Stalk, Don't Run

  “No problem,” Ned said. “I’ll stay here and call animal protection. They’ll know how to handle the snake.”

  As I texted Bess, I thought of the madness that had followed us back home from Malachite Beach.

  What was happening to River Heights?

  It wasn’t long before Bess and George pulled up in Bess’s car.

  “Scott lost a good chunk of his tooth on that kernel,” George said. “Who knew popcorn could be so perilous?”

  “You think Scott had a bad day?” I said. “Wait until you hear what happened to me.”

  “Oh, no, Nance.” Bess sighed. “Don’t tell me you had another fight with Ned.”

  “I found a Florida cottonmouth in our kayak. Sound familiar?” I said.

  “Florida cottonmouth,” Bess repeated. “That’s the type of snake we saw at the Camp Athena zoo.”

  “Wasn’t its name Slithers?” George said.

  “Yep. Ned said the Florida cottonmouth is venomous and uncommon in this part of the country.”

  “Then what was it doing in our river?” George asked.

  “I think Darcy, Lindsay, and Ava might have the answer to that question,” I said.

  “You mean Bunk Diana could have put Slithers in your kayak?” Bess asked.

  I nodded and said, “Ned and I could have gotten seriously ill or died had that snake attacked us. Does that tell you they’re capable of hurting someone?”

  “Like Mandy, Mallory, and Mia?” George said. “I still can’t imagine why they’d want to do away with their idols.”

  “Mia told them to back off, remember?” I said. “Those spoiled brats probably couldn’t deal with the rejection, so they decided to get even.”

  “They did mention something about payback,” Bess said. “But why would they want to poison you with that snake?”

  “By now they probably know we’re detectives,” I said. “They could have seen us in the café last night and figured we were on their tails.”

  “So Darcy, Lindsay, and Ava are our new ‘persons of interest’?” George asked.

  I groaned at the words. It was nice to have forgotten about Chief McGinnis and our quandary for a while—even while I was dodging a venomous snake.

  “They’re suspects,” I said. “And we should be investigating them as soon as possible.”

  “What about the guy in the white jacket?” George asked. “Shouldn’t we be looking for him, too?”

  “Yes, but the information we have on Bunk Diana is too important to ignore right now,” I said.

  “Let’s go to Main Street,” Bess said. “That’s where they’re always hanging out.”

  “Too busy there,” George said. “There’ll be too many opportunities for them to get away.”

  She was right. Then I said, “How about going to Camp Athena late tonight? If Darcy, Lindsay, and Ava aren’t around, we can at least look for clues.”

  “What if Amy sees us?” Bess asked.

  “Amy Paloma?” I scoffed. “She’s so out of it lately, I don’t think she’ll notice or even care.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that, Nancy,” Bess said. “Amy’s still the head of that camp, no matter how weird she’s been acting.”

  “Let’s take a chance,” I said.

  “All this for a bunch of twelve-year-olds?” George said.

  “A bunch of dangerous twelve-year-olds,” I pointed out. “That was a venomous snake in our kayak, and who knows—maybe they locked us in the fridge last night too.”

  “I’d like to go to Camp Athena tonight,” Bess said as she turned her car onto my block. “After everything that’s happened, I want to make sure Maggie is okay.”

  “What about you, George?” I asked. “Ready to go to camp?”

  “I’m in,” she answered.

  “I ran into Mr. Marvin today,” Dad said. “He said someone had cut your brakes.”

  I stared at my father across the dinner table before saying, “He’s right, Dad.”

  “That is serious stuff, Nancy,” Dad said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  My shoulders dropped. There was a lot I wasn’t telling him about lately: the guy in the white jacket, the walk-in fridge fiasco, and the venomous snake in the kayak.

  “I didn’t want to worry you,” I said. “Sorry, Dad.”

  Dad heaved a big sigh, like he always did when he was disappointed in me.

  “Nancy,” Dad said. “Your inquisitiveness probably got you in trouble with Chief McGinnis in the first place.”

  “No, Dad,” I muttered. “It’s Deirdre Shannon who got us in trouble.”

