The Triple Hoax

by Carolyn Keene

  The young detectives crowded into the Vetters’ car and drove off. When they arrived at the theater, they met three policemen coming out of the building.

  “Where is your prisoner?” Nancy asked them.

  With a chagrined look one of the officers replied, “The Hoaxters have skipped out!”

  “Again!” George exclaimed.

  “Yes. Not only are the performers gone, but so are all their costumes and props. They must have become suspicious when we fingerprinted them under the pretense of being ‘The Committee for the Protection of Entertainment in Los Angeles.”’

  The other officer spoke up. “We’ve already alerted all squad cars in the area. I’m sure someone will sight them. They couldn’t have gone far yet.”

  After the officers had driven away, Dave said, “Nancy, what’s next on the sleuthing program?”

  “We’re going to Horace Browne’s house,” she replied. “Remember, I got his address from the Fern Printing Company.”

  “Do you think he’ll be there?” George asked.

  Nancy shrugged. “If he’s not, perhaps we can pick up a clue to where he went.”

  She drove to the part of town in which Browne lived. As Mr. Vetter had told them, it was a residential area with large, attractive homes. Browne’s had a high picket fence around it, and the house could barely be seen from the outside. There was an entrance gate, but it was locked. Ned pushed the bell button, but no one answered.

  Bess sighed. “What’ll we do now?”

  “Let’s split up and walk around the property,” Nancy suggested. “Ned and I will go to the right. The rest of you take the left. Perhaps we can find out if someone’s home.”

  Quickly the young people hurried off. Just inside the fence were high hedges, and it was impossible to look over them. After Nancy had walked around the corner and partway down one side, she said, “Ned, I want to look into the garden. Would you let me climb onto your shoulders so I can peer over the fence?”

  Ned bent down. “Go ahead,” he said, holding out his interlocked hands for her to step into.

  Nancy climbed to his shoulders and balanced herself on the side of the fence. She managed to look over the top and beyond the bushes and had a good view of the garden. On a patio she spotted a man reclining in a lawn chair. He was sound asleep.

  Excitedly Nancy leaned down to Ned and whispered, “Sam Gambro, alias Horace Browne, alias Ronaldo Jensen, is sleeping not far away. We must capture him!”

  “But how?” Ned asked.

  “We’ll have to get over the fence. If I jump to the other side, can you make it on your own?”

  “Sure. No problem. Go ahead. I’ll follow.”

  Nancy realized that she would have to clear the bushes in order not to scratch herself badly. With determination she stepped to the top of the fence, then pushed off as far as she could. With a soft thud the girl detective landed on the lawn, unhurt.

  She looked over her shoulder and saw Ned take off from the top. He jumped gracefully and in an instant came down next to her.

  “Great!” she whispered.

  On tiptoes they approached Horace Browne. They were about a hundred feet away, when he suddenly awakened. Turning, he spotted the couple. The next second Browne jumped from his reclining chair and sped toward the house. He vanished through a door and they heard it slam shut and lock.

  The couple looked at each other. They had been so near success!

  Nancy, however, was not ready to give up. She noticed another door and hurried toward it. Fortunately this one was not locked. She dashed inside with Ned at her heels.

  They found themselves at the foot of a stairway. From somewhere above, they heard faint cries for help in Spanish.

  “That could be Dolores!” Nancy whispered. “Come on!”

  She and Ned rushed up the stairs, but halfway to the second floor, they met Mrs. Browne coming down.

  “Get out of here!” she shouted. “You have no right to be in my house. I’ll call the police!”

  Nancy ignored the demand. She said, “Where’s Dolores?”

  The woman seemed taken aback. She did not reply. The cries of the child continued. “Let me out! Let me out!”

  Ned pushed Mrs. Browne firmly aside, so that Nancy could continue up the stairs. Then he followed. The couple scooted upward faster than the woman could climb. They crossed the second floor hallway and followed the cries for help to the third floor.

  “Help! I want to see my mommy!” came another pleading cry.

