“I never eat cookies!” the mayor called over his shoulder as he ran. “Or doughnuts! Or candy . . .”
Mayor Strong’s voice trailed off as he ran on.
“That was weird,” Nancy said.
“Totally,” George said.
“Something else was weird,” Bess said. “Did you see that stain on the mayor’s hoodie?”
“Only you would notice a stain, Bess,” George said.
“It wasn’t just a stain,” Bess said. “It was purple. The same color as the purple passion cupcakes.”
“But we didn’t see the mayor at the Lucky Ladybug today, Bess,” George said.
Nancy thought for a minute. Just because they didn’t see Mayor Strong didn’t mean he wasn’t there!
“My dad once told me the mayor has keys to every store on Main Street,” Nancy said. “In case of emergencies.”
“Mayor Strong probably has one for the Lucky Ladybug, too,” Bess said. “He could have used it to get inside before the store opened.”
“Wouldn’t Trent or the sisters have seen all those ladybugs once they got to the store?” George asked.
“Unless the mayor dumped them in a corner somewhere,” Nancy decided, “and they swarmed all over the place because of the crowd.”
“But why would Mayor Strong want to do something bad to the Lucky Ladybug?” George asked.
“Mayor Strong doesn’t think cupcakes are healthy enough,” Nancy explained. “He might have wanted the store to close.”
“And while he was dumping ladybugs,” Bess added. “He bumped into a purple passion cupcake.”
“I guess that explains the stain,” Nancy said.
“Too bad we can’t search Mayor Strong’s house for more clues,” George said.
“Who says we can’t?” Nancy asked.
“Because he’s the mayor, Nancy,” Bess said. “Not everybody is invited to his house.”
“Until tomorrow,” Nancy said with a grin. “Jumping jacks, anyone?”
“Thanks for driving us, Hannah,” Nancy said the next day.
“No problem!” Hannah said cheerily. “I’m happy you girls are getting a little exercise.”
It was Sunday, shortly before one o’clock. Nancy and the girls sat in the backseat of Hannah’s car, each wearing sneakers for jumping jacks. Bess was dressed in pink-and-silver sweats with a matching ponytail holder.
Hannah turned the car into Mayor Strong’s driveway and said, “Here we are!”
Nancy, Bess, and George looked out the car window. Mayor Strong and his wife lived in a huge yellow house. Today the front lawn was filled with kids doing jumping jacks. Leading them was Mr. Wilson, a whistle around his neck.
“Come on, kids!” Mr. Wilson was shouting. “Let’s see you work up a good sweat!”
Mayor Strong and his wife were doing their best to keep up with Mr. Wilson and the kids. The mayor was wearing the same hoodie with the purple clue.
“Doesn’t he ever change his clothes?” Bess whispered.
“Not as often as you, Bess!” George teased.
The girls thanked Hannah as they climbed out of the car. Then they walked across the lawn to join the other jumpers.
Nancy, Bess, and George headed to the back of the crowd so they could talk about the case. They fell in step with the jumping jacks, scissoring their arms and legs.
“The mayor and his wife are doing jumping jacks,” Nancy said, flapping her arms in the air. “Who’ll let us in the house?”
George huffed and puffed from the exercise. “The Strongs have a housekeeper,” she said. “I know because my mom catered a party here once.”
Suddenly the mayor stopped jumping and turned around. His wife and Mr. Wilson didn’t seem to notice as he slipped through a side door into the house.
“Great,” George said. “How can we search the house with the mayor inside?”
“I guess we’ll have to wait,” Nancy said.
“I can’t wait,” Bess said as she stopped jumping.
“Why not?” Nancy asked.
“Because I have to go to the bathroom, that’s why!” Bess said.
“Couldn’t you have done that before you left your house, Bess?” George said.
“Now you sound like my dad,” Bess complained.
Still doing jumping jacks, the girls made their way around the house to the front door.
“We can stop jumping now!” George said once they were on the doorstep.
Nancy rang the doorbell. After a few seconds a woman with short, blond hair opened the door. She was wearing a black dress with a white collar and cuffs.
