Nancy knocked on the door. The arguing stopped suddenly.
Without waiting for an invitation, Nancy opened the door. “Hello?” she called out.
Slam was sitting cross-legged on the floor, fixing a flat tire. Tia was polishing up a kid’s purple bike. As soon as she saw Nancy, she scrambled to her feet. She looked upset.
“I hope I’m not bothering you guys,” Nancy said.
“Well, actually, we’re superbusy,” Tia said nervously.
Tia glanced over her shoulder, then moved a few inches to the right. Nancy wondered what she was doing.
Then she realized that Tia was standing in front of the purple bike she had been working on. In fact, Tia seemed to be trying to hide the bike.
Why would she do that? Nancy wondered.
Then it came to her.
Marianne’s parents had given her a pink ABT Road Lizard that had been painted white.
Yesterday Nancy had noticed Tia with purple paint all over her clothes.
Tia was working on a purple bike now—a bike she seemed to want to hide from Nancy and her friends.
“Tia,” Nancy said slowly. “Is that George’s ABT Road Lizard? Did you paint it purple?”
Tia’s face turned bright red. She stared at her feet.
“Um, kind of,” Tia whispered.
“Th-that’s my b-bike?” George burst out. “What did you do to it? Why is it all purple like that?”
Slam stood up and put his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Tell them, Tia,” he urged her.
Tia glanced up. Her eyes were shiny with tears. “I’m really, really sorry,” she said to George. “It was a big mistake! See, on Tuesday someone was supposed to drop off a white ABT Road Lizard to donate to the Re-Cycles program. Dad told me that when it showed up, it was my job to clean it up and paint it purple. There’s a girl on the Re-Cycles wish list who really, really wants a purple mountain bike.”
“But I didn’t donate my bike to the Re-Cycles program!” George pointed out.
“I know” Tia said. “That’s where the mistake part comes in. It turns out that the guy who was going to donate his white Road Lizard changed his mind. But I didn’t know that. When I saw your bike lying in the grass, George, I thought that was his bike. I took it into the store and started cleaning it up and painting it right away.”
“That’s why we saw purple paint on your clothes yesterday,” Nancy said.
Tia nodded. “Slam is the one who figured out the mix-up,” she went on. “He told me I should tell Dad right away. But I was way too embarrassed to tell Dad what I’d done. I thought he might get really mad at me. I’m really sorry!” She stared at George, her lip quivering.
George shrugged. “It’s okay. I guess mistakes happen.”
“I’ll repaint it white for you, if you want,” Tia offered.
“Maybe after the race on Saturday, okay? I want to take my bike home right away and start practicing,” George replied.
“Come on, let’s go tell Dad everything,” Slam said, taking Tia by the arm.
Tia nodded. “I guess I’d better.”
“Mystery solved,” Nancy said, relieved.
George reached over and gave Nancy a big hug. “Thank you for finding my bike!” she said happily.
Brenda whipped out her reporter’s notebook. “This is going to be the most awesome newspaper story!” she exclaimed.
• • •
The day of the race was a beautiful sunny day. There was a huge crowd in the parking lot of Bike Mania. People were cheering and waving banners that said things like GOOD LUCK, JESSICA! and NEVON IS #1! Hannah and Mr. Drew were holding up a banner that said WAY TO GO, NANCY! The Faynes and Marvins had similar banners for George and Bess, too.
Nancy, George, and Bess were waiting at the starting line along with a bunch of other kids their age. There were ten kids in all, including Lucas Wylie. All of them were wearing bike helmets. The races for older kids would happen later.
Nancy gave George a thumbs-up. George was on her bike, which was still purple. “Good luck!” Nancy called out.
“Good luck!” George called back.
Mr. Hamilton blew the starter whistle. Nancy and the rest of the contestants took off. The crowd yelled with excitement.
The neighborhood had been blocked off from cars so the bike race could take place. Nancy kept her eye on the road and pedaled like mad. She was pedaling so fast that her legs got tired pretty quickly. But she kept going.
All of a sudden she felt someone pass her on the left. It was George! A second later someone passed her on the right. It was Lucas!
The contestants rounded the final corner and hurried down the final stretch toward the finish line. George and Lucas were neck and neck. Nancy was in third place. Bess was somewhere behind her.
Nancy put on a final burst of speed. Her legs ached, but she pumped hard anyway.
Right before the finish line, she passed Lucas. But George pulled ahead. George came in first!
The crowd roared with applause. “Yay, George!” Mr. and Mrs. Fayne cried out. “Way to go!”
Nancy came in second. Lucas came in third. Nancy got off her bike and rushed up to George. They exchanged a big hug.
“Congratulations!” Nancy said to George.
“Congratulations!” George said to Nancy.
Lucas came up to both of them. “Uh, congratulations, I guess,” he mumbled.
George grinned. “I guess someone owes me a sundae at the Double Dip!” she teased.
“Yeah.” Lucas pouted.
“Still, you came in third. That’s awesome. Congratulations, Lucas!” George said.
Brenda hurried up to the winners. She had her notebook in hand. “Does anyone want to make a comment for the newspaper? How does it feel to win, George? Did you cheat or anything like that?” Brenda said breathlessly.
George giggled. Nancy giggled too. Brenda was back to her old self!
• • •
That night, before going to bed, Nancy pulled out her notebook and wrote:
Today was superexciting. George won the bike race, and I came in second. Bess came in first in the obstacle course. It was a big day for all of us!
George got the grand prize, a white mountain bike. She decided to give her old bike to the girl who really wanted the purple Road Lizard. The girl was at the race, and she was really happy.
The police caught the real thief who’s been stealing all the bikes around River Heights. He was a man from Chicago and all the bikes were returned to their owners. I’m glad that mystery was solved too!
But the best part about this case was Brenda. She really helped us out this time!
It just goes to show that just as bikes can have more than one layer of paint, people have layers too. Brenda is not so bad after all. I’m sure glad she helped us solve this mystery on wheels!
CASE CLOSED!
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.
First Aladdin Paperbacks edition April 2004
Copyright © 2004 by Simon & Schuster, Inc
ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster
Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
NANCY DREW, THE NANCY DREW NOTEBOOKS, and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Control Number 2003113816
ISBN 978-0-689-86343-1
ISBN 978-1-4424-8343-9 (eBook)
Carolyn Keene, The Bike Race Mystery
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