Mixed Signals, Page 2

  “He’s new. Dale Mitchell, coach of the football team,” he told her, clapping along with everyone else.

  The coach raised his hands and waited for the noise to die down. “I hate to start off on a negative note, but I’m sure you’ve all heard the bad news. It’s true, our quarterback has been benched for this game.”

  Several groans rose from the crowd. Nancy nudged Ned and asked, “Randy’s benched?”

  “No,” said Ned, bending to speak into her ear. “Randy’s the second-stringer. He’s been moved up to play quarterback for this game. The first-string quarterback is Josh Mitchell, the coach’s son.” Ned gave Nancy a meaningful look before adding, “Josh has been put on academic probation because of his grades.”

  “No matter what you’ve heard,” Coach Mitchell’s amplified voice rang out again, “I’m here to promise you that we haven’t given up the fight. On Sunday afternoon we’re going to give Russell University a beating they’ll never forget!”

  “Yeah!” the crowd roared.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the coach shouted above the cheers, “I’m proud to present the members of Emerson’s winning football team!”

  The cheers rose to a roar as the players, wearing their purple-and-orange jerseys, filed up the wooden stairs at the front of the stage. Their heavy footsteps pounded against the boards, making a rumbling noise that added to the excitement. They stood in a single line that stretched across the back of the platform.

  “All right!” Bess shouted. “Let’s hear it for the team!”

  “I’ll start with this week’s quarterback,” Coach Mitchell announced. “Number nineteen, Randy Simpson—”

  A loud cheer erupted as Randy emerged from the group, jogged to the front of the platform, and waved at the crowd.

  One by one, the other players ran up and waved as each of their names was announced. Nancy looked up at the sea of color formed by the team jerseys. The orange on the jerseys glowed brightly in the flickering light of the bonfire.

  “Number thirty-four, wide receiver Jerry McEntee—” the coach announced.

  “Hooray!” Bess shouted, jumping up and down. A tall, slim player sprinted to the front of the platform and saluted the audience. “He’s just as adorable as ever,” Bess murmured to Nancy.

  Nancy had to agree. The wind tossed Jerry’s thick, light brown hair, pushing a few wild strands over his forehead, and his smile was warm.

  When the entire team had been introduced, the players and speakers filed off the stage, and Dean Jarvis took the podium alone. He made a short speech about Emerson’s pride in scholastic and athletic achievement. “Before you head off to the victory party in the gym,” the dean concluded, “let’s hear one more cheer for our new quarterback, Randy Simpson!”

  Randy dashed back up onto the platform and leaned into the microphone. “Thanks!” he said. “I just want you to know that the team appreciates your support, and I promise to do my best to lead the Wildcats to a homecoming victory.”

  Dean Jarvis patted Randy on the back, then walked down the stairs to leave him in the spotlight alone.

  “Ran-dy! Ran-dy!” The students chanted as the band began to play again. The drill team formed a line in front of the platform, behind the bonfire.

  “Those outfits are great!” Nancy commented, noticing the purple suede boots and sequined uniforms the drill team wore. They split their line in two, marching off symmetrically. The crowd yelled loudly as Kristin Seidel appeared in between the two lines, twirling a flaming baton.

  “That’s amazing!” said Bess.

  Yellow flames danced around both ends of the stick as she twirled it and lightly tossed it into the air. The crowd gasped, then applauded as she caught it and flung it back up between her legs.

  A wide smile covered Kristin’s face as she caught the baton, marched backward, stopped just two feet in front of the platform, and threw her baton thirty feet into the night sky. Whistles and cheers filled the air.

  As the baton descended a moment later, however, fire leaped from one end of the stick and fell onto the stage. Nancy’s mouth dropped open in horror as the flames swept across the tissue paper decorating the front of the platform.

  Terror froze on Randy’s face as the flames danced at his feet. Before anyone could move, the entire front of the wooden stage was being consumed by fire.

  Randy was caught behind a blazing inferno!

  Chapter Three

  “RANDY’S IN TROUBLE!” Nancy cried, grabbing Ned’s arm. “Come on!” Her pulse was racing as she cut through the crowd to reach the cordoned-off area.

