Heidi Heckelbeck and the Snoopy Spy

by Wanda Coven

  Contents

  Chapter 1: BUGS

  Chapter 2: SPY FOR HIRE

  Chapter 3: SPY TRAP

  Chapter 4: SILENT NIGHT

  Chapter 5: TRUTH BE TOLD

  Chapter 6: THE BLABBERMOUTH

  Chapter 7: TWISTED SISTER

  Chapter 8: SPY GIRL

  Chapter 9: THE MAGICAL MYSTERY

  Chapter 10: HANGING OUT

  Is So Totally Grounded! Excerpt

  About the Author and Illustrator

  BUGS

  Heidi and Lucy floppity-flopped onto Heidi’s bed. The two best friends were playing a game they invented called Would You? Could You?

  “Your turn!” Heidi said.

  Lucy propped herself up on one elbow. “Okay, I’ve got one,” she said. “Would you? Could you? Umm, eat a chocolate-covered BUG?”

  Heidi giggled and wrinkled her nose. “Maybe,” she said. “If the bug wasn’t too crunchy. It is chocolate, after all.”

  Lucy gasped and squeezed her eyes shut. “GROSS!” she cried.

  Both girls cracked up.

  “Okay, my turn,” Heidi said. “Would you? Could you? Dump a whole bottle of strawberry shampoo on Melanie Maplethorpe’s head?”

  Both girls squealed.

  “That’s funny,” Lucy said, catching her breath. “But a teeny bit mean.”

  Heidi shoved Lucy playfully. “It’s not MEAN, it’s CLEAN!” she said. “Get it? Shampoo?”

  The two girls started laughing again.

  “Okay, here’s a good one,” Lucy said. “Would you? Could you? Ask Stanley Stonewrecker to go to a movie?”

  Heidi’s cheeks turned red. Then she leaned in closer to Lucy.

  She whispered loudly, “Yes!”

  Lucy shrieked, and both girls collapsed in laughter again.

  “I knew it!” Lucy cried. “I knew it all the time!”

  Then something went BONK under Heidi’s bed. The girls stopped talking and stared at each other. Heidi put a finger to her lips. Then she hung her head over the side of the bed and pulled up the dust ruffle.

  “Henry!” she screamed.

  Henry wiggled out from under the bed. He had a huge smile on his face. He also had on a trench coat and a weird hat. Plus he was holding a magnifying glass in front of his eye.

  “Super spy strikes again!” Henry cheered.

  “Get him!” Heidi shouted.

  Henry scrambled to his feet and raced out of the room. The girls chased him all the way downstairs.

  “Mom!” Heidi yelled. “Henry was spying on us in my room!”

  Heidi’s mom, who had been napping on the couch, sat up and rubbed her eyes.

  Heidi tapped her foot. “Please do something now!” she begged. “That Mr. Snoopy Pants is driving us crazy!”

  Mom nodded sleepily. Then the girls scampered back upstairs, and Heidi slammed the door behind them.

  “We should make sure your room is not bugged,” Lucy said.

  Heidi was worried. “Wait, you mean my room has creepy, crawly bugs?”

  Lucy shook her head. “No, no, I meant a recording device,” she explained. “Your little brother may be listening in—even when he’s not actually in here.”

  Heidi looked around her room suspiciously. “You’re RIGHT!”

  The girls began to search. Heidi looked on her bookshelf. Then Lucy went to check under the bed. Just as Lucy started to lift up the dust ruffle, Heidi squealed from across the room. Her heart stopped for a second as she dove to block her friend.

  “Don’t look under there!” Heidi cried.

  “Why not?” asked Lucy.

  Now Heidi’s heart pounded as she tried to think of a reason to keep Lucy from looking under the bed . . . where her secret Book of Spells was hidden. “Because that’s where I . . . uh . . . hid your Christmas present!”

  Lucy sat on her heels. “You already got me a Christmas present?”

  “Yes!” Heidi nodded. “Yes, I did. It’s never too early to shop, that’s what I always say. So you can look anywhere else in my room except under there.”

