This Side of Evil by Carolyn Keene Page A

know,” he replied. “It came to the office just a little while ago, with instructions to deliver immediately.” He thrust a clipboard at Ned. “Sign here, please.”
    Nancy looked at the box Ned held in his hand. “That looks like a videocassette!” she exclaimed.
    Ned opened the box. “It is a tape.” He looked at the VCR sitting on top of the television set. “I’ll put it in.”
    Nancy adjusted the television set as Ned put the tape on. They both sat down on the sofa with the remote control and Ned flicked it on.
    For a moment the screen was filled with silvery snow. Then the image cleared and Nancy could see George. She was seated, tied to a chair. She was pale and obviously groggy, but her eyes were open and filled with terror. There was a smear of blood on her cheek.
    “Oh, no,” Nancy moaned. “Poor George!” She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. It was hypnotizing.
    Ned stared at the screen, his fists clenched, trying to speak. No words would come out. On the tape, a thickly muffled voice said, “Well, Nancy Drew, did you enjoy the view from the press box?” Nancy couldn’t tell whether it was a man or a woman, but there was no disguising the triumph in it.
    The kidnapper chuckled. “Wasn’t that an interesting show? Of course, now that I have your friend, I have to decide what to do with her. I have lots of choices, but I haven’t made up my mind—yet. But if you’ll go out to Sainte-Hélene’s Island now, to the museum at the Old Fort, I’ll get in touch with you. Wait there to hear from me.” There was a moment of silence, and then the chuckle came again. The screen went black.
    Shakily, Nancy got to her feet. “Oh, Ned,” she whispered. “This is so awful. And I feel responsible.”
    Ned put his arm around her shoulders. “I feel pretty awful, too,” he said in a low voice. “But you can’t blame yourself.”
    For a few moments Nancy let Ned’s comforting arms surround her. Then she pulled back. “Well, we can’t think about that now,” she said in a determined voice. “We’ve got to think about George and how to get her back. Come on. Let’s go to the Old Fort.”
     
    The Old Fort wasn’t a fort at all, Nancy and Ned discovered. Instead it was a protected grassy area on Saint-Hélene’s Island that was used as an arsenal back in 1822. Also on the island were some of the pavilions left over from Expo ’67. They’d been turned into shops and restaurants and cafes, along with swimming pools, gardens—even an aquarium.
    But Nancy and Ned didn’t care to shop or to see the sights. They hurried directly to the museum, a two-story building that housed displays tracing the history of New France and Canada through the early days. It was filled with weapons, brightly colored military uniforms, and a large model of what Montreal was like in 1760.
    Nancy paced nervously back and forth in the lobby. “What’s the kidnapper going to do with her?”
    “I don’t know,” Ned said sympathetically and glanced at the phone at the information desk. “Do you suppose the kidnapper will call?”
    “That’s a possibility,” Nancy said. “But with this guy, you can’t tell. He might try anything! Or she,” she added, remembering that the kidnapper could be a woman.
    It was nearly five o’clock, and Nancy was beginning to feel desperate. What would happen if the museum closed and the kidnapper hadn’t contacted them yet? But just then the telephone on the desk rang. The woman who answered it looked around at the few people left in the lobby.
    “Is there someone here named Nancy Drew?” she asked in a thick French accent.
    Nancy jumped for the phone, with Ned right beside her. The kidnapper laughed, a grating sound that echoed in Nancy’s ear. “Are you and your friend enjoying the museum?” the voice asked.
    “What have you done with George?” Nancy demanded. “Where is she?”
    “Ah, so the famous detective is stumped at last!” the voice exclaimed, obviously