that took them to the Marine Mammal Pavilion. She
was glad she had been at the aquarium before and
knew her way around.
When they reached the Mammal Pavilion, Nancy
spotted Lian and Janie in front of the theater doors.
Janie was sipping a soda. Lian was showing her a
stuffed seal she'd pulled from an aquarium shopping
bag.
Nancy frowned. The two looked totally innocent.
Was she wrong to suspect them? she wondered.
“Hey, Nan.” Janie waved. “How was the Tide Pool?”
“How did you know I was there?” Nancy asked, her
tone sharp.
Janie arched one brow. “That's where George said
she was going to meet you.”
Lian put her stuffed seal back into the bag. “We'd
better go in. The show's about to start.”
“Lian just got here, too,” Janie said to Nancy as she
opened the theater door for everyone.
“There were so many cute animals to choose from,”
Lian explained.
As they went inside, Nancy glanced at Lian. She had
obviously been to the gift shop, then hurried to meet
them. But she could also have managed to follow
Nancy. Nancy decided not to rule out anyone for the
moment.
The four girls made their way to an empty row of
seats. Already the jumbo screen was showing scenes of
sea mammals. Nancy settled back, her eyes on the
screen. But she couldn't stop her mind from racing.
Who had accosted her in the aquarium? Lian?
Janie? Or was it someone who had followed them from
the ship? And what had been his or her intent?
An involuntary shiver raced up Nancy's arms. She
knew what the person had wanted—to scare her, or
worse. I must be getting close to blowing Chance's
identity, she thought.
Then a new possibility worked its way into Nancy's
thoughts. Weller had said that Curran's pattern was to
rob and run. That meant something was keeping him
here. Something important enough to keep him from
fleeing, even though he knew Nancy was getting close.
Was he planning a bigger heist? Or if he was
connected to the film, was he going to leave when they
finished shooting?
Nancy wasn't sure. But one thing she did know:
from now on, she couldn't let down her guard for a
second.
“I'll have the pasta,” Nancy said to Scott. Frowning,
he wrote her order below George's order of hamburger
and fries.
“No seafood tonight?” Scott asked them.
George and Nancy laughed. “No way,” George said.
“I'd keep thinking it was a cousin of some fish I'd met
at the aquarium.”
“Oh, right.” Scott nodded knowingly, then jerked his
thumb to the right. “Think she'll give me an
autograph?”
Nancy looked in the direction he was referring to.
Selena sat at a private, candlelit table by herself. “I
thought you wanted an autograph for John,” she
teased.
He flushed pink. “Right. Uh, he got one already.
He's their waiter.”
“Their waiter?” George asked.
Then Nancy saw a man walking toward the table.
Since his back was to her, she wasn't sure who it was,
but she figured it must be Joseph Mascelli. When he
sat down, she realized it was Andrew. Leaning across
the table, he said something to Selena that made her
throw back her head and laugh.
“Whoa,” George said. “Selena and Andrew? They
look mighty friendly.”
“Want me to find out what they're discussing?” Scott
asked, giving the two girls a conspiratorial wink. “John
will be glad to tell all.”
“Go for it,” Nancy said.
When Scott left, she sat back in her chair. George
had dark circles under her eyes. She'd propped her
head up with one hand as if too tired to hold it straight.
Nancy knew how her friend felt.
“As soon as dinner's over, we'll hit the sack,” Nancy
promised.
“I know it's only eight, but it feels like midnight,”
George mumbled. “I can't believe Janie and Lian are
off to meet a bunch of the cast and crew at Fells
Point.”
“At least that's where they said they were going.”
For a second Nancy played with her fork, her thoughts
drifting to Andrew and Selena. Their dinner was
probably totally innocent, a chance to discuss script
changes. Then again . . .
“A bigger role,” Scott said when he brought their
salads.
“No thanks, this roll's big enough,” George said,
pointing to the one on her side plate.
Nancy and Scott laughed. “He means Selena wants a
bigger role in the film,” Nancy explained.
“Oh. How'd you know that's what he meant?”
George asked Nancy.
“Because Scott had that I'm-on-a-case look in his
eyes when he brought our salad. And it made sense—
Selena definitely would like to be the star.”
“I'll keep pumping John to see if he digs up anything
juicier,” Scott promised before leaving.
Nancy speared a piece of lettuce with her fork. “Of
course,” she said to George in a low voice, “they could
be talking about committing crimes, and Selena meant
she wants a bigger role in the burglaries.”
“There's no way Selena's involved,” George said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because if that had been Selena in the surveillance
videotape, she would have struck a pose so security
taped her best angle.”
