the ground with a flying tackle.
“Ow!” Joyce cried. She was facedown in the
chocolate, cooler now as it spread thinly all over the
floor.
“I hate chocolate!” Joyce spat a mouthful in
George's direction. “I didn't know you were bringing
reinforcements, Nancy.”
Nancy had groped her way over to the packaging
area of the factory. Here, at last, she found the light
switch.
Joyce hid her face as the brightness blinded her.
Nancy quickly sifted through wrappers and boxes
until she found packing tape, which she threw across
the room to Bess.
“Someone at Pleasant must have paid you a lot of
money to make trouble for Royal. Was it worth it?”
Nancy asked Joyce as George and Bess wrapped
several feet of tape around her wrists and ankles.
“Of course not.” Joyce squirmed in the chocolate
puddle. “I never thought this would happen.”
“A little money is one thing,” Nancy agreed. “Did
you ever think you would try to kill someone?”
“Look,” Joyce said. “I didn't mean for it to happen
that way. You have to understand, I was desperate.”
George ripped the tape with her teeth. “Original,
too.”
“Not really. I needed an instant plan when I heard
you come in. I thought Nancy was dead already. How
else would you kill someone in a chocolate factory—
boiling you in a vat of chocolate was all I could do.”
Bess shivered. “I'm glad it didn't work.”
“It's not as though I planned to kill anybody” Joyce
said. “I didn't think you'd ever figure out I was the spy.
I worked my way up through the ranks here at Royal,
and put everything I had into this company. You see all
the respect and appreciation it's gotten me. Nothing
but torment from Mr. Tumey every single day.
“Even when I was in high school, I worked here
summers in the most boring jobs—boxing chocolate
bars and pushing a button to start Labyrinth. Over and
over and over. It wasn't until tonight that I realized
what a useful skill that could be. A roller coaster
accident. Who would ever suspect me? No one saw me
drive you through the gate and put you on that coast-
er.”
“What about Diana and Phil?” Nancy asked. “What
did you do with them?”
“Please,” Joyce scoffed. “Given the same infor-
mation you had—the same files and documents and
computers—they found out nothing. Then they had a
little argument about how to spend the instant-win
money, and I believe they went home to bed.”
“Where were we while you were observing them?”
Nancy asked.
“In the supply closet,” Joyce said. “It was a little
tight. Good thing you're thin.”
“When you told me you were leaving for the
company dinner,” Nancy said, “you must have gone
back into your office instead. You were hiding in the
closet the whole time.”
“Bingo,” Joyce said. “I thought I had everything
covered. If you got off that ride alive, I knew you'd be
nosy enough to come back here to see why the factory
was churning out chocolate at midnight. You and your
friends are bleeding heart types, aren't you, Nancy?
And of course you responded to the pitiful cries of a
person in need. A little luck, and it all would have
worked. I never did have any luck,” she complained.
“You want to talk about luck?” Bess said. “I never
thought winning a million dollars could feel so unlucky.
I'm sure Diana would agree with me.”
“You set up Diana and Andrea, didn't you?” Nancy
said to Joyce. “You picked people who had ties to Royal
who would make believable wrapper forgers. Then you
sent them each a winning wrapper.”
“I wouldn't call it setting them up,” Joyce said. “I
provided them with the means to win a million dollars
apiece. You can't tell me that did them any harm.”
“I thought only one winning wrapper was printed,”
Bess said. “How did you make two?”
“The same way anyone else would,” Joyce said. “I
have a nice color printer. I had the instant win code. I
forged them.” She cleared her throat. “Actually, there's
a third winning wrapper out there somewhere. The
real one. And probably no one will ever claim that
prize. Somebody ate that candy and threw away the
wrapper. Or maybe it's still sitting on a shelf
somewhere. It happens all the time. Instant-win
contests are a big joke. But this time, I had to make
sure people actually came forward to claim the prize.
That's why I targeted Andrea and Diana specifically.”
“Which is why you were so shocked when Bess came
forward with the winning wrapper,” Nancy said. “You
were expecting Andrea.”
“Your knee is in my back,” Joyce spat at George.
