“I saw Brenda on Saturday,” Lindsay said. “She was hanging around at the soccer field.”
“Really?” Nancy said. “But she doesn’t even like soccer.”
Lindsay started to say something else. But just then the bell rang. It was time to go into school.
All the girls hurried into the classroom. Nancy led the way. She was looking for Brenda.
Nancy found her sitting at her desk, writing something on a piece of notebook paper. Brenda put her hand over the paper the minute she saw Nancy.
“Oh, hi,” Brenda said. She gave Nancy a phony smile.
“Brenda,” Nancy said. “I just saw your newspaper. And I have a question. How did you know about the jelly in Amara’s shoe?”
“Everyone knows about the goo in Amara’s shoe,” Brenda answered.
“But no one knew it was jelly,” Nancy said.
For a moment Brenda looked surprised. She reached up and tugged on a strand of her dark brown hair. She frowned. Then she said, “I have ways to find things out.”
“Like what?” Nancy asked.
“I’m not telling,” Brenda said. “And you can’t make me.” Then she smiled again. It was a sneaky smile this time. “All I’ll say is this. I’m getting my information from a really good source.”
“Who?” Nancy asked again.
“Someone on your team!”
6
Doodles and Clues
What a mess,” Nancy said as she stared at her special blue notebook. She reached into a nearby bowl of popcorn and took a big buttery piece. Then she popped it into her mouth.
“Why is your notebook such a mess?” Bess asked. She was sprawled across the end of Nancy’s bed. From there she could reach the popcorn more easily.
George sat cross-legged on the floor by Nancy’s bed.
It was Friday night. Bess and George were sleeping over at Nancy’s house. Saturday was the big game against the Lions.
“Because I scribbled all over the page,” Nancy said. “I was trying to solve this mystery yesterday at lunch. And I was talking to Lindsay at the same time.”
“Big mistake,” George said with a laugh.
Nancy nodded. “I accidentally wrote down half the things she was telling me. Gossip and stuff.”
Bess took the notebook from Nancy and looked at it. “You’re right,” she said. “This is a mess. Listen to this list of names. Carrie, Margot Bachwood, Tonya Morris, Amara, Lindsay Mitchell, Melissa Adams, Julia Santos, George . . .”
Bess went on reading the names, and Nancy and George started giggling. It was true. Nancy had written down the name of almost every person on the soccer team!
“But I had a reason for that,” Nancy said. “First I was making a list of suspects. Then I decided to make a list of all the people who aren’t suspects. I thought it would help me see who was left.”
“Okay,” Bess said. “But here it says, ’Melissa Adams’s mom had a baby.’ What does that have to do with soccer?”
Nancy giggled.
“And here it says, ‘When shoes are missing, the number one suspect is George Fayne!’ “ Bess said.
George rolled over on the floor, laughing harder.
“What’s so funny?” Bess asked. “Why is George a suspect? Do you really think she stole someone’s shoes?”
“I know she did!” Nancy said, laughing.
“I don’t get it,” Bess said.
“It was really funny,” George said. She explained to Bess about how Nancy’s shoes had “disappeared.”
“Give me the notebook,” Nancy said. “I’m going to start over.”
Nancy thought about all the pranks that had happened. She tried to remember who had been there each time.
Then she made a new list of all the girls on the team. She crossed off the ones who had been the victims of pranks. People wouldn’t play tricks on themselves, Nancy decided.
She also crossed off the ones who were absent on the days when the pranks happened.
When she was done, only three names were left:
Carrie Rodis
Erin Kelly
Melissa Adams
Nancy added one more name to the list: Brenda Carlton.
Then she showed the list to Bess and George.
“Why aren’t Carrie’s old friends on the list?” Bess asked.
“Because they weren’t around when the trouble first started happening,” Nancy explained. “And anyway, I don’t think they could do it.”
“Do what?” George asked.
“Sneak into the locker room at school and put jelly in Amara’s shoe,” Nancy said. “They don’t know their way around our school. How would they find out where to go?”
“You’re right,” George said. “But I don’t know about Erin Kelly. She’s too nice. She wouldn’t do these mean things.”
“I don’t think so, either,” Nancy said. “But she was there every time. And none of the pranks were ever done to her. So she’s a suspect.”
“What about Brenda Carlton?” Bess asked. “She’s not even on the team. Do you really think she’s a suspect?”
“She’s so sneaky,” Nancy said. “I can’t be sure.”
“Well, you’ve got to figure it out tonight,” George said. “We have a game tomorrow.”
“I can’t,” Nancy said. “I don’t have enough clues.”
Nancy felt bad. She didn’t want to let the team down.
“So what are we going to do?” George said. “We’re playing the Lions tomorrow. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
“When we go to the game,” Nancy said, “we can keep our eyes open. If someone tries to pull something, we’ll see it.”
When Nancy, George, and Bess got to the soccer field the next day, it was crowded. Two teams of older players were on the field, playing a game. It wasn’t the Tigers’ turn yet.
“The Tigers are warming up on the sidelines,” Erin’s father called to Nancy and George.
“Warming up is right,” George called back. “It’s freezing out here!”