  Ned glanced back to see what Mrs. Browne was doing. She seemed undecided for a moment, then started up after the couple.

  At the top of the stairway, there was a narrow hallway with a door opposite the stairs. Quickly Nancy pulled on the knob, and they looked inside.

  She and Ned stood appalled at what they saw. A beautiful, dark-haired little girl of nine sat on the edge of a bed, her left ankle chained to one of its front legs!

  “Dolores!” Nancy cried out and rushed to the child’s side. “We’re friends. We came to rescue you. We’ll have you out of here in a minute!”

  As she hugged the little girl, and Ned sped over to help unclamp the chain, the door was slammed shut and locked. Something heavy was pushed against it.

  Ned turned back and tried to open the door. It would not budge. Now not only Dolores but he and Nancy were prisoners also!

  Little Dolores became hysterical. Her few moments of joy at having been rescued were gone. She was a prisoner again!

  Nancy tried to soothe her and even sang a little Spanish lullaby she knew. Ned, meanwhile, was working at the locked door. Unable to budge it, he rammed his body against the wood, hoping to splinter one of the panels. His efforts were in vain!

  Finally he walked over to Nancy and they conferred on what to do. There was a tiny window high up on the wall that opened on hinges. They both knew that though one of them might crawl through it, there was no way to reach the ground safely.

  “I wonder what became of Bess, George, Burt, and Dave,” Nancy said. “I hope they’ll find a way to rescue us!”

  Dolores had become quiet now. She sat on Nancy’s lap and clung to her. The young detective said, “Suppose you tell me how you got here.”

  “I stayed in school late to help my teacher,” the little girl replied. “When I came out, all my friends had gone. A strange woman walked up to me and said, ‘Are you Dolores?’ When I said yes, she told me that my mother was ill and had asked her to bring me home in her car.”

  “So you climbed in?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes, in the back seat with the woman. A man was driving. I did not know who these people were. Later I found out they were Mr. and Mrs. Browne. Mrs. Browne offered me a piece of candy.”

  “Did you eat it?”

  Dolores nodded. “Afterwards I became very sleepy. I did not wake up until I found myself lying on the bed in this room.” The little girl shivered. “And chained to the foot of it. I heard Mr. Browne say we all flew from Mexico City to Los Angeles.”

  “That was a dreadful experience,” Nancy said. “How were you treated after you got here?”

  Dolores said that Mrs. Browne and another woman had taken turns looking after her. “They brought me meals and helped me take a bath. They even washed my clothes. I kept asking them when I was going home. One day Mrs. Browne got mad at me and said, ‘You’re not going anywhere until your rich grandmother pays us a lot of money!”’

  Nancy translated what she had learned into English for Ned, who understood some Spanish, but not as much as Nancy did.

  He remarked, “That candy must have contained something to put the child to sleep.”

  Nancy agreed. “This way they could bring her to Los Angeles without any trouble.”

  As she and Ned were trying to figure out how to escape, their four friends were on the way to help them. While looking over the fence and bushes, they had seen the couple approach the sleeping man in the lawn chair and had witnessed his dash into the house.
/>   They realized that Nancy and Ned were following him, so they, too, climbed over the fence. Just before they reached the mansion, Mr. and Mrs. Browne ran out the front door carrying suitcases.

  “They’re escaping!” Dave exclaimed.

  When Nancy and Ned did not appear, the young people became worried about them. Were they prisoners in the house?

  20

  Escape!

  “Hold it!” Dave commanded as the young detectives surrounded the fleeing couple.

  “Get out of our way!” Mr. Browne hissed, lashing out violently.

  Fists were flying for a few moments but soon the magician and his wife were subdued and led into the house again. Bess went to phone the police. Meanwhile, in the hallway, Horace Browne managed to tear himself loose and began to fight with renewed vigor. The boys realized he had some knowledge of judo. George’s skills, however, matched his. She and the boys, who were steeled by years of football practice, soon had the belligerent couple under control again.

