The guests sat down for a delicious wedding dinner. While the plates were being cleared away, the band struck up a fast song. Bess and George ran over to Nancy so they could dance their favorite line dance, the Electric Train.
“And now,” Mr. Drew said, pointing his camera at the girls, “it’s time for—Dancing with the Wedding Stars!”
“Oh, Daddy!” Nancy giggled.
Mrs. Fayne hurried over. “I need my little snow fairies!” she said. “It’s time to bring out the cake!”
“Yay!” Nancy exclaimed. She was just as excited as Bess and George as she ran to the cake room with them. The door was already open as they all rushed inside. Mrs. Fayne wheeled the cake away from the wall.
“Remember how we practiced it, girls,” Mrs. Fayne said. “Bess, you stand on one side of the table. George, you stand on the other. Hold the sides of the table and wheel the cake straight to Sara and Brett.”
“Check!” said George as they took their places.
“And wait until the wedding singer introduces you,” Mrs. Fayne reminded the girls.
Nancy wanted to do something to help. She held the door as Mrs. Fayne stepped out first. Nancy could see her whispering to the wedding singer. The singer held up his mike and announced, “And now—to present the wedding cake, two of the cutest snow fairies you ever will meet!”
“That’s us!” Bess said.
Nancy smiled as her friends rolled the towering wedding cake out the door. The wedding singer began belting out a song called “Mountain of Love.”
“Cool!” whispered Nancy as she watched the cake. But her jaw dropped as she noticed something wrong. A huge chunk was missing from the back of the cake!
Chapter Three
Sweet Revenge
Oh, noooo! Nancy told herself. I’ve got to tell Mrs. Fayne!
Nancy raced like the wind after the cake. But on the way, her Aunt Iris grabbed her to give her a sloppy kiss.
“Excuse me, Aunt Iris,” Nancy said politely.
She broke away and kept running. But the cake was already standing in front of Sara and Brett!
“The bride cuts the cake!” the wedding singer sang. “The bride cuts the cake. . . .”
Sara beamed as she picked up the knife. She was about to cut when her arm froze.
“The cake!” she exclaimed. “Brett, someone took a piece of our cake!”
“No way!” said Brett.
Bess and George ran around the table to see what Sara was talking about.
“Whoa!” George declared when she saw the missing chunk. “Someone must have been hungry!”
“I like to fix things,” said Bess, staring at the cake. “But even I can’t fix that!”
The guests began crowding around the cake and the couple. Mrs. Fayne shouldered her way through the crowd. When she saw the cake, she turned as white as the frosting!
“I don’t understand!” Mrs. Fayne gasped. “The cake was in the cake room all through dinner!”
Nancy ran over to Bess and George. She could see the crowd part as Famous François pushed his way to the cake.
The cake artist gasped and clutched his chest when he saw the missing piece.
“I don’t know how this happened, François,” Mrs. Fayne said. “I really don’t!”
“I do!” François shot back. “This is what happens when you allow children to play around food!”
“We didn’t do it!” George insisted.
“We just wheeled the cake out,” explained Bess. “That was our job as snow fairies.”
“And I held the door!” Nancy added.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Brett said. He tried to force a little chuckle. “Maybe someone couldn’t resist a little bite because it looked so good!”
“Little bite?” cried Sara. “It’s like a bulldozer plowed through it!”
“Sara—,” Brett started to say.
“I’m sorry, Brett,” Sara cut in, sniffing back a tear. “But this is my wedding, and I wanted everything to be perfect.”
A chorus of “awww”s filled the room. But Kendall didn’t seem sad for Sara at all. She was giggling meanly!
“Well, I wanted my cake to be perfect too!” Famous François exclaimed. “Therefore I don’t want anyone eating it the way it is!”
Nancy saw Adele standing with the guests. Her eyes darted around the room nervously, as if she was embarrassed by her dad.
“Wait a minute, François” Mr. Kernkraut called out. “If the guests can’t eat wedding cake, what will they eat?”
Famous François threw back his head and declared, “Let them eat cheesecake!”
