Nancy Drew 3 - The Secret of the Jeweled Case

The Kovnas

 Helen glanced at Nancy, eyes wide. "Nancy," she whispered, "what should we do?"

Nancy brought her finger to her lips. "Stay very quiet. Pretend to ignore them. We're just here to pick up the Kovnas." Her eyebrows narrowed. "Though, it's odd that two men who want the royal family dead would have been on the same flight ..." She paused and glanced at the rearview mirror at the backs of the two men as they walked away. She quickly unbuckled. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

"Nancy!" Helen tried to grab her, but Nancy had already ducked out of the car and closed the door. She followed at a fair distance, but now that there were more people between her and the two men, she couldn't make out what they were saying. Not only that, they were talking in low enough tones to not be heard by many passing by. Nancy glanced back at the car. Maybe she was taking too big of a risk right now, following them. What would happen to the royal family should she be caught? She turned back to the men and continued following them. But she did need to know how much they knew and, maybe, hopefully, reveal who else was working with them.

Nancy followed them until they found a taxi. She walked past, pretending to look for a taxi of her own, when she caught the words "Take us to the Riverside Inn in River Heights."

"Yes sir." As the car pulled away, Nancy felt sick. They were going to the same bed and breakfast that Francis was staying at! She needed to warn them! She raced back to Helen's car. Helen was out, helping two women and a tween load luggage into the trunk.

Helen noticed her and her eyes widened. "Nancy! What's wrong?"

"Um, uh ..." Nancy glanced at the Kovnas and thought quickly. She couldn't let them know, but what could she use as an excuse to go to Riverside Inn? Then she hit on it. "Uh, one of the guys dropped their wallet. I tried to give it to him, but I was too late. I heard that they were going to Riverside Inn." Nancy put extra emphasis on the hotel's name.

Helen's eyes widened even more. "Oh! Francis Baum is staying there!"

Nancy bobbed her head. "Yes, that's right."

"Who is Francis Baum?" asked the young lady who was around their age.

"Oh, uh, an artist Nancy met the other day," said Helen with a nervous chuckle. "Speaking of, let me introduce you real quick." Helen quickly introduced Nancy to the Kovnas, Katherine, her sister Millie, and their mother Mrs. Kovna.

Nancy chuckled softly as she shook hands with Mrs. Kovna. "Your name should be easy to remember, being so similar to Helen's."

Mrs. Kovna chuckled. "I hope so. Now, let's go. I wouldn't want that man to be without his wallet for too long."

Nancy chuckled nervously. "Yeah, uh, me neither."

"Well, let's go!" said Mrs. Kovna. The three Kovnas quickly got into the back while Nancy and Helen jumped into the front seats. Helen started the car, and they were soon on their way.

Nancy turned in her seat to look at them while Helen drove. "So, Helen hasn't told us much about Centrovia. Can you tell, or is it a secret?"

Katherine laughed, but shot a look at her mother. "Well, it's not a complete secret ... but there are some things I can't tell you."

Mrs. Kovna patted her daughter's shoulder. "I'm afraid not everything can be said, yes. But I can say that our country is going through some turmoil at the moment, so being able to have been able to come here is a blessing."

Nancy pouted. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Oh, don't be, some countries will have to deal with this at one point or another. We do hope that it will end soon." Mrs. Kovna glanced at her daughters. "But, they can describe our customs and the countryside to you, if they wish."