Dangerous Relations Read Free

what Nancy was wondering. Katrina? Or someone else? And why? Could the accident in any way be linked to Natalia’s plan to search for her father?
    There was only one place to start. “Let’s find Katrina,” Nancy said.
    Just outside the arena, two dark-haired young men were polishing the chrome on their motorcycles.
    â€œExcuse me,” Bess said. “We’re looking for someone.”
    The taller of the two eyed her with a bold smile. “I hope it’s me.”
    Bess smiled. “I’m Bess Marvin. These are my friends George Fayne and Nancy Drew.”
    â€œSo you’re the detective. We heard you were coming,” the boy said to Nancy.
    â€œYou did? Who told you?” Nancy asked.
    â€œNatalia. She’s pretty excited about looking for her dad.” He grinned and extended his hand.“I’m Eduardo Pomatto. This is my brother Joseph.”
    â€œHello,” Joseph said shyly.
    â€œNice to meet you,” Nancy said. She looked around. “Could you tell us where the cookhouse is?”
    â€œWe’ll show you,” Eduardo offered. He dropped his polishing rag and wiped off his hands.
    â€œAre you performers?” Bess asked.
    Eduardo nodded. “We do a motorcycle act called Sphere of Death. Heard of it?”
    Remembering the steel globe, Nancy exclaimed, “That big mesh globe! You ride inside it?”
    Joseph smiled. “That’s right.”
    George said, “One time on a stunt show, I saw a couple of brothers riding motorcycles inside a round cage like that. Their mother was inside it, too. They rode loops around her—upside down and everything. It was wild!”
    â€œWas it you two?” Bess asked, her eyes wide.
    Eduardo shook his head. “No way. Our mother is too smart for that!”
    Everyone laughed. Still chatting, Eduardo led them into the eatery they’d passed earlier. Nancy glanced down the tables that lined two walls. The place was crowded, but she didn’t see Katrina.
    The girls poured themselves glasses of juice at the buffet, then followed Joseph and Eduardo toa long table at which six men were sitting. Eduardo introduced the girls to the men. “These guys are clowns. That’s Slowpoke there at the end. The skinny one beside him is Jiffy. This is Dillard and Winky and Packrat and Tim.”
    Tim had pale blond hair. He reached across the table and bowed over each of the girls’ hands. But instead of releasing Nancy’s hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed it, then pretended his lips were stuck.
    â€œTim had peanut butter for breakfast,” Slowpoke said.
    â€œOldest trick in the book,” Jiffy muttered.
    Nancy, Bess, and George joined in the laughter. Several of the clowns jumped up and went to get folding chairs for the girls. Then everyone moved, to make room for them and the Pomatto brothers. Just as everyone settled into their chairs, Packrat poked Tim and said in a stage whisper, “Here comes Red.”
    The blond clown’s face lit up. He waved and called, “There’s room over here, Katrina.”
    Nancy was pleased when Katrina brought over a chair and a cup of tea and squeezed in between Tim and Packrat. Anxious to see what she could learn, Nancy smiled across the table and said, “I was sorry practice ended so abruptly. I was looking forward to seeing you perform.”
    â€œOh?” Katrina said guardedly, then took a sip of her tea.
    Nancy nodded. “It must take a lot of hard work to be a good flyer. How’d you get started?”
    When Katrina seemed reluctant to answer, Tim said, “Kat was a great platform diver in high school. Go on, tell her, Katrina.”
    Nancy could see by the look in his eye that Tim had a crush on Katrina. “You two knew each other in high school?”
    Tim nodded. “We both grew up in Sarasota. It’s a circus town. It’s easy to get bitten by the circus bug.”
    Now Katrina was looking