  In the rear of the hall George noticed a closet with a key in the lock and suggested they secure their prisoners inside until the police arrived. Angrily the Brownes yelled and banged on the door. After a while, however, their cries subsided and they became quiet, resigning themselves to their fate.

  “I hope that magician won’t use any of his tricks and get out,” Bess remarked.

  Nancy and Ned had heard the commotion downstairs and started to pound loudly on the door of their attic prison.

  “Listen!” George said. “Someone’s up there. Probably Nancy and Ned!”

  She and her companions were about to hurry to the third floor when a police car drove up to the house. Three officers rushed through the open door. They were the same men who had tried to arrest the Hoaxters at the theater, only to learn they had moved out.

  Quickly the young people told them about their prisoners. “One is Sam Gambro, alias Horace Browne, alias Ronaldo Jensen, the magician. The other is his wife who works with him,” George explained.

  “Good work!” one of the officers, named Young, said admiringly. “We caught Browne’s colleagues on their way out of town, but they wouldn’t tell us where he was. I’m glad you found him!”

  Again there was banging from the third floor as Nancy and Ned tried to make themselves heard.

  “What’s going on?” Officer Young asked, alarmed. “Who else is here?”

  “I believe Nancy and Ned are locked up somewhere,” George said. “We saw them follow Mr. Gambro into the house before we caught him.”

  The four amateur detectives dashed up the stairs with Officer Young and one of his partners. They found that a large chest had been pushed in front of the attic door. Quickly they shoved it aside, then raised the bolt.

  Bess opened the door and everyone stopped short in utter amazement, staring at Nancy, Ned, and the little girl.

  “Meet Dolores,” Nancy said with a smile of relief on her face.

  As the others exchanged stories, Bess cried out, “Oh, you poor child!” She knelt and hugged the little girl, who up to now had been clinging to Nancy.

  In Spanish, Nancy explained to Dolores that the newcomers were their friends.

  “You mean now I can go home to my mommy?” the little girl cried out.

  “Yes,” Nancy replied. “The police will arrest the bad people who brought you here.”

  Dolores was ecstatic. “Please, may I call my mommy and daddy on the telephone?”

  “Indeed you may,” Nancy replied.

  The group hurried downstairs and in a few minutes Dolores’s parents were on the line. Their daughter talked and threw kisses into the phone, promising she would be home soon.

  Then she turned to Nancy. “And now I want to speak to my grandmother.” Nancy put in the call, and there was a happy, excited conversation in Spanish between Dolores and Senora Mendez.

  Meanwhile, Officer Young had unlocked the closet on the first floor, let out the two prisoners, and snapped handcuffs on them.

  “Before you take the Gambros away, may I ask them a few questions?” Nancy requested.

  At this the couple winced and the magician said, “You know?”

  “Yes,” the young detective replied.

  “Ask them all you want to,” Officer Young said, “but let me read them their rights first.”

  When he finished, Nancy looked straight at the sleight of hand man. “Was it one of your con men who swindled our friend Mrs. Annabella Richards out of $3000 for a phony world trip?”

  Gambro scowled. “I’m telling you nothing!”

  “I think you should,” his wife spoke up. “Officer, won’t it be better for us if we cooperate?”

  “I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll put in a good word for you if you make our investigation easier,” Young replied.

  Gambro hung his head. He realized that the game was up and shrugged. “It was Howie Barker. He pretended to be a travel agent named Henry Clark.”

  “And who waylaid Roscoe and stole Mrs. Richards’s limousine?” Bess inquired.

  “Howie and Lefty Cadwell. I told them that was a stupid thing to do. They had trouble getting rid of the car and finally put it in my garage,” Gambro replied.

  George asked, “When I came on stage at your show in New York, why wouldn’t you let me stay?”

  “After Howie tried to sell your friend space in the Maine hotel, he told me you were staying with Miss Eloise Drew. I’d read about Nancy Drew and became suspicious. Somehow Howie found out you knew Mrs. Richards. I called her housekeeper and she confirmed that you girls were detectives.”

  “Who rammed our taxi in New York when we left my aunt’s apartment?” Nancy questioned.

