The girls went over the steps again and again. At the end of an hour Bess could do the dance with very few mistakes.
“Time for a break,” Bess said. She flopped onto the sofa.
“Hey,” George protested, “I was just getting warmed up.”
Bess moaned. “How about cooling off? With a chocolate ripple ice cream cone. We could bike down to Sugar ’n’ Spice.”
Mrs. Marvin gave them permission—after the lipstick and blush were washed off. The girls jumped on their bikes and headed toward Sugar ’n’ Spice, four blocks away. It was their favorite ice cream shop.
As they pedaled, Nancy told Bess and George about Jerry Cutter. “He might have taken the tape,” Nancy explained. “But I think Brenda is a better suspect.”
George agreed. “We have a clue for Brenda—the Eiffel Tower charm.”
The girls turned a corner.
“This is Brenda’s street,” Bess said.
Just then the door to Brenda’s house opened. Brenda and her mother walked out. Mrs. Carlton smiled and waved to Nancy, Bess, and George. She began loading some packages into the trunk of her car.
Nancy braked her bike near Brenda. Bess and George did the same.
“Are you going shopping?” Nancy asked. She tried to sound friendly.
Brenda shrugged. “My mom has errands to do. I’m supposed to get my hair trimmed for the recital.” Then she stared at Bess. “If there’s a recital.”
Bess’s cheeks turned deep pink.
Brenda kicked a pebble with the toe of her loafer. “Whoever took that tape should just return it,” she said.
“We think so, too,” Nancy answered quickly.
Nancy and Brenda glared at each other.
“Brenda, time to go!” Mrs. Carlton called.
Brenda turned and ran to the car. Nancy, Bess, and George got back on their bikes and rode down the street.
As soon as they turned the next corner, Nancy asked, “Did you two notice something?” She sounded excited.
“Notice what?” George asked.
“A clue?” Bess said.
The girls braked their bikes.
“What are you talking about, Nancy?” George asked.
Nancy’s eyes gleamed. “I’m talking about Brenda,” she said. “Brenda was missing something. Something important. Her Eiffel Tower charm!”
5
The Silver Clue
George gave a low whistle. “Wow! You mean Brenda wasn’t wearing it.”
Nancy shook her head. “I’ve never, ever seen Brenda without her charm. But she didn’t have it today.” Nancy tapped her fingers on the handlebars of her bike. “We still need real proof that Brenda took the tape.”
George nodded and looked at her watch. “Guess what? We have exactly twenty-four hours. It’s three o’clock.”
“Ooooh,” Bess moaned, putting her hands over her stomach. “I’m so worried I think I’ve lost my appetite—almost.”
“Almost!” Nancy and George repeated, laughing.
The girls rode on to Sugar ’n’ Spice. They each bought a chocolate ripple cone dipped in candy sprinkles. Then they stood outside the shop. They leaned against their bikes and ate.
“Can you hold my cone for a second?” Nancy asked. George took the cone. Nancy got her notebook and pen out of her backpack. She flipped to the page labeled Clues.
Bess looked over Nancy’s shoulder. She pointed to the drawing of the Eiffel Tower. “Goo pictha uh da Eiffo Towa,” she said. Her mouth was full of ice cream.
Nancy laughed and imitated Bess. “Tha koo for saying my picture is good!”
Under the picture Nancy wrote: “Saturday afternoon. Brenda doesn’t have her charm.”
The girls finished their ice cream and biked back to Bess’s house. They practiced the dance once more. Then George and Nancy biked home.
After dinner that evening Carson Drew said to Nancy, “I have a little work to do. Can you stay out of trouble for an hour or so?”
“I can for an hour,” Nancy said. “But after that you have to read to me. You promised.”
“And I always keep my promises,” Mr. Drew said in his deepest voice.
Nancy gave her father a big hug and went upstairs to her bedroom. She got out her crayons and a new, very special coloring book from France. Madame Dugrand had given one to each girl in Nancy’s class.
Nancy sat on the floor and looked at the pictures. The book was about a French girl named Marie. She was just Nancy’s age and took ballet lessons in Paris.
