Don’t Look Twice by Carolyn Keene Page A

out?” Ned demanded.
    Beep! “You have ten seconds. Please deposit ten cents or your call will be terminated,” a recorded voice broke in.
    Nancy groaned as she dug a dime out of her pocket. She fed it into the slot. “Look, Ned,” she said urgently, “I’ll explain the rest to you later. Right now I want to tell the Masons what’s going on and see if we can come up with a plan of action. Do you have their address?”
    â€œHang on.” There was a pause, then Ned said, “Twenty-three-oh-one James. Know where that is?”
    â€œI’ll find it,” Nancy assured him. “Oh, can you get over to the Sampsons’ on your own? I’ll meet you all there in a half hour.”
    â€œOkay, see you then,” Ned said.
    After climbing back into her Mustang, Nancy pulled a Chicago street map out of the glove compartment. The Masons’ address wasn’t far from where she was now. Good.
    As she pulled up in front of the Masons’ cozy brownstone, across from an elementary school, Nancy noticed a shiny black sedan in the driveway.A light glowed through the sheer curtains of one of the windows. Someone was home.
    She walked up the flagstone path and rang the doorbell. In a moment the front door swung open, and Nancy nearly gasped with shock.
    Bernard stood there! She had completely forgotten that he was staying with the Masons while his house was being painted.
    Bernard raised his eyebrows. “Hello, Miss Drew. What can I do for you?”
    â€œI, uh—I was in the neighborhood and I just thought I’d let Mr. Mason know how much I liked the gala last night,” Nancy said quickly. It wasn’t a great excuse, but maybe he’d buy it. After all, he didn’t know she was on to him. If she just played it cool, she might be able to bluff her way out of this one.
    â€œOh, certainly. Come on in.” Bernard stood back to let Nancy by.
    â€œJonathan’s in the basement, fiddling around with some restoration project,” Bernard continued, speaking over his shoulder as he led Nancy toward the back of the house. “I’m sure he’d love to speak to you himself. Here—it’s right through this door.”
    â€œThanks,” Nancy said, turning to smile at him. She turned toward the staircase leading into the basement.
    There were no lights on down there.
    Too late her senses screamed at her that it wasa trap. Before she even had time to react, she felt strong hands on her back. They pushed her toward the stairs. The door was slammed shut behind her.
    Her arms windmilled wildly as she fell. Her right hand brushed against a molded metal strip. Instinctively she grasped at it. A railing! Nancy held on to the thin piece of iron as if her life depended on it. Pain shot through her shoulder as her arm took the full momentum of her fall. But she gritted her teeth and didn’t let go.
    She heard a key turn in the lock in the darkness above her. Bernard chuckled before she heard him walk away.
    When she no longer heard his footsteps, Nancy pulled herself to an upright position. She had caught herself right near the top of the flight of stairs. She felt along the wall until her fingers found a light switch. She flipped it and a single bulb came on overhead.
    Nancy was furious with herself. “How could I have been so dumb?” she muttered aloud. “I walked right into his trap.”
    Obviously Bernard had known from the moment he laid eyes on her that she knew his secret. He probably knew even before he saw me, Nancy reflected sourly. I’ll bet Martha was on the phone to him the second I left her.
    Well, she had to get out of this place as fast as possible. Bernard was probably escaping with theRembrandt at this very moment. Descending the steep, rickety wooden staircase, Nancy surveyed the basement.
    Right away she spotted an exit route: a tiny, dirty window high up on the side wall. It was above her head, but Nancy dragged