Nancy, Bess, and George nodded. The friends all had the same rules. They could walk or ride their bikes five blocks from their houses as long as they were together. Anywhere farther than that, they had to be driven by a parent or Hannah.
“And if you get any free ice-cream samples,” Hannah said with a wink, “save one for me!”
Nancy hugged Hannah good-bye. Then the three excited friends joined the crowd. Music blared from loudspeakers as kids from the River Heights Dance School tapped across the stage in ice-cream cone costumes. Nancy saw their friend Nadine Nardo dancing with the group. Nadine wanted to be an actress and loved being on stage. But today she was frowning as her ice-cream hat began tipping over her face.
Mayor Strong stood on the side of the stage. He was smiling and holding a folded piece of paper in his hand.
Probably his speech, Nancy thought. Mayor Strong loves making speeches.
Nadine’s hat fell off as she took a bow. Then the dancers tapped off the stage.
“Wasn’t that great?” Mayor Strong asked as he walked onto the stage. He put on a pair of glasses, unfolded his speech, and began to read. “You know, when I was a kid—”
Nancy heard George groan under her breath. Mayor Strong always talked about being a kid.
“—we had only one ice-cream parlor, and it sold only two flavors!” Mayor Strong said. “Can you imagine that, kids?”
“Is he kidding?” a voice muttered. “I’d do a headstand on a pyramid for just one flavor.”
Nancy turned around. Standing behind them was a boy from their class named Kevin Garcia. Kevin’s parents owned the Mean Bean Health Food Store on River Street. Kevin wasn’t allowed to eat sweets, so he always mooched snacks from everybody’s lunchboxes.
“What are you doing here, Kevin?” Nancy asked. “You’re not allowed to eat ice cream.”
“I heard Jim and Barry are giving away free samples of ice cream,” Kevin said. He leaned closer to the girls and whispered, “Got any candy on you?”
“No,” Nancy said.
“Hey,” Kevin said. “Is it true that Kendra has a winning recipe for the contest?”
Bess and George raised their eyebrows at Nancy. She had told them that morning about Deirdre and her Web site.
“Um . . . maybe,” Nancy blurted.
“Got any gum?” Kevin asked.
“No!” George said. “And don’t ask us again!”
Kevin looked disappointed. He turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
“Kevin must have read Deirdre’s Web site,” Bess said.
Nancy looked for Kendra and found her in the crowd. Everyone near Kendra was pointing at her.
“I guess a lot of kids read Deirdre’s Web site,” Nancy said.
The mayor was still giving his speech. “I even remember riding my shiny red bicycle all the way to the next town for another flavor. But when I got there, they also had only two flavors!”
One or two people in the audience laughed.
“Where are Jim and Barry?” George asked. She stood on her tiptoes to see over the crowd. “I don’t see them yet!”
“They’re probably scooping out the free samples,” Nancy said, rubbing her tummy.
“I hope it’s not Marshmallow Martian,” Bess said. She stuck her finger in her mouth, pretending to gag.
“Yes, Bess,” Nancy said with a smile. “We know how much you hate green ice cream, no matter how good it is!”
A voice snapped, “What’s wrong with Marshmallow Martian?”
Nancy, Bess, and George spun around. Standing behind them this time was fourth grader Daisy Dorfer and members of the Jim and Barry Fan Club. Daisy started the club for the summer. They met every week to taste a new Jim and Barry flavor that they picked out at the supermarket.
“Nothing’s wrong with it,” Bess said with a shrug. “It just makes me—”
“—want more!” Nancy cut in.
“Good,” Daisy said. “Because Marshmallow Martian is my favorite flavor!”
Nancy heard Bess gagging under her breath.
“Um,” Nancy said, trying to switch the subject. “Are you guys entering the contest?”
Peter Patino from the girls’ third-grade class said, “Daisy’s dad bought her an electronic ice-cream maker. It has digital controls and everything!”
“Now all we need is a recipe,” fourth grader Melissa Rios said. She was wearing dangly ice-cream cone earrings.
Daisy planted her hands on her hips. “We’ll have one, okay?” she said. “And when we do—it’ll be the best!”
