"Keene, Carolyn - Nancy Drew 022 - The Clue in the Crumbling Wall" - читать интересную книгу автора (Keene Carolyn)

but I doubt that you'll get back your bag with the
contents." Then she frowned. "Did I hear you say
'two thefts'?"
"Yes," said Nancy, and told about the missing
rosebushes.
The officer's dark eyes gleamed with interest.
"I think I can give you the answer to the second
one right away," she said. "The culprit is prob-
ably little Joan Fenimore."
"Oh no!" Nancy said in dismay.
"Yes," said the officer. "I told you she had
been in difficulty with the law. Just before I came
to see you I was checking into another report of
flowers stolen from your neighborhood. The
woman of the house caught a glimpse of the child
and described her.
"Joan has a passionate love for flowers," Lieu-
tenant Masters went on, "and an amazing knowl-
edge of them. I arranged for her to join a nature
study class at the museum, but I'm afraid that my
rehabilitation program backfired. Recently she
has taken plants and shrubs from other homes."
"What a shame!" Nancy said.
"Joan's father is not living," the young officer
resumed. "Her widowed mother is ill and very
poor."
Nancy listened sympathetically as the police-
woman went on, "I'll see that Joan returns the
bushes to your garden. Mrs. Fenimore will insist
upon it, anyway. She's greatly distressed by her
child's behavior."
Lieutenant Masters stood up. "Come along,"
she said. "We'll go there now and you can hear
everything firsthand."
The two rode to the Fenimore house located
in a run-down section of the city. The tiny yard
was a mass of colorful flowers, however, and vines
half-covered the unpainted, weather-beaten porch.
As Nancy and the officer went up the flagstone
walk, the policewoman called attention to two
young, newly planted rosebushes.
"Are these yours?" she asked.
"They look like the ones that were in our
yard," Nancy said. "But-"
She broke off, because a little girl in a faded
pink dress had just come around the corner of
the house. When the child saw the woman in
uniform, she stopped short and then turned as
if to run off.
"Don't be afraid," the lieutenant said gently.