Joe reached her bag first as Nancy slid to a stop. She looked in the bag and saw a white piece of paper. Joe reached in and pulled the paper out. They could see there was writing on the page.

Nancy looked at Debbie. Joe put his arm around her shoulder and was trying to keep her from trembling. Nancy asked, "Where has your bag been?"

"I was in my locker until I came out here for practice. I set it on the seat and then began my workout. Then I saw you come out and sit down." Debbie looked at Nancy.

"How long was it between the time you put your bag down and when I cam out?"

Debbie was quiet for a moment. "Maybe five minutes?"

Nancy realized the note could’ve been slipped in during that time. She also knew it could have been slipped in at any time. They weren’t watching her bag.

She moved over to Debbie and put her hand on Debbie’s shoulder. She said, "Debbie, don’t worry. Everything will work out."

Nancy looked at Frank. He asked, "Is there anything we can do?"

"No, but thanks."

"All right." Frank wrote on his notebook and ripped the page off that he had written on. He handed the page to Nancy. "We need to get going. Call me later."

"All right." Nancy said and shoved the paper into her pocket.

Frank and Joe moved away after saying good-bye to Debbie.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Frank and Joe were at a pizza place, which was a local hangout for the kids. They had ordered a large pizza and were listening to them talk. As Joe swallowed a piece of pizza, he looked at Frank. Joe said, "You know, Nancy has her hands full with Debbie."

"And you want to help Nancy by taking Debbie off her hands?" Frank questioned with a grin on his face.

"No," Joe said. "It’s just that whoever is after Debbie knows her every move. Someone had to know where she kept her bag."

"I know." Frank leaned back in his seat.

"I wonder who is doing this," Joe pondered.

"I’m not sure, but I know we’ll find out."

At that moment, two people sat down with Frank and Joe. They looked at each other.

"Can we help you?" Frank asked, looking at the two.

One was a girl from track practice who was running behind Debbie. Her red hair hung down her back. It was Ashley Morgan.

"We need to talk," the boy who sat next to Frank said as he looked at Joe. The boy had short, blond hair but was very muscular and didn’t look too happy.

"Who are you?" Joe asked.

"Matt Light."

"So, what do you want?" Joe asked.

"Let me give you some friendly advice, stay away from Debbie. She’s trouble. She dates guys then leaves them."

"I find that hard to believe," Joe said. "Debbie seems really nice."

"That’s how it starts. But then things change."

"Maybe you and Debbie didn’t click. She and I have a lot in common."

"Debbie will dump you just like she did to every guy she’s ever dated before."

"Matt’s right," Ashley said. "Debbie is a loser and deserves to be treated like one. She needs to be treated like she’s treated others."

"Thanks for your concern, but I’ll make up my own mind. And I’ll date who I want to date."

"I warned you," Matt said as he locked eyes with Joe. "You will be sorry. People who hang out with her usually get hurt."

Before Frank or Joe could say anything, Ashley and Matt got to their feet and walked away.

Frank looked at Joe, who asked, "So, what do you think?"

"I think we have a break in Nancy’s case. I think Nancy should know."

"You’re right. I just wish it was helpful to us."

"I know."

* * * * *

The next morning, Nancy was at school early. She was sitting in the library waiting for Frank. She called him the night before and he told her he hand some information. She had been unable to get the information the previous evening without blowing Frank and Joe’s cover.

She sat waiting for Frank. She wondered what Frank and Joe could’ve come up with. She was eager to know what it was. Pulling out her notebook, she opened to a blank page. She tried to think of why someone would send threatening notes. She thought back to what they had talked about.

Debbie had no idea who was threatening her. She assumed it was someone she knew like Ashley or Matt, but there was no real proof. Debbie admitted she broke off the relationship with Matt because she didn’t want to be his servant. Debbie had gotten out of the relationship.

From what Debbie had told her, Matt seemed very angry. But she also knew Ashley could also be at fault. Ashley seemed extremely competitive and wanted to push Debbie out of the way. Nancy knew she needed to check on Ashley.

Nancy looked at her watch. She was worried. Frank was supposed to meet her twenty minutes earlier. It wasn’t like Frank to be late. She knew she heard Frank right when they talked the night before. She had verified the time so she wouldn’t be late.

She got to her feet and moved to the door hoping to find Frank there. As she reached the door, she saw a boy standing there. The boy was about 15 years old. He was looked around.

She approached the boy and he asked, "Are you Nancy?"

"I am."

"I have a message for you."

Nancy was surprised. She asked, "What’s the message?"

"A guy wants to meet you by the gym."

"What does the guy look like?" Nancy asked cautiously.

"He’s six feet tall or more with brown hair."

"Did he say why he wanted to meet me there?"

"He said he had just gotten a call from his brother, who was in the locker room being sick."

Nancy knew it was Frank. She figured it had to be serious. She thanked the boy and hurried toward the gym. As she made her way to the gym, she wondered why the gym. She wondered why Joe couldn’t have made it to one of the restrooms that were a lot closer.

As she reached the hallway to the gym, she saw the lights were out. The hallway was dark and quiet. Moving slowly down the hallway, she looked all around as she walked. She walked slowly making sure her sneakers didn’t squeak She had a bad feeling about this.

All of a sudden, she heard a squeak behind her. She started to turn to see what was there. But was stopped halfway when she felt a hand over her mouth as her head was pulled back. Her left arm was pulled up behind her back. She was unable to move.

Nancy put her right hand up to the hand covering her mouth. She scratched the hand as a voice spoke in a whisper, "You should leave things alone and go back home because I know who you are. You will get hurt if you don’t butt out."

She wondered who it was. She knew it wasn’t Frank or Joe. She knew she was in danger. She scanned the area with her eyes trying to find a way to escape.

She felt her left arm get pulled again and felt a pain shoot through her left shoulder. She knew she needed to get away. Before she could move, she heard a sound behind them.

Nancy was thrown against the way where the drinking fountain was located. She hit her head on the edge of the fountain and slid to the floor, her face turned to the side. She could see feet running away from her. The sneakers were white with a blue star on the bottom. She closed her eyes.