A Ghost In The Closet. Mabel Maney

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      “I’m sorry, son, you’ll have to let me examine the contents of your pockets before I can let you in the auditorium,” a man in a trim blue uniform ordered as he kept his eyes on the crowd and grabbed hold of Midge Fontaine’s arm, preventing her from entering the Lake Merrimen Auditorium, a civic center in the heart of the bustling resort town that had been host to many an exciting event, from square dances to pie contests, but none so thrilling as the annual Dog Show.

      Midge squirmed out of the man’s grasp and resolutely crossed her arms over her strong chest. “No one goes through my pockets,” she cried angrily, thinking to herself, “except for my girlfriend Velma!”

      “If I don’t search you, you can’t go inside,” the officer shot back as he studied Midge’s trouser pockets suspiciously.

      Girl detective Nancy Clue pushed past her chum. “Officer, what’s the problem?” she asked politely.

      “Well, if it isn’t Miss Nancy Clue!” the man exclaimed as he recognized the famous girl sleuth known far and wide for her keen detective work and fashionable outfits. Today, Nancy was attired in a darling blue and white checkered raincoat and matching hat, and had navy blue rubber boots on her petite feet.

      “Here on a case, eh, Miss Clue?” the man smiled knowingly.

      “That’s right, officer,” Nancy played along. If truth be told, she and her chums, the newly-wed Midge Fontaine and Velma Pierce, and her own date, Cherry Aimless, Registered Nurse, were there for a frolicsome day amid canine competition and not hot on the trail of a new mystery.

      “We’re going to miss the beginning of the Obedience Trials,” Midge groaned as she peeked inside and saw that, although it was still early on a rainy Saturday morning, the civic center was already teeming with dog lovers dressed in snappy sports outfits, anxious to partake of the festivities promised for that day. “If we don’t hurry there’s not going to be any place left to sit,” she pointed out. The annual canine contest was one of the most eagerly anticipated affairs in the gay resort town, coming as it did in the middle of a typically quiet Illinois summer, and no one was as pleased to see the sights as Midge Fontaine, a dog lover through and through.

      A shock of recognition crossed the officer’s face as he got a closer look at Midge. She was a muscular girl with close-cropped blond hair and a strong jaw, which at that moment was set in a scowl. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you straight off, Frank,” the man waved them through, adding, “Chief O’Malley sure will be glad to know his favorite boy detective is back in town.”

      “Thanks,” Midge replied with a grin. Since she and her chums had arrived in the small Midwestern town of River Depths ten days ago to help girl detective Nancy Clue solve the baffling mystery of The Case of the Good-For-Nothing Girlfriend, the handsome girl had been mistaken over and over again for a boy. And not just any fellow, but the celebrated detective Frank Hardly, a clean-cut lad with a sensible nature and a keen eye whose daring exploits had made him as much a household name as his feminine counterpart, Nancy Clue. The two sleuths were in fact old chums who had solved many a mystery together.

      On Midge’s first day in River Depths, a townswoman had taken one look at her muscular build and masculine appearance and announced to all concerned that Frank Hardly, who had been vacationing in Europe with his brother Joe, was back in town. Midge had done nothing to correct the woman’s mistaken impression, and had in fact enjoyed the little charade.

      “Being Frank is fun,” Midge thought as she and her group hastily strode past the guard and lost themselves in the crowd. “Why are they searching people at the door?” Midge wondered aloud. She had never been to a dog show with so much security!

      “Myra Meeks is exhibiting her prize-winning poodle today,” Nancy said with a chuckle, “and her husband, Judge Meeks, СКАЧАТЬ