False Moves by Carolyn Keene Page A

sole. “See, that letter stands for a particular shoemaker. Each one sews the slippers slightly differently. T’s shoes feel great to me, but Sondra here gets horrible blisters from them,” she said nodding at one of the other girls.
    â€œWell, it’s possible that the ballet shoe thief is really looking for a pair of slippers she lost earlier,” Nancy suggested. “So if I help find those slippers, maybe the thief will leave your shoes alone. Now, where might the person who’s looking for her shoes have put all of yours?”
    The red-haired dancer shrugged. “If we knew that, we’d go get them. But I guess you could try the dressing rooms, the studios, anyplace and every place. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, but I just don’t know.”
    â€œWell, in that case I’d better get started looking right away.” Nancy grabbed her purse and hurried out of the lounge.
    â€œGood luck,” she heard one of the dancers call after her.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    By the end of the day Nancy’s feet ached. She had been all over the CBT building searching for shoes, but she hadn’t found anything.
    And somehow, while she was looking, she had mislaid her purse. She was incredibly annoyed at herself. She shouldn’t have been so careless. Her money, her car keys, her driver’s license—everything was in that bag. If she didn’t find it, she was going to have to leave her car in Chicago all night and try to catch a ride home with Ned. Nancy sighed. This definitely hadn’t turned out to be a very good day. Nancy dragged her feet down the steps to the lobby.
    All of a sudden she stopped short. Sitting in the middle of a couch in the middle of the lobby was her purse! “I know I didn’t leave that down here,” she exclaimed out loud. Picking up her pace, she hurried to the couch.
    Nancy grabbed up her purse and cautiously opened it. There, as she had guessed, was another square of folded white paper—another note from the thieves! Slowly she opened it and read.
    Either you’ve developed a foot fetish, Nancy Drew, or you’ve finally figured out where the pin is hidden. But stay on your toes because I’m looking for the diamond, also. Too much is at stake for me to let you get it before I do. So be warned, I’ll do anything to keep you from ruining my plans. Anything!

Chapter

Fourteen
    N ANCY PRESSED HER lips passionately against Brad’s. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him on the Drews’ couch.
    â€œMmm,” he murmured. “This is absolutely the perfect way to spend a Thursday night.”
    Nancy responded with yet another kiss. “When I was little, I used to hate the times Hannah was out and my dad worked late at the office. But now that I’m older, I realize that it does have a few advantages.”
    Brad leaned back against the sofa, and Nancy rested her head comfortably on his shoulder. “So,” he asked, “what movie did you rent?”
    Nancy coughed. “Uh, I thought we’d watch a video I taped off the TV.” She knew Brad wasn’t going to like her choice of entertainment.
    â€œSure, anything you want,” Brad said, stroking Nancy’s hair lovingly. “I guess it really doesn’t matter what we put on the VCR.” He laid another kiss on the top of Nancy’s head.
    Nancy squeezed Brad’s hand, then stood up and popped the cassette into the VCR. She pushed the play button and the TV screen lit up with a view of the stage. Soon three dancers—Katya, Belinda, and Andre—came whirling onstage, moving through the carefully choreographed steps of CBT’s now notorious pas de trois.
    â€œNancy!” Brad yelled, totally frustrated. “You’re doing more detective work! I thought we were going to have the evening to ourselves—no father, no interruptions, and most of all, no mystery! Don’t you ever