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.”