  “Fine,” he said. “From now on I want you to tell me these things, okay, Nancy?”

  All I wanted to do was change the subject. So I blurted, “Deal,” then said, “Could you please pass the string beans with sun-dried tomatoes? They look awesome.”

  As Dad passed the bowl, he said, “Did you tell Chief McGinnis about your brakes when you were at the station?”

  “Not yet,” I said.

  “Nancy, I want you to tell Chief McGinnis tonight,” Dad said. “If you don’t want to, I will.”

  “It’s Sunday night, Dad,” I said as I spooned string beans onto my plate. “Chief McGinnis is probably having a nice dinner with his family.”

  Dad didn’t argue, so I went on. “I’m going out tonight too. George is picking me up in about an hour.”

  “Tonight?” Dad asked. He didn’t seem thrilled that I was going anywhere—especially after hearing about my brakes. “Where are you going?”

  My hand froze over my plate. Uh-oh. I had just promised Dad I’d tell him everything. How could I tell him I was still working on the case? Short answer—I couldn’t!

  “Um—we might visit Bess’s sister at camp,” I said, trying to sound cool.

  “Camp?” Dad asked with surprise. “In the middle of the night?”

  “It’s a special program we’re part of,” I said with a smile. And thought, Yeah, it’s called Catch the Mean Girls.

  “I told you the front gate wouldn’t be locked,” I whispered when we reached Camp Athena. “Amy is so out of commission!”

  Quietly and carefully we filed through the gate into the camp. It was dark, but George lit the way with her trusty flashlight app as we neared the bunks.

  “Where’s Bunk Diana?” Bess asked.

  Before we could look around, I heard a loud creak and saw the back door of a bunk open. Two figures were stepping out, one carrying a flashlight.

  “It’s Maggie and Alice,” I said.

  Bess called their names softly. Maggie shone the flashlight straight at us and smiled.

  “What are you doing out of your bunk?” Bess asked as Maggie raced over. “And quit shining that thing in my face.”

  “Sorry,” Maggie said, shutting off the flashlight.

  “The bunks are pretty cold at night,” Alice said. “We were getting our sweatshirts from the wash line.”

  “But what are you guys doing here?” Maggie asked, her eyes lighting up. “Did you come to rescue me? Did you come to take me and Alice home?”

  “If it’s no trouble,” Alice said.

  “We can’t take you home yet,” Bess said.

  “We’re here to work on a case,” I said. “So you can’t tell anyone, not even your friends, that we’re here.”

  “You have to take me home,” Maggie wailed. “I went to the camp zoo today, and Slithers the snake wasn’t in her tank. That means she’s crawling around here somewhere!”

  “Slithers was caught at the river, Maggie,” I said. “So you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Okay,” Maggie said, her eyes darting around. “But that guy with the monster face is still creeping around.”

  “Here we go again,” George said with a sigh.

  Bess frowned at her sister. “Will you get a grip, Maggie?” she said. “That ‘monster man’ excuse didn’t work for you the first time.”

  “Um . . . ,” Alice said softly. “I’ve
seen the monster man around camp too.”

  “You?” I said, surprised.

  “You want to be mayor of Malachite Beach,” George said. “Since when do you believe in ghost stories?”

  “It’s not a dumb story, it’s true!” Maggie said, her eyes welling with tears. “Come on, Alice. We’re not wasting our time with them.”

  Alice shrugged before heading to the wash line with Maggie. The two pulled down their sweatshirts, then walked back toward Bunk Harmonia.

  “Maggie, Alice, wait,” Bess hissed. “Which one of these bunks is Bunk Diana?”

  Maggie tossed the flashlight to Bess. “Here,” she said angrily. “Find it yourself.”

  Bess caught the flashlight with both hands as Maggie and Alice stepped back into their bunk.

  “Definitely not a happy camper.” Bess sighed. “Maybe I should try talking to her again. . . .”

  “Will you quit worrying about Maggie?” George cut in. “We should be worrying that Amy could find us and kick us out or even call the police.”

  “Bess, turn on Maggie’s flashlight so we can find Bunk Diana,” I said. “It’s a lot stronger than George’s app.”

