5

The Sealed Theater

When Nancy realized what was happening, she was sitting on a chair in the hospital. It was the waiting room right in front of the emergency room. Frank and Joe sat next to her as she looked up. She didn't want to believe it, but her father was in it. He was in a coma, in a dangerous situation.

Nancy looked at the clock. It was already five o'clock. She had to call Bess and George and tell them what was happening.

Frank looked at Nancy. "You look pale, Nancy. Do you want to get something to drink?"

Nancy shook her head weakly. "No, I'm fine. I just have to call Bess and George and tell them what happened."

She stood up and dug into her purse. With trembling finger, she dialed Bess's cell phone number and waited for her friend to answer.

"Hello?" It was Bess. "What is it, Nancy?"

"You know that Dad is on a case in New York, don't you?"

"Uh-huh. You told us that during the car ride to New York. So what about him?"

"He's in a come."

"He's in a what!" Bess's voice was bewildered. "Don't tell me that he was attacked by the culprit!"

Nancy shook her head. "I don't know if it was the culprit. He was found in this theater called Grande Wallace Theatre."

"Oh, my gosh!" Bess said. "You'd better talk to George, too. She hates when you don't tell her the latest news. Hang on."

Now it was George who was on the other side of the line. "Tell me everything, Nancy. What happened to Mr. Drew?"

"Well, apparently he hit his head and he was found by one of the actors, as the policeman explained."

"He hit his head? Don't you mean someone else hit his head?"

"I know Dad is not that careless, but the police say that it was an accident. Nobody else was in the building except for the actors and him, and the actors all had alibis, solid ones at that. And then they found that all doors were locked from the inside and there was no way a burglar could sneak in, since the lock could not be picked."

"Well, isn't it possible that someone had a spare key?" George asked.

Nancy sighed. "I said that to the police, too. But they said that the key was a special kind that had no way to reproduce it. So it's impossible to make a spare key."

George was distressed. "What about someone entering the building from the outside yesterday and then hid himself in the backstage? Isn't that possible?"

"No, the police say the doors were locked ever since the theater group had gone out for dinner last night, and they didn't see anybody following them as they entered the theater this morning. I hate to say this, but they closed this case as an accident until my dad wakes up and explain what happened. But I don't know when that'll be." Nancy was about to add "if ever" after that, but she stopped herself, thinking that it was bad to lose faith in her father.

"So the place was perfectly sealed. Did they search for any hidden entrances, as in the ones they have in the movies?"

Nancy nodded, even knowing that her friends couldn't see her nod. "They searched the place but found nothing. There wasn't anything unusual with the walls or anything. Well, they just did a rushed search, anyway, saying that they have more serious cases to solve."

"Ugh! Well, it seems like you are the only hope, Nance," George said.

"Oh, no, George. Frank and Joe are here to help, remember?"

George laughed heartily. "Good to hear that you are not as down as I thought. Good luck, Nancy, and a comment from my blonde cousin…"

"Go get the culprit, Nancy!" Bess said, taking the phone from George. "By the way, we are going to be back at seven to eat dinner at Bailey's. See you then!"

As Bess hung up, Nancy looked at Frank and Joe and smiled. "Let's go to the theater, shall we?"

Frank smiled. "That's the spirit, Nancy."

The threesome went into Nancy's car and drove to the theater immediately. As Nancy got out of her convertible, she looked up at the old theater that was in front of them. Nancy saw that it was very old, even when considering that the place was remodeled a few years ago. She looked at the lock. It was special, all right. The shape of the keyhole was round and odd-looking.

Nancy entered the building. The police already finished their investigation. The place was rather clean, with floors that were recently wiped. As Frank, Joe, and Nancy entered through the backdoor, they heard the group rehearsing. Frank looked up and around him. There was a staircase leading to the second floor, and many sandbags hung from the ceiling. He motioned for Nancy and Joe to continue after him as he walked slowly and noiselessly up the staircase.

Joe shone his flashlight around him. It was dark in the backstage. As he shone his flashlight onto the floor, he saw many ropes lying on the floor. He kneeled down and looked at the ropes. They were certainly old. It was as though nobody has ever been in the place for ages.

Frank got to the second floor. Grabbing the railing, he saw that there were even more ropes on the floor than on the ground downstairs. He looked at the pile of ropes and started digging in them. After a minute of digging, he found a flashlight, one that was smaller than Joe's, underneath the pile of ropes.

"This is Dad's flashlight!" Nancy exclaimed. "This must mean that he was knocked unconscious right here!"

Frank nodded. "And after he was hit, the attacker must have fled, kicking the ropes that was underneath him. See?" He shone his flashlight onto the floor a little farther from the pile of ropes. There were some places where the ropes seemed to have been kicked, making the shape of "U". Frank continued his explanation, "When the attacker kicked the ropes, some slid backwards and buried Mr. Drew's flashlight."

Nancy looked at the place. "I don't think we can look for any more clues around here; the police already came here, and I doubt they overlooked anything."

Joe nodded, standing up. "And I'd like to move around, not just staying in this dark, gloomy place."

The three detectives exited the theater from the backdoor. As they did so, Nancy still kept hearing the actors rehearsing for the performance that night.

"Ta-da!"

Bailey carried the tray with roasted chicken on it to the table, where Nancy, Frank, Joe, Bess, and George were waiting. It was seven o'clock that evening. Bailey and Mrs. Higgins heard the news from Bess and George and decided to make a heartwarming dinner for Nancy, especially after she had gone through such a shock.

