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hand in greeting as Kendra sat down between Jennifer and CJ. But the gesture froze in midair as Nancy’s eyes caught the look on Jennifer’s face. The blond girl, who had been so friendly earlier, was now staring at her with a strange expression.
    â€œSo give us the inside scoop, Nancy Private-Eye,” Erik said sarcastically. “What about this dangerous criminal you caught?”
    â€œI’d rather not talk about it,” Nancy said quietly, trying to keep her annoyance from showing. “Formal charges hadn’t been filed when I left headquarters. Besides, Erik, I’m on vacation.”
    CJ looked over at Ned and motioned toward the door. “Time to hit the road,” he said. He picked up his gear and headed outside.
    â€œStressless three days, my foot,” Nancy whispered to Ned, as they followed the group. “I might commit a crime instead of solving one if Erik doesn’t cool it!”
    Ned grinned at her. “Once we get going he’ll calm down,” he assured her.
    But when they got to the bike compound, it got worse instead of better. Nancy had just finished clipping the pannier she had borrowed from George to the rack on the back of her bike when she heard Erik talking to George.
    â€œBy the way,” he said to her, “I talked to the sports reporter on the Emerson Eagle —that’s the school paper. I tipped him off that you’d be on this ride and it would be sort of a dry run for the race next month.”
    â€œYou what?” George spit out the words. “What are you talking about? You know that men and women don’t compete against each other.”
    Erik shrugged his shoulders. “Of course I know that. But that’s not to say that you and I can’t compete this weekend. After all, you are a competitive cyclist. I told the reporter we’d be competing, but unofficially—and that I’d keep him posted on our times.”
    George glared at him but said nothing.
    â€œSince this is a recreational ride,” Erik continued, as he put on his helmet, “we’ll compete in segments each day. We’ll start timing when we hit the county road, and whoever comes up with the best total time over the three days wins. Agreed?”
    â€œWhat choice do I have?” George snapped as she adjusted the strap of her helmet. “If I don’t, I get labeled a poor sport.”
    But Erik didn’t hear what she said. He hadalready kicked up his stand and pushed off, leaving George sputtering.
    It was a twenty-minute ride out of town to the little-used county road they were taking, and George and Erik rode neck and neck.
    Overhead, the sun gently warmed them from an almost cloudless sky. Nancy pulled off her sweatshirt jacket and tied it around her waist. Her long-sleeved cotton shirt was ample covering for the autumn morning. The air was fresh and clean, and the softly rolling hills on the left were carpeted in green. To the right, stubble from a freshly harvested crop left neat rows in the brown soil, like a giant comb. It was a perfect day to be outdoors, away from phones, studies, work. Nancy looked over at Ned and grinned.
    â€œThis sure beats riding in a stuffy old car,” she said. “Maybe we all need to go back to pedal power.”
    â€œIt’s great until it rains,” he replied. “Or snows. Or until you have to pick up five visiting relatives at the airport.”
    At the first scheduled stop along the route, a fruit stand, Nancy took George aside while Ned and the others selected some apples and pears for their lunches.
    â€œHow’s the knee?”
    â€œIt’s fine. No problem at all this morning.”
    â€œYou’re doing great,” Nancy said. “That was a dirty trick Erik pulled, telling the school paperyou were competing, even unofficially, on this ride.”
    â€œI know,” said George, “but I’ll make it work to my advantage. It’ll help me get