Read En Garde (Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective Book 17) for Free Online Page A

smiled, and parted his lips to say hello. But just then we both heard Bela Kovacs bark from the next cubicle, “Damon! Is the answering machine on?”
    “Yes, Bela,” Damon said, rolling his eyes at me.
    “Good!” Bela replied gruffly. “Don’t waste your time answering the phone anymore.”
    “But Bela, you hired me to answer the phone,” Damon replied, looking confused. “That was supposed to be my job—”
    “Today it is not your job!” Bela snapped, peering over the partition. “Why pick up the nasty thing? It’ll just be some more cowardly students canceling their lessons. Or maybe it will be another smothering, weak-willed parent, whining that she has to withdraw her spoiled offspring from my classes.”
    Damon sighed. “Now, Bela, you can’t blame people for reacting to that news show. It’s only natural, until they learn the true story. . . .”
    The cubicle wall shook as Kovacs pounded it in fury. “That scheming French weasel provoked me!” he shouted. Everyone in the salle could hear him, of course. A sick silence fell over the entire studio.
    “You know the whole thing was a setup,” Kovacs ranted on. “Mourbiers got his own fencer to fake an injury, just to ruin me. In all my years, I have never seen such unethical conduct!”
    Damon jumped up. “Bela, please, quiet down. Everyone’s listening.”
    A moment’s seething silence followed. I sidled away, trying to look casual. I didn’t want to intrude—but I sure wanted to hear Bela’s reply.
    Draping himself over the cubicle wall, Damon went on in a soft, pleading voice, “This will die off in a few months, Bela. Students will return. They won’t go all the way to Cutler Falls to study with Mourbiers—why, that’s twenty miles! They might do it a few times, but they’ll get tired of the drive and they’ll come back here. Don’t worry, Bela—your business will survive in the long run.”
    Another heavy silence. Then the old Hungarian’s voice, shaking, replied, “The long run? Damon, how long do you expect me to wait this out?”
    Damon hesitated. “A few months, maybe—four or five.”
    “Four or five months!” Bela snorted. “Is that all? And how do you propose I keep this business running until then?” He paused, as if trying to steady his shaking voice. Then he went on, slowly and wearily, “I can’t wait that long, Damon. You know I put all my savings into this new building—and then borrowed more. The place is mortgaged to the hilt. The rates are so high—” I heard him slam his fist into the desk. “The bankers are bleeding me dry!”
    He paused again. Then he spoke so softly, I had to lean forward to catch his words. “Every month I earn just enough for that month’s payments. There is no cushion anymore. And my creditors have grown tired of my excuses. If I fall short this month . . . they will close me down.” He paused, then burst out with a strangled sob. “Salle Budapest will be no more!”

5
The Setup
    I couldn’t see Bela Kovacs at that moment—and I didn’t want to. It was bad enough to have to look at Damon Brittany’s face. His eyes had gone blank and his mouth sagged open. His shoulders and chest sank, as if he were caving in from the inside.
    Figuring that Damon didn’t want anybody to see his pain at that moment, I ducked into the bathroom and pulled its flimsy wooden door shut behind me.
    When I came out a minute later, Damon was gone. His books had been swept off the desk, the desk chair was still rocking, and the back door to the salle was swinging. He sure got out of there in a hurry.
    Well, I couldn’t blame him. The news of Kovacs’s impending bankruptcy obviously upset Damon. Iwas impressed that someone like Damon, who had been with Bela for years—who really knew him—cared this much about the crusty old guy. That told me one thing: There must be more good in Bela Kovacs than I had realized.
    And right now, he needed a friend.
    Sometimes I have more nerve than is good for