Adele followed her father as he huffed out of the room. The guests whispered and mumbled among themselves.
“Peter, Erica,” Mrs. Fayne wearily told two waiters, “wheel the cake back into the cake room, please.”
As the cake was whisked away, the wedding singer smiled and began to sing, “Because you had a bad day . . .”
Nancy saw her father speaking quietly to Mrs. Fayne.
“If you ever need a lawyer, I’m here,” Mr. Drew said.
“Thanks.” Mrs. Fayne sighed.
George turned to Nancy and Bess. “This stinks,” she said with a frown. “Famous François blamed my mom in front of everybody!”
“He blamed us, too,” Bess pointed out.
“I know,” said Nancy. “And it wasn’t our fault. Or Mrs. Fayne’s!”
“Then what happened to the cake?” George asked.
Nancy thought about the huge chunk missing from the cake. It couldn’t have just fallen off!
“I think someone ruined it on purpose,” Nancy whispered. “And it’s up to the Clue Crew to find out.”
George narrowed her eyes at Kendall. The flower-girl wannabe was still having a good laugh over the ruined cake.
“Kendall has been making trouble ever since the wedding started!” said George.
“Yeah,” Bess agreed. “Remember the stinky onion in your basket?”
Nancy nodded. How could she forget? “Come on,” she said. “Let’s see what Kendall has to say.”
Kendall flashed a mean grin as the girls walked over. “Did you see what happened?” Kendall asked. “Whoever heard of a wedding without a wedding cake?”
“Thanks to you!” snapped George.
“You already stuck an onion in my flower basket,” Nancy said angrily. “Did you cut a chunk of the cake and eat it too?”
Kendall groaned as she shook her head. “I told you!” she said. “I hate buttercream. I hate anything with butter in it. So there!”
She whirled around and left in a huff.
“How do we know she really hates butter?” George asked.
“Kendall didn’t have to eat it,” Bess pointed out. “She could have cut a piece and thrown it away!”
“We didn’t see a slice of cake anywhere,” said Nancy. “But I’m sure we’ll find other clues.”
So while the others sat down to eat cheesecake, the girls headed to the scene of the crime to look for clues.
Nancy opened the door to the cake room, where the wedding cake stood alone. This time the missing slice faced the outside instead of the wall.
“What do we know so far?” Nancy asked.
Bess stuck her finger inside the gap and gave it a lick. “That the cake has cherry filling!” she said.
“Bess!” George complained. “Don’t eat the evidence!”
Nancy walked over to the cart. On the silver-colored tablecloth was a creamy smear. The cream was white with streaks of dark pink through it.
“It’s shaped like a footprint,” Nancy said. She pointed to the side of the cake. “And it’s right in front of the missing chunk!”
“White like the frosting, pink like the cherry filling,” Bess observed. Her eyebrows flew up. “Do you think someone kicked a hole in the cake?”
“I don’t think so,” said Nancy. “It looks like someone cut out a neat slice.”
“I don’t get it,” George sai
d, staring at the creamy footprint. “If someone did cut the cake, why would they step up on the table to do it?”
“Kendall is bratty enough to climb furniture,” Bess suggested.
“No,” Nancy said, shaking her head. “That footprint is way too big to be Kendall’s.
“I still think Kendall did it,” said George, frowning. “She was mad at Sara and Brett for not making her the flower girl.”
“Who else would be mad at Sara and Brett?” asked Bess. “They’re both so nice!”
Nancy thought the same thing. Until she remembered what she heard in the washroom.
“Brett’s Aunt Patsy!” Nancy blurted out. “She was upset that she wasn’t picked to bake the wedding cake.”
“Wow!” George said. “Would she ruin the wedding cake to get even?”
“No way,” said Bess. “Aunt Patsy is as sweet as her cupcakes!”
After thinking about Aunt Patsy, Nancy agreed with Bess. She was too nice to do anything so horrible—especially to her own nephew.
Just then Mr. Drew stuck his head in the door.
“Come on, girls!” he said. “Sara is about to throw the bouquet!”
