Cape Mermaid Mystery Read online

  A spook-tacular vacation!

  Nancy, George, and Bess are headed for the shores of Cape Mermaid, where they are hoping to spend a fun-filled week. But as soon as they arrive strange things start to happen—including a possible ghost sighting! Could the rumored ghost of Cape Mermaid actually exist? Or is there more to the story than meets the eye? It’s up to the Clue Crew to find out who—or what—is haunting the cape!

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  ALADDIN • Simon & Schuster, New York

  A Ready-for-Chapters Book • Cover designed by

  Lisa Vega • Cover illustration copyright © 2012

  by Macky Pamintuan • Ages 6–9 • 0512

  A Spooky Start

  Nancy and her friends followed Tessie out of the room. At the end of the hallway she opened a door that led to a set of narrow, carpeted stairs. She switched on a light and also grabbed a flashlight that was hanging on the wall.

  The four girls soon reached the top of the stairs. Nancy glanced around the attic, which was jam-packed with dusty furniture, old toys, and cardboard boxes. Even though the space was hot and stuffy, she couldn’t help but shiver a little.

  Tessie arced her flashlight this way and that. “Marshmallow Fluff? Vanilla Cream? Are you up here?” she called out.

  The beam of her flashlight lit up something on the wall.

  “Look!” Bess cried out, pointing.

  Someone—or something—had scrawled the words Help me in a layer of dust.

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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 www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin paperback edition May 2012

  Text copyright © 2012 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Macky Pamintuan

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  ALADDIN and related logo, NANCY DREW, and NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Designed by Lisa Vega

  The text of this book was set in ITC Stone Informal.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2011939421

  ISBN 978-1-4424-4625-0

  ISBN 978-1-4424-4626-7 (eBook)

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE: SPOOKY NOISES

  CHAPTER TWO: THE GHOST OF CAPE MERMAID

  CHAPTER THREE: GHOSTLY ENCOUNTERS

  CHAPTER FOUR: A SIGHTING

  CHAPTER FIVE: A STRANGE CLUE

  CHAPTER SIX: THE RETURN OF THE GHOST

  CHAPTER SEVEN: THE GOLD COIN

  CHAPTER EIGHT: FAMILY TREE

  CHAPTER NINE: AN ALMOST INVISIBLE CLUE

  CHAPTER TEN: THE COMPETITION!

  “I can smell the ocean!” eight-year-old Nancy Drew exclaimed as she rolled down the car window.

  “I can hear seagulls!” George Fayne added excitedly.

  “I can see the ice-cream stand!” George’s cousin Bess Marvin piped up. “Can we stop, Mr. Drew? Pleeeeeease?”

  “Pleeeeeease?” Nancy and George chimed in.

  Laughing, Carson Drew made a right turn onto Neptune Street. “I promise we can go later. I don’t want to spoil your appetites for dinner.”

  “Okay, Daddy,” Nancy said. “Are we eating at their house? Or at a restaurant?”

  “Their house is a hotel, so I’m not sure,” the Drews’ housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, said. She was in the passenger seat next to Carson, with a road map spread out across her lap. “There it is, on the right,” she added, pointing. “Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful!”

  Nancy craned her neck for a better look. Ahead of them was a big Victorian mansion. It was pale blue with purple shutters, and it had a gold weather vane on top in the shape of a mermaid. The sign in front read: MERMAID INN, 1879.

  Nancy, Carson, Hannah, and Nancy’s best friends, George and Bess, were visiting Carson’s cousin Claire Katz. Claire and her husband, Leo, owned the inn, which was in the seaside town of Cape Mermaid, New Jersey. The Katzes had two daughters: Tessie, who was ten, and Amanda, who was six. Carson, a lawyer, was going to do some legal work for Leo and Claire. While he was busy, Nancy, George, and Bess were going to explore Cape Mermaid with Hannah. Nancy couldn’t wait!

  Carson pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Nancy and her friends grabbed their rolling suitcases from the back and half-ran, half-walked through the front yard. Seashells crunched under their feet on the path, which wound through a garden full of fragrant roses, honeysuckle, and lavender. Nancy could make out a pale stretch of sandy beach just beyond the backyard.

  The front door burst open just before they reached it. “Yay, you’re here!” a little girl said, jumping up and down. She had short, wavy brown hair, and she was wearing a polka-dot bathing suit, a pink ballet tutu, and one orange flip-flop.

  “You must be Amanda,” Carson said as he and Hannah caught up to everyone.

  A second girl joined Amanda, dressed in a white beach cover-up. She was taller, with shoulder-length, dark blond hair. It was hard to see her face, though, because she was holding a small purple video camera in front of it. A little red light was flashing, which meant that it was in record mode.

  Carson bent down and waved awkwardly at the camera. “Uh, hi. You must be Tessie.”