“Don’t tell me, let me guess,” the housekeeper said. “You want to use the bathroom.”
“Yes, please!” Bess said.
The housekeeper waved the girls inside and pointed down a long hallway. “Use the one at the end of the hall,” she said. “It’s right past the mayor’s office.”
“Thank you,” Bess said. She turned to Nancy and George. “Help me find it.”
The girls hurried down the hall. They passed the mayor’s office and glanced inside. Sitting on the rug was the mayor’s bulldog, Duncan. The dog was licking his chops as he gazed up at Mayor Strong, sitting behind a desk.
Nancy was sure the mayor didn’t see them. He was too busy unwrapping a jumbo candy bar!
“That’s weird,” Nancy whispered. “The mayor said he doesn’t eat candy.”
Nancy, Bess, and George scurried to the side of the door and peeked inside. Mayor Strong was smiling to himself as he chomped into the candy bar.
“If only we could search the mayor’s office for clues,” George whispered.
“If only I could go to the bathroom!” Bess wailed.
“Shh,” Nancy whispered. “I don’t want him to know we’re snooping!”
Too late.
Duncan’s jowls jiggled as he turned toward the door. Then with a loud bark he charged straight toward the girls!
“Busted,” George groaned. “By a bulldog!”
Duncan stopped at the girls’ feet. He began chewing playfully at the hem of Bess’s pants.
“Ewww!” Bess cried. “Dog drool!”
The sound of the mayor’s voice made Nancy, Bess, and George jump.
“What’s the matter, Duncan? Is anyone out there?”
Duncan yapped as he followed the girls into the room. When the mayor saw them he froze with the candy bar in his hand.
“Hi, Mayor Strong,” Nancy said.
Mayor Strong looked at the candy bar and gulped. “I—I was just getting rid of this.”
He tossed the candy on his desk, then stood up to quiet Duncan.
The girls glanced down as they noticed something fall off the desk. It was a key! It looked brand-new, with a tag hanging from it.
Nancy tilted her head to read it: Lucky Ladybug Cupcake Café! That wasn’t all. The tag was smudged with a bright purple stain.
“A key to the Lucky Ladybug and a purple passion smudge,” George said. “That’s proof that the mayor was in the cupcake café!”
“Cupcake?” the mayor said.
Nancy looked up. The mayor was staring at them. Duncan had stopped barking. He was staring at them too.
“I never eat cupcakes!” Mayor Strong said. “Just like I never eat . . . um . . . candy bars.”
George held up the key. “Then how do you explain this?” she asked.
“I have keys to all the stores in River Heights,” Mayor Strong explained. “A young baker named Trent gave me the Lucky Ladybug’s before the store opened yesterday.”
“So you didn’t sneak into the Lucky Ladybug?” Nancy asked.
“Definitely not,” Mayor Strong insisted. “After Trent gave me the key, he told me to check out their freshly baked cupcakes.”
A slow smile came over the mayor’s face as he said, “Trent went out to the garden, and I had all those cupcakes to myself . . . to check out.”
“That’s all you did?” Nancy asked.
Mayor Strong’s eyes popped wide open. Beads of sweat began dotting his forehead.
“I did do something else,” Mayor Strong said. “Something I’m not very proud of.”
Nancy, Bess, and George exchanged excited glances. Was Mayor Strong about to confess to dumping the ladybugs?
“Tell us what you did, Mayor Strong,” Bess urged. “Please!”
“I . . . I,” Mayor Strong stammered. He then took a deep breath and blurted out, “I ate them!!”
Nancy, Bess, and George stared at Mayor Strong.
“You ate the ladybugs?” Bess cried.
“I ate the cupcakes!” Mayor Strong wailed.
“Say what?” George asked.
“My head said no, but my sweet tooth said yes!” Mayor Strong explained. “So I ate one . . . or two . . . maybe three. And they were delicious!”
“Were they purple passion cupcakes?” Nancy asked.
“How did you know?” Mayor Strong asked, surprised.
As Bess pointed to the stain on the mayor’s hoodie, Nancy remembered what Gwendolyn and Carolyn had told them.