Nancy let out a little gasp. They couldn’t miss that!
On the way out, Nancy checked out a small trash can for any used paper plates or napkins. Instead she found a dark blue tie decorated with white snowmen.
Nancy studied the tie as she pulled it out. Smack in the middle was a huge smudge—a creamy white smudge!
“What is it, Nancy?” Bess asked.
Nancy smiled as she said, “Another clue!”
Chapter Four
Popped Quiz
“Hey,” said George, looking closer at the tie. “Doesn’t that tie belong to Mr. Kernkraut?”
“Yes!” Nancy said as she remembered. “His tie was dark blue with snowmen on it.”
“Mr. Kernkraut must have been here inside the cake room,” Bess pointed out. “Maybe his tie got messy when he ate a piece of the cake.”
“Why didn’t Mr. Kernkraut just wait until Sara and Brett cut the cake?” George wondered. “It’s his wedding hall. I’m sure they would have given him a piece.”
“Because he told everyone he’s on a diet,” said Nancy. “And we already caught him snacking on the job!”
The girls wanted to keep the tie as a clue. So they ran into the kitchen, where Mrs. Fayne gave them a plastic zip-top bag. Nancy quickly put the cream-covered tie into the bag. George placed it in her mom’s tote bag for safekeeping.
“This is a mystery, all right.” Mrs. Fayne shook her head.
Nancy nodded. But then she thought of a question for George’s mother.
“Do you think anyone working for you cut the cake by mistake?” Nancy asked in a low voice.
Mrs. Fayne shook her head.
“I spoke to all my waiters about the cake,” she said. “They were too busy serving dinner when it happened.”
“My mom’s waiters are very honest,” George added.
But as they left the kitchen, George said, “There’s just one thing I don’t get. If someone did cut a big chunk out of the cake—where is the knife?”
The girls joined the other guests just as Sara was tossing the bouquet. Kendall ran behind Sara, jumped up, and practically grabbed the bouquet out of her hand.
“I caught it!” Kendall squealed, waving it in the air. “Look! I caught it!”
“Give me a break,” muttered George.
Sara was smiling, but Nancy had a feeling she was still sad about her wedding cake.
Don’t worry, Sara, Nancy thought. The Clue Crew is on the case!
As the winter sun came up Saturday morning, Nancy slept late. She was tired from the wedding the night before. But the minute her eyes popped open, she was ready for a new day—and a new case!
“How do you spell ‘Kernkraut’?” George asked later as she typed on Nancy’s computer.
The Clue Crew’s detective headquarters were up in Nancy’s bedroom. George was a computer whiz and insisted on entering all the suspects and clues.
“I think it’s spelled kind of like sauerkraut,” Nancy said.
George nodded as she typed their suspects: Mr. Kernkraut, the hungry wedding hall owner, and Kendall, the jilted flower girl. Aunt Patsy was still too nice to be a suspect.
Bess was sitting on the rug and trying on Nancy’s flower-girl shoes.
“Maybe Kendall lied about hating butter so we wouldn’t think she ate the cake,” she suggested. “I wish we could find out if she really hates butter.”
Nancy sat on the edge of her bed. She tossed her pillow in the air as she thought.
“We should ask Kendall more questions,” Nancy said. “But first we have to find out where she lives.”
“How are we going to do that?” asked Bess. “I don’t even think she goes to our school.”
“Kendall said she was Brett’s next-door neighbor,” Nancy remembered. “So all we have to do is find out where Brett lives!”
“Okay,” George said. She turned around in her chair and smiled. “But I think I have a better way to spend the morning.”
George pulled three papers from her jeans pocket. “Ta-da! My mom bought us gift certificates to the movies for helping at the wedding yesterday!”
“Cool!” said Bess. “Henry the Hero Hound is playing at the River Heights Cineplex. We can make the first show!”
“What do you think, Nancy?” George asked.
Nancy wanted to work on their new case that morning. But she also wanted to see Henry the Hero Hound.
“I think even detectives need a movie break once in a while,” Nancy said with a smile. “Let’s go!”
