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Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #56: The Thirteenth Pearl
In which Nancy meddles, Japanese people help out, (the book shows its un-PC roots,) cultists go nuts, and Ned whines.
The book starts off with Nancy offering Bess and George a drink of pearl powder. I'm sure that's slang for some kind of drug somewhere but for once, Nancy's telling the truth. I don't know why she's drinking it because it really does sound gross and Bess and George are right to pass it up. Turns out it's just Nancy's weird way of telling her friends about her latest case, which happen to deal with pearls.
Apparently, the local jeweler, Mr. Moto, is having some problems. A precious pearl from one of his richest client's (a Mrs. Rossmeyer) necklaces has been stolen so instead of going to the police, he runs straight to the Drews. This conversation also features one of the best quotes of the book and possibly the series:
Nancy told the girls that a large firm with offices all over the world might be involved.
Bess interrupted. "Is this very confidential?"
"Very," Nancy replied.
And that's pretty much how this book goes. Nancy takes charge of the confidential case and then tells literally everyone in the world. XD But first, they have to discuss the case with Mr. Moto himself. As they arrive at his shop, they see someone running out with a necklace. A thief! Oh no! What gets me is that Mr. Moto is in the back of the shop while this happens and doesn't hear a thing while the guy steals the rest of the precious necklace from the safe. I know thieves can be quiet but how did the guy get the safe open in such a short amount of time without knowing the combination beforehand?
So the girls snoop around, asking people on the street if they've seen the man that was running out of Moto's shop. And here's where we see how dated this book is. Instead of just asking the people to describe the thief, Nancy asks them, "Was he of Asiatic origin?" (Later on, they refer to someone as "an Asiatic" and "a Japanese." I hope they mean "person" because that makes me want to ask, a Japanese what, exactly.) George helps Nancy question people while Bess stays in the store, watching things for Moto, who is in the back trying to not have a heart attack over the missing necklace. Seriously, this guy has to take heart medicine and nearly passes out but doesn't want to call an ambulance. There's the problem right there! He doesn't want to call the cops or the ambulance for what are really serious matters. That should have been Nancy's clue that there's something wrong with this guy, but since she's already knee-deep in meddling, she doesn't want to escape. (Plus, while Bess was watching the store, the wife of an Italian mob member came in and threatened her for info on the real Mrs Rossmeyer. A mystery isn't a mystery without mob connections!)
--As an aside, there were several punctuation mistakes in this book. Besides talking about the Italian couple as the "Caputti's" instead of "Caputtis" (that apostrophe is everywhere in this book, it just wants to possess everything lol), the mob guy is referred to as Benny the Slippery One Caputti. Is it me or should there be quotation marks around "the Slippery One"? It was like that the entire book. /editor voice
Well, nothing turns up so the girls go to the cops to talk about the mob and their connection to World Wide Gems, Inc, that big jewelry firm mentioned in the first quote above. Instead of chastising Nancy or warning her to stay away from the mob, good ole Chief McGinnis pretty much lets Nancy do whatever she wants. Even though Caputti's wife has already threatened them and the girls haven't even really done anything yet, heh.
In their conversation with Mr. Moto, he let them know about a friend of his, Professor Mise, who lives in town. The Prof knows a lot about pearls (according to this book, all Japanese people do) so they go and talk to him to get the DL on these gems that everyone suddenly wants. Here's another great part of the book. Nancy, for whatever reason, brings her dog Togo along with her to the Mises' but leaves him in the car. Togo gets restless and escapes through the lowered window and goes straight for the house. When Nancy opens the door in surprise, Togo rushes in and starts chasing the Mise cat, knocking over a big vase in the process. Nancy tries to apologize and offers to get the vase fixed but the Prof says, "You are not responsible for this mishap. I would not think of permitting you to buy us another one."
