Out of Bounds (12 page)

“Uh-oh,” Nancy said under her breath. “Here it comes.”

In less than a minute Lonnie was out of the restaurant again, followed by Pete, who called to her from the hallway. “Nancy!” he called out. “Come over here!”

Nancy walked bravely up to him. “Yes, Pete?” she said, much cooler than she felt.

“You're fired!” he said, spitting each word out. “Get out of here!”

Nancy didn't ask why, and she didn't argue. Pulling off her Touchdown jersey, she folded it neatly and put it on the countertop.

“Goodbye, Edgar,” she said, giving him a wave of her hand. “It's been nice working with you.” And I'll be seeing you tomorrow at the post
office, she added to herself on her way to the door.

• • •

That night Nancy's phone rang at nine-thirty. “Nancy,” said George excitedly. “That little scene in Touchdown was incredible.”

“You made the switch, didn't you.” It was a statement, not a question. Nancy knew from Lonnie's second visit to Touchdown that George had been successful.

“I sure did,” said George. “Have I ever let you down?”

“Never,” Nancy agreed. “Did you look inside the bag?”

“I wasn't going to, but Bess was curious, so—”

“And?” Nancy asked eagerly.

“We found a packet of pills,” George replied grimly. “Is that what you were looking for?”

“That's what I was looking for,” Nancy confirmed. A rush of pride shot through her. “Good work, George.”

“I don't get it,” said George. “What are they? Drugs or something?”

“They're steroids, George,” Nancy said. “And you know what else they are?”

“What?”

“They're
evidence,
that's what. Evidence that proves Pete Shepard has been illegally handing out drugs to high school football players!”

A
T
11:45
THE NEXT DAY
Nancy was parked on the street across from the Bedford post office, in Hannah Gruen's car.

“Just in case someone recognizes my Mustang,” Nancy had explained to George and Bess, who were waiting with her.

George leaned back in the front seat and finished off the tea she'd picked up at a nearby doughnut shop. “Didn't the note say the money had to be there by noon? Edgar should be here by now,” she said, crushing the cup and putting it back in the bag it had come in.

“Right,” said Nancy, peering farther down the
street through a pair of black binoculars. “So far nothing.”

“What a nightmare,” Bess murmured from the back seat. “Don't those guys know what they're doing to themselves by using steroids?”

“Let me tell you something, Bess,” said George, fluffing up her short dark hair with both hands. “When you're an athlete and you're really good, wanting to be the best can take over. You'll do anything to make yourself stronger or faster.”

“I still can't believe what a jerk Bill turned out to be,” Bess said with a sigh.

“Don't worry,” Nancy said with a smile. “There'll be other guys.”

“You always say that, Nancy,” said Bess.

“And she's always right,” George pointed out.

“Oh, be quiet, both of you. Can't you see I'm devastated?” Despite her words, it wasn't too hard to tell that Bess would have no problem getting over her crush on Bill. “What a waste of talent,” she moaned.

“You can say that again,” George agreed. “When this situation gets blown open, he's bound to be thrown off the team and lose any chance of a college scholarship.”

“I hate to see it happen,” Nancy said, keeping an eye on the post office for Edgar's approach. “They played with fire and they're going to get burned. Hopefully, the guys will be able to put this all behind them. Pete, on the other hand—”

“I don't understand, Nan,” Bess said. “What does he get out of all this? Money?”

Nancy didn't know how much money Pete stood to make by selling steroids, but she didn't think it could be all that much. “I have a feeling there's more to Pete's involvement than that,” she speculated.

“Like what?” George asked.

“Remember, Pete's a players' agent,” Nancy reminded them. “Maybe he has some kind of secret agreement with the guys. Say, if they make it in the pros, he'll get a piece of their money in exchange for steroids now.”

“It sure would explain Doc's remark to Pete about ‘you and your boys,' ” Bess put in.

Nancy kept her eyes fixed on the entrance to the post office. “It's just a theory, remember,” she told her friends. “But I think we can assume that Pete's getting the steroids from that guy Doc. Doctors would have access to the stuff, after all. The trouble is we have no proof of anything—yet.”

“We've got proof of one thing,” Bess corrected her. “We know Edgar Chessman's blackmailing Pete.”

“We know only that he delivered a blackmail note, for sure,” said Nancy. “Though it is a little weird that he'd drop off a note one place and pick up the money at another,” she said, almost to herself. “Where is he, anyway?” Nancy murmured,
tapping her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.

“It's after noon,” Bess said, checking her watch. “You'd think he'd have been here by now.”

“You'd think he'd be in more of a hurry to claim five thousand dollars,” George said with a wry smile.

Nancy's eyes were fixed on a figure in her rearview mirror. “Wait a minute! Here comes someone from Touchdown now. But it's not Edgar—it's Mark.”

“I don't get it,” Bess said, pursing her lips as Mark disappeared inside. “You saw Edgar delivering the blackmail note. It can't be Mark!”

“This case is complicated, isn't it?” Nancy murmured.

At least it was one case now, not two, and Nancy could sense a breakthrough coming.

