010 Buried Secrets Read Online Free Page A

to kill John Harrington?
    Nancy glanced at her watch. It was twelve o’clock. With only half a glass of orange juice in her stomach, she was starving. But she decided to go to the police station before she ate because she wanted to read the files on the case to see if the police had been as suspicious of Neil Gray as she was.
    Downtown River Heights was crowded with workers out for a quick meal or a stroll in the spring sunshine. Nancy was almost at the police station when the smell of hot dogs from an outdoor stand made her stop. Her stomach rumbled, and she couldn’t ignore her hunger any longer. As she walked up to the hot dog stand, she saw she had an even better reason to stop—Ned was there.
    Her heart pounding eagerly, Nancy sneaked up behind Ned. “I can’t believe it,” she said teasingly, “you still eat them with sauerkraut.”
    “Nancy!” Ned looked surprised and happy. “This is great. Tell you what—I’ll buy your hot dog if you’ll eat it with me in the park.”
    Nancy wanted to go, but she knew that if she did, she and Ned would hang out in the park for a while. “I’ll make you another deal,” she said. “You walk with me to the police station, and I’ll buy my own hot dog.”
    “The police station?” Ned frowned. “You’re on the case already?”
    “Why not?” Nancy asked. “The faster I get on it, the faster I’ll finish it.” There, she thought, that ought to make him happy.
    “I guess you’re right,” Ned agreed. “I just wish you had some free time. I’m going back to school in a few days.”
    Nancy’s hot dog stopped halfway to her mouth. “Ned, I told you I was accepting Brenda’s challenge and you didn’t say anything! Now you’re complaining. I don’t get it.”
    “I’m not complaining,” Ned protested. “I just want to spend some time with you, that’s all.”
    “Well, why haven’t you asked?”
    “I was going to this morning, but you said you were accepting Brenda’s challenge. And I didn’t want to get in your way.”
    “Well, we’re together now. Will you walk me to the police station?” Nancy smiled and took his hand. “Come on. We’ll walk very slowly.”
    “Somehow I think I got the short end of this deal,” Ned commented, but he did squeeze her hand. “Okay, you win. Let’s go to the police station.”
    They did walk slowly, but the police offices were only a block and a half away, and it was hard to make the walk last more than five minutes. When they said goodbye, Nancy could tell Ned was disappointed. He’s not the only one, she thought.
    The mayor’s office was right next door to the police station, and on the spur of the moment Nancy decided to go there first. As she entered the reception area, she could see the mayor in his office having what looked like a heated conversation with a tall, skinny man. The man’s back was to her, and Nancy couldn’t hear what he’d just said, but obviously it upset the mayor. Mayor Abbott’s face turned red and he walked over and slammed the door of his office shut.
    Politics, Nancy thought, and walked over to the secretary’s desk. “Hi,” she said, and gave her name. “I’d like to make an appointment to see Mayor Abbott.”
    The secretary peered over her glasses. “About what, dear?”
    “About John Harrington’s death,” Nancy told her. “I’m investigating what happened that night, and I need to speak to everyone who was involved.”
    “Oh, dear, I don’t know. Oh, well, the mayor will see anyone who asks. So I suppose I have to give you an appointment.” The secretary sighed and flipped through her appointment book. The mayor had fifteen minutes of free time at the very end of the next day, and even though she still didn’t look happy about it, the secretary made the appointment for Nancy.
    Nancy thanked her and headed for the police station. Since she’d worked with a lot of the officers, she didn’t have any trouble getting permission to look at their computerized