“It looked like she was walking you.” Emily giggled.
Nancy decided to get right to the point. “Is that a brand-new jump rope, Emily?” she asked.
Emily’s eyes opened wide. She looked scared. “No!” she said quickly. “I mean—yes! I mean—I have to feed my fish!”
Emily turned around and ran into the house.
“Emily didn’t have fish,” Bess said slowly. “That I remember, too.”
“Speaking of fishy—did you see her face?” George asked. “She’s guilty.”
“I don’t want to accuse Emily until I speak to her tomorrow in school,” Nancy said. She looked at her watch. “I’d better take Chip home now, before it gets late.”
“Or before another squirrel shows up!” Bess giggled.
Nancy smiled as she walked Chip home. The pink jump rope with the sparkly handles was her best clue yet. She couldn’t wait to write it in her notebook.
• • •
“What do you want on your spinach salad, Nancy?” Hannah asked before dinner. She was cutting mushrooms on the counter.
Nancy looked up from the napkins she was folding. “Butterscotch chips and rainbow sprinkles,” she said.
“Very funny!” Hannah said with a smile. The phone rang. Hannah answered it.
“Drew residence. Yes, she is,” Hannah said. She held the receiver out to Nancy. “It’s for you. It’s Brenda.”
“Great,” Nancy mumbled. She took the receiver. “Hi, Brenda.”
“Well? Did you find the troublemaker yet?” Brenda asked in a hurried voice.
“Not yet,” Nancy said. “But I think I’m getting close.”
“Not good enough,” Brenda snapped. “A photographer from Today’s Times is coming to school tomorrow. Nothing can go wrong!”
“I said I was close,” Nancy said. “And I’m working as hard as I can.”
“Well, work harder,” Brenda said. “Because if Alice writes a crummy article about our school, it will be your fault!”
Nancy heard a click.
“Toast,” Nancy mumbled as she hung up the phone.
“You want toast with your dinner?” Hannah asked, surprised.
“No, Hannah,” Nancy said. “That’s what I’ll be if I don’t solve this case soon—toast!”
• • •
“Brenda-ish!” George said the next morning. “Miss Snooty Pants was just being Brenda-ish again.”
Nancy had just told Bess and George about Brenda’s nasty phone call.
“Were you upset, Nancy?” Bess asked.
“Sort of,” Nancy said. “After she called I couldn’t eat my spinach salad.”
“That’s okay,” Bess said, making a face. “I can never eat that stuff.”
The girls hung up their jackets. Nancy looked around the classroom. A man was taking pictures of Alice watering the plants. He wore a baseball cap with the name Luke stitched onto it.
I’ll bet that’s the photographer from Today’s Times, Nancy thought.
She saw Emily kneeling by the hamster cage and scrubbing the bars with a cloth.
“Let’s ask Emily about the jump rope,” Nancy told Bess and George.
Nancy could hear Emily muttering as they stepped behind her.
“I hate this job. Hate it. Hate it.”
“Hi, Emily,” Nancy said.
Emily looked over her shoulder. “Oh, hi, Nancy.” She sighed.
“Is the hamster cage really messy this week?” Bess asked.
“Totally gross,” Emily said. She scowled at Alice. “If it weren’t for Alice, I’d be watering the plants.”
“She’s our special guest,” Nancy reminded Emily. “And speaking of Alice, your jump rope looked exactly like hers.”
“Her stolen jump rope,” Bess added.
Emily’s mouth dropped open. “You mean it was Alice’s jump rope? I didn’t know.”
“Then how did you get it?” George asked.
Emily stood up and whispered, “Someone in our class gave it to me.”
“Who?” Nancy asked.
Emily shook her head. “My lips are zipped. I promised I wouldn’t tell.”
Nancy was disappointed. But Emily was right—a promise was a promise.
“Okay, Emily,” Nancy said. “But can you promise me something?”
“What?” Emily asked.
“That you’ll give Alice her jump rope first thing tomorrow?” Nancy said.
“Sure,” Emily nodded. “I had no idea that it belonged to her.”