Nancy laughed, glad the evening was ending on a
light note. Before dinner she'd called Detective Weller
from the hotel room. He'd been so concerned when
she told him about the attacker in the aquarium, he'd
suggested she do no further investigating.
Nancy told him she was already in too deep. He also
had said the prints should be processed by the next
day. Nancy hoped so. If Chance Curran knew they
were closing in, he could run any minute.
After dinner Nancy and George swung by Andrew's
and Selena's table before heading for their room. The
two were still talking as they sipped coffee.
“You two didn't go to Fells Point with the others?”
Nancy asked.
Selena rolled her eyes. “Some noisy, crowded
restaurant that smells like fish? No thanks. This is more
private.” She gave Andrew a meaningful look.
“I'll probably join them later,” Andrew said, ignoring
Selena's look. Nancy wondered if he deliberately did it
to annoy the actress, or if he was one of the few men
oblivious to her charms.
“We're hitting the sack,” George said. “It's been a
long crazy day.”
Nancy waited, wondering if Andrew would
comment on his brother's arrest. When he mentioned
shooting the scene instead, she was once again
surprised at his lack of interest.
Finally, the two girls said goodbye. “
I wonder what it
would be like to be as beautiful as Selena,” George
mused as they took the elevator to their floor. “Men
take one look at her and fall hard.”
“I don't want men falling at my feet.” Nancy stepped
out of the elevator. As she and George walked to their
room, she glanced up and down the hallway,
wondering if the burglars would strike again tonight.
Nancy unlocked the door, and they went inside.
“First dibs on the bathroom,” Nancy said, pulling a
sleep shirt out of her suitcase.
She went into the bathroom, flicked on the light,
then gasped. Someone had drawn a crimson heart on
the mirror. Beside it was a drawing of a red hourglass.
A red liquid seemed to drip from both pictures.
George came rushing in. “What's wro—” She
clapped a hand over her mouth when she saw the
drawings, their outlines crisscrossing Nancy and
George's images in the mirror like bloody slashes.
“Your time is running out,” Nancy murmured to
herself.
“What?” George gasped.
“That's what the hourglass means.” Nancy pointed to
it. “It was used on pirate flags to warn other ships.”
“And what about the heart?” George asked, her
voice cracking.
Nancy inhaled shakily. “That was used on the flags,
too. It means, A slow painful death awaits you!”
11. A Narrow Miss
“I don't like the sound of that message,” George said.
“And I don't like the fact that someone keeps breaking
into our room.”
“Whoever it is must still have that master key card,”
Nancy said. “Maybe we'd better move. I'll call the desk
and ask them for a new room.”
George shuddered. “Good idea. I don't think I could
fall asleep thinking some pirate's going to sneak in here
tonight and carry out his threat.”
“I'm calling Detective Weller, too,” Nancy added.
“Maybe the police can get some prints off the mirror.”
“What is that red stuff anyway?” George asked.
Leaning closer, Nancy studied the goop on the
mirror. “It looks similar to the fake blood we used for
the battle scene on the ship.”
“Our mysterious prop room bandit again,” George
observed. “Did you ever get fingerprints from Eli? He
has the easiest access to the props.”
“No. I wasn't able to get anything he touched
without looking obvious. That was a mistake. When you
look at the guy, you think there's no way he could be
some clever burglar. But that's just the type of person I
should be looking for. Chance Curran's gotten away
with his crimes because no one's identified him.”
Turning, Nancy left the bathroom, George on her
heels. “Getting prints from Eli will be my top priority
tomorrow,” she told George as she picked up the
phone to call the lobby desk. “Wimpy Eli Wakefield
just may be crafty Chance Curran.”
“Do you have any meal receipts from the last couple
of days?” Nancy asked Eli on Thursday, the next
morning, before filming.
“Don't tell me el cheapo Andrew is reimbursing us
for our meals,” Eli scoffed as he dug in his pants
pockets.
Nancy smiled winningly. “We hope. Publicity has
been so good, lots of different broadcasting companies
are showing interest in the film.”
That's true, Nancy thought as she watched Eli pull
out his wallet. “I think I saved several charge receipts
from dinners,” he said.
Bingo. Nancy tried not to smile too happily. Not
only would the police be able to get prints off the
receipts, but the receipts should have the date and
time on them. Nancy would be able to see if Eli had an
alibi for the night she was attacked at the aquarium.
He pulled several crumpled slips of paper from his
wallet. “For lunch I grabbed something from a fast
food place so I don't have any. I haven't been living too
extravagantly.”
“So your signature's on the receipts,” Nancy
observed. She needed to make sure they were
identified for the police.