  Some people in the audience were still cheering—apparently they couldn’t see exactly what was happening. But then more and more screams rang out. Nancy and Ned were just ducking under the rope when everyone started shouting and shrieking in panic.

  They raced as close to the burning platform as they dared. At first Nancy couldn’t see Randy through the cloud of black smoke that enveloped him, but at last she did spot him.

  Coughing and choking from the smoke, Randy had stumbled back a few steps until he was in the center of the platform. His fists were raised, and he was flailing wildly at the smoke, as if he could beat it back. Flames licked up, almost singeing his jeans. From his erratic movements, Nancy guessed that he had to be in shock.

  She gasped as a creaking noise rose from the wooden platform. “It’s going to collapse!” she shouted to Ned.

  She raced around to the rear of the stage, where the fire hadn’t yet spread. “Randy!” she shouted, waving her arms to get his attention. “You have to jump off the back! Now!”

  The platform was about ten feet high, but Nancy knew the jump wouldn’t be a problem for an athlete like Randy—if she could only get him to move. She felt desperate as Randy continued to thrash about like a zombie. “Randy!” she shouted again. “You have to jump!”

  All at once Randy seemed to snap out of his daze. Nancy saw his eyes focus on her. A second later he scrambled to the back of the platform and plunged off the edge. As he fell to the ground Nancy reached out to grab his shoulders and ease the impact of the fall. She felt herself being pulled to the pavement beside him.

  “He’s on fire!” Ned yelled from a few yards away.

  Scrambling to her feet, Nancy saw that a small flame rose from Randy’s pants. He was crawling along the pavement, still coughing. Without pausing, she whipped off her leather jacket and threw it over his legs. Then she pushed him so that he rolled over and smothered the flame.

  “Help me grab him,” Nancy called to Ned as soon as she was sure Randy’s clothes were no longer burning. “We need to drag him clear of the stage.” Working together, they tugged Randy a safe distance away from the roaring flames.

  “Look out!” someone shouted. At the same time, a loud crack sounded from the flaming platform.

  Nancy raised her head just in time to see the wooden stage shift. The front of it collapsed, sending sparks and flames high into the nighttime sky. Nancy shuddered, imagining what would have happened if Randy had waited a minute longer to jump.

  She knelt down next to Randy, who was sitting on the concrete, his head in his hands. Ned was on Randy’s other side. Nancy’s jacket was on the concrete beside him. She could hear the wail of a siren in the distance as she asked, “Are you okay?”

  Randy focused on her, a haunted look in his eyes. “I think so. That was so weird. I’ve never seen anything catch fire so fast.” He shook his head as if to clear away the confusion.

  Nancy opened her mouth to agree, but was interrupted when Dean Jarvis rushed over, followed by the coach, who was lugging a heavy fire extinguisher.

  “Fire trucks are on the way, and so is an ambulance,” said the dean. The coach was already dousing the fire.

  The dean leaned down to Randy. “How do you feel?”

  “I feel all right,” Randy insisted. “I’m all right,” he repeated, smiling weakly, “thanks to this girl’s quick thinking.”

  Dean Jarvis smiled
as he recognized Nancy. “If it isn’t Nancy Drew. I should have known that Emerson’s favorite private detective was responsible for saving the day.” He gave her an appreciative smile. “Thanks for helping us out—again.”

  “It’s the least I could do,” Nancy told him. She was going to thank him for arranging the suite for her and Bess, but the husky dean was already rushing off to greet the fire fighters who were arriving.

  Nancy became suddenly aware of the groups of students who were clustered around the parking lot, talking anxiously. She’d been so intent on helping Randy that she’d forgotten all about them. A handful of fire fighters were keeping everyone back from the cordoned-off area, while others used a hose to douse the flames.

  “Please move on to the gymnasium for the victory party,” Dean Jarvis’s amplified voice boomed out. He was speaking through a bullhorn that he’d apparently borrowed from the fire chief.

  As the students were dispersing, an ambulance arrived. Nancy, Bess, and Ned lingered nearby while Randy was checked out. Although the hair on his hands was singed, he had managed to escape without injury.

