The Mystery at Lilac Inn - Carolyn Keene [45]
“I think I understand,” Nancy said. “It was my father who proved you were guilty of check forgery, Gay Moreau!”
The other girl seemed thunderstruck. But she quickly recovered her poise. “So you found out who I am. Well, it won’t do you any good.”
Gay’s tone was sinister. Nancy remained outwardly calm; at least, she could stall for time.
“You’re the girl who impersonated me in Burk’s Department Store,” the young detective accused. “Also, you played the parts of Jean Holmes and Mary Mason at Lilac Inn.”
“You can call me Gay now,” the girl sneered. “I had you fooled, though, didn’t I? But then, I was a good actress before I went to jail. Your father represented one of the persons whose checks I forged. I told him the day I was convicted I’d get revenge.”
Nancy nodded. “And you got your chance to do it by posing as Carson Drew’s daughter,” she said. “First you broke into our home and stole my charge plate, and the silver-framed picture to copy my appearance. You took a flowered dress of mine, too.”
“That’s right.” Gay tossed her head defiantly. “The mink stole, evening gowns, and watch will fit into my new social life.”
“And I suppose Emily’s diamonds will, too?” Nancy prodded.
Gay smiled triumphantly. “Yes, I have the real jewels, and Emily Willoughby has the fake ones. A tidy haul. They’re here in this cabin. We’ll sell them for a fancy price where we’ve disposed of a few other things.”
Gay began boasting of how the jewel theft had been accomplished. She said that after leaving jail she had not been able to find theatrical parts. Finally, she had forged references, and worked as Mary Mason for Mrs. Stonewell.
“After that,” Gay went on, “my brother-in-law Bud, Gil Gary, Frank, and their pals came up with a sharp idea of buying the sub to use on the Angus River so no one could spot the place we were using as a hide-out. And that was why Gil and I went to work at Lilac Inn. Never mind that part now. Anyhow, while I was there I overheard Mrs. Willoughby tell that woman Maud when she was going to present the diamonds. I decided to steal them at the party. Gil turned off the lights at the right moment.”
When Gil had phoned her that Nancy was at Lilac Inn, Gay said she had schemed her next move.
“To throw people off the track, I disguised myself as Jean Holmes and went to the Empire Employment Agency to ask for waitress work at Lilac Inn. What a break when I met Maud Potter there and got the job without registering at the agency.”
“So that’s why you came to the inn earlier for an interview,” Nancy interjected. “Later you sneaked back, and hid in the secret closet.”
“Yes. What made you guess I was the thief?”
Nancy explained about the lilac petals and other clues, including the note she had found which led her to Lillie Merriweather.
“Lillie!” Gay said scornfully. “Did she tell you that she was one of the people whose checks I forged?”
“No!” Nancy replied in amazement.
Gay sneered. “Lillie changed her mind and didn’t prosecute—always felt sorry for me and her dad did too. I liked him. In fact, I stole Mr. Daly’s blue pipe and mailed it to Mr. Merriweather. But Lillie’s had all the stage breaks! I hated her, but never let on!”
Nancy stared at Gay unbelievingly. The former actress certainly had a twisted outlook on life!
Now Gay said she had put the note to Lillie in an old apple tree for Frank to pick up and deliver. “But he didn’t come—that John McBride was always snooping around. He even found our shack, but not what was in it. I finally managed to sneak the note away when the policeman turned his back.”
“You decided,” said Nancy, “to throw suspicion away from yourself by implicating Maud Potter.”
“Sure,” Gay admitted. “Maud Potter was a natural for your suspicions. So I figured you might believe she was the one who put the diamond in your purse. I did that, and got a friend of mine to bump into you at a good moment.
“Also, I was the mysterious girl Helen