Free 039 The Suspect Next Door by Carolyn Keene Page A

crowd. “The rest of you might as well get back to the party.”
    Robin and Lacey lifted Nikki up and helped her walk into a study off the main living room. Nancy closed the door so they could have some privacy.
    Nikki sat down on the sofa. She was just starting to get her breath back and become calm enough to speak.
    “Oh, Nikki,” Robin moaned, touching her friend’s hair lightly. “Are you hurt?”
    “No, not really,” Nikki answered weakly.
    “Are you sure?” Lacey demanded. There was fire in her eyes, and her lips were pressed together.
    Nikki shook her head. “Honestly, I’m okay. It’s just, oh, it was so horrible.” Nikki burst out in sobs again.
    Nancy knelt in front of her and put a comforting hand on her arm. “Nikki,” she said softly. “You’ve got to tell us what happened. From the beginning.”
    “Okay,” said Nikki with a nod and brushed away her tears. “Well, Dan showed up here at the party, you know that. I was in total shock when I saw him.”
    “Me, too!” Lacey exclaimed. “What nerve he’s got!”
    “Shhh!” Robin said. “Let Nikki tell us what happened.”
    “Well, he said he wanted to talk to me, and what could I say? Everyone was staring at us. I think most of them were hoping I’d throw a fit and humiliate him in public, but I would never do that to Dan. Even if he’s not my boyfriend, I still care about him.”
    Nikki was trembling. Nancy quickly took off her sweater and threw it over her friend’s shoulders. “Then what happened?” she asked gently.
    “Well, we went out into the backyard, and it was okay. Really. He was much more reasonable than I’d seen him in a long time. He said he realized he was acting pretty crazed lately, and he was sorry for upsetting me and all.”
    “Then what happened?” Lacey prodded.
    Nikki smiled weakly at her friend. “Then I told him again that it was definitely over. That we could be friends, from a distance, but that it could never be the way it had been.”
    “He must have hated hearing that,” Robin murmured.
    “Well, he didn’t argue,” Nikki replied. “He just nodded, and I thought maybe this time I’d really gotten through to him. I thought maybe everything was going to be all right.”
    “Where were you at this point?” Nancy asked. “Were you still here at the party?”
    “Yes,” Nikki answered. “We were out back under a big tree, in the dark. Dan was sort of staring out into the darkness. He didn’t saymuch. Then, all of a sudden, he asked me to go for a ride with him. To talk some more, he said.”
    “And you agreed?” Lacey asked, a shocked expression on her face.
    “Yes, I did,” Nikki said, pausing for a moment. “Could I have a glass of water?” she asked. “My throat feels kind of dry.”
    “I’ll get it.” Robin leapt up and went to the door. When she opened it, Nancy could see a bunch of kids huddled around it, whispering furiously. The whispering stopped the second Robin looked outside. “Somebody bring a glass of water,” she announced.
    “And a wet washcloth, too,” Nancy called out.
    Robin closed the door and came back to the sofa. “Why can’t people mind their own stupid business,” she groaned.
    “Yeah, it didn’t take them long, did it?” Lacey said with a scowl. “Between Brittany and Jeremy, they could put out a real gossip rag. Oh. Sorry, Nikki.” Lacey suddenly realized the effect her words must have had on her friend.
    Nikki’s face was a mask of fear. “Oh, no,” she gasped. “They’ll take me apart, won’t they? Everybody is going to be talking about me now.” Her red-rimmed eyes grew sad and distant.
    The door opened, and Jay handed the water and washcloth to Robin. The crowd was still out there, still whispering.
    “Go on with the story, Nikki,” Nancy instructedher. “You were saying he asked you to go for a drive—”
    Nikki coughed, took a long drink, and then went on. “I asked him why he wanted to go for a ride, and he kept saying there was