Running Into Trouble by Keene Carolyn

Author:Keene, Carolyn [Keene, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Young Adult
ISBN: 9780671503581
Amazon: 0671503588
Goodreads: 382096
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 1996-06-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Nine

SORRY WE STARTLED YOU,” Nancy said to Coach Keenan. “When the rain eased up, we decided we’d walk the course one more time . . .”

“To familiarize ourselves,” George added.

“Can we help you look for something?” Nancy asked. “You seemed to be searching through the leaves.”

Coach Keenan stared at them for a few seconds, her face frozen in an angry mask. She brushed some leaves from the front of her coat and then waved at the path just ahead. “I came out this morning before school started,” she said, jamming her hands into her pockets, “to check the condition of the course. When I got to this point, I noticed that somehow I’d lost my ring.”

She’s lying, Nancy thought, watching closely as the coach chose her words carefully. Keenan still had something to hide.

Ms. Keenan flashed an artificial smile. “The ring isn’t valuable. It’s silver and turquoise, something I got in New Mexico last summer. But it was a nice memento from my trip. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“We’ll help you look.” George dropped to her knees and started on a pile of wet leaves.

“That’s not necessary.” Keenan’s abrupt tone suggested she didn’t want their help.

“No problem,” Nancy said cheerfully as she, too, got to her knees.

The three of them worked their way down the course without talking, the two girls on one side and Coach Keenan on the other. A few minutes into the search there was a cry of triumph from the coach.

“I never thought I’d find it!” she gushed, holding up a handsome ring and then slipping it on her finger. “Thanks so much for helping me look, girls. I probably would have given up if you hadn’t come along.”

The charade was almost convincing, but Nancy knew better. However, she played along with Coach Keenan and said, “Glad to help. It would have been a shame to lose that nice ring.”

“Nancy . . .” the coach said, and then paused. “I came down kind of hard on you this morning. I guess I’m just upset at all the things that have been happening. Anyhow, I’m sorry if I was too harsh. But I’d still appreciate it if both of you would not mention the accidents to anyone. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Without waiting for a reply, Coach Keenan turned and walked briskly back toward the school.

“Tricky the way she slipped her ring off and then miraculously found it under that bush,” Nancy said when Keenan was out of earshot. “I wonder what she was really doing out here.”

George shrugged. “I don’t know. We’re right back to where we started. That half-hearted apology to you was a surprise, too. What brought that on?”

“Coach Keenan knows we’re friends of Samantha, and right now, Mr. Matero is the one person who can put the team back on the track—excuse the pun. So Keenan thinks she should get on our good side, because we have influence over Sam, and possibly her father.”

The gray light of day was fading, and in wooded areas dark shadows fell across the path.

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