Sleepover Sleuths (5 page)

“What?” Nadine cried.

Nancy and Bess ran over.

“First my gumball rolls away and now this!” Nadine stomped her foot. “Do you think I took Hollywood Heather?”

“Well,” Nancy started to say.

“We know there's a doll in there, Nadine,” George said. “Why don't you just let us look?”

Nadine grabbed a handle on the bag. “What are you, some kind of detectives?” she demanded.

“Bingo!” Bess replied with a smile. “How'd you guess?”

Nancy watched as George and Nadine played tug-of-war with the shopping bag.

“We just want to peek!” George insisted.

“You mean sneak!” Nadine said.

The girls kept tugging—until the bag tore in half and Hollywood Heather dropped to the ground! But when Nancy, Bess, and George looked at the doll, they gasped. Her skin was orange, her head had short patches of white hair, and her brown eyes were smudged with colorful gunk!

“Omigosh, Nadine!” Nancy cried. “What have you done to Hollywood Heather?”

“Oh, don't have kittens!” Nadine said. She scooped up the doll. “It's not Hollywood Heather!”

“But didn't you tell Brianne Slotsky that you have a Hollywood Heather doll?” Nancy asked.

Nadine heaved a sigh. She touched her forehead with the back of her hand and said, “I wanted Hollywood Heather really badly. So I decided to turn New York Nikki into her.”

Nancy, Bess, and George stared at the messy looking doll.

“You mean … that's New York Nikki?” George asked, pointing.

Nadine nodded sadly. “A dolly makeover—that was my plan,” she said. “I gave her a tan by
pouring on my mom's instant tanning lotion. It made her turn orange. I dyed her hair blond with my mom's hair dye. It made her hair break!”

“Wow!” Bess said. “Your mom uses a lot of stuff!”

Nancy cleared her throat. Mrs. Nardo was coming out of the store. “Is everything okay?” she called.

“Can we take New York Nikki to the doll hospital now. Mom?” Nadine asked. “So they can change her back to the way she was before?”

“Yes, Nadine,” Mrs. Nardo sighed. “As long as you promise never to give your dolls makeovers again.”

Nadine did look sorry for messing up her doll. “Promise,” she said. She waved good-bye to Nancy, Bess, and George. Then she followed her mom up the street.

“How do we know that doll wasn't Hollywood Heather?” George asked. “I mean, Nadine could have messed
her
up!”

But as Nancy thought about the doll, something clicked. “That doll's eyes were brown,” she
said. “Aren't Hollywood Heather's eyes blue?”

“Bright blue!” Bess agreed.

“So that
was
New York Nikki,” Nancy said. “Nadine didn't take Hollywood Heather after all.”

“Good!” George said. “Now can we please get some pizza? My stomach is rumbling like a runaway roller coaster!”

The girls walked toward Pizza Paradise. Once inside, Nancy and Bess ordered cheese slices. George got pepperoni. They were about to bring their plates to a table when Nancy saw Madison Foley. She was carrying a plate too.

“Do you want to sit with us, Madison?” Nancy asked.

“Can't!” Madison said. “I'm taking my slice to a Pixie Scout meeting.”

Then Madison hurried out of the restaurant.

“Madison is in the third grade like us,” Bess said. “Don't only first and second graders go to Pixie Scouts?”

“Maybe she got left back for not selling enough cookies,” George said with a shrug.

Nancy, Bess, and George sat down at a small round table. They ate their slices and drank water. Suddenly they heard someone yell, “I'm an alien from planet Pizza Pie!”

Nancy glanced up. It was Cassidy Rubin running around the pizza parlor. She was holding pepperonis over her eyes, just like she did at the sleepover.

“Are we lucky or what?” Bess asked. “Cassidy is one of our suspects.”

Nancy could see Cassidy's backpack on another table.

“Look!” Nancy said. “There's the backpack she was holding at the sleepover.”

“Maybe Hollywood Heather is still inside,” Bess said.

“Forget it,” George said, shaking her head. “I'm not peeking into any more bags.”

“We don't have to peek,” Nancy said. “I'll just
feel
the bag to see if there's a doll inside.”

“Cassidy won't see you, anyway,” Bess said. “She has pepperonis over her eyes.”

Nancy stood up and walked quietly to the
other table. She reached over a paper cup for Cassidy's backpack.

“Oops!” Nancy gasped. She had knocked over the paper cup. Purple liquid was spreading across the table!

Nancy didn't want the backpack to get wet, so she quickly picked it up. That's when she heard Cassidy cry, “Help! Nancy Drew is stealing my backpack!”

“No, I'm not,” Nancy reassured the younger girl.

Everyone in the pizza parlor was staring at her, even Mr. and Mrs. Randazzo, the owners.

Cassidy ran over, dragging Marcy by the hand.

“You weren't stealing my sister's backpack, were you, Nancy?” Marcy asked.

“No,” Nancy said. She handed the backpack to Cassidy. “I was just trying to find Hollywood Heather.”

Marcy stared at Nancy. “My sister may be a pest,” she said, “but she's not a thief!”

“Let's ask her,” George said. She turned to Cassidy. “Where were you between seven and eight o'clock this morning?”