Some of the purple passion cupcakes were missing yesterday morning. The girls thought it was Trent. It was really Mayor Strong!
“But, Mayor Strong,” Nancy said. “Everyone thinks you’re such a health nut.”
“That’s why I couldn’t let anyone know,” Mayor Strong said, his eyes wide. “Not even my wife.”
Nancy felt bad for Mayor Strong. He didn’t want to destroy the Lucky Ladybug. All he wanted to do was eat a few cupcakes.
“My housekeeper, Hannah, likes healthy food too,” Nancy said with a smile. “She also says there’s nothing wrong with a little treat once in a while.”
The mayor seemed to think about it. Then he smiled too. “I agree with Hannah,” he said. “That’s why I want the Lucky Ladybug to reopen as soon as they’re bug free.”
“Really?” Bess asked excitedly.
“Truly!” Mayor Strong declared. He gave the girls a little wink. “And from now on when I eat a cupcake or candy bar . . . I’ll be a little less sneaky about it.”
Duncan agreed with a loud “Roof!”
The girls thanked Mayor Strong, then left his office.
“I guess we can finally rule him out,” Nancy said.
“And I can finally go to the bathroom!” Bess sighed.
The jumping jacks marathon was over by the time the girls walked outside. While they waited for Hannah they discussed the case.
“We only have one suspect left,” Nancy said. “Buggy Wozniak.”
“We’d better question him next,” George said.
When Hannah arrived she agreed to drop them off at Buggy’s house. As they stood outside, Nancy noticed a bug-shaped sign nailed to a tree.
“‘Next Bug Club Meeting Monday, four p.m.,’” Nancy read out loud. “‘New Club Members Welcome.’”
“Who would want to join a club like that?” Bess asked.
“We should!” Nancy said. “So we can get into Buggy’s room and look for clues.”
“What about all those icky bugs?” Bess cried.
“Who says bugs are icky?” a voice asked.
Whirling around, the girls saw Buggy. He was tossing some flattened boxes onto the curb for recycling.
“Can we ask you something, Buggy?” Nancy said.
“Nope,” Buggy said. “My mom wants me to clean my room.”
With that, Buggy darted into the house.
“Phooey!” Nancy said. “I was just going to ask him about Pests R Best.”
“You don’t have to,” George said. She pointed to the top box in the pile. Stamped on it were the words: PESTS R BEST!
Nancy pointed to a label on the box. “Look!” she said. “It was sent to Bobby Wozniak.”
“That proves he orders stuff from Pests R Best!” George declared. “He’s probably their biggest customer.”
“That does it,” Nancy said with a nod. “We’re going to that meeting after school tomorrow.”
“But Buggy’s room is going to be full of bugs!” Bess wailed. “Whether he cleans it or not!”
“So what?” George said. “It’s not like you have to touch them.”
“Ewww!” Bess cried.
“We have to act and look like bug lovers,” Nancy suggested. “I have a polo shirt with a grasshopper on the pocket.”
“I have a T-shirt with black-and-yellow bumblebee stripes,” George said. “What are you going to wear, Bess?”
“Bug spray!” Bess groaned.
That night all Nancy wanted to do was hang out in front of the TV. As she switched channels, she found a show for kids called Creature Teacher.
“Something bugging you?” the host of the show said with a big smile. “Good, because today our show is about bugs, bugs, and more bugs!”
“As if I won’t see enough bugs tomorrow.” Nancy chuckled to herself.
Watching the show, Nancy learned some things about bugs that she never knew before—like some bugs help gardens grow by eating pests called aphids. And just like bears, some bugs hibernate, crawling inside when the weather gets cold.
“Wow,” Nancy said.
“Nancy, mind if I watch my basketball game now?” Mr. Drew asked as he came into the den.
“Sure, Daddy,” Nancy said, handing him the remote. She’d had enough bugs for one day—but what she learned from the Creature Teacher was pretty cool!
The next day at school Nancy tried to concentrate on math, social studies, and spelling, but her thoughts were filled with the Bug Club. Would they find lots of clues in Buggy’s room? Or just lots of bugs?