“Sorry.” George shifted to make Joyce more
comfortable.
“Yes, I was expecting Andrea,” Joyce told Nancy. “It
wasn't until I realized your connection to Andrea that I
understood what must have happened. That she must
have given the wrapper to Bess, and that Bess
obviously had no clue as to what was going on.”
“That's when you tried to turn us against Andrea,”
Bess said. “You tried to make us think she was lying.”
“I bet,” Nancy added, “you never even told Mr.
Castle that Andrea wanted to speak with him so she
could apply for an educational grant.”
“That's true,” Joyce admitted. “But it wouldn't have
changed anything. Mr. Castle wasn't going to talk to
her. Trust me. I felt sorry for Andrea. Really, I did. I
know how badly Mr. Castle can treat people. So I
figured this would work to everyone's advantage.
Andrea would get the money for her precious Science
Sleuths. And I would get money from Pleasant for
making waves at Royal. They even promised that when
I couldn't stand it anymore, they'd hire me away from
Royal. I was doing an excellent job at this spying
business, if I do say so myself. Our profits were
decreasing. Pleasants were increasing.”
“Wait a minute.” Bess stopped Joyce. “How did you
think Andrea was going to collect the instant-win
money?”
“That's easy,” Andrea said. “Nobody could have
proven those wrappers weren't legit—that either Diana
or Andrea was a forger. To keep things quiet, Royal
would have paid up. It would have worked out great for
everybody.”
“But Andrea wasn't eligible to claim the prize,”
Nancy said. “You had to know that.”
“No,” Joyce replied. “Mr. Castle disinherited her
entire side of the family. Legally speaking, that made
her perfectly eligible. She just didn't realize it, I guess.
The wording is a little confusing in that area.”
“Wow,” Bess said. “Poor Andrea. All
that worry for
nothing.”
“All your contest fixing would have been for noth-
ing,” Nancy told Joyce, “if the media didn't find out
about Royal's problems. You wanted to make Royal
seem untrustworthy in the eyes of the public, so you
leaked the contest story to the press.”
“You also ran us off the road that day,” Bess accused.
“And you gave Andrea that horrible allergic reaction.”
“It wasn't a big deal,” Joyce said. “I just wanted to
make Royal look bad and make you suspicious of
Andrea. Maybe scare you into taking the kids away
from the park before anything bad could happen to
them. I figured Nancy would be less of a pain if she
wasn't right here, breathing down my neck. But then
the van got damaged, and my plan kind of backfired.
Things just sort of escalated from there. I never meant
for anybody to get hurt.”
“Until tonight, you mean.” Nancy heard the sound of
sirens approaching. “I'm sure the police will be anxious
to hear how noble your motives were.”
Joyce groaned when she saw Mr. Castle enter with
four police officers. “The one bright spot in all this was
that I'd hoped never to see you again,” she told her
boss.
Mr. Castle took in the scene of Joyce, struggling and
spitting and covered in chocolate. “Joyce, I think the
feeling is definitely mutual.”
Two officers escorted Joyce to the squad car as the
other pair took statements from Nancy, Bess, and
George.
“I don't know how to thank you,” Mr. Castle kept
saying. “I can't believe I was so wrong.”
When the police had collected all the information
they needed, Mr. Castle asked whether there was
anything he could do for Nancy and her friends. “At
least let me put you up in a nice hotel tonight.”
“Tonight?” Nancy laughed. “The sun's coming up as
we speak.”
“I think we all just want to go home,” George said.
“We're really anxious to tell Andrea what hap-
pened,” Bess added.
“What's going to happen with the contest?” Nancy
asked Mr. Castle.
“I'll have to check with the legal department, but
I'm fairly certain that the rules state the results must be
declared null and void in the event of tampering. Of
course, you will receive a substantial reward for your
efforts.”
Nancy shook her head. “That's not necessary, Mr.
Castle. If you want to show your appreciation, maybe
you might reconsider the Science Sleuths' application
for an educational grant.”
