Choosing Sides by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online Page A

Pretty soon a large group of Caroline Hill supporters were dancing on the stage. During a fast song, Nancy almost knocked into someone at the edge of the crowd. Turning, she saw that it was Brenda Carlton.
    â€œOops, sorry, Brenda,” Nancy said breathlessly, coming to a stop. “What brings you here? Don’t tell me you’re a Hill supporter.”
    â€œHardly!” Brenda replied sourly, holding up her reporter’s pad. “I happen to be working on an assignment, thanks to you.”
    â€œHow’s that?” Nancy asked.
    Brenda put a hand on her hip. “After you talked to my father about my article, he had no choice but to ask me to write a retraction to the Caroline Hill scandal if I couldn’t verify positively that the photo was accurate and not doctored. I just got a statement from Ms. Hill.”
    Before Nancy could reply, Bess and Kyle came up to her. “Hey, Nan, it’s almost nine. Maybe we’d better go look for Bobby Rouse now and—” Bess broke off when she saw Brenda.
    â€œBobby Rouse?” Brenda was suddenly alert. “What are you going to talk to him about?”
    Bess shot Nancy an apologetic look. “It’s nothing,Brenda, really,” Bess said, but the reporter didn’t look convinced.
    â€œYou guys are up to something.” Brenda closed her notebook. “I’m coming with you. Don’t even try to talk me out of it,” she said firmly. “I have as much of a right to talk to him as you do.”
    â€œLook, Brenda—” Nancy began.
    â€œEither you let me come with you, or I follow you, anyway,” Brenda said.
    Nancy exchanged a look with Bess and Kyle. At least if Brenda was with them, Nancy thought, they might be able to keep her from doing something stupid. “Well, okay,” Nancy finally said. “But first I want to make a few calls. I’ll meet you all at my car in a couple of minutes.”
    While the others headed outside, Nancy found a pay phone in the lobby and called Chief McGinnis. “Hi, Chief,” she said when he came on the line. “I heard that Bobby Rouse is out on bail. Can you tell me who posted the bond?”
    She waited while he called for the report. “A guy named Ralph Lemko,” Chief McGinnis said.
    â€œHmm. That could be the same Ralph I saw Rouse talking to earlier today,” Nancy said.
    Chief McGinnis gave her Lemko’s address. “Oh, one more thing,” he told her. “I ran a computer check on Bobby Rouse. It turns out that the address he gave us is false. I thought you’d want to know, in case you’re planning on talking to him.”
    Nancy tried to hide her disappointment.“Thanks for letting me know,” she said. “I guess I’ll have to try to find him somewhere else.”
    After hanging up, Nancy joined Kyle, Bess, and Brenda at her car. They piled in, with Bess and Kyle in the backseat and Brenda up front with Nancy.
    â€œThe address we have for Bobby Rouse is bogus, so let’s drive by Slim and Shorty’s,” Nancy suggested as they drove away. “Maybe we’ll find Rouse or his friend Ralph.”
    When they reached the diner, Nancy slowed down to look around. The lights at Slim and Shorty’s glowed brightly, but just about every other building around was dark.
    â€œThis neighborhood looks even scarier at night than it did this morning,” Bess said with a shiver.
    Nancy pulled to a halt in front of the diner and gazed through the windows that ran the full length of the front. The diner was almost deserted. The booths were empty. An old man sat over his coffee at a long counter, and a short, fat cook in a dirty apron read the paper.
    â€œI don’t see either Rouse or his friend in there,” Kyle said, frowning. “Now what?”
    â€œI can’t believe you guys made me go on a total wild-goose chase!” Brenda sighed in exasperation.
    â€œWhat a drag,”