After school the girls rushed home to change. They then met in front of Buggy’s house at four o’clock sharp.
“Okay, Clue Crew,” Nancy said. “Ready for our first Bug Club meeting?”
“Our first and hopefully our last!” Bess said.
“Remember,” Nancy said as she rang the Wozniaks’ doorbell. “Don’t say anything bad about bugs.”
The door was opened by Buggy. He and the other club members were wearing club T-shirts and bouncy antennae on their heads.
“We want to join the Bug Club!” Nancy told Buggy with a smile.
Mona Nash, from the fourth grade, peered over Buggy’s shoulder at the girls. “I thought you were detectives,” she said.
“Detectives can like bugs too,” George said.
Nancy nodded as she pointed to the grasshopper design on her pocket.
“I thought you said bugs were icky!” Buggy said.
“Um,” Nancy blurted. “What we really said is . . . bugs are quickie!”
“That’s why we can never catch the ones we want!” George added. “Right, Bess?”
“Right,” Bess mumbled.
Buggy stepped back to whisper to the others. He then turned toward the girls and said, “Okay. Come with us to my room.”
It worked! The Clue Crew followed the Bug Club up the stairs to Buggy’s room.
“Whoa!” George said as they stepped inside.
Buggy’s room was filled with bug farms, bug dioramas, and jars filled with live bugs. There was even a glass tank holding a big, hairy tarantula!
Bess looked at the spider and cried, “Icky!”
“Um—she means sticky!” Nancy blurted. “What a sticky web that huge spider must weave!”
“That’s nothing,” Buggy said excitedly. “Our goal is to catch the biggest bug in the whole world.”
“So what do you do at meetings?” George asked.
Michael D. shrugged and said, “We build bug farms . . . talk about bugs we saw on TV or under our sinks.” He was holding a cage with his pet hissing cockroach, Edgar.
“But today is initiation day!” Sonia said excitedly.
“Initiation?” Nancy repeated.
“If you want to join the Bug Club, you have to pass a test,” Buggy explained.
The girls traded worried looks.
“What kind of test?” George asked.
/> “A guessing game!” Mona said.
Buggy held out three cards, facedown. “Pick a bug card,” he told Nancy, Bess, and George. “The one who picks the caterpillar card goes first.”
Nancy picked a card and flipped it over. The bug looked like some kind of beetle. George went next, picking a red ant.
“Bess got the caterpillar!” Buggy said, holding up the last card.
“So . . . now what?” Bess asked.
In a flash a club member was behind Bess, tying a bandanna around her eyes.
“I thought this was a guessing game!” Bess complained.
“It is,” Buggy said. “You’ve got to guess the bug we put in your hand.”
“In my hand?” Bess cried.
Stunned, Nancy stared at George. This wasn’t the guessing game she was expecting!
Mona lifted the big, fat tarantula out of the tank. She snickered as she began tiptoeing over to Bess.
“Nancy, Bess is going to flip!” George hissed.
“I know, I know!” Nancy whispered back. “We have to do something. Fast!”
“Let it be a ladybug!” Bess hoped out loud. “Or a pretty butterfly!”
Mona was about to drop the tarantula into Bess’s hand when Nancy blurted out: “Too bad that bug isn’t as huge as the one we saw in your yard.”
All eyes turned to Nancy.
“What kind of bug?” Buggy asked.
“Er . . . we weren’t sure,” George said. “But he was about the size of my foot.”
Excited whispers filled the room.
“That must be the biggest bug in the world!” Buggy exclaimed.
“Bugzilla—at last!” Michael D. declared.
Nancy pointed out the window. “Bugzilla was crawling near your club sign,” she said. “If you hurry, you might catch him.”
The Bug Club shot out of Buggy’s room. Nancy raced straight to Bess and yanked off her blindfold.
“Let’s look for clues before they come back!” Nancy said.
It was all systems go. Nancy peered into the dioramas and bug farms looking for ladybugs. Bess wrinkled her nose as she searched the jars.
George was looking at Buggy’s desk when she came across an order form from Pests R Best. “Should we call them?” she asked excitedly.