my gorgeous rugs in there were cut up like that."

  Nancy saw the glimmer of a tear on the woman's face, but refrained from trying to console her, knowing that the tough old lady would fiercely resist any show of sympathy or softness.

  "Now" Mrs. Palmer demanded. "You said you knew who one of them is. Who is it?''

  Reluctantly, Nancy broke the news about Er-rol. As she had expected, this hit Mrs. Palmer harder than anything. White-faced, the woman sat down and didn't say a word for a long time.

  Finally, Nancy broke the silence. "I know that you would rather have lost everything than to find that Errol has betrayed you."

  Now Mrs. Palmer did break. A tear rolled down her cheek and her voice cracked when she spoke. "Why did he do it? What did I do wrong? You can know somebody all your life and never really know him. I thought I was generous. He thought I was stingy. I just don't know, Nancy."

  There was another silence, then Mrs. Palmer went on. "You suspected him all along, didn't you? That's why you wanted him here while everyone else was out. "

  Nancy nodded. ''Unfortunately, they were more cautious than I expected. His two confederates cut the phone line before they came in, so I couldn't call the police. By the time I climbed out on the roof and yelled for help, they made their getaway." She explained in detail what happened, then Susan went to make some tea.

  ''You were very brave, Nancy,'' Mrs. Palmer said. 'I'm grateful for what you did. Without you, those men would have eventually destroyed my home."

  They went to the kitchen where Susan poured the tea, then Nancy cleared her throat. "Mrs. Palmer, I know it's annoying to you to hear the same question all over again, but it's the only way to get the information we need. Try and think what it could be the burglars want. Perhaps it's something from so long ago that you've forgotten where you put it. I'm very young but even I have stashed things away so safely that I don't remember where they are. Sometimes I even forget that I hid them at all! I did it with the first piece of good jewelry my dad ever gave me. I hid it because I was afraid I would lose it. And I couldn't find it for a year!"

  Mrs. Palmer smiled. "I know," she said. "I do it all the time, too. But I just can't think of what they could be after. I'm drawing a blank."

  Just then, someone knocked on the door. Susan went out and admitted Burt and George, who burst into the kitchen excitedly.

  "Nancy, we have to talk to you!" George cried. "We tried to call, but your phone is out of order, Mrs. Palmer. Then we contacted the police and found out that the burglars were here, but are gone now, so we came over to tell you what happened."

  Nancy smiled and introduced Burt to Mrs. Palmer and Susan, then motioned for her friends to sit down.

  "Now, tell us what's up," she said, when everyone was settled around the table and Susan poured tea for the newcomers.

  "Well,"
George said, "we walked down to the beach again tonight. Bess and Dave went off by themselves, and Ned stopped next to a phone booth to tie his sneaker, when a car drove up. A guy jumped out, went into the phone booth, and Ned could hear every word!"

  "What did he hear?"

  "Nancy, you're not going to believe this. It's fantastic!"

  "I'll believe it! Just tell me."

  "Ned thinks it was the same guy who sat in the back room of the restaurant the other night," Burt put in. "He called a number and said, 'Hello, Otto.'"

  "He was calling Stroessner!" Nancy broke in excitedly.

  "That's what Ned thought. Anyway, the guy was all upset. Said something about having this

  big problem and that he needed money because the deal fell through. Apparently, Otto gave him a job for tonight. The guy repeated the words Otto was saying. A fast boat will be pulling into Port Everglades. He's to meet it and transfer some valuable cargo. How about that?"

  ''Sounds good," Nancy said. ''Did you call Señor Segovia?"

  "Yes, but he and your father are out. Ned rented a speedboat and is waiting for you at the Segovia dock. He didn't use the Segovia boat because it's not fast enough. He wanted to have as much power as possible to keep up with those crooks."

  "He needs to know if you can come," Burt said. "If you're still busy here, we'll go with him."

