Stalk, Don't Run by Carolyn Keene Read Free Book Online

said.
    “What about the mean girls?” Maggie wailed.
    “As long as they’re not targeting you, try to be where they’re not. There are a lot of different activities at camp, so keep busy. There’ll always be mean girls around,” George said with a frown. “No matter how old you get.”
    Like Deirdre Shannon?
    But Maggie wasn’t buying it.
    “ Please , Bess,” Maggie said. “Amy and the mean girls aren’t the only reason I hate camp, you know.”
    “There’s something else?” Bess asked.
    Maggie nodded, her eyes wide. “There’s this strange older guy who’s been sneaking around camp late at night,” she whispered. “He wears a jacket and a big hat that covers most of his face. A couple of nights ago I saw his face, and it was covered with black and red blotches. It looked like his nose was falling off!”
    Was this a joke?
    “Alice saw him too!” Maggie went on. “Every night when the lights are out you can hear him moaning . . . and screaming . . . and groaning—”
    “Okay, Maggie, that’s it,” Bess said. “Save the scary stories for the campfire.”
    “You don’t believe me?” Maggie asked. She looked desperately at me and George for support.
    “Sorry, Mag,” George said. “It sounds like you’re making stuff up so you can go home.”
    “You guys!” Maggie groaned.
    “Look, Maggie,” I said, trying to cheer her up. “Tomorrow’s Saturday. Amy asked us to speak to the campers about detective work and solving mysteries, so we’ll be here again.”
    “At least you get to go home afterward,” Maggie said.
    A counselor standing in the distance called Maggie’s name.
    “I’ve got to go,” Maggie said with a frown. “I’ll see you tomorrow . . . if I live that long.”
    “I thought the Casabians were the drama queens, but Maggie’s in training,” George quipped as Bess’s sister ran to her counselor.
    “Maybe,” I said. “But, Bess, you really should speak to Amy to make sure all that stuff isn’t true.”
    “All that stuff except the guy with the decrepit nose,” Bess said. “I’d be too embarrassed to bring that up.”
    We walked through the camp, looking for Amy. It did seem as though the campers were somewhat unsupervised. Some were hanging out in front of their bunks. A few counselors were lounging around the pool, sunbathing and texting.
    Finally we found her, walking out of the camp office. She bumped smack into us, totally distracted and unaware that we were even there. Almost immediately she flashed a bright smile and said, “Hello, girls. Aren’t you a day early?”
    “We were visiting Maggie,” Bess said. “She told us that camp is kind of different lately.”
    “Different?” Amy said, her eyes darting left and right. “Different how?”
    Bess looked uncomfortable explaining, so I piped up.
    “Maggie thinks you might be . . . preoccupied lately,” I said carefully.
    Still smiling, Amy said, “Is that what Maggie told you?”
    “Yes,” I said. “She also said—”
    “You know, it’s normal for girls to get homesick and miss their families,” Amy cut in. “In Maggie’s case, it’s probably candy bars and ice cream she’s missing.”
    Wow—that wasn’t nice!
    George looked at Amy and said evenly, “You don’t seem to have a problem with the girls in Bunk Diana eating junk food. Or leaving camp to hang out on Main Street this morning.”
    “Is that what Maggie told you?” Amy said, shaking her head. “She is quite relentless, isn’t she?”
    “ We saw Darcy, Lindsay, and Ava on Main Street today,” I answered. “Mandy Casabian was at Safer’s Cheese Shop, and they wanted to meet her.”
    Amy turned red. But she continued, “The girls from Bunk Diana had special permission to go to town. They were with a counselor, in case you didn’t notice.”
    “No,” I said. “We didn’t.”
    She lowered her eyes, then looked up at the three of us. “I’m been rethinking tomorrow,” she said. “And you needn’t show up for your