The Suspect Next Door Read online

  “If he was in trouble, you’d want to help him, wouldn’t you?” Nancy was leaning across the table, her eyes fixed on Dan’s mother.

  “What are you talking about? There’s no trouble, Nancy!” his mother told her. She sat up straighter in her chair. “The only problem Danny ever had was that girl Nikki. She had him so confused he didn’t know what he was doing. Then she dumped him, just out of cruelty. I’m so glad he’s met somebody else.” Mrs. Taylor gave Nancy a sad smile.

  Nancy finished her apple juice and sighed. Dan’s mother already had made up her mind, and a few hard truths about Dan weren’t going to change anything. There was no way she’d be able to give Nancy any honest information.

  “Will Dan be home soon?” Nancy asked. Her last hope was to have a long talk with Dan. She didn’t believe he was bad, deep down, but he certainly was in some kind of trouble.

  “He said something about going to a party at Jeremy Pratt’s house tonight,” Mrs. Taylor told Nancy. “He and that Pratt boy are best friends, you know.”

  Nancy froze solid. Jeremy Pratt’s? Nikki was going to be at Jeremy’s party. She was probably there right now!

  Nancy stood up and grabbed her purse. “Thanks for reminding me. I was supposed to meet Dan there. Do you have a phone book? I must have left the address in my other bag.”

  “Oh, certainly, dear,” Mrs. Taylor said, hurrying to get a phone book from under a pile of clipped coupons on the kitchen counter.

  “Patton—Peters—here! Pratt! Riverview Drive,” Nancy murmured. “Well, sorry I have to run. It was very nice meeting you!”

  Nancy bounded out of the kitchen and made for the front door.

  As she left she heard Dan’s mother talking to her husband. “Look at her run,” she was saying. “That girl’s in love with our Danny, no doubt about it. And she seems very nice, too.”

  With a wince, Nancy shut the car door and started her engine. She pulled the Mustang out onto the street and blazed away from the Taylors’. Gripping the wheel, she drove across town, as fast as she could, to an area close to her own house.

  The sooner she got there, the better. Dan was in trouble and desperate to hold on to Nikki. Nikki Masters was confused and upset. If those two were in the same place at the same time, there was no telling what might happen!

  Chapter

  Ten

  WHEN NANCY PULLED INTO the Pratts’ long circular driveway, there were dozens of cars already parked there. One of them was Dan’s old blue bomber. It looked out of place in the row of expensive cars that the rest of Jeremy’s crowd owned.

  Nancy checked her digital watch—9:33. She hoped Ned was watching the store and hadn’t given up on her. Well, it wasn’t the first time a case had kept them apart. Nancy knew that Ned would understand. The party was in full swing, judging by the music and the sounds of laughter.

  “Hi,” Nancy said to a group of kids hanging out on the steps in front of the huge double mahogany door. They were mostly younger than Nancy, and she didn’t recognize any of them. “Is Jeremy around?” she asked them, figuring she should introduce herself to the host first.

  “Sure. You a new girlfriend of his?” one of the guys asked, eyeing her appreciatively. Nancy barely suppressed a giggle. Despite his attempt to look older, the guy had to be all of fifteen.

  “No, I’ve never even met him,” she admitted. “I’d like to, though. Is he around?”

  “He said he had to go to the store to get some more soda,” a girl with long blond hair explained. “He just left five minutes ago.”

  “Oh.” Nancy bit her lip. She didn’t really want to crash the party without first meeting Jeremy. “I feel a little funny about just walking in,” she said, hesitating on the steps.

  “Ah, don’t worry about it,” the fifteen-year-old Romeo told her. “If he got a look at you, he’d invite you for sure. Go on in. And, hey, save a dance for me later, okay? Name’s Jay.”

  “Sure thing, Jay.” Nancy winked and went inside.

  Jeremy Pratt sure knew how to throw a party. The house was packed solid with people. There had to be a hundred kids—at least. Nancy wondered why he’d gone out—there was lots to drink and eat. Strange. Maybe he just wanted to be prepared in case the party went on all night. From the look of things, Nancy thought, it just might.

  Nancy looked around at the crowd. There wasn’t a soul she knew. There was no sign of Dan or Nikki, either. She wondered if they were together.

