the idea of people poking around in his private life. Nope. Marshall’s story just doesn’t make sense.”
Nancy wasn’t surprised by Roger’s opinion. Marshall’s story had too many holes in it for her to swallow it completely. “Roger, thank you. You’ve been a big help. Oh, and one more thing. How does Harold Marshall get along with his secretary?”
“Vivian? They’re a perfect team. The witch and the warlock. Marshall thinks she’s the greatest thing since stereophonic sound. The rat has had his eye on her since the day she came to work for him. And she’ll do anything he asks. And I mean anything.”
“Roger, would Vivian do Marshall’s dirty work?” Nancy pictured Vivian sneaking into the masters room.
“Sure.”
“And would Marshall be low enough to pirate his own company’s records and pocket the profit?”
“That toad is low enough to do anything,” Roger answered.
“You know, it’s possible that we might have our man,” Nancy said. “But we have to catch him in the act to make sure.”
“You just tell me what I have to do to help,” Roger offered. “I’d be only too happy to nail that bum.”
“The best thing you can do is act as if nothing’s happened. Meet us at the club tonight, work on your new songs, do whatever you would normally do. We don’t want Marshall to think we’re on to him.” Nancy inhaled sharply. “Because if Barton’s disappearance is any indication, what we know could be hazardous to our health!”
She hung up the phone and looked at George. “Come on. We’ve got to find out a lot more before we crack this case.”
“Action!” George rubbed her hands together. “This is the part I like the best.”
Nancy shook her head. “I’m not so sure this is action you’ll enjoy . . .”
• • •
“Ugh. I feel like I’m back in school again,” George moaned.
“School was never a life-or-death situation,” Nancy responded gravely. “Now read.”
The girls were seated in the research room of the Jefferson Market Library, a brisk walk fromthe studios of Oraye Sound. Books and back copies of magazines were piled next to them on the old wooden tables.
Nancy skimmed through an article in Allegro, the monthly newspaper of the musicians’ union. “George, listen to this.” She read out loud, keeping her voice low, so as not to disturb the people around her. “ ‘One billion dollars per year are lost in residuals, due to pirated sound and video recordings in the United States and abroad.’ One billion dollars worth of royalty money! Can you believe that?” she exclaimed. “Wow, I had no idea what a huge black market there is for pirated recordings. There’s certainly enough money at stake to make some crook want to get rid of anyone in the way.”
Nancy’s stomach did a slow somersault as she thought about Barton’s safety.
“Nancy, here’s something,” George whispered a moment later. “Certain countries have no copyright laws at all. They simply obtain existing printed or recorded materials from other countries and publish or manufacture copies of their own, or they purchase pirated copies at a cost far below the market value. No revenue from these sales goes to the artist or company that holds the copyright.”
Nancy listened intently. “Wow! You mean somebody could take records that were made illegally here and sell them in certain other places where there are no copyright laws?”
“Right.”
“And these foreign governments wouldn’t consider it a crime?”
George nodded and continued, her brown-eyed gaze gliding across the page as she read. “The one major country to operate without copyright laws is the People’s Republic of China.”
“China!” A bell went off in Nancy’s head. “George, that wallet I found backstage during the concert—it had a dragon on it—a Chinese dragon! I wonder if that’s more than just a coincidence.” Nancy rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin on the palm of
Nancy wasn’t surprised by Roger’s opinion. Marshall’s story had too many holes in it for her to swallow it completely. “Roger, thank you. You’ve been a big help. Oh, and one more thing. How does Harold Marshall get along with his secretary?”
“Vivian? They’re a perfect team. The witch and the warlock. Marshall thinks she’s the greatest thing since stereophonic sound. The rat has had his eye on her since the day she came to work for him. And she’ll do anything he asks. And I mean anything.”
“Roger, would Vivian do Marshall’s dirty work?” Nancy pictured Vivian sneaking into the masters room.
“Sure.”
“And would Marshall be low enough to pirate his own company’s records and pocket the profit?”
“That toad is low enough to do anything,” Roger answered.
“You know, it’s possible that we might have our man,” Nancy said. “But we have to catch him in the act to make sure.”
“You just tell me what I have to do to help,” Roger offered. “I’d be only too happy to nail that bum.”
“The best thing you can do is act as if nothing’s happened. Meet us at the club tonight, work on your new songs, do whatever you would normally do. We don’t want Marshall to think we’re on to him.” Nancy inhaled sharply. “Because if Barton’s disappearance is any indication, what we know could be hazardous to our health!”
She hung up the phone and looked at George. “Come on. We’ve got to find out a lot more before we crack this case.”
“Action!” George rubbed her hands together. “This is the part I like the best.”
Nancy shook her head. “I’m not so sure this is action you’ll enjoy . . .”
• • •
“Ugh. I feel like I’m back in school again,” George moaned.
“School was never a life-or-death situation,” Nancy responded gravely. “Now read.”
The girls were seated in the research room of the Jefferson Market Library, a brisk walk fromthe studios of Oraye Sound. Books and back copies of magazines were piled next to them on the old wooden tables.
Nancy skimmed through an article in Allegro, the monthly newspaper of the musicians’ union. “George, listen to this.” She read out loud, keeping her voice low, so as not to disturb the people around her. “ ‘One billion dollars per year are lost in residuals, due to pirated sound and video recordings in the United States and abroad.’ One billion dollars worth of royalty money! Can you believe that?” she exclaimed. “Wow, I had no idea what a huge black market there is for pirated recordings. There’s certainly enough money at stake to make some crook want to get rid of anyone in the way.”
Nancy’s stomach did a slow somersault as she thought about Barton’s safety.
“Nancy, here’s something,” George whispered a moment later. “Certain countries have no copyright laws at all. They simply obtain existing printed or recorded materials from other countries and publish or manufacture copies of their own, or they purchase pirated copies at a cost far below the market value. No revenue from these sales goes to the artist or company that holds the copyright.”
Nancy listened intently. “Wow! You mean somebody could take records that were made illegally here and sell them in certain other places where there are no copyright laws?”
“Right.”
“And these foreign governments wouldn’t consider it a crime?”
George nodded and continued, her brown-eyed gaze gliding across the page as she read. “The one major country to operate without copyright laws is the People’s Republic of China.”
“China!” A bell went off in Nancy’s head. “George, that wallet I found backstage during the concert—it had a dragon on it—a Chinese dragon! I wonder if that’s more than just a coincidence.” Nancy rested her elbow on the table and propped her chin on the palm of
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