The Chocolate-Covered Contest Read online

  “Dear Ms. Cassella,” she read. “Thank you for your

  interest in applying for an educational grant from Royal

  Chocolates. It is with regret that I must inform you Mr.

  Castle has declined to grant you an interview.

  “However, we are pleased to provide you with

  discounted tickets to Kings Commons so that you may

  share the Royal Chocolates experience with your

  students. We also hope that you will enjoy the candy

  bars I have enclosed. Please note that these do not

  contain nuts, so there is no need for concern regarding

  your food allergy.

  “We look forward to seeing you at Kings Commons.

  Please stop in the office and say hello when you visit.

  “Sincerely, Joyce Palmer.”

  Nancy printed out this letter and tucked it into her

  purse. She moved on to the next file, which was a

  similar letter to Diana. This one thanked Diana for her

  interest in producing marketing materials for Royal

  Chocolates. Joyce added that she hoped Diana and Phil

  continued to be loyal consumers of Royal Chocolates,

  and she was enclosing several chocolate bars for their

  enjoyment.

  Wow, Nancy thought. Joyce must have sent a

  winning wrapper to Andrea, and another one to Diana.

  She was the one who ruined Royals contest. Nancy

  couldn't believe she hadn't realized it before. Who

  better to pull all the strings than the person in charge

  of the contest?

  Furthermore, Joyce knew about Andrea's peanut

  allergy. She must have been behind the Kings Cup

  mix-up. Earlier that day, Joyce had told Nancy that she

  didn't remember talking with Andrea and had no

  records of such transactions on file. She must have

  been lying. And this letter proved that Andrea was

  telling the truth. Besides giving Bess the winning

  wrapper, she'd done nothing to deceive anyone.

  Nancy sent this file to the fancy color printer and

  heard a high-pitched ding. For a moment she thought

  it was the computer. Then she realized it was the

  elevator. The elevator was coming to the fifth floor.

  Nobody was supposed to be there. Was it Joyce? Was

  she coming back already?

  Nancy turned off the flashlight and ducked behind

  Joyce's desk.

  Soon she heard whispered voices. “I can't believe

  we're actually breaking into the corporate offices,” said

  one.

  “What else were we supposed to do? No one's going

  to help us. We have to help ourselves.”

  “I think all this chocolate has made us behave in

  ways we never would have dreamed possible.”

  “Give me a break. It's not the chocolate. It's the

  million dollars.”

  Diana and Phil, Nancy thought. They must be trying

  to get to the bottom of the mystery, too. Just as she'd

  been convinced that Diana had forged the winning

  wrapper, Diana must think Bess had, Nancy realized.

  “That money's ours, and we're obviously not going to

  get it unless we do something drastic. Not only did

  Bess Marvin and her friends cheat, they went and got

  Joyce on their side.”

  “You don't know that for sure, Di.”

  “When I met with John Tumey today, he practically

  admitted it,” Diana replied.

  So that's what she and Mr. Tumey had talked about,

  Nancy thought.

  “It makes me so mad,” Diana continued. “I thought

  Mr. Tumey would be impartial, and that he would

  understand why I wanted in on the investigation. But

  he just kept saying the matter would be handled

  internally. I definitely got the impression he doesn't

  like Joyce, though. I think she's on her way out.”

  Nancy tried to make herself smaller as Diana and

  Phil passed by the door to Joyce's office. She breathed

  a sigh of relief as they walked by without stopping.

  “At least one good thing came from your meeting

  with John,” Phil pointed out. “You watched him punch

  in the building access code, so we could let ourselves

  in.” He sighed. “I just wish there were some other

  way.”

  “We don't have time to waste,” Diana said. “We're

  going home tomorrow. The Royal people aren't trying

  to get to the truth. That means we've got to do it

  ourselves. Otherwise, we might never get that prize.

  Even worse, they might make us look like criminals.

  What if they try to say we forged the wrapper? Have

  you thought about that, Phil? I mean, our business is

  publishing. Royal turned down our proposal to do work

  for them, so we should hate them, right? We couldn't

  look much guiltier.”

  “They could never prove it,” Phil said. “We didn't do

  anything wrong.”

  “I bet they could find a way. At the very least, they

  could tie up our money for a very long time. It's our

  money, Phil.”

  Nancy strained to hear Phil's reply as they moved

  farther down the hall. Then she heard a door close.

  They must be looking in the cabinets behind Mr.

  Tumey's door, Nancy thought. Now was her chance to

  sneak out. She didn't want to risk being caught. She

  stood and stretched gingerly. Then there was a

  creaking noise behind her. Before she could turn

  around, a heavy object was smashed over her head.

  Everything went black.