Nancy picked a picture of Paris to color. It went across two pages. In it Marie stood looking at the Eiffel Tower. The tower looked just like the charms Madame had brought back from Paris.
Nancy picked out a yellow crayon and a red one. She wanted to make Marie’s hair the same color as her own. She made Marie’s dress light blue. That was Nancy’s favorite color. She made the buildings of Paris gray and tan, just as in the photographs Madame had showed them. Next she did the sky. She pressed hard with a bright blue crayon. The crayon snapped in two.
“Phooey!” Nancy muttered. She heard footsteps in the hallway.
“Anything wrong, Pumpkin?” asked Carson Drew. He stepped into the room and saw her picture. “Nice work!” he said.
“But my sky blue crayon just broke.” Nancy sighed. “And I’m running out of red.”
“How about some new crayons?” Mr. Drew asked. “We’ll go to the mall tomorrow morning. Toy store for you and bookstore for me.”
Nancy grinned. “Is that a promise?”
Nancy woke up early the next morning and stared at her clock. Eight A.M., she thought. Just seven hours left!
Nancy jumped out of bed and washed up. She was finishing breakfast an hour later when the phone rang. It was Bess. The girls made plans to meet at the mall. Bess’s mother had some shopping to do, and Bess needed a new pair of tights for her mermaid costume.
At ten o’clock Nancy and her father walked into the toy store. Mr. Drew stopped to look at some model ships. Nancy went looking for crayons.
As she turned down a long aisle, she saw Alison Wegman. Alison was with her older sister. Nancy noticed Alison’s Eiffel Tower charm right away. It was hanging from her belt.
“Hi, Alison,” Nancy said.
Alison smiled. “Hi, Nancy.” Then her smile faded. “Did you hear? The tape hasn’t been returned. Brenda’s mother called Madame Dugrand this morning. Then Brenda called me.”
Nancy was surprised. “I thought you and Brenda were enemies.”
Alison shook her head. “Not anymore. Brenda asked to make up and be best friends again. I said okay. I wasn’t the one who wanted to fight.” Alison’s face brightened. “We’re going to shop for clothes for our ballerina dolls. There’s Brenda now!”
Nancy turned around. Brenda was walking toward them.
“Hi, Brenda,” Nancy said.
“Oh, hi,” said Brenda. She didn’t smile.
No one spoke for a moment.
Finally Nancy said, “Well, have a good time shopping for doll clothes.”
Something shiny caught Nancy’s eye. She looked down at Brenda’s open jacket. Just inside the jacket was a silver chain.
Oh, no! Nancy thought.
Dangling from the chain was an Eiffel Tower charm!
6
Who Did It?
Nancy froze for a second. Then she managed to choke out the words, “See you later.” She turned and ran up the aisle to the crayon display.
As soon as Mr. Drew had paid for Nancy’s new crayons, they walked to the dance shop.
“Have fun,” Mr. Drew said. “When you’re done, Mrs. Marvin can bring you to the bookstore. Look for me under Mysteries.”
Carson Drew winked at his daughter. Nancy tried to smile, but she felt too upset. She knew now that Brenda had not taken the tape. At three o’clock Madame would cancel the recital. How could she solve the mystery by then?
Nancy opened the door to the shop. Mrs. Marvin was just stepping into a
dressing room. Bess was at a counter, looking at tights.
“Nancy, don’t you love this color?” Bess held up a pair of turquoise tights. “They’d be so cute with my turquoise jumper.”
Then Bess sighed. “But I can’t get them. My mom says new mermaid tights are enough for one day. But aren’t these cool?”
Nancy barely looked at the tights. She took a deep breath and said, “Bess, I have something really important to tell you.”
Bess stared at Nancy. “What?”
“Bad news,” Nancy said. “I just saw Brenda and Alison in the toy shop. They’re best friends again. And they were both wearing their Eiffel Tower charms.”
Bess dropped the turquoise tights back on the counter. She stood very still.
Nancy continued. “That means Brenda isn’t a good suspect. Maybe she wasn’t all that mad at Alison. At least not mad enough to steal the tape and ruin the recital. And she didn’t drop her charm near the sound system. I don’t know whose charm I found. I guess it’s just one of Madame’s.”