Sounds nice but really, it was kinda Nancy's fault. She brings her dog only to leave him in the car? Why not just leave him at home? A car is way more cooped up than a house. Also, this whole scene serves nothing for the plot lol. It's like another example of how Nancy is so good, people just love her right away and couldn't think of making her do anything bad. ;)
Awhile after this, they go back to Moto's store only to find his friend Mr. Kikichi in charge. According to him, Moto suddenly had to go to Japan but wouldn't say why. Nancy is sure that Moto's been kidnapped after following a trail of clues that lead her to a man who works for World Wide Gems. At home, her father's been doing some snooping of his own (they're like Keith and Veronica Mars!) and it just so conveniently happens that WWG is located in Tokyo (where Moto's brother and the Prof's brother also live). Since Interpol couldn't be reached, Nancy and Carson head there themselves. ;) But not before Prof offers to let the Drews stay at his brother's house. XD
When they arrive in Tokyo, they inquire after Moto's brother who, it seems, has moved to who knows where. No one knows, no one finds out, and no one really cares. Moto's been kidnapped and this is pretty much the last thought they have of him until they get back to America. The Mises take the Drews to WWG to talk to their top officers who apparently meet with anybody, even without an appointment. But! You can't go visit the president of a worldwide company without dressing up! So...Mrs. Mise dresses Nancy up as a Japanese girl. The kimono I can understand having on hand but she's also got a wig for her! Somehow, the disguise works but they don't learn much so they spend the rest of the day shopping. Nancy gets Ned a pearl stick pin.
During the next few days, the Drews go visit a pearl farm and some random ancient Japanese sites. At one of the parks, Nancy catches a man trying to take pictures of her. It's Benny the Missing Quotation Man Caputti! Unfortunately he escapes but later on that night, the chief of the Tokyo police force (who is somehow okay with a random American girl trying to solve a crime in his country) calls to let Nancy know that Caputti's wife has been arrested for using a phony passport, and he wants her to come in to identify her.
Another fantastic scene here. I don't know how real Japanese police stations are set up but the one in this book is nothing like the ones here in America. You know the rooms on TV where the suspects stand and the victim is behind non-see through glass? Well, in Nancy Drew's Japan, the suspect is told to walk across a room, from one door to another. Nancy, meanwhile, is hiding behind a screen that can only be seen through from her side. I know what you're thinking: can't the suspect just look behind the screen and see the victim? The answer is a big, resounding: YES.
Mrs. Caputti gets suspicious, peaks behind the curtain, sees Nancy, and just attacks her, complete with hair-pulling. It's kinda awesome. And not only does Nancy get attacked in this book, but there are, of course, the requisite threatening notes and creepy men climbing up to her window and whispering scary things. The notes are odd though because they only say 4 + 9 = 13. 4 and 9 apparently stand for death and suffering in pain respectively, and 13 is for the 13th pearl that was stolen from the necklace. What happened to the good old "Stop your snooping or I'll kill you" menacing notes? Crooks these days.
Nancy's whole stay in Japan is just odd. She's only met Prof Mise once but when she says she's going to Japan, he offers to let her stay at his brother's house. As I said, the brother is only too willing to let her and Carson stay there but not only that, he does everything she tells him. Call the police chief? Okay! Call the head of WWG? Will do! Contact Interpol and make a long distance call? Why didn't I think of that! And the people they call just answer whatever questions Nancy has regardless of privacy issues. You do the stuff Nancy did and you'd get laughed at and/or hung up on today. Plus, the way of educating the reader about Japan is funny because the author tries to get Nancy to do everything--she's even invited to a wedding of people she's never met simply because she's staying with the Mises. (And all the women there are, of course, dressed like Geishas.)
Eventually, the Drews go back to America. They haven't really discovered anything in Japan and Interpol has personally called Nancy to let her know a person who looked like Moto was seen at home in River Heights! Probably could have saved herself a lot of time had she investigated her hometown first but then we wouldn't have gotten to see Japan!