Nancy shivered. The sky was cloudy. A cold April breeze blew through the trees. Nancy was glad she had worn a turtleneck shirt under her blue-and-orange soccer shirt.
She looked around and saw that lots of other girls had done the same thing. Melissa Adams had even worn red wool gloves. And blue jeans! She had them on under her soccer shorts. The outfit looked funny, but Nancy wished that she had worn long pants, too.
Nancy blew on her hands, trying to warm them.
“Do you see Carrie anywhere?” Nancy asked.
“Nope,” George said. “I’ve been looking.”
“George! Nancy! Let’s go!” a man’s voice called.
Nancy saw it was Melissa Adams’s father. He picked up a soccer ball and threw it hard at George.
“You two need to start practicing!” he yelled. “You’re late.”
George rolled her eyes.
“He’s not the coach,” she said under her breath to Nancy.
George and Nancy waved to Lindsay Mitchell. They went over and found an empty spot near her. Then they started passing the ball back and forth to one another.
Nearby, Coach Santos was giving Erin and Julia tips on how to dribble the ball better.
Finally Coach Santos called the team together.
“You girls look good today,” Coach Santos said. “If you all play hard and stay in your positions, we can win.”
Then she read their names from a paper on her clipboard. She told each girl what position she would play.
Carrie and George were both forwards. That meant they would be up front, trying to score.
Erin and Lindsay were two of the halfbacks. That meant they were in the middle. They helped the forwards and the fullbacks.
Nancy was playing fullback again. Amara was goalie. But three girls were not playing in the first half. Melissa Adams was one of them.
Melissa frowned. “No fair,” she said. “I wanted to play.”
“Ever
yone will get to play,” Coach Santos said. “All right, team. Just remember the rules. Play hard. Play fair. And let’s play a good game!”
Amara jumped up and ran over to the pile of soccer equipment. She picked up the special white shirt that the goalie always wore. She pulled it on over her head.
“Blecchhhh!” Amara yelled as she stuck her head out through the neck opening.
Nancy and the other girls looked up. Amara had white powder all over her hair and face. Even her brown arms had white powder freckles!
“Someone put powder inside this shirt!” Amara cried as she pulled it off again. White powder flew everywhere.
Nancy and George ran over to Amara.
“It smells like baby powder,” Nancy said softly to George.
Coach Santos put her hands on her hips. She shook her head. “This is ridiculous!” she said.
Coach Santos hurried over to help Amara. She took the goalie’s shirt and shook it until most of the baby powder was gone. Then she handed it back to Amara.
“Here,” she said. “Hurry up and put it on. The Lions are already on the field, waiting for us. We have to start the game soon.”
“I can’t!” Amara cried.
“Why not?” Coach Santos asked. “What’s wrong now?”
“My lucky goalie gloves! They were here just a minute ago. Now they’re gone!”
7
Notebook Snoop
Does anyone else have a pair of gloves that Amara can use?” Coach Santos asked the team.
Nancy looked around. All the girls were shaking their heads no.
“Not just any gloves,” Amara said. “I have to have my lucky gloves. With the rubber pads on the fingers. They help me catch the ball. I need them for good luck!”
“Where did you put them?” Coach Santos asked.
“Right here, near the water cooler and soccer balls,” Amara said.
“Okay, everyone,” Coach Santos said. “Start looking for the gloves. But we’ve got to hurry. The Lions are ready to play. And the referee just gave me a signal. We have to be on the field in five minutes, or else we lose the game.”
All the girls started searching for Amara’s gloves. Nancy wanted to help, too. But she had something else on her mind. Something more important.
Another pair of gloves!
Nancy was almost certain she had just seen Melissa Adams wearing a pair of red woolen gloves. She closed her eyes and tried to picture it.
Yes! Melissa was wearing gloves, but there was something odd about them. They looked really thick. Maybe she was hiding something inside them.
All of a sudden Nancy remembered something else. Something she had written in her notebook, on the page with the scribbles.
She hurried to the place on the sidelines where she had left her backpack. Her notebook was in it.
But someone was already standing there. Wait a minute, Nancy thought. What’s she doing here?
The girl’s back was turned, but Nancy could tell that it was Brenda Carlton. She was reading Nancy’s notebook!
“What are you doing?” Nancy asked sharply.
Brenda jumped and spun around. “Oh!” she said. “You scared me.”
“Good,” Nancy said. “Now—what are you doing with my notebook?”
“Uh . . . I was just trying to help you solve this mystery,” Brenda said. “I thought maybe I could figure out who’s been playing all these tricks.”
“No, you weren’t,” Nancy said. “You were spying and snooping. Trying to find out things so you could write about them in your newspaper. You’ve probably done it before, too. That’s how you found out about the jelly in Amara’s shoe.”
Brenda smiled. “Well, I told you I had a good source,” she said with a mean little laugh.
Nancy held out her hand. “Give me my notebook back,” she said.
With a shrug Brenda handed it over. Then she turned and started to leave.
“Wait a minute,” Nancy said. “Why have you been coming to our games? You don’t play soccer. You’re not on the team.”
“My brother plays for the sixth-grade team,” Brenda said. “They play just before you. Not that it’s any of your business.”
