The Black Velvet Mystery

  “Like what?” Bess asked.

  “Like finding out who ruined the black velvet coat,” Nancy said.

  Bess’s blue eyes shined. “You mean you’re going to solve another mystery, Nancy?” she asked.

  “But you didn’t bring your detective notebook to the fashion show,” George said.

  Nancy smiled. Her blue detective notebook was where she wrote down all her clues and suspects. She almost never left home without it.

  “Oh, yes, I did,” Nancy said. She walked over to her own clothes and pulled her notebook from the pocket of her shorts.

  “It’s the perfect accessory for all fashionable detectives,” Nancy added.

  “And blue is your color,” Bess joked.

  George looked at her watch. “We have some time before my dad picks us up.”

  “Great,” Nancy said. “Let’s change into our own clothes and look for clues.”

  The other models went home, but Nancy, Bess, and George stayed in the stockroom.

  After Nancy and Bess changed, they sat on a crate.

  Bess and George looked over Nancy’s shoulder as she wrote, “The Case of the Cut-up Coat” on a fresh page. Then under the word “Clues,” she wrote “Scissors.”

  “I don’t get it, Nancy,” Bess said. “How could anyone cut up the coat when this room was full of people?”

  “And I was back here all through the fashion show,” George said.

  “This is what I think,” Nancy said. “The stockroom was empty when Penny showed us the runway. And we were practicing for a good fifteen minutes.”

  “So the person who cut the coat could have sneaked in then,” George said.

  Nancy nodded. “The scissors are a great clue. Let’s look for some more.”

  The girls searched the back room. Suddenly Bess let out a huge shriek.

  “I found it! I found it!” Bess cried.

  “Another clue?” Nancy asked.

  “No!” Bess said. She held up a dark purple beret. “I found the perfect hat for my new fall jacket! Isn’t it pretty?”

  “Give me a break,” George groaned.

  “Bess,” Nancy said, “we’re looking for new clues, not new clothes.”

  Bess sighed and put down the hat.

  As Nancy looked under the rack where the black coat was hanging, something shiny caught her eye.

  “Bess! George!” Nancy called. “I think I found something.”

  Nancy picked up the shiny object. It was gold with big pearls attached.

  “It’s a clip-on earring,” Bess said.

  Nancy rolled the earring in her hand. “These look like the same earrings Mrs. Vanderpool was wearing,” she said.

  “Why would she have been near the coat rack?” Bess asked.

  George snapped her fingers. “She wanted that coat for her little dogs.”

  Nancy slipped the clue in her pocket. “We have our first suspect,” she said. “It’s Mrs. Vanderpool.”

  “Who else would have wanted to cut up the coat?” George asked.

  “Someone mean,” Bess said.

  The girls looked at each other.

  “Brenda!” they exclaimed together.

  “Brenda wanted a gossipy story for her paper,” Nancy said. “She might have cut the coat so she could write about it.”

  Nancy wrote Brenda’s name under her list of suspects. Then, below Brenda’s name, she wrote, “Orson Wong.”

  “Orson?” Bess said. “Why would he want to cut up the coat?”

  “He said he needed black velvet for those gross paintings of his,” Nancy said. “And I did see him looking at the coat.”

  Bess shook her head. “Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky!”

  “Three suspects and two clues is a great start,” Nancy said. She shut her notebook. “Let’s meet tomorrow to work on the case.”

  • • •

  That evening, Nancy helped Hannah make a salad for dinner. Hannah Gruen had been the Drews’ housekeeper since Nancy was only three years old.

  “So how does it feel to be a famous model?” Hannah asked as she washed a green pepper.

  Nancy looked up from the lettuce she was tearing. “Modeling clothes was fun, Hannah,” Nancy said. “But I’d still rather be a detective.”

  “You mean you prefer clues to shoes?” Hannah joked.

  Nancy giggled. She was about to tell Hannah about the case when the doorbell rang.

  “Oh, dear,” Hannah said. “My hands are all wet.”

  “I’ll see who it is,” Nancy said.

  Nancy ran to the front door. She stood on her toes and looked out the peep hole. No one was there.

  “Who is it?” Nancy called.