  Over in the corner sat two girls, talking in serious and hushed tones. One was a pretty and ethereal redhead, with her hair done in a single braid. She had a dusting of freckles across her nose, visible even in the half-light. Her friend was also pretty, with blunt-cut dark hair and huge dark eyes.

  On a hunch she went over to them. “Excuse me,” she said, crouching down beside them. “My name’s Nancy Drew. I’m looking for Nikki Masters. She’s a friend of mine. Have you seen her?”

  The two girls looked at each other, then at Nancy. Then the dark-haired one said, “Nikki told us about you, Nancy. I’m Robin Fisher, and this is Lacey Dupree. We’re Nikki’s friends.”

  “Have you seen Nikki?” she repeated. “I spotted Dan Taylor’s car outside, and I’m worried.”

  “You’re not half as worried as we are,” Robin broke in anxiously. “Right, Lacey?”

  “Right,” the other girl agreed. “She told us she could handle it, but we’re not so sure.”

  “Handle what? I don’t understand.” Nancy looked from one of them to the other. Was something going on between Nikki and Dan right this very minute?

  “He wanted to talk to her in private. They’re out back, on the patio,” Robin explained. “Alone. They’re having another ‘last conversation.’ I swear, that Dan is the most persistent person in the entire universe.”

  “And creepy, too,” Lacey shuddered. “But Nikki has a soft spot for him. I think she just feels sorry for him. Still, I think we should get her. They’ve been out there a long time.”

  “Give them a little more time,” Robin said, overruling her. “Maybe she’s letting him down easy—I hope.”

  Nancy checked her watch. 9:55. “Okay.” She nodded. “At ten, we go out and get her. I have a few things I want to talk to Dan about, too.”

  “If you want my opinion,” Robin said, cocking her pretty head to one side, “he’s got a lot of nerve just showing up here. Jeremy can’t stand him, and Dan knows it. It’s a good thing Jeremy was out when Dan got here or there would have been real trouble.”

  “Okay, let’s go get her,” Lacey said, getting up after a few minutes. “I think Dan’s had more than enough time alone with Nikki.”

  Nancy followed Robin and Lacey to the beveled-glass French doors that led outside. The three of them stepped out onto a large slate terrace overhung by an awning and lighted by lanterns. A set of slate steps led down to the backyard. A grove of maple trees offered shade from the moonlight.

  The girls looked around for Nikki and Dan, but the terrace seemed deserted. They split up and strolled to opposite ends of the terrace and then out into the garden.

  “They’ve gone,” Robin announced when the three met back at the terrace steps.

  “I know,” Nancy agreed, a worried look clouding her pretty face.

  Suddenly a strident voice came from right behind them. “Looking for the loving couple?”

  Nancy spun around and saw a stunning girl with dark features and a sly smile that seemed to say, “I have a secret.”

  “Brittany!” Lacey cried. “You nearly scared us to death!”

  “You scare easily, don’t you?” Brittany said.

  “You were out here, spying on their whole conversation, weren’t you?” Robin demanded hotly.

  “I was minding my own business, as usual,” Brittany protested. “Which is more than I can say for you.”

  “Never mind that, Brittany Tate, tell us where Nikki is!” Robin looked as though she were about to kill the girl.

  “Oh, wouldn’t yo
u love to know,” Brittany purred. Then she snickered softly.

  Nancy stepped up to her. She looked Brittany right in the eye, throwing her off balance. “Yes, Brittany, we do want to know. And I want you to tell us right now. If you don’t, I’ll personally hold you responsible for any trouble.”

  Brittany’s jaw dropped open. “You’re Nancy Drew, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, now where’s Nikki?” Nancy demanded.

  Brittany frowned and puckered her lips. “Okay, okay,” she said, backing down. “She went with Dan for a ride in his car. I heard him begging her to go, and she said yes.”

  “When?” Robin asked breathlessly.

  “Oh,” Brittany drawled, “just a few minutes ago. Hey, where are you going?”

  Nancy, Robin, and Lacey were already halfway around the house on their way to the circular driveway.

  “Too late,” Nancy groaned when they got there. Dan’s car was already gone. “Oh brother,” she said under her breath. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit.”

