April beamed. “Great! So what can I do to help?”
Nancy thought for a moment. “First of all, don’t tell the other girls about us working on the case yet. Second, I want you to get them out of the basement. Tell them…um, let’s see…tell them you want to look for the cell phone and Gamer Girl in all the upstairs rooms.”
April nodded. “Sure. What’s the plan?”
“Once everyone’s gone, George, Bess, and I will go through the basement again to look for clues,” Nancy told her.
“I found another empty potato chip bag,” George spoke up.
“And I found another kitty toy,” added Bess.
Nancy, George, and Bess were combing every inch of the basement for clues. April had managed to get the other girls upstairs, explaining that Nancy, George, and Bess were staying behind to “guard everyone’s backpacks.”
So far, they had not had any luck. But Nancy was convinced that there had to be a clue or two somewhere. Unless the thief was very careful, she had to have left a trace, like a loose thread from an outfit or a strand of hair.
Nancy was going over the backpacks a second time. Heidi’s was white with pink and red hearts all over it. Miranda’s backpack was almost identical, except that it had a small stuffed pink teddy bear attached to the strap.
Then Nancy noticed something on the front pocket of Heidi’s backpack…something red and very faint. She had noticed it before but had simply thought it was part of the pink and red heart design. But looking at it a second time, she realized that it definitely was not.
Nancy studied the red mark more closely. It looked like a red fingerprint!
On an impulse she grabbed Miranda’s backpack, which was sitting right next to Heidi’s. She scanned every inch of it carefully.
She almost cried out with excitement. There was another red mark on the front pocket, similar to the one on Heidi’s backpack. It was a red fingerprint too!
“Hey!” Nancy called to her friends. “Over here!”
George and Bess hurried over. They bent their heads close to Nancy’s.
“What is it, Nancy?” George asked her.
Nancy pointed the red marks out to George and Bess. “I think we have a clue,” she said eagerly. “Two clues! They’re both fingerprints.”
“Good job, Nancy!” Bess praised her.
“This means that our thief has red hands!” said George. “Maybe she got red paint or red marker on them. Or something like that.” She added, “Now all we have to do is check everyone’s hands to see whose are red.”
“I think we should check Sydney’s hands first,” Bess suggested. “I think she’s the thief. She was really mad about not being invited to the party, remember? Maybe she crashed it so she could cause trouble.”
“You’re right, Bess. We should add Sydney to our suspect list,” Nancy said. “Plus, what about Miranda and Heidi?”
“Huh?” said George and Bess at the same time.
“Maybe they pretended to steal their own stuff as an April Fool’s joke or something,” Nancy explained.
“Except they did seem pretty upset,” Bess mused.
“Maybe they were just pretending,” George pointed out.
Just then Nancy heard a noise. It sounded like a sneeze. She peered around the basement. The sound had come from behind the couch.
Nancy gulped. There was someone else in the room!
CHAPTER SEVEN
Sydney’s Backpack
Nancy placed a finger on her lips. “Shh,” she whispered to her friends.
George and Bess nodded. They looked nervous—and scared. They had heard the sneeze too.
Nancy was not happy that there was someone else in the basement. Whoever it was must have eavesdropped on the Clue Crew’s entire conversation!
Nancy tiptoed over to the couch. George and Bess followed close behind. Nancy took a deep breath and peeked behind the couch.
“Hey!” someone shouted.
“Hey!” another person shouted at exactly the same time.
Nancy squinted to see in the dark space behind the couch. Two small figures were crouched there. They looked too small to be any of the other girls.
“Come on out,” Nancy said. “You were spying on us, weren’t you?”
There was another sneeze, and then some shuffling sounds. A moment later two small boys appeared from behind the couch. They looked like twins, with identical freckled faces, bright blue eyes, and curly red hair that looked overdue for haircuts. Nancy guessed that they were five or six years old.
The first boy glared at the three girls. “What do you want?”
