Danger on Parade Read Online Free

his soft drink.
    Nancy and Bess looked at each other. In all the commotion, they hadn’t really thought about what they were going to do next.
    â€œWell, we’re in midtown. Maybe we should go window shopping on Fifth Avenue,” Nancy suggested.
    Bess’s eyes lit up. “You know me—born to shop! I’m ready whenever you are,” she said.
    After they finished eating, Greg paid the check, then gave the girls the address of Young You magazine, telling them to meet him there at five o’clock. Then he and Rob slipped into the limousine, while Nancy and Bess started walking toward Fifth Avenue.
    â€œNancy, isn’t he great?” Bess asked.
    â€œGreg seems like a really nice guy,” Nancy agreed. “I think he likes you.”
    â€œYou do?” Bess’s mouth dropped open. “Are you sure? I mean, could he? He’s so famous! Tons of girls are in love with him.”
    Nancy grinned at her friend. “Well, judging by the way he looks at you, I think he likes you a lot.”
    Bess let out a sigh. “Every time I look at him I think it’s a poster, and then I realize the poster is talking to me.”
    All of the boy-talk made Nancy think of Ned Nickerson, her longtime boyfriend. As a member of his college football team, he had to get ready for the big Thanksgiving Day game and hadn’t been able to come to New York.
    â€œNancy, look!” Bess exclaimed, stopping short on the sidewalk.
    They had arrived at Fifth Avenue, and Bess was staring at the window of a fancy jewelry store. “Do you like that bracelet?” Bess asked, pointing to a gold bracelet studded with diamonds and emeralds. “It’s on me—as soon as I make my first million, that is.”
    The two broke out laughing. As they continued their window shopping, Nancy marveled at the beautiful clothes and shoes. Before long, they arrived at Saks Fifth Avenue, one of New York’s most exclusive department stores. Inside, makeup counters of every kind stretched as far as theeye could see. Holly branches and twinkling white lights were already decorating the ceiling, signifying the start of the holiday season.
    Bess hesitated near the entrance. “You know I’ve always loved this store,” she said. “But now that we’ve been behind the scenes at Mitchell’s, I feel like a traitor shopping here.”
    â€œMe, too,” Nancy agreed.
    They turned to leave. Right across the street was Rockefeller Center. The plaza area was decorated with branches of colorful fall leaves twisted into artistic shapes.
    â€œNow, this is New York,” Nancy said as they crossed the street and walked through the plaza. At the far side, they paused at a railing and gazed down at skaters who were gliding along on the ice of the rink below. Music blared from speakers, and the setting sun glinted off the ice.
    â€œHmm, where are my sunglasses?” Bess rummaged through her bag. Finally she looked up at Nancy. “I think I lost them,” she said. “They were my favorites, too.”
    â€œWhere’s the last place you had them?” Nancy asked, flipping up the collar of her coat. As the sun set, the chilly November air suddenly seemed a lot colder.
    Bess’s brow furrowed into lines of concentration. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I know I had them in the cab on the way to the parade studio in Brooklyn. After that I don’t remember.”
    â€œMaybe you left them there,” Nancy said.“We’ll call Jill and ask her to bring them with her when she returns to the store—that is, if they weren’t destroyed in the fire.”
    They watched the skaters for a few more minutes and then found a pay phone on the street corner. Nancy fished in her pocket for the card with Jill’s number on it and handed it to Bess, who inserted some change in the pay phone and dialed the number.
    â€œHi, is Jill Johnston there? This is Bess