At home, there's a big welcome back dinner (where Ned shows up conveniently wearing a tie so he can wear his new pearl stick pin). Ned is the last to leave, and he and Nancy spend some time in the dark in the living room together while Hannah and Carson go to bed. It's pretty funny how much is *not* said in that passage about them being alone and "talking" in the dark. ;) And then their front door is busted open and a dog attacks them. Yeah, that was pretty weird. Turns out it was Missing Quotation Caputti upping his threats. Unfortunately, he runs off before the police come.
Nancy then gets an odd phone call from someone inviting her to a party at Rossmeyer's home. But isn't she in Europe? Nancy is intrigued and invites Ned along as her "escort." The party is great, not just because it features a fake Mrs Rossmeyer and fake Mr Moto and crazy members of a pearl cult, but Ned whines. A lot. They go upstairs at the party and snoop around, coming across a crazy lady whose sitting on a bed and rocking back and forth, muttering random words about pearls. Those cult members are pretty serious about their job. And Ned doesn't like it.
Ned looked disgusted. "She belongs in a funny farm!"
and
Ned said, "I can't stand any more of this. It's driving me off my rocker!"
He's so uncomfortable in this scene, I almost feel sorry for him. (Not to mention that even though he and Nancy are clearly dating (sidenote: I can't begin to count how many times the phrase "Nancy and Ned" are mentioned in this scene alone) but she never once, at least in this book, refers to him as her boyfriend. It's always "friend" and, occasionally, "escort." Heh.)
The two get caught snooping and are trapped in a hallway together. For some reason, Carson Drew had keys to Mrs Rossmeyer's house and gave them to Nancy "just in case." When I'm a lawyer, I'm going to make copies of everyone's keys too just because I can. After some time at the newspaper office and then the police (nice priorities, Nance), they are able to trace the cult members back to their main meeting place. Nancy and Ned get caught yet again and are thrown in a room with--who else!--a bound and gagged Mr Moto! And yet Nancy and Ned are not tied up so they escape easily, the cops show up, and all the bad guys are arrested as always.
***
And that's the book. Probably one of the bigger examples of how much Nancy is allowed to get away with, and in foreign countries no less. Oh, and no "titian blonde" references, unfortunately. In this book, she's "strawberry blond."
In which Nancy meddles, Japanese people help out, (the book shows its un-PC roots,) cultists go nuts, and Ned whines.
The book starts off with Nancy offering Bess and George a drink of pearl powder. I'm sure that's slang for some kind of drug somewhere but for once, Nancy's telling the truth. I don't know why she's drinking it because it really does sound gross and Bess and George are right to pass it up. Turns out it's just Nancy's weird way of telling her friends about her latest case, which happen to deal with pearls.
Apparently, the local jeweler, Mr. Moto, is having some problems. A precious pearl from one of his richest client's (a Mrs. Rossmeyer) necklaces has been stolen so instead of going to the police, he runs straight to the Drews. This conversation also features one of the best quotes of the book and possibly the series:
Nancy told the girls that a large firm with offices all over the world might be involved.
Bess interrupted. "Is this very confidential?"
"Very," Nancy replied.
And that's pretty much how this book goes. Nancy takes charge of the confidential case and then tells literally everyone in the world. XD But first, they have to discuss the case with Mr. Moto himself. As they arrive at his shop, they see someone running out with a necklace. A thief! Oh no! What gets me is that Mr. Moto is in the back of the shop while this happens and doesn't hear a thing while the guy steals the rest of the precious necklace from the safe. I know thieves can be quiet but how did the guy get the safe open in such a short amount of time without knowing the combination beforehand?
So the girls snoop around, asking people on the street if they've seen the man that was running out of Moto's shop. And here's where we see how dated this book is. Instead of just asking the people to describe the thief, Nancy asks them, "Was he of Asiatic origin?" (Later on, they refer to someone as "an Asiatic" and "a Japanese." I hope they mean "person" because that makes me want to ask, a Japanese what, exactly.) George helps Nancy question people while Bess stays in the store, watching things for Moto, who is in the back trying to not have a heart attack over the missing necklace. Seriously, this guy has to take heart medicine and nearly passes out but doesn't want to call an ambulance. There's the problem right there! He doesn't want to call the cops or the ambulance for what are really serious matters. That should have been Nancy's clue that there's something wrong with this guy, but since she's already knee-deep in meddling, she doesn't want to escape. (Plus, while Bess was watching the store, the wife of an Italian mob member came in and threatened her for info on the real Mrs Rossmeyer. A mystery isn't a mystery without mob connections!)
