The Triple Hoax Read Online Free Page A

Richards went on. “But I told him it was not his fault. The insurance company is going to settle if my automobile is not found within a certain time period, and we’re looking at a new car.”
    Nancy asked if Roscoe had heard the men say anything that might lead to their arrest.
    “I don’t know if there’s any significance to this,” the woman replied, “but one of them said, ‘This is a good hoax on that rich widow.’ Then the two of them laughed uproariously.”
    By this time the group had reached the medical laboratory. Mrs. Richards told Mr. Horner, the owner, that her young visitors had found the vial in an old costume and wondered if the poison were still effective.
    Mr. Horner asked his assistant, whose name was Enzo Scorpio, to take the vial into the lab and test it. Five minutes later the young man returned, confirming that it was potent.
    “What kind of poison is it?” Mrs. Richards asked.
    “It’s extracted from poisonous mushrooms,” the technician replied.
    “In that case,” Mr. Horner said, “the vial is more valuable than its contents. I believe it was made by an artisan in the fifteenth century. It’s absolutely airtight. That’s why the poison has not evaporated. As a matter of fact, if you would like to sell the vial, I’d be glad to buy it. I know a man who collects this kind of thing.”
    Mrs. Richards hesitated. Nancy felt sure that she was about to agree and grabbed the woman’s hand, squeezing it tightly.
    Mrs. Richards understood. “I don’t want to sell it,” she replied.
    “I can’t blame you,” he said with a smile. “If you’d like to find out if it’s genuine Florentine, I recommend you take it to a specialist on fifteenth-century artwork. The best man I know is at the Metro Museum in Washington, D.C.”
    Mrs. Richards’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh? That’s a good idea. I’m planning to visit a friend in Washington.... I’m flying out tomorrow morning on the shuttle. I’ll certainly look up that man.”
    Mr. Horner wrote the specialist’s name and address on a piece of paper, and handed it to Mrs. Richards. Then the group left the laboratory.
    Nancy, Bess, and George returned to Aunt Eloise’s apartment. Again they read the two advertisements that Nancy had brought from Mrs. Richards.
    George said, “Would it be a good idea for you to contact these places and wire the money?”
    “If we do that,” Nancy said, “I’m afraid we’ll never hear from them, and our money will be gone. But here’s an idea. How about suggesting your scheme to the police to get evidence?”
    “To do what?” George asked.
    “Have a detective write from his home to the two companies and include checks that will bounce. When they’re returned, the police can see where the con men tried to cash them. They can contact the companies’ banks at once to find out more about the men and maybe get their addresses. One of the persons might be Howie Barker!”
    George grinned. “Rubber checks! It’s a terrific idea.”
    Nancy telephoned the chief who said the plan might work.
    “Good thinking,” he added. “Thank you.”
    When Aunt Eloise returned, she and the girls had dinner. Then George said, “Let’s see another Hoaxter magic show. This time I’d like to be a volunteer and go up on stage to watch their tricks.”
    “I hope you learn more than I did,” Bess said.
    When the moment arrived for people in the audience to join the artists on stage, George hurried forward and leaped up the steps. She was the first onlooker to arrive, but the sleight of hand man ignored her and selected ten other people.
    “Sorry,” he said to the rest. “That’s all we can take.”
    “But I was here first!” George objected. “I should have—”
    The magician looked at her stonily. “Young lady, I’m sorry. Please return to your seat.”
    George was tempted to argue further with the man, but he was already talking to someone else. Angrily she left the stage, wondering why he would not let