  "I'll come," the titian-haired detective said, and got up from the table. "Mrs. Palmer, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

  "Let me know if you find out more about my burglars," the woman replied. "And Nancy, thanks for what you've done."

  On the way to the Segovia mansion, the trio discussed whether Burt and George should go along with Nancy and Ned.

  "I'd like to," George said. "I'm dying to find out what those crooks are going to do!"

  "I know," Nancy said. "But Td rather you stay at the mansion so you can tell Dad and Señor Segovia what's going on as soon as they come back. Where are Bess and Dave?"

  "We don't know. We lost them at the beach somewhere," Burt replied.

  "That's another reason for you to stay. When they come back and don't find anyone, they'll worry."

  A few minutes later, Nancy met Ned at the dock. He was waiting with a sleek, blue and white racer.

  "Wow," Nancy said. "This looks like one of those boats that race to the Bahamas and back."

  "It is," Ned replied. "It should be able to keep up with anyone."

  Carefully, they pulled out onto the Intra-coastal Waterway, making sure all their running lights were on and in good working order.

  "Ned, did you call the police?" Nancy asked.

  "Not yet," Ned said. "But there's a radio on board. We can do it from here."

  "I'll do it now," Nancy said. "I'd feel better if I knew they had a harbor patrol craft in the area."

  She got on the radio and began calling. But abnormal static conditions blocked her transmission. All she could hear was a jumble of cracked voices issuing from the speaker.

  ''Well," Nancy said, ''we'll try it again later. Meanwhile, we'd better watch carefully for our man."

  "We're almost there," Ned said. "Over there's the spot Otto designated." He cut the engine and turned off the lights. While the boat bobbed gently in the waves, Nancy told Ned what had transpired at the Palmer house. "I have a sore throat from all that screaming I did," she concluded.

  Ned had to chuckle even though he realized how dangerous the situation had been. "I wonder what the neighbors thought," he said.

  "They probably figured someone had gone mad. But I was really scared. Those two men kept coming after me. Thank goodness that fellow in the car stopped when he heard me and called the police."

  "But you still don't know what the crooks were after, do you?"

  Nancy shook her head slowly. "All I know is that the Palmer case is bigger than it appears to be."

  "What does that mean?"

  "I believe those men who keep breaking into that house are looking for something really important"

  "Like what?''

  "I don't know. I have a crazy hunch, but it's so crazy I don't want to talk about it yet. Hey, look over there!" Nancy said suddenly. "Is that the boat we're after?"

  Ned had borrowed a peculiar pair of binoculars from the butler who was in charge of the Segovia special equipment used for crime detection. They made it possible to see more clearly at night. He adjusted them and peered through them intently.

  "I'm not sure," he mumbled. ''No, I don't think so. That big boat's a hydrofoil. I can't imagine the smuggling boat being a—"

  He stopped and stared silently through the glasses. ''Nancy, there's a little boat pulling up to it. Maybe it's the gang after all!"

  "Let me see," Nancy begged, taking the binoculars. "That's it!" she cried excitedly. "Please call the police again, Ned!"

  He nodded and moved to the instrument panel. As he did, his arm accidentally hit a button activating the spotlight and a distress alarm system buzzer!

  Suddenly, a bright beam stabbed across the water toward the two boats and a siren filled the night air.

  "Oh, no!'' Nancy moaned. "Ned, what happened?"

  Her friend lunged to turn off the switch. ''I hit it by mistake," he said ruefully. "Didn't even know it was there. I'm sorry, Nancy—"

  "Never mind, it wasn't your fault," Nancy said. "Look what they're doing!"

  Apparently, the crooks had been alerted, because there were some frantic shouts, then a small suitcase was passed from the large boat to the smaller one. The next instant, the small boat sped north up the waterway, its powerful engine snarling loudly.

  Nancy shoved the throttle forward and followed. "Ned, try the police again, please!"