“You’re not going to tell Mom and Dad, are you?” the second boy said.
“Are you April’s brothers?” Bess asked them. “You look just like her.”
“We do not look like her,” the first boy protested. “April’s ugly!”
“Super ugly!” the second boy agreed.
“That’s not very nice,” George scolded them. “What are your names?”
“Luke,” mumbled the first boy.
“Liam,” the second boy mumbled at the same time.
“How long have you been listening to us?” Nancy asked.
“We, uh, snuck down about five minutes ago,” Luke said.
Liam nodded. “Yeah. You guys didn’t notice us. We’re really, really good at being invisible—like Stealth Shadow.”
“Fogman’s more invisible, plus he has X-ray vision,” Luke pointed out to his brother.
“Hmm, maybe,” said Liam.
Luke turned to Nancy and her friends. He made a face, as if he were trying to look mean and scary. “Me and Liam caught you guys. You were going through everyone’s backpacks. You’re going to be in big trouble!”
George held up her hand. “Wait a second. We weren’t going through anyone’s backpacks. We were looking on the outside of Miranda’s and Heidi’s backpacks for clues.”
“Clues? What do you mean, clues?” Liam said curiously.
Nancy explained to the two boys about the missing cell phone and Gamer Girl console. She also told them about the Clue Crew but said it was a secret. Luke’s and Liam’s eyes grew huge.
“You mean, you guys are detectives?” Luke said eagerly. “Like Dirk Danger, Private Eye?”
“Can we be detectives too?” Liam added.
Luke began jumping up and down. “Yay, we’re going to be detectives!” he crowed.
“Um, the Clue Crew doesn’t need any new members right now,” Nancy said gently. She didn’t want to hurt the boys’ feelings. “But thanks anyway.”
Liam pouted. “That’s not fair! Why do you get to be part of the Clue Caboose, and we don’t?”
“It’s the Clue Cruise, dummy,” Luke told his brother.
“Whatever. It’s still not fair!” Liam protested.
Luke nodded. “Yeah. It’s not fair!”
“So did you find any clues?” April whispered.
Nancy, George, and Bess had left the basement and found the other girls in April’s room hanging out and eating popcorn. They were also talking about the missing cell phone and Gamer Girl, which nobody had found.
Nancy was about to reply when she was interrupted by Miranda. “Hey, what are you guys whispering about?” she called out.
“Aren’t you three supposed to be guarding our backpacks or something?” added Heidi.
“Uh, we’ll go back down in a second,” Bess said quickly. “We just wanted to, uh, say hi.”
George waved. “Yeah. Hi!”
“Do you guys want some popcorn?” Katie offered. She held out a big red bowl. A delicious melted-butter smell wafted from the bowl.
Nancy, George, and Bess said yes and took some of the popcorn. Then Nancy noticed something strange.
Sydney was sitting next to Katie. And she had her backpack, the blue one with dolphin stickers, on her lap. Sydney was holding on to it tightly, as though she didn’t want to let it go.
Nancy smiled at Sydney. “Why do you have your backpack with y
ou?” she asked casually.
Sydney glanced at Nancy sharply. Nancy wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a suspicious look in the other girl’s eyes. “Um…because…um…I always carry my backpack with me wherever I go,” Sydney said after a moment.
“You do?” Nancy said.
Sydney pushed her glasses up on her nose and nodded. “Besides, there’s a thief on the loose! I wouldn’t want the person to steal my valuable belongings!”
“What valuable belongings?” Miranda asked her. “Your homework? Your pencils?” She and Heidi cracked up.
“None of your business,” Sydney snapped. She stood up abruptly. “I’m going to the kitchen to get some juice,” she announced, and left the room.
Bess moved closer to Nancy and George. “Why is Sydney acting so weird about her backpack?” she whispered.
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s hiding something in it,” Nancy whispered back.
George’s eyes lit up. “Like Miranda’s cell phone and Heidi’s Gamer Girl?”
