The Mystery at Lilac Inn - Carolyn Keene [8]
The saleswomen nodded. Each one identified her as Nancy Drew, the young woman she had waited on, and who had signed sales slips for each purchase.
“This is preposterous!” Nancy cried, her blue eyes flashing. “Someone is impersonating me. She stole my charge plate. I want to see those sales slips.”
Just then, to Nancy’s relief, Chief McGinnis entered the office. He and the Drews were old friends, and he greeted Nancy cordially.
Mr. Goldsmith spoke up. “Glad you’re here, Chief. I was just going to call you.” He explained what had happened.
The police officer replied calmly, “If Nancy Drew says she didn’t buy anything, she didn’t. Let’s get down to facts, Mr. Goldsmith. I’m here to help Miss Drew, and Burk’s also.”
The chief quizzed the salesclerks briefly. After hearing their stories, he said gravely, “Nancy, I’m afraid this young woman who resembles you so closely—and forged your signature on the sales slips—may continue to take advantage of it.”
Nancy smiled ruefully. “I realize that.” She was more convinced of this than ever when the sales slips were brought to the office. The forgery was excellent. Nancy’s impersonator must have carefully practiced the signature on the charge plate.
Mr. Goldsmith sighed wearily. “I’m sorry, Miss Drew, about this whole matter, and that I suspected you of dishonesty.”
“That’s all right,” she replied. “The main thing is to track down the culprit and get back your stolen property.”
She asked the clerks what her “twin” had been wearing. “It was a lovely light-blue dress,” replied Mrs. Reilly. “Printed silk, with white flowers.”
Nancy gasped. “I have a dress like that. And I don’t remember seeing it in my closet today.”
“The woman no doubt took it,” the police chief said, frowning. “Nancy, be very careful. This impersonation may mean not only annoyance, but possible danger for you.”
Mr. Goldsmith promised that Burk’s private detective and all the store’s sales personnel would be on the lookout for Nancy’s unknown double.
As the young sleuth left the store with Chief McGinnis, she said to him, “I wonder if this person actually is my double or is only cleverly made up to resemble me.”
The officer frowned. “If it’s the latter, the thief will be harder to catch. She may not pose as Nancy Drew again for some time. But I’ll have my men start working on the case from every possible angle.” He admitted that no clues to the thief at the Drew home had been found. “I’ll post a twenty-four-hour guard at your home.”
“Good,” Nancy said. “Hannah will feel much better, since I have to return to Lilac Inn this afternoon, and Dad’s away.”
Nancy said good-by to the chief and hurried across the street to the employment agency. She wondered if by chance Maud Potter might still be there. But when Nancy entered the office, the only person there was the woman manager, seated at a desk.
“Can I help you?” she asked Nancy.
“I’m here at the request of the new owners of Lilac Inn,” Nancy replied. “Has anyone else been in to ask about a waitress to work out there?”
“No.”
As Nancy asked her next question, she was thinking, “Why was Maud in here?” Aloud she said, “Have you any waitresses on your list?”
“Not at present. We’ll call you if any apply.”
On impulse, Nancy asked her, “Could you tell me if you’ve ever had a Miss Mary Mason on your waitress list?”
The woman opened a nearby file and flipped through a folder. “No, we haven’t.”
Nancy thanked the manager and left the agency. When she arrived home and told Hannah the latest developments, the housekeeper was more upset than ever.
“I feet in my bones that this impersonator is up to something sinister,” she declared. “I wish your dad were home.”
“You’ll be safe here, Hannah,” Nancy said assuringly, and told Mrs. Gruen that a policeman would be assigned to guard the house. “And speaking of Dad, I’m going to call him right now and ask him if he took that picture of me with