063 Mixed Signals (3 page)

“It doesn’t seem normal for wood to burn so quickly,” she murmured to Ned. “I’m going to ask.” Leaving her friends, she went over to a fire fighter who was poking at a piece of charred wood with a rake.

“Excuse me,” she said, “but isn’t it unusual for a wooden platform this large to burn in a matter of minutes?”

The man didn’t answer right away. “It’s hard to say. Depends on what type of wood it was, whether it was dry—things like that.”

“But what about—” Nancy broke off as something shiny in the embers caught her eye. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at the object.

The fire fighter leaned forward and prodded it with the tip of the rake. “It’s made of glass.” He rolled the object toward him, then picked it up with a gloved hand. “A glass jar,” he said thoughtfully, turning it over. “The chief should see this.”

He went over to the medical van, where a uniformed fire official stood talking with Dean Jarvis. Curious, Nancy followed him.

“Chief, we found this jar in the embers of the fire,” the fire fighter said.

“That—that’s mine!” cried a distressed voice from behind them. Nancy turned as Kristin left Randy’s side and rushed over to the fire fighter holding the jar. “At least, I think it is. It looks like the jar I keep kerosene in to soak the ends of my baton.”

“Did you leave this jar near the stage, young lady?” the chief asked Kristin.

“No!” She shook her head adamantly. “Of course not. I left it over in the bushes near the gym. I had to have it close, but I didn’t want to bring it too close to the crowd, especially with the bonfire and all.”

The chief frowned. “Are you sure you didn’t leave it near the platform?”

“Positive,” Kristin told him.

“Could’ve been that some idiot moved it,” the fire chief suggested after a short silence. “But it’s more likely that it rolled over here.”

“Or someone could have moved the jar accidentally,” Nancy said slowly. Still, she couldn’t rid herself of a niggling doubt that lingered in her mind.

Shaking her head, she picked up her leather jacket and returned to Ned and Bess.

“There’s nothing more to do here,” Ned told her, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s head over to the victory party.”

As they walked to the gym, Nancy told Ned and Bess about the fire chiefs ruling on the fire. “They think it was an accident,” Nancy explained, “but I’m not satisfied with their conclusion. I’m not blaming Kristin, but how
did
that kerosene get so near the platform?” She shook herself, adding, “On the other hand, it doesn’t make sense that someone would try to start a fire on purpose.”

“I can see that Detective Drew is onto another case,” Bess teased.

“Over my dead body,” Ned insisted as he pulled open the gymnasium door. “You have strict orders to kick back and only have fun this weekend.”

“Well, there’s a mystery
I’d
like solved,” said Bess, a teasing glint in her eyes. “Rumor has it that a twenty-foot hero is being served—and I want to find it before it’s all eaten!”

The gym was already crowded when they entered. A sound system had been set up, and some students were dancing while others dug into the food that was set up against one wall. A cluster of orange-shirted football players was beside the food tables. One of the guys in the group happened to turn as Ned, Nancy, and Bess walked up.

“Bess! Is that you?” he asked.

“Jerry!” Bess rushed over to give him a quick hug. “It’s great to see you. You guys looked terrific at the rally. Are you psyched for Sunday’s game?” she asked in an excited rush.

“Hey, McEntee,” Ned said in greeting. Nancy smiled and said, “Hi, Jerry. We’re coming over to check out the food. How is it?”

“Great,” he said, grinning.

The four of them dug into the giant sandwich, then climbed up to an empty row of bleachers to sit and eat.

“This is sensational,” Bess commented, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Just then Nancy noticed a good-looking guy striding by. He had slicked-back blond hair and a muscular build.

“McEntee!” the guy called, noticing Jerry in the stands. “What’s happening?” He climbed nimbly onto the bleachers to shake Jerry’s hand.

Jerry introduced Nancy and Bess. “This is Josh Mitchell, our first-string quarterback.” He nudged Josh on the shoulder. “At least he was—and will be again, as soon as he gets his grades up.”

“Tell me about it,” Josh said, obviously embarrassed. “I wish I could be on the field with you guys on Sunday.”

“Me, too,” Jerry agreed. He turned to Bess to explain. “The Russell Pirates are our biggest rivals, so Sunday’s really important for us. Also, if we win, we might have a shot at the state championship.”

