Time Thief

by Carolyn Keene

  “Hi, Tori,” Nancy said, forcing a smile. “Can we see your Margie doll too?”

  Tori glared directly at George and said, “Hey, didn’t you say the other day that Margie was no big deal?”

  “Yeah,” George said. “But—”

  “Then you can’t see her!” Tori cut in, shoving her doll behind her back.

  The other Margie Girls stuck their chins up in the air. Nancy was about to ask Tori again when Tammy Tootsie called from the counter.

  “Ta-daaa!” Tammy sang out. “The new Margie outfits are here for all to see!”

  The Margie Girls stampeded to the counter, leaving the Clue Crew. They placed their dolls at the end of the counter before sifting through the pile of tiny clothes. “How are we going to check out Tori’s doll without her seeing us?” Nancy asked her friends.

  “This is how,” George said. She turned and ran to the fishing game near the wall.

  “This isn’t the time to play games,” Bess said as she and Nancy followed George to the wading pool.

  “Who’s playing?” George asked. “Didn’t Tammy say the Beauty in the Ballroom gown had magnetic snaps?”

  “Yeah, so?” Nancy asked.

  “So,” George said, grabbing a fishing pole. “Who wants to go fishing?”

  Nancy and Bess smiled as they got it. If the tiny gown had magnetic snaps, the doll would be the catch of the day!

  George cast the fishing line toward the counter. After dangling a few seconds over the dolls—

  Click! Up in the air went the doll with the sparkly blue ball gown!

  “Bring ’er in!” Nancy declared.

  George’s hand worked at reeling in the doll. But when it was halfway across the room, Tori whirled around.

  “Hey!” Tori shouted. “She’s stealing my Ballroom Margie! Help!”

  Chapter Six

  Tori Story

  George reeled in the doll. She snatched it off the fishing line as Tori and her friends moved toward the Clue Crew.

  “Give her back!” Tori growled.

  “She will give her back, Tori,” Nancy said. “As soon as you tell us how you got a classic Ballroom Margie.”

  “It was my mom’s!” Tori cried.

  The Margie Girls surrounded George. She turned to toss the doll to Bess, but her free hand was holding a cupcake.

  “Nancy, catch!” George shouted.

  Nancy dropped her own doll to catch Ballroom Margie. She was about to run with it when she noticed something peculiar. The doll had freckles across her nose. And curly bangs, not straight!

  Looking up Nancy saw the Margie Girls moving in on her.

  “Stop!” Nancy shouted holding up the doll. “This is not Margie. It’s Pretty Peggy!”

  The Margie Girls froze.

  “Pretty who?” Mira asked.

  “Pretty Peggy!” Nancy repeated. She pulled the plastic high-heeled shoe off the doll’s foot. “See? She has a pink P on her sole.”

  “That’s Peggy alright,” Tammy said, walking over. “She may look like Margie—but that pink P is the real deal.”

  The Margie Girls turned away from Nancy. Now they began moving in on Tori.

  “You told us you had a classic Ballroom Margie!” Mira complained.

  “Okay, it’s Pretty Peggy!” Tori admitted. “But my mom bought her only Margie clothes. That Beauty in the Ballroom gown is for real!”

  “Who cares about the gown?” Mira groaned. “How are we going to tell the other Margie Girl clubs that our doll was a fake?”

  “I’ll explain it to the other Margie Girls,” Tori offered.

  “What for?” Mira said. “You’re not a Margie Girl anymore!”

  “What?” Tori gasped.

  Another member put her hands on her hips and said, “But I’m sure the Peggy Girls will be happy to have you!”

  Nancy felt bad for Tori. She didn’t mean to get her kicked out of the club!

  “We don’t care if your doll is Pretty Peggy, Tori,” Nancy explained. “All we care about is finding out who stole the Margie doll from the time capsule.”

  The Margie Girls stared at the Clue Crew.

  “You’re trying to find the missing Ballroom Margie?” Mira asked, her eyes shining. “Really?”

  The Clue Crew nodded.

  “Is there anything we can do to help?” Mira asked.

  “You can keep Tori in the club,” Nancy suggested.

  “Who cares what names our dolls have as long as we love them?” Bess asked. She popped the last of the cupcake into her mouth and grinned.

