I nodded. As I returned to the dance floor and my friends, Mona Pearl came running after me.

“Nancy, wait! I want to apologize for pushing you. I’m sorry! I heard you talking to Officer Gutierrez after my statue disappeared. I knew you, of everyone here, would understand that my grandmother isn’t a criminal. She’s simply a great artist. I was trying to give you a little shove in the right direction.”

“Goodness! I thought you were trying to kill me! You really should have checked whether the platform was there,” I said. “But you were right. It took a little while, but I do see the Duchess as an artist. An amazing one! I just hope she makes amends to the people she swindled. Forgery is still a crime, after all.”

“My grandmother is finally ready to live as herself. Thank you for helping her tell her story.” Mona Pearl leaned down and kissed my cheek. She smelled of tropical flowers. Her hair brushed against my cheek, and I saw it was pinned back with a bumpy green barrette. But it wasn’t a barrette at all—it was a live chameleon, sitting in a nest of her dark curls. I took the ribbon with its tiny chameleon charm from my dress pocket and dangled it above Mona Pearl’s head. The chameleon reached out one horny green foot and grabbed the silver charm.

“Oh, don’t mind Basquiat,” said Mona Pearl, laughing. “He just loves beautiful things.”

Dear Diary,

A FEW MONTHS LATER, RUFUS Le Crous and the Duchess published an excerpt of their book in a premier art journal, revealing the true identity of the mysterious D. Shammas. They included the list of her work, and Zeke wrote a long poem that told the story of her life.

Using her connections in the art world, Angelica Velvet was able to spin the Duchess’s career of deception as a long-running piece of performance art. Some of the owners were angry that their “originals” turned out to be fakes, but the good publicity convinced a lot of them to lend their pieces for a Daisy “Duchess” Strickland career retrospective at the River Heights Museum of Fine Art, and now the paintings are even more valuable!

Zeke and Mona Pearl’s mother finally forgave the Duchess, and now they’re all planning to spend the summer together at the Strickland mansion. I’m glad I could help the Duchess reconnect with her family. I got some nice paintbrushes in the bargain too. Now I just have to decide what to paint!

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The Blue Lady of Coffin… Book 23	A Nancy Drew Christmas

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