the better.
When sheâd finished talking, Dirk said, âThat still doesnât explain who sabotaged my car.â
âI think someone did it both as a warning and a distraction,â Nancy explained. âThat way he or she could hunt for Kitty unnoticed while we were taking care of you.â
âThat makes sense,â Bess agreed. Her next words were swallowed by a huge yawn.
âYou girls must be bushed,â Jake said. âIâll take over from here.â
Bess reached over and squeezed Dirkâs hand. âIâll call your house in the morning,â she told him.
âââBye,â Nancy said, waving as she and Bess left.
When they reached the lobby, Nancy headed straight for a phone booth. She dialedDetective Quinonesâs home number, but there wasnât an answer.
âThatâs odd,â she said when she hung up. âHeâs not there, and the dispatcher said he wasnât at the station, either.â
âWell, he does have a life,â Bess commented. âMaybe he and his family went to the movies.â
Nancy reached into her purse for more change. âIâll call the station again and leave another message.â This time she told the dispatcher to have Detective Quinones call her at home.
âCome on,â Bess said as Nancy hung up. âLetâs go home.â
They walked out into the chilly night. âYou can drive,â Bess told Nancy, stepping around to the passenger side of the rental car. âAfter watching Dirk crash, Iâm not too eager to get behind the wheel.â
âI donât blame you,â said Nancy. Getting in on the driverâs side, she started the car and drove from the hospital parking lot.
âThatâs weird,â Nancy murmured as they passed a dark blue sedan parked on the street. âThat car looks like the one I saw Detective Hawkins driving the other dayâyou know, after we made our report at the police station. The car even has a dent in the right front fender.â
âHuh? Which car?â Bess asked, turning her head. âItâs probably just a coincidence.â
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. âWeâre being followed,â she told Bess.
Bess swung around in her seat. âYou mean Detective Hawkins? Why would he follow us?â
Nancy told Bess about Kittyâs reaction to seeing Powderly and Hawkins at the trailer.
Bessâs mouth fell open. âYou mean, heâs the bad cop?â she asked. âI should have known. Heâs always been so unwilling to help us.â
âWe donât know for sure that Hawkins is the bad cop. But if he is, maybe he thinks we know where Kitty is,â Nancy said, thinking out loud. âOr maybe heâs afraid we might know too much.â
âW-what should we do?â Bess asked, her voice trembling.
Nancy knit her brow in concentration. âWe could just drive home and lay low,â she said. âOn the other hand, maybe we can outfox Hawkins and find out for sure if he is the crooked cop.â
She turned to grin at Bess. âI think Iâve got an idea that might just work. Weâll stop for burgers, and after that weâre going to lose him. Iâm going to pick up my car at the garage. The owner said itâs ready to go. Then Iâll follow him.â
âWhat are you talking about?â Bess asked, as if Nancy had lost her mind.
Nancy laughed. âTrust me.â
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. Heâd pulled into a vacant spot.
When the food came, Nancy drove
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