“Of course he is,” Mr. Moto said. “Do you know if he’s all right?”
“Yes,” Nancy replied. “I’m afraid he was hurt when your store was burglarized after your disappearance, but he’s fine now.”
“Oh, dear, oh—” Mr. Moto clasped his hands in despair and turned white. Nancy was afraid he might have another attack, but she and Ned managed to calm the jeweler.
“Please don’t worry,” Nancy told him. “Mr. Kikichi has recovered completely, and I’m sure we’re close to solving this mystery, and you will be able to recover your losses.”
“Tell us what happened to you after you were brought here,” Ned urged.
“They held me in this barn and only unbound me long enough so I could eat and get some exercise. When I talked to you on the telephone, Miss Drew—”
“It was you who called and invited me to Mrs. Rossmeyer’s party?” Nancy asked, very surprised.
“Yes, it was. The man who comes in here to watch me while I’m eating was called away on an emergency for a few minutes. I know there is a phone in the covered box over in that corner, so I used it.”
“That was clever and very courageous,” Nancy said admiringly.
“But why didn’t you tell Nancy you were a prisoner?” Ned inquired.
“I was afraid that someone might overhear me on an extension. I am sure there are many phones in the complex here. That is why I disguised my voice and did not ask for help directly or tell you to go to the police. I thought you would catch on and try to rescue me.”
“But how did you know about the party?” Nancy asked.
“I overheard two men say they were using Mrs. Rossmeyer’s house for a big ceremonial celebration. They expected an honored guest whose name happens to be Moto, too. He was on his way to Japan.”
“We met him,” Nancy said.
“He is a close friend of the woman who calls herself Mrs. Rossmeyer,” Mr. Moto went on, “and works as a liaison between this country and Japan. The fake Mrs. Rossmeyer is an expert jewel thief and organizes those who do the stealing for the Caputti gang.”
“Are all the cult members thieves?” Ned asked.
“Not all. Only a select group. The others are dedicated pearl cultists.”
“We must get out of here!” Nancy said after a moment of silence. “Can’t we break down the door, Ned?”
“That would make so much noise we’d attract their attention, and they’d come running,” he objected. “We’ll have to think of something else.”
At this moment they heard a loud commotion at the main house. Through a crack in the door, they could see lights flashing and orders being issued.
“The police have arrived!” Nancy exclaimed, relieved.
“If you’re right,” Ned said, “then we may as well try to break down the door!”
He looked around for a pole or another heavy article they could use as a battering ram. He found several new wooden fence rails and picked one up. It was very heavy. Ned took hold of the front end, Nancy grabbed the middle, and Mr. Moto insisted upon holding the rear.
Wham! The barn doors shivered but did not break. The three retreated a little, then ran forward into the wooden barrier again. This time there was a splintering crash.
“Once more!” Ned urged.
They went back farther, then rushed ahead and with great force, rammed the door. The lock broke away, and the doors flew open.
The prisoners dashed out. Lights from cars and lanterns proved that the police had surrounded the house. Cultists in slippers and bath-robes were running from several exits, screaming and calling on the pearl goddess.
Nancy, Ned, and Mr. Moto hurried toward the house. The jeweler panted. “Crazy thievesl”
They found the place bustling with police. Many of the cultists had already been rounded up, including Mr. Kampura, Benny the Slippery One Caputti, and the “pearl goddess.” She was being questioned along with the other Mr. Moto.
The officer in charge told her that all of them were under arrest, but the woman argued violently. In an arrogant manner she kept proclaiming her innocence, insisting that the cult was only interested in tranquility. Suddenly she noticed Mr. Moto, the jeweler, and blanched.
He cried out angrily, “I accuse you of kidnapping me and holding me prisoner, and of impersonating Mrs. Rossmeyer!”
The woman stared at him, speechless.
Nancy stepped forward. “You had me and my escort locked in Mrs. Rossmeyer’s home tonight!”
Before the woman had a chance to reply, there was loud barking outside, then a policeman came in, desperately trying to contain a fierce German shepherd that bounded up to Mr. Caputti, pulling the officer along.
“That’s the vicious dog that almost attacked us at my home after his owner broke the door down!” Nancy cried out. “And you were the one who sent me those warning notes in Tokyo!” She pointed at Benny the Slippery One, who glared at her in silence.
Two more prisoners were brought in, a heavy-set blond woman who struggled fiercely and a young Japanese man.
“Rosina Caputti!” Nancy exclaimed. “She managed to get out of the Tokyo prison with the help of Mr. Kampura and a number of forged documents! And that man next to her stole a pearl necklace from Mr. Moto’s shop and made his getaway just when my girl friends and I arrived.”
The officer in charge looked at Nancy admiringly. “You seem to know more about these people than we do. Would you be willing to testify against them?”
“Yes, indeed,” Nancy replied.
