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yesterday.”
    â€œHere it is,” Ralph said, pulling a card and handing it to Nancy.
    There was no address, just the name Dennis Harper, which was scrawled sloppily, and a phone number. Nancy copied it down in a notebook she always carried with her and handed the card back. “Do you know where Dennis lives?”
    Ralph shook his head. “Sorry. Can’t help you there.”
    â€œThanks,” Nancy said with a note of frustration. At least they had a telephone number. It was a start.
    â€œNo problem,” Ralph answered. Then, with a shrug, he added, “You’re probably going to find out that loser has left the country.”
    â€œI hope you’re wrong,” Nancy said, but she found that she was thinking the same thing. Still, there was no solid reason to suspect Dennis had kidnapped Rachel. “Thank you,” she said, snapping her purse closed.
    â€œThanks,” Ned added, holding the door open for Nancy. “Where to from here?” he asked once they were back outside.
    â€œTo the nearest telephone. We’re going to give Dennis Harper a call.”
    Ned stopped at a fast-food restaurant and ordered sodas to go while Nancy went to the pay phone.
    â€œNo luck?” he asked, holding out a cup to her once she had returned.
    Nancy shook her head. “Nobody answered.”
    Ned shrugged. “Maybe we had the wrong number. You said his handwriting was terrible,” he said before taking a sip of his soda. “Maybe we should call directory assistance.”
    â€œGood idea.” Nancy took another coin from her purse. “Be right back.”
    Nancy punched in the number for directory assistance and asked for Dennis’s number. After a short pause, a recorded voice came on the line.
    â€œI’m sorry. At the request of the subscriber, that number is unlisted.”
    Nancy hung up the receiver and drummed her fingers against the side of the phone booth. She let out a sigh and headed back to Ned.
    â€œStrike out?” he asked, reading her face.
    â€œYep. Unlisted. We’re back to square one.”
    â€œLook, Nancy,” Ned said, putting his arms around her. “We’ll find him—and her. I know we will. Let’s head back to the Klines’, have aswim, and put our heads together. A little sun may get us thinking more clearly.”
    Nancy smiled. Ned was good at reassuring her. “Okay. Maybe Rachel wrote down his address somewhere,” she added. “We can check her room.”
    Nancy and Ned were back at the Klines’ house before Mr. and Mrs. Kline. Ned headed upstairs while the maid told Nancy that they wouldn’t be back until late that night. They were going to visit some of Rachel’s friends’ parents, and then there was a private party for some of the graduates and their parents.
    â€œA party?” Nancy echoed, surprised.
    â€œThey think they might be able to learn something from Rachel’s friends,” she explained as she headed back to the kitchen. “You and Ned are invited, too. And I’m sure Josh will be going.”
    Remembering what little help Mike and Jessica had been the night before, Nancy doubted that Rachel’s friends would tell her parents much. Still, there weren’t many leads in the case, and they had to start somewhere.
    â€œNancy?” Ned came up to her in the hallway. “There’s no address book. I just looked. I couldn’t find a thing in Rachel’s room with even Dennis’s name on it. She really kept this guy a secret, didn’t she?”
    â€œIt looks that way, but why?” Nancy asked. Before Ned could answer, the maid came back to tell them she’d set a late lunch by the pool for them.
    â€œThanks,” Nancy said absently. “How about that swim, Nickerson? And how about a party later?”
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    When Nancy came downstairs that night dressed in a black tank top, roomy white overshirt, and