Stop the Clock (Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective Book 12) by Carolyn Keene Page A

something else.”
    Chief McGinnis stood up. “Well, I can’t stop you—but just make sure you let me know what you find out, because if you don’t, then it’s probably obstruction of justice.”
    Just then my cell phone went off. I recognized our home telephone number. That usually means Hannah needs something from the grocery store. I figured I’d call her after we left Chief McGinnis’s office.
    “Shouldn’t you take that?” Chief McGinnis said. “It could be something important.”
    I shook my head. “Sorry,” I said. “It’s just Hannah. She probably needs something from the market. I’ll call her in a minute.” I stood up. “Well, thank you for your time. I’ll certainly let you know when I find out something else.”
    Chief McGinnis stood up, and Ned and I left the office.
    As we headed down the steps in front of the building, Ned said, “There’s no way they have a tail on Ralph Mullins. We would have noticed it.”
    “Well, that’s why we came, Ned,” I said. “They’ll have a tail on him now.”
    “Ha! Nice work, Nancy!” Ned said. “That’s what you wanted all along—for Chief McGinnis to put a tail on him. If you had asked him directly, he wouldn’t have done it.”
    “Exactly,” I told him. “If I had told him about Willy Franklin, he might have put a tail on him, too. But at this point, I want Chief McGinnis to focus on Ralph Mullins.” I punched redial on my cell phone to seewhat Hannah wanted. When she answered, I said, “Market stop?”
    “No, not this time, Nancy,” Hannah said. “You had a telephone call from a Mr. Henry Mead a few minutes ago. He said he had some information for you about the theft of the library clock.”

7
     
    Just Like an Old Case
    T hat’s odd, I thought. “Did he leave a number where he could be reached?” I asked Hannah.
    “No. He just said he wanted to talk to you in person, Nancy,” Hannah said. “He gave me his address with directions on how to get there.”
    “Just a minute,” I said. I quickly took a notepad out of my purse. “Go ahead,” I told Hannah. I recognized the address right away. Henry Mead lives in one of the new estates with multimillion-dollar homes being built along the Muskoka River north of River Heights. They all have French names, and each estate is the size of three normal houses put together. “Thanks, Hannah,” I said.
    “What’s up?” Ned asked.
    I told him about the message, then asked if he’d like to join me.
    “Sure,” Ned replied. “Who is this guy, anyway?”
    “He’s a friend of the family. He and Dad roomed together in college,” I said. “He is a lawyer who specializes in wills and trusts.”
    “Sounds promising,” Ned said.
    Ned and I got back into his car and headed for the highway that would take us to Mr. Mead’s house. It paralleled the river, so it was a beautiful drive.
    It took us half an hour to get to the estates, then another fifteen minutes to find Mr. Mead’s address. This was the first time I had ever been in this particular development, and I was absolutely stunned by how huge the homes were.
    There were several expensive cars parked in the long driveway that led to Mr. Mead’s house.
    “Did Hannah say anything about a party?” Ned asked. “Is that why we’re here?”
    “No, she just said that Mr. Mead wanted to talk to me right away,” I replied.
    “Where should I park, Nancy?” Ned asked.
    I looked around, trying to spot an open space near the front entrance. There was none, so I said, “Just pull up near the front door and wait. I’ll go find out what he wants me to know, and if it’s going to takemore than a few minutes, I’ll call you on your cell phone. Okay?”
    “Okay,” Ned said.
    When Ned drove under the portico, I hopped out, ran up the marble steps, and rang the bell. Almost immediately the door opened, and a man dressed like a butler said, “Yes?”
    “I’m Nancy Drew,” I told him. “Mr. Mead called and wanted me to come by. He said