  Lucy dropped the dust ruffle. “Okay, but now I’m curious.”

  “Good,” said Heidi. “Now let’s use that curiosity to search for snoopy devices!”

  The girls looked everywhere else, but they didn’t find a single bug.

  SPY FOR HIRE

  “Mom!” Heidi called out as she rifled through a stack of papers on the kitchen counter. “I can’t find my All About Me folder, and I’m going to be LATE for school!”

  Heidi had been working on this project for weeks. She had interviewed Aunt Trudy about her perfume business and Dad about the drink company he worked for called The FIZZ. Heidi had also written stories and drawn pictures about herself and her friends.

  She ran upstairs to check her room again. No book. Then she checked the kitchen and the family room again too. Nothing. Finally she dumped out her backpack onto the kitchen table. It wasn’t in there, either.

  “It’s just nowhere!” cried Heidi.

  Mom lifted her head out of the recycling bin, where she’d been looking. “Think back to where you had it last.”

  Heidi watched a pencil roll off the table and onto the floor.

  “I thought it was in my room,” Heidi said. “I could have sworn that I left it on my desk so I wouldn’t forget to bring it to school in the morning.”

  Dad stepped into the kitchen. “It’s not in the mail pile either,” he said.

  Heidi looked at the clock. She had to go or she would miss the bus. “Merg!” she fumed. “What am I going to do?”

  Henry glugged his milk and banged the empty glass on the table.

  “Why not hire a SPY?” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

  Heidi scowled. “Well, if I did, I would not hire you.”

  She quickly shoved her books back into her backpack. Then the not-so-friendly brother and sister hurried out the door to catch the bus.

  On the bus, Heidi plunked down beside Bruce. Henry snuck into the seat behind them.

  “What’s the matter?” Bruce asked, noticing the frown on Heidi’s face. Heidi groaned and told Bruce about her missing report. No sooner had she explained what had happened than Mr. Snoopy Pants popped up in between them.

  “Tell me,” Henry began, “what does this missing folder look like exactly?” Then he held his magnifying glass in front of Heidi’s face. “And tell me, how many pages is it? And did you happen to mention me in your project?”

  Heidi glared at her brother. “Why do you care so much, Henry?”

  “What?” Henry said innocently. “You should be happy. I’m giving you free spy help.”

  Then he hung his elbows over the seat.

  “Now . . . ,” he continued, “tell me more about why some of Bruce’s inventions don’t always work.”

  Bruce’s eyes grew very round. “Henry, what do my inventions have to do with Heidi’s report? And, by the way, my inventions always work.”

  Henry held up a folder and waved it at Bruce. “That’s not what it says in here.” He opened the folder and read a page out loud. “Bruce is an amazing inventor, but sometimes his inventions go a little wonky, like the time he tied helium balloons to his dad’s lawn chair and tried to fly it. Or the time he made an automatic dog washer and his dog, Frankie, got in the sudsing machine. . . .”

  Bruce huffed. “Those inventions were still in the development stage.”

  Heidi grabbed the folder from her brother. “Henry, that’s my report! You stole my project! You’re not only a snoopster, you’re a THIEF!”

  Henry didn’t back down. “Well, none of this would’ve ha
ppened if you’d hired me as a spy. Because then I would’ve told you exactly where your report had gone.”

  “It doesn’t count if you are the one who stole it in the first place!” Heidi yelled.

  She turned around in her seat so she didn’t have to look at her brother anymore. Then she opened her folder and nudged Bruce.

  “Let me read you the rest of what I wrote,” she said.

  Bruce listened with his arms folded.

  “I’m so proud of my friend Bruce,” Heidi began. “Because he is the most fearless scientist I’ve ever known. If he doesn’t get his inventions to work the first time, he keeps trying until he does. Someday he’s going to invent something that will make him famous all over the world.”

  Bruce smiled and unfolded his arms. “Wow,” he said. “I kind of like the sound of that!”

  SPY TRAP

  “I need a SNOOP-inator,” Heidi said.