After everyone was seated Mrs. Reynolds called for attention.
“We’re going to be famous,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “Luke would like to take a picture of us for Today’s Times.”
Everyone whispered excitedly.
“How about a picture in the school yard?” Brenda suggested.
“Great idea, Brenda!” Luke said.
Everyone lined up. Mrs. Reynolds led the class outside to the school yard.
While Luke loaded film into his camera, Nancy, Bess, and George waited by Alice’s welcome sign.
“Emily didn’t steal the jump rope,” Nancy said. She crossed Emily’s name out of her notebook.
“Then who did?” Bess asked.
Nancy looked around the school yard at her classmates. “It could be anyone.”
“Poor Alice,” George said. She looked up at Alice’s third-grade picture. “I wonder if she had this much trouble when she was in third grade.”
“Okay, kids!” Luke called. “Let’s gather around for a group shot!”
Nancy quickly slipped her notebook into her jacket pocket.
“I know, I know,” Brenda said. “How about a picture in front of the flagpole?”
“Fabulous idea, Brenda!” Luke said. “What would we do without you?”
Nancy rolled her eyes. Luke was just being nice to Brenda because her father owned Today’s Times.
Luke set up his camera on a stand with three long legs.
Mrs. Reynolds waved to Kyle Leddington, who was on the swings. “Kyle, this isn’t recess. Come join us now.”
“Coming,” Kyle said, still swinging.
“I want to stand next to Alice!” Phoebe Archer said, jumping up and down.
“Me, too!” Mari Cheng said.
“Mrs. Reynolds,” Jenny Marsh complained, “I heard Peter say he was going to make a face in the picture.”
“Did not!” Peter DeSands argued.
Mrs. Reynolds began to count the students. “One … two … three …”
“There’s no time for that,” Luke said. “I have lots of pictures to take.”
Mrs. Reynolds nodded. She turned to the students. “Face the camera, boys and girls,” she said. “Quickly now.”
Some kids bumped into one another as they gathered in front of the flagpole. Nancy stood between Bess and George.
“Wait for meeeee!” Kyle yelled as he ran over from the swings.
Mrs. Reynolds looked angry. “Kyle,” she said. “I told you to—”
“Say cheese!” Luke interrupted.
“Pepperoni!” Andrew yelled.
Nancy smiled one of her biggest smiles. Then she heard a click. The picture was taken.
“Where should we pose next?” Luke asked, looking up from the camera.
“On the moon!” Jason joked.
Nancy saw Jason, David, and Mike chasing one another around the flagpole.
“I know,” Brenda said. “How about in front of Alice’s welcome sign?”
Alice waved her hand. “Last one there is a rotten egg!” she called out.
Nancy and her classmates raced to the welcome sign. As they got closer, everyone froze one by one.
“Nancy, look!” Bess said slowly.
Nancy’s jaw dropped as she stared at the sign. Someone had crossed out the word “Welcome” and written, “Go Home!”
Alice’s third-grade picture was messed up, too. All of her teeth except one were filled in with a black marker!
“Oh, gre
at,” Nancy groaned. She stared at the picture and the welcome sign. “Some welcome!”
7
Picture Perfect
Cold in winter, hot in summer,” Andrew rhymed. “This is really a major bummer.”
“Shut up with your stupid poems!” Brenda yelled at Andrew. She reached out and touched the sign. “This is horrible!”
“Did anyone in our class do this?” Mrs. Reynolds asked angrily.
No one said a word.
“It couldn’t have been someone in this class, Mrs. Reynolds,” Alice said. “We were all posing for the picture.”
Nancy glanced at her classmates. Everyone seemed to be there.
“I’d like to believe that, Alice,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “But if anyone in our class did this, I’d like that student to come forward and apologize.”
Silence.
“All right, then,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “Let’s go back to our classroom.”
Nancy was about to line up when Brenda grabbed her arm.
“Ow!” Nancy complained.
“That was the last straw!” Brenda hissed. “I’m a reporter, too, you know!”
“So?” Nancy asked.
“So I’m going to write my own article for the Carlton News,” Brenda said. “About what a bad detective Nancy Drew is!”
