Carolyn Keene - Two Points to Murder

At another point, Nancy tried to comfort Ned. He was alone now on a sofa, hunched over, his head in his hands. Nancy sat next to him and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Ned, I—”

He shrugged her off. Daggers seemed to shoot from his eyes as he turned to her. “Forget it, Nancy. There isn’t anything you can say.”

“I know, but I still want you to know that I’m sorry. Mike is your friend.”

“You finally noticed, huh? Well, congratulations,” he spat.

“Ned, please don’t be like this.”

“Why not? You never believed in him. For all I know you may still think he’s responsible for all those pranks.”

“I—” Nancy hesitated, uncertain of what to say. “Well, I do think one thing,” she said finally. “This case isn’t over yet. Not by a long shot.”

“Brilliant, Nancy. Absolutely brilliant. Anybody can see that!”

Ned’s sarcasm stung, but she deserved it, Nancy supposed. If she had done her work better, then maybe they wouldn’t all be sitting in this emergency room right now!

Finally, a white-coated doctor appeared. Heads turned toward him. Ned and Jan leapt up simultaneously and rushed over to the man. “How is he?” Ned asked.

“His condition is serious, but he’s stable,” the doctor announced.

“How badly is he hurt?”

“Mike has a broken leg and multiple back injuries. We believe there may be some subdural hemorrhage of the spinal cord as well.”

“What does that mean? Will he be okay?”

“He’ll probably recover well enough to walk again, if that’s what you mean.”

“Walk!” Ned gasped. “What about basketball? Mike was planning to turn pro!”

The doctor shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, young man, but I’m afraid that’s impossible now. Mike’s basketball days are over.”

Groans of horror and dismay filled the air. He had to be kidding. Mike was one of the finest young players in the nation!

No one felt worse about the news than Nancy. Leaning against a wall for support, she silently vowed to work twice as hard to conclude this case. Partly her resolve sprang from guilt over Mike’s condition, and partly it sprang from a sudden realization.

Mike was the victim of an attempted murder! Not only that, it was possible that the culprit would try to kill again!

Chapter Fifteen

That evening, Nancy and her friends watched the game from the stands. Nancy was tense. She was still expecting another practical joke, but by halftime it had not been played. Why was the joker waiting so long? she wondered. Was he saving his knockout blow for the last minute?

Emerson’s opponent that night was its arch-rival, Barton College. Traditionally, the match was a close one, but tonight it was even closer since Emerson was playing without its star forward, Mike O’Shea. Ned was doing an outstanding job of keeping the team together, Nancy saw, but even so it was rough going. Try as they might, the Wildcats’ lead never rose above five points. Usually it was less.

When the second half started, the Wildcats threw themselves into the game as never before. Barton countered with a relentless man-to-man defense, but it wasn’t enough. Slowly Emerson’s score climbed, and at last it stabilized at an eight-point advantage. For every two points Barton scored, Emerson scored a matching pair. Every successful Barton foul shot was followed by an Emerson bucket.

The fans cheered nonstop. Nancy had never heard such loud support in her life. The storm of applause reached its peak with ten minutes to go, as Howie Little ran a fast break down court and scored with a spectacular double-handed slam dunk. As Ned and Howie exchanged a high five, Nancy was positive that the noise would bring down the roof.

As the game neared its end, however, she began to see signs of tension in the Emerson players. Andy Hall and Craig Watson looked especially unhappy. During a short break in the action, the two held a midcourt conference that ended with Craig shoving Andy. Nancy heard him shout, “C’mon, man, get with it! It’s gonna be a push!”

Puzzled, Nancy turned to George. “What does push mean?” she asked.

“Beats me. I’ve never heard that term before,” George replied.

Nancy’s curiosity vanished less than a minute later. Just after the Wildcats threw the ball into play following a Barton foul shot, an accident occurred. At least it seemed like an accident.

Ned was dribbling the ball up the court with one hand and signaling his teammates with the other. At midcourt he glanced toward his coach. At the same moment, Craig and Andy ran a scissors cut—Craig brushing by Ned in front, Andy brushing past him from behind. The next instant Ned was on the floor, writhing. He had fallen!

Nancy screamed. She couldn’t help it. Ned was hurt! He might even be seriously injured! Leaping up, she rushed to the sideline. She wanted to run onto the court, but a pair of security guards grabbed her by the arms, stopping her.

It took a long time for Ned to get up. Once he did, he had to be helped off the court by Dr. Riggs and the team’s manager. He was limping, Nancy saw. His teeth clenched together with every step. But in spite of that, he wasn’t ready to quit.

“. . . I’m okay, honest,” she heard him say as he approached.

Dr. Riggs shook his head firmly. “Baloney. I’m not letting you back on this court until I’ve had that foot X-rayed.”

“But the game! The team needs me out there!” he pleaded.

“No dice. You’re injured, and if I let you keep playing I’m just begging for a lawsuit on my last day of work.”

“But, Dr. Riggs—!”

“Forget it. You’re out of the game, and that’s all there is to it.”

When Nancy returned to her seat she was trembling. She was also deeply confused. Sitting, she began to think feverishly. Her program twisted around and around in her hands.

“Nan, what’s the matter?” Bess asked. “Ned’s all right, isn’t he?”

“Yes. It’s not Ned that’s bothering me. It’s what happened just now.”

“What about it? It was only an accident.”

“I don’t think so. I think Ned was deliberately taken down.”

George turned toward her in surprise. “You mean Craig and Andy put him out of action on purpose? But how? Why?”

“I’m not sure how. It happened so fast I couldn’t really see. As to why, I’m not sure about that, either. But I’ve got to figure it out!”

On the court, the game resumed. Around her, the fans continued their chants and cheers. Nancy heard none of it. Elbows on her knees, she desperately tried to make sense out of the senseless events of the last five days.

Why would Craig and Andy hurt a member of their own team? Who had pushed Mike off the sports complex’s roof? Who had been driving the black Camaro when the bus’s tire was shot, and why was he also beating up Emerson students?

The questions went on endlessly. Nancy looked at them from every angle she could think of. Still none of it made sense. Frustration swelled inside her like a balloon. If she didn’t solve this mystery—and soon—she felt like she would burst!

The game entered its final minutes. With Ned out of action, Emerson slowly lost its lead. Seven points . . . six points . . . four points . . . soon Barton would overtake them and pull ahead!

“We’re getting killed!” Bess cried, glancing at the clock. “What a time for Ned to be benched!”

George nodded grimly. “You said it! I’ll bet the other team is happy about it, though.”

Suddenly Nancy sat up. “George! What was that you just said?”

“Didn’t you hear? I said, I’ll bet the other team is happy.”

In one magical burst of insight, everything fell into place. Nancy grabbed her friend’s arm. “George, that’s it! You just gave me the answer!”