No Laughing Matter by Carolyn Keene Page B

frantically, and luckily her hand closed around something. A banister. This wasn’t a room, she realized. It was a staircase!
    As her eyes began to adjust to the dark, Nancy saw that the staircase was quite long and steep.She took one careful step at a time. If she fell and hurt herself, no one would find her for a long time.
    As she made her way down, Nancy played over what she knew. There was definitely a gambling operation, and she knew that Keith O’Brien was somehow involved. She still didn’t have any real connection between the casino and anyone at Over the Rainbow.
    Maybe the box she’d seen Bianca holding was the key. If those were receipts from the casino, they’d prove there was a link. All Nancy had to do was find the receipts. Also there had to be some clue as to how the gambling profits were hidden in Over the Rainbow’s accounting books. She had to check those, too.
    It was starting to get easier to see, and Nancy spotted a door up ahead. Light was coming from underneath it, and she could hear people talking behind it.
    When she reached the door, Nancy took a deep breath. Here goes, she said to herself. The knob turned easily, but the door seemed to be stuck. It obviously hadn’t been used in a long time.
    She put her shoulder to the door and gave it a good shove. It shuddered and then swung open.
    Nancy stumbled forward, blinded by the spotlights that shone in her eyes. She blinked, confused, as a roar of laughter surrounded her. When she could finally focus, she saw that Bessand Rusty were standing about ten feet away from her, wearing the costumes for their comedy act.
    All at once Nancy realized where she was. She was onstage at Over the Rainbow, in the middle of Rusty and Bess’s sketch!

Chapter

Fourteen
    N ANCY FELT LIKE a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. If anyone at the comedy club knew about the gambling operation, that person knew exactly where she’d just been. She blinked into the lights, trying to see who was out in the audience, but all she saw was a blurry sea of faces.
    â€œMrs. Peabody,” Rusty cried out in the English accent he used for his character in the scene with Bess. “So good of you to join us.”
    The crowd screamed with laughter. Then the stage went black.
    Nancy’s heart was pounding as she crossed to the stairs leading off the stage. Her cover was entirely blown. It was only a matter of time before things would get really hot for her.
    Rusty slapped Nancy on the back. “I’m going to write in that entrance so it’s a regular part of the sketch. It’s a great ending! Where’d you come from, anyway?”
    â€œYou were fantastic, Nancy!” Bess cut in. She quickly grabbed Rusty’s arm and said, “I’m not sure about how I handled the last few lines. Can we go over them again?”
    She pulled Rusty aside. Leave it to Bess to distract him. Letting out an audible sigh, Nancy started toward the waitress station.
    Now that she was away from the spotlights, she could check out the room. Tony was behind the bar. Even from across the room, she couldn’t miss the curious look he gave her. Nancy spotted Johnny, too. He was talking with a couple at a table, clapping the man on the back and laughing. Bianca was nowhere to be seen.
    Nancy made her way through the crowd, signaling Jenny that she needed a few minutes before she started working again. She had just finished hanging up her jacket when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
    â€œEveryone’s a comedian!” Johnny said, smiling broadly. “Even the waitresses. I had no idea there was a door there. Is that a closet?”
    Nancy hesitated. “I’m not sure,” she hedged. “I was only in there for a minute, and it was pretty dark.”
    She wanted to be able to trust Johnny. Heseemed like such a nice guy. She couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was behind the gambling operation or the money