“We’re detectives now,” Bess said. “In case you haven’t noticed.”
Trina stared through the clear bag. She frowned, stepped back, and said, “I know what that fuzzy stuff is!”
“What?” Nancy asked. Trina opened her mouth to speak when—
“Hey, Trina!” Ned called. “We’re waiting for the ball!”
“I’m there!” Trina answered. As she ran back to the court, she shouted over her shoulder, “And I didn’t take Hollywood Heather!”
Then who did? Nancy wondered as she watched Trina jog toward the boys. Nancy noticed that Madison had disappeared.
“I believe Trina left because of Marshmallow,” Bess said. “But why do you think she looked so weird when she saw the fuzzy stuff in the bag?”
“Yeah!” George chuckled. “You’d think she saw a cat!”
Cat. Nancy thought. That’s it!
“Isn’t Marshmallow a white cat?” Nancy asked.
Bess and George both nodded.
“And don’t most cats like to sit on windowsills?” Nancy asked.
Her friends nodded again.
“Maybe Marshmallow came into the room, jumped from the gift table to the windowsill, and knocked down Hollywood Heather!” Nancy said.
“Okay,” George said. “But wouldn’t Hollywood Heather have fallen down somewhere?”
“We did look everywhere for the doll,” Bess said. “So where did she fall?”
“That’s the big question,” Nancy sighed.
The school bell rang. Recess was over. Nancy, Bess, and George walked to the door with the other kids.
“Maybe there’s still time to talk about the case after school,” Bess said.
“Yeah,” George agreed. “I already got permission to go to your house at three o’clock.”
“Me too!” Bess said.
“Okay,” Nancy said. “But time is running out.”
They filed into Mrs. Ramirez’s classroom. As Nancy sat at her desk, she tried not to look at Deirdre. She tried not to think about the case, but it kept popping into her head!
Where is Hollywood Heather? Nancy wondered. Why can’t I figure it out?
After school the girls went to Nancy’s house. After eating a snack of Hannah’s yummy fruit salad, they went upstairs to Nancy’s room. This time Nancy sat at the computer. Instead of opening the case file, she went online.
“There’s got to be a site for junior detectives,” Nancy said. “Maybe it has some tips on solving cases.”
“Wait,” George said. She pointed to the little red mailbox on the screen. “You got an e-mail.”
Nancy clicked on the mailbox. Her e-mail was from KJack—Kendra Jackson. She wrote: “Check out Deirdre’s Web site. There are some neat pictures of all of us!”
Nancy found Dishing with Deirdre on the Web. There were lots of pictures from the sleepover. The girls smiled when they saw the group photo.
“Look!” Bess said. “There’s Hollywood Heather on the windowsill before she disappeared.”
Nancy gazed at the picture. There were lots of backpacks and duffel bags against the wall too.
“You guys,” Nancy said. She leaned forward in her chair. “Could Hollywood Heather have fallen into a bag?”
“Maybe,” Bess said. “But which one?”
George squeezed next to Nancy on the chair. She grabbed the mouse and clicked on the picture. Soon the picture was three times its original size!
Nancy studied the photo. She saw flashes of orange between everyone’s feet. Maybe there was an orange bag under the window. Nancy pulled out the orange button and held it against the screen. They were the exact same color!
“I think this button came from the bag we can see in the picture!” Nancy exclaimed. “But who had an orange bag at the sleepover?”
“Can’t remember,” Bess said, shaking her head.
“Let’s check the other pictures,” George said. She found shots of the guests walking to the house. One was of Madison carrying an orange duffel bag. It had orange buttons on the front flap!
“Madison’s bag was under the window,” Bess said.
Nancy couldn’t take her eyes off the picture.
“Omigosh!” she gasped. “Does Deirdre’s best friend have Hollywood Heather?”
CHAPTER TEN
Detectives Forever!
“But Madison is Deirdre’s best friend, Nancy,” Bess said. “If she found the doll, she would have told Deirdre.”
“Unless Madison didn’t want to tell her,” Nancy said. “Let’s go to Madison’s house and ask her some questions. Anyone know where she lives?”
