Carolyn Keene [Nancy Drew 067 The Sinister Omen (v0.9) (epub)

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.The sinister omen.And her nightmare.Nancy was worried.At five o'clock, the girls met downstairs and were thinking of a swim before dinner, when Señor Segovia arrived.He was a tall and handsome man with a dashing manner, about the same age as Carson Drew.But where the attorney was cool, methodical, and almost scientific in his approach, Señor Segovia was obviously fiery, impulsive, and a man of quick action.Nancy understood instantly why he and her father made such a good team.Each had characteristics to complement the other.Bess and George had to suppress giggles when Señor Segovia bowed and kissed their hands upon being introduced.But after exchanging some pleasantries with the girls, their host drew Nancy aside and his face became serious."Nancy, I must tell you about your father."A cold hand seemed to grip the girl's heart.She halfway knew what was coming.It was the message Andre had been too afraid to deUver and that had made Consuelo hide somewhere in the house until Señor Segovia came home."Dad? Something has happened to Dad?""Nothing bad.Nothing we can't correct.He's going to be all right.""Is he in a hospital?""No, no.Nothing like that.He's—well— been kidnapped.The group we've been fighting must be really terrified—and stupid—to do such a thing.They must know they can't get away with it!""Yes," Nancy interrupted, "but the point is my dad was kidnapped.We don't know where he is or how to rescue him.""Ah," said Señor Segovia, waggling a long forefinger."We know exactly where they have taken him and we're about to close in tonight.That's why I must ask you to excuse me again so I can help direct the search." He bowed and began to move toward the door, calling over his shoulder, "Now don't worry, Nancy.I promise you he will be all right.""Señor Segovia!" Nancy's voice was so firm that the man turned around."Do you really think that while my father is in danger, I'm just going to sit here and do nothing about it?"Her host looked at her intently.Then he smiled, and motioned with one hand."Come," he said."I should have known better.But I think Bess and George should stay here.''George looked as if she were going to object at first, but Bess nodded silently and pulled her cousin by the hand.''It's a whole search party," she whispered.''We'd probably be more of a hindrance than a help.'Nancy and Señor Segovia left the mansion in an old, battered Volkswagen."We must not advertise who we are or that we are coming," he said.They drove south, out of Fort Lauderdale, past Hollywood and Miami proper, into the southwest district of the city.Their destination was a dark and deserted section, an area of warehouses in which few people traveled at night and those who did were generally considered to be up to no good.''How do you know Dad is here?" Nancy asked."Through an informer," Señor Segovia replied."Your father had not been missing for more than a day when I received a phone call telling me where he could be found.""How do you know you can trust your source?" the girl went on.''I have worked with this man before.He is reliable.""Then why do you and Dad have such a hard time rounding up the men behind this stamp smuggling racket?"''Ah," Señor Segovia replied, ''that is because that gang is very clever.They deal through middlemen all the time.You never catch anyone but the underlings, and they don't even know who their bosses are.But eventually we will find out!"As they were talking, he pointed ahead to a long, low warehouse set back from the road."That's it," he said as they drove past."We'll come back, of course.But I wanted you to notice the old cars parked there.See how one is run up on the sidewalk as if it had been abandoned there? Those are police cars.There are plainclothesmen inside waiting for my signal."Nancy nodded."Who owns the building?" she asked."It belongs to a firm that buys up the inventory of companies that go out of business and then resells the stuff.I understand they are not doing too well.A lot of merchandise they have acquired does not seem to be moving."Señor Segovia drove a mile down the road, then came back with the lights out, and parked a hundred yards from the building.When they got out, they left the doors slightly ajar rather than slamming them and making a warning noise.Then they walked cautiously toward the building in almost pitch darkness.Suddenly, Nancy felt someone on her left side and the hairs on her forearms stood up [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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