  Lucy laughed and tossed her the basketball. “What’s a SNOOP-inator?”

  The ball bounced, and Heidi grabbed it. “Someone who gets rid of snoopy little brothers.” Heidi tossed the ball back to Lucy.

  “Is Henry still bugging you?” Lucy asked.

  Heidi nodded. “More than ever.”

  Lucy swished the basketball, before Bruce caught it.

  “Want me to develop a spy trap for him?” he asked.

  Heidi smiled. “A what?”

  Bruce held the ball under his arm. “Well, I could try to rig an upside-down umbrella filled with Ping-Pong balls above your bedroom door. Then when your snoop opens the door, the umbrella would tip to one side and dump the Ping-Pong balls on top of his head.”

  Heidi and Lucy busted out laughing.

  “And what if THAT doesn’t work?” questioned Lucy.

  Bruce scratched his chin. “In that case, we would have to trick him with a different way. Hmm, maybe with glue, yarn, shaving cream, and marbles.”

  Heidi waved off that idea. “That sounds way too messy. And with my luck, you’ll trap me and not the snoop.”

  Lucy laughed. “Maybe you should just talk to Henry and tell him it’s not nice to spy on other people.”

  Heidi shrugged. “Yeah, right—we’re talking about the spy who listens to everything but the truth.”

  Then there was a really loud pop right next to Heidi’s ear.

  It was Melanie Maplethorpe, and she was smacking her bubble gum.

  “What spy?” Melanie was completely butting in. She blew another bubble and popped it. Stanley Stonewrecker was glued to Melanie’s side as usual.

  “Heidi’s little brother spies on Heidi all the time,” Bruce told her.

  Melanie laughed. “So what’s the big deal? It’s not like Heidi has any big, juicy secrets!”

  That’s when the bushes next to the basketball court began to shake. Then out popped Henry. He had been spying on them the whole time.

  “No! You’re wrong, Melanie!” Henry cried. “Heidi does too have secrets. I happen to know that she was going to ask Stanley . . .”

  Heidi tackled her brother and cupped her hand over his mouth. Lucy faked a laugh to get everyone to look her way.

  “Heidi was going to ask Stanley what his favorite color is,” Lucy fibbed. “Right, Heidi?”

  Heidi nodded like crazy—still holding her hand firmly over Henry’s mouth.

  Stanley smiled. “Fun question, Heidi!” he said. “My favorite color is red.”

  Melanie rolled her eyes. “Come on, Stanley,” she said, hooking her arm in his. Melanie didn’t like it when Stanley talked to Heidi.

  As soon as they had walked away, Heidi uncovered Henry’s mouth.

  “Don’t ever tell my secrets,” she said. “Or ELSE.”

  Henry wiped his mouth where Heidi’s hand had been.

  “Well, if it wasn’t for me, you’d never know Stanley’s favorite color is red,” Henry said. “And guess what? So is your face! And that means you LIKE Stanley.”

  Then Henry bolted before Heidi could catch him.

  “Merg,” Heidi growled. Now she had three names for her brother: Snoop. Thief. And Creep.

  SILENT NIGHT

  Clink! Clink! Henry set the water glasses on the table. Clank! Clank! Heidi dropped the silverware into place. Clunk! Clunk! They clunked down the butter dish, the salad bowl, and the ketchup. Neither Heidi nor Henry spoke a single word.

  Then the family sat down for an unusually quiet dinner. Henry didn’t even laugh when Dad squeezed the ketchup and it made a bathroom noise. Mom and Dad looked at their kids suspiciously, but they didn’t make much of it. They had their own things to talk about.

  “The plumber fixed the leak in the basement,” Mom said. “A clog in one of the drainage pipes.”

  Dad spooned some relish on his hot dog. “How wet is the carpet?”

  Mom set down her fork. “It’s not too bad,” she said. “The bucket caught most of the water.”

  After dinner Heidi and Henry cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher—still without saying a single word to each other.

  Mom brought brownies on a plate to the den for Family Reading Night. Heidi dropped onto the couch and opened her book. Henry plopped onto the beanbag chair and buried his face in his book too.