--As an aside, there were several punctuation mistakes in this book. Besides talking about the Italian couple as the "Caputti's" instead of "Caputtis" (that apostrophe is everywhere in this book, it just wants to possess everything lol), the mob guy is referred to as Benny the Slippery One Caputti. Is it me or should there be quotation marks around "the Slippery One"? It was like that the entire book. /editor voice
Well, nothing turns up so the girls go to the cops to talk about the mob and their connection to World Wide Gems, Inc, that big jewelry firm mentioned in the first quote above. Instead of chastising Nancy or warning her to stay away from the mob, good ole Chief McGinnis pretty much lets Nancy do whatever she wants. Even though Caputti's wife has already threatened them and the girls haven't even really done anything yet, heh.
In their conversation with Mr. Moto, he let them know about a friend of his, Professor Mise, who lives in town. The Prof knows a lot about pearls (according to this book, all Japanese people do) so they go and talk to him to get the DL on these gems that everyone suddenly wants. Here's another great part of the book. Nancy, for whatever reason, brings her dog Togo along with her to the Mises' but leaves him in the car. Togo gets restless and escapes through the lowered window and goes straight for the house. When Nancy opens the door in surprise, Togo rushes in and starts chasing the Mise cat, knocking over a big vase in the process. Nancy tries to apologize and offers to get the vase fixed but the Prof says, "You are not responsible for this mishap. I would not think of permitting you to buy us another one."
Sounds nice but really, it was kinda Nancy's fault. She brings her dog only to leave him in the car? Why not just leave him at home? A car is way more cooped up than a house. Also, this whole scene serves nothing for the plot lol. It's like another example of how Nancy is so good, people just love her right away and couldn't think of making her do anything bad. ;)
Awhile after this, they go back to Moto's store only to find his friend Mr. Kikichi in charge. According to him, Moto suddenly had to go to Japan but wouldn't say why. Nancy is sure that Moto's been kidnapped after following a trail of clues that lead her to a man who works for World Wide Gems. At home, her father's been doing some snooping of his own (they're like Keith and Veronica Mars!) and it just so conveniently happens that WWG is located in Tokyo (where Moto's brother and the Prof's brother also live). Since Interpol couldn't be reached, Nancy and Carson head there themselves. ;) But not before Prof offers to let the Drews stay at his brother's house. XD
When they arrive in Tokyo, they inquire after Moto's brother who, it seems, has moved to who knows where. No one knows, no one finds out, and no one really cares. Moto's been kidnapped and this is pretty much the last thought they have of him until they get back to America. The Mises take the Drews to WWG to talk to their top officers who apparently meet with anybody, even without an appointment. But! You can't go visit the president of a worldwide company without dressing up! So...Mrs. Mise dresses Nancy up as a Japanese girl. The kimono I can understand having on hand but she's also got a wig for her! Somehow, the disguise works but they don't learn much so they spend the rest of the day shopping. Nancy gets Ned a pearl stick pin.
During the next few days, the Drews go visit a pearl farm and some random ancient Japanese sites. At one of the parks, Nancy catches a man trying to take pictures of her. It's Benny the Missing Quotation Man Caputti! Unfortunately he escapes but later on that night, the chief of the Tokyo police force (who is somehow okay with a random American girl trying to solve a crime in his country) calls to let Nancy know that Caputti's wife has been arrested for using a phony passport, and he wants her to come in to identify her.
Another fantastic scene here. I don't know how real Japanese police stations are set up but the one in this book is nothing like the ones here in America. You know the rooms on TV where the suspects stand and the victim is behind non-see through glass? Well, in Nancy Drew's Japan, the suspect is told to walk across a room, from one door to another. Nancy, meanwhile, is hiding behind a screen that can only be seen through from her side. I know what you're thinking: can't the suspect just look behind the screen and see the victim? The answer is a big, resounding: YES.
