Nancy pulled open the door to the fourth-floor hallway. For a moment she stood there, watching and listening. Goose bumps popped out on her arms and legs. She was struck by the uneasy feeling that someone was there.
“Hello?” she said, but all she heard in reply was the sound of her own breathing.
Shaking herself once, Nancy moved quickly down the hall. She tried each door she passed. Bursar’s Office, Student Records, Financial Aid … They were all locked.
She was just about to start down the center stairs when a voice coming from the other hallway made her stop.
“I could have gotten in big trouble last night.”
Nancy jerked her head around. I know that voice! she thought.
Hardly daring to breathe, she tiptoed down the hall toward the sound. Just beyond a rest room door was a bank of old-fashioned phone booths set into the wall. Three of the four booths were empty. But a half-open backpack and red parka spilled through the doorway of the fourth booth. As Nancy drew closer, she recognized Joy’s blond hair. Joy’s face was turned away from Nancy, but the tone of her voice was clearly annoyed.
“Okay, okay,” Joy said into the receiver. “We’ll meet again. But this time don’t let me down.”
In a single efficient motion, Joy slammed the receiver into its cradle and swung her arm around to scoop up her things. She was halfway out of the phone booth when she saw Nancy.
“Oh.” She paused uncertainly. “I didn’t know anyone was—”
Joy stopped talking and stared at the green glove that stuck out of Nancy’s jacket pocket.
“Hey! Isn’t that—”
She shoved her hands into her own jacket pockets, then blinked in confusion when she pulled out only one glove.
“What are you doing with my other glove?” she demanded. Nancy was surprised by her accusing tone. Joy acted as if she was suspicious of Nancy, instead of the other way around.
“I found it on the roof,” Nancy said. “Right after someone knocked an icicle from the eaves that nearly skewered Grant.”
Joy blinked. “You don’t think I … No way,” she said, shaking her head firmly. “I haven’t even been on the roof.”
“Well, someone was. And you’re the only one around.” Nancy glanced up and down the deserted hallway. “What are you doing here all by yourself? Shouldn’t you be with your team?”
Joy yanked the zipper of her backpack closed. “I don’t have to put up with your third degree,” she said, tugging on her parka and slipping her backpack over her shoulder. “And I won’t stand for your making trouble for me.”
“My team is the one being affected by the sabotage,” Nancy pointed out. “C.J. hurt his ankle slipping on the soapy stair in the tower. George could have been injured when her ski was sabotaged. Who knows what would have happened if we’d eaten the dessert with that muscle relaxant on it …”
Joy watched impassively. “I didn’t have anything to do with any of that,” she said coolly.
“Oh, yeah?” Nancy countered. “Whoever knocked that icicle down dropped this.” She held out the file Ned had found. “I think it was used to cut the screws on George’s bindings.”
Joy shrugged. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, trying to pin that on me,” she said in a voice that was deadly serious. “I’ve had enough of your tricks. Back off!”
With that she strode past Nancy and started down the main stairs. All Nancy could do was stare after her.
“What is going on?” she murmured. Why was Joy acting as if she were the one being attacked?
By the time Nancy got back outside, Joy was gone. The sun was low, and the western sky glowed a deep purple-orange. Ned, C.J., and George surrounded Grant, who held up the paper clue.
“We’re in business!” he said.
“Just in time.” George cupped a hand to her ear as a loud air horn echoed through the air. “Hear that?”
“The signal to end the Clues Challenge for today,” Ned said. “We’d better check in with Mr. Lorenzo at HQ,” he said. “We don’t want him to think we’re looking for clues after hours.”
Nancy’s grip tightened around the file in her jacket parka. “There’s something else I want to talk to him about, too.”
When they got to the Sports Complex, they found Mel Lorenzo at the snack counter in the atrium.
“Excellent. You’re the third team to check in,” he said. He grinned at them as he picked up a can of diet soda and started back across the AstroTurf to the table where he’d been camped out all day. “I’m just waiting for the Sigmas now.”
“While you’re waiting …” Nancy pulled the file from her jacket pocket. “Is this yours?” she asked.
Mr. Lorenzo took the file and turned it over in his palm. “Could be. It’s the right size. But I’m afraid they all look pretty much the same.”
“We found it on the roof of the administration building,” Ned said. “Right after someone knocked off an icicle that nearly killed Grant.”
Mr. Lorenzo kept turning the file over in his hand as they told him about what had happened. He didn’t look up or speak until after Nancy described her encounter with Joy.
“Wow,” he finally said. Putting the file down on the table, he sipped from his can of diet soda. “Joy didn’t mention the incident. You say she denied that she was the person you saw?”
Nancy nodded. “But we found her glove. Who else could it have been?”
“I understand what you’re saying,” Mr. Lorenzo said. “But without something more solid …”
“I know, I know. You can’t disqualify her team.” George crossed her arms over the front of her parka. “No offense, Mr. Lorenzo,” she said. “But that really stinks.”
“It’s my job to judge this competition fairly,” he told her. “I can’t jump to conclusions.”