Mr. Moto spoke up. “While you are busy rounding up these criminals, I would like permission to search this house. I am sure I can identify many stolen pieces of jewelry. From conversations I overheard, I know where some of their hiding places are.”
“Go ahead,” the officer told him, and Mr. Moto, Nancy, and Ned started off. The girl sleuth first led Mr. Moto to the room where the priceless necklace was displayed in the glass case.
Excitedly he rushed up and examined the piece. “It is the one, the very one, that was stolen from me! The one Mrs. Rossmeyer left in my care!”
Mr. Moto took the lid off the glass case and reached in. With almost loving hands he lifted the necklace from the figure, gazed at it, and dropped it into his pocket.
“I am so thankful to get it back,” he said, “and Nancy Drew deserves full credit for finding this.”
Nancy blushed at the praise. “I had plenty of help—my girl friends, my father, and Ned, to say nothing of Professor Mise and his wonderful relatives in Tokyo.”
“You went to Tokyo?”
“Yes. My father and I stayed with the professor’s brother and his wife. While I was there, I tried to find your brother, Tetsuo, because I thought he might be able to tell me where you were. But he had moved, and none of the neighbors knew his new address.”
“How did you know I had a brother? You are an incredible detective.”
“Mrs. Rooney, your neighbor, told me.”
Mr. Moto smiled. “She is a nice lady. I talk to her often. And you are right. Tetsuo moved to a small town near Kyoto. In a way, I am glad you did not find him. He knew nothing about my problems, of course, and if he had any idea of my disappearance, I am sure he would have been very worried.”
Nancy nodded. “So it all turned out for the best. Now we’d better continue searching this house.”
In their hunt, the trio found most of the pieces that had been stolen from Mr. Moto’s shop while Nancy and her father were in Japan.
“This proves that the cultists were responsible for that robbery,” Nancy said, “and for harming Mr. Kikichi.”
Mr. Moto pulled open a secret drawer in a desk that he had heard Kampura mention to another member of the cult, and he pulled out many strings of pearls. Each one had a thirteenth pearl in the middle!
“Look how beautiful they are!” Mr. Moto said. “All different hues. I wonder where these came from?”
“There have been many thefts, especially in Japan,” Nancy sa
id. “I’m sure the pieces can eventually be identified and returned to their rightful owners.”
Her next find was a diamond and ruby necklace. “That’s like the one that was slipped into my kimono sleeve to make me look like a thief!” she said.
“Where did that happen?” Mr. Moto asked, taken aback.
“At a wedding in Tokyo.”
The jeweler threw up his hands. “It is true that World Wide Gems have dishonest people working in every country!”
“I’m afraid so,” Nancy answered. “No doubt this will come out at the trial.”
“I wonder who the leader of the group is,” Nancy mused.
“Mr. Kampura. I overheard someone say this. He has confederates all over the world who are giving World Wide Gems a bad name.”
“What about the real Mrs. Rossmeyer?” Nancy asked. “She’s on the board of directors of that company, you know.”
“I was not aware of that. But I do know she is a fine, honest lady. Just before she left for Europe, Mrs. Rossmeyer had me appraise a lot of her jewelry. They are among the pieces we found.”
At this moment Mr. Drew and Chief McGinnis walked into the room. The lawyer grabbed his daughter affectionately.
“Thank goodness you’re safe!” he said. Then his eyes fell on the jeweler. “Mr. Moto!” he exclaimed. “I’m so glad to see you. Where have you been?”
“Tied up in the barn. Nancy and Ned saved me from a terrible fate,” Mr. Moto replied. “I must make charges against my kidnappers and the other jewel thieves. Will you represent me?”
The lawyer said he would be very glad to do so. Together the men walked into the room where the “pearl goddess” was still arguing with police about her innocence.
Mr. Drew said to her, “How do you explain your connection with World Wide Gems, Inc.?”
At first the woman would not admit anything, but finally, seeing that her protests were useless, she broke down and told the full story.
The heads of World Wide Gems, Inc. were honest men, but many of those under them in various countries were committing thefts under the supervision of Mr. Kampura. They also employed groups of thieves, and they used the cultist organization to cover up the operation and their encampment as a place to hide their loot.
After all the guilty parties had been taken away by the police, Nancy and Ned drove off in his car to return to River Heights.
“Nancy, you did a great job,” he praised her as he drove down the wooded lane.
She merely smiled and said, “You were a terrific help, Ned.” She paused a moment, then said, “Do you think we’ll ever get another mystery to solve?”
Ned chuckled. “It’s just like you to say that, Nancy. It seems to me that you have had quite a few mysteries to solve since The Secret of the Old Clock.”
Mr. Drew had offered to take Mr. Moto to his home. On the way, the Japanese jeweler said to him, “I think you have the most wonderful daughter in the world!”
The Thirteenth Pearl Page 11