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friends on that trip, right?”
    George nodded. “It is our next stop, and Daniela said I could room with her,” she said. “I could meet you guys in Athens. Unless you don’t want to go there anymore,” she added quickly.
    â€œI thought Domenico and the group were leaving tomorrow morning,” Bess said. “How are you going to get hold of them?”
    George smiled sheepishly. “Domenico said if I decided to come, I could meet them at the train station in the morning. They’re taking a train to the ferry.”
    â€œWell, before I give you my permission, just tell me this,” Bess said, pretending to be stern. “Is it really the trip to Greece you’re dying for, or is it Domenico?”
    George rolled her eyes. “Bess, just because you have a guy in every country doesn’t mean I want that,” she said with a teasing grin. “Besides,” she added, pulling a packet of letters from the front pocket of her shoulder bag, “I miss Kevin too much to think about dating other guys.”
    Kevin Davis, George’s boyfriend, was a sports announcer back in the States. Nancy knew how serious George was about their relationship. She definitely wasn’t the type to go chasing another guy all over Europe.
    Nancy sighed as she thought of the three letters she had received from her own boyfriend, Ned Nickerson. He really missed her, but so far she’d written him only one postcard, from the ItalianRiviera. She kept telling herself she’d write a long letter—tomorrow—but somehow the time was never right. She hadn’t admitted it even to Bess and George, but the truth was, she thought more about Mick Devlin these days than about the boy who had been her one and only love for a long, long time.
    Pushing aside her disturbing thoughts, Nancy leaned over and hugged George. “Go ahead to Greece,” she told her. “I’m sure seeing Mount Olympus will be great. And we’ll fill you in on everything that happens here.”
    â€œSure,” Bess agreed. “We were planning to be in Athens next Saturday anyway. We can just meet at that hotel where we made reservations. In case there’s any change of plans, though, why don’t you call here and leave a message with the number of where you’ll be staying with Daniela?”
    â€œThat’s a good idea,” George said. She gave Nancy a probing look. “Are you sure you’re not upset about this?” she asked. “I mean, if you need my help investigating those necklaces . . .”
    â€œWe’ll be fine,” Nancy and Bess said at once.
    Grinning at her friends, George said. “Thanks, guys. You’re the best!”
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    â€œYou have to fill me in on some of this, Nan,” Bess pleaded early the next afternoon. “I didn’t understand half the words! I was going to pull out my phrase book, but I was too embarrassed.”
    After seeing George off with Daniela and the others at the train station, Bess and Nancy had visited the two friends of Signora Fiorello whohad also had Etruscan jewelry stolen. Now they were sitting down to pasta at a small, family-run restaurant near the Forum.
    â€œWell, neither of their houses looked as if it had been broken into,” Nancy said. “And both have alarm systems that weren’t triggered. Neither woman had been away for any length of time, either, their vacations are scheduled for August.”
    â€œI understood what Signora Bellini said about everybody knowing they have the jewelry, thanks to the paparazzi,” Bess put in, referring to the photographers that swarmed around the social events where the women often wore their jewelry.
    Just then the waiter brought steaming plates of pasta to the table and set them down.
    Bess picked up her fork with relish. “This is fantastic!” she said, smacking her lips. “I love this spicy sauce. What do