“If Katie beats me today, I get to try to reclaim the record back from her. I’m excited to have a real opponent again. It’s so much more fun when there’s someone playing at your level. It forces you to work hard to get even better. I love that!”
The girls exchanged a look.
“So you actually want her to steal your record away from you?” Bess asked, a note of disbelief in her voice.
Max nodded. “Well, yeah, actually.”
He looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. “Katie and I have both been approached by a spokesperson for an energy bar company. They want to sponsor a “boy versus girl” dance-off between the two top Dance-A-Thon players in the world. In fact, I’m here today so we can do our first photo op together. Of course, if she doesn’t grab the record from me in the first place . . .”
“All that money goes away?” Nancy filled in when Max trailed off.
He looked embarrassed. “Um, well, not money. They offered to pay us with a lifetime supply of energy bars instead.” He paused, before adding, “But they’re really good!”
He extracted a wrapped bar from the pocket of his jacket. “Here, you guys should try one.”
George opened the package and the three girls divided the snack, as Max returned his attention to the Skee-Ball game. This time he rolled his ball with just the right amount of speed. It landed in the ten-point hole.
Max laughed. “Well, at least I’m on the scoreboard. Although I won’t be getting any sponsorships to play Skee-Ball, that’s for sure.”
Nancy, George, and Bess had their mouths too full of the yummy energy bar to do much more than smile in reply.
Max rolled his next few balls with varying success, while the girls chewed. He picked up his ninth and final one, saying, “Here goes nothing!”
This time, when he stretched his hand behind him to prepare to send the ball rolling, he didn’t bump into Nancy’s leg. Instead he bumped into a teenage boy carrying a soda.
It was like everything slowed down as the soda arced through the air, headed straight for Bess! She squeaked and tried to move out of the way, but she wasn’t nearly fast enough.
The sticky soda landed right on her arms and all over the front of her shirt.
A Big Mess
Bess peered down at her favorite pink unicorn T-shirt, now covered in dark, syrupy soft-drink splatters.
“Oh no! It’ll be ruined!” she cried.
“I’m so sorry,” said both Max and the teen with the drink, at the same time.
“It was an accident,” Nancy reassured them. “Don’t worry, Bess, we can get it cleaned off.”
“I’ll grab some paper towels from the bathroom,” Max offered.
“I’ll help,” added the other boy, probably so he wouldn’t be stuck with an annoyed-looking Bess.
The boys disappeared, leaving the three girls alone. Bess whimpered softly and tugged her shirt away from her. “It’s cold,” she whined.
George and Nancy gave her sympathetic looks.
“Help is on the way,” Nancy reminded her.
Then George’s expression turned even sadder. “We can’t catch a break today. Bess is covered in soda, and Max’s story really seems to check out. I don’t think he took Katie’s headband, do you?”
Nancy shook her head and Bess just whimpered again, but when the other two girls looked at her, she shook her head too.
She added, “We’re no closer to solving the case, and the judge could arrive at any minute now. I can’t believe Katie won’t get to dance.”
“No way am I accepting that,” said Nancy firmly. “We’re the best junior detectives in River Heights. We will find a way to solve this before it’s time for the attempt.”
Bess craned her neck in the direction of the bathrooms. “What’s taking those boys so long? Some of the soda got on my neck, and now it’s dripping down my belly. It feels really gross!”
George stood on tiptoes to look for them, but Nancy suddenly had a better idea. “The washcloths in Katie’s bag! I’m sure she won’t mind if we borrow a few, and they’ll do a way better job than the paper towels from the bathroom. I’ll go grab them.”
She raced over to the pinball machine. Katie’s duffel was still tucked underneath it, just where the Clue Crew had returned it after their examination. It was still unzipped and messy. Nancy lugged the whole thing over to the Skee-Ball machines.
Plopping it on the floor, she reached inside for the soft washcloths. She pulled two out and handed them to Bess, who immediately began using one to blot at her shirt and the other to wipe off her sticky belly. George giggled to see her friend rubbing both cloths in opposite circles.
“That’s like when I try to rub my stomach and pat my head at the same time,” she said, still giggling.
Bess gave her cousin a look.
After a few seconds, Bess stopped and tucked her chin down to peer at the front of her shirt. “Do you think this is helping?” she asked.
Nancy and George both grimaced. If anything, Bess had made things worse. Her shirt definitely needed a washing machine.
“I’m sure Hannah will be able to help, Bess,” Nancy said.
Hannah was Nancy’s housekeeper, and she knew how to do, well, everything. “She always gets the grass marks out of my jeans after I roll around in the yard with Chocolate Chip,” she added. Nancy hoped her words would cheer up her friend, but Bess still looked miserable. “This is my favorite shirt.”
George leaned in. “I can see why. I may not be the biggest fan of pink myself, but the rhinestone on the unicorn’s horn is really cool. It makes it look 3-D!”
Bess’s nose went crinkly as she scrunched up her face. “This shirt doesn’t have rhinestones, George.”
George gave her cousin an Are you crazy? look and said, “I may not be super girly, but I’m pretty sure I know a rhinestone when I see one.” She pointed at Bess’s shirt. “Voilà!”
