Ned shook his head. “Give me a break. Even if Mike could be bribed, which I doubt, who would do something like that?”

“A rival team?”

“No way! Those pranks have been played before and during all our games.”

“Okay, then maybe Mike’s got his own reason . . . a secret one. Maybe it’s even a subconscious desire to lose, or something.”

“You’re way off base,” Ned declared. “Mike and I are friends. If he were loony-tunes, believe me, I’d know!”

Nancy was getting ticked off. “Ned, why are you being so stubborn? You’ve got solid evidence of Mike’s guilt right at your feet!”

Ned crossed his arms. “You know as well as I do that evidence can be misleading. To phi the blame on someone you need more than a box of packing chips—you need a motive, too!”

“Okay, okay!”

Nancy began to pace back and forth. Usually she was calm and collected when working on a case, but now she was beginning to feel frustration. She didn’t like it.

“All right, I guess we’ll have to investigate some more,” she said finally. “Here’s where we’ll start—”

“We?” Ned interrupted.

“Of course.” She stopped pacing and glanced at him. “Ned, you’re going to help me, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Help you what? Dig up dirt on my friend? No, I’m not.”

Nancy was stunned. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Come on, Ned, you’re in a perfect position to help. You’re inside the team! Anyway, you’ve never refused to help before.”

“You’ve never suspected one of my friends before, either.”

Her temples began to throb. Rubbing them, she muttered, “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Are you telling me that you don’t want to put a stop to the practical joker?”

“Of course I do!” he growled angrily.

“Then help me!”

“Show me a suspect with a good motive and I will!”

“This box—”

“Forget the box! That’s not a motive. That’s just a clue!”