  “You were lucky, kid,” Nancy heard one of the medics tell Randy.

  “That’s for sure,” Nancy whispered to her friends. “That platform burst into flame so suddenly, you’d think it was—”

  Her words were cut off as Kristin Seidel pushed past her and Ned to make her way over to Randy. Nancy noticed that Kristin had tears in her eyes.

  “I’m so sorry!” Kristin said in a trembling voice. “I’ve done that routine dozens of times, and I’ve never had any problem.”

  Although Randy was still shook up, he tried to reassure Kristin. “Hey, I’m okay. Don’t worry about it.”

  Her mind racing, Nancy turned from Kristin to the fire fighters, who were searching through the embers of the platform. In all the excitement she hadn’t had time to really consider what had happened. But now that she did, something seemed odd to her.

  “It doesn’t seem normal for wood to burn so quickly,” she murmured to Ned. “I’m going to ask.” Leaving her friends, she went over to a fire fighter who was poking at a piece of charred wood with a rake.

  “Excuse me,” she said, “but isn’t it unusual for a wooden platform this large to burn in a matter of minutes?”

  The man didn’t answer right away. “It’s hard to say. Depends on what type of wood it was, whether it was dry—things like that.”

  “But what about—” Nancy broke off as something shiny in the embers caught her eye. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing at the object.

  The fire fighter leaned forward and prodded it with the tip of the rake. “It’s made of glass.” He rolled the object toward him, then picked it up with a gloved hand. “A glass jar,” he said thoughtfully, turning it over. “The chief should see this.”

  He went over to the medical van, where a uniformed fire official stood talking with Dean Jarvis. Curious, Nancy followed him.

  “Chief, we found this jar in the embers of the fire,” the fire fighter said.

  “That—that’s mine!” cried a distressed voice from behind them. Nancy turned as Kristin left Randy’s side and rushed over to the fire fighter holding the jar. “At least, I think it is. It looks like the jar I keep kerosene in to soak the ends of my baton.”

  “Did you leave this jar near the stage, young lady?” the chief asked Kristin.

  “No!” She shook her head adamantly. “Of course not. I left it over in the bushes near the gym. I had to have it close, but I didn’t want to bring it too close to the crowd, especially with the bonfire and all.”

  The chief frowned. “Are you sure you didn’t leave it near the platform?”

  “Positive,” Kristin told him.

  “Could’ve been that some idiot moved it,” the fire chief suggested after a short silence. “But it’s more likely that it rolled over here.”

  “Or someone could have moved the jar accidentally,” Nancy said slowly. Still, she couldn’t rid herself of a niggling doubt that lingered in her mind.

  Shaking her head, she picked up her leather jacket and returned to Ned and Bess.

  “There’s nothing more to do here,” Ned told her, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s head over to the victory party.”

  As they walked to the gym, Nancy told Ned and Bess about the fire chiefs ruling on the fire. “They think it was an accident,” Nancy explained, “but I’m not satisfied with their conclusion. I’m not blaming Kristin, but how did that kerosene get so near the platform?” She shook herself, adding, “On the other hand, it doesn’t make sense that someone would try to start a fire on purpose.”

  “I can see that Detective Drew is onto another case,” Bess teased.

  “Over my dead body,” Ned insisted as he pulled open the gymnasium door. “You have strict orders to kick back and only have fun this weekend.”

  “Well, there’s a mystery I’d like solved,” said Bess, a teasing glint in her eyes. “Rumor has it that a twenty-foot hero is being served—and I want to find it before it’s all eaten!”

  The gym was already crowded when they entered. A sound system had been set up, and some students were dancing while others dug into the food that was set up against one wall. A cluster of orange-shirted football players was beside the food tables. One of the guys in the group happened to turn as Ned, Nancy, and Bess walked up.

  “Bess! Is that you?” he asked.

  “Jerry!” Bess rushed over to give him a quick hug. “It’s great to see you. You guys looked terrific at the rally. Are you psyched for Sunday’s game?” she asked in an excited rush.

