Model Mystery Trilogy 01: Model Crime by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online Page A

up. “Okay, whatever,” he said with a laugh. “Thanks for coming, everyone. It’s cool to be here with my best girl and my best friends. Bottoms up!”
    He lifted the cup to his lips while everyone else was echoing the “bottoms up.” But he’d barely tipped it for the first sip when his eyes widened, and he tossed the cup away, spitting all over the floor.
    “Stop! Don’t drink it!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “There’s, like, gasoline or something in it!”

IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH
     
     
    I couldn’t believe the film crew was still filming at the hospital. Most of us were sort of milling around the reception area, much to the confusion of the nurses and receptionists on duty. Vic had been whisked off to a room right away, accompanied by Sydney and her parents. But since nobody else had even come close to drinking the jet fuel–laced PowerUp, the staff didn’t seem to know what to do with us.
    “It’s a good thing Vic’s used to eating and drinking all kinds of weird stuff on the show,” George commented. She was flopped on one of the couches in the waiting area, flipping through a dusty old magazine she’d grabbed from the end table. “It might have taken a normal person longer to recognize the smell and taste of jet fuel.”
    “Ya think?” Bess said sarcastically, leaning against the back of the couch. “I mean, I certainly don’t go around drinking jet fuel every day of the week myself.”
    “It’s also lucky that nobody thought Vic was kidding around and drank the stuff anyway,” I said with a shudder. “Anyway, one thing’s for sure. There’s definitely a mystery here.”
    The police had already come and gone. One of the officers who’d responded was a friend of mine, and he’d confirmed Vic’s suspicions. The sports drink appeared to have been laced with a small amount of jet fuel.
    “True,” George agreed. “As nuts as the Daredevils guys might be, I doubt they’d actually try to poison one another. Besides, they pretty much stick to just messing around within their own little group as far as I know. I can’t see them trying to involve innocent bystanders.”
    “So then who did it?” I mused aloud. “And how, and why?”
    “How? Well, it’s no mystery where someone got the jet fuel,” Bess said. “I mean, we were at the airport, right?”
    “Right,” I said, glancing around the room. “And that means it was probably someone at the party who did it.”
    “Had to be,” George agreed. “You saw the security at the airport. And we know it wasn’t my mom or her people, so someone must’ve added the jet fuel after the PowerUp got to the party.”
    As the caterers of the event, Mrs. Fayne and her crew had been first in line for suspicion—at least as far as the police were concerned. But I hadn’t bothered with that possibility for a second. All the employees working the party had been with her for a while. And of course I knew Mrs. Fayne herself had nothing to do with it.
    I decided that as long as we were all stuck at the hospital together, we might as well start poking around a little. Parting ways, we all headed off to talk to people and find out whatever we could. I decided to start with a college kid named Terrence who was one of the cater waiters. He was crouched on the edge of a chair looking anxious.
    “Hey,” I said, perching on the next chair. “You okay?”
    “I hope so, Nancy,” Terrence replied miserably. “If I lose this job, I’ll never be able to pay my car insurance!”
    “You won’t lose your job,” I assured him. “Whatever happened today, it wasn’t your fault.”
    “But Andrea and I were the ones who got that punch bowl ready,” he exclaimed. “We spent all morning pouring that stupid purple stuff into it.”
    “Did the punch bowl smell funny or anything?”
    “No way. It was all dusty from being in storage in Mrs. F’s basement, so Andrea spent, like, twenty minutes scrubbing it out.” Terrence shook his head.