Danger on Parade by Carolyn Keene Page B

too.”
    Nancy let out a sigh. “Maybe, but we can’t pinthe sabotage on him or Louis Clark without more concrete proof.” Her next words were swallowed by a huge yawn. “What we need is a good night’s sleep. Maybe in the morning something will come to us.”
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    â€œThere’s Jules,” Nancy said Wednesday morning as she and Bess entered a coffee shop near Mitchell’s Department Store.
    â€œI hope he can prove Louis Clark really is stealing Mitchell’s exclusive scent,” Bess said. “Then maybe Louis will admit to the other sabotage, too, and my Thanksgiving will be saved.”
    â€œWith any luck, the real culprit will be in jail before the day is out,” Nancy said.
    â€œHi!” Jules greeted them as the two girls slipped into the booth opposite him. After the three of them ordered coffee and doughnuts, he leaned over the table. “I couldn’t believe it when you called this morning about Louis Clark. So did he really steal our perfume?”
    â€œYou’re the one who can tell us the answer to that question,” Nancy said.
    She reached into her bag and pulled out the photocopy of the formulas she’d found in Louis’s office. Jules had a file with him. He opened it and looked back and forth from the file to the sheet.
    â€œLet me see,” he said, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Number three—this is it!” he yelled.
    â€œAre you sure?” Bess asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
    Jules nodded his head adamantly. “Positive. It’s an exact match to the formula for Forever.” He pounded his fist on the table. “Somehow Louis Clark got his hot little hands on a sample of our perfume! That’s about the only way to re-create the formula exactly.”
    â€œWe think that’s why he broke into the lab on Monday,” Nancy said. “We found a handkerchief with his initials on it inside.”
    â€œI don’t know,” Jules said. “It’s virtually impossible to determine the formula overnight, even with a sample. Maybe he actually found the formula in the file,”
    â€œMaybe,” Nancy said. “I’m going over to Louis’s office right now to confront him.”
    â€œGood idea,” Jules agreed. “I’d go with you, but I’ve got a doctor’s appointment.” He gestured to the sling protecting his left arm. “Let’s meet back here in an hour so you can fill me in.”
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    â€œI’m sorry, girls, but you need an appointment,” Louis Clark’s secretary said firmly.
    Nancy saw Bess’s disappointed look, but she wasn’t about to give up that easily. “I thought I had an appointment,” Nancy lied, raising her voice. If she made a big enough stink, maybe that would work.
    â€œYes,” Bess chimed in loudly. “It’s very important that we see Mr. Clark now.”
    â€œWell, you can’t. I—”
    Just then the door to Louis Clark’s office opened, and Louis appeared. “What’s going on out here?” he asked.
    Nancy held up the photocopy of the perfume formulas. “Recognize these, Mr. Clark?”
    Louis’s eyes widened at the sight of the formulas. His gaze flitted nervously around the reception area. “I, er, think I can spare a few minutes for these young ladies,” he told his secretary, gesturing for Nancy and Bess to enter his office.
    As soon as he shut the door behind the girls, Nancy squarely faced the store owner. “Mr. Clark, I know you’re trying to steal Mitchell’s exclusive perfume formula. I also happen to know you’re missing a handkerchief—the one with the initials L.C. It was found in Mitchell’s cosmetics lab in Brooklyn.”
    Louis stared impassively at Nancy and Bess as he walked to his desk and sat down. His initial nervousness had disappeared. “The police