Nancy shook her head. “Not yet. But I’ve narrowed it down to three. Mandy Trout, Danielle Margolies, and Susan Hong.”
“Big deal,” Bess said. “Those were the only suspects you had in the first place.”
“No,” Nancy said. “I also had Megan’s name on the list. Remember? But that was just because of where her name was on the sign-up board. And she hasn’t acted guilty or done anything suspicious all week. So I decided she wasn’t a real suspect. I crossed her off the list last night.”
Nancy skated away from Bess and did a quick spin. She was wearing one of her favorite outdoor ice-skating outfits—blue jeans and a thick red-and-white sweater. The sweater had a snowflake pattern knitted into it. Nancy also wore red-and-white snowflake mittens, and a red scarf.
The scarf twirled around as Nancy spun on the ice.
“Hey, look. There’s Susan Hong,” Bess said. “She’s practicing her toe loop jump.”
Nancy skidded to a stop and watched as the other girl skated backward on her right skate. Then Susan reached her left foot back and tapped the toe pick on the front of the blade into the ice. An instant later she jumped into the air and turned around. She landed perfectly on her right skate again.
“She’s such a good skater,” Bess said. “I’ll bet she’ll be an Olympic champion someday.”
“I wish I could do that jump,” Nancy said.
Then she looked around at the pond. A bunch of teenagers were playing hockey at one end. Two grown-ups were skating together near the banks of the pond. And a lot of girls from Nancy’s skating class were practicing their figure skating in groups of two or three.
Mandy Trout was one of them. She was all by herself at the far end of the pond. Her scarf was over her mouth, as usual. She kept falling down.
“There’s Mandy,” Bess said.
“I know,” Nancy said. “But she’s avoiding us. Every time I skate up to her, she skates away.”
“Let’s pretend we’re flower girls,” Bess said. “I’ll throw some sticks on the ice, and you skate out and pick them up. Pretend that they’re flowers.”
Nancy swallowed hard. I hope I get to be a flower girl, she thought. But what were the chances? Time was running out.
For the next half hour, Nancy and Bess practiced picking up “flowers” and skating away with them. It was fun. But it made Nancy feel bad, too.
Finally it was half past four—time to go home. Nancy and Bess were both cold.
They skated over to the log and changed out of their skates. Then they got up to leave.
But just as Nancy was walking away from the pond, she heard a small voice calling her name.
Nancy turned around and saw Mandy Trout running toward her.
“Wait!” Mandy called. “Don’t leave. I have to tell you the truth!”
6
Mandy’s Confession
Nancy stared at Mandy.
“The truth?” Nancy said. “About what?”
Mandy gulped. “It’s about the other day at school,” Mandy said. “When I erased my name from the chores list on the blackboard.”
“Oh,” Nancy said. She nodded and held her breath. Was Mandy going to admit that she had erased Nancy’s name at the skating rink, too?
“I did it for a reason,” Mandy explained. “See, I was supposed to clean out the hamster cage that day at school. But I hate that job.”
“Me, too,” Bess said, jumping into the conversation. She made a face. “It’s yucky.”
“Shh,” Nancy said. She nudged Bess to be quiet.
“Anyway, I overheard you talking about how someone erased your name at the ice rink,” Mandy went on. “So I got the idea to do the same thing at school. I took my name off the chores list. Then I wrote Bobby Mercado’s name on the list instead.”
“Oh,” Nancy said.
“That wasn’t right,” Bess said firmly. But then she added, “I don’t blame you, though. Hamsters are icky.”
“I printed Bobby’s name just like Mrs. Keller does,” Mandy said proudly.
“But what about at the skating rink?” Nancy asked quickly.
“I didn’t do that. Honest I didn’t,” Mandy said. “I just heard you talking about it. So I decided to be a copycat.”
Nancy’s face fell. She was disappointed. She wanted to solve this mystery—today!—so she could be a flower girl tomorrow.
“Anyway, I just wanted you to know,” Mandy went on. “After you caught me, I felt really bad. So after lunch I put my name back on the chores list.”
