Free 039 The Suspect Next Door by Carolyn Keene Page B

something he had to do. He wouldn’t say what. I figured he had an errand to run or something. But he was acting awfully nervous again.”
    “You must have been getting scared by now,” Lacey said, her eyes wide.
    “Not until he pulled off the road into the woods,” Nikki said.
    “Where were you by now?” Nancy asked.
    Nikki shook her head. “I wasn’t really watching the road, but I think we were near the country club. Dan turned off the car, and I wondered what I’d done, you know?” Nikki took a deep breath. “Then he took out that envelope again,” she said, staring at the far wall.
    “The same one he asked you to take before?” Nancy asked.
    Nikki looked at Nancy and nodded. “Same one. He was shaking, and his eyes—you should have seen his eyes—they were wild. It was like we had never had that talk in Jeremy’s backyard.” Nikki had started to tremble all over.
    “Did you take it?” Robin wanted to know.
    “No, I didn’t want to, but he tried to stuff it into my purse.”
    The phone next to the sofa rang, startling themall. Nikki gave a little shriek and jumped up. Then somebody picked up the call in another room, and the phone was quiet.
    “Go on, Nikki,” Nancy prompted her.
    “I tried to run, but he grabbed me,” Nikki said. “He was trying to keep me there. I got really scared and I scratched him, I think, but finally I got away. I left my purse there. The navy blue one. He’s still got it, I guess.
    “I kept running and running, and I fell into some thorns. You can see what a mess I am. Anyway, I found the road finally, and I walked all the way here. I guess that’s everything.”
    The door opened. “Oh, Lacey,” Brittany called out, poking her head in the door. “That was your mother on the phone. She wants her little baby to come home. It’s eleven-fifteen, you know. Time for beddie-bye.”
    Lacey reddened with rage at the roar of laughter which followed. “I scratched my mom’s car last month,” she explained, embarrassed. “Now I’ve got this dumb curfew.”
    “We might as well all leave,” Nancy said. She turned to Nikki. “Do you feel well enough to go?”
    Nikki nodded her head slowly. “I think so.”
    “Come on, then. I’ll drive you home. All of you. This party’s over for us.”
    The four girls walked out of the study through the curious crowd. Nikki kept her head downuntil they were safely out of the house, in Nancy’s car, and out of the driveway.
    “Whew!” Lacey sighed in relief as she flicked her red braid over her shoulder. “That was awful. Are you okay, Nikki?”
    “I’m okay,” Nikki answered, with a shudder. “But I wish Brittany hadn’t been there tonight.”
    “I know. She’s such a jerk,” Robin muttered, still hot with fury.
    Nancy looked over at Nikki. If Brittany had had such a field day with Lacey’s curfew, what would she do with Nikki’s little adventure?
    Nancy dropped Robin and Lacey off, then headed for home. “Nikki,” she said as they pulled onto their block, “did anything else happen out there when you were with Dan? Anything you forgot to tell us?” Nancy wanted to have it out with Dan Taylor, and she needed to know every detail.
    Nikki looked at Nancy in surprise. “No. Why do you ask?” she asked, cocking her head to one side. “Don’t you trust me?”
    “Of course I trust you,” Nancy told her. “I just wanted to make sure I was totally filled in, that’s all. Listen, you get some rest, and put yourself back together. I’ll come over for breakfast in the morning.”
    Nikki smiled with relief. “Great. Nancy, you’ve been wonderful to me. You’ve been a true friend, and I really appreciate it. I doubt I’mgoing to hear from Dan again. I think it’s finally all over, thank goodness.”
    “See you in the morning, Nikki,” Nancy said as she pulled up in front of the Masterses’ home.
    “Aren’t you going to park?”
    “No, I have a few things I want to check out first,” Nancy told her.
    Nikki