Too quickly.
“That’s funny,” I said, bending down so I could get a closer look. “When I was a Girl Scout way back when, all of the cookie boxes had the official Girl Scout insignia on them. Yet this box is blank.”
A guilty expression flashed across Clementine’s face as she stepped in front of the box. “That must’ve been a really long time ago, because you’re so old. Things have changed.”
I quickly picked up the box, reading the label out loud.
“To: Sonya’s Sweets,” I said, smiling because I finally had the evidence I needed. “This is a box for Ricki’s store.”
“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Clementine. “This box came to me. And I’ve never even heard of Sonya’s Sweets. Or whatever you call that place.”
“Oh, Clementine, give it up,” I said. “I have a picture of you at the opening with your mom. Yes, you’re wearing dark glasses, but I know it’s you. You planted the note. And you stole the boxes. It’s illegal to tamper with the mail. Did you know that? That’s serious fraud. You can go to jail for it.”
“I didn’t steal the boxes,” said Clementine. “The first one got delivered to my house accidentally; all I did was leave it in the alley. And this one just arrived. The mailman dropped it off. It’s not my fault he’s confused.”
“And what about the note?” I asked.
“What note?” asked Clementine.
“The note written on the back of a box of Thin Mints in blue highlighter,” I said. “Probably the same blue highlighter that’s on your desk right now.”
“I didn’t break the window,” said Clementine, her bottom lip quivering. “The note was stupid, a bad idea: But I didn’t break the window, and I’ve been so scared I’d be blamed for it.”
Real tears streamed down her face. “I never meant to hurt anyone,” she yelled. “All I wanted to do was sell the most cookies in the world, and it’s been so hard lately. First cupcakes came to town, and then ice cream and frozen yogurt. There’s too much competition. How many sweets can one person buy?”
“You’re worried about competition?” I asked. “That’s why you’re trying to shut down Sonya’s Sweets?”
“Yes, of course. Are you going to call the police?” Clementine asked. “Please don’t do that. I’m sorry. I’ll never do anything like this again.”
“Don’t apologize to me,” I said. “You need to talk to Ricki. Let’s go. You can tell her everything, right now.”
Chapter 22
Two weeks later, Milo and I headed over to Sonya’s Sweets for a hot chocolate. We’ve been going almost every Friday after school. Joshua usually makes it for us, and he always adds extra marshmallows to my cup.
He’s still working at the soda fountain, but Felicity is long gone. Gabby helped get her a job at a local gallery, a place for which she’s much better suited. She still visits occasionally—you know, to see her boyfriend, Joshua. Or Jammy, as she likes to call him. Sonya isn’t thrilled by this development, but she’s gotten used to it. Kind of. She and Joshua are still buddies. He’s teaching her all his family’s baking secrets. Usually I see the two of them at work together, but today Joshua stood alone behind the counter.
“Hey, Jammy,” I said. “Where’s Sonya?”
“She’s at home, working on the new picture window,” Joshua explained. “And you promised not to call me that, remember?”
“Sorry,” I said with a grin. “I keep forgetting. That’s great about the window, though.”
“Yeah,” said Joshua. “Her dad just got back from India, and they’re designing one that’s even bigger than before.”
“Awesome,” said Milo.
Joshua nodded. “Yup. And this time they’re using shatterproof glass.”
“Even though Maggie managed to get all those evil zombie Girl Scouts off the streets?” asked Milo.
I socked him in the shoulder. “Stop. Clementine isn’t a zombie.”
“She’s just an evil Girl Scout?” asked Milo.
“Not evil. Just confused and conflicted. Poor kid.”
“Hey, she got off easy,” said Joshua as he sliced into a fresh, just-out-of-the-oven cherry pie. “I’d say she was lucky.”
I had to agree. After I caught the guilty Girl Scout with the box from Sonya’s Sweets, we marched to the soda fountain and she confessed to Ricki.
Ricki was so grateful to have answers that she decided not to press charges. Instead, she had a long talk with Clementine’s dad, and the two of them agreed on a suitable punishment. Clementine would have to retire from the cookie business—the pressure to be the best was clearly too much for her to handle. Instead she was doing some volunteer work, baking cookies herself and donating them to bake sales all over Brooklyn.
And speaking of retiring, I don’t need to. Retire from dog walking, that is.
Mr. Phelps loved my report, so I got my extra credit. My parents were not happy about my D+, but they agreed to put me on “double secret probation” and let me continue to walk dogs as long as this kind of thing never happened again. And it never will!
I drained my hot chocolate and popped a half-melted marshmallow into my mouth. “See you guys later,” I said, sliding off my stool. “I’ve gotta get to work.”
“Wait,” said Milo. “I’m coming, too.”
“Cool,” I said. We waved to Joshua and headed up the street.
“Where to first?” asked Milo.
“Nofarm, of course,” I said.
“You mean we’re going to the haunted mansion?” Milo said, eyes wide and teeth chattering in mock fright.
“That’s right,” I said with a grin. “But don’t make fun.”
I’d already admitted to Milo that whenever I walked into the Adams mansion, I thought about Margaret. Not Beckett’s buddy Margaret from across the street, but Margaret O’Mally, the young Irish maid who died in the elevator. I guess you could say she haunts me, or at least her memory does, but that’s okay. I’m ready to embrace it. Because the thing is, as Milo and my friends taught me, ghosts do exist.
They don’t have to be the creepy monsters that cause nightmares or do harm. They can take the form of memories, of feelings, or of a hard-to-define presence. Or of something else that’s impossible to explain, but that’s totally okay—just because something can’t be explained doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Sometimes ghosts can feel as real as the taste of salty apple pie on your tongue, or the perfect bite of chocolate chip cookie. Some people want to be haunted by their memories, and that’s fine. It’s not for me to judge. I get it. And also? I believe.
Books by Leslie Margolis
THE MAGGIE BROOKLYN MYSTERIES
Girl’s Best Friend
Vanishing Acts
Secrets at the Chocolate Mansion
THE ANNABELLE UNLEASHED SERIES
Boys Are Dogs
Girls Acting Catty
Everybody Bugs Out
One Tough Chick
Copyright © 2013 by Leslie Margolis
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
First published in the United States of America in September 2013
by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
www.bloomsbury.com
This electronic edition published in September 2013
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Margolis, Leslie.
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Secrets at the chocolate mansion : a Maggie Brooklyn mystery / Leslie Margolis.
pages cm
Summary: Maggie Brooklyn is distracted from solving the mystery of who is out to sabotage the new sweet shop in the neighborhood because her new babysitting job has her and her twin brother, Finn, spending time in what may be a real haunted mansion.
[1. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 2. Twins—Fiction. 3. Junior high schools—Fiction.
4. Schools—Fiction. 5. Dogs—Fiction. 6. Haunted houses—Fiction. 7. Ghosts—Fiction.
8. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.M33568Sec 2013 [Fic]—dc23 2013009608
eISBN: 978-1-6196-3177-9
To find out more about our authors and their books please visit www.bloomsbury.com where you will find extracts, author interviews and details of forthcoming events, and to be the first to hear about latest releases and special offers, sign up for our newsletters here.
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