“The best! The best!” the members chanted.
“It better be the best,” Melissa whispered to Nancy. “Because we want to win more than anything!”
A roaring cheer made everyone face the stage.
“It’s them!” Daisy swooned. “Jim and Barry!”
Jim and Barry waved to the crowd as they ran onto the stage. Nancy knew it was them from their picture on the ice-cream containers. Jim had copper red hair and wore round wire-rimmed glasses. Barry had a beard and wore a straw hat with a bright purple hatband.
“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Barry shouted.
“How do you like our new factory?” Jim called out. “Pretty cool, huh?”
Cheers filled the air.
“Who here thinks they can make an ice cream that’ll rock our worlds?” Barry asked.
Nancy’s hand shot up. So did dozens of others.
Jim held up a clipboard. “Well, then step right up and put your names on the sign-up list!” he boomed.
The crowd began to squeeze into a single line. Deirdre Shannon ran over to Nancy, Bess, and George. She held up a camera and said, “Say Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream!”
“How about just cheese?” George asked.
“Cheese!” the three friends said as Deirdre snapped a picture. They knew the picture she was taking was for her Web site.
“Thanks,” Deirdre said. “Now I’ve got to get a picture of Jim and Barry!”
Nancy glanced back. Kendra was lining up too. Daisy was standing right behind her, trying not to be bumped by Kendra’s backpack.
I’m sure Kendra’s recipe is still a secret, Nancy thought. How could anyone steal it if it’s inside her head?
Nancy was about to inch her way up the line when she heard a voice yell, “Jim and Barry’s flavors stink on ice!”
The girls turned their heads. Standing next to the line was Henderson, the son of Mr. Drippy. He was holding a sign that read, JIM AND BARRY’S ICE CREAM MAKES ME BARF!
“Jim and Barry’s ice cream gave me cooties!” Henderson shouted. “The raisins in the Rum Raisin are really ants! The cherries in the Cherry Vanilla are really squishy eyeballs. Alien eyeballs!”
“That’s gross!” Bess said.
“So is Jim and Barry’s ice cream!” Henderson said. He cackled meanly. Then he walked away yelling, “Jim and Barry mix their ice cream with their feet!”
“That’s one kid who won’t be entering this contest,” Nancy said. “He hates Jim and Barry’s ice cream!”
The girls finally reached the sign-up list. They wrote their names neatly and clearly.
“We did it!” Bess said, jumping up and down.
“Now all we have to do is bring our Clue-berry ice cream to the contest on Saturday!” Nancy said excitedly.
Next the girls picked up their free samples of Rootin’ Tootin’ Raspberry ice cream. They waited for Hannah as they ate out of little cups with tiny spoons.
“This flavor rocks!” George said.
“And it’s not green.” Bess sighed with relief.
Nancy was about to take another spoonful when Kendra ran over. Her dark eyes were flashing wildly.
“My s-secret r-r-recipe!” Kendra stammered. “Someone stole it!”
“How could it be stolen, Kendra?” Nancy asked. “The recipe was inside your head!”
“I wrote it on a piece of paper and brought it today,” Kendra exp
lained. “I wanted Jim and Barry to autograph it!”
Kendra held up her backpack. She pointed to the back pocket and said, “It was in that pocket. Now it’s gone.”
Deirdre ran over with her camera. “Hi, Kendra,” she said. “Do you want to pose for my camera?”
Kendra stuck out her tongue and said, “How’s that?”
“Not cool.” Deirdre shook her head.
“Neither was telling the world I had a winning recipe,” Kendra said. “Now my recipe is stolen and I can’t enter the contest!”
“Stolen?” Deirdre gasped. “No way!”
“You can still enter the contest, Kendra,” George said. “You do know your recipe by heart, don’t you?”
“Big deal,” Kendra asked. “The thief who stole my recipe will probably make the same ice cream!”
“What are you going to do?” Bess asked.
“We have to find the robber by Saturday,” Kendra said. “Before he or she enters the contest.”
“We?” Nancy repeated.
“You are the Clue Crew, right?” Kendra asked.
