Jack put a finger to his lips and walked past Nancy to the door . He yanked it open, peeked out into the hallway, then shut it again . "Just a precaution," he said . "She listens at doors ."

"Yes, I know," Nancy said with a sigh .

"So," he said, still standing in front of the door, blocking Nancy's exit, "where were we ?"

"Yes . She told me someone had shown it to her, but she wouldn't say who . Now she's saying I showed it to her --- ha ! She's got some nerve, you know ? What a manipulator ! You'd never think a timid little mouse like her would have the gall ."

"There's something else I want to ask you about," Nancy said, holding up the greasy rag . "What was this doing in your office waste basket ?"

Jack took the rag from her and examined it . "Never seen it before," he said . "Feels like car grease ."

"It is," Nancy agreed . "The night before last, someone sabotaged my car . I nearly smashed into a telephone pole . I could have been killed . In fact, I think that was the plan ."

Jack looked at her for a long moment . "I see," he said . "And you say you found this here ? In my wastebasket ?"

"Just now," Nancy replied . "Of course, the grease could have come from any car . But you must admit it looks kind of suspicious . I mean, it's not the kind of thing that usually winds up in someone's office waste basket ."

Jack blew out a breath of air and rolled his eyes . "But don't you see ?" he said . "She planted it there ! Isn't it obvious ? She drags you over here to get the article she showed me ---- tells you I showed it to her ---- then plants this rag in my trash so you can find it . She's setting me up, Nancy ! Can't you see that ?"

"Maybe," Nancy said non-committally . "Or maybe you're just plain guilty . Either way, I'm going to find out, Jack ."

"Hey !" Jack said suddenly, snapping his fingers . "Two nights ago ---- that was right before you caught me with the suitcase, right ?"

"Right ."

"Well, then, I've got an ironclad alibi, Miss Hot-shot Detective . It so happens I spent that whole night at Tom's gambling establishment . He wasn't there, but you can ask him to check with his staff if you don't believe me . Here, I'll dial the number for you ." He proceeded to do just that .

"Jack," Nancy cautioned him . "Tom's staff may not exactly be what I'd call reliable witnesses ."

"Okay, okay," Jack said, waiting for someone to pick up on the other end of the phone line . "But there have to be twenty guys who can place me there that night . Hey, I'm not proud I was there, but I'm no murderer . Hello ? This is Jack Oliver . Let me speak to Tom," he said into the phone .

Nancy waited until Tom came on the line and Jack explained things to him . Satisfied with the response, Jack handed Nancy the phone . Sure enough, Tom told her that some of his staff could confirm that Jack had been there the entire night in question . For what it was worth, Jack did indeed have an alibi .

"I'm going to make a list of everyone I know who was there that night," Jack told Nancy as he hung up . "No way I'm going to take the rap for trying to kill you !"

Nancy left him then and went outside, where Eleanor was waiting for her . The two of them got into Nancy's car and drove back toward the mansion .

"Eleanor," Nancy began gently as they drove past the downtown area, "you still insist it was Jack who showed you that article ?"

Eleanor flushed momentarily . "Why, yes," she said .

"So you're saying he's lying ? That he's the forger ?"

"I'm not saying anything of the kind," Eleanor said quickly . "And I'm not going to, either . I'm not going to accuse anyone of anything ."

Nancy held her tongue, well aware that she couldn't bully the truth out of Eleanor ---- not yet, anyway . She dropped off the flustered woman, then headed back home, where she called her friend at the police lab .

"Ernie ?" she asked . "What have you got for me ?"

"I don't know how you know these things, Drew," Ernie said admiringly . "But sure enough, this test came up positive ."

"Positive ?" Nancy repeated, excited that the last piece of the puzzle clearing Nila was now falling into place .

"Yep" Ernie said . "It was cranberry juice again, but this time it was heavily laced with rat poison !"
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