005 Hit and Run Holiday by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online Page A

she insisted on going. She’s also still ticked off at him for brushing her off and going out with you instead. But I know she understands that you have to do everything possible to solve the case.
    George
    Sighing, Nancy turned the shower on full blast and stepped into the warm spray. If all she had to worry about was Bess being mad at her, things would be great. Instead, things were about as rotten as they could be. She’d fallen for Dirk’s line and spent an entire morning following a phony lead. And she’d really goofed with Ricardo. She should never have even hinted to him that she knew who he was. She’d probably be a lot closer to solving the case if she’d just kept her eyes open and her mouth shut.
    With another sigh, Nancy stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She left the bathroom and stood in front of the window, staring out at the beach. Already, campfires were blazing here and there asgroups of kids gathered for the next round of all-night parties. Nancy couldn’t help thinking that she’d much rather be out there having fun than holed up alone in her hotel room. Then it hit her—if she’d rather be out somewhere, maybe Ricardo and Rosita would too. If not that night, then surely they’d been out on other nights.
    She had Rosita’s picture. And of the hundreds of kids on the beach and in the discos, there had to be at least one who’d seen her. It’s worth a try, Nancy thought, as she put on a flashy sundress and her new sandals. After all, you said yesterday that if you had to, you’d walk up and down the beach asking anyone and everyone if they’d seen this girl. Well, now, it looks as if you have to.
    It was eight o’clock by the time Nancy set out on her search. She was already on the beach when she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since noon. There were plenty of fast-food places around. She could grab some food and ask a few questions at the same time.
    Asking questions turned out to be easier than she’d anticipated. Halfway through a slice of pepperoni pizza, Nancy noticed that a cute boy in the next booth was paying more attention to her than to his pizza, which was getting cold, fast.
    Nancy swallowed a bite of cheese, wiped her mouth, and raised her can of soda. That wasall it took. In two seconds, the boy was sitting next to her. “Hi there,” he said with a grin. “How you doing?”
    “I’m not sure,” Nancy replied, trying to look confused.
    “What’s the problem?”
    “Oh, well, this is going to sound weird, but I was supposed to meet a friend of a friend when I got to Lauderdale,” Nancy explained, making it up as she went along. “But I get here and what happens? I can’t find her! She’s not at the hotel, she’s not on the beach, she’s not anywhere.”
    “So?” The boy moved over in the booth and casually slid his arm across the back of it. “My name’s Mike, by the way, and I don’t think your story’s weird at all. Your friend’s friend is probably having a blast and just forgot about you. My advice is to enjoy yourself and forget about her.”
    “Well, I would, except for one thing.” Nancy noticed that Mike’s hand was now resting on her bare shoulder. “I was supposed to give her something . . . some money. And I just know I can’t have a good time until I find her and get that cash off my hands.”
    “Well, a good time’s definitely what it’s all about,” Mike said, tightening his fingers on her shoulder. “Why don’t you let me help you?”
    “I was hoping you’d say that.” Nancyreached into her straw shoulder bag and took out the photo. “Here she is. Her name’s Rosita.”
    “Pretty,” Mike said, barely glancing at the picture. “But not as pretty as you.”
    “Thanks,” Nancy replied, “but have you seen her?”
    “Afraid not. Now, what are you and I going to do for fun tonight?” Mike scooted even closer to Nancy and bent his head down as if he were going to kiss her.
    At the last second,