“Eww,” Bess said. “Poor you. Was the hamster cage gross?”
“Totally,” Mandy said. She gave Bess a grateful smile, and both girls giggled.
“Well, thanks for telling me,” Nancy said. But she still felt bad about not solving the mystery. “I believe you.”
Mandy looked so happy and relieved. “I really hope you get to be a flower girl,” Mandy said. “You’re such a good skater. You and Bess are both better than me.”
That was true, Nancy thought. But she didn’t say so.
“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at the ice show,” Nancy said. “I guess I’ll go with George and watch the show from the seats.”
“Yeah,” Mandy said. “I’ll wave to you, if that will help.”
“Thanks,” Nancy said as she turned away. But she knew it wouldn’t help. Nothing would help. It just wasn’t fair to be cheated out of a chance to skate with all the Olympic stars.
Nancy stomped her feet in the snow and started up the bank again. The sky was turning gray. It would be dark soon. She and Bess were not allowed to be out when it was getting dark.
“We’d better hurry,” Nancy said to Bess.
But just then she passed the logs where everyone sat to change their skates. Nancy looked down and saw something lying in the snow.
“Hey, look,” Nancy said, bending down.
She picked up a hand-knit wool mitten. It had patterns of pale blue, brown, and white.
“I know whose that is,” Bess said. “It’s Danielle’s. Her grandmother made those mittens for her.”
Bess glanced around the pond. “Danielle’s not here,” she announced. “I saw her before, but she’s gone now.”
“Hmmm,” Nancy said, studying the mitten closely. “There’s a dark blue smudge on the white part of the fingertips. I wonder what it is?”
“Dirt?” Bess asked.
“I don’t think so,” Nancy said. “It doesn’t look like dirt to me.”
“Oh, well,” Bess said. “Let’s take it home and give it to her tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Nancy said, putting the mitten in her jacket pocket. “Or maybe I’ll call her about it tonight.”
• • •
When Nancy got home, she hurried into the kitchen to get warm. Hannah Gruen, the Drew family housekeeper, was making dinner. She gave Nancy a taste of some warm potato soup that was on the stove.
Then Nancy remembered the mitten. She reached for the phone. She dialed Danielle’s number.
“Hello?” a girl’s voice said. It sounded like Danielle’s older sister, Marlo.
“Hello,” Nancy said. “This is Nancy Drew. May I please speak to Danielle?”
“Oh, hi, Nancy,” the older girl said. “This is Marlo. She’s not here right now.”
“Oh,” Nancy said.
“She went out to buy a new skating dress,” Marlo went on. “To wear at the ice show tomorrow. She’s a flower girl. Are you?”
Nancy felt a lump forming in her throat. “No,” she managed to say. “I’m not.”
“Oh, too bad,” Marlo said. “It sounds like lots of fun. All kinds of champions are going to be there, you know.”
Nancy wanted to cry. “I know,” she said. She could hardly talk. “Well, tell Danielle I found her mitten. Tell her I’ll give it to her tomorrow.”
Then Nancy hung up the phone with a bang. Tears filled her eyes.
“I’ll give it to her tomorrow,” Nancy repeated, even though no one was listen
ing. “Tomorrow—when she’s a flower girl at the ice show and I’m not!”
7
The Too-Late Truth
Cheer up, Pudding Pie,” Nancy’s father said as he drove her to the ice rink. It was almost four o’clock on Saturday afternoon.
Nancy didn’t answer. She just stared out the window and felt glum.
“At least you’re going to see all the famous skaters,” Carson Drew said. “You’ll even get to watch them rehearse. That’s pretty special.”
“I know,” Nancy said. “But it isn’t fair. I signed up to be a flower girl. I should get to be one.”
“I know,” Carson Drew said. “But life isn’t always fair, Nancy. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”
Nancy thought about that. She knew her father was right. But she still felt bad.
“Mostly I’m upset because I can’t figure out who did it,” Nancy said.