“She lives in that big blue house on Acorn Street,” Bess said. “But I don’t know how to get there from here.”
“Piece of cake!” George said. With a few clicks of the mouse she found a site called Map Search. In a few seconds a map of River Heights was on the screen.
“Acorn Street is only four blocks away,” Nancy said.
“We’re allowed to walk there as long as we’re together,” Bess said, repeating their rules.
George printed out the map. “See?” she said. “There isn’t anything you can’t find on the computer!”
The girls asked Hannah’s permission to go. Then they followed the map to the Foley house. Once there, Nancy rang the doorbell. Madison looked surprised when she opened the door.
“Hi,” Madison said. “What’s up?”
“Madison, did you find Hollywood Heather in your orange duffel bag?” Nancy asked.
Madison’s eyes opened wide. She stepped outside and shut the front door behind her. “No way!” she said.
“Okay,” Nancy said slowly. “Then did you lose a button?”
She pulled the orange button out of her pocket. Madison stared at it and said, “Maybe. So what?”
“We think Marshmallow the cat knocked Hollywood Heather off the windowsill,” Nancy explained. “And since your bag was right under the window …”
“… accidents happen,” Bess finished.
Madison stared at the girls.
“It was an accident!” she finally said. “I found the doll in my bag when we were searching the room. I was going to tell Deirdre, but she seemed so mad. She would have thought I stole Hollywood Heather for sure!”
“But Deirdre’s your best friend,” George said.
“That’s just it,” Madison said. “I was afraid she wouldn’t be my best friend anymore. And that would be awful!”
“So you let Deirdre think that Trina did it?” Bess asked.
When Madison heard Trina’s name, she frowned. It made Nancy think of something else.
“Unless you were a little jealous of Trina,” Nancy said gently. “For becoming Deirdre’s second-best friend.”
“I guess I was feeling a little sad about it,” Madison said.
Nancy felt bad for Madison. It must have been superhard to keep such a big secret.
“But I still can’t tell,” Madison said, shaking her head. “Deirdre’s dad is a big-shot lawyer. He could throw me into jail for stealing!”
“Nancy’s dad is a lawyer too,” Bess said with a smile. “He could get you out!”
“No one is going to jail, you guys!” Nancy said. “We can help explain everything to Deirdre.”
“It’s not that easy,” Madison said. “There’s another problem.”
“What?” Nancy asked.
Madison ran into the house. She came back holding Hollywood Heather. Nancy looked at the doll. One of her arms was missing!
“How did that happen?” Nancy asked.
“It must have broken off when she fell into my bag,” Madison said. She held up the broken arm. “How can I bring her to Deirdre like this?”
“Give her to me,” Bess said.
Madison handed the doll to Bess. Everyone watched as Bess popped the arm right back in.
“How did you do that?” Madison gasped.
“Bess can build anything and fix anything,” Nancy said cheerfully. �
�Now let’s all go to Deirdre’s house.”
Deirdre lived around the corner from Madison. Mrs. Shannon greeted the girls and led them into the living room. Madison held Hollywood Heather behind her back as they waited for Deirdre.
When she came into the room, Deirdre was wearing a pink dress and black patent leather shoes.
“Hi,” Deirdre said. “I’m going to tea soon—” Madison pulled the doll out from behind her back. Deirdre took one look at it and her mouth dropped open.
“You found her!” Deirdre cried. She grabbed Hollywood Heather from Madison and held her tight. “Where was she?”
“I … I … I,” Madison started to say.
“It’s okay, Madison,” Nancy whispered.
Madison took a deep breath. “Hollywood Heather fell into my bag,” she blurted. “I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d think I took her on purpose.”
Deirdre stared at Madison. But then she smiled. “So that’s why you’ve been too busy for me,” Deirdre said. “Thanks for telling me the truth, Madison.”
“So … you’re not mad?” Madison asked.
“I’m just happy you’re still my friend,” Deirdre said. “Ever since Hollywood Heather went missing, you’ve been running away from me. I thought I did something wrong!”
“Sorry,” Madison said. “But if it weren’t for Nancy, I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to say anything.”
“I knew Nancy would find Hollywood Heather,” Deirdre said.
