A couple hours later, the four of them had made a dozen runs down the mountain. Nancy was leading the group toward the lift ticket counter when a voice came over the public address system. “Would Joe Hardy please report to the life ticket counter? Joe Hardy to the lift ticket counter.”

Joe looked at Nancy as if to say ‘I told you so.’ The four of them slipped out of their skis and headed for the lift ticket counter. When they arrived, they saw George and Jeremy already standing by the wall. “Do you two know who wanted to see me?”

“I figured it was one way to track you down,” Jeremy said.

Joe noticed George and Jeremy seemed pale even though their faces were slightly pink the like the nose of a kitten from the cool breeze. Joe asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Joe,” George began looking at the ground. She looked at Joe. “Frank was shot.”

“What?!” they all exclaimed.

Joe couldn’t believe it. He knew something had been wrong. He had ignored his feelings. He looked at George. “Is he all right?”

“He’s in with the doctor right now,” George said. “Come on.”

As they headed to the first aid station, George and Jeremy told Joe what they knew. They had been following Frank and Melissa down the slopes. They saw Frank put on a burst of speed and ski up next to Melissa. “The new thing we knew,” George said, “Frank was laying facedown in the snow.”

They walked into the first aid station and saw Frank sitting up on the bed. The right sleeve of Frank’s blue turtleneck was cut off. The doctor was bandaging Frank’s arm.

Joe noticed Frank’s face was pale. Joe asked, “Are you all right?”

“It was only a graze,” Frank replied.

“How on earth did you manage to get shot on a ski slope?” Nancy asked.

“I saw a guy in black pointing a gun down the trail. I skied up to Melissa and I guess I was shot.”

“He was so brave,” Melissa gushed taking hold of Frank’s left hand. “He tried to protect me. No one has ever done that for me before.

“Frank, could you describe the guy?” Nancy interrupted.

“All I saw was a black blur,” Frank said. “But, whoever it was is an experienced skier. There’s no way he could have made it into the woods and get away like he did.”

“All right,” the doctor said getting to his feet. “You’re all set. I’m going to prescribe an antibiotic to ward off infection. You should also take it east for a few days.”

“He will,” Joe said. “I guarantee it.”

“All right,” the doctor said.

Ten minutes later they left the first aid station.

“I’d really like to see the spot where Frank was shot, but he needs to get back to Aunt Maggie’s.”

“We’ll take him back,” George said. “That way Jeremy can show you where it took place.”

“Sounds good to me,” Joe said.

“But what about a ride home?” Bess asked. “If we take the van, how are you going to get back?”

“A couple buddies of mine are around,” Jeremy said. “We shouldn’t have a problem.”

Joe watched Frank as headed to the parking lot with Melissa, George and Bess. Once they were out of sight, the four of them put on their skis and headed back up the mountain. Jeremy led them down the trail. When he got to the spot where Frank collapsed, he stopped.

After removing their skis, they searched the area. Nancy looked at the spot and then at the trees surrounding the trail. She tried to picture what happened. She understood what Frank said.

Nancy moved toward the tree line trying to figure out where the shooter had been. Looking closely at the packed snow, she could make out the tracks of a pair of skis. She followed the tracks back into the woods. She found a packed area where someone had been standing by a tall pine tee. She examined the ground but was unable to find anything. It looked as if the area had been swept clean.

She looked back to where Joe and Ned were examining the others side of the trail. Nancy glanced at the tree she was standing beside and noticed a piece of yellow fabric stuck on the bark.

Nancy slid her gloves off and carefully pulled the fabric off the tree. The fabric felt soft, as if it belonged to a sweater. Nancy slid the fabric into her pocket and started back toward Ned and Joe.

“I don’t understand what you’re looking for,” Jeremy said, puzzled.

“Anything that’ll tell us what happened to Frank,” Joe said.

“We know he was shot. What else do you need to know?” Jeremy asked.

“Who shot him,” Joe said matter-of-factly.

“Whoever shot him must have know he was able to ski the advanced trails,” Ned said as he stood beside Nancy.

“But the thing I don’t understand, is Frank said that the person in black was pointing the gun at Melissa,” Nancy said.

“That kind of tells me Melissa was the target. Not Frank. Someone knew how well she skied.”

“I think you three have flipped,” Jeremy said. “No one is after Melissa. She’s a popular singer. Why would anyone shoot her?”

“Does Melissa have any enemies?” Nancy asked.

“I told you. She’s popular. She has no enemies.”

“We might as well head back to the house,” Joe said, disappointed. “We’re not going to find anything else here.”

“All right,” Nancy said.

The four of them put their skis back on and made their way down the mountain. As the skied, Nancy wondered if there was something going on between Melissa and Jeremy. Something more than friends