Gold Medal Murder by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

wound to slow me down.”
    â€œHa! We’ll be cheering for you in the stands.”
    â€œThanks.” The smile slipped from Lexi’s face for a second. “Thanks for everything, Nancy. I think I’d be a total mess if I didn’t know you were out there, watching my back.”
    I squeezed her shoulder. “Get back out there and do what you do best. Leave the detecting to me.”
    I walked back over to Bess and George. It felt good to be working on a case for someone I cared so much about.
    â€œExcuse me, miss? Miss?”
    I turned around to find a camera in my face.
    â€œI’m Alex Smothers. I’m with Sportztime—perhaps you’ve watched our shows?”
    I hadn’t, but I’d definitely heard of Sportztime. They were one of those Web start-up companies that had actually managed to challenge television and newspapers. Lots of people went to them for their sports news. And Alex Smothers was the brainchild behind it all, as well as their star reporter.
    â€œI saw you talking to Lexi Adams, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?”
    â€œOf course you can,” Bess had sidled up next to me. She put on a big smile for the camera. George joined her on my other side. “We’re old friends, the three of us. We go all the way back to River Heights Elementary School.”
    â€œOh, great! This is great stuff. I’m doing a documentary piece on Scott Trevor, and as his girlfriend, I’d love to get some more information about Lexi. May I?”
    He pointed to the camera. I hesitated, then nodded. It would probably help our cover to look like a bunch of innocent childhood fans.
    â€œGreat. Rolling in three… two… one… So, tell me your names and how you know Lexi?
    â€œI’m Nancy, Nancy Drew. And we were in Mr. Angstrom’s third-grade class together.”
    â€œGeorge Fayne. I was in the same class.”
    â€œMe too! And my name’s Elizabeth Marvin. But everyone calls me Bess.”
    â€œGreat. So, do you think it’s appropriate for two Olympic athletes to be dating each other? I mean, doesn’t that take something away from the innocent spirit of international competition?”
    What
? I thought. That was certainly a loaded question.
    â€œI think it’s great that two focused, dedicated people with so much in common have been able to find each other,” I replied.
    â€œYeah,” added Bess. “They’re in love. It’s totes cute.”
    â€œGreat, this is great. So if it’s not inappropriate, why do you think they hid it for so long?”
    â€œProbably because they knew that creeps in the media would be all over them if they knew,” George said. She has a knack for saying the things the rest of us just think.
    Alex laughed, a loud, fake bark of a laugh.
    â€œDo you think this will negatively affect their performance in the games? Are they really focused on their performances, or are they too busy being ‘in love’ to take all of this seriously?”
    â€œI think that if they do poorly at the Olympics, it will be because their relationship was a reason for guys like you to harass them constantly!” said Bess angrily.
    â€œYou know what, we actually have to go,” I said. I’d had enough of this guy’s attitude. Why is it that journalists always have to look for a scandal or something wrong?
    â€œWell, thanks for your time, girls. Check out Sportztime tonight. I think I’ll be running some excerpts from this interview tonight. And if you ever have more to say, here’s my card.” He handed us three of his cards. On the front they read ALEX SMOTHERS—PRESIDENT AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, SPORTZTIME.COM—FORMER OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST.
    I slipped one into my pocket. My fingers brushed against the photo I had put in there earlier. I’d forgottento ask Lexi about it. I looked around and saw her packing up her stuff. Bess,