  When Nancy awoke, she had no idea how much

  time had passed. Her hand went to an egg-size lump

  on her head. The big flashlight lay beside her, and the

  door to the supply closet was open, with Crown Jewels

  tote bags spilled onto the floor.

  “Get up,” Joyce ordered in a fierce whisper. “Let's

  go.”

  Slowly Nancy held on to the desk and pulled herself

  upright. Joyce was holding a pointed object against her

  back. In the darkness Nancy couldn't tell for sure

  whether it was a knife. But her head was throbbing so

  hard she knew she could never get away. She couldn't

  outrun Joyce; she didn't think she could run at all.

  Joyce led her down the back stairs and into the

  parking lot. Nancy shivered. The moon was a slender

  crescent, and the stars were dim. The world seemed

  cold and dark and silent. The dinner must be over,

  Nancy thought. The park was closed—the factory

  deserted.

  Joyce shoved Nancy into her car. A white, midsize

  car identical to John Tumey's.

  “Company car,” she explained.

  Nancy closed her eyes. “Where are you taking me?”

  she asked.

  “You'll see,” Joyce said.

  Nancy's head felt as though it were floating above

  the rest of her. She could hear her heart pounding in

  her ears. She fought the fuzzy feeling, fought to stay

  awake, but she could not.

  When she came to again, she felt something moving

  beneath her. It wasn't an automobile this time. She felt

  the wind in her hair. She opened her eyes and saw

  blackness. Then she felt herself plunging down into

  darkness, and her
stomach moved into her throat. She

  was on Royal Pain. She didn't know how, but she was

  on Royal Pain, alone and in the dark. The car was

  pitching ahead, carrying all its momentum forward as it

  thundered into the first loop. Nancy felt instinctively

  for the restraint across her chest. There was none. She

  was unprotected against the force that would rip her

  from the car the moment it turned upside down. In

  that split second she realized she was about to be flung

  from the car onto the ground so far below she could

  not even see it.

  14. Recipe for Danger

  Nancy jerked her hands over her head and pulled the

  restraint down and across her chest just as she felt the

  world turning upside down. Her entire weight caught

  against the bar and then she was whipped backward

  against the seat.

  Now the hills and loops passed in a blur as Nancy's

  mind raced along with the ride.

  Would the car stop by itself? What if it didn't? What

  if she rode again and again, in an endless cycle?

  Then Nancy felt the brakes pull, and the car stopped

  abruptly. She took a deep breath as she squinted into

  the darkness. The ride had halted several feet from the

  gate. Her knees trembling, she stepped out of the car.

  Slowly, clutching the cars for support, she crawled

  along the track until she reached the solid wood

  platform.

  She stood for a moment, peering out over the

  darkened park and listening to the night sounds of

  Jungle Kingdom animals and cars on the distant

  highway.

  Was Joyce still out there? Nancy asked herself. She

  didn't know, but she definitely wasn't going to wait to

  find out.

  There was no new sound or movement as she

  climbed down the steps and slipped unnoticed into the

  night.

  Nancy knew there were no guards, no friendly park

  workers to run to. There were phones, though, and she

  had to get to a phone.

  In the distance, something at the chocolate factory

  caught Nancy's eye. She thought she saw a beam of

  light in a second-story window. Almost instantly, it

  disappeared. Had she imagined it? Nancy wondered.

  But then she glimpsed it again. Now it was in the next

  room, its reflection bouncing and flickering off the

  glass. Someone must be walking through the building.

  Probably with a flashlight, she thought.

  Nancy squinted at her watch. It was midnight. No

  one should be in the factory at this hour. What was

  going on?

  Then Nancy spotted two shadowy figures running

  toward the building. Even in the distance, Nancy

  recognized the loping stride of George and the small,

  hurried footsteps of Bess. What were they doing here?

  she thought. She hoped they wouldn't go into the

  building. What if Joyce was in there? Nancy touched

  the spot where Joyce had smashed the flashlight into

  her head. What if Bess and George were about to find

  themselves face to face with the woman who had just

  tried to kill her?

  Nancy's breath came in gasps by the time she

  reached the pay phone. Her head was pounding. She

  had no money, and her purse was somewhere in

  Joyce's office. Her emergency change must have fallen

  out of her pockets on that horrible ride. Nancy knew

  there was only one thing to do. She picked up the

  receiver and dialed 911.

  “I need police assistance at the Royal Chocolates

  factory,” Nancy managed to say. “I was just assaulted.”

  “Stay on the line, please,” the operator instructed. “I

  need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

  “No time.” Nancy struggled to catch her breath.

  “Lives may be in danger. Please hurry.”

  She left the receiver dangling in her haste to get to

  the factory. She had to stop Bess and George before

  they found Joyce.

