Free Sabotage At Willow Woods by Carolyn Keene

there,” Bess hissed. “Run!”
    I ran. Not gracefully or straight, but I ran. I took off down the road and then turned down a narrow alley that was brightly lit at the other end, implying that it let out into another street. I heard footsteps behind me and my heart squeezed, but when I emerged from the alley and dared to look behind me before I took off across a huge green lawn, I saw that it was only Barney running behind me.
    “Keep going,” he said panting. “The guy ran down the street this way.”
    So I cut across the lawn and then across the street, down a narrow, rocky footpath that led down to the parking lot for a local playground. When we were there, I paused to think about where to run next, andI felt Barney place a hand on my shoulder. He was still panting, trying to catch his breath.
    “Think . . . we’re safe.” He gasped, then collapsed onto the pavement.
    I was panting too. I put my hands on my hips and walked back and forth, waiting for my breathing and heartbeat to return to normal. “How will . . . I get home?” I managed finally, casting a nervous eye in the general direction of my car.
    “You’ll drive,” Barney said, sounding a little stronger now. “Karlowski . . . he’s caught us before. He chases . . . until he gets tired. Which is, like . . . five minutes. Then he gives up.”
    I nodded. “Oh.” Barney looked a little more together now—his breathing was almost back to normal—but he was still sitting on the ground, staring at the pavement. He ran a hand through his hair, wiping the sweat from his brow, and then brought up his other hand and cradled his head. He looked utterly miserable.
    “What a night,” he muttered. All his pink-cheeked,smiley puppyishness was gone, and he looked older, and also tired.
    It made me feel terrible.
    “Barney, I’m really sorry I lied to you,” I said, meaning it.
    He shrugged. “I get why you did it, I guess.” He looked up at me, and there was a spark of playfulness back in his eye. “It’s just my curse to appreciate mysterious women.”
    I couldn’t help but smile at that.
    Barney glanced in the direction we’d come and listened for a moment. “I think it’s probably safe,” he said.
    I nodded, and together we made our way back up the path, through the alley, and back to our cars. When we got there, Bess’s blond head popped up over the roof.
    “We think Karlowski went inside a few minutes ago,” she whispered. “It didn’t look like he even noticed your car.”
    George stood up next to her, stretching, and gave Barney an awkward nod. “Hey.”
    Barney nodded back. “Well, I’ll leave you ladies,” he said, looking over at his own car. “It looks like most of my passengers are back.” He paused. “Erm . . . I’d say it’s been fun, but actually, it hasn’t.”
    I cringed and nodded. “Fair enough. I hope you have a much better tomorrow, Barney. You deserve it.”
    He shrugged and turned away. “See you around, I guess.”
    I glanced at my friends, and together we all opened up our respective doors and climbed back into the car. I put the key in the ignition, but then just sat there for a moment, sighing. “That,” I said finally, “was not my finest hour of sleuthing.”
    Bess reached up from the backseat and patted my arm. “Oh, don’t feel bad, Nance,” she said encouragingly. “The stationery sent us in the wrong direction. We can take another look at the notes, and maybe the box the squirrel was sent in? Maybe that will give us some leads.”
    George was staring out the window, and she nodded and turned back to face us. “We’ve definitely been looking in the wrong direction,” she said. “Whoever’sharassing Carrie, they’re bigger and more dangerous than a bunch of eco-loving high school kids.”

    The next day I was desperate to do something worthwhile. So Bess, George, and I all headed down to Carrie’s Boylestown headquarters to volunteer. There was lots to do, because