My Deadly Valentine Read Free Page B

different in the spring when everything’s in bloom,” Nancy said. The grass was frozen and stubby, and the area was bare except for a few scraggly shrubs and trees.
    â€œThey’ve even turned off the fountain,” Bess said. “I guess it would have frozen otherwise.”
    â€œIt’s pretty bleak,” Kristin agreed, “but the whole campus looks great after a snowfall.”
    â€œSnow’s predicted for this week,” Ned said as they walked along the path through the garden.
    â€œSnow would be . . .” Nancy’s voice trailed off as an object behind the fountain caught her eye. It looked like a hand lying on the ground—but it couldn’t be. Maybe it was a glove.
    â€œNancy?” Ned asked when she stopped walking. “Something wrong?”
    But Nancy was already off the path, crossing the grass to look behind the fountain.
    Her pulse began to pound as she circled the fountain and saw that she had been right—a body, one arm outstretched, was lying on the ground!

Chapter

Three
    N ED GASPED as he saw the body.
    Kristin and Bess were right behind him. “It’s Rosie!” Kristin exclaimed. “What happened to her mouth?”
    It had been covered with black tape. Probably to keep her from screaming, Nancy thought. She knelt on the cold ground and eased the tape off. A white scrap of paper was pinned to Rosie’s coat, but Nancy ignored it for the moment. She wrapped her fingers around the girl’s wrist.
    â€œOh, no!” Bess cried. “Is she . . . dead?”
    â€œShe’s got a pulse,” Nancy answered, “but we have to call an ambulance.”
    â€œThere’s a pay phone just inside the union,” Kristin said, backing away.
    â€œI’ll go with you,” Bess volunteered.
    Nancy watched the two girls run up the hill,then sat back on her heels to check out Rosie’s injuries.
    From the trickle of dried blood in Rosie’s hair, it appeared that she’d been hit on the head. Nancy could see that she was breathing normally, but her face was ashen. “We’ve got to elevate her feet,” Nancy told Ned.
    He looked around, then slipped the knapsack off his shoulder. “This should do it.” Gently, he lifted Rosie’s feet and tucked the knapsack under them.
    As he did, Nancy noticed something on the heels of Rosie’s shoes. “Look at this,” she said, carefully lifting a foot again. The cream-colored suede heels were smudged with black streaks. “It’s some kind of soot,” Nancy said.
    â€œCould be dirt from the garden,” Ned guessed.
    Nancy nodded. “But see how the dirt runs up the shoe’s heel? She was dragged. Probably attacked someplace else, then brought here.”
    Nancy looked at the note that was pinned to Rosie’s lapel. In the light from one of the overhead lamps that dotted the campus, Nancy read it aloud: “ ‘You will pay for the heart you broke.’ ” The note was signed “Cupid.”
    Ned shook his head. “Sounds like a sicko with a vendetta.”
    â€œOr an angry boyfriend,” Nancy said.
    The note was attached to Rosie’s coat by a safety pin. Nancy studied the handwriting. Wide,square, block-printed letters—not as easy to identify as script. Carefully, with her gloves she turned the white slip of paper over and was surprised to find part of a printed diagram on the back. “Check this out,” she said.
    Ned glanced over her shoulder. “It looks like a wiring diagram,” he said.
    â€œâ€Šâ€˜Heating-Cooling Subbase,’ ” Nancy read the captions aloud. “ ‘Fan Relay. Contactor Coil.’ ” She glanced up at Ned. “Sounds like a diagram for some type of furnace.”
    â€œIt’s a strange piece of evidence,” Ned said.
    Nancy nodded. “The police will definitely want it.” Just then Bess and