  Ned grabbed the radio mike. "Fort Lauderdale police," he called. "Attention, please. This is Ned Nickerson and Nancy Drew in Port Everglades Harbor. We're heading north in pursuit of a high-powered boat believed to be carrying contraband goods that are being smuggled into the country."

  There was no answer but Ned repeated his message. Meanwhile, the boat they were fol-

  lowing gained on them considerably. ''We're losing it" Nancy murmured. ''It's too fast. They—Ned, it's no use. Look!"

  ''The little boat's a hydrofoil, too!" Ned said. "Obviously, the gang uses these in all their operations, so they can get away in a hurry if need be. Oh, Nancy,' we'll never catch up with them!"

  18. A Mystery Solved

  Nancy throttled down to normal cruising speed and looked at Ned. He was sitting with his head down. "Boy," he said, ''did I mess that up."

  Nancy ruffled his hair with one hand. ''Non-sense. It was an accident. Anyway, even if you hadn't hit the light and the siren, we couldn't have caught them."

  ''But if they hadn't known about us, they might have taken off at a slower speed and we might have been able to follow them," Ned said. "Don't try to let me down easy, Nancy. I goofed, and we both know it."

  ''No sense crying over spilled milk," Nancy said brightly. "Apparently, the radio didn't work, either. Sometimes the breaks are with you, and sometimes they aren't. By the law of averages, we should have luck the next time."

  "I'm glad you're an optimist!"

  Nancy chuckled. "As Winston Churchill said, I'm an optimist because that means living in hope. If you're a pessimist, you're always living in despair."

  "Sounds reasonable," Ned agreed.

  When they arrived at the Segovia mansion, he got out to tie up the boat. In the process, his feet got tangled up in a line and he stumbled. The next moment, he crashed headlong onto the dock!

  "Oh, no!" he cried. "This isn't my day! Nancy, just take me inside and point me toward my room. Don't let anybody talk to me until tomorrow, or I might accidentally destroy the whole world!"

  Nancy was laughing all the way up to the house. Ned went straight to bed as he promised, but she got herself some milk and went out to the patio where Bess, Dave, George, and Burt were anxiously waiting to hear what had happened. Mr. Drew and Señor Segovia had not retur
ned yet.

  The foursome was surprised when Nancy told about their adventure, and Burt laughed about Ned's misfortune. "We were wondering why he disappeared so quickly without even saying good night," the boy said. "He probably figured we'd give him the Dummy of the Day Award"

  "It wasn't his fault." Nancy defended her friend, but she couldn't suppress a smile.

  Next morning when Nancy came down to breakfast, her friends were already sitting there with Mr. Drew and their host. The men had returned late the night before and were now eagerly listening to the young people's account of the latest events.

  ''The whole thing was really my fault," Señor Segovia said. ''If we had left word where to reach us, we would have gotten the police and helped you. But we were moving so fast that we didn't think of it."

  ''Then you're not angry with us?" Nancy asked.

  Señor Segovia laughed. "Angry with you? Never. Your Uncle Ricardo can never be angry with you, Nancy. There. I've made you an honorary niece."

  "Can you really do that?" Ned asked him kiddingly.

  "Sure," Señor Segovia replied. "I have full permission. Oh, there is a good story I must tell you. Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous novelist who wrote Treasure Island and Kidnapped, once got a letter from a little girl who complained that her birthday was on Christmas.

  Since the Lord's birthday was the big event, people seemed to forget hers and didn't reaHze that this made her very unhappy. So you know what Stevenson did? He wrote the Httle girl a letter, officially giving her his birthday to be her very own, forever, so that she could have a normal celebration just like other children"

  "Hey, that's really neat," Nancy said. "I love that story and I love being your adopted niece, Uncle Ricardo."

  Señor Segovia laughed, delighted. Then his expression changed and he held up one finger. "Oh," he said, "I almost forgot. We have some information on that license number you gave me. Let's see. I have it right here." He dug a piece of paper from his pocket. "Does the name Errol Bigley mean anything to you?"