005 Hit and Run Holiday Read Online Free PDF Page A

forgetting about Bess and Dirk for the moment. Infront of her was a lifeguard’s chair, and sitting in that chair was a handsome, bronze-skinned, dark-haired boy in a small black bathing suit. Nancy knew he was the guy she’d seen at the hit and run and rummaging around Kim’s hotel room not half an hour earlier.
    Nancy hoped nobody was drowning at the moment, because the guy sure wouldn’t be any help—he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
    The only place he’s seen you is at the hit-and-run scene, she reminded herself. He doesn’t know you were in that hotel room, watching him.
    Tossing her hair back, Nancy curved her lips in a slow smile and walked over to the lifeguard’s chair.
    “Hi, there,” the lifeguard said when she reached him.
    “Hello.” Nancy noticed a small canvas beach bag at the foot of the chair. She would have given anything to see what was inside it. Still smiling, she said, “This is my first day in Lauderdale. Got any suggestions about how I should spend my time?”
    The lifeguard raised his eyebrows. “Most people come here for the sun and the water,” he said, in a slight Hispanic accent. “Isn’t that what you came for?”
    “Well, sure,” Nancy told him. “Sun, surf, and . . . new friends, right?”
    “Maybe.” He gave her a teasing grin. “If you’re lucky.”
    “Speaking of luck,” Nancy went on, “one of my friends ran into a bad streak of it this morning. Or rather, it ran into her.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yes. She was hit by a car, right in front of the Vistamar.” Nancy kept her smile in place, trying not to sound too serious. “A lot of people were around. Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought I saw you there.”
    The lifeguard shifted in his chair, glanced out at the water, and then back at Nancy. His smile was gone, and his dark eyes were hard. “You’re right,” he said coldly. “You are wrong.”
    “Oh, well,” Nancy said with a shrug. “My mistake.”
    The lifeguard didn’t answer. He just stared at her a moment longer, then shifted his gaze back to the water.
    He was lying, Nancy was sure. But there was no way she could prove it. Not yet. Figuring she’d only make him suspicious if she asked any more questions, she decided to drop the subject for the time being. She hitched her beach bag onto her shoulder and turned to leave.
    Nancy was only about three feet away from the lifeguard’s chair when she felt it—a sharp,burning pain in her left foot, as if she’d stepped on a red-hot needle. Gasping, she jerked her foot away and fell onto the sand. As she fell, she glanced up at the lifeguard. He was watching her, and his smile was back.

Chapter

Five
    B ITING HER LIP to keep from crying out, Nancy grabbed her foot and looked around to see what she’d stepped on. A few inches away she saw a large, bluish, slimy object partly covered by sand. It was a jellyfish, obviously, and as Nancy rubbed her foot, she wondered what kind it was and whether its poison was going to do any more damage than it already had.
    A boy who’d seen her fall trotted over and prodded the jellyfish with a stick. “Portuguese man-of-war,” he told her. “Ugly looking, huh?”
    Nancy nodded. “What’s going to happennow?” she asked. “Is my foot going to shrivel up and fall off?” She was trying to joke, but the pain she felt was anything but funny.
    The boy didn’t look too amused either. “Well, I don’t want to scare you,” he said, “but I think you ought to hot-foot it to a doctor, excuse the pun.”
    Nancy suddenly remembered some stories about things like shock and unconsciousness. It’s a good thing I’m on my way to the hospital, she thought. The boy offered her a hand, and she got to her feet, wincing. “Thanks.”
    “Any time,” he told her. Glancing up at the lifeguard, he cupped his hands and called out, “Hey, Ricardo! You’re falling down on the job, man. Why didn’t you warn her these things are all over the beach today?”
    Stunned, Nancy looked at