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her shoulder. But then she noticed a white envelope sticking halfway out of the side pocket. Curious, she took it out and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper with a typed message. The message read: “We know what you’re up to. But does your father? Forget about finding us, or we’ll arrange a meeting with him—by the diving pool. How long can he hold his breath?”

Chapter

Ten
    I UNDERSTAND WHY you’re worried, Nancy,” Carson Drew said after she had called him at his law office and explained what had happened. “But I’m leaving for New York tonight, remember? I’m going straight from the office. Actually, I have to leave in ten minutes or I’ll miss the plane.” He laughed lightly. “I think I’ll be safe between here and the airport.”
    â€œI’m not worried about right now, Dad,” Nancy said. She knew her father was leaving town—he was going to visit some friends and attend a lawyers’ meeting in New York for aday or two. So she had rushed straight home from the club to warn him before he went. “I’m worried about when you come back. After all, you’ll be home soon, and these people are serious.”
    â€œIt certainly sounds like it,” her father said. “Which is why I’m more worried about you than about me. Don’t you think you should go to the police on this one?”
    â€œI want to give it a little more, time,” Nancy said with a sigh. “I told you about Detective Ryan, remember?”
    â€œI take it you two still haven’t hit it off.”
    â€œNo. He thinks I’m a giant pain in the neck.” Nancy shook her head. “Anyway, I’m being careful. Don’t worry.”
    â€œWell, I’m sure you think you know what you’re doing, but just remember, you don’t have eyes in the back of your head,” her father said, warning her. “Forget about me, and look out for yourself.”
    Nancy agreed, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop worrying. To have her father threatened was frightening. She was glad he was going to be out of town, but she couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen when he came back.
    As Nancy was pacing restlessly around the kitchen, going over everything she had discoveredso far and not coming up with anything new, Hannah Gruen, the Drews’ housekeeper, came in.
    â€œYou look like a cat stalking a bird,” Hannah remarked.
    Nancy laughed. Hannah had been with the Drews for fifteen years, and she knew Nancy’s moods better than anyone. “I am stalking a bird,” Nancy said. “More than one, I think. The problem is, I can’t decide which one to go after.”
    â€œIt’s this new case, isn’t it?” Hannah asked.
    Nancy nodded, deciding not to mention the threat to her father. There was no sense in having Hannah lose sleep over it, too. Not yet, anyway. “I’m on the right track,” she said. “But I don’t have any concrete theories or clues. It’s beginning to get pretty frustrating.”
    â€œWell, do you think wearing a path in the kitchen floor will help?” Hannah asked. Nancy glanced down sheepishly. “Why don’t you play some music or do something to relax?”
    â€œI guess I’ll have to,” Nancy said. Then she realized that she was still wearing the same sweaty shorts and shirt she had worked out in, and her hair was tangled and matted. “But first, I think I’ll shower and change. It might not help me solve the case, but at least I’ll feel human again.”
    â€œBy the way,” Hannah said as Nancy started to leave, “I’m going to a meeting at the library in a little while, so I won’t be here for dinner. And since your father won’t be here, either, it’s leftovers for you.”
    â€œFine,” Nancy said, knowing she wouldn’t be hungry, anyway. “I’ll see you when you