“After that fire tonight, it’s lucky that Emerson still
has
a team,” Nancy put in.

Josh nodded. “That was scary. If Randy got hurt, we wouldn’t have a chance of winning.”

“The important thing is for you to hit the books, man,” Jerry reminded Josh, clapping him on the back.

“I know,” said Josh. “I’m working on it. Can you believe I’ve got two papers due on Monday, right after homecoming? But I’ll get them in. There’s no way I’m going to stay on academic probation for the whole season.”

The conversation returned to football. As Josh explained some of the team’s new plays, Nancy became a little bored and began to scan the gym. An orange-and-purple football jacket caught her eye because it was moving straight toward her. She saw that it was Randy. He had changed into clean jeans and a sweatshirt under the jacket.

Nancy did a double take as he moved closer and she could see his face clearly. His eyes were red and his movements stiff and guarded. Nancy wondered if he was still in shock. His eyes were wide in recognition now, and he continued to head in her direction.

“Hey, Randy!” Jerry called as his friend approached.

“How are you?” asked Josh.

“Fine,” he replied curtly. The look in Randy’s brown eyes darkened as he turned his attention back to Nancy. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” Nancy said. Handing her now-empty plate to Bess, she followed Randy down the bleachers to an uncrowded corner of the gym.

Randy leaned against the wall and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I feel sort of strange telling you this,” he began. “I mean, you are a total stranger, but I heard Dean Jarvis say that you’re a detective.”

Nancy nodded. “That’s right.” Randy’s face was ghostly pale, she noticed, and he couldn’t control the shaking of his hands as he rubbed his eyes. “Randy, what’s wrong? How can I help?”

Randy shoved one hand into a front pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small square of white paper. “I found this note just now when I went back to the dorm to change. Someone had slipped it under the door of my room.”

Curious, Nancy took the square of paper from his hand and carefully unfolded it. She was shocked when she read the message that was typed on it.

WE’RE READY TO PLAY KILL THE QUARTERBACK.

LOSE THE HOMECOMING GAME—OR ELSE!

Chapter Four

“
I
CAN’T BELIEVE
I’m being threatened,” Randy said, his eyes darting nervously around the gymnasium.

“No wonder you’re upset,” Nancy said sympathetically.

Randy let out a sigh and raked a hand through his dark hair. “This isn’t the first threat I’ve received, either. Someone’s been calling me, late at night, telling me to make sure that Emerson loses the homecoming game—just as it says in the note.”

“Phone calls?” Nancy repeated. A single note could have been a prank, but this was a pattern of threats, and that disturbed her. “What did the caller sound like? Did you recognize the voice at all?”

Randy shook his head. “No. It’s just a hoarse, muffled whisper. I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman. The person always phones after midnight, and the message is always the same—lose Sunday’s game.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“That note’s the first written threat—and it’s also the first time anyone’s mentioned killing me.” Randy looked afraid, and Nancy’s heart went out to him. “But I’ve been getting the calls every night for the past week—ever since I was made first-string quarterback.”

Nancy bit her lower lip. “Try to think, Randy. Who could it be? Do many people have your phone number?”

“Just the whole campus,” he replied. “There’s a directory of students. Anyone could get it.”

“I see. But out of all the team members,” Nancy went on, frowning, “why would you be targeted specifically?”

“If anyone can throw a game, it’s the quarterback,” Randy pointed out. “I hope you don’t think I’m a wimp. I mean, at first I figured the whole thing was a joke. A few nasty calls were easy enough to ignore . . .” He trailed off, glanced around the gym, then met her eyes directly again.

“Until the fire at the pep rally tonight,” she finished for him.

Randy nodded. “When I nearly got burned, I began to add things up. I think that kerosene was dumped on the stage on purpose.”

“You may be right,” Nancy told him. “Who do you think could be making these threats?” she asked again. “Would anyone be that desperate for Emerson to lose?”

Randy hesitated before saying, “I know it seems obvious, but I think some of the Russell Pirates are behind this. Russell is on the other side of town, and we run into their students all the time. I can tell you that their quarterback, Zip Williams, is a shark. The guy has killer instincts on the field.”

“Do any of the Wildcats have a grudge against you?” she asked him, thinking out loud. “Or can you think of a reason why any of them would want Emerson to lose?”

