The Bearded Clam Mystery

Attention: All characters depicted are at least 18 years of age. According to the publisher Grosset &a Dunlap, Nancy Drew is officially 18 years old.

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"Shopping makes me hungry," said Bess Marvin.

"Everything makes you hungry," George Fayne replied.

"Well, I'm hungry too," said Nancy Drew. "There's a snack stand nearby the ticket window. Let's go." Nancy smiled at the good-natured bickering between her two best friends. Bess and George were cousins but the two girls couldn't be more different in physical appearance and personality. Bess was the more feminine of the two and the most likely to take fright to the unexpected. She was overly fond of food and was a bit overweight. In keeping with her masculine name, George could be tomboyish and very outspoken. It could be safely said that Nancy Drew was a titian haired beauty. All three young women were 18 years old and high school graduates.

After purchasing their snacks Nancy and her companions sat down on the waiting room bench to wait for the train back to River Heights after their shopping excursion to the city. Nancy noticed they had been joined in the waiting room by another girl around their own age. The girl was very pretty but the dress she wore was years out of fashion and a bit threadbare. Nancy also noticed the girl's eyes were fixed on the snacks they had set on the bench.

"It's a pleasant day, isn't it," said Nancy addressing the new girl.

"Yes, yes it is," the young woman replied. She smiled nervously.

"My name is Nancy Drew. My friends are Bess Marvin and George Fayne." Bess and George nodded and smiled.

"I'm Brianna Colby."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Colby."

"Please call me Brianna."

"I'm glad we're all on a first name basis now, Brianna. We were just having a little snack while waiting for the train. Will you please join us?"

"Oh no, I couldn't. Thank you for offering."

"Go ahead and have some, Brianna," said George. "You'll be doing Bess a favor."

"I ... guess I am a little hungry," said Brianna, "if I'm not imposing. Thank you very much." From what Nancy could see their new acquaintance was very hungry. Brianna must not have eaten in days. She ate almost as much as Bess.

"What's your destination," Nancy asked.

"I'm going to River Heights," Brianna replied.

"That's our town," said Bess.

"I'm going to be starting a job in the area."

"That's wonderful," Nancy exclaimed. "We'll be able to visit each other after today."

"The job is supposed to be somewhere outside of town, but yes, I'd love that. I feel like I've made some new friends just when I needed them."

The train ride to River Heights was very pleasant. The four teen-aged girls talked and Nancy was able to hear a little about Brianna's history. Brianna Colby was 18 years old also and had grown up with her family in the city. With the stock market crash and subsequent factory closings, Brianna's father had lost his job and been unable to find a new one. Brianna had just been able to graduate from high school before beginning a job hunt to help out her family but the search in the city had been futile, so far. Recently she'd met a woman who had offered her a job but it would mean relocating outside the city. Since it was the only job she'd been offered during her search, Brianna immediately accepted. The advantage was that room and board was to be included because the company location was in a rural area. She could save her wages and send money back to help the family.

Nancy nodded in sympathy. She felt fortunate that the current economic upheaval hadn't affected her family and friends but millions of families in America weren't as lucky. Families separated by the need to find work wherever possible were commonplace. Franklin Roosevelt had just been elected president and he was proposing many new programs to help people return to gainful employment. Nancy hoped the country was soon back to work.

"What kind of work will you be doing?" said Nancy.

"I'm not sure," Brianna replied. "I imagine it's some kind of secretarial work. I took typing and shorthand in high school and got good grades. That's what I told the lady I was good at; secretarial. The company is supposed to be some kind of research institute."

"What kind of research do they do?" said George.

"You know, I forgot to ask." Brianna giggled self consciously. The train was slowing down for the River Heights train station. The girls began to gather up their belongings.

"Do you need to be dropped off anywhere? I'd be happy to give you a ride," said Nancy.

"Thank you for offering, but I was told someone would be here to pick me up at the station."

"Well, there's no one here yet. Would you like us to sit with you while you wait?"

"I'd love that, Nancy," said Brianna. "I'm kind of scared and nervous right now. Maybe they won't like me."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Nancy assured their new friend. About ten minutes after they sat down a black sedan pulled up. A short barrel-chested man stepped out. The man's hat was pulled down low as if he didn't want to be recognized. He saw the girls and walked up to them.

"Are any of you called Brianna Colby?"

"I'm Brianna Colby," said the teenager.

"I wasn't told to expect four of you but more the merrier, heh heh." His smile revealed yellow tobacco-stained teeth.

"We met while waiting for the train to River Heights," Nancy explained. "We didn't want Brianna to wait here alone so we decided to wait with her until her ride arrived. We're not seeking employment."

"That's too bad." The man had already made a bad first impression on Nancy. He failed to tip his hat like a gentleman would and the teenager had the distinct feeling he was trying to see through her clothes.

"What kind of research do you people do?" said George.

"Research? Oh uh ... we're doing heavy research on the mating habits of the bearded clam, heh heh."

"Why would you be doing research on clams in this part of the country," Nancy asked. "We're not near the ocean."

"They're a type of fresh water clam."

"I've never heard of them. Are they rare?"

"They're commoner than you think, heh heh."

"Can you eat them?" Bess asked.

"I knew that question was coming from you," said George.

