High Risk by Carolyn Keene Page A

else.”
    â€œGee, that’s too bad,” said Libby, shaking her head.
    â€œAnyway,” Nancy said, “I’ve got to go now.”
    Libby smiled. “Have a nice day.”
    Nancy left the building, got into her vandalized car, and headed up the street to Karsh’s. She was tired of wasting time. If she was going to prove that Michelle had killed Foyle, she had to get proof now!
    At the store Nancy asked a salesgirl where she could find Michelle Ferraro. She was told that Michelle worked in the accessories department on the ground floor.
    Nancy headed over there. She approached a prim-looking woman who was arranging belts on a rack. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Michelle Ferraro.”
    The woman gave Nancy an icy stare. “Miss Ferraro is not available,” she said haughtily.
    â€œOh, that’s too bad.” Nancy swallowed herfrustration. Nothing was going right! She managed to give the woman a pleasant smile as she asked, “Do you know when she’s coming back?”
    â€œI couldn’t say,” the woman replied.
    Nancy stared at the woman, confused. Why was this saleslady treating her like a criminal? “Well, then, could you tell me when she left?” she asked. At least she might be able to establish whether Michelle had had time to vandalize her car.
    The woman sniffed disapprovingly. “Miss Ferraro has been gone for at least an hour,” she informed Nancy. Then she turned firmly back to her work.
    An hour? thought Nancy. So it could have been Michelle! she was thinking excitedly. The time fits, the method fits—she had to be the one who slashed my seat. Now, if I can prove it, I might be getting somewhere!
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    By evening, though, Nancy was discouraged. At home she’d used dusting powder to check the threatening note for fingerprints, but there were none. There were also none, other than her own, on the slashed seat.
    She doubted that trying to trace the paper or the typewriter would help, either. The paper was generic looking, and the typeface had no revealing breaks or imperfections that would link it to a particular machine. How was she going to prove Michelle was involved? Michelle had covered her tracks perfectly!
    Just then the phone rang.
    â€œHi, Nancy,” George said when Nancy answered. “I tracked down a list of the companies that rent space in that warehouse.”
    â€œTerrific. How’d you do it?” Nancy asked.
    â€œI called up the realtors for the building and told them I was with the FBI and that we suspected someone was hiding contraband in that warehouse,” George replied. Nancy heard her giggle over the line. “It was pretty funny. They practically fell over themselves to get me the list.”
    â€œI believe it. I’ll bet they’re pretty shaken up since the murder,” said Nancy. “They probably think the warehouse is jinxed.”
    â€œIt’s a pretty long list,” George went on. “About half the businesses in Mapleton are on it, I’d say. And there’s one name you’re not going to like—Mutual Life. They’ve been keeping old records there for years.”
    Nancy’s heart sank. That meant that Ned could have had the key to the warehouse. This was another nail in his coffin! “You’re right. The prosecution could use that against Ned in court,” she said glumly. “But tell me something. Is Karsh’s department store on the list?”
    â€œLet’s see—Karsh’s, Karsh’s—yes, it’s here,” George replied after a minute. “Why?”
    â€œThat’s where Michelle works,” Nancy told her. “It’s one more link between her and the murder. Now if only I could get some hard evidence!”
    After she and George talked about the case for a few more minutes, Nancy hung up. She hadpromised to help Hannah with dinner that night, so she went down to the