“You mean Nancy, Bess, and George!” Nancy said.
Deirdre hugged Hollywood Heather. “Now I can take Hollywood Heather to tea with me,” she said. “Just like my dad said I should.”
Then she looked up and said, “Why don’t you all come to tea? There’ll be sandwiches and little cakes and minty tea—”
“I love little cakes!” George said.
“And big cakes!” Bess said, licking her lips.
It sounded good to Nancy, too. But she wanted Deirdre and Madison to fix up their friendship together.
“Thanks, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “But we have to go home.”
“I know!” Madison said. She turned to Deirdre and smiled. “Let’s ask Trina to come with us. She’s our second-best friend.”
“Okay!” Deirdre said. “And guess what?”
“What?” everyone asked at the same time.
“There is a City Girls doll called Indianapolis Ivy,” Deirdre said. “So I was wrong and Trina was right!”
Deirdre and Madison walked Nancy, Bess, and George to the door. As the three friends left the house, Madison called after them, “You guys should solve more mysteries. You’re great at it!”
Walking down Acorn Street, Nancy thought about what Madison said. Maybe she was right….
“You guys,” Nancy said. “Maybe we should solve more mysteries!”
Bess and George stopped walking.
“You mean like a team?” George asked.
“Like a club!” Nancy said excitedly. “We can meet in my room to talk about our cases. And we can put all of our clues in my desk drawer just like we did for this case!”
“And I can write everything on your computer!” George said, her dark eyes flashing. “That was awesome!”
Bess gave a little excited hop. “And I can fix whatever breaks,” she said. “And build some neat spy gadgets, too.”
Nancy smiled. Their new detective club was sounding better and better. But one thing was missing. Something very important …
“We need a name,” Nancy said. “How about … the Mystery Girls?”
“Too old-fashioned,” George admitted. “How about … Case Crackers?”
“We’d sound like a crunchy snack!” Nancy giggled.
“Let’s see,” Bess said. She twirled a lock of her hair as she thought. “What about … the Clue Gang?”
“Hmm,” Nancy said. “Something that rhymes might be nice.”
“Like what?” George asked.
“Like the Clue … the Clue …” Nancy started to say. Her eyes lit up. “The Clue Crew!”
The girls high-fived.
“Our own detective club!” Bess cried. “How cool is that?”
“Supercool!” Nancy agreed. “But do you want to know the best part?”
“We’re going to be solving all kinds of cool cases?” George asked.
“No,” Nancy said.
“What?” Bess asked.
“We’re going to be solving all kinds of cool cases … together!” Nancy said with a smile.
Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew could hardly wait!
Head-To-Toe PJ Fashion Show!
Go glam at your next sleepover with a pajama fashion show! But before you strut down the runway in your favorite pj’s, top off the look—and the fun—with hats made by you and your friends!
Get started with these cool chapeaus …
1. Hearts and Flowers Crown:
You will need:
1 paper plate
Construction paper
Paint, markers, or crayons
Scissors
Glue
Cut a slit down the middle of the paper plate. Leave about an inch around the edges of the plate. Cut three more slits the same size. These slits should cross the first one. Bend the points out to look like a crown. Using glue—and your imagination—attach paper hearts and flowers to points and sprinkle with glitter all around. You glow, girl!
2. Paper Bag Hat
You will need:
1 large paper grocery bag
Scissors
Stapler
Markers or crayons
Glue
Feathers, ribbon, buttons, glitter, etc.
Draw a hat shape on the grocery bag. Cut out two of the shapes. Staple two pieces together. Using glue, go wild with feathers, ribbons, glitter—whatever you want to decorate! From supermarket to supermodel—your grocery bag hat will rule the runway!
Now you’re ready to wear it … and work it!
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Text copyright © 2006 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Macky Pamintuan
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS, NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW, and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
NANCY DREW is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Designed by Lisa Vega
The text of this book was set in ITC Stone Informal.
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Aladdin Paperbacks edition June 2006
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Control Number 2005931092
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1255-2
ISBN-10: 1-4169-1255-X
eISBN: 978-1-439-10335-7
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