See No Evil Read Free Page A

grinned. "The only person I know who's more competitive is you."
    "Well, somebody beat her out," said Joe. "That mugger. But I doubt she'll learn from it."
    Frank stopped walking. "Look, Joe, lay off!" He turned to face his brother. "I don't know what your problem is, but you've really been on Callie's case lately. She's into something dangerous—and it's up to us to help her out. If you keep going on at her, she'll go off on her own and take stupid risks, just to prove that she's not helpless. Why can't you just leave her alone?"
    "Me leave her alone? Every time I turn around she's telling me I'm just a dumb jock with a football for a brain. Frank, we're supposed to be a team, remember? But Callie is turning us into a debating team!" Joe paused, trying to cool down a little. "Don't you care — "
    Frank cut him off. "What I care about right now is Callie," he said. "And I'm going to make sure nothing else happens to her." Angrily, he turned and began to walk again, his strides long.
    Joe stared after Frank for a minute. Then, muttering under his breath, he ran to catch up.
    Callie was still seething as she walked home. Somehow, she had to cure Frank of his stupid idea that she was fragile and defenseless.
    Then a thought struck her. If she could find the mugger before Frank and Joe did ... if she could track him down and identify him to the police.
    That might be the exact lesson Frank needed. It would be nice if it taught Joe something, too, but she didn't expect that much. Joe was impossible.
    She'd start the next day. Her friend Liz Webling could help. Liz's dad was editor of the Bayport rimes, and Liz had instant access to all the past editions and their crime reports. Besides, Liz wanted to be an investigative reporter and had great instincts at sniffing out news. Yes, she decided, Liz would be a definite asset.
    But first things first, Callie reminded herself. She had to get a good night's sleep, then she had to take her calculus test. After that she could test her instincts and abilities as a detective.
    When Callie arrived home the house was dark. Her parents still hadn't returned. She lifted the doormat and felt for the key.
    It wasn't there.
    Funny, she thought. Her mom forgot about it.
    She was probably running late for the party. Maybe she left the door open, though. Callie turned the knob.
    The door swung open.
    "Thank goodness," Callie said out loud. Now she could go straight up to her room and get to bed.
    But Callie didn't make it any farther than the threshold.
    A man stood in front of her.
    His black stocking mask kept her from seeing his face, and a heavy black sweater and baggy jeans masked his weight. But she recognized the black gloves on his hands. The black gloves that had clamped down over her mouth earlier that evening. The black gloves that were reaching for her again now.
    She had found her mugger.
    Or rather, he had found her.
    And this time, she knew, he didn't plan on letting her go alive.

Chapter 3
    CALLIE HAD ONLY one weapon to defend herself with — her voice. And she used it. Her scream was earsplitting.
    The mugger froze for just a second, then decided. He brushed past Callie, knocking her off balance, spinning her halfway around. By the time she recovered and tried to get another look at him, he had disappeared into the night.
    She felt as if she would explode, so she stood motionless until she had calmed down enough to think clearly again.
    Then she went inside, closed and locked the door, and moved to the phone.
    She punched out a number and was relieved when Frank answered it on the first ring.
    "Can you come over here now?" she asked.
    "Callie, are you all right?" asked Frank. "What's up?"
    "The mugger," said Callie. "He was wearing a mask, but I'm sure it was him. He was here when I got home. I screamed and scared him off. He must have been afraid of the neighbors arriving. Good thing he didn't know that the Joneses are away and Mrs. Cole is deaf."
    "But why, I wonder?" Frank