Read 005 Hit and Run Holiday for Free Online Page B

Nancy, with golden skin, silky blond hair, and a smile in her wide green eyes. “Need a lift?” she asked.
    “It looks that way, doesn’t it?” Nancy said, laughing. “I’m not really stranded though.”She pointed to Dirk. “But thanks for the offer.”
    The woman pulled her dark glasses down from the top of her head and peered through them at Dirk. “Oh, are you with him? Well, let me tell you, he’s cute, but he’s a klutz, if you know what I mean. I should know—I’m his boss.” With a delightful smile, she stuck her hand over the side of the boat. “I’m Lila Templeton.”
    So she was the fun lady Dirk had mentioned. Shaking Lila’s outstretched hand, Nancy glanced over her shoulder at Dirk, who was closer but still struggling with the waves. He lied to get me out here, she thought, and now it’s time to pay him back. Laughing again, she hauled herself into Lila’s boat. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer after all,” she said, “if you don’t mind stopping at the island a moment so I can get my things.”
    Grinning, Lila Templeton started the engines, and the boat took off with a roar. As they passed Dirk, Lila slowed long enough to shout, “I want to talk to you the minute you get back!” She and Nancy made a fast stop at the island. Then Lila put the boat into high gear and sped off, leaving Dirk Bowman floundering in its wake.
    As they sped back to the mainland, Lila kept up a steady stream of chatter about where Nancy should go and what she should do whileshe was in Florida. Mostly, though, she gave a sales pitch for her party to nowhere. “It’s absolutely the wildest party you’ll ever go to,” she shouted. “You ought to try it while you’re down here. You won’t forget it, I promise you that!”
    Nancy started to say that Dirk had already invited her, but she changed her mind. Lila seemed genuinely friendly, and Nancy didn’t want to disappoint her. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t have time for any wild island parties. She had other things to do, she thought grimly, and other people to see. Beginning with Ricardo.
    “So what brings you to Lauderdale?” Lila asked, as they approached the docks. “Let me guess—spring break, right?”
    “Right,” Nancy said. She didn’t like lying, but even though Lila seemed harmless and empty-headed, Nancy decided she shouldn’t trust anyone. She’d talked to Dirk and look what had happened. Dirk had probably mentioned her to Ricardo, and it was just luck that her surfboard hadn’t cracked open her skull half an hour ago.
    When Lila docked the boat, Nancy thanked her for the ride and climbed out. “Don’t forget the party, Nancy!” Lila called after her, and Nancy said she wouldn’t. But she knew that that night she wouldn’t be at any party.
    Twenty minutes later, Nancy had grabbed abite to eat and was back on Fort Lauderdale Beach, looking for Ricardo. She had a strong urge to use one of George’s most painful judo moves on him, but she knew that instead she would simply have to be patient. She would have to watch him, see where he went, whom he talked to. If she was careful, he just might lead her to Rosita.
    The first place Nancy checked was Ricardo’s lifeguard chair, but he wasn’t in it. She strolled along the beach, keeping one eye out for Ricardo and the other out for stray men-of-war. Two of a kind, she thought with a grim smile.
    Finally Nancy spotted the lifeguard standing ankle-deep in the surf. Beside him, holding his hand, was a blond girl in a red string bikini. It was Bess.
    Nancy stopped, trying to figure out what to do. If Ricardo found out she and Bess were friends, he might decide that Bess should be the victim of a few accidents too. But if he thought that Bess was just another pretty girl out for a good time, he might relax with her. And Bess might learn something important about him. Nancy dropped back, trying to blend in with a group of sunbathers.
    “Well, hi there, how’s your foot?” a