Revelations

Nancy was thunderstruck by the woman’s pronouncement and if it were not for her curiosity about the artist’s disappearance, she might have politely excused herself.

The twinge of uncertainty in the girl’s face was very evident. “Please, forgive me for talking as I do, ” the duchessa said softly. “I cannot force you to help me. I—I’m not myself these days.”

“I understand, ” Nancy said. “Why don’t you tell us more about Filippo. When was he kidnapped? ”

“Less than three days ago while he was making some deliveries to our factory in Murano.”

“Are his captors demanding money from you? ” George asked.

“No. Not money.”

“What do they want then? ” Nancy asked. Maria Dandolo gave a long, arduous sigh. “I cannot give you any more information until you say yes, you will help the Dandolo family.”

“I will, ” Nancy said, “once the charges are dropped against my friends. They are completely innocent, you know.”

“Fair enough, ” the duchessa said, smiling. “Un momento.” She excused herself to a nearby telephone while Andreoli rose from his chair.

“Scusi, signorine, ” he said. He spoke to the woman in Italian, nodded at the girls, and left immediately.

“Strange, very strange, ” Bess commented to her friends. “I mean what does a gondolier have to do with a duchess? ”

“Maybe he’s her private chauffeur or runs errands for her, ” Nancy said. “What intrigues me more is, what was he doing in the store below? ” When the woman finished making her call, she informed the young detectives of her success. It would take no more than two hours to clear the Emerson boys, she said. “You can pick them up about four o’clock, ” she added, sitting down again.

“Now I must confess something else to you, ” she continued. “I’m partly responsible for your friends’ trouble.

“But how? ” Bess asked, dumbfounded.

“My family has been in the glassmaking

business for generations, ” the duchessa explained. “We own a factory in Murano and have several stores throughout Italy, including the one downstairs.”

“Oh, then that explains why we saw Andreoli in the window before, ” Nancy interrupted.

The woman nodded. “Yes. He helps me with many things. But what I want to talk about is the particular glass sculpture that was found in Mr. Nickerson’s luggage. It was one of the most beautiful things Filippo ever designed, ” she said sadly. “Ever since he was a small boy he’s been fascinated by the Quadriga, the magnificent bronze horses atop the Basilica San Marco.” So I was right, Nancy thought. The glass statue was modeled after them! “Was Filippo carrying the piece when he was kidnapped? ” she asked aloud.

“No. As a matter of fact, it had disappeared from our showroom in Murano a few days earlier. I reported the theft, and the police alerted customs officials throughout Europe to be on the lookout for it.”

“So the chances are, if we find the thief, we may also find the person who framed Ned, ” George concluded.

“No doubt, ” the duchessa said. “I was afraid the sculpture would be taken out of the country, and apparently it was. But why it was planted in your friend’s suitcase is still a mystery.”

“Well, it’s quite possible the burglary in your showroom last night was done by the same people who captured your nephew, ” Nancy offered. “What was actually stolen? ”

“Nothing, or so it seems, ” the woman replied. “And the police have no idea why the chandelier fell. It is all so very strange.”

She stood up and went to a writing desk from where she removed a piece of paper and handed it to Nancy. On it was a winged lion with a small Bible next to it and underneath, a

few words in Italian. Translated, they said, “Peace to you, Saint Mark, my evangelist.” “Does this mean anything to you? ” Nancy questioned.

“It does indeed. The winged lion and open Bible are the symbol of Venice. So are the words, ” Maria Dandolo answered. “Our patron saint is the Evangelist St. Mark. Filippo uses the symbol as a signature on his work.”

“Then, are you saying that your nephew sent this to you? ” Bess asked.

“Someone left it in my mailbox two days ago. You see, it has my address on the reverse side. Unfortunately, I don’t know who brought it here. But it’s unmistakably Filippo’s handwriting.

“Perhaps he wasn’t kidnapped, ” George spoke up. “Since no one has asked you for ransom, perhaps he just went away for a few days.” “No. There was a telephone call from someone—a man with a very deep, husky voice..He told me they had taken my nephew somewhere and said, ‘You may not see him again unless—’”

“Unless what? ” Nancy prompted her.

“‘Unless you give us the formula that your brother, Filippo’s father, uses to make glass with.’ ”

“Is Signore Dandolo the only one who has the formula? ” Bess inquired.

“No, I think I have a copy somewhere among my papers.”

“Why didn’t they kidnap your brother? ” Nancy volleyed another question.

“Apparently they couldn’t find him at the time, ” the duchessa said. “So instead they took his most precious possession—his son.”

“Where is Filippo’s father? ” the young detective asked.

“After my nephew’s disappearance, he went into hiding, and I assure you, no one will ever find him.”

The statement drew a long pause from the girls until Nancy spoke. “I see now why you don’t want any unnecessary publicity, ” she said. “Not only because you might be risking further harm to your nephew, but also to his father. Have you no idea where they could have taken Filippo? ”

“No, no idea at all.” Maria Dandolo’s eyes blinked sleepily as she finished speaking. “I am very tired now. I have not slept too well since all of this happened. Please forgive me. I must ask you to leave.”

“We can talk later, ” Nancy said. “Perhaps we will have a chance to meet your brother as well.”

“Perhaps. We will see.”

In the meantime, Nancy and the cousins intended to contact police headquarters about the release of their friends.

“She seems to be holding something back from us, ” George said as they boarded the vaporetto for the return ride.

“She’s just being cautious, ” Bess declared. “Don’t you agree, Nancy? ”

“I don’t know quite what to think—yet. But I’m hoping the brains of Emerson College will come up with something.”

“I’m sure they will! ” Bess gleamed brightly. “Just think if we hadn’t met the duchessa, Dave might have been forced to spend the rest of his days in a Venetian prison—”

“Pining away for his beloved Bess.” Her cousin chortled.

“It isn’t funny, George Fayne, is it, Nancy? ” the girl said.

But the Drew girl wasn’t paying much attention to the familiar, teasing banter between the two. She was thinking instead of the magnificent church built by the Doge Contarini for Venice’s patron saint. It dominated the main piazza and its immensity was staggering. Undoubtedly there were numerous rooms inside and, behind the chapels, dark, unthought-of corners where someone could hide or be secreted away from the world.

Filippo’s intriguing signature might, in fact, be a clue to his whereabouts! Nancy deduced. So the cathedral, the monument to the Evangelist Saint Mark, was the next logical place to search for the duchessa s nephew.