  “Luddite,” George called me as she pocketed her phone.

  We decided to read the names on the bunks one at a time. The closest bunk was about twenty feet away. We had started up the hill when—

  THUNK!

  The sudden noise froze us in our tracks.

  “What was that?” Bess hissed. She beamed her flashlight at a nearby tree. A chill ran straight up my spine when I saw an arrow lodged in the tree trunk.

  S’MORE TROUBLE

  “Do you see what I see?” Bess gulped.

  “Unfortunately,” I said, afraid to move.

  George was about to yank the arrow out of the tree when we heard giggling in the distance. Turning my head, I saw three girls hurrying in the opposite direction.

  “Hey,” I whispered. “Isn’t that Darcy, Lindsay, and Ava?”

  “There’s one way to find out,” Bess said. She shone the flashlight on the girls. They spun around and stared at us like deer caught in headlights. It was them, all right.

  “Wait up!” I called as the girls ran off. “Did you just shoot this arrow at us?”

  When they didn’t stop, George shouted, “Get them!”

  The chase was on. The girls of Bunk Diana picked up speed as Bess, George, and I stampeded after them. Under the moonlight, they charged across the basketball court, where Ava picked up a ball and rolled it in our direction. We sidestepped it and kept running.

  We chased them past the pool, but the twelve-year-olds outran us straight to the camp gate.

  “Stop, you little creeps!” George shouted.

  “Make us, loser!” Lindsay shouted back.

  Nobody called George a loser and got away with it. It wasn’t long before George caught up with the girls. She grabbed the hood on Lindsay’s hoodie and yanked her back.

  “Let go!” Lindsay said. She struggled to free herself from George’s iron grip as Bess and I rushed over.

  Ava and Darcy made it out the gate, but they stopped running when they saw that Lindsay was caught, and trudged back to join their captured friend.

  “You’re not supposed to be in here!” Lindsay snapped at us after George let her go.

  “You’re not supposed to be out here,” I snapped back. “We saw you trying to sneak out of camp again.”

  “You’re those lame-o detectives, aren’t you?” Ava asked.

  “How do you know who we are?” George asked.

  “That Magpie in Bunk Harmonia is always going on and on about her big sister and her friends,” Ava said, rolling her eyes. “Spare me.”

  “You mean Maggie?” Bess said angrily.

  “Whatever,” Ava said. “We saw you with Maggie when Amy was giving you a tour of the camp.”

  “We also saw you at Three Bean the other night,” Lindsay said with a sneer. “We know you’re following us.”

  “We weren’t then, but we are now,” I said.

  “You’re also not supposed to be shooting arrows at people,” Bess said. “Or didn’t you learn that in archery?”

  “What are you talking about?” Ava asked.

  “We’re not even into archery,” Lindsay said.

  Darcy nodded and said, “It breaks our nails.”

  I cocked my head as I studied them. They did seem confused and surprised. Could they be telling the truth, at least about the arrow?

  “Can we go now?” Lindsay sighed.

  “We’re not finished,” I said. “Before you made a mess in the café last night, you said something about the Casabian sisters.”

  “Yeah, so?” Lindsay said.

  “So what do you know about them?” George asked.

  “We know they’re not in River Heights anymore,” Darcy said.

  “How do you know that?” Bess asked.

  “They didn’t show up to speak at our camp, that’s how,” Darcy said. “Which was totally fine with us.”

  “I’m not surprised you weren’t upset,” I said. “I understand that Mia called you guys . . . what was it?”

  “Stalkers!” Ava said with a frown. “She called us stalkers just because we wanted to say hi once in a while.”

  “Once in a while?” George snorted. “You mean more like several times a day.”

  “They should be happy they have fans,” Lindsay shot back.

  “Who cares about them anyway?” Darcy snorted. “We got even in a big way!”

  “Shhhhhh!” Lindsay hissed at Darcy.

  “Yeah, Darcy,” Ava said. “They don’t have to know about Mia’s sunglasses—”

  Lindsay clapped her hand over Ava’s mouth.

