their storeroom prison, staring down the short hall that led to the metal door. "If I'd used my head a little earlier, we wouldn't be in this mess now." Joe came back into the storeroom. "Suppose you tell me exactly what is going on, Jeanne— and why you tried contacting us."
She sighed and perched again on the sofa. "How much do you know about the Circle?"
"Just about nothing. You mentioned it in that note you left for us to find."
She nodded. "Yes, I was able to toss that— along with my scarf—out of the car window. I was hoping that you and your brother would be able to figure out the clues."
Grinning ruefully, Joe said, "I did follow your trail. The problem is, it ended up here."
Jeanne didn't share his smile. She flopped back on the couch, shivering. "I didn't think they'd get this violent, trying something as serious as kidnapping me."
"Who are they?"
Jeanne shrugged sort of helplessly. "Well, Joe, first off there's the Circle. That's twelve of us who got together to ... " she paused, looking down at her twined fingers. "At first, really, it was just going to be a sort of dare thing. Almost like a party game,' a scavenger hunt."
She looked up, half smiling. "We'd put challenges in this bowl and then draw one out. At first the dares were simple, just fun. Well, I guess some of them were mean—like spraying paint on the school. Still, they were meant to be just pranks — honest."
"But why start the Circle at all?"
Jeanne looked embarrassed. "I don't know. I was bored a lot of the time, my folks were off traveling—which they almost always are," she said. "There I was all alone in that big dumb house with nobody but Rollison. He's our butler, Rollison. Have you met him?"
"Not exactly. He was out cold the only time I saw him."
Jeanne gasped. "They knocked him out, too?"
"They did." Joe stood up. "Jeanne, are you telling me that you and your pals were so bored and restless that you actually went around smashing windows and setting fires?"
She looked down again. "When you put it that way, it does sound stupid. I don't know— Kevin was so persuasive, and, well, it was sort of exciting at first. We all felt like secret agents or private eyes or something."
"Would Kevin be Kevin Branders?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"Slightly. And I know something about his brother."
"Brother?" Jeanne frowned. "I didn't even know he had a brother."
Joe asked, "Was this Red Circle bunch or whatever you call it Kevin's idea?"
"The Crimson Circle of Twelve," she said. "Yes, it was more or less Kevin's idea. He talked the rest of us into it, came up with the costumes and the secret headquarters. And it was Kevin who suggested we increase the difficulty of the dares."
"Costumes?" Joe said.
"We wear robes with hoods to hide our identities. I knew most of the kids in the Circle by their voices. But there were a few I was never sure of." She shook her head. "It sounds crazy, doesn't it? But somehow Kevin made it all work. I guess he's had practice. He's always had to try twice as hard, since his family lost its money. In a town like Kirkland that's worse than death."
Joe couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You mean, you actually went around in hoods? We heard stories about that but figured it couldn't be."
Jeanne nodded. "One of the guys talked a little after Kevin made a guy go on a really dangerous dare—smashing the window of Fowler's Jewelers. I got scared," Jeanne shuddered. "I didn't like what was happening—all of a sudden, everything was too heavy-duty."
"So you decided to quit."
She nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, but when I told Kevin, he said I'd already done things that were against the law. And if I left the Circle, I'd get in a lot of trouble," she said.
"He hinted that if I quit, he'd see to it that the cops found out I'd been one of the vandals."
"He couldn't very well turn you in without implicating himself."
"That's exactly what I told Biff, but he said Kevin had a lot of ways to hurt us and that
She sighed and perched again on the sofa. "How much do you know about the Circle?"
"Just about nothing. You mentioned it in that note you left for us to find."
She nodded. "Yes, I was able to toss that— along with my scarf—out of the car window. I was hoping that you and your brother would be able to figure out the clues."
Grinning ruefully, Joe said, "I did follow your trail. The problem is, it ended up here."
Jeanne didn't share his smile. She flopped back on the couch, shivering. "I didn't think they'd get this violent, trying something as serious as kidnapping me."
"Who are they?"
Jeanne shrugged sort of helplessly. "Well, Joe, first off there's the Circle. That's twelve of us who got together to ... " she paused, looking down at her twined fingers. "At first, really, it was just going to be a sort of dare thing. Almost like a party game,' a scavenger hunt."
She looked up, half smiling. "We'd put challenges in this bowl and then draw one out. At first the dares were simple, just fun. Well, I guess some of them were mean—like spraying paint on the school. Still, they were meant to be just pranks — honest."
"But why start the Circle at all?"
Jeanne looked embarrassed. "I don't know. I was bored a lot of the time, my folks were off traveling—which they almost always are," she said. "There I was all alone in that big dumb house with nobody but Rollison. He's our butler, Rollison. Have you met him?"
"Not exactly. He was out cold the only time I saw him."
Jeanne gasped. "They knocked him out, too?"
"They did." Joe stood up. "Jeanne, are you telling me that you and your pals were so bored and restless that you actually went around smashing windows and setting fires?"
She looked down again. "When you put it that way, it does sound stupid. I don't know— Kevin was so persuasive, and, well, it was sort of exciting at first. We all felt like secret agents or private eyes or something."
"Would Kevin be Kevin Branders?"
"Yes. Do you know him?"
"Slightly. And I know something about his brother."
"Brother?" Jeanne frowned. "I didn't even know he had a brother."
Joe asked, "Was this Red Circle bunch or whatever you call it Kevin's idea?"
"The Crimson Circle of Twelve," she said. "Yes, it was more or less Kevin's idea. He talked the rest of us into it, came up with the costumes and the secret headquarters. And it was Kevin who suggested we increase the difficulty of the dares."
"Costumes?" Joe said.
"We wear robes with hoods to hide our identities. I knew most of the kids in the Circle by their voices. But there were a few I was never sure of." She shook her head. "It sounds crazy, doesn't it? But somehow Kevin made it all work. I guess he's had practice. He's always had to try twice as hard, since his family lost its money. In a town like Kirkland that's worse than death."
Joe couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You mean, you actually went around in hoods? We heard stories about that but figured it couldn't be."
Jeanne nodded. "One of the guys talked a little after Kevin made a guy go on a really dangerous dare—smashing the window of Fowler's Jewelers. I got scared," Jeanne shuddered. "I didn't like what was happening—all of a sudden, everything was too heavy-duty."
"So you decided to quit."
She nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, but when I told Kevin, he said I'd already done things that were against the law. And if I left the Circle, I'd get in a lot of trouble," she said.
"He hinted that if I quit, he'd see to it that the cops found out I'd been one of the vandals."
"He couldn't very well turn you in without implicating himself."
"That's exactly what I told Biff, but he said Kevin had a lot of ways to hurt us and that
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