Flirting with Danger (8 page)

“I wouldn't bet on it,” Ned answered, breaking a roll apart and buttering it generously. “It looked to me like Jessica scared her but good,” he said.

“About what, that's the question,” Nancy said. “What if she knows where Rachel is, and Jessica was warning her not to tell?”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Ned said, pushing back his plate. “Why would Jessica not want us to find Rachel?”

“I don't know,” Nancy admitted. “It is a little confusing. If Beth is really Rachel's friend, she'd find some way to let us know where she is.”

“I'd say so,” Ned agreed. “We still don't know how this Harper guy is involved,” he pointed out.

“Jessica seems to think they've run off together,”
Nancy said. “Still, if that were the case, I think Rachel would have called her parents by now to let them know she was safe.”

“What do you say we try to watch a movie on the VCR?” Ned suggested.

Reluctantly Nancy agreed. There was nothing more for her to do that night. Nancy and Ned rinsed their plates and cups and set them in the dishwasher. Then Ned took two cans of soda from the refrigerator, and they headed to the den.

Nancy looked at the tapes lying beside the VCR. She smiled when she saw
Casablanca,
one of her favorite old movies. “Can you stand it again?” she asked Ned. He smiled and then switched on the big-screen TV after slipping the tape into the VCR.

Ned settled himself on the couch next to Nancy, head back, arms folded across his chest. They waited, but nothing came on the screen. Frowning, Nancy got up and took the tape out. “Somebody must have erased it or something,” she said. She put the tape aside and picked out another one.

She popped it into the machine. Almost immediately a famous mystery movie lit up the screen. Nancy settled down beside Ned
again, and his arm came to rest comfortably around her shoulders.

Midway through the movie, the telephone rang. Knowing Mrs. Morgan was off for the night, Nancy answered it after only two rings.

“Kline residence,” she said. From the other end Nancy could hear a low, rhythmic roar that sounded like the ocean.

“This is Rachel Kline,” the caller said in a soft voice that Nancy recognized. “Could I please speak to my mom and dad?”

D
ON
'
T HANG UP
, R
ACHEL
!” Nancy cried out. She signaled Ned, who bounded off the couch and out of the room at the sound of the girl's name. “We'll put your parents on right away.”

“Okay,” Rachel answered in a small voice. “But please hurry. I don't have much time.”

“Where are you?” Nancy asked softly. “Are you all right?”

“I can't answer your questions,” Rachel replied. She sounded as though she was about to burst into tears. “I'm just calling because I know my mom and dad must be awfully worried.”

“We can help you,” Nancy continued persuasively. “But first we need to know where you are.”

“Rachel!” Karen Kline's frantic voice came on the line. “Rachel, honey—”

Feeling awkward about intruding, Nancy quietly hung up the receiver. Ned came rushing back into the room while she was rewinding the movie they'd been watching and putting it back into its case.

“Did she tell you anything?” he asked expectantly.

Nancy turned and shook her head as she met his eyes. “No, but she sounded really scared, and she said she didn't have much time.”

Ned put his arms around Nancy. “At least we know she's okay,” he said.

Nancy was about to give Ned a hug when Karen Kline came running into the room in her robe, followed by her husband.

“She hung up!” Rachel's mother cried, hugging her arms around her chest. “I was so close to finding out where she was when the line went dead!”

Allen Kline tried to comfort his wife. “At least we know she's alive.”

“Did you hear anything in the background before she hung up?” Nancy prodded. “Any other voices?”

“No voices.” Karen Kline paused, thinking. “There was a low murmuring—”

“The ocean,” Nancy said. “I recognized it as soon as I picked up the phone,” she explained.

Allen Kline's expression brightened. “Rachel must be somewhere close to the water.”

“But where?” Mrs. Kline asked. Her voice sounded weary and desperate again.

“Don't worry, Mrs. Kline,” Ned told her. “We'll find her. We've got one good lead: We know she's somewhere by the beach.” He met Nancy's eyes. They both knew that in Southern California that really didn't mean much.

“I'm calling the police,” Mr. Kline said. “They should know about this right away.”

“I could use a glass of iced tea,” Karen Kline said. “Anyone else?”

“I'll help,” Nancy offered, following Mrs. Kline out.

“We should call Mike,” Karen Kline said as she took a pitcher down from the cabinet.

“Mike Rasmussen?” Nancy asked, surprised. She took four glasses down from the cupboard and set them on the breakfast bar.

“I like Mike,” Mrs. Kline said. “I trust him. Not like this Dennis.” She sighed and looked as though she was about to cry again. “I can't help thinking none of this would have happened
if Rachel hadn't taken up with him in the first place.”

Josh came in through the back door just then. He perked up at the sight of Nancy and Mrs. Kline. “What's going on?”

Mrs. Kline put her arm around her son while Nancy finished making the iced tea. “We heard from Rachel just now. She hung up before we could find out where she was, but we know she's all right.”

Josh let out a relieved sigh. “That's great, Mom. She's okay.”

“We do know one thing, though,” Nancy told him. “I distinctly heard the sound of the ocean in the background. Your sister is somewhere by the water.”

Josh looked puzzled for a moment. “That could be anywhere, though. Did it sound like she was calling long distance?” he asked.

Nancy shook her head. On a hunch, she recited the address Lieutenant Heller had given her for Dennis Harper. “Is that near the water?” she asked.

Josh thought for a long moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I think it is.”

“It's possible she was calling from there,” Nancy said thoughtfully.

“The police checked his place out and didn't see any sign of Rachel. Or Dennis,” Josh said.

