063 Mixed Signals by Carolyn Keene Page B

night’s rest. But as it turned out, I was home merely to receive a few more threatening phone calls. Finally I just took my phone off the hook.”
    “Sounds like our creep had a busy night,” Ned commented. “Nancy was chased by some guy wearing the team mascot’s costume.”
    “The wildcat?” Randy asked in disbelief.
    “A deadly cat,” Jerry added. “This one carried a blade.”
    “What!” Randy exclaimed. Then he shook his head in disgust. “Unbelievable. I’m sorry that you got dragged into this whole thing.”
    Nancy shrugged. “It’s part of being a detective. Call it an occupational hazard.”
    “Well, I’m still not giving up,” Randy vowed. “That creep kept calling last night, but I just kept telling him no dice. I’m not going to throw this game. I’m going to do my absolute best to win today’s game for Emerson.”
    “And we’ll be right behind you,” Jerry added. “All the guys on the team want to win this one. You can count on us to give it our best shot.”
    “Thanks, buddy.” Randy stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll catch you guys later.” He gave them a thumbs-up sign. “Wildcats all the way!”
    “Good luck!” Nancy watched as he walked away. She was about to turn back to her breakfast when something struck her. Quickly glancing back at Randy, her eyes traveled from his jacket, to his jeans, and down to his sneakers.
    Purple high-top sneakers! Just like the shoes worn by the knife-wielding mascot!
     

Chapter Fifteen
    “ O H, NO !” Nancy gasped as a horrible idea occurred to her. Could Randy have been the one to attack her?
    “Nancy, what’s wrong?” asked Bess. “You look as if you’d just seen a ghost.”
    Nancy blinked and turned back to her friends. “Not a ghost, a pair of sneakers. Randy was wearing purple high-top sneakers.”
    “Oh, yeah. I’ve got them, too,” Jerry volunteered, slinging one foot out from under the table.
    Nancy stared in disbelief. “You, too?”
    “Everyone on the team has a pair of these babies. A local sportswear shop had them specially made for the football players. I know they’re kind of weird, but they gave us purple because of our school colors.”
    “The mascot who attacked me was wearing purple sneakers,” Nancy explained. “That’s how I knew it was a guy, because his feet were so big.”
    “You’re kidding!” Bess gasped.
    Jerry frowned. “That sort of narrows down your list of suspects, doesn’t it?”
    “I’m afraid it does,” Nancy agreed. “Now I’m convinced that one of the guys on the team is behind this mess.”
    A heavy silence fell over the table. Finally Jerry broke it.
    “It makes me sick to think someone on the team would do all this stuff. But if it’s true, he has to be rooted out and punished.”
    “We’ll find him,” Nancy assured him, “even though it means investigating twenty or so guys in just a few hours.”
    “Whoa! I hope you’re not counting me,” Jerry said, alarmed.
    Bess giggled. “You’ve got a good alibi. You were with me when Nancy was attacked by that mascot!”
    With a smile, Nancy said, “It’s the other players I need to zero in on—especially Josh.”
    “But Josh was attacked, too,” Ned pointed out.
    “True, but that whole incident was suspicious.” Nancy told the others her theory that Josh might have staged the attack at the library to direct suspicion away from himself.
    “Sounds awfully extreme,” Jerry commented.
    Nancy nodded. “I’ve been bothered by that, too. I can’t help but think our culprit must have some bigger motive than just jealousy or a vendetta against Randy. Whoever’s responsible is risking going to jail for attempted murder. That’s a pretty high price to pay just to get back at Emerson, or at Randy.”
    “I see what you mean,” Ned said thoughtfully.
    “But we still need evidence and motive that Josh is our man,” Nancy said, leaning forward in her chair. “Dean Jarvis is looking into his