  “Hi, Carson! Hi, Carson’s friends and family!” Tessie slowly panned her camera from left to right. “This is Tessie Katz, reporting from Cape Mermaid,” she said in a serious-sounding voice. “These people have just arrived at the Mermaid Inn after a long drive from River Heights, Illinois. What will they find here in Cape Mermaid? A relaxing summer vacation? An exciting adventure? Or something else? Stay tuned!”

  George pointed to the camera. “Is that the brand-new KidCam? I’ve been saving up my allowa
nce to buy one!”

  Tessie lowered the camera from her face. “It’s supercool! It records video digitally onto a memory card.”

  “I would have no idea how to work one of those,” Hannah joked to Carson.

  “Me neither. Kids these days are way smarter about technology than we are,” Carson agreed. He turned to Tessie and Amanda. “Are your parents here? They’re expecting us.”

  “They’re in the kitchen, making spaghetti and meatballs! That’s my favorite, favorite food!” Amanda exclaimed. “Come on!”

  Nancy and the others followed the two sisters inside and down a long hallway. The inside of the inn was as beautiful as the outside, with pale blue walls, white wicker furniture, and vases of fresh flowers. A couple of cats were sitting on a windowsill, grooming themselves.

  In the kitchen at the end of the hall, Claire was standing at the stove, stirring sauce in a large pot. Leo was at the sink, chopping vegetables. Nancy didn’t remember them except from photos. Nancy’s parents had brought her to Cape Mermaid when she was just a baby. Her mom had died when she was three years old, and Hannah had helped take care of her ever since.

  “You’re here! Hello!” Claire turned off the burner and rushed over to give Carson a hug. She turned to Nancy and gave her a hug too. “Wow, you’ve gotten so big since the last time I saw you!”

  Carson introduced everyone. “George and Bess are cousins. They’re in the same class as Nancy,” he finished.

  “Carson, didn’t you mention in an e-mail once that these girls are detectives?” Leo asked with a wink.

  “Detectives? What kind of detectives?” Tessie asked curiously.

  “We have a club called the Clue Crew, and we solve mysteries,” Bess replied.

  “Really?” Tessie’s blue eyes lit up. “What kind of mysteries?”

  “All kinds of mysteries. Once, we figured out who took a bunch of newborn chicks from our classroom. And another time we found a supervaluable pet bug that was missing,” Nancy explained.

  “Bugs? Ew!” Amanda said, making a face.

  Claire went back to the stove. “I’m sure you’re all hungry after your long trip. Tessie, are Michaela and Emma joining us for dinner? If so, tell them to be over in ten minutes. Leo, can you show our guests up to their rooms? I can finish up the salads.” She added, “We’ll be eating in our family dining room across the hall. We don’t have a restaurant here.”

  “What can we do to help?” Carson asked.

  “Nothing at all. Let me show you your rooms, then we can come back down for Claire’s famous spaghetti and meatballs,” Leo said cheerfully.

  “You guys are going to love Cape Mermaid. There’s so much to do here!” Michaela said.

  “Yeah, like whale-watching. And shopping. And eating tons and tons of candy at the Candygram Shoppe,” Emma added.

  Michaela and Emma were Tessie’s two best friends from school. Michaela had a habit of twirling her long, pale blond hair. Emma wore a red baseball cap over her curly brown hair.

  Dinner was over. Michaela, Emma, and Tessie were hanging out with Nancy, George, and Bess in their room while they unpacked. Nancy loved the room, which had rose-print wallpaper and big windows that overlooked the ocean. There was an antique bookshelf with a bunch of kids’ books, seashells, and a small marble mermaid statuette.

  Tessie was sitting cross-legged on the floor and peering through the viewfinder of her video camera. “I got lots of cool footage today,” she remarked. “Hey, Clue Crew! Maybe I could interview you guys sometime about all the mysteries you’ve solved?”

  “Sure. Are you making a movie or something?” Nancy asked.

  “Actually, we’re—” Michaela began.

  “I just like to shoot a bunch of random stuff,” Tessie cut in. She stared pointedly at Michaela and Emma. “Don’t you guys have to be home by now? It’s eight.” She tapped on her watch.

  Michaela and Emma exchanged a glance, then jumped to their feet. “Oh, yeah! It’s late! Bye!” Emma said, waving.

  “Maybe we can all do something tomorrow,” Michaela suggested, grabbing her ballet bag.

  Bess nodded. “Definitely!”

  The two girls took off. As Nancy, Bess, and George finished putting their clothes away, Tessie told them about more fun things to do in town.

  “There’s the boardwalk, the ice-cream stand, and, oh yeah, the beach!” Tessie went on. “There’s the history museum too. The lady who runs it, Mrs. Bishop, is kind of cranky, though.”

  Nancy was about to reply when she heard weird noises upstairs. It sounded like a soft crash, then footsteps, then something being dragged across the floor.

  The other girls heard it too. “What is that?” George whispered to Tessie.

  Tessie frowned. “I’m not sure. Maybe one of the cats is stuck in the attic. We’d better go check it out!”

  Nancy and her friends followed Tessie out of the room. At the end of the hallway, she opened a door that led to a set of narrow, carpeted stairs. She switched on a light and also grabbed a flashlight that was hanging on the wall.