  By the time she reached the factory entrance, Bess

  and George were nowhere in sight. Through the door,

  Nancy heard the whir of conveyor belts. She smelled

  freshly melted chocolate. The security keypad was lit

  up, and the door had been left ajar.

  What was going on? Nancy wondered. Who had

  unlocked the door? Who had started up the machinery

  in the middle of the night? Was somebody trying to

  lure her inside?

  Nancy was inclined to ignore her natural curiosity

  and stay outdoors until the police arrived, but she was

  worried about Bess and George. If they had gone

  inside, she had to find them.

  She pulled open the door and slipped inside.

  There was a scream and a purse came crashing down

  on Nancy's head.

  “Nan!” Bess shrieked. “I thought you were a

  criminal. I'm sorry.”

  Nancy put a hand up to her aching head. “It's okay.

  It's just me.”

  “George and I thought you were in here. We

  thought you were in trouble,” Bess said. “I'm so glad

  you're all right.”

  “She's not all right,” George said. “Can't you tell

  she's in pain? When have you ever known Nancy to

  moan?”

  “I'm not moaning.” Nancy shushed Bess as she

  opened her mouth to say something. She listened

  intently. “I do hear it, George. Someone needs help.”

  “Help!” A female voice echoed weakly in the

  enormous, empty room. Then came a long, soft

  whimper.

  “Wait.” Nancy stopped Bess and George. “I called

  the police. The safe thing to do is to go outside and

  wait for them to come.”

  “Yeah, right,” Bess said. “Like you're going to leave

  someone in trouble.”

  “It's coming from over there.” George strode toward

  the cooling tunnels.

  Nancy put a hand on George's shoulder as she felt

  along the wall for the lights. “Be careful.”

  “Okay,” George said. “Nan, what's going on here?”

  “It's a long story,” Nancy answered. “But I don't

  know what happened to Phil or Diana. The last time I

  saw them, they were in danger without realizing it. I'm

  afraid they may be hurt.”

  “What about you?” Bess asked. “We were so afraid

  something happened to you.”

  “How did you know?” Nancy said. “What made you

  decide to come back to Kings Commons?”

  “We said we'd call you when we got home, re-

  member?” Bess steadied herself as her feet found an

  uneven patch of floor. “When you weren't back in your

  motel room by nine, I started to get very nervous.

  That's when I called George. I was sure she would tell

  me I was being paranoid, but she was just as worried as

  I was. Within ten minutes, she was at my house. We

  got here in record time. It was the scariest ride of my

  life.”

  Nancy chuckled. “Don't talk to me about scary rides.

  You wouldn't believe the one Joyce just treated me to.”

  “Joyce?” Bess gasped. “Oh, Nan—are you saying

 
Joyce is behind all this crazy stuff? Joyce is the

  corporate spy?”

  Nancy nodded. “At any rate, she just tried to kill me

  by sticking me on Royal Pain without a restraint when I

  was unconscious.”

  “Unconscious?” Bess tried to look into Nancy's face

  in the dim light. “Nan, are you okay?”

  “I think so,” Nancy murmured. “I wish I could find

  this light switch.”

  “I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner,” George said.

  “When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw that

  there was somebody in the chocolate factory. We knew

  something must be wrong. And we were afraid

  something bad had happened to you. We never

  thought to look for you in the amusement park.”

  “It's okay. I can't believe you came at all. Anyhow,”

  Nancy said brightly, “all's well that ends well. I think.”

  “That's where you're wrong,” said a voice from the

  corner of the room. Joyce's voice.

  The moaning stopped when Joyce began to speak. It

  was Joyce all along. She was trying to lure them inside

  and trap them, Nancy thought. She'd wanted them to

  come inside the factory. What was she going to do to

  them now?

  “The police are on their way,” Nancy told Joyce. “If

  you try to hurt George and Bess, you're only going to

  find yourself in more trouble.”

  “Do you know what the police are going to find

  when they get here?” Joyce asked. “A wonderful treat.

  A new flavor of Royal candy. Chocolate Nancy.”

  Joyce reached out and flipped a switch. Nancy heard

  the grinding of machinery overhead. She looked up to

  see a huge vat moving forward. Thinking back to the

  chocolate factory tour, Nancy remembered that that

  vat would be filled with melted chocolate heated to

  150°F. Now it was being tipped forward, and a stream

  of churning, boiling chocolate came pouring down,

  straight toward their heads.

  15. Wrapping Up

  Nancy saw that Bess was rooted in place, unable even

  to scream. Nancy shoved her into motion and out of

  the path of the molten chocolate. As she and George

  dove for cover, Nancy felt a few scalding drops brush

  against her face as wave after wave of burning liquid

  plopped harmlessly onto the floor.

  Next came the sound of running as Joyce tried to get

  away. Before Nancy realized what was happening,

  George leaped through the air and wrestled Joyce to