The Buried Treasure on Route 66: A Nancy Keene Mystery by Louise Hathaway

Part One
     
    Nancy Keene, a blonde-haired
and blue-eyed teenager, is busy putting the finishing touches on a
casserole of Boeuf Bourguignon. She arranges the stew on a serving
platter, surrounds it with potatoes, and decorates it with parsley.
Dressed as a French maid, she can’t wait to see the costumes that
her friends will be wearing for her French-themed birthday party
this afternoon.
    She hears the doorbell
chime, and greets her boyfriend, Ned, who is dressed in a
horizontally-striped black and white long-sleeved T-shirt. He looks
very French in his beret. Nancy teases him saying, “Pierre, entre
vous.”
    “Nice outfit, Nancy! You
look really hot in it.”
    “You better not let my Dad
hear you say that.”
    Nancy’s father, Drew, a
noted legal scholar, walks into the room and says, “Don’t let me
hear what?”
    “Oh, nothing,
Dad.”
    Her father says, “How do you
two like my outfit? I’m dressed up like Hercule Poirot for your
French party.”
    Ned says, “Wow! Mr. Keene.
Cool costume!”
    Nancy says, “Dad, you seem
to have forgotten that Poirot is Belgian, not French.”
    “Well, excuse me,” her
father says, doing his best Steve Martin impression.
    Ned, realizing that it’s
always a good strategy to get on the good side of his girlfriend’s
father, comes to Mr. Keene’s rescue by telling Nancy that Poirot is
from the French part of Belgium.
    Using his best Hercule
Poirot impression, her father says, “Mademoiselle, you are not
using your little grey cells.”
    “Okay, you two. I stand
corrected. Dad, I’m sorry. You look great! Thanks for getting into
the spirit of things.”
    Her father walks over to the
cd player and puts on an Edith Piaf cd. “This will be nice
background music for the party,” he says.
    The doorbell rings and her
friend, Beth, is the next to arrive. She is dressed liked Marie
Antoinette.
    “Wow!” Nancy says, “You look
amazing. We know who’s going to be winning the best-dressed
contest. Love your costume.”
    “Cute outfit you’re wearing,
Nancy.”
    “Thanks. I made it
myself.”
    Why am I not
surprised?”
    Beth hands Nancy an apple
tart that she’s made.
    Nancy shows off her ability
to speak French by saying, “Tarte Aux Pommes. Merci,
beaucoup!”
    Beth says that she’s not a
gourmet cook like Nancy, but she tried her best to make a decent
French dessert. “I’m sure it’s delicious, Beth. I can’t wait to
taste it.”
    As they are eating their
hors’ d’oeuvres, Nancy’s friend, Hannah, arrives at the party. She
is wearing a poodle skirt, cashmere sweater, and ballerina flats.
She’s carrying a stuffed poodle.
    Beth says, “You look like
you’re ready for the sock hop, not a French party.”
    Hannah says, “It’s a French
poodle skirt. French . Get it?!”
    Everyone groans.
    Nancy says, “You are too
funny, Hannah. Come right in. Hannah has brought some baguettes for
the party. Nancy says, “These will be great with the
bourguignon.”
    All of the food at the party
is delicious. Julia Child would be impressed.
    Ned ends up winning the
French trivia contest by correctly answering that “Giverny” is the
garden and home of Claude Monet.
    Nancy gets some great
birthday presents. Ned gives her a charm bracelet with
French-themed charms of the Eiffel Tower, a passport, an airplane,
and a cruise ship. Nancy loves it and immediately puts it on her
wrist. Beth gives her a crossword dictionary and a book on how to
make sand castles. Nancy says, “Oh, Beth; this is just what I
wanted.”
    Beth says, “Only you, Nancy,
would want a ‘how-to’ book about making sand castles.”
    “And that’s why you love me,
isn’t it?”
    Hannah says, “Open mine. I
want to see the look on your face.”
    Nancy unwraps her present
and finds a DVD of the movie “Cars”. Hannah has also given her a
map and travel guide for Route 66.
    “This is great, Hannah! Look
at all of the pictures of the landmarks along the way.” Thumbing
through the book she finds a