“Right,” George said. “But Saturday is in two days!”
Nancy felt sorry for Kendra. And she didn’t want Kendra and Deirdre to fight. “We’ll do it, Kendra,” she said. “We’ll help you find that creepy recipe thief.”
Kendra heaved a sigh of relief. “Thanks, you guys!” she said.
Deirdre pointed her camera at Nancy, Bess, and George. “Smile and say, ‘The Clue Crew is on the case!’” she said.
The girls each gave a thumbs-up as Deirdre took the picture.
“Perfect!” Deirdre said as she ran off.
Hannah honked her car horn as she drove up to the curb. Nancy, Bess, and George waved good-bye to Kendra as they climbed into the car.
“I know you can do it,” Kendra called as the car pulled away. “The Clue Crew rules!”
When they reached the Drew house, the girls thundered up the stairs to their detective headquarters. Bess sat on Nancy’s bed and bounced a stuffed unicorn on her lap. George sat at Nancy’s desk and turned on the computer. Her eyes were glued to the screen as she began a new case file.
“If this mystery is about ice cream,” Bess said, “does that make it a cold case?”
“No, Bess,” Nancy said. “A cold case is a case that hasn’t been solved. My dad told me that while we were watching a mystery show on TV.”
“And we are going to solve this mystery,” George said. “File’s up. What do we know so far?”
Nancy paced across her shaggy lavender carpet. “The person who stole Kendra’s recipe is probably a kid,” she said slowly. “Someone who knew about the recipe and wants to win really badly.”
“The Jim and Barry Fan Club wants to win badly,” Bess said. “They said so themselves.”
“And Daisy Dorfer was standing right behind Kendra in the sign-up line!” Nancy remembered.
“Daisy Dorfer,” George said as she typed. “Suspect number one.”
Bess tossed the unicorn in the air. “Kevin Garcia asked about Kendra’s recipe,” she said. “What about him?”
Nancy shook her head. “Why would Kevin enter a contest for something he can’t eat?” she asked.
“Especially since his parents would have to sign a permission slip if he won,” George added.
Next the girls thought of all the things the thief would need to make Kendra’s recipe. First up: chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate!
“Speaking of ice cream,” George said. She turned around in her chair. “I wonder how our flavor is doing.”
“Let’s taste it!” Bess said.
“We already tasted it,” Nancy said.
George shrugged. “We didn’t taste it after it was in the freezer for hours!” she said.
The girls raced out of Nancy’s room and ran downstairs into the kitchen. Nancy opened the freezer and pulled out the ice-cream container. As she pulled off the lid—
“Woof!”
Chip jumped up against Nancy. She dropped the whole container on the floor with a thunk!
“No!” Nancy cried. Vanilla ice cream and blueberries had spilled onto the floor in big frozen clumps.
The girls stared at Chip lapping up the ice cream.
“At least it wasn’t chocolate.” George sighed. “Chocolate isn’t good for dogs.”
Nancy felt awful. If only she had held the container tighter. If only she wasn’t such a klutz!
“Now we’ll have to make our ice cream all over again,” Nancy said. “And that means buying more ingredients.”
Hannah came into the kitchen with a mop. “I’d drive you to the supermarket, girls,” she said. “But I have a casserole in the oven.”
“I’ll call my mom,” George said. “She goes to the supermarket almost every day.”
Louise Fayne owned her own catering company. She planned parties all over River Heights and even provided the food. To Nancy, Mrs. Fayne’s van always smelled like coleslaw and pickled tomatoes.
“I’m picking up fruit platters for Mayor Strong’s birthday party this Saturday,” Mrs. Fayne said as she drove her van. “It’s going to be the party of the year!”
Nancy, Bess, and George sat behind Mrs. Fayne. The seat behind them was filled with coleslaw containers.
“Why is Mayor Strong’s birthday party the same day as the ice-cream contest?” Bess asked.
“That’s how it worked out,” Mrs. Fayne said as she pulled the van into the supermarket parking lot.
Once inside the supermarket, Nancy saw lots of other kids. Their baskets and shopping carts were filled with all kinds of foods to make ice cream with.