When it came to going out, the girls all had the same rules. They could walk or ride their bikes five blocks away from their houses as long as they were together. The Cineplex was ten blocks away, so Hannah Gruen offered to drive them there.
Hannah had been the Drews’ housekeeper since Nancy’s mother died when she was only three years old. Hannah couldn’t take the place of Nancy’s mother, but she came pretty close!
“You all have your popcorn,” Hannah said inside the movie theater. “Stay right in your seats while I get myself something to snack on.”
“Okay, Hannah,” Nancy agreed.
As Hannah made her way up the aisle, Nancy looked around the theater. It was packed with kids, all there to see Henry the Hero Hound.
“Mmmm!” George said as she dug into her bag of popcorn. “Extra-buttered popcorn! That Kendall doesn’t know what she’s missing!”
“Speaking of Kendall,” Bess hissed, “guess who’s sitting right behind us?”
Nancy didn’t have to guess. She could hear Kendall’s whiny voice filling the theater.
“I told you, Vicky! I wanted the jumbo-size popcorn, not the regular size!”
Nancy glanced back. She saw Kendall sitting next to a teenage girl.
“Your parents told me to buy you the regular size,” said Vicky. “So can you just deal with it?”
“Some babysitter you are, Icky Vicky!” Kendall snapped as she dug noisily into her popcorn. The bag was resting on the arm of her chair.
Suddenly Nancy got an idea.
“I want to give Kendall a little pop quiz,” Nancy whispered to Bess and George. “Pop as in popcorn!”
“What do you mean?” Bess whispered back.
“Go over to Kendall and keep her busy, you guys,” Nancy explained. “Don’t let her eat or look at her popcorn.”
Bess and George traded shrugs. They stood up, then made their way down the next row to Kendall.
“Hey!” Kendall said when she saw Bess and George. “You’re those goofy fairies from the wedding yesterday!”
“Yeah, and guess what?” said George. “There’s someone here who thinks you’re being a brat!”
“Who?” Kendall demanded. She stood up and looked around the theater. “Who said that about me?”
“She’s wearing a red sweater and a
matching headband,” Bess said, pointing to the back of the theater.
“Help me find her, Vicky!” Kendall demanded.
“Whatever.” Vicky groaned as she stood up too. While she and Kendall looked to the back of the theater, Nancy grabbed George’s extra-buttered popcorn. Then she reached way back and switched Kendall’s bag with George’s.
Hurrying back to her seat, Nancy sat down and called, “Bess, George! The movie is going to start any minute!”
Bess and George turned to leave Kendall.
“Wait!” Kendall said. “You have to help me find that girl with the red headband!”
“What girl?” asked George.
“Enjoy the show,” Bess said with a smile.
Kendall looked confused as Bess and George returned to their row.
“Did you just do what I think you did?” George whispered as they sat down.
Nancy answered with a sly smile. The lights in the theater began to dim just as Hannah returned with a box of peanuts.
“The line at the concession stand was a mile long!” Hannah said, sitting down. “I thought I’d miss the movie!”
The curtain rose slowly in front of the screen. But Nancy wasn’t watching the previews. She was glancing back at Kendall as she stuffed a handful of popcorn into her mouth.
“Five . . . four . . . three,” Nancy whispered, counting down. “Two . . . one!”
“Blllllech!!!” Kendall cried. She jumped up and clapped her hand over her mouth. “B-b-butter! B-b-butter! Blllech!!”
Chapter Five
Butter Sputter
“What’s the matter with that poor girl?” Hannah whispered as Kendall spit pieces of popcorn on the floor.
“I guess she hates butter after all.” Nancy chuckled.
The girls took their minds off the case to watch Henry the Hero Hound. After the movie, Hannah drove them straight back to their detective headquarters.
“Should we take Kendall off our suspect list?” George asked as she opened their case file. “She wasn’t lying about hating butter.”
“She still could have ruined the cake just to be bratty,” Bess pointed out.
“True,” said Nancy. “But that footprint we found was way too big to be Kendall’s, remember?”