Carolyn Keene - Hit and Run Holiday

“Right,” Nancy agreed instantly.

But Dirk didn’t look insulted. Instead, he laughed. “Look at it this way. You’re already in the water, so why not relax and let me teach you how to windsurf? It’s the least I can do.”

His laugh was hard for Nancy to resist, even with the thoughts of Ricardo and Kim and Rosita whirling through her mind. But she managed to keep a straight face. “One lesson, one ride,” she said seriously. “That’s it. Then we go back.”

“You got it, Detective,” Dirk promised. He went on to give her instructions about how to handle the board, how to pull up the sail, when to turn the boom, and how to bail out. “Always bail out backward, right onto your backside,” he said. “That way the board won’t break your skull.”

Soon, Nancy was on her own, in deep water. Carefully she eased up from her stomach to her knees, reached into the water, and pulled up the sail. Keeping a tight grip on the boom, she got to her feet, found her balance, and stood up straight.

Wind filled the sail, and suddenly Nancy felt as if she were flying over the water. She heard Dirk shouting encouragement and found herself laughing out loud as the board slapped over the waves. For just a moment, she forgot about everything but the sun and the wind and the salt spray.

Just when Nancy thought she was going as fast as it was possible to go, the board picked up speed. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it, so she turned the boom, hoping to slow down. But she must have turned it the wrong way, because the sail was so full it looked ready to rip. Nancy decided to try one more time to slow down. If that didn’t work, then she’d bail out.

Nancy turned the boom. Instantly, the pole fell over as if it had been snapped in two. The board tipped, pushing Nancy forward, and before she had time to react, she found herself hitting the water. Behind her, the heavy surfboard rose up like a sailfish leaping from the ocean. Then it started to fall—heading straight for Nancy’s head.

Chapter Six

Nancy tossed her head back and desperately gulped in a mouthful of air. The hoard was falling fast; in a few seconds it would be on top of her. Nancy flipped sideways, kicked up with her legs, and felt the lethal board graze her thigh as she pulled herself deep under the water.

The current was strong; it somersaulted her over and over until she couldn’t tell which way was up. Her lungs felt ready to burst, and for a second, she almost panicked. She’d escaped the surfboard, she realized frantically, but she was in danger of drowning.

Just as she thought she might never make it, Nancy caught sight of the sky above her. The undercurrent tried to spin her over again, but she fought it and pulled herself up through the water until her head broke the surface. Gratefully Nancy filled her lungs with air, pushed her streaming hair out of her face, and looked around. Just a few feet away, her surfboard bobbed peacefully on the waves. Nancy swam over to it and climbed on, then spotted her sail. It was spread out on the water like a giant magenta scarf, and Nancy remembered that awful snap she’d felt when she’d turned the boom. What had happened? Those poles had to be sturdy, they couldn’t just snap in two when the wind got strong. Or could they?

Off in the distance, Dirk Bowman was stretched out on his board, pulling himself against the current to reach Nancy. She waved to let him know she was okay, then caught hold of her sail and dragged it from the water. Hand over hand, she pulled the pole up. When she saw the end of it, where it had snapped, she shivered in spite of the hot sun beating down on her back.

There was a clean slice three quarters of the way through the pole and then a ragged edge where the wind had done the rest of the job. Someone had sawed partway through it, and Nancy shivered again, remembering Ricardo standing at the dock that morning, watching her climb into the boat.

Nancy raised her head and looked at Dirk, who was still bucking the waves to get to her. Maybe he and Ricardo knew each other. Why not? Their jobs brought them to the same beach every day, and maybe Dirk had mentioned that he was taking her windsurfing, so Ricardo had decided to try to get rid of her, making it look like an accident. Just like Kim, Nancy thought.

First the man-of-war, then the windsurfing incident. Ricardo wasn’t exactly subtle with the messages he was sending her, and Nancy wondered how many more “accidents” she’d have to survive before she found out what he was involved in.

She was still staring at the pole, fingering the ragged edge, when she heard the buzz of a motor close by. Looking up, she saw a sleek raspberry-and-turquoise speedboat heading toward her. It zipped past, making choppy waves so that Nancy had to drop the pole and clutch the board with both hands. The driver made a sharp turn and then sped back, cutting the twin engines at the last possible second.

“Hi there!” the driver called out. She was a beautiful woman just a couple of years older than Nancy, with golden skin, silky blond hair, and a smile in her wide green eyes. “Need a lift?” she asked.

“It looks that way, doesn’t it?” Nancy said, laughing. “I’m not really stranded though.” She pointed to Dirk. “But thanks for the offer.”

The woman pulled her dark glasses down from the top of her head and peered through them at Dirk. “Oh, are you with him? Well, let me tell you, he’s cute, but he’s a klutz, if you know what I mean. I should know—I’m his boss.” With a delightful smile, she stuck her hand over the side of the boat. “I’m Lila Templeton.”

So she was the fun lady Dirk had mentioned. Shaking Lila’s outstretched hand, Nancy glanced over her shoulder at Dirk, who was closer but still struggling with the waves. He lied to get me out here, she thought, and now it’s time to pay him back. Laughing again, she hauled herself into Lila’s boat. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer after all,” she said, “if you don’t mind stopping at the island a moment so I can get my things.”

Grinning, Lila Templeton started the engines, and the boat took off with a roar. As they passed Dirk, Lila slowed long enough to shout, “I want to talk to you the minute you get back!” She and Nancy made a fast stop at the island. Then Lila put the boat into high gear and sped off, leaving Dirk Bowman floundering in its wake.

As they sped back to the mainland, Lila kept up a steady stream of chatter about where Nancy should go and what she should do while she was in Florida. Mostly, though, she gave a sales pitch for her party to nowhere. “It’s absolutely the wildest party you’ll ever go to,” she shouted. “You ought to try it while you’re down here. You won’t forget it, I promise you that!”

Nancy started to say that Dirk had already invited her, but she changed her mind. Lila seemed genuinely friendly, and Nancy didn’t want to disappoint her. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t have time for any wild island parties. She had other things to do, she thought grimly, and other people to see. Beginning with Ricardo.

“So what brings you to Lauderdale?” Lila asked, as they approached the docks. “Let me guess—spring break, right?”

“Right,” Nancy said. She didn’t like lying, but even though Lila seemed harmless and empty-headed, Nancy decided she shouldn’t trust anyone. She’d talked to Dirk and look what had happened. Dirk had probably mentioned her to Ricardo, and it was just luck that her surfboard hadn’t cracked open her skull half an hour ago.

When Lila docked the boat, Nancy thanked her for the ride and climbed out. “Don’t forget the party, Nancy!” Lila called after her, and Nancy said she wouldn’t. But she knew that that night she wouldn’t be at any party.