The roasted chicken was placed in the center, and around that were soup, salad, glasses filled with either water or milk, and a basket with bread in it. The aroma of the dinner filled the entire kitchen and the dining hall as well. Nancy couldn't help smiling at the great dinner that was in front of her.

The chicken was delicious. After finishing the enjoyable dinner, the girl detective and her two friends said goodbye to Frank and Joe as they went back in their own motorcycles. Nancy watched as the two motorcycles disappeared into the busy traffic.

Bess looked at the time. "Well, I think there's still time for a drive in the city, Nancy. George and I went to the statue of liberty today and finally got to the top level after standing in line for an hour! You should have been there with us."

Nancy put her hands in her coat pocket. It was getting chilly. As she drew her hands out, she found that there was a piece of paper in her pocket. She got it out. It was the advertisement she had picked up earlier that day, when she was running after the person who was stalking her. Bess squeaked as she saw the ad.

"Oh my gosh! That is the ad for Romance By Envy! Oh, I love the acting of Cornelia Yaupon! Were you trying to surprise us with it?"

Nancy was about to say no, but she knew that it was a good idea for her; she could stick with Bess and get the information on the actors. After all, one of them might be the person who stole the vase and made Bailey look like the culprit in the process.

"Yeah, Bess. I thought you would enjoy it. How about going there tonight and tell me more about the actors?"

The line in front of the theater was long; there must have been at least two hundred people lining up to see the play. Nancy was glad she came an hour prior to the play, since the line started to get longer after that.

There was a parking lot in front of the theater, but it was filled with cars of all sizes and colors within matter of minutes.

"Don't you think it's exciting?" Bess asked George in glee.

"That's the last thing that comes to my mind," George said in boredom. She has never been a big fan of soap operas and romance, unlike her blonde cousin.

"So, Bess," Nancy asked, "can you tell me about the actors? Do you think they have motive in stealing the antique vase?"

Bess frowned. "I don't think any of them is even interested in antique collecting. Besides, they have too much money on their hands to consider stealing from a wealthy couple."

That Nancy could agree. But what she didn't know was why her father was knocked out in the theater.

"Do you think Dad saw or heard something which he wasn't supposed to?" Nancy asked.

George was deep in thought. "I think so. I guess he heard the actors talking about something illegal… something clandestine…"

"But I doubt it," Bess said, interrupting. "If they were in something illegal, then why would they call the hospital and the police when they found Mr. Drew lying down on the floor?"

Nancy nodded. "That's a good point. If they were connected to something illegal, then they would not call the ambulance. I'm pretty sure they are not connected to the robbery, but I just had a bad feeling."

"Next person, please," a voice called. Nancy, Bess, and George turned to the lady in the ticket booth.

Nancy looked at the price. An adult's admission fee was twelve dollars. She took out her wallet from a purse.

All of a sudden, the person next to her bumped into her and snatched the purse away from her. Before anyone knew what happened, he started to flee.

"Hey!" Nancy shouted as she ran after him, followed by Bess and George. "Thief!"

Several people murmured as they watched the man run away from the crowd of people. But none of them made the effort to stop him.

Then, a man stepped up and, using his fist, knocked the thief down onto the ground.

"Oomph!" The thief let out a gasp and remained standing as he dropped the purse. As swift as a tiger, he ran to his car. Nancy was right after him, but she didn't have the chance to look at the license plate; in a flash, the thief turned on the engine and drove the car into the busy street, leaving no trace behind.

Nancy went over to the man who stopped the thief. "Thank you for stopping him," she said, picking up her purse. She took a look at the man. He was in his early twenties and had light brown hair that was similar to her boyfriend's. He wore a blue T-shirt and gray jeans. He also wore a black coat over the shirt and the jeans he was wearing. Grinning, he said, "Glad to be of service, miss. You should hang onto your purse from now on. I'm sure he was not the only thief around here in the Big Apple."

"I know," Nancy said, partly ashamed of herself. "Are you here for the play, too?"

"Not really. It's my day off, so I was planning to have dinner in nearby fast food restaurant. I'm Kendall Reagan, private detective."

"Private detective?" Bess said, catching up. "What a coincidence. Nancy here is a detective, too."

"Amateur detective. My name is Nancy Drew. Nice to meet you."

"Nancy Drew? Oh, the daughter of the famous Carson Drew? I have read every single case Mr. Drew has handled and solved. He is practically a legend here at New York."

Nancy giggled. "It's great to know that my dad has a fan here." She looked at the time and gasped. "Oh, no, the play already started!"

Bess pointed to the ticket booth. The lady was still inside. "If we go now, we can still watch the play. Let's go before she closes the ticket booth!"

The three girls rushed to the ticket booth as Kendall stayed behind. Now, the long line of people was gone. Kendall looked around him and made sure there was nobody near him. He then took his cell phone out and dialed a number from memory.

"Hello? This is Kendall."

The traffic was getting bad. Cars were literally halted and were beeping at each other. Kendall was the only one on the street, yet nobody noticed him, particularly because of his black coat he wore.

"Do you know Nancy Drew, the famous girl detective?" Kendall asked.

The sky was cloudy. It had been cloudy ever since Nancy arrived at New York, but now, it started to rain.

"Yeah, she is in New York City right now."

The light from the neon sign right above him made his face look eerily blue. What made it even eerier was his smile. It was more like a smirk.

"Don't worry. She won't last another day, I promise."