Bess pulled the shirt away from her skin and examined the unicorn on its front. “But . . . but that wasn’t there before. Of all people, I would know if my shirt was BeDazzled! That would have made it my extra favorite.”
Then she squinted even closer. “And wait! There’s pink glitter, too. Girls, I think we have another mystery to solve.”
Nancy looked puzzled, and so did her friends, but after a second, she gasped and her expression became thoughtful. Then she asked, “Bess, what’s Katie wearing today?”
River Heights’s resident fashionista was ready with an immediate response: “Black leggings, a hot-pink tutu, and a shirt that says ‘girl power.’ Topped off with those hot-pink streaks in her hair—I can’t wait until I’m old enough to ask Mom for some of those. They’re the coolest!”
George rolled her eyes, but Nancy wasn’t done asking questions. “Except she wasn’t wearing any glitter anywhere, right? Or rhinestones?”
Bess shook her head slowly. “Definitely not.”
Nancy looked from Katie’s duffel to the washcloth in Bess’s hands. When she shook the cloth, some pink glitter fluttered to the ground.
Then she smiled serenely. “Clue Crew? I think I just solved both mysteries.”
Clue Crew—and YOU!
Can you solve the mystery of the missing headband? Write your answers on a sheet of paper. Or just turn the page to find out!
1. Nancy, Bess, and George came up with three suspects. Can you think of more? Grab a sheet of paper and write down your suspects.
2. Who do you think has the missing headband? Write it down on a sheet of paper.
3. What clues helped you solve this mystery? Write them down on a piece of paper.
All That Glitters
George and Bess stared at Nancy, waiting for her to explain what she’d meant when she said she’d just solved both mysteries. Before they could ask, the two boys returned with fistfuls of napkins in their hands.
Max said, “The paper towel dispenser in the bathroom was empty, so we had to detour to the snack bar. Here you go
.”
Bess waved them off. “Thanks, but we’re all set.”
She was eager to hear Nancy’s theory. Her shirt could wait! Max and the other boy looked confused, but they shrugged and set the napkins next to Bess.
“They’re there if you need them. We’re going to play Monaco Racetrack,” Max told them.
Bess and George gave distracted thanks and waves as the boys left.
“What do you mean, you solved both mysteries?” George asked, turning back to Nancy.
Nancy gave them a secret smile. “It’s just a hunch . . . but I think I’m right. We need to get back to Michael’s house.”
The cousins exchanged confused looks.
“But we already ruled out Michael as a suspect!” Bess protested.
Nancy’s smile grew even bigger. “We did. But I’m not interested in talking to Michael this time.”
Still baffled, Bess and George trailed Nancy out of the arcade. They were barely to the corner, though, when a small cluster of adults blocked their path. They could see that the mayor of River Heights was part of the group.
As they drew closer, the three girls could tell that everyone was listening to a woman holding a clipboard and wearing a navy-blue business suit. Over her shoulder was a soft-sided briefcase embroidered with the words BEAMISH BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS.
“That must be the judge!” Bess said in a hushed voice.
The girls moved aside to let the group pass. They watched carefully as everyone paused outside the entrance to the arcade. Sure enough, the mayor reached over and opened the door, ushering the others inside.
“Hurry! There’s no time to waste!” Nancy yelled, tucking her notebook into her pocket and picking up her pace to a run. George and Bess did the same.
They careened around the corner and nearly crashed right into Michael and Caroline. All five kids spilled onto the concrete, but luckily, no one was hurt.
“Where’s the fire?” asked Michael.
“Actually . . . we were . . . coming to see . . . you,” George said through huffs and puffs as she collected her breath after running so hard.
“Me?” asked Michael.
But Nancy was shaking her head. “Nope. Not you. Actually, we were coming to see your sister.”
Bess and George swiveled their necks to stare at Nancy.
Caroline squeaked, “You were?” in a small voice.
Nancy smiled reassuringly. “Yes, and we have no time to waste, because the world record judge just arrived. If we don’t act fast, Katie might tell her she can’t compete today!”
“What does that have to do with my sister?” Michael asked.
Nancy turned to Caroline, who was still sitting on the sidewalk, looking alarmed. “Caroline? Is there any chance you have Katie’s lucky headband in your bag?”
Everyone gaped at the little girl, who immediately pulled her purse to her. It was decorated with hot-pink glitter swirls, and row after row of tiny rhinestones dotted the edges. Bess and George both gasped when they spotted the embellishments.
“Rhinestones!” whispered Bess.
“Glitter,” whispered George.
Nancy held up the washcloth she still carried in her hand.
“A perfect match,” she added.
Caroline reached inside and extracted a stretchy fabric headband, which was covered in hot-pink glitter and rhinestone accents.
“Sure. It’s right here,” she said. “I was just bringing it back to Katie before she went for the world record.”
Bess couldn’t contain her groan. “We’ve been all over town looking for that. Katie’s really upset it went missing!”
Caroline bit her bottom lip and looked like she might cry. “She is? I thought for sure I’d get it back to her before she even noticed, but the glue was taking forever to dry and I wanted to make extra sure the rhinestones wouldn’t fall off while she danced. It took way longer than I expected.”
