Carolyn Keene. Two Points to Murder

“Jefferson!” the coach barked. “What’s going on?”

A tall black player stopped by the door. His voice was tense. “I’m not sure, Coach, but the word is that somebody from the team just hung himself!”

Chapter Two

Instantly the coach bolted out the door and hurried after his team. Nancy and her friends were right behind him. It took only seconds to reach the gym, and as they entered it Nancy’s stomach twisted in horror.

Hanging by a noose from one of the backboards was a human figure!

“Oh, no!” she heard George whisper behind her. Bess came up a moment later and stood next to them. “I don’t believe it!” she gasped.

Nancy didn’t either. She pushed her way through the players and stepped forward for a closer look. What she saw confirmed her suspicion: The figure wasn’t human after all. It was an effigy—a dummy dressed in an Emerson basketball uniform.

Looking closer, she saw a sign pinned to its chest. It read: Death to the Wildcats!

“That’s sick.”

Ned was standing next to her, she realized. A look of disgust darkened his handsome, square-cut face.

“You said it!” Mike O’Shea spat, joining them. “Who’d do something like this?”

That was exactly the question on Nancy’s mind. If this was supposed to be a joke, then it wasn’t very funny. Turning away, she walked over to Coach Burnett, who was standing to one side with Dr. Riggs. Both men were shaking their heads.

“The sooner I get to work on this the better,” Nancy said quietly. “Do you think you can get this gym cleared out?”

“Sure thing,” the coach replied. “Okay, guys! You’ve seen what there is to see. Let’s move out!”

The team started back to the locker room slowly. Nancy saw many unhappy looks and overheard the words “jinx” and “bad luck” as the players muttered to one another in low tones.

Coach Burnett was following his team out when Nancy stopped him. “That uniform the effigy is wearing . . . how could the joker have gotten hold of it?” she asked.

“Probably bought it.” The coach shrugged. “That’s not our official uniform—just a copy that anyone can purchase at the student bookstore.”

“You’re sure? It couldn’t have been stolen from someone on the team?”

“No, we’ve never used that number.”

“Okay, thanks, Coach Burnett. I’ll let you know the second I’ve got any solid leads.”

When the gym was finally empty, Nancy held a conference with Bess and George.

“First we’ve got to establish how the joker got in. George, you check every door to the building. I want to know whether they’re locked.”

“But there must be dozens!” George objected. “How will I find them all?”

“Walk around the outside of the building. That’ll be fastest,” Nancy suggested. “Bess, you check out the front entrance. Find out who signed the guest register today and whether someone without an Emerson ID could have slipped in.”

“You got it, Nan.”

While her friends were busy with their assignments, Nancy borrowed a ladder and a knife from a janitor, cut down the effigy, and examined it. It was crudely sewn from a set of one-piece long underwear. Its head was part of a plain white pillowcase. Inside, it was stuffed with Styrofoam packing chips. No clues there, Nancy decided. Anyone could have assembled the materials.

She was studying the note pinned to the effigy’s chest when her friends returned.

“The exits can only be opened from the inside,” George reported. “Whoever did this was either let in or came in through the front entrance.”

“Good work. Bess?”

“The guard claims that security is extra tight because of those assaults the coach mentioned. Only students with Emerson ID cards can get in.”

“What about the guest register? Any names down for today?”

“Yes, three . . . Nancy Drew, George Fayne, and Bess Marvin. That’s it.”

“Terrific.” Nancy groaned. “That blows my first theory. I figured the joker might be someone connected with a rival team, but since it’s impossible to sneak in here that idea is out.”

“The joker could still have been let in through a side exit by someone else,” George reasoned.

Nancy shook her head. “I don’t think so. Practical jokers don’t usually work in pairs. My guess is that the culprit came in through the front entrance with the dummy hidden in a gym bag.”

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