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

Nancy ducked under his arms and left him sitting alone in the booth. Her plans for the night just didn’t include Mike. “Sorry,” she told him, “but until I find Rosita, I’m afraid I won’t have any fun at all.”
    Abandoning her pizza, Nancy went out into the warm, breezy night, Mike frowning after her. From now on, she told herself, no more warm-up conversations. Just show the picture and ask the question. If you get stuck with any more Mikes, this search will take forever.
    Unfortunately, Fort Lauderdale was full of Mikes, looking to have fun. Some were nice, some came on a little too strong, a few actually took her questions seriously. All of them were interested in Nancy, and none of them had seen Rosita.
    By ten-thirty, Nancy was starting to feel discouraged. She’d hit every fast-food place on the strip and turned down invitations to dancein at least half the discos—and still no Rosita. What was the girl, anyway? A phantom? Somebody has to have seen her, Nancy thought.
    By that time, the beach parties were going strong. Campfires were blazing, and radios and cassettes were blasting up and down the shoreline. Carrying her sandals, Nancy strolled along the soft, cool sand, stopping at every gathering to ask if anyone had seen the girl in the picture.
    One girl thought she looked just like a girl from her dorm. “But she didn’t come to Lauderdale, so it couldn’t be the same one, could it?”
    No, Nancy agreed, it couldn’t. She was getting so many “sorrys,” and “never saw hers,” and “forget about her, stick with mes,” that when she finally heard the words, “Oh, sure,” she thought she’d imagined them.
    “What did you say?” she asked the boy who’d spoken.
    “I said, sure, I saw her about twenty minutes ago.” He took a closer look at the photograph. “Yeah, that’s the one. She was with one of the lifeguards. Ricardo, I think his name is.”
    Suddenly Nancy wasn’t tired anymore. Her luck was changing. “Where were they?” she asked.
    “Over that way,” the boy said, pointing down the beach. “They were leaning against some trees, talking.” He smiled and gaveNancy a long look. “Hey, if you don’t find them, come on back, why don’t you? I plan to be here all night long.”
    “Thanks,” Nancy replied, smiling, “but I don’t.” She trotted down the beach, keeping her fingers crossed that Ricardo and Rosita would still be there.
    As Nancy approached a grove of palm trees she saw two shadowy figures emerge and begin walking along the wet sand, close to the water, toward the docks where Dirk had taken her that morning. The tide was still out, and the moon was full. Nancy could see clearly that one of the figures was Ricardo. The other one—shorter and with long, dark hair—had to be Rosita.
    Nancy followed them, keeping a safe distance, sticking to the trees wherever there were any. Ricardo and Rosita seemed to be having a very intense conversation, and Nancy was sure they had no idea she was behind them. She was looking ahead, not really watching where she was going, when she stepped into another grove of palms, tripped over two reclining bodies and went sprawling head first into the sand.
    A girl gave a piercing shriek and a boy grumbled, “Hey, give us a break, huh? Things were just getting romantic here!”
    “Sorry, sorry,” Nancy said, trying not to laugh. It would have been funny, but she wasworried. Had Ricardo and Rosita heard the shriek? Not wanting to lose sight of them—or ruin the little love scene—Nancy stepped out of the trees and into the bright moonlight.
    Ricardo and Rosita had stopped. They were looking in Nancy’s direction. As soon as Ricardo saw her, he grabbed Rosita’s hand, and the two of them took off running.
    Nancy tore after them, not bothering to hide anymore. All she wanted was to catch up with them. Running on the wet, hard-packed sand, she saw them round a bend in the shoreline, and pushed herself even harder, not wanting to