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Nautilus equipment.” He gestured to the machines. “Somebody just must have forgotten to put the bolts on.”
    “Unless it was rigged,” Nancy pointed out. “If your attacker knew that you’re one of the only people who works out at this time of day, he could have rigged the weights to fall.”
    “That’s awful,” Bess said. “Randy could have been killed!”
    Meeting Randy’s eyes, Nancy said soberly, “I think it’s time to tell Coach Mitchell what’s going on. But first I want to talk to the trainer on duty here.”
    It seemed as if Randy were going to protest, but he obviously thought better of it, sighed, and said, “I guess you’re right.”
    Slinging his towel around his neck, Randy got to his feet and led Nancy and Bess out to the hall. They found the trainer on duty in a small office behind the guard’s desk. In his twenties, with freckles and curly brown hair, the trainer was sitting back in the chair, resting his feet on his desk and sipping coffee.
    “What’s up, Randy?” the trainer asked when he saw them. He swung his feet around and stood up.
    Randy introduced Nancy and Bess to the trainer, whose name was Joey Nelson. “Nancy wanted to ask you a few questions, Joey,” Randy said.
    “Sure. How can I help?” Joey turned to Nancy with a smile.
    “It’s about the weight room,” Nancy began. “Did you happen to notice anyone in there tampering with the free weights?”
    Joey’s reaction was skeptical. “A bunch of people were in earlier, but just the football team has had access for the past hour. I didn’t notice anything unusual.”
    “Can you tell me who besides Randy was in the weight room today?” Nancy pressed.
    “I couldn’t possibly,” Joey muttered, crossing his arms defensively. “I can’t keep track of everyone.”
    Nancy stifled a sigh of frustration. “Did you check the free weights this morning?” When Joey didn’t answer, she asked, “Did you check any of the equipment this morning?”
    Still no answer.
    “What’s going on here?” Joey finally asked, staring uncomfortably at first Nancy, then Randy and Bess.
    Nancy tried to keep the irritation out of her voice as she told the trainer, “What’s going on is that Randy was almost beaned by a hundred pounds of weights.”
    “Someone took the bolts off but didn’t remove the weights,” Randy explained.
    Joey’s face paled. “You okay, Randy?” Randy nodded. “Hey, I’m sorry,” Joey went on, turning red. “Guess I should have been sticking closer to the weight room.”
    “Are you sure you didn’t see anything funny or anyone acting suspiciously this morning?” Nancy asked Joey once more. “Or maybe even last night?”
    He shook his head. “Nothing.”
    Nancy thanked him, then turned to Randy. “Now, where’s Coach Mitchell’s office?”
    Randy was silent as he led the girls through the sports center. The coach’s office was inside the men’s locker room, Randy explained. After he made sure that the locker room was empty, he waved Nancy and Bess inside.
    “I feel kind of funny going into a guys’ locker room,” Bess whispered to Nancy, giggling nervously.
    Nancy shrugged, glancing at the empty wooden benches that stood between rows of shiny gray lockers. “Female reporters do it all the time,” she said. “At least no one’s here at the moment.”
    Beyond the lockers, Nancy could see into an office that was half glass and half white metal paneling. She peered through the glass in the top half and recognized Coach Mitchell’s slicked-back silver hair from the pep rally. She couldn’t see his face because he was hunched over, talking into the phone. Apart from the metal desk, the office was furnished with a couple of chairs, two file cabinets, and a shelf filled with awards and trophies.
    Randy went over and tapped on the glass window before opening the office door. The coach’s gravelly voice floated out to them.
    “That’s what I said, Kyle, it’s all on Sunday’s game. Six to