Carson Drew smiled. “Well, maybe there’s still time,” he said. “Just remember what I’ve always told you. Don’t get confused by the clues. Just think clearly and decide what really makes sense.”
Nancy looked down at the mitten she had found at the pond. Danielle’s mitten.
You make it sound so easy, Dad, Nancy thought. But it’s not.
Just then they arrived at the skating rink. Nancy saw a big truck parked in the parking lot. It said Champions on Ice Tour on the side.
“I’ll bet the costumes are in there,” her father said.
Nancy’s face lit up. This was going to be fun, even if she didn’t get to be a flower girl! Quickly she hopped out of the car.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby at six o’clock, right before the show,” Carson Drew called.
“Okay, Daddy,” Nancy said, waving as she ran into the building.
Inside, the doors to the rink were closed. Most people weren’t allowed to watch the skaters rehearse. But Ms. Swanback was standing there. She let Nancy and her other students go in.
Nancy found Bess and George already seated. Amara was in the row behind them. So were some of the other girls. But the figure skaters weren’t on the ice yet.
“Hi,” Nancy said to her friends. Then Nancy looked at George with a strange expression. “But why are you here?” she asked George. “You’re not in our skating class.”
“Ms. Swanback let me in early,” George said. “I’m here to watch the River Heights hockey team. They’re going to practice at five, right after the figure skaters warm up.”
“Oh,” Nancy said, nodding.
George leaned over toward Nancy. “Have you figured it out yet? About the sign-up board?” she asked.
“No,” Nancy said, shaking her head.
“Oh, well,” George said. “Maybe someone won’t show up, Maybe you’ll get to be a flower girl anyway.”
“Yeah,” Bess said. “Like Danielle. She’s always late. Maybe she’ll be late again.”
Nancy glanced around. Danielle wasn’t there yet—Bess was right. Danielle was late.
“But I don’t have my skating dress with me,” Nancy said.
“Oh, right,” Bess said.
All at once the lights in the rink went out. Then a beautiful pink spotlight swept across the ice. Music began to play on the speaker system.
Then Nancy saw her. Kristi Yamaguchi! She skated out onto the ice in her gold-and-silver skating dress. She was the most beautiful skater Nancy had ever seen.
A few minutes later, the other champion skaters rushed onto the ice, too. They all began to practice their spins and jumps.
“Aren’t they great?” Bess said, her voice high.
“They’re the best,” Nancy said. “But there are so many of them! I don’t know which one to watch.”
“I like the guy who’s dressed up like a cat,” George said. “His jumps are amazing. He’d be a great hockey player!”
Nancy nodded and stared. It was the most exciting show she had ever seen, and this was only the rehearsal! She could hardly wait until the real show that night.
For the next hour, Nancy watched the skaters. Then the figure skating rehearsal was over. The Zamboni machine came out to clean the ice.
Then the hockey team arrived to practice.
“Remember, you promised to stay and watch the hockey practice, too,” George said. “I want to see the new goalie. He just moved to our block.”
“Hockey is so boring,” Bess said, standing up. “I’m going to get hot chocolate in the lobby.”
“You mean you’re going to go burn your tongue,” George teased.
Bess laughed. “Yeah, probably,” she said.
“That’s okay,” George said. “Nancy will stay here with me. Won’t you, Nancy?”
Nancy nodded and settled back in her seat to watch. But her head was spinning. So many skaters! It was hard to keep track of what was happening in the practice game.
Suddenly Nancy noticed a balding man in a white shirt. He was standing near the edge of the ice rink. He had a small white erasable board in his hands. With a marker, he was drawing X’s and lines on the board.
Nancy perked up. “What’s that man doing?” she asked George.
“He’s the hockey coach,” George said. “He’s drawing pictures of the hockey plays.”
Nancy stared at him for several minutes. He was using an erasable marker on a shiny white board. First he drew some X’s and O’s. Then he drew lines. He showed the drawing to his players.
Then he took a white handkerchief and used it to erase the marks.
“Look at his handkerchief,” Nancy said to George. “It’s getting all smudged with blue ink.”