  Tori stared at the Margie Girls, waiting for an answer. Finally Mira said, “Okay. Tori can stay.”

  “Yay!” Tori said, jumping up and down.

  Nancy smiled as she handed Pretty Peggy back to Tori.

  “Come on, girls!” Tony called from the counter. “Check out our cool new clothes for Margie . . . and Pretty Peggy!”

  Nancy picked up her doll from the floor. While the Margie Girls scampered back to the counter the Clue Crew left Tootsie’s Toys.

  “That party was fun!” Bess said, swinging her doll back and forth.

  “Fun?” George cried. “We almost got trampled by a stampede of Margie Girls!”

  “At least we ruled out Tori,” Nancy pointed out.

  The Clue Crew wanted to work on the case that afternoon. But Bess had ballet, George had soccer practice, and Nancy had to walk her Labrador puppy, Chocolate Chip.

  “Tomorrow is Sunday,” Nancy said. “We’ll have all day to work on the case.”

  “I know!” Bess said. “Let’s grab some strawberry smoothies before Hannah picks us up.”

  “But you just ate a giant lavender cupcake!” George cried. “Your tongue is still purple.”

  “That’s why I need a smoothie,” Bess sighed. “To wash it down!”

  The girls made their way the five blocks down River Street. They stopped in the middle of the block as men hauled cardboard boxes from a truck into the Time Warp Auction House.

  “What’s an auction house?” Bess asked.

  “It’s where people bid for stuff like antiques,” George explained. “The one who shouts out the highest price gets to buy it.”

  “How do you know so much about auctions, George?” Nancy asked.

  “My mom catered a party here once,” George replied. “I got to help her and watch a real auction too.”

  The girls eyed the boxes. What was inside was written on the cardboard in black marker.

  “Sterling silver tea service,” Bess read out loud.

  “Colonial candle holder,” George read.

  “Gold-encrusted Victorian cuckoo clock!” Nancy read, trying to catch every word as it passed.

  “Careful with those boxes, fellas,” a deep voice boomed. “That’s for the auction tomorrow!”

  Nancy turned to see where the voice came from. Standing near the door was a man with slicked-back hair and bushy eyebrows!

  “Bess, George!” Nancy whispered. “It’s him, the mystery guy from our school yard.”

  “He’s not a mystery,” George said. “That’s Mr. Higgins, the owner of the auction house.”

  One of the workers stumbled on a crack in the sidewalk. The tall box in his hands swayed back and forth.

  “I said be careful!” Mr. Higgins cried. “There’s a very valuable thirty-year-old toy in that box!”

  Chapter Seven

  Deal or Steal?

  Nancy, Bess, and George waited quietly until the last box was carried into the store. The moment Mr. Higgins shut the door the girls couldn’t stop talking.

  “Did you hear what I heard?” Nancy asked.

  “Yes!” Bess said, nodding her head. “There was a thirty-year-old toy in the box.”

  “Maybe Mr. Higgins stole the Margie doll,” George said. “He could have wanted the doll to sell at his auction.”

  Bess twisted her Margie doll’s ponytail as she said, “If Mr. Higgins did steal Margie, why would he be hanging out in the school
yard the day the time capsule was dug up?”

  “Because the thief always returns to the scene of the crime,” Nancy and George said together.

  “Okay,” Bess said. “But how would Mr. Higgins get the key or the map from Principal Newman’s office? He doesn’t work at our school.”

  Nancy thought Bess had a good point. Until something about the name Higgins rang a bell.

  “Isn’t there a teacher at school named Mrs. Higgins?” Nancy asked.

  “Mrs. Higgins is one of the music teachers!” George said quickly.

  “She could have stolen the map and key from the principal’s office,” Bess gasped. “Which makes Mr. and Mrs. Higgins partners in crime.”

  “We should go to the auction tomorrow and see what’s inside that box,” Nancy said.

  “Kids aren’t allowed at those auctions,” George said. “It’s just for grown-ups. Rich grown-ups.”

  Rich? Nancy’s eyes sparkled as an idea popped into her head. She turned to Bess and George and said, “Wear your fanciest clothes and jewelry tomorrow. We may not be rich but we can act rich!”

  Hannah pulled up and honked her car horn.

