Carolyn Keene - Hit and Run Holiday

“Sorry,” George told her, “but our plane leaves in four hours. You don’t want to miss it, do you?”

“I don’t know,” Bess said. “Now that everything’s over, I wouldn’t mind sticking around for a couple of days. There are a lot of cute guys around and I’d hate to miss out.”

Nancy laughed. “I thought you said there were plenty of guys back home,” she teased.

“That was when I thought I was going to die,” Bess protested. “But now that Lila and her crew are behind bars, I figure I might as well enjoy the rest of spring break.”

“I would have given anything to see the look on Lila’s face when the police came to ‘rescue’ her,” George said. “I wonder if she tried to lie her way out of it.”

“If she did, it didn’t do her any good,” Nancy said. “Not with Kim and Maria and Dirk as witnesses against her.”

“Speaking of Dirk,” George said, peering out the window, “he just pulled up in that fancy red car of his, and it looks like he’s heading this way.”

Nancy opened the door and smiled as she watched Dirk Bowman come down the hall. “I thought you’d at least take the rest of the day off,” she said.

“The day? I’m taking a week off,” he replied with a grin. “But I knew you were leaving, and I had a couple of things I wanted to tell you. How about a quick walk?”

Nancy slipped on a pair of sandals, and together she and Dirk strolled down the sidewalk in the early morning sun.

“First,” Dirk said, reaching for Nancy’s hand, “I’ve got some good news. Kim’s mother agreed to vouch for Maria and get her a job with some friends here in Fort Lauderdale. So she’ll be staying on, and she says she’s going to start college as soon as she can. She wants to be an engineer.”

“That’s great,” Nancy said with relief. “I was worried that she’d be sent back.” She stifled a yawn and then laughed. “Sorry. I’m completely wiped out.”

“Well, that’s the second thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Dirk said. He stopped walking and put his hands on her shoulders. “I wanted to thank you, Detective. You were fantastic. And if you ever come back to Fort Lauderdale, let me know.” Bending down, he touched his lips softly to Nancy’s. “Thanks to you, Lila Templeton won’t be throwing any more parties.”

For a moment, Nancy leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling. Then, with a gasp, she suddenly pulled away.

“What’s wrong?” Dirk asked.

“I just remembered,” Nancy said, trying not to laugh. “The party. The party to nowhere! All those people are still stranded out there on that island!”

Dirk’s blue eyes widened in shock, and he shook his head. “I guess I’ll start my vacation this afternoon,” he said. He gave Nancy a quick kiss and then raced off to his car. “See what I mean?” he called back over his shoulder. “I could use you down here, Detective!”

Laughing, Nancy watched the red car speed down the palm-lined street. Then she headed back to her hotel. It was time to go home.