Bad detective? The words hit Nancy like a ton of bricks. Everyone thought she was the best detective in school. A bad article about her would spoil everything.
For the next few hours Nancy couldn’t think of anything but Brenda’s threat.
When it was time for lunch Nancy unwrapped her turkey sandwich. Then she discussed everything with Bess and George.
“The poster was fine at first,” Nancy said. “The troublemaker must have struck while we were taking the picture.”
“But we all posed for the picture,” George said. “Just the way Alice said.”
“Someone could have sneaked off,” Nancy said. “But how can we know who?”
Nancy glanced around the lunchroom. Phoebe and Molly were sitting in the middle of her table. Alice was sitting at the other end next to Brenda. Luke was taking Alice’s picture again.
“Okay, Alice!” Luke was saying. He twisted the lens on his camera. “Look up from your sandwich and say cheese.”
“But it’s tuna!” Alice joked.
Brenda laughed loudly. “Tuna! That is so funny, Alice,” she said.
Nancy watched Luke snap the picture. An idea flashed inside her head.
“Wait a minute,” Nancy said slowly. “If we look at the group picture we can see if anyone was missing.”
“Yeah!” George cried.
“Let’s ask Luke,” Bess said.
The girls ran over to Luke. He was taking a picture of a colorful food mural.
“Luke? Can we look at the picture you took by the flagpole?” Nancy asked.
Luke shook his head. “That picture isn’t ready yet. I’m developing it early tomorrow morning.”
Tomorrow? Nancy thought. Tomorrow is Thursday—Alice’s last day!
“Can we watch?” Nancy asked. “It’s real important.”
“No one is allowed inside Today’s Times,” Luke said. “Unless you know someone who works there.”
“Oh,” Nancy said, disappointed.
“Don’t worry, girls,” Luke said. “I’m sure you all came out great.”
Nancy, Bess, and George trudged back to their table.
“They’d let Brenda inside Today’s Times,” George complained. “Her father owns the whole newspaper.”
Nancy grabbed George’s arm. “Brenda—of course! Maybe she can get us into Today’s Times.”
Nancy found Brenda on the lunch line, looking at desserts.
“Hi, Brenda,” Nancy said. “The cherry pie is awesome.”
“I hate cherries,” Brenda snapped. “What do you want anyway?”
“Can your dad take us to Today’s Times tomorrow morning?” Nancy asked.
“You mean as a class trip?” Brenda asked.
“Not exactly,” Nancy said.
“Then why do you want to go?” Brenda asked. She looked annoyed.
“Because—”
“Because we think Jason put donkey ears behind your head,” George said quickly.
“What?” Brenda gasped.
“He put two fingers behind your head like this,” George said. She stuck two fingers up behind Bess’s head. “Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!”
“Quit it,” Bess said, giggling.
Brenda looked around the lunchroom. “When I find Jason I’ll turn him inside out!” she said angrily.
“Wait, Brenda,” Nancy said. “Luke is developing the picture early tomorrow morning. Why don’t you look at it first? To make sure it’s true.”
Brenda’s face was red as she thought about it. Then she nodded.
“I’ll ask my dad to take me tomorrow morning,” Brenda said. “He can drive me to school after I look at the picture.”
“Us, too?” Nancy asked hopefully.
“Only if you’re at my house at seven-thirty in the morning,” Brenda said. “That’s when my father leaves for work.”
“But I eat my Tooty Fruity Flakes at seven-thirty,” Bess complained.
“We’ll be there,” George promised.
Nancy gave her friends a thumbs-up sign behind her back. The plan had worked.
• • •
“Here it is, girls,” Mr. Carlton said early Thursday morning. “Today’s Times!”
“Wow!” Nancy said. She looked around the newspaper office. It was filled with people sitting at desks and working on computers. Others were rushing around.
“The reporters get some of the news on their computers,” Mr. Carlton explained.
A man wearing glasses ran over. “There’s a broken water pipe on Beech Street, Mr. Carlton,” he said.
