Knock, knock. Who’s there?
Nancy was really looking forward to April’s party.
They soon reached the Funks’ house. There were no cars in the driveway. The curtains in all the windows were closed.
“It looks like nobody’s home,” Nancy observed.
“No way.” Bess marched up to the front door and knocked. “Hello?”
A moment passed. No one answered.
Bess was about to knock again when Nancy noticed something. The door was open a crack.
Nancy stepped forward and pushed the door open slightly. It made a creaking noise. She gulped.
All of a sudden the screeching sound of sirens was blaring in their ears. A voice called out, “You are trespassing on private property. You are all under arrest!”
Join the CLUE CREW & solve these other cases!
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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
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Macky Pamintuan
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
NANCY DREW, NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW, ALADDIN, and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Control Number 2008928034
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-6366-5
ISBN-10: 1-4391-6366-9
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: A MYSTERIOUS INVITATION
CHAPTER TWO: AN UNWELCOME WELCOME
CHAPTER THREE: THE UNEXPECTED GUEST
CHAPTER FOUR: MISSING!
CHAPTER FIVE: A THIEF ON THE LOOSE?
CHAPTER SIX: THE RED CLUE
CHAPTER SEVEN: SYDNEY’S BACKPACK
CHAPTER EIGHT: ONE MYSTERY SOLVED
CHAPTER NINE: BESS’S DISCOVERY
CHAPTER TEN: THE BEST GAG OF ALL
CHAPTER ONE
A Mysterious Invitation
“You got a letter, Nancy,” Hannah Gruen said.
Eight-year-old Nancy Drew glanced up from her blueberry bagel with extra cream cheese. Hannah was on the other side of the kitchen counter, sorting through the day’s mail.
“Who’s it from?” Nancy asked curiously.
“I’m not sure, honey,” replied Hannah.
She handed Nancy a plain white envelope. Nancy licked the cream cheese from her fingers before taking the envelope and studying it carefully. Her name and address were typed on the front. There was a River Heights postmark and a stamp with a picture of spring flowers. There was no return address.
“Hmm, it’s a mystery,” Nancy said thoughtfully.
Hannah chuckled. She knew how much Nancy loved mysteries. Nancy and her two best friends, George Fayne and Bess Marvin, had started their own detective club called the Clue Crew. They solved all sorts of cases—everything from catching an escaped pony to finding missing baby chicks.
Hannah was the Drews’ housekeeper. But she was much more than that. She had lived with Nancy and her father, Carson Drew, since Nancy’s mother had died five years ago.
Nancy picked up a letter opener and slit open the envelope. Inside was an official-looking card. Across the front of the card, it said:
REPORT CARD
GRADING PERIOD: SPRING
STUDENT: NANCY DREW
Nancy gulped. Her report card? She wasn’t sure she wanted to see that right now. The math test last Friday had been superhard. And what if her teacher, Mrs. Ramirez, hadn’t liked her essay on the rain forest?
“What is it, Nancy?” Hannah asked her.
“It’s, uh, my report card,” Nancy replied nervously.
“Your report card!” Hannah exclaimed. “Isn’t it a little early for that?”
Nancy shrugged. She took a deep breath, opened it—and gasped.
Inside, there were no As—or Bs, or Cs, or Ds. There were no comments from Mrs. Ramirez. Instead there was an announcement in big bold letters:
APRIL FOOL’S DAY!
WELL, NOT JUST YET.
I’M HAVING AN APRIL FOOL’S DAY PARTY,
AND YOU’RE INVITED!
THERE WILL BE LOTS OF FOOD AND GAMES.
MAKE SURE TO BRING A GAG,
BECAUSE THERE WILL BE A GRAND PRIZE
FOR THE BEST ONE!
Nancy read the rest of the invitation. It was from April Funk, who lived down the street. April had moved to River Heights a few months ago. Like Nancy, she was in third grade at River Heights Elementary School, although she was in a different class.
Nancy, George, and Bess had quickly become friends with April, who had a great sense of humor. April was always telling jokes and pulling goofy pranks. It was just like her to throw an April Fool’s Day party, and to send such a funny invitation, too!
“Well, that’s a lot better than a report card, isn’t it?” Hannah laughed as she read the invitation over Nancy’s shoulder.
“Definitely,” Nancy agreed.
The phone rang just then. Hannah picked it up. “Hello?” she said. “Oh, hi, Bess. Yes, she’s sitting right here.” Hannah handed the phone to Nancy. “For you.”
Nancy grabbed the phone. “Hi, Bess!”
“Hi, Nancy,” Bess said. “Did you, uh, just get your report card?”
Nancy giggled. “I just got it. Did you, uh, just get your report card too?”
“Yup, and so did George,” Bess replied. “Yay! We’re all going to April’s party! Oh my gosh, I have to start figuring out what to wear!”