  When no one answered, Nancy opened the door very slowly. She saw a piece of paper on the doorstep.

  What’s this? Nancy wondered.

  Nancy picked it up and groaned. It was the Carlton News. On the top of the page were the words “Gossip! Gossip! Gossip!”

  Brenda sure works fast, Nancy thought. But when she started to read, her stomach did a triple flip.

  “‘Who with reddish blond hair would cut up a gorgeous black velvet coat?’” Nancy read out loud. “‘Word has it that she was mad! Word has it that she was jealous! And it’s no mystery that she was catty on the catwalk. Mew! (Rhymes with?)’”

  Nancy looked up from the paper and gasped. “Oh, no! Mew rhymes with Drew!”

  4

  Follow That Ponytail!

  Brenda is accusing me of cutting up the coat!” Nancy complained to Bess and George the next morning.

  The girls had gotten permission to walk to Peppermint Penny’s to look for more clues.

  “Why would Brenda accuse you?” George asked.

  “She said I was mad because Kendra got to wear the coat instead of me,” Nancy said.

  “Well, at least Brenda didn’t mention your name,” Bess said.

  “She didn’t have to, Bess,” Nancy insisted. “She gave more hints than in a game of charades.”

  “Don’t worry, Nancy,” George said. “How many kids in River Heights read that stupid paper anyway?”

  Just then two nine-year-old girls from Carl Sandburg Elementary School walked by. They looked at Nancy and giggled.

  “Mew! Mew! Drew! Drew!” one of the girls said. Then they both walked away.

  “Great.” Nancy sighed.

  The three friends walked up Main Street. Suddenly Bess grabbed Nancy’s arm.

  “Speaking of Miss Snooty Pants,” Bess whispered. “Look who’s coming out of Peppermint Penny’s!”

  Nancy glanced across the street. Brenda and her mother were walking out of the store. Mrs. Carlton was carrying a big shopping bag. Brenda’s ponytail bounced as she followed her mother.

  “I wonder which outfit Brenda bought,” Bess said.

  “Probably a witch’s hat and a broom,” George muttered.

  Nancy watched Mrs. Carlton walk into a nearby food shop. Brenda stayed outside to look in the store window. But when she turned around, Nancy jumped.

  “Bess! George!” Nancy said in a low voice. “Brenda is wearing a black bow on her ponytail. It looks like it’s velvet!”

  “You think it’s the same black velvet as the coat?” George asked.

  “If it is,” Nancy said, “then we’ll know that Brenda was the cut-up.”

  “Isn’t all velvet the same?” Bess asked.

  “The velvet on the coat was thick and soft,” Nancy said. “I’ll never forget it.”

  George stared across the street. Her eyes were narrow.

  “If I could just yank the bow off Brenda’s ponytail,” she said. “Then we could check it out.”

  “She’d have to be standing very still,” Bess said. “And Brenda Carlton never stands still.”

  Just then Nancy saw something in Peppermint Penny’s window. It was a wooden statue that wore clothes and looked like a real girl. Nancy knew the statue was called a dummy—and it gave her an idea.

  “I know a way to get Brenda
to stand perfectly still,” Nancy said slowly.

  “How?” Bess asked.

  Nancy turned to Bess. “Bess, how would you like to be a dummy?”

  “That’s mean!” Bess cried.

  “I mean a mannequin,” Nancy said. “That’s a fancy word for the dummies in the store windows.”

  “You mean I have to stand perfectly still?” Bess asked. “Like a statue?”

  “I’ll do it, too,” Nancy said. “If Brenda plays along, George can sneak up behind her and pull off her bow.”

  “Can you do it, George?” Bess asked. “Can you sneak up behind Brenda?”

  “No problem,” George said. She pointed to her feet. “What do you think sneakers are for?”

  George waited across the street while Nancy and Bess hurried over to Brenda.

  “Hi, Brenda,” Nancy called.

  Brenda’s black bow flapped as she turned around. “Have you seen my new gossip column?” she asked slyly.

  “Yes,” Nancy said. “But we have no idea who you’re writing about.”

  “Not a clue,” Bess said.