  “Hey, McEntee,” Ned said in greeting. Nancy smiled and said, “Hi, Jerry. We’re coming over to check out the food. How is it?”

  “Great,” he said, grinning.

  The four of them dug into the giant sandwich, then climbed up to an empty row of bleachers to sit and eat.

  “This is sensational,” Bess commented, taking a bite of her sandwich.

  Just then Nancy noticed a good-looking guy striding by. He had slicked-back blond hair and a muscular build.

  “McEntee!” the guy called, noticing Jerry in the stands. “What’s happening?” He climbed nimbly onto the bleachers to shake Jerry’s hand.

  Jerry introduced Nancy and Bess. “This is Josh Mitchell, our first-string quarterback.” He nudged Josh on the shoulder. “At least he was—and will be again, as soon as he gets his grades up.”

  “Tell me about it,” Josh said, obviously embarrassed. “I wish I could be on the field with you guys on Sunday.”

  “Me, too,” Jerry agreed. He turned to Bess to explain. “The Russell Pirates are our biggest rivals, so Sunday’s really important for us. Also, if we win, we might have a shot at the state championship.”

  “After that fire tonight, it’s lucky that Emerson still has a team,” Nancy put in.

  Josh nodded. “That was scary. If Randy got hurt, we wouldn’t have a chance of winning.”

  “The important thing is for you to hit the books, man,” Jerry reminded Josh, clapping him on the back.

  “I know,” said Josh. “I’m working on it. Can you believe I’ve got two papers due on Monday, right after homecoming? But I’ll get them in. There’s no way I’m going to stay on academic probation for the whole season.”

  The conversation returned to football. As Josh explained some of the team’s new plays, Nancy became a little bored and began to scan the gym. An orange-and-purple football jacket caught her eye because it was moving straight toward her. She saw that it was Randy. He had changed into clean jeans and a sweatshirt under the jacket.

  Nancy did a double take as he moved closer and she could see his face clearly. His eyes were red and his movements stiff and guarded. Nancy wondered if he was still in shock. His eyes were wide in recognition now, and he continued to head in her direction.

  “Hey, Randy!” Jerry called as his friend approached.

  “How are you?” asked Josh.

  �
€œFine,” he replied curtly. The look in Randy’s brown eyes darkened as he turned his attention back to Nancy. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  “Sure,” Nancy said. Handing her now-empty plate to Bess, she followed Randy down the bleachers to an uncrowded corner of the gym.

  Randy leaned against the wall and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I feel sort of strange telling you this,” he began. “I mean, you are a total stranger, but I heard Dean Jarvis say that you’re a detective.”

  Nancy nodded. “That’s right.” Randy’s face was ghostly pale, she noticed, and he couldn’t control the shaking of his hands as he rubbed his eyes. “Randy, what’s wrong? How can I help?”

  Randy shoved one hand into a front pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small square of white paper. “I found this note just now when I went back to the dorm to change. Someone had slipped it under the door of my room.”

  Curious, Nancy took the square of paper from his hand and carefully unfolded it. She was shocked when she read the message that was typed on it.

  WE’RE READY TO PLAY KILL THE QUARTERBACK.

  LOSE THE HOMECOMING GAME—OR ELSE!

  Chapter Four

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE I’m being threatened,” Randy said, his eyes darting nervously around the gymnasium.

  “No wonder you’re upset,” Nancy said sympathetically.

  Randy let out a sigh and raked a hand through his dark hair. “This isn’t the first threat I’ve received, either. Someone’s been calling me, late at night, telling me to make sure that Emerson loses the homecoming game—just as it says in the note.”

  “Phone calls?” Nancy repeated. A single note could have been a prank, but this was a pattern of threats, and that disturbed her. “What did the caller sound like? Did you recognize the voice at all?”

  Randy shook his head. “No. It’s just a hoarse, muffled whisper. I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman. The person always phones after midnight, and the message is always the same—lose Sunday’s game.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “That note’s the first written threat—and it’s also the first time anyone’s mentioned killing me.” Randy looked afraid, and Nancy’s heart went out to him. “But I’ve been getting the calls every night for the past week—ever since I was made first-string quarterback.”