038 The Final Scene Read Online Free Page A

again. “Yes. He said, ‘If you let them tear down the Royal Palladium, I guarantee you’ll never see her again.’ ”

Chapter

Four
    T HE R OYAL P ALLADIUM?” Nancy echoed. “What’s the Royal Palladium?” she asked, her eyes searching Joseph’s face.
    “That was the name of the theater before it became a movie house,” Nicholas said. “My grandfather told me,” he explained. Even so, he seemed as confused as they were.
    Nancy turned back to Joseph. “Did you recognize the caller’s voice?”
    “No. It was kind of muffled, like he was talking out of the side of his mouth.”
    “Was his voice deep or high?”
    “In the middle, I’d say. I’m sorry I can’t be more help, Nancy.”
    “That’s okay, Joseph. You’ve helped a lot,” Nancy said, laying her hand on the old man’s arm.
    “Well, it isn’t much. I just wish I’d been there when that scoundrel nabbed young Bess. Unfortunately, I must have been up in the projection room, making the introduction over the PA and getting ready to run the film. You know I have to do everything around here these days—set up the movies, clean, run the office. . . . ”
    “That’s okay, Joseph,” George said. “We know you did everything you could.” She took Nancy aside.
    “What’s wrong, George?” Nancy asked.
    “I don’t know, Nancy,” George began. “But Joseph’s so old, do you think he got the message right? What if he missed something, like some clue about where Bess might be?” She bit her fingernail absentmindedly. “I just wish we’d been there when the kidnapper called.”
    Nancy was about to answer her friend when the front doors of the theater opened, and a half-dozen uniformed police officers rushed into the lobby.
    “Thank goodness they’ve arrived.” Nancy breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to George and said with as much confidence as she could muster, “With all these men and women I’m sure we’ll find her.”
    After Joseph had explained to the police about the kidnapper’s message, Detective Ryan turned to Nancy.
    “Okay,” he said. “The first thing we do is try to find the girl.”
    “What about the phone call?” Nancy asked. “Shouldn’t we be trying to follow that lead, too?”
    Ryan smiled. “We should, but only after we find Bess. Then we can worry about who made the call. My officers and I will search the dressing rooms upstairs and the basement. Why don’t you concentrate on the auditorium and backstage? We’ll all meet back there to report what we’ve found.”
    “I’m really sorry to do this to you,” Nicholas Falcone said. “I wanted to help search for your friend, but I have to drive out to my grandfather’s house. He doesn’t answer, and I’m a little worried about him.”
    “I’m afraid you won’t be allowed to leave without an escort, friend,” Ryan said. “Henry”—he motioned to a young policeman—“please accompany Mr. Falcone andbring him back here. I have a few questions for him.”
    “Why?” George asked when Nicholas was out of earshot. “Isn’t he okay? He seems so concerned and nice, and he doesn’t even know Bess.”
    “Yes,” said Nancy. “That’s the problem. Why was he hanging around? To see where we’re going to search, or did he really want to help us? If the kidnapper wants to save the theater, who would benefit more from taking Bess than Nicholas? He’s got a great big motive.”
    Ryan looked at her, tapped the side of his head, and winked. “That’s my girl,” he said. “Come on, let’s get going.”
    • • •
    Several hours later the girls collapsed into two of the plush front-row seats in the auditorium. The floor beneath their feet was sticky from spilled soda. Popcorn and candy wrappers lay everywhere, discarded by the screaming throng that was now long gone.
    Nancy and George were too tired even to appreciate the gracious old-world beauty of the elegant theater around them. They were dirty, exhausted, and discouraged. They had