Michael stared at his sister. “Caroline! You should have known better.”
“But Nancy and Bess were so excited about my designs, and then I saw Katie put away her plain-as-could-be headband and I thought maybe I could surprise her for her special day. I didn’t mean to cause any problems!” Caroline looked so small and upset that none of the other kids had the heart to lecture her.
Instead Bess said, “It really does look great. And I’ll bet Katie will love it. Let’s hurry and get it to her before it’s too late!”
Caroline still looked glum at how badly her surprise had backfired, but she scrambled to her feet and joined the others as they raced back to the arcade.
Go, Katie!
“I hope Katie hasn’t had a chance to cancel her attempt yet!” Nancy said as she held the door open for the others to jostle inside.
They all went straight to the Dance-A-Thon game, where they could see Katie standing amid a small circle of people, including the judge and the mayor of River Heights.
Katie was gesturing, and from the expression on her face, it was clear she was telling the judge she couldn’t dance that afternoon.
“Wait!” called Bess, George, and Nancy.
Their three voices combined to rise above the dings and whistles and music of the noisy arcade. Katie peered over the judge’s shoulder at the members of the Clue Crew. Nancy held the BeDazzled headband above her, and Katie’s eyes widened. Her hand went to her mouth.
The girls stopped right in front of her, and Nancy offered Katie the headband. Michael and Caroline pushed in behind them.
“Is that my headband?” Katie cried. “Who—where did you—” She paused and took a breath. “How did you find it?”
Bess linked arms with Nancy and George. “A little good old-fashioned detective work,” she said with a giant grin.
Katie grinned too. “I’m so happy I had you guys in my corner today.”
The girls shrugged modestly, then explained to the dancer what had happened.
Katie glanced down at the headband in her hand and examined it closely. “Wow! This is a work of art now. Who did you say did this?”
Michael gently pushed his sister to the front. “She did.”
Caroline kept her eyes on the ground, avoiding Katie’s, as she said, “I’m really sorry. I was only trying to surprise you and give you something to help cheer you on.”
Katie waited for Caroline to sneak a peek up at her, and then she smiled. “I truly love it. I’ll feel extra sparkly as I fly across the dance floor.”
Caroline swallowed. “You’re—you’re not mad?”
Katie shook her head. “I wish you’d told someone about your special plan, but I understand why you wanted to keep it a surprise. If there’s one thing I learned early on—when I was trying to master Dance-A-Thon—it’s that everyone messes up. That’s why it’s great that games come with a reset button. I think life should too.”
Caroline’s answering smile was as sparkly as Katie’s glitter-ific new headband, especially after Katie hugged her.
The judge, who’d been standing just behind Katie as the whole scene went down, cleared her throat. “Well, I, for one, certainly hope you don’t need that reset button today, Katie. I’ll be cheering hard for your perfect score. But we should get started or I won’t have time to see your triumphant finish before my train leaves to go back to the city.”
Katie squared her shoulders and grinned. “Okay. Let’s do this thing!”
She smoothed back her bangs and slipped the lucky headband into place while the arcade made an announcement on their loudspeaker. A crowd quickly formed around the Dance-A-Thon game.
Katie stood in the center of the electronic pad. The rhinestones on her headband flashed under the pulsing lights. She took a deep breath and gave a thumbs-up to her mom, who released a token into the game. It dropped and the screen lit up. Katie winked at the audience as the music kicked in.
“Go, Katie! Go, Katie!” the crowd chanted, no one more enthusiastically than Nancy, Bess, and George.
Well, it’s possible
Caroline was just a smidge louder.
The score climbed higher and Katie’s feet looked like they weren’t even attached to her body as they twirled left, right, back, and left again. She spun and shimmied her hips in time to the music, never taking her eyes off the screen’s instructions.
After several songs, she finally missed a step and the screen flashed GAME OVER.
The whole arcade hushed and turned to the judge. Smiling at the crowd, then at Katie, she said, “I’m proud to proclaim we have a new world record holder: Ms. Katie McCabe. Congratulations!”
Nancy, George, and Bess joined right in the celebration with everyone else. Michael slipped away to speak to the judge as she put her clipboard into her shoulder bag. Nancy noticed the judge peek at her watch and then nod. Michael’s face lit up with a grin. It looked like he’d get to attempt his record as well!
Nancy turned to face her friends. “It’s too bad there isn’t a world record for solving mysteries.”
“It wouldn’t even be a contest,” added Bess.
George nodded. “Hardly even fair for anyone else attempting it.”
The girls smiled at one another. “We don’t need a certificate to tell us what we already know,” said Nancy.
“The Clue Crew rules!” all three girls shouted together.
Test your detective skills with even more Clue Book mysteries:
Nancy Drew Clue Book #9: Springtime Crime
“Today spring finally feels like spring!” eight-year-old Nancy Drew declared.
It was Friday afternoon and the first mild day of the year. After months of woolly hats, warm scarves, and puffy parkas, Nancy and her two best friends were wearing spring jackets in ice-cream colors.
“It’s starting to look like spring too!” Bess Marvin pointed out. “Look at all the pretty flowers.”