  Nancy counted to three. Then she froze like a statue. Bess did the same.

  “What are you doing?” Brenda asked.

  “Can’t you tell?” Bess asked with her hands on her head. “We’re dummies.”

  “That’s for sure!” Brenda sneered.

  “We’re mannequins,” Nancy corrected. She posed with one hand on her hip.

  “Why?” Brenda asked.

  “Penny asked us to model clothes in her window,” Nancy said. “So we’re practicing to stand perfectly still.”

  Brenda began to walk away. “That’s the weirdest thing I ever heard.”

  “That’s okay, Brenda,” Nancy said quickly. “Not everyone can do it.”

  “Not even you,” Bess said.

  Brenda froze. She turned around. “What do you mean?” she snapped. “I can stand still if I want to!”

  Brenda jutted her arms in the air. She stuck up her chin. “See?”

  Perfect! Nancy thought. Brenda even has her back to George.

  “Now hold that pose for as long as you can,” Nancy said.

  From the corner of her eye, Nancy saw George crossing the street. She was tiptoeing slowly toward Brenda.

  All systems go, Nancy thought.

  Suddenly Nancy heard a loud buzz. A big fly was circling around her head!

  Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!

  Nancy wanted to wave it away but she couldn’t. She had to stand still.

  Nancy crossed her eyes as the fly landed on the tip of her nose.

  Hurry up, George, Nancy thought. She wiggled her nose. Hurry up!

  But it was too late. Her nose itched and she began to sneeze. “Ahh-ahhh-chooo!”

  The girls broke their poses.

  Brenda whirled around. “George Fayne!” she cried. “What were you doing behind my back?”

  George shrugged as she held the black bow in her hand.

  “My bow!” Brenda cried. She reached back and touched her ponytail. “You were stealing my black velvet bow!”

  5

  Snip, Snip—Hooray!

  George wasn’t stealing your bow,” Nancy insisted.

  “Yes she was!” Brenda said. “And you made her do it!”

  “Me?” Nancy asked.

  Brenda nodded. “You’re not just a cut-up, Nancy. You’re a thief!”

  Nancy grabbed the bow from George’s hand. “If I’m the cut-up, how do you explain this?”

  As Nancy waved the bow in front of Brenda, she noticed a piece of paper stapled to the back. It was a price tag from Peppermint Penny’s.

  “My mother just bought me that bow,” Brenda said. “I wanted to wear it out of the store. Now, give it back!”

  Nancy felt the bow in her fingers. It didn’t feel as thick and soft as the coat.

  “Sorry, Brenda,” Nancy said. She held out the bow. “We were just trying to find the real cut-up.”

  Brenda snatched the bow. “I know who the real cut-up is. And I’ve only begun to write about her!”

  The girls looked at each other.

  “In fact,” Brenda said, sticking out her chin. “I’m making the Carlton News a daily paper. So I can write my gossip column every day.”

  “Yippee,” George muttered.

  Brenda tied the bow around her ponytail. Then she ran to her mother.

  “Come on,” Nancy said. “Let’s go into Peppermint Penny’s. Maybe Penny can help us.”

  But when the girls went inside the store, Penny would not let them look for clues.

  “Just a peek?” George asked Penny.

  Penny shook her head. “I’m keeping the stockroom locked from now on.”

  “I understand,” Nancy said. But as they walked toward the front of the store, Nancy noticed something on top of the jewelry counter. It was a copy of the Carlton News.

  “Oh, no,” Nancy whispered. “Now Penny probably suspects me, too!”

  “Thanks to the Carlton News,” George said angrily.

  The girls left Peppermint Penny’s. They sat on a bench next to the store. Nancy took out her blue notebook and scratched out Brenda’s name.

  “We still have two suspects,” Nancy said. “Mrs. Vanderpool and Orson Wong.”

  “Orson lives right near your house, Nancy,” George said. “Why don’t we check him out after lunch?”

  “Nancy always walks her dog, Chocolate Chip, after lunch, George,” Bess said. “Right, Nancy?”

  Nancy nodded. But then she had an idea.

  “Bess, George,” she said. “Lonny and Lenny Wong love dogs, right?” she asked.

