Nancy Drew and The Mystery Of The Ghost Maiden

Chapter Nine

The next morning Nancy searched her room making sure the love letters had not fallen behind or under the furniture. As she had expected, they were not there. This confirmed the theory, that a thief must have taken them the previous night. With little else she could do, Nancy picked up a notebook and wrote down what little she could remember from the letters. Looking over the notes didn't help her much at all. There were just too many missing pieces to figure it out. Nancy pondered, "I sure do hope my aunt can help us with some clues."

Afterward, she got dressed in a cute white pleated skirt and a purple top, however, when she went over to grab her purple shoes, she stepped on something sharp. Quickly Nancy looked downward where she saw a single press on fingernail painted with bright red nail polish. Nancy thought this might be an important clue, so she went over to her friends' room quickly to show them.

When Nancy entered, she was greeted by Bess who was inspecting her vintage dress with a full body mirror.

"Nancy, by some miracle they fixed my grandmother's dress! It looks like just like new now!" exclaimed Bess.

"That's great Bess, but do you really want to wear it today? It might get stained again," commented Nancy.

"Oh no silly, I was just making sure it had not shrunk, from being washed. I am going to be wearing my pale peach dress today." Continued Bess.

Nancy asked, "By the way, is either of you missing a red press on fingernail?"

"No not me. I don't even bother with my fingernails," replied George as she lay on the bed.

" George, you are so silly, and red is not my color." Bess laughed.

"It can't be the maids either. She is very shy and is not the type they wear flashy nails to draw attention to herself. Must be from last night, then!" Nancy exclaimed loudly.

"What do you mean from last night?" inquired Bess, as she fixed her hair, slowly taking it out of curlers.

"You see, last night the old letters and my notes were stolen, when I went to investigate some strange piano music. This nail must be from the person who took it." Nancy stated.

"What does that prove and what strange music are you talking about?" asked George, confused.

"A woman was in my room, based on this clue. Perhaps it might be helpful to look for someone missing a red nail." Nancy said as she went over to help Bess pull out what was left of the hair curlers.

"What did you find out about the strange noise then?" Asked Bess as she turned back the mirrored vanity to comb the tight, blonde curls out.

Nancy answered, "Not much at all, it led me up to the third floor where an astonishing looking music room was located. However, no-one was in there when I checked." Nancy stated.

"Could it had been a ghost then?" Bess thought aloud.

"I don't think so, there was some evidence of someone recently being there. I found the whole entire room was covered with a layer of dust, except for a few piano keys. " Nancy replied, as they went downstairs for breakfast.

Just then a car horn sounded! The three girls raced to the nearest window to see Nancy's great-aunt driving up to the large home. "Maybe now we can get some answers to all these new questions," Nancy said as they went downstairs. But once they got near the bottom of the stairs, arguing began outside. When she opened the front door, she was shocked to see her aunt arguing with a gray-haired, large frame, middle-aged man.

The argument between the two started, "You know it, as well as I do Betty! You don't have the funds to stay in this house much longer! You should sell it to me and move away before they force you into a retirement home!" argued the man.