Nancy nodded. “Exactly. Now we just have to find a way to get inside it.”
Nancy, George, and Bess spent the next few minutes trying to check out everyone’s hands for red marks—anything that would explain the red fingerprints on Miranda’s and Heidi’s backpacks. But it was hard to see people’s hands. And there was no way they could just say, “Hey, could you show us your hands for a second?”
A short while later Mr. Funk popped his head through the doorway. “Hey, girls! Back to the basement. It’s time for pizza and a movie,” he announced.
“Yay!” all the girls cheered.
Everyone got up at once and headed downstairs. Sydney was already in the basement. She was sitting on the couch with her backpack on her lap, drinking apple juice. “Your parents told me to come down for the movie,” she said to April.
Luke and Liam were there too, sitting cross-legged on the floor and playing with the little race cars that George had found. The two boys glared at Nancy, George, and Bess. Nancy guessed that they were still mad about not being able to join the Clue Crew.
Luke glanced up at his father. “We get to watch the movie too, right, Daddy?” he said.
“Yeah, Daddy!” Liam piped up.
April shook her head. “No way! This party is for big kids only.”
“Oh, let them stay, April,” Mr. Funk told her. “It’s just a movie. They won’t bother you.”
Luke and Liam smiled triumphantly at April.
“Oh, all right,” April grumbled. “I guess.”
“That’s the spirit,” said Mr. Funk.
He walked over to the table. There were three big white pizza boxes on it, as well as a stack of fresh paper plates and napkins. “Help yourselves to the pizza, girls,” he said. “And the movie’s already in the DVD player. Have fun!”
“Thanks, Mr. Funk!” everyone chimed in unison.
He went upstairs. April started to turn on the DVD player.
Then she let out a shriek.
“What’s wrong, April?” Nancy asked her worriedly.
April pointed to the mantel. “The trophy is gone!” she cried out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
One Mystery Solved
Nancy glanced quickly at the mantel. April was right. The gold trophy with the pink and purple beads was missing from its spot.
April rushed over to the mantel. There was a red folding chair in front of it. She shoved it aside so she could get a closer look. Then she sighed in frustration.
“It’s totally gone!” April moaned. “The thief stole the trophy! And the gift certificate for the manicure, too!”
April turned to the others in the room. She put her hands on her hips. “Okay, who did it?” she said angrily. “You’d better tell once and for all! This is so not funny anymore!”
No one spoke—except for Luke. “When is the movie starting?” he demanded.
“I’m hungry,” Liam piped up. “Can you get me some pizza, April?”
“Ask Mom or Dad. I’m busy!” April snapped.
“Sorry about your trophy, April,” said Miranda sympathetically.
“Yeah, April,” Heidi said. “If we figure out who stole it, maybe we can find our stuff too.”
“Which are way more valuable than your trophy,” Miranda added.
“Way,” Heidi agreed.
Katie frowned at Miranda and Heidi. “That’s not very nice,” she said. “You guys are acting really weird today.”
Nancy went up to the mantel and stood next to April. “Do you remember the last time you absolutely, positively, definitely saw the trophy?” she whispered. She didn’t want anyone else in the room to hear her, in case one of them was the thief—which was probably the case.
April nodded. “It was right before we all went upstairs,” she replied, also whispering. “I remember, because I was looking at it and wondering who I should give it to.”
As April talked, Nancy scanned the mantel for clues. In particular she wanted to see if there might be a red fingerprint or two. But there were no fingerprints on the mantel, red or otherwise. And there were no other clues either.
“Let me go talk to George and Bess,” Nancy said after a moment. “Why don’t you go ahead and start the movie? That way the Clue Crew can talk about the case in private.”
April nodded. “No problem. Just promise me you’ll find the thief, okay?”
“I promise,” Nancy told her.
But deep down, Nancy wasn’t sure. This thief was proving to be trickier than she’d expected.