  “Okay, this is getting weird,” Dad said, sitting next to Heidi. “What’s going on, you two? Out with it.”

  Both Heidi and Henry poked up from behind the book covers. Then they each began to talk at once.

  “Henry is driving me crazy!”

  “And Heidi calls me mean names, like Creep and Nightmare. . . .”

  “Well, Henry snoops in my room!”

  “Do not!”

  “Do so! And he takes my stuff!”

  “Hey, I’m the one who found your lost project!”

  “And he lies!”

  “Nuh-uh!”

  “And he tells my secrets to other people!”

  Dad whistled. “Okay, time out. That’s enough,” he said. “I want both of you to go to your rooms and get ready for bed. We’ll discuss this tomorrow.”

  Heidi and Henry sighed heavily and thumped upstairs. Heidi got to the bathroom first and washed her face. As she lathered the soap, she noticed Henry in the mirror—spying on her.

  “Get out!” Heidi cried, soap suds dripping from her face.

  Henry screamed, “You look like a soap monster!” Then he ran away.

  “Ugh!” Heidi grumbled, rinsing her face. After that, she brushed her teeth and put on her kitten pajamas. As she crawled into bed she noticed her Book of Spells was out and open.

  “HENRY HECKELBECK!” shouted Heidi. “GET IN HERE!”

  Henry scuffled across the hall in his shark slippers.

  “Have you been snooping in my room?” Heidi asked.

  Henry smirked and shook his head. “No way. I swear.” Then he ran back to his room and closed the door. He was barely able to keep a straight face.

  Heidi sighed and hopped back into bed. Henry had to be lying. Why would a spy tell the truth to the person they’re spying on? she thought. But what if a spy HAD to tell the truth . . . all the time? Then that no-good snoopy spy would never get away with lying or snooping again! Hmm . . . maybe a spell is the perfect anti-spy solution.

  TRUTH BE TOLD

  Heidi couldn’t sleep that night. She tossed and turned listening for Henry’s sneaky little footsteps. Finally, Heidi jumped out of bed and grabbed her Book of Spells. She studied the pages and found the perfect spy-busting TRUTH spell. She read it over.

  LIAR! LIAR! SNOOP’S ON FIRE!

  Have you ever had someone snoop through your stuff? Or perhaps you’re the kind of witch who’s had someone spy on you and get away with it. If you’re tired of all the spying and lying, then this is the spell for YOU!

  Ingredients:

  1 magnifying glass

  2 stretchy rubber bands

  1 pocket mirror

  Suspect’s name written on a piece of paper in black marker

  Combine the ingredien
ts in a bowl and stir. Cover the mix with one hand and hold your Witches of Westwick medallion in the other. Chant the following spell:

  SNOOPY, SNEAKY, SLIPPERY SPIES.

  TELLING ALL THEIR LITTLE LIES.

  BEWARE TO THOSE WHO BEND AN EAR.

  SPEAK THE TRUTH FOR ALL TO HEAR!

  Perfect, Heidi thought. She quickly gathered the ingredients.

  There was a magnifying glass, from inside a cereal box, which she kept in her nightstand. Next she fished out two rubber bands from her top desk drawer and grabbed a pink pocket mirror from her bathroom cabinet. Then she wrote HENRY on a piece of notepaper with the blackest marker she could find.

  Heidi tossed the ingredients into a bowl and stirred. She placed one hand over the mix and held her medallion in the other. As she chanted the spell the bowl shuddered and the magic took hold.

  Let the truth be told! she thought.

  THE BLABBERMOUTH

  The next morning Heidi watched her brother closely to see if her spell had worked. She didn’t have to wait long. Henry began to blab the truth about everything at the breakfast table.

  “You know what, Mom?” he said. “You snore.”

  Mom set down her coffee mug. “Don’t be silly.”

  “No, I’m being serious!” Henry insisted. “You sounded like a huge lion snarling last night! And I know it was you because I peeked in your bedroom door.”