“Here he comes again,” said George, letting out a slow whistle. “He looks irritated.”

“No fooling,” said Bess. “Duck, everybody! He's looking this way.”

The three girls crouched down in their seats to avoid being seen. When they came back up for a peek, Mark was gone.

“Okay,” Bess said to Nancy. “What now?”

Nancy was busy thinking, a plan forming in her mind. One sure way to get the confessions she needed was to lay a trap. “I think we've got to be
aggressive in this case,” she said. “I want to arrange a little meeting of all the people involved and invite the police to listen in.”

“Good idea,” said George excitedly. “How do we do that?”

“Do you guys know where Bill's, Lonnie's and Rob's lockers are at school?” she asked.

“Cynthia will know,” Bess said eagerly. “I can probably find her during her study period. It's at one o'clock.”

“Great,” Nancy said with a jubilant smile as she started her engine. “Now let's find a stationery store and a magazine stand. We need to put together some notes for you to take to Bedford High.”

Within a few minutes the girls had everything they needed.

“Now,” said Nancy. “Where can we work?”

“How about that coffee shop?” George suggested, pointing to a small railroad car diner across the street from the magazine stand.

“Perfect,” said Nancy, marching across the street.

“May I help you?” asked the elderly waitress after Nancy and her friends settled into a cracked vinyl booth.

“Anybody hungry?” Nancy asked as she spread the magazines out on the Formica table.

Bess shook her head, and George shrugged.
“Just three teas, I guess,” George told the waitress, who went off to get them.

“Look for
field, football, payment,
and
Doc,”
Nancy told Bess and George, shoving a stack of magazines toward them.

Half an hour later the written messages for Lonnie, Bill, and Rob were finished.

Meet at the football field, tonight at 8. Be on time—it's urgent. P.

Another note was composed of words cut from magazines.

Shepard—Come to the football field 8:00 tonight, with final payment of $5,000, or else. By the way, I know about your pal Doc. Bring him with you. I want you both there, on time.

“Let's hurry,” Nancy told her friends, putting enough money on the table to cover their bill and a generous tip. “I'll give you a lift to Bedford High, do a couple of errands, pick you up, and we'll drive back to River Heights.”

Nancy drove over to Bedford High, and while Bess and George were inside delivering their messages, she went to a corner phone booth and dialed the local police.

“Hello,” she told the officer who answered. “I'd like to speak to Chief Boyle. It's Nancy Drew.”

Only a minute passed before the chief got on the line. “Nancy Drew!” he said cheerfully. “It's been a long time. Good to hear your voice again. Got a problem over there in River Heights?”

“Actually, Chief Boyle, the problem's here in Bedford.” She proceeded to tell him everything that had happened, feeding coins into the phone whenever her time ran out.

“So you want us to show up there? Catch them in the act of exchanging the steroids?” the chief offered after he heard what Nancy had to say.

“I think you should be there,” Nancy suggested.

“I'd hate to see you girls in danger,” the chief murmured. “Maybe you should stay home.”

“I want to be in on the end—if I can, Chief,” Nancy said.

“All right,” the chief said with a reluctant sigh. “Where will we meet you?”

“Under the bleachers,” Nancy told him. “Near the fifty-yard line.”

The chief sighed. “If you're right about this, Nancy, it's going to be a big scandal. Town pride may never recover.”

“It'll recover, Chief,” Nancy assured him. “You know what they say—the truth makes you free.”

Before heading back to pick up Bess and George, Nancy had one more thing to do. She got in her car and drove over to Pete's house to deliver her little note.

On the way she went over her plan again. She hoped the guys would arrive first, wondering what was going on. Then Pete and Doc would show up and deny inviting them. He'd probably tell them about the blackmail, and then they'd decide to wait for the blackmailer to show up.

Nancy's face tightened. She had one more note to write. Since she didn't know whether the blackmailer was Edgar or Mark, though, she'd have to write notes to both.

As Nancy turned the corner to Pete's block, her mind was filled with thoughts about the upcoming evening. Slowing down in front of Pete's house, Nancy's attention was drawn to a figure walking up to Pete's mailbox.

Nancy would have recognized that goofy gait anywhere. It was Edgar Chessman.

Once in front of the house, Edgar turned, climbed the front steps, and slipped an envelope inside Pete's storm door. Then he turned and went back down the steps.

In a desperate attempt to avoid being seen, Nancy ducked down in the front seat as Edgar walked directly toward her.

Had he seen her, or had she gotten down in time? Nancy held her breath.

After a few seconds she felt safe enough to peek in the rearview mirror. The street was empty.

Turning to look out her window, Nancy gasped when she came face-to-face with Edgar's bulging eyes.

“Hiding from someone?” he asked.

N
ANCY FELT HERSELF FLUSH RED
. “Edgar, I—I—” she stammered.

What happened next took Nancy completely by surprise. Edgar gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. “It's good to see you,” he said cheerfully.

“Good to see you, too,” she replied, not sure of what to say.

“Did you come to ask Pete for your job back?” Edgar asked.

“No, I didn't,” she answered tentatively. “Actually, I was just driving by. What are
you
doing here?”