“That's a weird question to ask a little kid,” Marcy said. “She can hardly tell time yet.”

“Can so!” Cassidy said. “I was in the living room watching
Artie the Aardvark
on TV. Deirdre's mother said I could.”

Nancy smiled. She used to watch
Artie the Aardvark
too, so she knew every cartoon by heart.

“What was the show about, Cassidy?” Nancy asked.

“It was funny!” Cassidy giggled. “Artie was learning how to ride a skateboard in the zoo!”

“What happened?” Nancy asked.

“What are you doing, Nancy?” Bess whispered.

“Who cares about Artie the Aardvark?” George asked.

Nancy kept on listening.

“Artie was riding the skateboard. It flipped over and he fell into the seal pond. Then the seal bounced Artie on his nose like a ball!” Cassidy laughed.

“That's right!” Nancy said.

“I think I get it,” George said. “Cassidy knows everything about the show today. So she was upstairs watching TV!”

“Not downstairs stealing the doll,” Bess added.

But Nancy wasn't totally sure yet.

“One more question, Cassidy,” Nancy said. “Why wouldn't you let go of your backpack this morning?”

Cassidy clutched her backpack again. She stared at the floor as she shuffled her feet. “Because,” she said, “I did take something!”

Nancy stared at Cassidy. Was it Hollywood Heather?

“What did you take, Cassidy?” Nancy asked. “Did you take the doll?”

“Yeah, Cassidy,” Marcy said. “What's in the bag?”

Cassidy held out her Artie the Aardvark backpack. She lifted the front flap and said, “Stick your hand in and see for yourself.”

Nancy reached into the backpack. She felt something mushy and sticky!

“Eww!” Nancy cried. She yanked out her hand. It was dripping with pink and white goo. “What is this stuff?”

“Whipped cream and strawberry filling,” Cassidy explained. “After the
Artie the Aardvark
show I was hungry, so I went into the kitchen. I
saw the last piece of birthday cake in the refrigerator, but I didn't take it.”

“But!” George said. “It's all over Nancy's hand.”

“I took it when Mrs. Shannon said I could,” Cassidy said. “I didn't want Deirdre to know, so I put the piece in my backpack before everybody woke up.”

Nancy held up her drippy hand.

So that's what Cassidy had in her backpack: the last piece of birthday cake!

“I can't eat it now,” Cassidy said. “It's too mushy.”

“That's for sure,” Nancy muttered. She grabbed a stack of napkins to wipe her hand. Then she, Bess, and George left the pizza parlor.

“So far Nadine and Cassidy are innocent,” George said. “That means we have only one suspect left.”

“Trina Vanderhoof,” Bess said.

It was two o'clock. As the girls waited for Mrs. Fayne in front of Pizza Paradise, Nancy was getting worried. What if Trina hadn't taken Hollywood Heather?

What if I never solve the case? Nancy wondered. What will I tell Deirdre?

“It's not easy being a detective, Daddy,” Nancy said that night at dinner. “I have only one suspect left.”

Mr. Drew wasn't a detective, but he was a lawyer. So he knew a thing or two about cases.

“Sometimes clues can lead to other clues, Pumpkin,” Mr. Drew said as he buttered his roll.

“How?” Nancy asked.

Mr. Drew winked at Nancy and said, “I have a feeling you'll find out for yourself.”

“I sure hope so, Daddy.” Nancy sighed.

After dinner Nancy helped Hannah dry the
dishes. As she dried the last glass, the phone rang. Nancy put the towel on the counter and picked up the kitchen phone.

“Hello?” she said.

“Did you find my doll?” Deirdre's voice asked.

“Um … not yet, Deirdre,” Nancy answered slowly.

“You have to find her by tomorrow afternoon!” Deirdre wailed. “My father is taking me to tea after school. He told me to bring Hollywood Heather!”

“You still didn't tell your parents that she's missing?” Nancy asked.

“I can't!” Deirdre said.

Nancy chewed her lower lip. It was already Sunday night. They would be in school the whole day on Monday. When would she work on the case?

“I still have to talk to Trina,” Nancy said.

“Then go straight to Trina tomorrow and ask Her where she hid my doll,” Deirdre said. “Or look inside her basketball bag. Just be sure to hold your nose first!”

“I'll do the best I can, Deirdre,” Nancy promised. She could hear Deirdre groan on the other end.

“First my doll disappears,” Deirdre said. “Then my best friend Madison has no time for me…. My life is so hard!”

Nancy heard a click. Deirdre had hung up the phone. Nancy pressed the off button on the phone and turned around. Chocolate Chip was sitting behind her. The little brown puppy cocked her head as she looked up at Nancy.

“Wow, Chip,” Nancy said. “Being a detective is a lot harder than I thought!”

“I still can't believe we have to solve the case by this afternoon!” George cried.

“That's just a few hours from now,” Bess said. “How are we going to do that, Nancy?”

Nancy shook her head. It was Monday. The third and fourth graders were in the schoolyard for recess. Most of the kids were playing kickball. Some were on the swings. Others were shooting hoops on the basketball court.