Read Online The Triple Hoax by Carolyn G. Keene - Free Book Online Page B

had not trusted the performers. “I think they ran away because something happened,” she said. “But I have no idea what it was.”
    Nancy wondered about the information. Suddenly she had an idea: No doubt one of the patrons complained to the police about having to give up his wallet until the end of the show. The police in turn must have asked the Hoaxters to come to headquarters and explain. Since they want nothing to do with the authorities, they left. The same thing probably happened in New York!
    “Sara,” she said to the woman, “the maintenance man wasn’t very nice to us when we came in. Is he always so grumpy?”
    Sara glanced up from the mop she was using.
    “I do not like him. He does as little work as he can get away with and is forever looking for tips. The Hoaxters gave him big ones. I know because he used to brag about it.”
    “Did he receive large tips because he did special favors for the magicians?”
    Sara shrugged. “I do not know, but it is possible. Or perhaps he found out some secret of theirs and they paid him to keep quiet.”
    Nancy changed the subject. “Did anyone not connected with the show ever come here to see the Hoaxters?”
    “Oh, yes. Two fellows came twice. One was called Howie, the other Lefty. They arrived after the performance and talked to the Hoaxters in a dressing room with the door locked. No one else could hear what they were saying.”
    At this moment George and Bess arrived on stage. Nancy introduced them to Sara and said the woman had given her some good clues.
    “Did you girls learn anything?” Nancy asked.
    “Nothing,” Bess replied.
    George added, “At one point the cleaning man followed me though the theater, but I managed to avoid him. I didn’t come across anything to help solve the mystery, however.”
    Sara had nothing else to contribute either, so the girls said good-by to her, walked off the stage and out the back door.
    “Sara mentioned Howie and Lefty visiting the Hoaxters,” Nancy told Bess and George excitedly. “I’m sure that was Howie Barker. I wonder who Lefty is.”
    “Maybe he’s another con man,” Bess offered.
    While the three girls were waiting for a taxi in front of the theater, Nancy brought her friends up to date on her conversation with Sara.
    “Well, where do we go from here?” Bess asked.
    “To Los Angeles!” Nancy replied promptly.
    As soon as they reached the Fortunato Hotel, she called the airport to make reservations. As Nancy hung up, she frowned.
    “No flights?” George asked.
    “An air strike just started and may last for a month!” Nancy responded. “What’ll we do now?”
    “Drive,” Bess suggested.
    “Do you realize how far it is?” Nancy asked.
    “Over twenty-five hundred miles!” George answered.
    “Right. It’ll take us five days if we drive ten hours a day!”
    “That’s better than staying here for a month,” George declared.
    “I suppose so,” Nancy said unenthusiastically.
    Bess sighed. “I’m not looking forward to that long haul either. But we can take turns driving and perhaps even make it in four days.”
    Nancy nodded. “Okay. Let’s rent a car tomorrow.”
    The next day directly after breakfast their telephone rang. Señora Mendez was calling. She sounded hysterical.
    “Oh, Nancy, come here at once. Please!” the woman sobbed.
    “What happened?”
    Senora Mendez said she could not tell her over the phone, but she had something very important to show the three sleuths.
    “We’ll take a taxi and be over as soon as possible,” Nancy promised.
    When the girls arrived at her residence, the Mexican woman showed them a letter that she said had been left on the front doorstep.
    “My maid heard a knock and went to answer it. When she opened the door, no one was there but the letter lay on the mat. She brought it to me and I almost fainted. Please read it.”
    Nancy unfolded the note that was flat but originally had been folded like a fan. It was on a long, narrow sheet of paper