Flirting with Danger Read Free Page B

Josh watching his father talk on the telephone when they went inside. Mr. Kline was on the phone with the police, trying to file a missing persons report.
    Nancy glanced at Ned. They both knew from experience that the police wouldn’t be able to do a thing for twenty-four hours. Until that much time had passed, a person wasn’t considered legally missing.
    â€œI’m telling you, her car was found in the school parking lot!” Mr. Kline yelled into the receiver. “The keys were in the ignition! Now, that indicates that there is at least a possibility that our daughter has been kidnapped!”
    â€œWhere’s your mother?” Nancy asked Josh in a quiet voice.
    â€œUpstairs, in Rachel’s room,” Josh said. “She’s pretty shook up.”
    Nancy excused herself and went upstairs with Beth close behind.
    Karen Kline was sitting on Rachel’s bed, crying softly. She looked up hopefully at the noise, but when she saw it was Nancy and Beth her face fell.
    Beth sat down on the bed beside Karen Kline and said, “Please don’t cry, Mrs. Kline. Rachel’s probably going to come walking through the front door at any minute, with a perfectly good explanation.”
    â€œHas Rachel ever run away before?” Nancy asked, trying to keep her voice as gentle as possible.
    Karen Kline looked shocked. “Oh, no!” she said quickly. “We’ve never had any trouble with Rachel at all.” Her face became pale again. “I’m so afraid she’s been kidnapped,” she said, as though she was afraid even to speak the words. “Allen and I aren’t rich, even though we live very well. All our money is tied up in the house. Someone must have gotten the idea that we could pay a king’s ransom—”
    Nancy touched Mrs. Kline’s shoulder. “There’s no reason to jump to conclusions. We have to wait to see if anyone calls or sends a ransom note,” she said.
    â€œI don’t think she was kidnapped,” Beth remarked slowly, staring at Rachel’s dresser.
    â€œWhy?” Nancy asked.
    Beth left her place beside Mrs. Kline to walk over to the bureau. The top was crowded with a jewelry chest, a music box, makeup, perfume, and a framed picture of Rachel with the rest of the cheerleading squad. “BecauseRachel’s bank is empty,” she said, excitement rising in her voice. She pointed at an expensive electronic bank on Rachel’s dresser.
    Mrs. Kline jumped up to see for herself. “You’re right!” she said, holding up the bank. “And I know that she had taken money out of her account and was keeping it here. Now it’s gone!”
    Karen Kline dashed for the door. “Allen!” she cried out into the hall.
    Nancy and Beth followed Mrs. Kline downstairs. While Mrs. Kline talked with her husband, Nancy and Beth joined the boys outside by the pool.
    â€œRachel must have run away,” Beth announced. Then she explained about the missing money.
    â€œBut why would she have done that?” Josh wondered. “She seemed a little edgy this morning, but she’s not the type of person to run away. She knows Mom and Dad love her.”
    â€œI’d like to question a few more of Rachel’s friends,” Nancy said thoughtfully, watching as sunlight danced in golden patches on the pool’s cool blue water. “Somebody must know something.”
    â€œThere’s a party down at the Surf Club later,” Beth put in helpfully. “Why don’t youall come? That’ll give you a chance to find out if anybody knows what’s going on.”
    â€œGood idea,” Nancy said, looking at her watch. “What time does it start?”
    â€œSoon—at six,” Beth answered. “But it’ll go late. Bring your bathing suits. Everybody’s planning on swimming after they’ve had dinner and danced for a while.”
    Josh and Ned agreed to attend the party, but