“You don't have to ask, Nancy.” Mr. Castle flushed
slightly. “I read the literature you left me about
Andrea's Science Sleuths. I was already feeling
ashamed for the way I treated you yesterday. It's
obviously an excellent program. The Sleuths are
thoroughly deserving of whatever money I can give
them.”
Nancy looked into his eyes. “I wish you'd tell Andrea
that, Mr. Castle.”
“If she would consent to speak with me, I would be
happy to. I look forward to hearing more about the
incredible work my cousin is doing. But—” Mr. Castle
said.
Bess frowned. “But?”
“You must let me do something for you, too,” Mr.
Castle insisted. “Wait! I know! Rumor has it you're
quite the chocolate fan,” he told Bess. “How about a
lifetime supply of Crown Jewels bars?”
Bess made a face. “No offense, Mr. Castle. But after
what happened tonight, I don't think I want another
morsel of chocolate as long as I live.”
“Excuse me?” Nancy shook her head. “I'm so tired, I
think I must be imagining things. I thought I just heard
you say you didn't want to eat any more chocolate.”
“My no-chocolate resolution didn't last even a day,”
Bess lamented the next afternoon as she took a Royal
Scepter bar from Kenny.
“We're melting them to see how much is chocolate
and how much is almonds,” Kenny explained. “Then
we're comparing the Pleasant Bar to see which is
nuttier.”
“I certainly hope the Scepter wins. Our lab says it's
twenty-two percent nuttier.” Mr. Castle stepped inside
the classroom through the back door. Bess exchanged a
look with Nancy and George. She showed them that
her fingers were crossed.
“Mr. C-Castle,” Andrea stammered.
Mr. Castle held up his hand. “Before you throw me
out, I hope you'll hear me out.” He addressed the
Sleuths. “How would you like to come back to Kings
Commons next year?”
There was a deafening cheer from the children.
“I want you to know that you'll always be welcome in
the Kings Commons family. And to make sure you can
keep coming back to see us, I have a little present for
Andrea.” He handed Andrea an envelope.
“I was going to invite you to the park to award you
this educational grant,” he told Andrea. “But Nancy
suggested that I come to River Heights and see the
Sleuths in action. I admit, I was motivated as much by
guilt as anything else in deciding to give you this
money. That's no longer the case. I've been standing
here observing you, and it's obvious these children love
what they're doing. You have a true gift—all of you. I
can only hope you'll forgive me for misjudging you so
badly.”
“I know you had a busy schedule this week, Mr.
Castle. It means a lot to me that you made time for us.”
Andrea gestured toward the Sleuths. “As they say in
physics, for every reaction there is an—”
“Equal and opposite reaction,” the Sleuths sang out.
“Very good!” Andrea gingerly took the envelope
from Mr. Castle's fingers. “If you can take such a big
step, Mr. Castle—”
“Robert,” he corrected.
“Robert.” Andrea smiled. “If you can take such a big
step, I can reach out, too. Thank you.”
“Thank you, thank you.” The Sleuths clustered
around Mr. Castle, showing him their projects and
filling the room with laughter.
“We've had a little too much sugar,” Andrea
apologized.
“It's no different from a typical day at Royal
Chocolates,” Mr. Castle said.
“Mr. Castle,” Kenny said, “we just did a taste test,
and Crown Jewels beat Golden Bars two to one. I
thought you might like to know that.”
“Then I guess you're going to love the box of Crown
Jewels bars I brought for the class,” Mr. Castle said.
There was a mad rush for the box of chocolate.
As the candy quickly exchanged hands, Andrea came
over to Nancy.
“I didn't get a chance to properly thank you, Nancy.
Bess and George, too.” She smiled as she watched Mr.
Castle handing out candy to the children. “None of this
would have ha
ppened without you. I only wish I'd
trusted you with the whole truth from the beginning.”
“It doesn't matter.” Kenny took a huge bite of his
chocolate bar. “They had the Sleuths to help them
out.”
“Yes,” Laura said, “but Nancy's the one who taught
us to be Sleuths.” She grinned at Nancy. “And she's
still the best Sleuth of all.”
Carolyn Keene, The Chocolate-Covered Contest
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