“Oh, give me a break,” George said. “You sound as bad as Bess—worrying about everything getting dirty.”
“No,” Nancy said. “That’s not what I mean. I mean it reminds me of something else.”
“What?” George asked.
Nancy stared a minute longer. Then all at once her face lit up. “I know!” Nancy said. “That’s the same kind of dark blue smudge as the one on Danielle’s mitten!”
8
Nice in the End
What mitten?” George asked. She looked puzzled.
“This one,” Nancy said. She reached in her pocket and took out Danielle’s mitten. She held it up as if it were a prize fish she had just caught.
“That’s Danielle’s?” George asked. “But where did you get it?”
“I found it at the skating pond,” Nancy said. “And look. It has a dark blue smudge on the fingertips. Just like on the coach’s handkerchief.”
“So?” George still looked puzzled.
“So I think I know how the smudge got there,” Nancy said. “I think it’s ink. I think Danielle used her mitten to erase my name from the sign-up board in the lobby.”
George’s mouth fell open. Her eyes grew big. “I’ll bet you’re right,” she said.
“I wish she’d hurry up and get here,” Nancy said, glancing all around.
“She’s here,” George said, pointing. “Didn’t you see her? She’s been sitting on the other side of the ice rink this whole time.”
“Thanks,” Nancy said. She jumped up and hurried to the other side of the skating rink. She walked up to Danielle with the mitten in her hand.
“Oh, hi,” Danielle said nervously. “You found my mitten.”
“Yes,” Nancy said. “But I have something to ask you. It’s about this smudge—this blue ink smudge.”
Danielle’s face turned red. She looked away.
“It looks as if you used your mitten to erase some ink from one of those white boards,” Nancy went on. “Like the one in the lobby. The sign-up board.”
Danielle stared at the mitten for a moment without looking up. Then she started to nod slowly.
“I’m really, really sorry,” she said quickly. “I did it. I erased your name. It’s just that I was late to my lesson that day—the day Ms. Swanback put up the sign. By the time I got there, all the spaces were full.”
“So you rubbed off my
name and put in your own?” Nancy asked. Even though she knew it was true, she still couldn’t believe someone would do something like that.
“Yes,” Danielle admitted.
“And then you snooped in my locker?” Nancy went on.
“Yes,” Danielle said. “I saw you writing in that detective’s notebook of yours. I wanted to see if you suspected me.”
“I did,” Nancy said.
“I know,” Danielle said, blushing some more. She looked very unhappy. “Please don’t be mad at me. I’ll go tell Ms. Swanback the truth right now. She’s in the locker room.”
“Okay,” Nancy agreed. She tried to smile at Danielle. “At least you told me the truth.”
With the mitten still in her hand, Danielle led the way to Ms. Swanback. She quickly told the teacher the whole story.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Ms. Swanback said to Nancy.
Nancy nodded. “I know. I was really mad at Danielle. But it’s okay now.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Danielle,” Ms. Swanback said. Then she turned to Nancy. “But I’m sorry about how I acted, too. I didn’t believe you when you told me you were on the list.”
Nancy nodded again. “I know.”
“I’m really sorry,” Ms. Swanback repeated. “Of course you can skate tonight instead of Danielle. And, Danielle, you can take Nancy’s seat in the stands. You can just sit and watch the skating show. Now hurry up and get changed, Nancy,” Ms. Swanback went on. “I want the flower girls to warm up on the ice before the show starts.”
“But my costume! And my skates!” Nancy said. “I don’t have them with me!”
“Oh, dear,” Ms. Swanback said. “Can you call your father and ask him to bring them?”
Nancy looked at her watch. “He’s supposed to be here right now,” she said. “It’s probably too late.”
Nancy’s eyes started to fill up with tears. This just wasn’t fair! She had solved the mystery, but she still couldn’t skate.
Then all of a sudden Nancy felt someone tapping her on the shoulder.
“You can wear my new skating dress,” Danielle said softly. “And my skates, if they fit you.”
“Really?” Nancy said. “That’s great!”
Not Nice on Ice Page 3