  “They sure do,” George said.

  “Maybe while the twins pet Chip, they’ll tell us everything we need to know about Orson,” Nancy said.

  “Good thinking, Nancy!” George said.

  • • •

  When the three friends got back to Nancy’s house, Bess and George called for permission to stay and eat lunch.

  After munching on Hannah’s tuna salad sandwiches, Nancy, Bess, and George walked Chocolate Chip to Orson Wong’s block.

  “I hope we don’t have to search Orson’s room,” Bess said.

  “You mean because of his pet iguana?” Nancy asked.

  “No,” Bess said. She grabbed her nose. “Because of his smelly socks.”

  Mrs. Wong was working in her garden when the girls approached the house. She smiled as she petted Chip.

  “Hi, girls!” Mrs. Wong said.

  “Hello, Mrs. Wong,” Nancy said. “Are Orson, Lonny, and Lenny home?”

  “They sure are,” Mrs. Wong said. “The twins are upstairs finger painting. And Orson is in the backyard. He’s painting, too.”

  “Is Orson painting bugs?” Bess asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “Yes,” Mrs. Wong said. “On some kind of black material.”

  Nancy froze. Black material?

  “Mrs. Wong,” Nancy said. “Could we go in the back and say hi to Orson?”

  Mrs. Wong nodded. “I’m sure he’d love a visit from his friends.”

  Nancy could hear George gag at the word “friends.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Wong,” Nancy said. She tugged at Chip’s leash.

  Nancy, Bess, and George ran around the house to the backyard.

  “There he is!” Nancy whispered.

  Orson was sitting at an easel. On a small table next to him was a glass jar.

  “You’re in my light,” Orson complained as the girls walked closer. “And your dog is giving Wally the willies.”

  “Wally?” Nancy asked.

  Orson pointed to the glass jar. Inside the jar was a big brown bug with long legs.

  “Ugh—gross!” Bess gagged.

  “People call Wally a water bug,” Orson explained. “But I like to think of him as a great big cockroach!”

  Nancy looked over Orson’s shoulder. Sure enough, he was painting the bug on a small piece of black material.

  Nancy glanc
ed down and saw something else. On the ground next to Orson was a small pile of the same material.

  “Is that black velvet you’re painting on, Orson?” Nancy asked.

  Orson held up his paintbrush. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”

  Nancy reached for the material. “Where did you get it?”

  Orson grabbed the material and sat on it. “None of your beeswax!” he snarled.

  George marched up to Orson. “A black velvet coat was cut up at Peppermint Penny’s yesterday.”

  “Did you do it, Orson?” Nancy asked.

  Orson shrugged. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”

  Chocolate Chip ran over to Orson. She tugged at the material under him.

  “Hey, cut it out!” Orson cried.

  Nancy was about to help her dog when she heard giggling. It sounded like Lonny and Lenny.

  A sly smile spread across Orson’s face.

  “Oh, Lonny! Lenny!” he called. “Come look at the nice little doggy!”

  The girls spun around. The twins were peeking out from behind the house.

  “A doggy! A doggy!” they cried.

  Nancy gasped. The twins were running toward Chip and waving messy, gloppy, finger-painty hands!

  6

  Brenda Blabs

  No!” Nancy screamed as the twins began to pet Chip. “Get back! Get back!”

  Nancy watched in horror as the twins stroked Chip with their dirty hands. Soon Chip was covered with green, red, and yellow streaks.

  “Quit it!” George yelled as she pulled the twins off Chip.

  Nancy grabbed Orson’s painting and held it over her head.

  “Give it back!” Orson demanded.

  “Not unless you tell me where you got that black material,” Nancy said.

  “Okay, okay.” He sighed. “If you really want to know.”

  Orson picked up the black material. He shook it out. It was filled with holes.

  “This used to be my magician’s cape,” Orson said. “When I was Orson the Awesome.”

  “Why did you cut it up?” Bess asked.

  “I didn’t think I’d need it anymore,” Orson said, “now that I’m a great artist.”

  Nancy touched the cape. “This isn’t even velvet!” she cried.

  “I know,” Orson said. “But it was the closest I could find. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”