  Dejected, the three girls headed back to the Pratts’ front door.

  “Where could they have gone?” Nancy asked Robin and Lacey as they stood on the steps. “Do they have a special place where they used to go?”

  “Not that I know of,” Robin answered.

  “Sometimes they went to the mall, but it’s closed by now,” added Lacey.

  Jay was standing alone in the doorway as a light rain began to fall. “Hi, beautiful, it’s me again,” he said to Nancy with a smile. “Ready for that dance now?”

  “Jay,” Nancy said, “did you see Nikki Masters leave with Dan Taylor?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Jay nodded, making a face. “How she can go out with him when I’m available is more than I can figure out.”

  “Jay, this is serious,” Nancy told him, facing him squarely. “Did Nikki say anything to you, or anybody, before she left?”

  Jay thought about it, and then began his answer with a shrug. “Well, only that she’d be back in a little while.”

  “She didn’t say where they were going?”

  “Nope.”

  Nancy drew in a long breath. Her heart was pounding like crazy, but she knew that getting in her car and searching the streets for Dan and Nikki was foolish. There was no way she could find them without a lead. Besides, she didn’t want to risk missing them when—and if—Nikki got back to the party.

  “Well,” Nancy told Robin and Lacey, “we can only hope she knows what she’s doing.”

  “If she knew what she was doing, then why did she do it?” Lacey asked.

  “Yeah,” Robin agreed. “Why?”

  Nancy thought for a moment. “Nikki’s not stupid,” she concluded. “If Dan seemed dangerous, she wouldn’t have gone with him.”

  “Sure,” Robin said. “But people who are dangerous don’t always seem to be, right?”

  “Right,” Nancy agreed with a shudder. “Well, there’s nothing we can do now but wait. Let’s go back inside.”

  It rained for the next half hour. When Jeremy Pratt came in, he was soaking wet and carrying two huge bags of soda cans. The bags broke the minute he stepped inside the house. Nancy watched as his friends picked up, laughing hysterically the whole time. Jeremy was laughing, too, until Brittany told him Dan Taylor had been at his party.

  “What?” Jeremy exploded. “That freak! What a turkey! If that lowlife dares to set foot in my house again, I’m personally going to give him a lesson in manners he’ll never forget!”

  A crowd had gathered round, enjoying Jeremy’s high-humored fury. Jeremy played to the crowd like a born comic.

  “Tell me honestly, would anybody at this party ever miss Dan Taylor if, say, he suddenly disappeared? I know I wouldn’t!”

  Nancy watched it all, detached. “Is Jeremy always like this?” she whispered in Lacey’s ear.

  “Only when he’s angry,” Lacey told her. “He gets kind of vicious.”

  “I’d sure hate to have him mad at me,” Nancy remarked.

  Nancy looked at her watch a little while later. 11:00. Nikki had been gone over an hour. Nancy was wondering where Nikki could be when a commotion broke out at the front door.

  “It’s Nikki!” Nancy heard a girl say.

  “Excuse me,” Nancy said quickly and edged her way over to the door. Then she stopped in her tracks.

  Nikki Masters stood there, her hands and face covered with scratches, her shoes muddy, and her clothes soaked and torn. There was a huge rip in the sleeve of her blouse.

  “Nikki!” Lacey gasped, running to her. “What in the world happened to you?”

  With a wild expression on her delicate face, Nikki turned toward her friend and reached out for support. Then all the blood left her face, and she sank to the floor, lifeless.

  Chapter

  Eleven

  EVERYBODY STAND BACK! Give her some air.” Nancy quickly and firmly took command of the situation. When the chaos died down, Nancy, together with Robin and Lacey, set about reviving Nikki.

  After a few moments and a splash of cold water, which Nancy had asked for, Nikki came to and let herself be propped up.

  The room was dead silent. Nikki looked around fearfully, then turned to her friends. She buried her head in her hands, and soon great big heaving sobs were coming out of her in waves. Nancy knelt behind her, holding her, while Lacey and Robin crouched by her shoulders.

  “Come on, let’s get you someplace private,” Nancy told her. She turned to the crowd. “The rest of you might as well get back to the party.”