"They're very good eating, young lady," the man asserted. "I can't eat enough of them. In fact, I start drooling the moment I even get near a bearded clam, heh heh."

"I'd like to try some," said Bess.

"I'll make sure you all get a taste real soon; you and your friends. You won't be able to stop once you start, heh heh."

"Perhaps, we can visit you, Brianna," said Nancy. "Where is this place exactly?"

"No outside visits until this young lady goes through orientation. That's the rules. She can call you when it's okay to come out for a visit. Now, I can't gab here all day. You have an appointment to meet the director. Are you comin' with me or not?"

"I guess I'm coming," said Brianna with a nervous laugh and stood up. Nancy Drew was suddenly very afraid for their new friend. She wanted to beg her friend not to leave with this strange frightening man. But could she ask Brianna to refuse to accompany this man based on her intuition alone? Where was the evidence? Nancy had a detective's instinct and had already helped solve mysteries that had baffled the authorities. (See the "Secret of the Old Cock"). Her father was the well known attorney Carson Drew.

The girls said their farewells and Brianna promised to call Nancy as soon as her orientation was finished. Nancy watched with sadness and foreboding as the car drove out of sight. She noted the car was missing its license plate.

"Gosh," Bess exclaimed. "I wouldn't get in the same car with that man even if my life depended on it."

"Me neither," said George. "He was kind of creepy. I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes."

"I agree he was very rude," said Nancy. "Perhaps he's harmless but he should be reported to his superiors and be disciplined or even dismissed from his position." Nancy still kept the feeling this man was far from harmless. She was very worried for her new friend.

"I wonder if there really is such a thing as a bearded clam," said Bess.

"I don't know," the amateur sleuth replied, "but I intend to find out for sure."

Nancy was at the library when they opened their doors the next morning. From her high school biology class, the young woman knew clams were from the phylum Mollusca. That included snails and squid as well as clams. Unfortunately, Nancy found very little information on clams and absolutely nothing on bearded clams. That wasn't unusual since the River Heights Public Library collection was fairly small.

When Nancy returned home she telephoned the public aquarium in the city and asked to speak to anyone with expertise on shellfish. She was connected to a gentleman who said he was always happy to share his knowledge on shellfish. But when she mentioned the bearded clam the line went dead. Thinking she had been accidentally disconnected, Nancy telephoned again. The shellfish expert refused to talk to her and she was told not to call back. Nancy thought this was very strange. I've somehow offended him but I don't how I could have.

At dinner that evening Nancy related the story of meeting Brianna Colby and also of meeting the man at the train station. Carson Drew listened quietly to his daughter's narration. "So, what do you think," said Nancy.

"I'm afraid that man at the train station was rude to you girls in more ways than one," said Carson Drew.

"What do you mean, Dad?"

"A ... bearded clam is an impolite slang term," Mr. Drew replied in obvious discomfort.

"A slang term for what?"

"It refers to a woman's genitals, honey." Nancy was quiet for a moment while puzzlement turned to enlightenment. She stood up quickly almost knocking over her chair. The teenager was blushing furiously from embarrassment and humiliation.

"Oh my gosh, Dad! No wonder the man at the aquarium hung up on me. If I ever meet that disgusting man again I'll give him a piece of my mind. Brianna is in danger. I just know it. We have to save her."

"All that's been established is that the man you girls met at the train station was very rude," said Mr. Drew. "It doesn't necessarily follow that your new friend is in any danger."

"I knew that man was bad news the instant he opened his mouth and I just sat there and allowed Brianna to ride off with him. I'll never forgive myself if he's harmed Brianna."

"You have no evidence of any wrongdoing, Nancy."

"I just know," Nancy replied. "Dad, I know you know when a client or a witness is lying to you even if you have no solid evidence of that at the time. I don't have any solid evidence yet, but I had the same feeling in talking with this man that you get when you're being lied to on the witness stand." Carson Drew nodded in agreement. He knew his daughter had very good instincts for this sort of thing.

"Assuming you're right, finding your friend might be a hopeless task," said Mr. Drew. "You can't go to the police with what little information you have and I really doubt if you'll find a research institute anywhere in the county. I certainly haven't heard of one. Your friend could be in the next state by now."

"That's true," said Nancy, "but I think they're relatively close. That man wasn't dressed for long distance traveling. Also, he was evasive about the exact whereabouts of this so-called research institute. Finally, his car lacked its rear license plate. I don't believe he'd travel far and risk being stopped by the police for lacking a license plate."

"Well, even if they're close by that's still an awful lot of territory to cover with a lot of places to hide," said Mr. Drew. "Since you're so intent on looking into this, I suggest you talk to the police chief first and ask him if anyone has been cited recently for a license plate violation."

"That's a good idea, Dad. I'll talk to the police chief tomorrow."

"Tomorrow I have to go out of town for the start of a trial. As usual, I'll be leaving a contact phone number with you so you can keep me informed if something important comes up. If you think there's any danger, I want you to promise me to call the proper authorities and let them handle it."

"I promise I'll do that, Dad."

"I hope this mystery is solved with just a simple telephone call to you from Brianna Colby."

"I hope so too," said Nancy. The teen sleuth didn't think solving this mystery would be that simple though. She had a feeling it would be a very interesting case.