Then she tossed her hair over her shoulders and walked away.
I’ll have to be very careful with my notebook from now on, Nancy decided.
But just then she had something important to do. She opened her notebook and looked at the page that was scribbled on.
In the margin there was a doodle. It said, “Melissa Adams’s mom had a baby.”
“That’s what I thought,” Nancy said softly. “Baby powder!”
Then she looked around. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Melissa.
Finally she saw her. Melissa was running back from the parking lot.
What’s she doing over there? Nancy wondered.
Nancy glanced back at the field. There wasn’t much time left. The Lions were standing in their positions, just waiting for the Tigers. And the referee was looking at his watch. If the Tigers didn’t get on the field soon, they would lose.
As fast as she could, Nancy ran toward the parking lot.
There must be something there, Nancy thought. Some kind of clue.
Otherwise, what was Melissa doing?
8
Caught Red-Handed
Nancy followed the path Melissa had taken through the parking lot.
She checked the ground.
She looked between cars.
Finally she looked in the big metal trash can. It was at the end of the last row of cars.
Amara’s lucky gloves were right on top—in the trash!
Nancy grabbed the gloves and ran back toward the field.
“Amara! I’ve got them!” she called, waving the gloves in the air.
“Thank goodness!” Coach Santos cried out. “Just in time. All right, girls. Let’s get onto the field.”
“Come on!” Mr. Adams yelled. “Let’s win!”
Nancy knew she had to hurry onto the field. But first she ran up to Melissa, who was standing off to one side.
“I know what you did,” Nancy said.
“What?” Melissa snapped. Then she quickly added. “Don’t tell anyone—please!”
“I can’t talk now,” Nancy said. “Wait until the half is over.”
Nancy ran onto the field. The referee hadn’t blown the whistle yet to start the game. So Nancy motioned to George, who was standing in the center of the field near the ball.
“I found out who’s been doing all this,” Nancy said quickly when George came over. “And it isn’t Carrie. I think we’ve been unfair to her.”
“Really?” George said. “Who is it?”
“Tell you later!” Nancy called, running to her own position.
For the first ten minutes of the game, no one scored. The Lions were tough. Their defense kept the Tigers from getting near the goal.
“Get in there! Let’s go!” Mr. Adams yelled from the sidelines. “Pass the ball! Pass!”
We’re doing our best, Nancy thought. She wished Mr. Adams would just cheer like the other parents.
Besides, George and Carrie were playing well together. Nancy saw George pass the ball to Carrie four times. Carrie looked happy. She smiled at George for the first time since she’d joined the team.
Then, near the end of the half, the Tigers got the ball. Carrie dribbled down the field toward the goal. But she couldn’t get a good shot. She looked around and saw that no fullbacks from the Lions team were near George.
With a swift sideways kick, Carrie passed the ball to George. George trapped it with her shoe. Then she kicked it hard. The Lions goalie jumped for the ball. She missed.
George scored!
A minute later the referee blew the whistle. The half was over.
“Nice teamwork,” Coach Santos said as George and Carrie came off the field. She told the team who would be playing in the second half. Then she said, “Everyone rest and drink some water.”
&
nbsp; Nancy gave George a pat on the back. “Great goal,” she said.
“Yeah, that was great,” Carrie said, coming up behind George. “You have such a strong kick.”
“Thanks!” George said, smiling. “You were playing really tough, too.”
Nancy smiled at George. Then she went over to find Melissa. Melissa was standing away from the other Tigers.
“Melissa,” Nancy said. “I know you’ve been doing these things to the team. You put baby powder in the goalie’s shirt, didn’t you?”
Melissa looked away. Her face turned red. “How did you find out?” she asked.
“I remembered that your mom had a baby,” Nancy said. “Anyone could have baby powder, though. But then I saw you wearing those thick gloves.”
Melissa looked down at her hands. She still had the red gloves on, but her hands looked thinner now.
“I think you put Amara’s lucky gloves on under your own. That way you could sneak away with them and no one would see,” Nancy said. “Am I right?”
Melissa nodded. “But please don’t tell anyone,” she pleaded with Nancy. “I don’t want everyone to hate me. I just did it because I wanted a chance to play.”
“Huh?” Nancy said. “I don’t get it.”
“My dad is really into soccer,” Melissa said. “He used to be a soccer star in high school. He wants me to be a star, too. He yells a lot. I know he’s disappointed when I don’t get to play much.”
“Yes,” Nancy said. “He yells at everyone a lot.”
“Well, I thought that if the really good players couldn’t play, then maybe Coach Santos would put me in instead. I want to play goalie. I’m really good at it when my dad and I practice.”
“Did you ever tell Coach Santos that you wanted to play goalie?” Nancy asked.
“No,” Melissa said, kicking the grass. “She’d probably just laugh since I’m no good at the other stuff. I can’t run fast. But I’m good at blocking kicks. Really, I am.”
“I believe you,” Nancy said. “But you shouldn’t have done all those mean things. Amara’s shoe has been sticky ever since you put jelly in it. She hates that.”
“I know,” Melissa said. She kicked the grass again.