“I have to go to the deli section,” Mrs. Fayne said. “You can pick up your own items as long as you stay together and don’t run.”
The girls nodded. Shopping on their own always made them feel grown-up!
Mrs. Fayne walked away. Nancy grabbed a red plastic shopping basket, while George unfolded their shopping list. Bess walked to the dairy section for a container of milk. After putting it in the basket, they looked for blueberries.
“Fruit is against the wall,” George said. “The healthy stuff is always against the walls.”
Bess started to run down the aisle. “Last one there is a rotten watermelon!” she called.
“Bess, wait!” Nancy called. “We’re not supposed to run in the supermarket, remember?”
Nancy and George raced after Bess. When they all reached the end of the aisle they sped around the corner.
Wham! The girls slammed right into Kevin Garcia!
Nancy dropped her basket with the container of milk. Luckily the milk didn’t open and spill.
But everything tumbled out of Kevin’s basket. There was a box of chocolate ice-cream pops, a package of chocolate-dipped ice-cream cones, two cans of chocolate drink, and three jumbo chocolate bars. Nancy stared at Kevin’s packages on the floor. Kevin wasn’t allowed to eat sweets. What was he doing with all that chocolaty stuff?
“Sorry, you guys,” Bess said.
Kevin muttered something under his breath. He picked up his packages and shoved them back into his basket. Then he stood up and quickly walked away.
“Did you see that?” George asked.
“I sure did,” Nancy said, nodding. “Kevin’s basket was chock full of chocolate!”
“Kevin would need chocolate to make Kendra’s ice-cream flavor,” Bess said. “I told you he was a suspect!”
Nancy shook her head. “Kevin is always trying to get his hands on sweets,” she said.
Tweeeeeee!!
The shrill sound of a whistle made the girls jump. Nancy whirled around. Daisy and the Jim and Barry Fan Club were standing at the end of the aisle. Daisy was wearing a yellow Jim and Barry Gorilla Vanilla T-shirt and a silver whistle around her neck.
“Okay, group!” Daisy said. “We have our shopping lists. Now let’s move out!”
The fan club nodded. Then they spread out in many different directions.
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“Daisy is one of our suspects,” Nancy whispered. “Let’s see what we can find out.”
Daisy was wiping her whistle on her T-shirt when the girls walked over.
“Hi, Daisy,” Nancy said. “Did you come up with a flavor for the contest?”
“You bet!” Daisy said. “And it’s a sure winner!”
“What is it?” Bess asked.
“As if I’m going to tell you,” Daisy said. “Only club members can know the top secret recipe.”
Daisy swung her whistle as she walked away.
“Only members can know the top secret recipe,” George mimicked. “Give me a break!”
“Let’s follow the members around,” Nancy said in a low voice. “And see what they’re buying.”
They were about to walk when—
“Girls!” Mrs. Fayne called. “We have to go now.”
Nancy grabbed a carton of blueberries on their way to the checkout counter. They couldn’t follow Daisy or the club. But they had a great clue. The fan club had a recipe. And it was top secret—just like Kendra’s was!
“Now if we can just find out what it is!” Nancy said.
“Is your arm getting tired, George?” Nancy asked. George rolled the coffee can back and forth over the Faynes’ doorstep.
“Nah, I’m on a roll!” George joked.
The girls were in the Faynes’ front yard making their second batch of ice cream. They didn’t want to be near Chip when their ice cream was finished.
“Can I taste it now?” Bess asked. She waved a plastic spoon in the air.
“Don’t start that again, Bess,” George groaned.
“Hey, Clue Crew!” a voice called.
The girls looked up. Their friend Marcy Rubin was passing by the yard with her five-year-old sister, Cassidy.
“Hi-yeee!” Cassidy called. “Want to see my brand-new sneakers?”
“They’re not new, Cassidy,” Marcy said. “They used to belong to me.”
Cassidy stared down at her red and white sneakers. “No wonder they smell,” she said.
Nancy, Bess, and George walked over to Marcy.
“We were just making ice cream for the contest, Marcy,” Nancy said.