Bess turned away. She looked down at the turquoise tights.
“I should just buy these,” she said. Her voice shook. “We’re not going to find the tape. The recital’s going to be canceled. And everyone’s going to think I’m a thief.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Nancy put her arm around Bess. “Remember—friends stick together. I’m going to solve this mystery. There’s still another suspect—Jerry Cutter. Hannah can take me to the academy early to look for more clues. I’ll find something.”
Nancy tried to comfort Bess. But she was worried. She worried the rest of the time at the mall. She worried on the drive home.
As soon as she walked into the house, Nancy got out her blue notebook. She drew a red line through Brenda’s name. She drew a red circle around Jerry Cutter’s name. Then she went into the kitchen.
Hannah was at the sink, washing tomatoes. Nancy began handing her the unwashed ones.
“Hannah,” Nancy asked, “could you take me to the dance academy early this afternoon? I want to look for something. And talk to Madame Dugrand.”
Hannah raised her eyebrows. Her eyes twinkled. “This sounds very mysterious. I think I can get you there by two-fifteen.”
Nancy put her arm around Hannah’s waist. “Thanks,” she said.
At exactly two-fifteen Nancy walked into the academy. Just forty-five minutes to go, she thought. The straps of her dance bag were slung over her shoulder. Inside the bag were her costume, hairbrush, notebook, pen, and the Eiffel Tower charm.
The door to Madame Dugrand’s office was half open. “Madame,” Nancy said. She pushed the door a little. “Can I talk to you?”
Madame looked up from her desk. “Are you here about the tape?” she asked.
“Yes,” Nancy said.
Madame suddenly looked sad. “I promised I wouldn’t ask any questions, but I just can’t understand why you took that tape.”
Nancy gasped. Madame thought she had come to return the stolen tape! How awful it felt to have someone think she was a thief. How awful Bess must feel!
“I didn’t take the tape!” Nancy cried. “I’m just looking for it!”
Madame folded her hands on her desk. “Well,” she said, “I couldn’t believe you’d ever take anything.”
Nancy shook her head. “I just want to prove that Bess Marvin is innocent. And I want to save the recital.”
Madame sighed deeply. “I’m afraid the recital is lost, dear. Whoever took the tape would have returned it by now.”
“Is anyone else in the building?” Nancy asked.
“Just Paul and Jerry Cutter,” Madame said. “Paul is right down the hall with his toys.”
“May I look around?” Nancy asked.
Madame nodded and went back to her work.
Nancy checked the big clock at the end of the hallway. Twenty-five minutes past two! She headed quickly for the supply room. Jerry Cutter used the room as his office.
The door was open. “Jerry?” Nancy called. She stepped inside to talk to the janitor.
He wasn’t there. Nancy looked around the room. Shelves were piled high with cleaning supplies. A ladder leaned against the wall. There were buckets, brooms, and stacks of lumber.
Something on one of the shelves caught Nancy’s eye. She stepped closer to look. It was a tape cassette! It was leaning against a box.
Nancy reached for the tape. Just then she heard footsteps coming down the hall. It must be Jerry, she thought. She crouched behind a big carton and held her breath.
The footsteps entered the room. Nancy heard papers rustling. Then she heard footsteps near the door.
Suddenly the lights went out. The door slammed shut!
7
A New Clue
Nancy’s heart pounded. The room was pitch-black. Find the light switch, she told herself.
Nancy stood up and stepped carefully in the direction of the wall. She held out her hands until she touched some shelves. Then she felt her way along the shelves to the light switch near the door.
Nancy flipped the switch. Light flooded the room. She ran back to the low shelf and grabbed the tape. The picture on the label showed four rock singers with green hair. The tape was “The Screeching Creeps Greatest Hits.”
“Creeps is right,” Nancy muttered. She put the tape back on the shelf. Then she switched off the light and left the office.
Holding her dance bag on her shoulder, Nancy ran up the hallway. She looked at the clock. Two thirty-five. Just twenty-five more minutes! Time seemed to be passing faster and faster.
Nancy jogged around the corner. She nearly tripped over one of Paul Dugrand’s toy cars.
