How can a contest this sweet turn so sticky?
Nancy and her friends think there is nothing more fun than ice cream in the summer. So when they find out that the owners of the local ice-cream factory are hosting a contest, the Clue Crew can’t wait to enter! Contestants must come up with brand-new flavors. And they can use whatever ingredients they want! Nancy is sure that her entry—Clue Berry—will win!
But when a friend’s secret recipe goes missing, Nancy suspects that someone not-so-sweet is up to no good.
TEST YOUR DETECTIVE SKILLS WITH MORE CLUE CREW CASES!
#1: Sleepover Sleuths
#3: Pony Problems
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS
Simon & Schuster, New York
A Ready-for-Chapters Book
Cover designed by Lisa Vega
Cover illustration copyright © 2006 by Macky Pamintuan
Ages 6–9
kids.simonandschuster.com
0606
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Text copyright © 2006 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Macky Pamintuan
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN PAPERBACKS, NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW, and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
NANCY DREW is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Designed by Lisa Vega
The text of this book was set in ITC Stone Informal.
First Aladdin Paperbacks edition June 2006
Library of Congress Control Number 2005935598
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1253-8
ISBN-10: 1-4169-1253-3
eISBN-13: 978-1-4391-1227-4
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: WHAT’S THE SCOOP
CHAPTER TWO: KENDRA’S SECRET
CHAPTER THREE: BACKPACK ATTACK
CHAPTER FOUR: SUPERMARKET SURPRISE!
CHAPTER FIVE: STICKS AND CONES
CHAPTER SIX: CLUB FLUB
CHAPTER SEVEN: CANDY-HANDED
CHAPTER EIGHT: ICE SCREAM!
CHAPTER NINE: WHAT’S FOR DESSERT?
CHAPTER TEN: CHOCO-LATE!
“Can we taste the ice cream now?” Bess Marvin asked.
George Fayne rolled two doubled-up coffee cans on top of the picnic table. The middle can was filled with very cold milk, sugar, vanilla, and blueberries. “I told you a gazillion times, Bess,” she said. “Not until it’s ready!”
“Unless you want mushy ice cream,” eight-year-old Nancy Drew said with a giggle.
Bess and George were Nancy’s two best friends. They were cousins, too, but as different as strawberry and fudge ripple ice cream. George was really into computers. Bess could fix or build anything—like the homemade ice-cream maker George found instructions for on the Web.
Nancy had been counting the days until Saturday. That’s when the new Jim and Barry’s Ice Cream Factory would open on River Street. It was also the day of the Jim and Barry’s ice-cream flavor contest. Whoever came up with the best flavor would win a special silver ticket. The ticket would allow the winner to come into the factory any time for a free pint of ice cream!
The thought of Jim and Barry’s ice cream always made the girls’ mouths water. They had neat flavors like Squirrel Nut Crunch, Gorilla Vanilla, and Cookie Crumble!
For the contest, Nancy, Bess, and George came up with a flavor called Clue-berry. It was vanilla ice cream loaded with blueberries and a secret surprise—like a big juicy strawberry on the bottom.
“The best part,” Nancy said, “is the clues on each container leading to the surprise!”
“It’s like a mystery in every pint!” George declared.
“And everybody knows we love mysteries!” Bess exclaimed.
That’s because Nancy, Bess, and George were great at solving mysteries. They had even started their own detective club called the Clue Crew. Their detective headquarters were in Nancy’s room. They carefully kept their clues in Nancy’s desk drawer. George wrote their detective files on Nancy’s computer.
“Can we taste it now?” Bess asked, twirling a lock of her blond hair around her finger.
“Not until it’s ready!” Nancy and George said together.
Just then the sound of bells filled the air. Nancy would know that sound anywhere—it was the jingle of the Mr. Drippy ice-cream truck.
“If you want ice cream so badly, Bess,” George said, “why don’t you buy some from Mr. Drippy?”
