Carolyn Keene. Two Points to Murder

Mike beamed. “Ned’s told me a lot about you. In fact, sometimes I think he doesn’t know how to talk about anything else. How come you don’t visit us more often?”

“Just busy, I guess,” Nancy said, blushing. It felt good to know that Ned talked about her when she wasn’t around. Maybe she was worrying over nothing.

Mike’s question bothered her, though. Had Ned complained to him that she didn’t visit enough?

A minute later the players were gone. The coach turned to Nancy and her friends. “Let’s go to my office. We can talk more comfortably there. Ed, will you join us?” he asked the doctor.

“Certainly.”

The coach’s office was along the main corridor leading from the gym. Crammed with trophies, citations, and photographs, it was an impressive testimonial to a long and successful career. Dr. Riggs brought in extra chairs, and as he did Nancy felt a tingle of excitement run through her. Finally she was going to learn what this mystery was about!

“I’ll get right to the point,” the coach said, once they were all seated. “Someone is trying to ruin my team’s chances of winning the division championship, and they’re doing it with practical jokes.”

Dr. Riggs nodded in agreement. “These aren’t your average practical jokes, you understand. They are dangerous pranks that are intended to rattle the players’ nerves. We know they’re deliberate because they usually happen during games.”

“Last Tuesday, for instance,” the coach went on. “At halftime during our game against State, someone threw a smoke bomb into the locker room. My boys coughed themselves silly, and the second half was a disaster. Our rebound and foul-shot percentages were terrible. We won the game in the end, but not by much.”

“The incident the week before was bad, too,” Dr. Riggs said. “The boys arrived here for the game, only to find that the locker room had been trashed. Lockers were pulled over, and equipment was strewn everywhere. Someone had even slashed open a couple of balls.”

“How awful!” George said.

The coach addressed Nancy. “Ned tells me that you’re a whiz at getting to the bottom of things. Can you get to the bottom of this? I’d hate to lose the division title just because some fool upset my team.”

Dr. Riggs agreed. “I’m retiring at the end of this season, Miss Drew, and I’d like nothing better than to leave on a whining note.”

There was a short silence. Secretly, Nancy was disappointed. Finding a practical joker didn’t seem like much of a challenge. She was used to tougher puzzles.

“Coach Burnett, tell me—why are you asking me to look into this? Can’t the campus police handle it?” she asked.

“Evidently not,” he said in disgust. “They did investigate for a while but got nowhere. Now they tell me they can’t be bothered anymore . . . they’ve got more important matters to deal with.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, it seems someone is picking out students at random and beating them up. Well, assaults are serious, but our problem is important, too. If we lose even one of our last three games, we’ll lose the championship! That’s why I took Ned’s advice and called you, Nancy. These pranks have got to stop!”

Nancy knew that the pranks would probably stop on their own. Sooner or later most practical jokers lost interest in their activities. Still, telling that to the coach wasn’t going to put his mind at rest. He wanted action now.

“Coach Burnett, have you told anyone else why I’m here?” she inquired.

“No, I thought it best not to mention it. That way you can pretend you’re here to see the games, if it will help your investigation.”

“It will.” Because of Ned there was no hope of working undercover, but even so she wanted to remain as anonymous as possible.

Nancy was about to promise the coach that she would do her best when a commotion in the hall stopped her. Through the door they heard shouts and the sound of people running.

Crossing the room, Coach Burnett opened the door. Outside, Nancy could see members of the team dashing toward the gym. They were clad only in shorts, and from their expressions they were obviously upset.

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