“Sorry!” Nancy panted.
“Want to see how fast this car goes?” Paul asked. He sent a tiny car racing between two toy buildings. “Zoom!” he shouted.
Nancy stared at Paul’s toys. He had set up a little city. He had toy buildings, street signs, traffic lights, and lots of tiny cars.
“It looks so familiar,” Nancy said. She couldn’t take her eyes off the scene. Then she smiled. “It looks just like the picture in my coloring book. It looks like Paris.”
“It is Paris,” Paul said. He seemed pleased. “My mom bought these toys for me in France.”
For a moment Nancy forgot about the mystery she had to solve. She knelt down next to Paul. “You know what you need?” she said. “An Eiffel Tower.”
Paul raced another car past a traffic light. “I have one of those somewhere,” he said, without looking up.
“It would make the scene so perfect,” said Nancy. “Is your tower in here?” She reached for Paul’s toy box.
Paul’s head snapped up. He grabbed the box and held it close. “Don’t touch!” he cried.
Nancy backed away a few inches. Then she jumped up and raced past Paul toward the theater. She wanted to search for the tape one last time. She hurried through the backstage door.
The lights were on, and someone was whistling. Nancy followed the tune and saw Jerry Cutter. He was sweeping near the sound system. He looked cheerful.
“Hi,” Nancy said.
Jerry waved and grinned at Nancy. “I hope you’re not planning to practice backstage,” he said. “I’m closing up in a minute. Then I’m out of here.”
“I guess you’re pretty happy,” Nancy said. “The recital’s going to be canceled. You can go to the Creeps concert.”
Jerry shook his head. “The recital isn’t a problem for me. The guy who works the lights didn’t have the flu after all. He called Madame Dugrand yesterday.”
Nancy had a sinking feeling in her stomach. “You mean you don’t care if we have the recital?”
Jerry looked surprised. “Sure I care,” he said. “I wish you girls could have it. You’ve worked hard. It’s really rotten that someone took that tape.”
Nancy didn’t answer. There goes my last suspect, she thought. And there goes my last chance to solve this mystery.
Jerry was sweeping again
—this time under the sound system. “Look at that,” he said. He pointed his broom at something on the floor. “I’d get my work done a lot faster if you kids didn’t eat so much junk food.”
Nancy peered at the floor. She saw some broken potato chips. Mixed in with them were several small, round, red candies.
“Hot Shots,” Nancy murmured.
She kept looking at the candies.
“Hey, are you all right?” Jerry asked.
Nancy didn’t hear him. She unzipped her dance bag and took out her notebook and pen. On the page of suspects she crossed out Jerry Cutter’s name. Under her Eiffel Tower picture she wrote: “Hot Shots.” Then she put the notebook and pen away. She took out the Eiffel Tower charm and held it in her hand.
Suddenly Nancy looked up. “I’ve got it!” she shouted. “I’ve got it!”
“Got what?” Jerry asked.
He didn’t get an answer. Nancy was already racing for the door.
Out in the hallway Nancy dashed toward Paul. She glanced at the clock beyond him. Ten minutes to three!
“Paul,” Nancy said. “Is this yours?” She held out the Eiffel Tower charm.
Paul looked at the charm and nodded. Nancy handed it to him. Then she walked past all his toys and turned the corner.
A noisy crowd of girls was standing at the other end of the hallway. Some were near Madame’s office. Others were outside the dressing room and the practice studio.
Nancy’s heart was pounding. I know who took the tape! she thought. And I think I know where it is. But how can I prove it? How can I get the tape back?
Darcy Blair stepped out of Madame’s office. “Quiet, everyone!” she called out. The noise began to die down. “Madame wants you all in the practice studio. Let’s go!”
Nancy turned to look at the clock. Five minutes to three. Madame was about to cancel the recital!
Nancy noticed Bess and George in the crowd of girls. Then she got an idea.
Nancy dashed down the hall. She pulled Bess and George aside.
“There’s no time to explain,” she whispered. “But I can solve the mystery—if you help me. I’ll tell you what to do.”
Bad Day for Ballet Page 3