Bess and George were cousins. But they were more different than alike. Bess was really into fashion. George’s passion was computers.
“And we have to start figuring out what to bring,” Nancy reminded her. “Did you see what the invitation said? We all have to bring a gag.”
“Oh, right,” said Bess. “Where will we get one?”
“I know where we can get some cool gags,” Nancy said. “What are you and George doing tomorrow after school?”
“This is the funnest store I’ve ever been to!” Bess exclaimed.
“Me too,” George piped up.
“Me three,” Nancy chimed in.
The three girls were walking around Gagtime, accompanied by Hannah. Gagtime was a new store in downtown River Heights. Nancy had seen an ad for the store in the River Heights Bugle. Its motto was: “Your one-stop shopping for gags, pranks, and practical jokes.”
Nancy couldn’t believe all the things in the store: blue, purple, and orange wigs; sunglasses that made your eyes look big and crazy; chattering teeth and skulls; tubes of lip gloss with fake spiders in them; calculators that squirted water at you when you pressed the equals sign. There were even bags of candy that turne
d your mouth black, bars of white soap that turned your hands red, and fortune cookies with silly sayings inside. And there were dozens and dozens of other goofy items too.
“How are you girls going to decide what to buy?” Hannah asked them.
“I want to buy one of everything!” Bess said. She glanced inside her puffy pink purse. “Except…I only have four dollars and eighty-three cents.”
“It’s going to be hard to choose,” Nancy said.
“Well, let me know if you need any help,” said Hannah. “I’ll be right over there in the joke book section.”
“Okay, Hannah,” Nancy said. She turned to her friends. “Let’s shop!”
George picked up the calculator. “I kind of like this. I can squirt April!”
“This is going to be the best party ever,” Bess said excitedly. “If anyone’s going to throw a really awesome April Fool’s Day party, it’s April Funk!”
Just then Nancy saw someone out of the corner of her eye. It was a girl, and she seemed to be eavesdropping on their conversation. She was standing a few feet away, behind a display of fake desserts.
The girl stepped forward. “April Funk’s party? What are you talking about?” she demanded in an angry voice.
CHAPTER TWO
An Unwelcome Welcome
Nancy stared at the girl. She had short black hair and cool-looking glasses—and a big frown on her face.
Nancy recognized her. It was Sydney Decker from school. Sydney was supersmart; she’d won first place in the science fair last week.
“Uh, hi, Sydney,” Nancy said. She wasn’t sure why Sydney seemed so upset.
Sydney narrowed her eyes. “Don’t try to change the subject, Nancy Drew,” she huffed. “I want you to tell me everything you know about this so-called party—right this second!”
Nancy, George, and Bess all looked at one another. Bess frowned as if to say, What’s up with Sydney? George shrugged, meaning, Who knows?
“Why do you want to know about April’s party?” Nancy asked Sydney curiously.
Sydney ignored her question. “You’re talking about the April Funk, right? April Funk who’s in my class at River Heights Elementary School? The one with the curly red hair? The one with the purple backpack? The one whose favorite food is chocolate-covered pretzels?”
“Yes, that April Funk,” George piped up. “Except I didn’t know her favorite food was chocolate-covered pretzels.”
“Ha!” Sydney scoffed. “So where is this party taking place? And when?”
“It’s at her house, four o’clock, April Fool’s Day,” Bess replied.
“We’re here because the invitation said there’s going to be a grand prize for the best gag,” added Nancy.
“Hmm, interesting,” Sydney said. “Who else is invited, besides the three of you?”
“How would we know that?” said George.
“Sydney, why are you asking us all these questions?” Nancy asked impatiently.
Nancy thought she saw a flicker of hurt in Sydney’s eyes. “Well, if you must know, April happens to be my BFF,” Sydney replied after a moment. “And as her BFF, I think I’m entitled to this information. Don’t you?”
“Oh!” Nancy exclaimed.
Just then a teenage girl came rushing up to Sydney. She had a lime green cell phone glued to one ear. “Syd, we gotta go, we’re gonna be late for your cello lesson,” she said. “Come on, come on!”
“I am way too mature to need a babysitter,” Sydney grumbled to Nancy and her friends. “Bye. See you in school, I guess.”
“Bye,” the three girls said in unison.
“And you’d better not repeat a word of this conversation to April,” Sydney warned.
With that, she turned on her heel and left.
“I guess April didn’t invite Sydney to her party,” Nancy said.
“Yeah, otherwise Sydney wouldn’t have been asking us for all the details,” George agreed.
“But she said she’s April’s BFF. So why wouldn’t April invite her?” Bess wondered.
Nancy and her friends were walking to April’s party. It was a beautiful spring afternoon. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths swayed in the warm breeze as they made their way to April’s house, which was just down the block from where Nancy lived.