“Mr. Drippy?” Bess answered. She gave a little shudder. “I’d rather buy ice cream from Godzilla!”
“Mr. Drippy is Godzilla,” Nancy said. “He’s the meanest ice-cream man in River Heights. Maybe the world!”
The truck pulled up to the sidewalk. Three kids walked over to it. Mr. Drippy leaned out of the square window on the truck. Without a smile he began to bark, “Fall in line! Heads up! First customer—go!”
The first boy in line wore a baseball cap and a very worried look on his face. “Um,” he gulped, “Panda Bar.”
Mr. Drippy narrowed his eyes. “No please, no Panda Bar!” he declared. “Next!”
A girl in a white T-shirt and red shorts marched up to the window. She threw back her shoulders and shouted, “One chocolate ice-cream pop, please, sir! Thank you, sir!”
Mr. Drippy nodded as he handed the girl the pop.
“See?” Bess whispered. “Mr. Drippy doesn’t give ice cream to anyone who forgets to say please or thank you!”
Nancy saw a boy inside the truck. It was Henderson, Mr. Drippy’s son. Henderson was in the fourth grade at River Heights Elementary School. He was also the biggest brat in school!
“Henderson probably never says please or thank you,” Nancy said. “And he must get all the ice cream he wants.”
“Forget it,” George said. “If we win this contest we won’t ever have to buy ice cream from Mr. Drippy again.”
As the truck pulled away from the curb, Henderson leaned out the window. “What’s the matter, girls?” he sneered loudly. “Don’t you like ice cream?”
“We don’t like you,” George muttered under her breath.
“At least Jim and Barry are nice,” Bess said.
Nancy brushed a wisp of her reddish blond hair from her forehead. “Guess what? My dad read in a newspaper that Jim and Barry will be at the factory tomorrow,” she said. “That’s when we’re supposed to sign up for the contest!”
“I’ll be there too!” a voice said.
Nancy, Bess, and George turned their heads. Deirdre Shannon was walking into the yard. Deirdre was in the girls’ third-grade class at school. She usually got whatever she wanted—like her own Web site, called Dishing with Deirdre.
“Hi, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “We’re making ice cream!”
“What a cowinky-dink!” Deirdre said. She held up a small red notebook. “I’m writing about the contest. So I have to taste everybody’s ice cream. It’s called research.”
George tossed her dark curls as she laughed. “You mean it’s called getting to eat a ton of ice cream!” she teased.
“Ha, ha,” Deirdre said with a frown.
“Our ice cream isn’t ready yet, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “But Hannah has a pitcher of lemonade in the kitchen.”
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Hannah Gruen was the Drews’ housekeeper. She had been taking care of Nancy since Nancy’s mother died when she was only three years old. Hannah cooked the best vegetable lasagna, baked the best cookies, and gave Nancy the best hugs in the whole world.
“Will Hannah give me one of her famous oatmeal cookies, too?” Deirdre asked, her eyes flashing.
“If you say please!” Nancy said.
“I’m there!” Deirdre said, running toward the house.
“Wow,” George said. She stopped rolling to shake out her hand. “My hand hasn’t been this tired since I instant-messaged my pen pal in California for an hour.”
“An hour?” Bess cried. “You call that instant?”
Suddenly Nancy heard a rustling noise. She thought it was a squirrel in the hedge until she heard a girl’s voice hiss, “Nancy! Bess! George!”
“Who’s there?” Nancy hissed back.
A girl slowly stood up behind the hedge. It was their friend Kendra Jackson. Her shiny black hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. She wore a pair of black sunglasses. She looked very mysterious. She looked like a spy!
“Hi, Kendra,” Nancy said. “What’s—”
“Shhhhh!” Kendra said, putting her index finger to her lips. “I need you to keep a secret . . . a TOP SECRET!”
“We’re good at keeping secrets,” Nancy said.
