Hotline to Danger by Carolyn Keene Page B

her.
    When they got upstairs, Kyle was sitting on the edge of Bess’s desk, talking to her. From the expression on his face, Nancy could tell they’d been discussing something important.
    â€œHi, Kyle,” Nancy said. “You didn’t happen to see anyone dash out of the teen center when you came in, did you?”
    â€œNo, why?” Kyle asked.
    Nancy and Tony told Bess, George, and Kyle all that had happened.
    â€œWhew.” Kyle rubbed his chin. “You guys do have exciting nights. Bess was telling me all about the guy in the leather jacket at the trashcans.” He looked pointedly at Bess. “At least that’s why she said she forgot to call me.”
    Nancy looked over at her friend, who had flushed pink. Then Nancy laughed. “Yeah, that’s why she didn’t call you. She was too busy driving the getaway car.”
    Kyle stood up and reached for Bess’s hand. “Well, let’s see if we can fit in a romantic late dinner before I take you home. After all, we only have a few more days together. Let’s make the most of them.”
    â€œSounds great.” Bess grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. She pulled her keys from her purse and tossed them to Nancy. “Just leave my car in your drive, Nan. And call me in the morning to let me know what happened.”
    When the two left, George turned her attention to Nancy. “So who do you think bugged the phone?”
    â€œSomeone who knows his or her way around the center,” Nancy replied, suppressing a yawn. “Listen, guys, it’s late. I’ll have to call B.D. from home and tell him what happened. First the attacker, then the envelope, and now the phone bug—this case is getting more complicated every minute!”
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    An hour later Nancy was sprawled on her bed, studying the page from the account ledger. She’d showered and changed into her nightgown, butstill she couldn’t sleep. There were too many unanswered questions.
    What was Paul trying to tell the police with the page from the ledger? she wondered. Nancy scanned the sheet, looking for answers. Most of the entries in the columns were abbreviated. There was no heading saying where the page had come from, and although the entries were dated for December and January, there wasn’t a year. For all she knew, it was an assignment from one of Paul’s business courses.
    Setting down the page, Nancy glanced at her bedside phone. She wished B.D. would call. She’d left a message for him a half hour ago.
    With a frustrated sigh, Nancy picked up the check for one thousand dollars. It had to be a donation to the teen center, she decided. Had Paul been stealing checks? And if so, why had he told Rachel to give this one to the police?
    Suddenly it hit Nancy. What if Paul had a partner, and the two of them had been embezzling money from the center? Only something went wrong—the partner got greedy or Paul decided to quit the scam—so the partner decided to kill him. That’s why Paul had given Rachel the check. If he was killed, it might tip off the police about the identity of his murderer.
    The partner would have to be someone who was streetwise enough to know how to sneak into the center and bug a phone.
    Someone like Kip DiFranco.
    Nancy’s mind buzzed excitedly. It all made sense. If Kip and Paul’s partnership had gone sour, maybe that was one reason Paul ratted on Kip about the burglary. If so, Kip would have had two reasons to murder Paul.
    Nancy glanced at the phone again. “Hurry and call, B.D.,” she whispered aloud.
    Then another question hit her. If Kip was the murderer, how did the page from the account ledger fit in?
    Nancy held the sheet up to the light. Maybe it did bear a message in invisible ink, as Bess had suggested. She turned it over. In the left-hand corner, she saw numbers written lightly in pencil.
    Sitting up, she pulled out the drawer of her