Carolyn Keene - Two Points to Murder

Pat Burnett was a tall, silver-haired man in his late fifties. Nancy had seen him on the sidelines at games she had attended but had never met him before. His gray eyes shone with gratitude as he shook her hand. Standing with him was a stocky, pleasant-looking gentleman who appeared slightly older.

“This is Ed Riggs, our team physician,” Ned said, introducing them. “Well, I guess I’d better get back on court.”

“No, that’s all for this afternoon,” the coach pronounced. “Got to keep you fresh for tonight’s game.” Lifting his whistle, he blew a short blast. “Showers, everyone! And remember, I want you back here and in uniform no later than seven-thirty p.m.”

The team drifted noisily toward the locker room. A few players walked past the sideline to get a closer look at the girls, and one—a tall, lanky, dark-haired boy—even stopped.

“What gives, Nickerson?” He grinned. “Hogging the girls for yourself?”

“Mike, this is Nancy Drew,” Ned said. “Nancy, my co-captain, Mike O’Shea.”

Nancy smiled politely as she shook hands. She had heard all about him from Ned: He was a senior, and the team’s star forward. He and Ned were also fraternity brothers and good friends.

Mike beamed. “Ned’s told me a lot about you. In fact, sometimes I think he doesn’t know how to talk about anything else. How come you don’t visit us more often?”

“Just busy, I guess,” Nancy said, blushing. It felt good to know that Ned talked about her when she wasn’t around. Maybe she was worrying over nothing.

Mike’s question bothered her, though. Had Ned complained to him that she didn’t visit enough?

A minute later the players were gone. The coach turned to Nancy and her friends. “Let’s go to my office. We can talk more comfortably there. Ed, will you join us?” he asked the doctor.

“Certainly.”

The coach’s office was along the main corridor leading from the gym. Crammed with trophies, citations, and photographs, it was an impressive testimonial to a long and successful career. Dr. Riggs brought in extra chairs, and as he did Nancy felt a tingle of excitement run through her. Finally she was going to learn what this mystery was about!

“I’ll get right to the point,” the coach said, once they were all seated. “Someone is trying to ruin my team’s chances of winning the division championship, and they’re doing it with practical jokes.”

Dr. Riggs nodded in agreement. “These aren’t your average practical jokes, you understand. They are dangerous pranks that are intended to rattle the players’ nerves. We know they’re deliberate because they usually happen during games.”

“Last Tuesday, for instance,” the coach went on. “At halftime during our game against State, someone threw a smoke bomb into the locker room. My boys coughed themselves silly, and the second half was a disaster. Our rebound and foul-shot percentages were terrible. We won the game in the end, but not by much.”

“The incident the week before was bad, too,” Dr. Riggs said. “The boys arrived here for the game, only to find that the locker room had been trashed. Lockers were pulled over, and equipment was strewn everywhere. Someone had even slashed open a couple of balls.”

“How awful!” George said.

The coach addressed Nancy. “Ned tells me that you’re a whiz at getting to the bottom of things. Can you get to the bottom of this? I’d hate to lose the division title just because some fool upset my team.”

Dr. Riggs agreed. “I’m retiring at the end of this season, Miss Drew, and I’d like nothing better than to leave on a whining note.”

There was a short silence. Secretly, Nancy was disappointed. Finding a practical joker didn’t seem like much of a challenge. She was used to tougher puzzles.

“Coach Burnett, tell me—why are you asking me to look into this? Can’t the campus police handle it?” she asked.

“Evidently not,” he said in disgust. “They did investigate for a while but got nowhere. Now they tell me they can’t be bothered anymore . . . they’ve got more important matters to deal with.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, it seems someone is picking out students at random and beating them up. Well, assaults are serious, but our problem is important, too. If we lose even one of our last three games, we’ll lose the championship! That’s why I took Ned’s advice and called you, Nancy. These pranks have got to stop!”

Nancy knew that the pranks would probably stop on their own. Sooner or later most practical jokers lost interest in their activities. Still, telling that to the coach wasn’t going to put his mind at rest. He wanted action now .

“Coach Burnett, have you told anyone else why I’m here?” she inquired.

“No, I thought it best not to mention it. That way you can pretend you’re here to see the games, if it will help your investigation.”

“It will.” Because of Ned there was no hope of working undercover, but even so she wanted to remain as anonymous as possible.

Nancy was about to promise the coach that she would do her best when a commotion in the hall stopped her. Through the door they heard shouts and the sound of people running.

Crossing the room, Coach Burnett opened the door. Outside, Nancy could see members of the team dashing toward the gym. They were clad only in shorts, and from their expressions they were obviously upset.

“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.”