“I wonder where the abductor has hidden
Juliana,” Nancy said.
It was early afternoon when the Drews reached
River Heights. The lawyer said he had to stop
in his office for a couple of hours and that Nancy
could use the car in the meantime.
“I think I’ll go see Mrs. Fenimore and find out
whether she has heard the news,” Nancy decided
as she got out of the car. She drove off and turned
in the direction of the little house.
Joan and her mother were happy to see her.
They had not read the newspapers, however, and
had not heard from Daniel Hector. When Nancy
told them about the article, Mrs. Fenimore be-
came excited.
“You mean my sister has really been found?
Oh, I just can’t believe it! Where is she?”
“Mrs. Fenimore,” Nancy said, “I don’t want to
disappoint you, but I believe that the woman
Hector claims to have located is an impostor!”
“What do you mean?” Mrs. Fenimore looked
bewildered.
Nancy told about the result of her investiga-
tion and of her suspicion that the real Juliana had
been kidnapped.
“But that’s terrible,” Mrs. Fenimore finally
said. “It’s an unscrupulous scheme to cheat my
sister out of her inheritance, and who knows, she
might be a prisoner of Hector’s for years! We
must tell the police!”
“I wish we could,” Nancy said. “But so far I
can’t prove anything. Unless we find your sister
in time. Hector may get away with his crooked
scheme.”
“But I can tell if the claimant is my sister,
can’t I?”
“I don’t know whether your word against hers
would be proof enough. Anyway, I think we
should meet the dancer who claims to be Juliana.”
Joan insisted upon coming along, and soon the
three of them arrived at the Rivervicw Hotel.
“You mean Senora Fernandez?” the desk clerk
replied when Nancy inquired for the woman.
“I’ll see if she’s receiving callers.”
Mrs. Fenimore became more and more appre-
hensive as they waited. Finally the clerk told them
to go up to Room 320. They knocked and a voice
said, “Come in!”
A beautiful woman was reclining on the bed,
her back braced by several embroidered pillows.
She wore an exotic negligee which set off to ad-
vantage her dark hair and creamy white skin.
“Vera! I am so glad to see you again!” she said
and got up to embrace Mrs. Fenimore. “And this
is Joan, isn’t it?” She kissed the little girl lightly
on the cheek.
Mrs. Fenimore was so confused that for a mo-
ment she could not speak. Nancy broke the silence
by giving her name.
“Miss Drew?” the dancer looked perplexed but
only for an instant. “Yes, I believe Mr. Hector
told me about you.”
By now Mrs. Fenimore had relaxed. “Julie,
why did you go away?”
“I-I eloped with my Mexican husband.”
“But how could you desert Walter Heath?”
“I couldn’t marry him, because I didn’t love
him. But I didn’t want to hurt him either; that’s
why I disappeared.”
“But now you’ve come back to claim his for-
tune,” Nancy put in. “By the way, what are your
plans for the estate?”
“I’ll sell it. Mr. Hector has a buyer for it al-
ready.”
“Then you won’t stay in River Heights?” Mrs.
Fenimore asked.
“Of course not. I have my career and my home
in Mexico.”
Mrs. Fenimore looked at the woman calmly.
“Mr. Hector won’t be able to sell the estate for
you because you are not my sister 1”
The other woman blanched. “I may have
changed in those ten years, but I can prove who
I am!”
“How?” Nancy asked quickly.
“I have all necessary identification. And I also
have this!” From beneath her pillow the dancer
brought out a torn paper. Nancy instantly knew
that it was the missing half of the note she had
found at the Heath factory. She read the words:
day the sec-
am hiding
may make me
Then I shall be
of you. Love,
Walt
Nancy did not have the other half of the note
with her, but she knew its contents by heart. The
complete message would read:
Dear C,
Someday the sec-