Two Points for Murder by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Chapter

Ten

NED, I’M SERIOUS. Stop the tape and rerun it,” Nancy repeated.

Ned was looking at her strangely, but the urgency in her voice was too powerful to ignore. Reaching over, he pressed several buttons on the VCR. The tape stopped and began to rewind.

“How far?” he asked.

“Just a couple of feet,” she said. She stepped close to the screen as the tape started again. “Okay, right here . . . watch what happens to the camera!”

The scene was a play toward the end of the game’s first half. The Emerson players brought the ball down court, dribbling and passing with deadly skill. Ned then set a classic “pick,” blocking the Haviland player guarding Mike. Mike drove to the basket and scored two points.

“What’s so special about that?” Ned wanted to know. “All that’s happening is—”

“There!” Nancy jabbed the freeze-frame button. “It’s not the play, it’s what happens when it’s over . . . see? Somebody knocks the camera and it picks up part of the audience.”

“Yes, but—”

“Look closely. Who’s that?” Nancy pointed to a blurry but recognizable figure.

“Ray Ungar!” Ned gasped. His astonishment faded quickly, though. “I don’t get it, Nancy. What does this prove?”

Nancy unzipped her jacket and dropped into the chair next to Ned’s. “Didn’t you tell me that Ray never goes to Wildcat games?”

“Yes. He once swore he’d never attend another one as long as he lives.”

“Yet there he is among the spectators! Don’t you find that odd?”

Understanding flashed in Ned’s eyes. “It was a deliberate deception, you mean? We were told we wouldn’t see him, therefore we didn’t?”

“Right! And it allowed Ray to do what he really wanted to do—sit in the bleachers and enjoy the effects of his practical jokes!”

Beaming, Ned leapt up and crushed her in a joyful hug. “Nancy, you’ve done it again! Now Mike is in the clear!”

It felt wonderful to have Ned’s arms around her again. As she hugged him back, though, something nagged at the back of her mind. After a minute, she pulled away.

“Ned, play it over again, will you?”

“Sure thing. Wait until everyone sees this!”

Nancy shook her head as the scene unfolded once more. The camera focused on Ray for only a second or two, but it was long enough for her to realize that she had been wrong.

“I’m sorry, Ned, but it looks to me like Ray is cheering Mike’s basket.”

Ned’s face fell. “What are you saying?”

“That Ray can’t be the practical joker. If he were, then why would he cheer for the Wildcats?”

“But, Nancy, you just said—”

“I know. I spoke too soon.”

They reran the tape several more times, but each viewing only reinforced Nancy’s belief that her theory was incorrect. Why Ray was supporting Emerson she didn’t know, but he was no longer her prime suspect.

Ned reacted angrily. “I don’t believe this! One minute you’re telling me Mike is okay, and the next you’re accusing him again!”

“I can’t help it. Facts are facts.”

“What facts? That tape doesn’t clear Ray.”

Not totally, she had to agree. It was possible—just possible—that even though he was cheering for Emerson he was still responsible for the pranks.

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