The girls were carrying their gags from Gagtime in their backpacks. Nancy had bought the fortune cookies with the silly sayings inside. George got the calculator that squirted water. And Bess purchased the lip gloss with the fake spider in it.
Nancy was really looking forward to April’s party. Still, she wished she knew what was going on with Sydney and April. It was kind of a mystery.
They soon reached the Funks’ house. It was a big Victorian house painted in different shades of purple. The front porch was cluttered with toys.
Nancy glanced around—and frowned. There were no cars in the driveway. The curtains in all the windows were closed.
“It looks like nobody’s home,” Nancy observed.
“No way.” Bess marched up to the front door and knocked. “Hello?”
A moment passed. No one answered.
“Hello?” Bess repeated.
Still no one answered.
“This is weird,” George whispered.
“Did we get the date wrong or something?” Bess asked Nancy.
Nancy reached into her backpack and pulled out her invitation. “It says April first, four p.m. Today is April first.”
George held up her wrist and pointed to her watch. “And it’s exactly four o’clock right now.”
“Okay, then, we’re definitely supposed to be here,” said Bess.
Bess was about to knock again when Nancy noticed something. The door was open a crack.
Nancy stepped forward and pushed the door open slightly. It made a creaking noise. She gulped.
“What are you doing, Nancy?” Bess hissed.
Nancy poked her head in. “Hello? Is anyone home?” she said loudly.
All of a sudden the screeching sound of sirens was blaring in their ears. A voice called out, “You are trespassing on private property. You are all under arrest!”
CHAPTER THREE
The Unexpected Guest
The sirens continued screeching.
“It’s the police!” George cried out.
“Omigosh, are we in trouble?” said Bess frantically.
Nancy covered her ears. The sirens were really loud.
She started to say, “Let’s get out of here!” But it was too late. Before she could get the words out of her mouth, the door swung wide open.
Nancy gasped. The person standing on the other side was not a police officer. It was April! She was holding a toy siren in one hand and a megaphone in the other. She was dressed in jeans and a yellow T-shirt with a clown face on it.
April grinned. “April Fool’s! Welcome to my party!”
“April, that was you?” Nancy exclaimed.
“You scared us!” Bess added.
“You should give yourself the grand prize for the best gag,” George told April.
“I totally should, shouldn’t I?” April waved the girls inside. “Come on in! Everyone’s down in the basement.”
Nancy, George, and Bess followed April into the house. They were immediately greeted by a big calico cat and a smaller black-and-white cat. The cats rubbed up against the girls’ ankles, meowing and purring.
“The big one’s Mr. Tuna. And the other one’s Lipstick, because she has that white mark around her mouth that makes her look like she’s wearing white lipstick,” April said. “Plus, I have a bunny and two hamsters up in my room. The bunny’s name is Carrots, and the hamsters’ names are Fuzzy and Wuzzy.”
Nancy, George, and Bess giggled at the funny names. “It’s cool that you have so many pets,” Nancy said.
April’s house was big and sprawling. The rooms were painted bright, fun colors like lemon yellow and lime green and turquoise. Kids’ artwork was plastered all over the walls.
; April’s parents were in the kitchen preparing snacks. Mr. Funk had a big bushy beard and mustache. Mrs. Funk had curly red hair like April. April introduced the three girls to them.
“Welcome, ladies!” Mrs. Funk said. “I’d shake your hands, but mine are covered in chocolate frosting.”
Bess’s eyes lit up. “Yum, chocolate frosting! I hope we’re having cupcakes.”
Mrs. Funk smiled mysteriously. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
“I hope April’s little joke didn’t scare you girls too much,” said Mr. Funk.
“Well, it did, but it was pretty funny, too,” George replied.
“Nancy! George! Bess! Come on, everyone’s waiting downstairs,” April said eagerly.
The three girls said good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Funk and trailed downstairs after April. When they reached the basement rec room, Nancy started cracking up. The room had been decorated wall-to-wall with an April Fool’s Day theme. There were fake spilled drinks, chattering teeth, and handmade posters filled with jokes and riddles, like:
What did the banana say to the doctor?
“I’m not peeling well.”
Two girls were sitting on a faded brown leather couch. A third girl was checking out the posters. The two girls on the couch looked very similar. They both had straight, shoulder-length blond hair with bangs. They were both wearing jean skirts and hot pink tops. When they smiled, Nancy could see that they both had hot pink braces.
April introduced them as her friends Miranda and Heidi.
“Are you sisters?” Bess asked them.
Miranda frowned. “Uh, no. Why would you think that?”
Bess turned to Nancy and George. “Maybe because they have identical hair and outfits?” she whispered.
“Miranda and Heidi go to my old school,” April explained. She pointed to the girl who was checking out the posters. “So does Katie.”
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