Hot Tracks by Carolyn Keene Page B

the better.
    When she’d finished talking, Dirk said, “That still doesn’t explain who sabotaged my car.”
    â€œI think someone did it both as a warning and a distraction,” Nancy explained. “That way he or she could hunt for Kitty unnoticed while we were taking care of you.”
    â€œThat makes sense,” Bess agreed. Her next words were swallowed by a huge yawn.
    â€œYou girls must be bushed,” Jake said. “I’ll take over from here.”
    Bess reached over and squeezed Dirk’s hand. “I’ll call your house in the morning,” she told him.
    â€œâ€Šâ€™Bye,” Nancy said, waving as she and Bess left.
    When they reached the lobby, Nancy headed straight for a phone booth. She dialedDetective Quinones’s home number, but there wasn’t an answer.
    â€œThat’s odd,” she said when she hung up. “He’s not there, and the dispatcher said he wasn’t at the station, either.”
    â€œWell, he does have a life,” Bess commented. “Maybe he and his family went to the movies.”
    Nancy reached into her purse for more change. “I’ll call the station again and leave another message.” This time she told the dispatcher to have Detective Quinones call her at home.
    â€œCome on,” Bess said as Nancy hung up. “Let’s go home.”
    They walked out into the chilly night. “You can drive,” Bess told Nancy, stepping around to the passenger side of the rental car. “After watching Dirk crash, I’m not too eager to get behind the wheel.”
    â€œI don’t blame you,” said Nancy. Getting in on the driver’s side, she started the car and drove from the hospital parking lot.
    â€œThat’s weird,” Nancy murmured as they passed a dark blue sedan parked on the street. “That car looks like the one I saw Detective Hawkins driving the other day—you know, after we made our report at the police station. The car even has a dent in the right front fender.”
    â€œHuh? Which car?” Bess asked, turning her head. “It’s probably just a coincidence.”
    Just then Nancy saw the car move like a darkshadow from its parking space. She slowed in time to see it flick its lights on. When she turned right, the car followed, but at a safe distance.
    Instinct told Nancy it was no coincidence. B. D. Hawkins was tailing them. “We’re being followed,” she told Bess.
    Bess swung around in her seat. “You mean Detective Hawkins? Why would he follow us?”
    Nancy told Bess about Kitty’s reaction to seeing Powderly and Hawkins at the trailer.
    Bess’s mouth fell open. “You mean, he’s the bad cop?” she asked. “I should have known. He’s always been so unwilling to help us.”
    â€œWe don’t know for sure that Hawkins is the bad cop. But if he is, maybe he thinks we know where Kitty is,” Nancy said, thinking out loud. “Or maybe he’s afraid we might know too much.”
    â€œW-what should we do?” Bess asked, her voice trembling.
    Nancy knit her brow in concentration. “We could just drive home and lay low,” she said. “On the other hand, maybe we can outfox Hawkins and find out for sure if he is the crooked cop.”
    She turned to grin at Bess. “I think I’ve got an idea that might just work. We’ll stop for burgers, and after that we’re going to lose him. I’m going to pick up my car at the garage. The owner said it’s ready to go. Then I’ll follow him.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Bess asked, as if Nancy had lost her mind.
    Nancy laughed. “Trust me.”
    A few minutes later Nancy pulled into the lot of a fast-food restaurant, and the girls ordered from the drive-through window. While they waited, Nancy checked around for Hawkins. There he was. He’d pulled into a vacant spot.
    When the food came, Nancy drove