Free My Deadly Valentine by Carolyn Keene Page B

wrong?” Bess asked Nancy.
    â€œMarina Dombrowski,” Nancy repeated. “No wonder she looks familiar! She’s Max’s daughter.”
    â€œThe maintenance man from the student union!” Bess said, her eyes wide. “Dean Jarvis mentioned that he had a daughter.”
    â€œI didn’t know that he was her father,” Kristin said, glancing back at the kitchen to make sure Marina was out of earshot. “That’s a weird connection, though. Marina wanted to pledge Theta Pi last year, but we didn’t extend a bid, and she was really bitter about the whole thing.”
    â€œWhat’s a bid?” Bess asked, as she carefully took a taste of the steaming chowder.
    â€œAn invitation to join the sorority. After a few weeks of ‘rushing,’ each sorority reviews the list of rushees and decides which ones to extend bids to. If a girl accepts a bid, she becomes a pledge. Pledges spend a few weeks learning about the sorority. It’s kind of a trial period before initiation.”
    Nancy frowned thoughtfully. “So not every girl who rushes gets a bid, right?”
    â€œRight,” Kristin said. “Lots of sophomores who didn’t receive bids as freshmen choose to rush again, and some of them are given bids the second time around.” She lowered her voice. “The funny thing was, Marina threw a fit when she didn’t get a bid from us. She told Denise, our rush chairperson last year, that we’d regret it.”
    â€œThat’s kind of creepy,” Bess said.
    Kristin nodded. “I know rejection is hard to take, but most girls are good sports about it.”
    Nancy was only half listening to Kristin’s explanation. Max’s daughter had been rejected by the sisters of Theta Pi! The man—and his daughter—had a motive for the crimes against the sorority. Maybe they were working together.
    â€œThis sheds a new light on Max as a suspect,” Nancy said quietly. “We’ll need to do some checking on Marina. And I still want to confirm Casey’s whereabouts on Tuesday night.”
    Just then Marina emerged from the kitchen and brought their sandwiches to the table. They changed the subject to the charity auction.
    â€œI still haven’t come up with an angle for my valentine,” Nancy said.
    â€œNot me,” Bess said. “I’m all set. As long as Kyle makes it to Emerson in time.”
    The girls tried to keep the conversation light as they ate, especially since Marina seemed to be hovering nearby. Afterward they paid the check and hurried off to the supermarket to pick up the items they needed.
    While Bess and Kristin waited in line at the checkout counter, Nancy went across the street to the Video Zone, where Casey claimed to have spent the latter part of Tuesday night. The guy on the phone had told her to check back on Friday, but since she was nearby, she thought it was worth a shot.
    â€œA friend of mine was here late Tuesday night,” she told the guy on duty. “Is there anyone I can talk to who might have seen him?”
    The guy looked around the quiet arcade and shrugged. “Not right now. You need to talk to Tiger.” He gave her an aloof smile. “Are you the girl who called yesterday? Ha!” He laughed. “You must be really stuck on Tiger if you keep dreaming up bogus reasons to talk to him.”
    â€œI—” Nancy started to argue, then realized it was useless. This guy wasn’t going to give up. “Yeah,” she said dreamily. “I’m wild about Tiger.” She pulled a notepad out of her shoulder bag and scribbled the number of the Theta Pi house on it. “Here,” she said, handing the guythe slip of paper. “If Tiger happens to turn up before tomorrow, would you have him call me?”
    He shrugged. “I’ll give him the message, but there’s no guarantee. Tiger’s a popular guy.”
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    â€œThank