Danger for Hire by Carolyn Keene Page A

Chief McGinnis. It was a Night Vision Device—an NVD, for short. It had a lens like the zoom lens on a camera, a slim rectangular body, and a binocularlike eyepiece. By adjusting the brightness control on its side, she could turn night into a high-contrast, green-colored day.
    It was cold and windy on the platform, but the view was perfect. Peering through the NVD, she began to survey the rooftops below. Most robberies, she knew, involved a lookout. Where better to station one than on a roof?
    For more than an hour she scanned the area, moving methodically up and down the grid of streets. She was already familiar with most of the buildings. From this angle, though, they looked vulnerable. Many had easy points of entry on their roofs.
    Then Nancy caught a sudden movement. Swinging the NVD back, she searched a rooftop half a block away.
    There!
    She caught the movement again. By thestairwell door. She focused. Nancy was looking at a hideous face. Its skin was rotted and blackened. Teeth and jawbone showed through a ragged hole in its cheek. Dried blood caked its empty eye sockets.
    Then the face turned. Pupils shone from deep in the bloody sockets. It was staring right at her.

Chapter

Nine
    N ANCY GASPED . Her heart began to pound. Then she forced herself to think rationally. Dead men did not move around. It was a rubber Halloween mask on a robber. And she was sure he couldn’t see her in the dark.
    â€œNan, what’s wrong?” George asked, but Nancy just waved her to silence.
    Nancy continued to follow him as he looked over the edge of the roof. After scanning slowly right and left, he waved his arm. It was a signal— all clear.
    The thieves were about to strike! Nancyrepacked her knapsack and tore down the ladder to the street, George close behind.
    When they reached the street, Nancy tossed her keys to George. “Start the car and wait here. Keep the passenger door open. I may need to get in in a hurry.”
    â€œWhere are you going?” George asked.
    â€œJust to verify there’s a robbery in progress. As soon as I’m sure, I’ll be right back—then we’ll drive to a phone.”
    It took only a minute to reach the corner of the building. She crouched low and risked a peek. No trucks, no robbers, no open loading bays. Everything was shut tight. What was going on? Nancy slid around the corner and started down the street, hugging the wall and darting between shadows.
    Except for her, there was no movement at all on the block.
    Suddenly forty yards ahead of her a door flew open. A figure darted out and ran down the street at top speed. Nancy could plainly see the rubber mask pulled over his head. It was him!
    She took off. Her knapsack made running awkward, so she shucked it off and tossed it into a shadow. She would get it later. Rightnow it was more important to follow the Dead Man.
    The chase lasted for five blocks. It was the same guy she had chased two nights earlier, Nancy realized excitedly. She recognized the way he pumped his arms and lifted his knees. Track athletes ran that way. She saw that she was falling behind. Rats! She couldn’t lose him—not now! She speeded up.
    Then, halfway up the hill, Nancy saw a swirling red light bouncing off the buildings ahead. A police car was around the corner! The Dead Man saw it, too, and quickly darted down an alley. When Nancy reached it, she saw him sprinting up a fire escape to a roof above.
    She decided not to follow. He was trapped, she knew. Catching him would only be a matter of surrounding the building and tightening the net. She ran to the corner to flag the approaching police car.
    There were three of them speeding toward her. Nancy skidded halfway into the street and began to wave her arms. The first two whizzed by her at high speed. The third screeched to a stop. Chief McGinnis was in the passenger seat. He rolled down his window and shouted,“Nancy, get in! There’s a five-five-oh at Uptown