  “Sorry!” Ava mumbled through Lindsay’s hand.

  “Look,” George said. “We know you have Mia’s sunglasses. What we want to know is, how did you get them?”

  The three campers kept their mouths shut.

  “You won’t be needing fancy shades at juvenile hall,” I said. “Which is where you’re going if you did anything to those sisters.”

  “Juvenile hall?” Darcy said. “For stealing a pair of stupid sunglasses?”

  “You stole Mia’s sunglasses?” I asked.

  Lindsay groaned under her breath when she realized there was no turning back. “That’s how we got even,” she said. “After Mia dissed us, we went to the Three Bean Café—”

  “You mean you stalked her?” Bess interrupted.

  “Whatever!” Lindsay said, rolling her eyes. “We were just going to stick a nasty note on Mia’s back or write something on the bathroom wall about her.”

  “Nice,” George said sarcastically.

  “Instead we saw her bag behind the counter,” Darcy said. “We knew it was Mia’s bag, because we saw her get her phone out of it.”

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “While Mia was busy making a drink,” Darcy said, “Lindsay reached over into her bag and grabbed her sunglasses.”

  “Then we ran out,” Lindsay said coolly. “I don’t think Mia even saw us in the place.”

  “We really wanted her phone,” Ava said, her eyes shining. “Can you imagine all the celeb numbers she has on that?”

  “The glasses are cool enough,” Darcy said. “Not only did we get payback, Lindsay got a pair of shades worn by a real live Casabian sister.”

  “I’ll probably get a fortune for them on eBay,” Lindsay said. “If I decide to sell them.”

  “Sell them?” Ava gasped.

  “No way, Lindsay!” Darcy said. “At least wait until you go back to school, so you can make everybody jealous!”

  “Time out!” George said. “Do you guys have any idea where Mia is now? Or her sisters?”

  “Nope,” Lindsay said.

  Ava nodded her head in agreement.

  As irritating as the girls were, I had a hunch they were being truthful about Mia’s sunglasses and the missing sisters. But they had yet
to answer my other question. The one regarding the snake . . .

  “What were you guys doing this afternoon at about one o’clock?” I demanded.

  The girls stared at me, obviously not expecting such a loaded question.

  “We were at the movies,” Lindsay said with a shrug.

  “Sneaking out again?” Bess asked.

  “What are you, the camp police?” Lindsay said.

  “Were you at the movies or at the river?” I asked.

  “Why would we go to the fishy-smelly river when we could see Friends of Summer?” Darcy asked.

  “You mean that blockbuster?” George asked.

  “Yeah, and if you don’t believe us,” Ava said, “Lindsay is wearing the same hoodie she wore to the movies today. It smells like cheese fries, if you want to sniff it.”

  “Ava, gross!” Lindsay said.

  “Yeah, gross!” I agreed—until something clicked. The hoodie had pockets—and pockets at the movies usually contained ticket stubs.

  “Show me your ticket stub,” I said, pointing to Lindsay’s pocket. “The one from the movie today.”

  “If I still have it!” she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a balled-up tissue, a pack of cinnamon gum, some disgusting lint—and a movie theater ticket stub.

  “Bingo,” I said.

  “Wow,” Lindsay said, putting it in my outstretched hand. “How did you know I still had this?”

  “We’re lame detectives, remember?” I said.

  Bess and George looked over my shoulder as I examined the ticket stub—which, no surprise, smelled like greasy cheese fries. It was for the movie Friends of Summer at twelve thirty p.m.

  “All three of you went?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Ava said, rolling her eyes. “Would you like us to find our ticket stubs too?”

  I handed Lindsay back the stub.

  “No,” I said. “I have the proof I needed.”

  When I looked at George, she didn’t seem totally convinced.

  “You could have gotten the tickets as an alibi,” George told the girls. “Instead of going to the movies, you snuck down to the river, where you slipped the snake in Ned and Nancy’s kayak.”

  “Snake?” Ava gasped. “Omigod—what about a snake?”

  “Did Slithers escape?” Darcy asked. “If she did, I swear, I’m making my parents take me home. I would never even go near that slimy thing.”