Mrs. Caputti gets suspicious, peaks behind the curtain, sees Nancy, and just attacks her, complete with hair-pulling. It's kinda awesome. And not only does Nancy get attacked in this book, but there are, of course, the requisite threatening notes and creepy men climbing up to her window and whispering scary things. The notes are odd though because they only say 4 + 9 = 13. 4 and 9 apparently stand for death and suffering in pain respectively, and 13 is for the 13th pearl that was stolen from the necklace. What happened to the good old "Stop your snooping or I'll kill you" menacing notes? Crooks these days.
Nancy's whole stay in Japan is just odd. She's only met Prof Mise once but when she says she's going to Japan, he offers to let her stay at his brother's house. As I said, the brother is only too willing to let her and Carson stay there but not only that, he does everything she tells him. Call the police chief? Okay! Call the head of WWG? Will do! Contact Interpol and make a long distance call? Why didn't I think of that! And the people they call just answer whatever questions Nancy has regardless of privacy issues. You do the stuff Nancy did and you'd get laughed at and/or hung up on today. Plus, the way of educating the reader about Japan is funny because the author tries to get Nancy to do everything--she's even invited to a wedding of people she's never met simply because she's staying with the Mises. (And all the women there are, of course, dressed like Geishas.)
Eventually, the Drews go back to America. They haven't really discovered anything in Japan and Interpol has personally called Nancy to let her know a person who looked like Moto was seen at home in River Heights! Probably could have saved herself a lot of time had she investigated her hometown first but then we wouldn't have gotten to see Japan!
At home, there's a big welcome back dinner (where Ned shows up conveniently wearing a tie so he can wear his new pearl stick pin). Ned is the last to leave, and he and Nancy spend some time in the dark in the living room together while Hannah and Carson go to bed. It's pretty funny how much is *not* said in that passage about them being alone and "talking" in the dark. ;) And then their front door is busted open and a dog attacks them. Yeah, that was pretty weird. Turns out it was Missing Quotation Caputti upping his threats. Unfortunately, he runs off before the police come.
Nancy then gets an odd phone call from someone inviting her to a party at Rossmeyer's home. But isn't she in Europe? Nancy is intrigued and invites Ned along as her "escort." The party is great, not just because it features a fake Mrs Rossmeyer and fake Mr Moto and crazy members of a pearl cult, but Ned whines. A lot. They go upstairs at the party and snoop around, coming across a crazy lady whose sitting on a bed and rocking back and forth, muttering random words about pearls. Those cult members are pretty serious about their job. And Ned doesn't like it.
Ned looked disgusted. "She belongs in a funny farm!"
and
Ned said, "I can't stand any more of this. It's driving me off my rocker!"
He's so uncomfortable in this scene, I almost feel sorry for him. (Not to mention that even though he and Nancy are clearly dating (sidenote: I can't begin to count how many times the phrase "Nancy and Ned" are mentioned in this scene alone) but she never once, at least in this book, refers to him as her boyfriend. It's always "friend" and, occasionally, "escort." Heh.)
The two get caught snooping and are trapped in a hallway together. For some reason, Carson Drew had keys to Mrs Rossmeyer's house and gave them to Nancy "just in case." When I'm a lawyer, I'm going to make copies of everyone's keys too just because I can. After some time at the newspaper office and then the police (nice priorities, Nance), they are able to trace the cult members back to their main meeting place. Nancy and Ned get caught yet again and are thrown in a room with--who else!--a bound and gagged Mr Moto! And yet Nancy and Ned are not tied up so they escape easily, the cops show up, and all the bad guys are arrested as always.
***
And that's the book. Probably one of the bigger examples of how much Nancy is allowed to get away with, and in foreign countries no less. Oh, and no "titian blonde" references, unfortunately. In this book, she's "strawberry blond."