  Robin and Lacey lifted Nikki up and helped her walk into a study off the main living room. Nancy closed the door so they could have some privacy.

  Nikki sat down on the sofa. She was just starting to get her breath back and become calm enough to speak.

  “Oh, Nikki,” Robin moaned, touching her friend’s hair lightly. “Are you hurt?”

  “No, not really,” Nikki answered weakly.

  “Are you sure?” Lacey demanded. There was fire in her eyes, and her lips were pressed together.

  Nikki shook her head. “Honestly, I’m okay. It’s just, oh, it was so horrible.” Nikki burst out in sobs again.

  Nancy knelt in front of her and put a comforting hand on her arm. “Nikki,” she said softly. “You’ve got to tell us what happened. From the beginning.”

  “Okay,” said Nikki with a nod and brushed away her tears. “Well, Dan showed up here at the party, you know that. I was in total shock when I saw him.”

  “Me, too!” Lacey exclaimed. “What nerve he’s got!”

  “Shhh!” Robin said. “Let Nikki tell us what happened.”

  “Well, he said he wanted to talk to me, and what could I say? Everyone was staring at us. I think most of them were hoping I’d throw a fit and humiliate him in public, but I would never do that to Dan. Even if he’s not my boyfriend, I still care about him.”

  Nikki was trembling. Nancy quickly took off her sweater and threw it over her friend’s shoulders. “Then what happened?” she asked gently.

  “Well, we went out into the backyard, and it was okay. Really. He was much more reasonable than I’d seen him in a long time. He said he realized he was acting pretty crazed lately, and he was sorry for upsetting me and all.”

  “Then what happened?” Lacey prodded.

  Nikki smiled weakly at her friend. “Then I told him again that it was definitely over. That we could be friends, from a distance, but that it could never be the way it had been.”

  “He must have hated hearing that,” Robin murmured.

  “Well, he didn’t argue,” Nikki replied. “He just nodded, and I thought maybe this time I’d really gotten through to him. I thought maybe everything was going to be all right.”

  “Where were you at this point?” Nancy asked. “Were you still here at the party?”

  “Yes,” Nikki answered. “We were out back under a big tree, in the dark. Dan was sort of staring out into the darkness. He didn’t say m
uch. Then, all of a sudden, he asked me to go for a ride with him. To talk some more, he said.”

  “And you agreed?” Lacey asked, a shocked expression on her face.

  “Yes, I did,” Nikki said, pausing for a moment. “Could I have a glass of water?” she asked. “My throat feels kind of dry.”

  “I’ll get it.” Robin leapt up and went to the door. When she opened it, Nancy could see a bunch of kids huddled around it, whispering furiously. The whispering stopped the second Robin looked outside. “Somebody bring a glass of water,” she announced.

  “And a wet washcloth, too,” Nancy called out.

  Robin closed the door and came back to the sofa. “Why can’t people mind their own stupid business,” she groaned.

  “Yeah, it didn’t take them long, did it?” Lacey said with a scowl. “Between Brittany and Jeremy, they could put out a real gossip rag. Oh. Sorry, Nikki.” Lacey suddenly realized the effect her words must have had on her friend.

  Nikki’s face was a mask of fear. “Oh, no,” she gasped. “They’ll take me apart, won’t they? Everybody is going to be talking about me now.” Her red-rimmed eyes grew sad and distant.

  The door opened, and Jay handed the water and washcloth to Robin. The crowd was still out there, still whispering.

  “Go on with the story, Nikki,” Nancy instructed her. “You were saying he asked you to go for a drive—”

  Nikki coughed, took a long drink, and then went on. “I asked him why he wanted to go for a ride, and he kept saying there was something he had to do. He wouldn’t say what. I figured he had an errand to run or something. But he was acting awfully nervous again.”

  “You must have been getting scared by now,” Lacey said, her eyes wide.

  “Not until he pulled off the road into the woods,” Nikki said.

  “Where were you by now?” Nancy asked.

  Nikki shook her head. “I wasn’t really watching the road, but I think we were near the country club. Dan turned off the car, and I wondered what I’d done, you know?” Nikki took a deep breath. “Then he took out that envelope again,” she said, staring at the far wall.