  “Ah!” Bess said with a posh voice. “Here’s our driver with the limousine at last!”

  “Indeed!” George sniffed jokingly. “I thought she’d never get here!”

  “Perfect!” Nancy giggled.

  Hannah drove each girl home in her car, not limousine. Nancy ate a turkey sandwich for lunch, then walked Chocolate Chip. But the real fun came Saturday night, when her dad took her to the movies to see Clarence the Sleuth Hound.

  “What will it be, Nancy?” Mr. Drew asked as they waited on the snack line. “Cheese or caramel popcorn?”

  “Caramel, please,” Nancy answered.

  Mr. Drew stepped up to the counter. That’s when a familiar voice said, “Good choice, Nancy. You’ve had enough cheese, if you ask me!”

  Nancy turned. She smiled when she saw Mrs. McGillicuddy standing behind her. She hardly recognized the lunch lady without her blue hairnet!

  “Taking a movie break, Miss Detective?” Mrs. McGillicuddy teased.

  “The Clue Crew is working on a new mystery, Mrs. McGillicuddy,” Nancy said. “We’re trying to find the missing Margie doll from the time capsule.”

  Mrs. McGillicuddy’s eyes widened. “Oh, yeah?” she asked. “What does this Margie look like?”

  “I think she has blond hair,” Nancy described. “That’s what the picture—”

  “Red,” Mrs. McGillicuddy cut in. “Dark red hair.”

  Nancy was about to ask Mrs. McGillicuddy what she meant when a man called from across the lobby. “Let’s get the popcorn later, Linda. Our movie is starting!”

  “That’s Mr. McGillicuddy,” Mrs. McGillicuddy said, leaving the snack line. “Enjoy your movie, Nancy.”

  How did Mrs. McGillicuddy know the color of the missing doll’s hair?

  Nancy shook her head. She wasn’t going to think about the case that night.

  Detectives do need a movie break sometimes, Nancy thought. Even if the movie I’m about to see is a mystery!

  “They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend!” Bess said, twirling to show off her fake fur coat and plastic diamond necklace.

  “I thought we were your best friends!” Nancy giggled.

  It was Sunday morning. Nancy, Bess, and George had just been dropped off by Mrs. Marvin at the Time Warp Auction House. Bess had told her mom they wanted to see how a real-life auction worked, which wasn’t really a lie.

  Nancy wore her fanciest party dress beneath a red velvet coat. George had on black pants and a matching leather-type jacket. She left it unzipped to reveal a tuxedo-design T-shirt underneath. The fancy clothes were part of Nancy’s plan to get into the auction house. But it wouldn’t be easy.

  “Sorry,” a woman at the door sniffed. “Children are not allowed at the auction.”

  “But we’re very rich children!” Bess said. “Our daddies and mommies said we can buy anything we want!”

  “Did you ever hear of the Statue of Liberty?” George asked the woman. “I’m getting that for my tenth birthday!”

  “Yeah, right,” the woman smirked.

  Nancy heaved a sigh. This was going to be harder than she thought. But then she remembered one of the boxes being carried into the store.

  “My daddy promised me the Victorian gold-encrusted cuckoo clock!” Nancy blurted.

  “You know about the Victorian gold-encrusted cuckoo clock?” the woman asked. “I guess you are real customers!”

  Stepping aside, she let Nancy, Bess, and George through the door.

  “Since when is some cuckoo clock more valuable than the Statue of Liberty?” George whispered.

  “Forget it,” Nancy replied in a low voice. “Where do we look for Margie?”

  “Back room,” George said. “That’s where they keep the stuff for the auction.”

  “What if somebody’s in there?” Bess whispered.

  “We’ll think of something,” Nancy whispered back.

  Quietly Nancy, Bess, and George slipped through the main auction room. Mr. Higgins stood behind a podium facing rows of chairs. He was too busy flipping through papers to notice the girls.

  George pointed to a door in the back of the auction room. She swung the door open and the girls filed inside.

  There was nobody else in the room, just lots of antiques and paintings leaning against the walls.

  “It’s like a museum!” Nancy said. She pointed to a gold castle-shape clock standing on top of a cardboard box. “And that must be the golden cuckoo clock!”