“We’re detectives,” George said. “Secrets are our business!”
Kendra walked into the yard. She was holding a blue and white picnic cooler by the handle. “I know,” she said. “That’s why I picked you guys to share my secret with.”
Bess bounced up and down on the bench. “I love secrets!” she squealed. “What is it? What is it?”
Kendra placed the cooler on the table. She lifted the lid. Nancy looked inside and saw a white Styrofoam container.
“It’s my flavor for the contest,” Kendra explained. “I made it with my grand-father’s old ice-cream maker.”
“Why did you bring it here?” Nancy asked.
“I need another opinion,” Kendra answered. “My mom and dad love it, but parents always love everything their kids do.”
Nancy watched as Kendra pulled the lid off the container. The ice cream inside was dark brown.
“I call it Chock Full of Chocolate,” Kendra said. “It has chunks of chocolate inside. Four kinds of chocolate.”
“Four?” Bess asked.
“I can only think of two,” Nancy said.
Kendra laid the container on the table. She gave the girls each a plastic spoon. “Ready, set, go!” she said.
Nancy stuck her spoon inside the container and into her mouth. She felt the ice cream melt on her tongue. The chocolaty flavors exploded in her mouth like fireworks!
“Well?” Kendra asked. “What do you think?”
Nancy swallowed and said, “Three words: OH MY GOSH!”
George was still chewing on a chocolate chunk when she said, “This ice cream is awesome!”
“It’s super-awesome!” Bess said.
Kendra gave a little jump. “Do you think it’s a winner?” she asked.
“What’s a winner? What’s a winner?”
All four girls spun around. Standing a few feet away and holding an oatmeal cookie was Deirdre.
Kendra stared at Deirdre with wide eyes. She turned to her cooler and shut the lid. “I’ve got to go,” she said.
“Wait, Kendra! I know you told Nancy, Bess, and George something,” Deirdre said. She turned to the girls and said, “She did—didn’t she?”
“Um,” Nancy said.
“Er,” George said.
Bess shrugged and said, “Only because we’re good at keeping secrets!”
Nancy and George glared at Bess. She was sometimes better at keeping secrets than keeping her mouth shut!
“Since when am I not good at keeping secrets?” Deirdre asked Kendra.
“Since you spilled the beans about Marcy Rubin’s surprise party,” Kendra said. “And the time you told me what I’d be getting from my Surprise Santa at school. . . .”
“Don’t forget the time you told everybody my real name,” George said.
“Give me a break! Everybody knows your real name is Georgia!” Deirdre said. She turned to Kendra. “Tell me your secret, Kendra. Please? Pretty please? With sugar on top?”
Kendra took a deep breath. Then she said, “Okay, Deirdre. I invented a flavor for the ice-cream contest.”
“Cool! What’s in it?” Deirdre asked.
“Can’t tell you,” Kendra said. “Not that you’d steal it, but you might tell people about it on your Web site.”
Deirdre’s lower lip jutted out. Her face turned red.
They can’t have a fight, Nancy thought. Kendra and Deirdre are good friends!
“I know, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “Why don’t you promise Kendra you won’t write her recipe on your Web site.”
Deirdre turned to Kendra. “I won’t write your recipe on my Web site,” she said. “Cross my heart and hope to croak—drop an eyeball in my Coke!”
“In that case,” Kendra said. She lifted the lid of the cooler and pulled out the ice-cream container. “It’s called Chock Full of Chocolate. It has four kinds of chocolate—”
Deirdre wasn’t listening. She grabbed a spoon, stuck it into the ice cream, then put it into her mouth. The girls watched as Deirdre’s eyes popped wide open. Right away she began licking every drop of ice cream off her spoon.
“I’ll take a wild guess and say you like it,” George said.
“Are you serious? I totally love it!” Deirdre cried. “Chock Full of Chocolate is the real deal!”
“Remember, Deirdre,” Kendra said. “You promised.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Deirdre said.
