Flirting with Danger Read Online Free PDF Page B

find her, or she’ll probably come back on her own.”
    â€œJosh is right, Mrs. Kline,” Ned offered. “The police will do what they can, and Nancy and I will do what we can, too.”
    Karen Kline gave Ned a small, warm smile.“I’m really grateful for your help.” She reached out for her husband’s arm. “I’d like to go home now, Allen. If Rachel does call, I’d like one of us to answer instead of the maid.”
    Allen nodded sadly. “We’re not accomplishing anything here,” he agreed. “Good night, kids. Thanks for your help, and I’m sorry about your accident, Nancy.”
    Nancy managed a smile. “Don’t worry about me. Please, before you go, could I just ask you a couple of questions about Dennis Harper?”
    Mr. and Mrs. Kline seemed to become tense at the mention of Dennis’s name. “Do you know him?” Nancy went on. Ned raised a hand ever so slightly, telling her to go easy.
    â€œNot well,” Mr. Kline answered after reflecting a moment. “He certainly isn’t the kind of boy we’d expect Rachel to like. He’s got one of those punk haircuts and a pretty tough attitude to match it.”
    Nancy explained that she and Ned were concentrating on locating him. “Do you have any idea where he lives?”
    â€œYou think Rachel’s with him?” Josh asked before his mother could answer.
    â€œWell, of course, we don’t know,” Ned explained. “Still, it may not be a coincidence that he’s not around and Rachel’s missing.”
    Deep furrows showed in Mrs. Kline’s forehead. “You’d better tell the police to track him down, Allen.”
    â€œI’ll do that right away,” Mr. Kline agreed. “If she is with him, she could be in trouble. I knew we should never have let her go out with him!” With that, Allen Kline disappeared inside the house to use a telephone. Mrs. Kline and Josh quickly followed him.
    Ned and Nancy remained at their poolside table. He turned to her. “Any idea who pushed you?” he asked.
    â€œNot a clue,” she said, laughing. “There’s a pattern here, though. Whenever we’re around Rachel’s friends, someone tries to scare us off.”
    â€œWhat do you think it means?” Ned asked.
    Before Nancy could answer, Beth, Jessica, and Mike came toward their table, towels slung around their necks. There was another guy with them, someone Nancy didn’t recognize.
    â€œThis is Peter Henley,” Beth said. “I don’t think you’ve met him. Peter, this is Nancy Drew and Ned Nickerson. They’re friends of Josh Kline’s from school.”
    â€œHi,” Peter said with a smile as the four of them pulled up chairs and sat down at the table.
    â€œNed and I went to Sound Performance today, looking for Dennis,” she said to Mike Rasmussen. “Sorry we missed you.”
    â€œI’m off a couple of days this week because of graduation,” Mike replied.
    â€œMr. Lindenbaum said he fired Dennis because some stereo equipment turned up missing,” Ned put in.
    Mike looked at Beth, Jessica, and Peter before meeting Ned’s gaze and nodding. “I’m not surprised,” he said bitterly.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Nancy asked.
    â€œYou’d better tell them. It’s all right. I know how you feel,” Jessica said with a sigh.
    For a moment Mike hesitated. Then he shrugged and muttered, “Okay.” His eyes met Nancy’s. “I was really in love with Rachel. Maybe I still am, a little. When she broke up with me to go out with Dennis, it hurt a lot. Then when I figured Harper was ripping off Sound Performance, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to tell Rachel, but I thought she wouldn’t believe me.”
    â€œWhy did you think he was stealing?” Nancy asked, leaning forward a little in her chair. “Did you see Dennis take