Randy seemed shocked at the suggestion, so Nancy decided to check out that possibility on her own before pursuing it with him. Besides, it didn’t seem very likely that any of his teammates would want Emerson to lose.

“Okay. What about the school officials?” she pressed. “Have you mentioned these threats to Coach Mitchell or to any of the deans?”

Randy shifted uneasily. “Not yet,” he admitted. “I was afraid they’d take me out of Sunday’s game—and there’s no way I’m going to pass up my first chance to be starting quarterback. The administration is pretty straight. They refused to bend on Josh’s probation, even though it would sew up our chances of winning if he were quarterbacking this weekend. I didn’t want them to pull me from the game, too.”

“I’ll start investigating right away,” Nancy assured him. “I hope I’ll find out who’s behind these threats soon, so you won’t have to worry about being benched.”

“Thanks, Nancy,” Randy said gratefully. “I really appreciate your help.”

“But if you’re in danger, the administration needs to know about it,” she warned him. “If anything else suspicious happens, promise me that you’ll report it. And be sure to call me, too. Every bit of information helps.”

Randy gave her a quick salute. “You got it.”

“Can I hold on to this for safekeeping?” Nancy asked, holding up the note between her thumb and forefinger.

“Sure, anything you want.” As they started back toward the bleachers, Randy said, “You know, when I made first-string quarterback, I thought it would be my big break. But it’s turning out to be the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

Nancy punched his arm lightly and said, “I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this soon.” Then, as Randy wandered off across the gym, she rejoined her friends in the bleachers.

“What was that all about?” Bess asked.

“Where’s Jerry?” Nancy asked. She was dying to tell Bess and Ned about her new case, but she didn’t want anyone else to hear about it yet.

“He went to get some punch,” Bess replied.

Putting a finger under Nancy’s chin, Ned turned her to face him. “Uh-oh. I can tell by that look that something is up, Drew,” he said.

Nancy nodded excitedly. “Keep this under wraps, but I promised Randy I’d do a bit of sleuthing for him.”

“Another case!” Bess squealed as Ned let out a loud groan.

“Shh!” Nancy gave Bess’s knee a nudge. “Let’s not announce it to the whole campus,” she cautioned. Lowering her voice, she told her friends about the threats Randy had received. “After that fire at the pep rally, he’s pretty shaken up,” she finished.

“Wow,” said Bess, her eyes wide. “I don’t blame him. I’d be scared to death!”

“So much for kicking back and relaxing,” Ned complained. “I wonder if you’ll ever have a visit here that doesn’t turn into a major mystery.”

Nancy just grinned at her handsome boyfriend. “I guess I’ll just have to keep visiting until I do!”

“So where do you begin,” Bess asked. “Any suspects?”

“Just the entire Russell football team,” said Nancy wryly. Turning to Ned, she asked, “Do you know any of the Pirates?”

Ned shook his head. “Not personally. Their quarterback is dating one of our cheerleaders, so he hangs around on campus occasionally. He gets a lot of ribbing about dating the opposition, but he seems to take it in stride. His girlfriend is Tamara Carlson, the girl whose sister we met this afternoon.”

“Right,” Nancy said. “With the crowd tonight, he or anyone from the Pirates might have been able to sneak up undetected and dump that kerosene. I’ll have to find a way to meet him. In the meantime, I have a few questions for Danielle Graves. She did threaten Randy this afternoon.”

“But why would Danielle want Emerson to lose?” Bess pointed out. “She’s a cheerleader.”

“That’s something I’d like to ask her,” Nancy admitted. “I need to find some answers—and soon. The game is only three days away.”

She stood up when she noticed Jerry returning with punch. “In the meantime, this is a party—and you haven’t asked me to dance yet, Nickerson.”

“I haven’t had much of a chance, have I?” he said. Grabbing her hand, Ned led her to the dance floor, and for a long time, Nancy forgot everything except how wonderful it felt to be in Ned’s arms.

“You’re pretty terrific, Nickerson,” she said, winding her arms around his neck for a slow song. “It seems like forever since we’ve spent any time alone together.”

Ned’s eyes shone as he tenderly brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “If you’re going to be on a case, at least it’s here at Emerson, where I can still see you.”