tall, dark and dangerous (Nancy Drew/Ned Nickerson) - complete

chapter 9

The official address for Third Kingdom, or the one Ned was able to find, anyway, was a post office box. That didn't do them any good whatsoever.

Then Ned reached for the papers again. "Did you print off a list of holdings?" he asked, distracted.

Nancy shook her head. "Physical properties? No. Should we try tax listings?"

"Great idea," Ned said with a grin, pulling out his phone.

By the time the cab reached the address Nancy had given the driver, though, neither of them had been able to find a good lead for where Humphrey might be. Ned paid off the taxi driver and gave him a generous tip, and Nancy glanced around, hoping something in the area might trigger her memory. Their surroundings were pretty dilapidated, though, and she and Ned were both dressed well. She didn't exactly feel exposed, but she didn't want to stay on the street too long.

Ned walked over to a brick building and leaned his back against it, staring down at his cell phone screen. "Cantoni's home is nowhere near here," he said, flicking his fingertip up the screen to scroll. "And I'm finding his office space. But that's it."

Nancy peered at her own cell screen. "And the only address I'm finding is that damn post office box," she muttered. "Damn it."

Ned glanced up, and Nancy met his eyes. "I could have Cantoni's cell tracked," he said slowly.

Nancy frowned. Finding the location of Cantoni's cell phone wouldn't necessarily tell them where Humphrey was, and they still had no conclusive proof linking the two of them. "Let me try one more thing," she said. "What was that name you said?"

"D'Agostini," he said. "Narrow your search to this borough, but that's still gonna return a lot of hits."

"Maybe on residential property," she said with a raised eyebrow. "But commercial is better on a Sunday, wouldn't you think?"

Ned shrugged. "Good point," he said.

Both Nancy and Ned were practically dancing with impatience the whole time, and he began his own search. Almost simultaneously they drew in a sharp breath.

"Vincent D'Agostini," Nancy said, turning her cell screen to show it to Ned even as he did the same thing.

"A little too convenient, don't you think?" Ned said, grabbing her hand. "That's three blocks from here. Cab, or walk it?"

"Walk it," Nancy decided, putting her phone back in her purse before she and Ned dashed down the street.

They approached the warehouse cautiously. Nancy patted her purse, thinking of the lockpick kit she always kept in it. The doors looked like they were made of steel, and the windows were far too high to reach. "Split up?" she asked. "Whoever finds Humphrey first calls the other?"

Ned nodded. "Okay," he agreed. "Be careful, okay?"

Nancy nodded. "You too," she said seriously. He wasn't nearly as accustomed to this kind of situation as she was.

He squeezed her hand, and a few minutes later he disappeared around the side of the building. Nancy walked to a door that was partially obscured in shadow, reaching into her purse for the lockpick kit.

Nancy knew the trick for breaking into any place without being detected was confidence, but adrenaline was making working on the lock a little tougher than usual. Finally it clicked, and she very gently pulled the tools out and replaced them in the velvet roll, then put her hand on the knob. The mechanism felt a little rusted, and Nancy fought the urge to glance around as she slowly turned it.

The interior of the warehouse was shadowy and very dusty, the air still and almost painfully hot, but she noticed a stack of unfaded boxes near a closed loading door and walked over to investigate, keeping her weight balanced on the balls of her feet so her heels wouldn't sound against the concrete floor. As she took her gingerly steps she studied the scuff marks in the dust on the floor, noting that they led to what appeared to be an office-type space separated from the warehouse floor. When she heard a distant creaking sound she very nearly jumped. It could be Ned, or someone else in the warehouse—or a car backfiring outside.