Read Online Danger on Parade by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page A

Mr. Langley interrupted, frowning.
    Nancy could tell she had hit a nerve. “But it’s really the thing that sets Mitchell’s apart from your competition, don’t you think?” she pressed.
    Sitting behind the large desk, Mr. Langley shot her a stern gaze. “The vultures are waiting for me to collapse so they can come in and start picking apart my empire. Because of this parade, theyjust might get what they want.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Since you spoke to Jill Johnston, you might already know that someone is apparently trying to sabotage the parade. If you ask me, whoever’s behind it is doing Mitchell’s a favor. Now maybe the other board members will realize what a mistake the parade is to begin with!”
    Nancy could hardly believe her ears. Everything Howard Langley was saying backed up Jules’s theory. She still didn’t know how Louis Clark’s handkerchief fit into the sabotage, but perhaps Mr. Langley could provide some clue.
    â€œDo you think it’s possible that Louis Clark is behind the sabotage?” Nancy asked.
    â€œI doubt it,” Mr. Langley said without hesitation. “That’s a little drastic, even for Louis.”
    But was it too drastic for Mr. Langley himself? Nancy decided to try and shock him into revealing something about the sabotage. “Some people think that the person trying to sabotage the parade works here in the store,” she said slowly. “It might even be someone in upper management. Would you agree with that?”
    Mr. Langley’s expression darkened, and he looked sharply at Nancy. “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, young lady, but I think it’s time for you to leave.” He got up from behind his desk, went to the door, and opened it.
    Great, now you’ve completely alienated him, Nancy chastised herself. It was too late to takeback what she had said, however, so she simply thanked him for his time and left.
    As she rode the elevator down to the eighth floor, where Jill’s office was, Nancy thought over the case. Mr. Langley could easily have arranged the explosion. He also had the resources to have one of his employees sign for the costumes, hide them, and then set up Bess. No one would suspect that the owner of Mitchell’s would ruin his own store’s parade. But what Nancy still didn’t understand was, why frame Bess?
    When Nancy got to the open area outside Jill’s office, she saw that it was a madhouse. People were scouring phone books and making calls to try to locate new clown costumes. Through the open door to Jill’s office, Nancy saw Bess sitting alone, in the chair next to the desk.
    Nancy hurried in and told her friend what had happened with Howard Langley. Bess stared glumly down at the desk while Nancy spoke. She barely seemed to be listening.
    â€œThe police were here before,” Bess said when Nancy was done. “Jill called them about the costumes. I know they didn’t believe my explanation about being fooled when I signed for the scarf. They even called Greg and Neil to verify that they were with me. And Jill still doesn’t trust me,” she went on quietly. “She’s barely talking to me. Nancy, they haven’t found enough replacement clown costumes yet—”
    Bess stopped talking as Jill walked in and sat at her desk. Jill nodded to Nancy but didn’t acknowledge Bess.
    â€œBonnie and I checked everywhere in the store we could think of for the costumes, without any luck. Some of the clowns are just going to have to devise their own costumes, that’s all,” Jill said with a sigh. “We’re lucky that Disguise, Inc. was only providing about half the clown costumes. The other distributor’s costumes have been here since Monday. So at least we have them.”
    From the way Jill kept avoiding Bess’s gaze, it was obvious that she blamed Bess for the lost costumes. Nancy wanted