  Bess lifted a tiny pink book from a table.

  “Look!” Bess said, opening it. “It’s an old diary that belonged to some girl.”

  “Put it down and start looking for Margie!” George ordered.

  Bess couldn’t take her eyes off the diary. But Nancy and George got busy peeking behind vases, under tables, even inside jewelry boxes.

  All of a sudden George said, “There!”

  Looking up, Nancy saw George run straight toward the tall box with the thirty-year-old toy inside!

  George was about to lift the top half of the box when a distant voice sang out, “Everything’s coming up roses!”

  The girls exchanged worried glances. The singing voice seemed to be getting louder and louder.

  “Someone’s singing!” Bess whispered.

  Nancy’s knees felt weak as she said, “You mean someone’s coming!”

  Chapter Eight

  Shock-in-the-Box

  The Clue Crew had to hide. Nancy waved her friends behind the box holding the clock. It was the biggest box she could find.

  Peeking out Nancy saw a woman dressed in a white blouse and black pants. As she walked through the room she took a sip from a yellow coffee cup.

  “It’s Mrs. Higgins, the music teacher!” Nancy whispered.

  Mrs. Higgins stopped in the middle of the room. She threw her head all the way back and sang, “For meeeeee and for yoooooou!”

  The girls jumped at the high note. The box they hid behind began to shake. Nancy couldn’t see it, but she could hear the door of the clock snap open. Seconds later she heard, “Coo coo! Coo coo! Coo coo!”

  “Busted,” George murmured.

  Mrs. Higgins shut the clock door. She peeked behind the box and said, “A little birdy told me someone was back here.”

  Nancy and her friends stepped out from the behind the box. It was bad enough being caught. But being caught by a teacher from your school was a major bummer!

  “Sorry, Mrs. Higgins,” Nancy sighed. “We were looking for the missing Margie doll.”

  “The one from the time capsule,” Bess added.

  “I heard about that missing Margie doll,” Mrs. Higgins said, placing her coffee cup on a table.

  “Yeah,” George said, tilting her head. “You are a teacher at our school.”

  “Not anymore,” Mrs. Higgins said with a smile. “I’m
a performer with the River Heights Musical Theater Company!”

  To prove her point, Mrs. Higgins belted out another high note.

  “I left the school last June,” Mrs. Higgins said. “It was sad to leave my students, but I had to follow my dream.”

  “What about Mr. Higgins?” Bess asked. “Nancy saw him in the school yard the day the time capsule was dug up.”

  “And criminals always return to the scene of the crime,” George said, narrowing her eyes.

  “‘Criminal’? ‘Scene of the crime’?” Mrs. Higgins laughed. “Mr. Higgins didn’t want to steal the toys in the time capsule. He wanted to buy some.”

  “Buy?” Nancy repeated.

  “Antiques are my husband’s life,” Mrs. Higgins explained. “Just like singing is mine!”

  “But Mr. Higgins left so quickly!” Nancy said.

  “He didn’t see any toys he wanted to buy,” Mrs. Higgins explained. “And he hates wasting time, so he left.”

  Nancy remembered Mr. Higgins looking at his watch in the school yard. That explained that!

  “Now I must get to work,” Mrs. Higgins declared. “I’m helping with the auction today and this is the first item.”

  Mrs. Higgins picked up the cuckoo clock. As she turned to leave she said, “Don’t touch any more of the antiques, please, girls.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George nodded as Mrs. Higgins left with the cuckoo clock.

  “How do we know for sure that Mrs. Higgins doesn’t teach at our school anymore?” George asked. “She’s not our music teacher.”

  Nancy wasn’t sure either, until her eyes landed on Mrs. Higgins’s yellow coffee cup. After reading the saying printed around the cup, she picked it up.

  “What does this tell us about Mrs. Higgins?” Nancy asked.

  “That she wears a ton of lipstick?” George asked, nodding at the red stain near the rim.

  “No!” Nancy said. “It says, ‘We’ll Miss You, Mrs. Higgins! Love, your River Heights Elementary students.’”

  “The kids put the date on it too,” Bess pointed out on the cup. “It was last June!”

  “If Mrs. Higgins doesn’t teach at our school anymore, she couldn’t have gotten the key or map,” George decided.