“True,” Nancy agreed. “It may be a long shot, but it's worth a try. Ned and I will go there tomorrow. There's got to be a clue of some kind,” she said emphatically. She hoped so, anyway.

Mrs. Kline picked up the tray. “I think you should get Mike to go with you, Nancy,” she said as they headed back into the den. “You and Ned shouldn't go alone. I'm going to call him first thing in the morning. I just want this to be over.”

“Don't worry, Mrs. Kline,” Nancy said reassuringly. “I have a feeling she's okay.” Secretly, though, Nancy wondered. What made Rachel Kline hang up so fast? If she really was safe, why couldn't she talk or come home? Nancy knew they'd better find her. And soon.

• • •

Everyone was gathered in the dining room for an early breakfast the next morning when Mike Rasmussen showed up. Mr. Kline invited him to join them.

“Thanks,” Mike said cheerfully, sitting down. “I've already eaten, but I could use some tea.”

Mrs. Morgan poured him a cup from the pot on the side table and set it in front of him.

Mike's face had an eager expression as he looked at Mrs. Kline. “So you heard from
Rachel,” he said. “What did she say? Is she okay?”

“She's alive,” Mr. Kline replied. “I'm afraid that's about all we know.” He touched a napkin to his mouth and set it aside. “We're hoping you can tell us something, Mike. Any little detail we might have overlooked. Are you absolutely sure that Rachel didn't confide in you before she disappeared?”

Mike lowered his eyes for a moment, and his broad shoulders sagged a little. “Rachel stopped talking to me after she gave me back my class ring,” he said. He met Mr. Kline's gaze again. “I wish I could help you, I really do, but I don't know any more than you do.”

Nancy jumped in. “Ned and I are going to Dennis Harper's place today,” she told Mike. “I was hoping you'd come with us. You might notice some sign that Rachel had been there that we'd miss.”

“We think Rachel might have been calling from there last night,” Josh put in.

“Why?” Mike asked. He hadn't touched his tea.

“We heard the surf in the background,” Mr. Kline answered, his face pinched and tired-looking. “I called the police, but Heller was off duty last night,” he said with irritation.

“Allen,” Mrs. Kline said softly. “They're doing the best they can.”

“Well, their best isn't good enough!” snapped Mr. Kline. He was dressed for the office, and he stood and excused himself from the table. “I'll call Lieutenant Heller from my study,” he said in quieter tones. Josh left the room with him, since his father was giving him a ride to the studio. Nancy and Ned were going to use Rachel's car.

“Ready?” Nancy asked, turning to Ned.

He nodded, pushing back his chair.

“We'll let you know the second we find anything,” Nancy told Karen Kline before they left the dining room. The woman nodded silently, obviously afraid to hope for too much. She had had too many disappointments so far.

Ned, Nancy, and Mike set out for Dennis Harper's apartment a few minutes later, with Mike giving directions.

“Did you and Rachel get along pretty well?” Nancy asked cautiously, turning to look at Mike in the backseat as they sped along the freeway. “Before the breakup, I mean?”

Mike stared out through the side window, and Nancy saw a muscle tighten in his jaw, then relax again. “Most of the time,” he answered, without turning his head.

Since Mike seemed to hang out with Jessica so much, Nancy decided to feel him out about the girl. She was especially curious about why Jessica had intimidated Beth in the pizza place the day before. “Are Jessica and Beth good friends?” she asked.

“No way,” Mike blurted out. Then, after a long time, he added, “Jessica is nobody's friend.”

“Then why does she hang around with your crowd?”

Mike shrugged. “Something to do, I guess.”

“What makes her so nasty?” Nancy persisted. “Yesterday she was pretty hard on Beth.”

“I don't know,” Mike said noncommittally. “I know for a fact that she dislikes Rachel—intensely. That's mainly because she's jealous. Rachel has always been more popular and done better in school.” He pointed toward a green and white sign on the edge of the freeway. “Take this exit and turn right,” he said.

Ned followed Mike's instructions. “What do you think Beth could know that she's too scared to tell us?” he asked.

“I don't know,” Mike said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Nancy shrugged, too, and then concentrated on the road.

Dennis's apartment was in a large, rundown complex within a hundred yards of the beach. After getting out of the car, Nancy checked the mailboxes in the hall and found out that Dennis lived in number seventeen. They found it on the side of the building facing the water, on the ground floor.

Nancy rang the doorbell. “Dennis!” she called out when there was no answer. Nothing came back but the sound of children laughing somewhere nearby and the soothing rush of the waves on the beach. “Try the knob,” Ned said.

Nancy reached for it, and it turned. The door of the apartment opened with a little push.

“Dennis?” Nancy called again, stepping slowly over the threshold. The sight of the living room made her draw in her breath sharply. The chairs and sofa were overturned, and the screen on the small TV set had been smashed, scattering shards of glass all over the cheap carpet.

“Be careful,” Ned warned, stepping in behind Nancy. “There might still be someone here.”

Nancy moved on to the kitchen. All the dishes had been pulled from the cupboards
and broken on the floor. Houseplants had been dumped from their pots and ground into the mess of shattered glass, and the cotton curtains had been pulled off the wall, along with the rods that held them.

Mike whistled under his breath. “Somebody is really mad at this guy,” he said.

“Or looking for something,” Nancy said, remembering the scene in Rachel's room. She went on through the apartment, finding the bedroom and bathroom much the same. There was no sign of either Rachel or Dennis, though.

“Freeze. Police!” ordered a man's voice as Nancy stepped back into the demolished living room.

Lieutenant Heller lowered his gun at the sight of Nancy. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for Dennis and Rachel,” Nancy answered. “The door was open, and we were worried.”