“An honorary uncle. He’s a very close friend of my father’s. I’ve known him all my life.”
Ann groaned and slumped down onto a bench. “That makes it even worse. The accusation is coming from a respected judge who’s also a family friend? Even if Carson is cleared, his reputation will be permanently stained.”
“And if he isn’t cleared,” Nancy said, “it means a jail sentence. My father will have to go to prison!”
Chapter Two
Nancy, Ann Granger, and Bess sat in the police precinct’s cafeteria. It was a dingy basement room filled with vending machines, but since it was nearly three, they were all too hungry for the decor to matter. Ned had already eaten and gone back upstairs to see how much longer they’d have to wait.
“I just don’t understand it,” Nancy said again. “How could my uncle Jon do this?”
Ann sipped her coffee. “Judge Renk’s reputation is as impeccable as your father’s. Maybe more so, since he’s been around longer. He must really believe the bribe came from Carson.”
“He has a good reason.” Ned appeared behind them. Turning a chair to face them, he straddled it. “It’s worse than we thought, Nancy. The police have a tape of a call your dad is supposed to have made to the judge, offering him the money.”
“What?” Nancy stood up, almost knocking her chair over. “Then the tape’s a fake!”
“It must be a good one,” Bess said, “if it fooled the judge.”
“Right. That’s really scary,” Nancy said. “But how could my uncle believe- Ned, do you have a quarter? I’m out of change.”
He dug into a pocket. “Who are you going to call?”
“My uncle Jon. I won’t be satisfied until he tells me he really believes my dad is capable of something like this.”
Nancy walked upstairs to the first-floor hall where she had seen a bank of telephones. As she deposited the quarter, Ann, Bess, and Ned hurried toward her.