“A water pipe?” Mr. Carlton said. He frowned at the man. “Leonard, I want that story on my desk in an hour!”
“Yes, sir,” Leonard said. He bumped into others as he ran to his desk.
Mr. Carlton put his arm around Brenda’s shoulders. “Someday you’ll own Today’s Times, Cupcake,” he said.
“Yes, Daddy,” Brenda said. “But then it will be called Brenda’s Times.”
“I think I’m going to barf,” George whispered to Nancy.
Luke walked over. He was carrying a cup of coffee and a donut.
“Luke,” Mr. Carlton said. “The girls are here to see one of your pictures. Why don’t you show them the darkroom?”
“Darkroom?” Bess squeaked. “But I’m afraid of the dark. Sometimes.”
“The darkroom is where we develop the film,” Luke explained. “It’s not totally dark.”
The girls followed Luke to a door in the back of the office. A sign over it read: Do Not Enter When Red Light Is On.
“This is it,” Luke said, opening the door. The girls stepped inside the room. It was lit with a soft red light.
Nancy looked around the darkroom. There were all kinds of strange machines and a counter covered with metal pans. Black-and-white pictures were hanging on a string with clothespins.
“Why are those pictures wet?” Nancy asked.
“We use a special liquid to develop the film,” Luke said. “It’s called—”
“We don’t have time for a tour!” Brenda snapped. “Where’s the group picture?”
Luke picked up a piece of white paper. “I’ve already enlarged the negative,” he said. “Now I’ll develop it.”
Luke placed the paper in a pan of liquid. He swished the paper around. Slowly, a picture began to appear on the paper. It was the group picture in front of the flagpole.
“It’s like magic!” Bess gasped.
Nancy counted her classmates. “Molly, Jenny, Andrew,” she whispered. “Mari—”
“Oh, good.” Brenda sighed with relief. “No donkey ears.”
“Kyle, Phoebe, Peter—”
“In fact,” Brenda went on
, “the boys aren’t even in the picture.”
Nancy looked up. “The boys?”
Nancy, Bess, and George shoved Brenda aside as they leaned over the pan.
“Hey!” Brenda complained.
“Look!” Nancy said. She pointed to the picture. “The boys are missing!”
8
Gotcha!
But you crossed the boys out of your notebook, Nancy,” Bess said.
“I know,” Nancy said. “But now I have new evidence. Great evidence!”
“What are you talking about?” Brenda cried. “Are you keeping a secret from me?”
“We wanted to see if anyone was missing from the group picture,” Nancy told Brenda. “Then we would know who might have messed up Alice’s welcome sign.”
Brenda put her hands on her hips. “I thought we were here to see if the boys put donkey ears behind my head.”
“This is more important, Brenda,” Nancy said. “We might have found the troublemakers.”
Brenda dropped her hands. “That is important.”
Nancy turned to Luke. “May we borrow the picture to show to Mrs. Reynolds?”
“Absolutely not,” Luke said. “This picture belongs to Today’s Times.”
“We need it!” Brenda interrupted. “Give it to us now.”
“Sure, Brenda,” Luke said.
They waited a few minutes for the picture to dry. Then Mr. Carlton drove the girls to school. They ran into the classroom just as the bell rang.
“Mrs. Reynolds!” Brenda called. “Nancy has something to show you!”
Nancy pulled the picture out of a brown envelope.
“Everyone is in the group picture except for Jason, David, and Mike,” Nancy said. “That means they might have been over by Alice’s welcome sign.”
“That’s a lie!” Jason called out.
“Mrs. Reynolds!” a girl’s voice screamed. “Mrs. Reynolds—look!”
Everyone turned around. Nancy saw Emily standing behind her desk. She was holding something between two fingers. It was the green-and-brown rubber snake.
“Look what was in my desk,” Emily cried, her voice shaking. “Yuck!”
“That’s the same rubber snake that was in Jason’s backpack,” George said.
“Jason?” Mrs. Reynolds asked. “Did you put that snake in Emily’s desk?”
“No!” Jason cried. “It was supposed to be in Alice’s desk. I mean—I mean—”