  “One of my co-workers,” the sleight of hand man admitted. “He was supposed to keep an eye on the place and scare you enough so you’d go back home. Unfortunately, he didn’t do a good job. »

  “You also had people watch us in Los Angeles at the Vetter home!” George accused Gambro. “Once a car followed us but we outmaneuvered it. And one of your men set a fire in the Vetters’ laundry wing!”

  Gambro nodded. “Too bad I had such inefficient associates,” he grumbled. “Their attempts to frighten you off the case always failed!”

  Bess spoke up. “Why didn’t you return Dolores after the first ransom was paid?”

  The prisoner scowled. “That was my wife’s idea. She thought we could get more money out of Senora Mendez. Instead, we got into heaps of trouble!” He sent his wife a searing glance.

  She retorted, “We wouldn’t have if your man in Mexico City had collected the second ransom so we could leave Los Angeles as planned!”

  “How could he? Señora Mendez had the cops on him!”

  “I know there was a hidden message in the ransom note,” Nancy spoke up. “‘$100,000 in sack to 8 by X.’ What did it mean and whom was it for?”

  “It was for our Mexican contact who collected the money. He was to deliver the sack to Howie Barker on the 24th of this month.”

  “That was yesterday,” George pointed out. “Did Barker get the ransom money?”

  Gambro suddenly realized that besides going to prison he would also lose his share of the ransom. He became sulky.

  “Why should I tell you any more?” he growled. “I’ve confessed too much already.”

  Further questioning netted no more information, so two of the police officers took their prisoners to headquarters. Officer Young remained behind.

  Nancy asked him, “Would it be possible for us to search the house? Perhaps the $100,000 is hidden here.”

  Young smiled. “You’re in luck. When we found out that the Hoaxters had left the theater, we obtained a warrant to look for clues in any suspicious places. We haven’t used it yet.”

  “Terrific!” Nancy said. “Let’s split up and search every inch of this house.”

  The young people and the police officer examined each room and scrutinized all the furniture. At one point George cried out, “Come here, ever
ybody! I’ve found the stolen vial of poison!”

  The others stared at it in amazement. Bess exclaimed, “This is definitely the one Enzo Scorpio stole from Mrs. Richards!”

  “You’re right,” Nancy agreed. “I recognize the filigree.”

  George added, “Enzo must have sold it to Sam Gambro, then tried to palm off a cheap imitation on Senor Pedroa! Well, I’m glad Enzo is in prison, and Mrs. Richards will be happy to get her vial back.”

  The search went on with renewed interest. Ned found a letter indicating that the two con men, Howie Barker, alias Ralph Rafferty, alias Henry Clark, and Lefty Cadwell were staying at a hotel in San Francisco. The letter also revealed that the name of the ransom collector in Mexico City was Alfredo Scorpio. He was the father of Enzo and a cousin of Gambro.

  “Now I get it!” George cried out. “Enzo got in touch with Gambro and sold him the poison!”

  The officer agreed. “I’ll relay this information to headquarters at once!”

  While he was busy, the young people completed their search. Nothing more turned up, and the hiding place of the ransom money remained a mystery.

  Nancy suggested that they leave and take Dolores to the Vetters. On their way out, she had an idea.

  “Let’s take a look at Mrs. Richards’s limousine which is supposedly in Gambro’s garage,” she suggested.

  Officer Young locked the front door and everyone went to the garage. Mrs. Richards’s car was there, with the keys under the floor mat. The group searched it quickly and Nancy asked Ned to open the trunk. There was nothing inside except the spare tire. Ned lifted it out. A sack lay underneath!

  Excitedly Nancy pulled the drawstring. Bundles of money fell out!

  “The ransom!” she exclaimed. “Dolores, we’ve found your grandmother’s money!”

  The little girl clapped her hands and Nancy scooped Dolores up in her arms. Everyone was overjoyed to have recovered the $100,000, which was quickly counted. All of it was there.

  Officer Young asked, “Will you give me a ride to headquarters? I’m sure the chief will be surprised when I walk in with all this money!”