Nancy couldn’t help laughing. “You’re too much,” she said teasingly. “It still looks great, but if you’re so uncomfortable why did you wear it?”

“Because it looks great—you just said so yourself!” Taking a deep breath, Bess knocked on the door.

“Come in,” someone called out. Bess immediately recognized the voice of her favorite soap opera character.

Inside, Mattie Jensen was sitting in a large, barber-style chair. Her famous auburn curls were wrapped in purple curlers, and her porcelain skin was scrubbed clean. Not a hint of makeup anywhere. But she still looked incredibly beautiful, and her green eyes sparkled.

“Mattie J-Jensen,” Bess sputtered.

“You must be Nancy Drew,” Mattie replied. She held out a manicured hand and gave Bess a warm smile.

“No, I’m Bess Marvin. She’s Nancy.”

“Oh, of course,” Mattie corrected herself, taking Nancy’s hand. “It’s great to meet both of you.”

“Thanks, same here,” Nancy answered.

“Nancy, Bess, I’d like you to meet Kay Wills. She’s our makeup artist and one of the great ones. Without her, I’d be lost.”

“Come on, Mattie, don’t be so modest.” Kay rolled her eyes at the girls and began dotting ivory base on Mattie’s forehead. “With looks like yours, you’ll never be lost.”

“Well, looks aren’t everything, are they?” Mattie sighed, holding her head still as Kay blended in the foundation.

“Try telling that to your leading man,” Kay sniffed, continuing to work.

“Poor Rick,” Mattie murmured. “He’s so misunderstood. And now all this awful stuff is happening to him. Nancy, maybe you’ll be able to help.”

Nancy leaned against the wall. “To be honest, Ms. Jensen, I’m in New York on vacation. I really don’t want to get involved in anything complicated.”

“Please, call me Mattie. And you’ve got to help him, Nancy! It’s a matter of life and death!”

“You know, you’re a lot more upset than he is, Mattie,” Kay put in. “As far as I can tell, he loves the attention, no matter how negative it is.”