  The girls soon reached the top of the stairs. Nancy glanced around the attic, which was jam-packed with dusty furniture, old toys, and cardboard boxes. Even though the space was hot and stuffy, she couldn’t help but shiver a little.

  Tessie arced her flashlight this way and that. “Marshmallow Fluff? Vanilla Cream? Are you up here?” she called out.

  The beam of her flashlight lit up something on the wall.

  “Look!” Bess cried out, pointing.

  Someone—or something—had scrawled the words HELP ME in a layer of dust.

  “The ghost was here!” Tessie burst out.

  “Ghost? What ghost?” George demanded.

  Tessie peered around nervously. “I wasn’t going to tell you guys,” she whispered. “But Cape Mermaid is haunted by a ghost. The ghost of Rowena Ellison!”

  Nancy peered around too. The four of them seemed to be the only ones in the attic, human or otherwise. “Who’s Rowena Ellison?” she asked Tessie.

  “She was an artist, and she was born in Cape Mermaid, like, a hundred years ago,” Tessie explained. “People have seen her—I mean, her ghost—around town. And she’s left weird, spooky messages, too, like this one. Michaela and Emma and I are videotaping everything we can about her. Hey, I’d better videotape this, too!” She clicked on her KidCam and swiveled it toward the words on the wall.

  “Welllllll . . . I’m not a big fan of ghosts, so maybe I should just wait down in our room for you guys,” Bess said, heading for the stairs.

  “Bess, wait!” Nancy walked up to the wall and peered closely at the message. It was written in block letters. She noted that the letter H in HELP was kind of smudged.

  Nancy turned to Tessie. “Maybe someone wrote this message as a joke. Does your family use this attic a lot? Are your guests allowed to come up here?”

  Tessie shrugged. “No, the guests aren’t allowed. And we really don’t use this attic much. I mean, my parents keep stuff up here, but they usually only come up here, like, twice a year—right before summer to get summer stuff, and right before the holidays to get Hanukah and Christmas stuff.” She added, “I was up here after lunch today, for, like, a minute, to get my boogie board. This message wasn’t there then.”

  “W-what if Rowena’s ghost is still up here?” Bess stammered.

  “There are no ghosts up here,” Nancy reassured Bess. “There’s no one here but us.” Still, she wondered about the creepy noises they’d heard a few minutes ago. Had someone been up here? Just then, Nancy spotted a second door on the other end of the attic. “Tessie, where does that go to?” she said curiously.

  “What? Oh, um, those are stairs too. They go down to the second floor, to the laundry room, and then down to the first floor, to the kitchen,” Tessie replied.

  Nancy considered this. Someone could have been up here before, then escaped down the stairs to the kitchen.

  And that same someone could have written th
e spooky message.

  “Hey, I have an idea!” Tessie said suddenly. “Why don’t you guys solve the mystery of Rowena’s ghost? You said you’re detectives, right?”

  George nodded. “Right.”

  “You could try to figure out why she’s haunting Cape Mermaid! Wouldn’t that be an awesome mystery to solve?” Tessie said excitedly.

  Nancy, George, and Bess looked at one another. Nancy wondered why Tessie was so eager to have the Clue Crew get on the case. But Nancy was never one to say no to a mystery. “We’ll do it,” Nancy said after a moment as George and Bess nodded in agreement. “But we should probably figure out if the ghost is real, first.”

  “Yeah. Ghosts don’t exist,” George added.

  “Or do they?” Bess said, shuddering.

  “Tomorrow I’ll show you the video I have on my computer of the ghost. And Michaela, Emma, and I could take you for a ‘ghost tour’ of Cape Mermaid. Then maybe you guys will believe me!” Tessie insisted.

  Downtown Cape Mermaid looked like something out of an old-fashioned postcard, with a boardwalk lined with quaint shops and restaurants. Just beyond, the ocean was dotted with fishing boats. Gulls and terns and other seabirds dove through the air and into the surf, searching for breakfast. The smells of the sea mingled with those of taffy and popcorn.

  “We can start our ghost tour at the history museum,” Tessie told Nancy, George, Bess, and Hannah. “There’s a Rowena exhibit there.”

  “Yeah, she was kind of famous,” Michaela added.

  Bess frowned. “Famous . . . for being a ghost?”

  “For being an artist,” Emma replied, adjusting the baseball cap on her head.

  “I don’t know about this ghost tour business,” Hannah said worriedly. “Nancy, are you sure the Clue Crew should be getting involved in ghost-hunting?”

  “We don’t think there is a ghost, Hannah,” Nancy told her.

  “Of course there’s a ghost! You saw her on my computer this morning!” Tessie declared.

  Just after breakfast, Tessie had shown Nancy, George, and Bess a short video she took of the “ghost” two weeks ago, just outside the old, now-abandoned beach cottage Rowena used to use as an artist’s studio. Nancy had to admit that the image—of a shimmery white form hovering just outside the cottage—did look pretty ghostly.