Nancy, George, and Bess sat on the floor in a quiet corner of the basement, discussing the case in low voices. Across the room, April, Miranda, Heidi, Katie, Sydney, Luke, and Liam were gathered in front of the TV, watching a comedy about some cute little bunny rabbits that were really evil robots. April had turned the lights down low so that the basement was dimly lit. They were all chowing down on pizza.
The twin boys kept glancing over their shoulders in the direction of Nancy and her friends. Nancy wondered if they were still mad about not being part of the Clue Crew.
“So now there are three things missing: Miranda’s cell phone, Heidi’s Gamer Girl, and April’s trophy and gift certificate,” Nancy whispered.
“Hey! Katie really wanted that gift certificate to Pretty in Pink, remember?” Bess reminded her friends. “Maybe she’s the thief.”
“You really wanted it too, Bess,” George pointed out. “Maybe you’re the thief,” she added, teasing.
Bess made a face. “Ha-ha, very funny.”
“Seriously, though,” George went on. “Maybe Katie stole the trophy to get the gift certificate. And maybe she stole the cell phone and Gamer Girl first—even though she didn’t really want that stuff—just to confuse everyone.”
Nancy considered this. “The timing doesn’t work, though. There’s no way Katie could have snuck down here and stolen the trophy. The three of us were here looking for clues, remember? And Katie was in April’s room the whole time we were here.”
Bess and George both nodded in agreement.
Then Nancy’s eyes lit up. “But someone else did have a chance to sneak down here and steal it. She left April’s room before the rest of us, to get some juice.”
“Sydney!” George said loudly, forgetting to whisper.
Nancy put her fingers to her lips. “Shh!”
But it was too late. Sydney had overheard.
She stood up from her spot in front of the TV and came marching over to the three girls. Her blue backpack with the dolphins was slung across her shoulders.
Sydney folded her arms across her chest. “I heard my name. You three are obviously discussing me. What’s going on?”
Nancy tried frantically to think of a white lie that would explain why they were talking about Sydney. But before she could speak, Bess jumped to her feet.
“We’ve figured it all out. You’re the thief! You’re hiding Miranda’s cell phone, Heidi’s Gamer Girl, and April’s trophy in your back
pack!” Bess blurted out.
“Let’s see your hands!” added George, also jumping to her feet.
“M-my…hands?” Sydney stammered. She stuck them out, then turned them faceup.
There was no sign of red on them.
“Okay, but you’re still our thief,” Bess insisted. “Open up your backpack right this second!”
Sydney clutched her backpack tightly. “I refuse! It’s, um, private.”
“It’s private because it has the stuff you stole in it?” Nancy asked her.
Sydney shook her head. “No, it’s private because…because…”
Sydney looked really uncomfortable. After a moment, she sighed and opened her backpack. She pulled something out of it. “Here,” she said abruptly, handing the item to Nancy.
Nancy took it. It was a small package wrapped in shiny blue paper with a curly white ribbon. “What is it?” she asked Sydney, puzzled.
Just then April came over to the four of them. “What’s going on?” she whispered to Nancy and the others.
Sydney took the gift-wrapped package from Nancy and handed it to April. “Here,” she said. “It’s for you.”
“A present for me?” April said, looking confused. “Why? It’s not my birthday or anything.”
“I got you a present to say I’m sorry,” Sydney explained. “I’m sorry about the big fight we had last week. I figured that was why you didn’t invite me to your party. And I’m sorry I crashed it. Nancy, George, and Bess didn’t really invite me. I made up that part.”
April grinned. “That’s okay. I’m sorry too, Sydney. That fight was half my fault.”
The two friends hugged. Nancy glanced at April and Sydney. Sydney had been telling the truth about being BFFs with April, after all!
April opened the present. Inside was a book called 101 Awesome Jokes. “Excellent!” April told Sydney happily. “Thanks!”
“You’re welcome,” said Sydney. The two friends hugged again.
Bess sighed. “Well, now we’re back to square one. Who’s the thief?”
“I don’t know,” Nancy said.
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