Kendra smiled.
“Good,” she said. “Who wants to come to my house and see my grandfather’s ice-cream maker? He used to make ice cream on the porch with his own grandpa when he was a kid!”
“They had ice cream in those days?” Deirdre asked. “This I’ve got to see!”
Nancy, Bess, and George decided not to go. They still had a pint of ice cream to make. The Clue Crew said good-bye to Kendra and Deirdre as the two friends left the Drews’ front yard.
“I’m glad they’re still friends,” Nancy said.
Bess was twisting her hair nervously. “What if Kendra’s ice cream is better than Clue-berry?” she asked.
“There’s one way to find out,” George said. She lifted the lid off their coffee-can ice-cream maker. The ice cream inside wasn’t rock hard, but it was firm enough to taste.
One by one the girls tasted their Clue-berry ice cream.
“It’s good!” Nancy said.
“But it’s not Chock Full of Chocolate.” Bess sighed.
“Maybe we should hide a strawberry and a chunk of chocolate on the bottom,” George suggested.
“Or maybe we should just hope we win,” Nancy said.
“I have an idea, Nancy,” Mr. Drew said. “Let’s have some of your ice cream for dessert.”
It was early evening. Nancy’s father was barbecuing in the backyard. Mr. Drew was a lawyer. He liked helping Nancy with her Clue Crew cases. He also liked barbecuing in his favorite stain-splattered red and white checked apron.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Nancy said. “Our ice cream is for the contest this Saturday.”
Mr. Drew pretended to look hurt.
“But don’t worry,” Nancy said. “If we win the contest, we’ll have a different Jim and Barry ice cream every week!”
Hannah walked over carrying a bowl of fruit salad with walnuts. Nancy’s Labrador retriever puppy, Chocolate Chip, jumped after her.
“What about my desserts?” Hannah asked. “Those guys will put me out of business!”
Nancy wrapped her arms around Hannah’s waist and gave her a big hug. “That will never happen, Hannah,” she said. “Your desserts rock!”
The cordless phone on the patio table rang.
Nancy ran to answer it. “Hello?” she asked.
“Sh-she did it!” Kendra’s voice stammered. “I told you she’d do it—and she did it!”
“Who did what, Kendra?” Nancy asked.
“Deirdre!” Kendra said. “She broke her promise!”
“No way!” Nancy gasped. “Did Deirdre write your secret recipe on her Web site?”
“No,” Kendra answered. “But she did write that I had a winning recipe.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Nancy asked.
“Don’t you see?” Kendra asked. “Now all the kids in the contest will want to steal my secret recipe!”
Nancy shook her head, even though she knew Kendra couldn’t see her do it over the phone. “They can’t do that unless you tell them your recipe,” she said. “Besides, most of the kids we know are honest.”
“Yeah,” Kendra snorted. “Until they want to win free ice cream!”
Click!
Kendra had hung up. But Nancy wasn’t worried. Tomorrow they would all sign up for the contest. It would be so exciting that Kendra would forget about Deirdre’s Web site.
Nancy reached down to scratch Chocolate Chip behind her floppy little ears. “And may the best ice cream win!” she declared.
“There it is,” Bess said, pointing. “Is that the most awesome building you ever saw in your whole life?”
“And just think,” Nancy said. “It’s filled with the yummiest ice cream in the whole wide world!”
It was Thursday morning. Hannah had driven Nancy, Bess, and George to the Jim and Barry’s Ice Cream Factory. A huge crowd of kids stood in front of the factory, all set to sign up for the ice-cream flavor contest.
Nancy could see a stage set up in front of the factory. Purple, yellow, and white balloons swept over the stage in an arch.
“If this is just for the sign-up,” Nancy said, “I can’t wait to see what they do for the contest!”
“I’m going down the street to buy some fruits and vegetables,” Hannah said. “Stay here and stay together.”