“But I thought those guys were your friends.” Bess said indignantly.
Suddenly Josh’s face took on the same sad expression Nancy had glimpsed in the locker room. “I don’t have any friends,” he mumbled. “When your father plunks you down in a new school every year, you don’t have time to get attached.”
Nancy felt sorry for him, but she couldn’t get the ticking bomb out of her mind. If she didn’t talk some sense into Josh, they could all be blown to bits.
“Josh, there’s no easy way out of this thing. But if you dismantle the bomb, it’ll be a start in the right direction. Please don’t let anyone else get hurt.”
Josh studied the floor. When he spoke, Nancy had to lean close to him in order to hear. “Oh, all right,” he mumbled. His shoulders slumped forward as she led the way back into the locker room and opened the door to the boiler room.
“Stand back,” he instructed Nancy and Bess. “I know what I’m doing, but you can never be too careful.”
From a measured distance the girls watched as Josh cut two wires and removed the clock. “That’ll do it,” Josh told them.
Nancy let out a long sigh of relief. At last that dreadful ticking had stopped!
She and Bess followed as Josh took the dismantled bomb over to a bench by the lockers and sat down heavily. Nancy couldn’t help asking, “Would it really have been worth it, Josh?”
Josh buried his face in his hands. “Dad was afraid you were getting too close. He didn’t like the questions you kept asking. That’s why we staged that fake attack at the library.”
“I don’t get it.” Bess was confused. “Why do you and your father want the Wildcats to lose?”
“Money,” Nancy answered for him.
Josh nodded. “Dad’s got a gambling deal going with a hotshot bookie. When I’m quarterbacking and Dad is calling the plays, we can usually control the score of a game. The point spread is set in advance. I just make sure our team finishes within the predicted spread.”
“Gambling!” Bess gasped. “How awful!”
“But when Josh was put on academic probation, it ruined their whole scheme,” Nancy pointed out.
“If Randy had agreed to throw the game when Dad made those phone threats,” Josh told the girls, “everything would’ve been fine. But that didn’t work, so Dad figured we could hurt him enough to take him off the roster. A third-stringer would never score against Russell’s defense.” Josh shook his head sadly. “Too bad the guy refused to cave in.”
“Maybe you can fill in a blank for me,” Nancy said to him. “I saw the point spread your father bet for this game, six to ten. How could he be sure Randy would score in the right range?”
Josh grimaced. “He couldn’t. Dad convinced our bookie to change the bet. We were going for just a straight loss.”
“I still don’t understand why you set that bomb,” Bess put in. “What’s the use of blowing up an empty locker room?”
Josh clamped his mouth shut. For a second it seemed as if he might bolt, but then he said, “Oh, what’s the use. I might as well tell you. The locker room wasn’t going to be empty. Dad’s going to take Randy out of the game before halftime and send him here to rest up. The bomb was supposed to go off when Randy was in here and the rest of the players were still on the field—at exactly three thirty-five.”
“And kill Randy?” Bess was horrified.
“None of the other threats worked,” Josh said helplessly. “If Emerson wins today, my father will lose all our savings.” He lowered his voice and added, “And more. This bookie has promised to make us pay—in blood.”
“An explosion in the locker room will raise a lot of suspicion,” Nancy pointed out.
“Not when the bomb is attached to a boiler that’s been acting up for months.”
Just then the outside door to the locker room opened and Ned rushed in, scowling. “I didn’t get anywhere with Dean Jarvis. He insists that he can report only to the police, said something about confidentiality. I told him it was important but—” He broke off as he noticed the dismantled bomb on the bench next to Josh.