“But if Randy wanted to take pills to ease his nerves, wouldn’t he have taken the proper dosage?” Nancy asked, tuning out the noise of the busy room. “And why would he have dissolved the pills in his water bottle?”
“I don’t know the answer to that, but if it were up to me, he’d be suspended from the team,” the coach said. “But Dean Jarvis has decided that he deserves another chance.” He lifted his tray and stepped back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m meeting my son for dinner.”
As the coach disappeared into the crowd, Bess took another spoonful of her spumoni and said, “Coach Mitchell’s being awfully hard on Randy.”
Nancy nodded her agreement. “It’s as if he doesn’t want Randy to play on Sunday.”
“Well, he is a college coach,” Ned pointed out. “He can hardly condone a player using drugs.”
“And to be fair,” Jerry added, “Coach Mitchell is tough on all of us, even his son. The guy’s a slavedriver, but that’s his job—to whip us into shape.”
Ned and Jerry had a point, Nancy realized. “Maybe the coach is just doing his job, but one thing about this case is becoming very clear. Someone really is trying to play ‘kill the quarterback.’ ”
Confusion showed in Jerry’s green eyes. “What do you mean, Nancy? I didn’t know you were working on a case.”
An awkward silence fell as Nancy stared first at Bess and then at Ned. “Nancy didn’t want to say anything about it before—” Ned began to explain.
“I promised Randy that I’d keep things under wraps,” Nancy added quickly. “But now that I’m officially working on the case, we could use your help. Someone has been threatening Randy. He’s been told to throw Sunday’s game—or else.”
“You are kidding, right?” Jerry’s mouth dropped open in astonishment as Nancy told him about the phone calls, the note, and the suspicious incidents. “Do the other football players know about this?” he asked.
“Not to my knowledge. That’s why I need your help. I’ve been checking out possible suspects, but I haven’t gotten an inside line on any of the Wildcats. Have you noticed anything strange going on among your teammates?”
Jerry hesitated for a moment, and Nancy could tell it troubled him to think of his teammates as possible suspects. “Not really,” he answered at last. “I don’t know anyone who openly has a gripe against him. Simpson’s never going to make it to the pros, but he gives it his best shot. The guys admire him for that.”
“I can’t help thinking that I missed something in the locker room,” Nancy murmured, twisting a strand of her reddish blond hair around a finger. “I was with the coach and Dean Jarvis when they searched the lockers, but there must be some sort of equipment closet or something.”
“There sure is,” said Jerry.
Nancy stood up abruptly. “Well, I’d better check on it. Anyone care to come along?”
“Count me out,” Jerry said apologetically. “I have to get in some study time. But I’ll see you all at our party.”
“Party?” Bess sat up straighter in her chair. “Did I miss something?”
Grinning at Bess, Jerry said, “Not yet, but if you don’t come I’ll never forgive you. Our fraternity is throwing a bash tonight.”
“Great,” Bess told him, blushing. “We’ll be there.”
“In the meantime maybe I should go with you two to the locker room,” Ned volunteered. “I don’t want any of the guys on the team to freak out if they see you there.”
Ten minutes later they were back in the sports complex. With Ned and Bess keeping watch at the locker room door, Nancy combed through the closet where the team equipment was stored. One by one, she examined the water bottles stacked on a tray. Although they were a little smudged and worn with use, nothing seemed amiss.
Next, Nancy sifted through the contents of the first-aid case. It was filled with ointments and bandages, but she noted that the only drug it contained was aspirin. Otherwise, the closet held only extra equipment, towels, stopwatches, and the like. No typewriter and no sleeping pills.
When she was finished, Nancy leaned against a row of lockers. “Hey, you guys,” she called to Ned and Bess. “I need to talk through this case out loud.” Sometimes simply bouncing ideas off other people helped her to unearth important clues.