False Moves by Carolyn Keene Page B

take a night off?”
    Nancy shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry, Brad. I guess until this case is over, you’re just going to have to learn to appreciate ballet.”
    Brad crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t want to. And I don’t want to help investigate this crazy mystery, either. Can’t we have just one night alone?”
    Nancy dropped back onto the couch. “Not yet, Brad, but soon, I promise. Just as soon as I’ve solved it.”
    â€œAll I wanted was a nice easygoing relationshipand what do I get? A live version of an Agatha Christie novel.”
    But Nancy was already so engrossed in the moving figures on the screen that she barely even heard him. The clue that would solve the mystery had to be here. And this time she’d catch it!
    Nancy checked every tiny detail, her eyes jumping from the dancers to the background to the Raja diamond sparkling on Katya’s bodice, searching for the smallest, most easy-to-miss clue. But there was nothing out of place. Everything seemed to be perfect.
    Finally the lights went out at the end of the dance, and when they came back on, one ear-splitting scream and a few moments later, the Raja diamond was gone. Katya woke up from her faint, then slowly limped toward the wings with Belinda and Andre supporting her on either side. The picture made by the exiting star ballerina was quite beautiful and poignant. Her head was bowed, and the ribbon of her pointe shoe trailed behind her.
    â€œHey, wait a minute,” Nancy cried suddenly. “I think I’ve found my clue!” Jumping up, she pushed the rewind button on the VCR, then quickly pushed the play button once again. She studied the three dancers for an instant before stopping the machine. “I was right!” she exclaimed. “Brad, look!”
    Brad sat forward, a confused expression on his face. “What, Nancy? I don’t see anything wrong.”
    â€œThat’s exactly the point,” Nancy said excitedly. “Here”—and she poked the play button once again—“at the beginning of the dance, everything is all right. Now look at this.” She pushed the fast forward button and the machine sped forward to the last shot of Katya leaving the stage. “Katya’s right ballet shoe! It’s untied here! But it wasn’t before.”
    â€œSo?” Brad asked. “What’s the big deal?”
    â€œThink—pointe shoes don’t just untie themselves. Someone did it on purpose. And the only person who could have done it was Katya!” She scrutinized the dancer. “And there’s something else that’s most important. Katya’s limping on her right side. But today in the dancers’ lounge, she was putting ice on her left ankle, and she said that was her weak ankle.
    â€œBrad, that’s it! While the lights were out, Katya untied her shoe and put the diamond in it. But then, of course, she couldn’t help but limp. She covered it up by claiming it was her bad ankle, and no one ever caught on that it was the wrong leg!”
    â€œBut I still don’t see how she got the diamond past the police,” Brad said. “I mean, they searched all the costumes, right?”
    â€œYes, but the dancers got out of those costumesin their dressing rooms, first. Even with a policewoman watching her, it wouldn’t have been hard for Katya to exchange her pointe shoes with the diamond in them for an old pair. It would have taken only a second. And then she could just walk out of the theater with the diamond in her shoes and the shoes in her bag—no suspicion. The only thing I don’t understand is how she then lost the shoes.”
    â€œIt’s a good theory,” Brad said. “I think it actually could have worked!” A gleam of enthusiasm began to show in his gray eyes.
    â€œAnd it explains why the shoes I found attached to Katya’s costume in the costume shop were old ones, obviously