“Right.” He gave them to Nancy.
“Thanks,” she said brightly. When she moved away,
she tucked the receipts into a paper bag along with
several others. Hopefully, she'd get a chance to get
some good prints from them. They would also help
determine where the suspects were the last couple of
nights. If they were eating during the time of the
robberies or when she was attacked at the aquarium,
she could cross them off her list.
Karl Kidd was Nancy's next target. She hadn't talked
to him since he'd thrown the dagger at her. Now the
big guy was with Janie, who was adjusting his blue
uniform jacket. For today's scene Karl was playing the
part of Captain Barnet, the man who'd attacked and
captured Calico Jack's ship.
Janie had tied Karl's unruly hair back into a ponytail,
trimmed his brows and beard, then sprayed them gray.
He almost looked distinguished, Nancy thought.
Nancy approached him when Janie left. He had his
knife out and was whittling a small piece of wood.
“Any meal receipts, Karl?” she asked, holding up the
paper bag.
Without looking at her, he shook his head no.
“Really? You're missing out on free cash.”
He gave her a cold look. “I said I don't have any,” he
repeated, pointing the knife at her before striding
away.
As Nancy watched him go, she wondered about his
curious response. Janie came over, a tricornered hat in
her hand. “What did you do, scare the captain away?”
“I only asked him if he had receipts,” Nancy said.
“And he went off in a huff.”
“That's odd. Karl should have jumped at the chance
for some money. But then the guy's been acting pretty
strange since we came to Baltimore.”
Nancy turned to face her. “Really?”
“Yeah. When we were doing the Shakespeare
production together, Karl was the life of the party. On
this film, he's made himself scarce every night.”
Nancy tried not to look too interested. “So he wasn't
with you guys last night at Fells Point?”
Janie shook her head. “And no one knew where he
was, either.”
“Strange.” Nancy shrugged nonchalantly, though
inside her mind was tucking away the interesting
information. “Weren't you two together the other
night? After you and I had dinner?”
Janie gave her a guarded look. “You must have been
mistaken,” she said. “Anyway, he's probably been
scarce because he has friends in the area that he's been
visiting.”
“Maybe.” Nancy said, backing off when she realized
Janie wasn't going to tell her what had really happened.
Janie looked past Nancy, her eyes narrowing. “Oh,
goody. Here comes Selena and her puppy dog.”
Nancy glanced over her shoulder. Selena was
walking across the quarterdeck, Joseph Mascelli
tagging behind her.
“At least she's dressed for rehearsal,” Janie said with
a sigh. “I had to convince her that Mary Read would
not be wearing spike heels for the big fight scene.”
Nancy burst out laughing. Harold came over
carrying the reflective shield. “I'm going to need you to
hold this during filming,” he told Nancy. “I'll show you
where to position it.”
“Okay.” Nancy tucked the shield under one arm.
Folding the bag of receipts, she slid it carefully in the
back pocket of her jeans. She would love to rush Eli's
prints to the police department, but already actors and
crew were gathering for the first take.
George and Daniel came on deck dressed in their
new costumes. “What do you think?” George asked,
twirling. The sleeves of her rough cotton shirt were
ripped, and her baggy pants were held up with a cord.
Her teeth had been blackened, her hair tangled, and a
red gash ran the length of her cheek.
“I think you should enter the next Miss America
contest,” Nancy joked.
“Your talent could be fencing,” Daniel added,
feinting at her with a pretend sword.
“Places!” Janie called. Nancy hurried over to Harold,
who showed her where to stand by the railing and how
to hold the shield.
“Mary Read and Anne Bonny will be fighting off
Barnet's men,” he told her. “Keep the shield on Mary's
face. Eli will get Anne's face. When Barnet climbs
aboard and Mary shoots him with her pistol, Eli will
focus his shield on him.”
Nancy nodded, concentrating hard. She saw Andrew
signal to Janie, who yelled, “Quiet!”
Standing on a short stepladder, Harold held the
boom mike between Anne and Mary. Behind and to
the left of Nancy, out of sight of the camera, Karl had
straddled the stern railing. When the camera was on
him, it would look as if he was boarding the ship.
Darting over to Selena, Janie pulled a strand of hair
from her scarf, letting it fall across her face. Selena had
also been made up to look grimy and weary, but
somehow she still managed to look gorgeous, Nancy
noticed.
“Roll sound!” Janie called when she was finished.
“Roll camera!” she called a second later, and the
camera's red light went on.
“Mark it,” Andrew said, and Janie snapped the slate
The Clue of the Gold Doubloons Page 9