The Teen Model Mystery by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

9

A Narrow Escape

As the heavy Dumpster rumbled down the street, Nancy shouted, “Quick, Bess! Out of the way!”

Bess screamed and flung herself to one side. Nancy leapt to the other side. But her foot slipped into a pothole, wrenching her ankle. She felt herself lurch forward—right into the path of the Dumpster! She flung her hands over her head to protect herself as she fell helplessly to the ground.

Just then the Dumpster hit a hump in the pavement. It careened wildly across the narrow street and crashed into the side of a parked car.

“Oh, no!” The herbalist came running out of his shop. “My car! What a bummer!”

Then he noticed Nancy and Bess sprawled on the sidewalk. “Are you guys okay?” he asked.

“I’m okay,” Bess mumbled. She still looked a little dazed.

Nancy stood up, testing her ankle. “I’m fine,” she said. “At least that thing didn’t flatten me.” Reassured, the herbalist went over to check out the damage on his car.

Nancy looked at Bess. “I wonder how that Dumpster happened to roll down the street just as we came out of the shop,” she said.

“It is a pretty strange coincidence,” Bess agreed.

They crossed the street to look at the big metal container. Nancy knelt down and studied the wide steel wheels. “See that?” she said to Bess. “The wheels at one end have simple brakes built into them. Either they weren’t set properly . . . ”

“Or somebody deliberately released them,” Bess said, finishing Nancy’s sentence. “Then whoever it was gave the thing a shove to start it down the street in our direction. Thank goodness we had plenty of time to get out of the way.”

Nancy nodded. “Whoever did it was more interested in sending us a warning than in really hurting us,” she speculated. “Though he or she obviously didn’t care if we did get hurt.”

“Look what that thing did to my car!” the guy from the store exclaimed. “Do you have any idea who did this?”

“Sorry, no,” Nancy told him. “But if we find out, we’ll let you know. Come on, Bess. Let’s go look at where the Dumpster was parked before it went on its joyride.”

As she and Bess walked up the block toward the corner, Nancy studied the street. The Dumpster had left faint muddy tracks on the pavement. As they approached the spot where the other Dumpster was still parked, Nancy caught her breath.

The mud in the gutter was trampled, as if someone had stepped all over it. And just next to the curb was a clear footprint.

Nancy went down on one knee and studied it. Then she rummaged through her shoulder bag. She pulled out the sketch she had made the day before, on the stairs down to the freight tunnel.

Bess, peering over her shoulder, said, “Nancy! They’re the same shoe!”

Nancy nodded grimly. “It looks that way,” she said. “Whoever rolled that Dumpster at us is probably our eavesdropper from yesterday.”

“But how did he know we were here?” Bess wondered.

“Ann Bowers and Cody Charles were the only people who knew that we were back in town,” Nancy pointed out.

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