The Chocolate-Covered Contest Read online

the ground with a flying tackle.

  “Ow!” Joyce cried. She was facedown in the

  chocolate, cooler now as it spread thinly all over the

  floor.

  “I hate chocolate!” Joyce spat a mouthful in

  George's direction. “I didn't know you were bringing

  reinforcements, Nancy.”

  Nancy had groped her way over to the packaging

  area of the factory. Here, at last, she found the light

  switch.

  Joyce hid her face as the brightness blinded her.

  Nancy quickly sifted through wrappers and boxes

  until she found packing tape, which she threw across

  the room to Bess.

  “Someone at Pleasant must have paid you a lot of

  money to make trouble for Royal. Was it worth it?”

  Nancy asked Joyce as George and Bess wrapped

  several feet of tape around her wrists and ankles.

  “Of course not.” Joyce squirmed in the chocolate

  puddle. “I never thought this would happen.”

  “A little money is one thing,” Nancy agreed. “Did

  you ever think you would try to kill someone?”

  “Look,” Joyce said. “I didn't mean for it to happen

  that way. You have to understand, I was desperate.”

  George ripped the tape with her teeth. “Original,

  too.”

  “Not really. I needed an instant plan when I heard

  you come in. I thought Nancy was dead already. How

  else would you kill someone in a chocolate factory—

  boiling you in a vat of chocolate was all I could do.”

  Bess shivered. “I'm glad it didn't work.”

  “It's not as though I planned to kill anybody” Joyce

  said. “I didn't think you'd ever figure out I was the spy.

  I worked my way up through the ranks here at Royal,

  and put everything I had into this company. You see all

  the respect and appreciation it's gotten me. Nothing

  but torment from Mr. Tumey every single day.

  “Even when I was in high school, I worked here

  summers in the most boring jobs—boxing chocolate

  bars and pushing a button to start Labyrinth. Over and

  over and over. It wasn't until tonight that I realized

  what a useful skill that could be. A roller coaster

  accident. Who would ever suspect me? No one saw me

  drive you through the gate and put you on that coast-

  er.”

  “What about Diana and Phil?” Nancy asked. “What

  did you do with them?”

  “Please,” Joyce scoffed. “Given the same infor-

  mation you had—the same files and documents and

  computers—they found out nothing. Then they had a

  little argument about how to spend the instant-win

  money, and I believe they went home to bed.”

  “Where were we while you were observing them?”

  Nancy asked.

  “In the supply closet,” Joyce said. “It was a little

  tight. Good thing you're thin.”

  “When you told me you were leaving for the

  company dinner,” Nancy said, “you must have gone

  back into your office instead. You were hiding in the

  closet the whole time.”

  “Bingo,” Joyce said. “I thought I had everything

  covered. If you got off that ride alive, I knew you'd be

  nosy enough to come back here to see why the factory

  was churning out chocolate at midnight. You and your

  friends are bleeding heart types, aren't you, Nancy?

  And of course you responded to the pitiful cries of a

  person in need. A little luck, and it all would have

  worked. I never did have any luck,” she complained.

  “You want to talk about luck?” Bess said. “I never

  thought winning a million dollars could feel so unlucky.

  I'm sure Diana would agree with me.”

  “You set up Diana and Andrea, didn't you?” Nancy

  said to Joyce. “You picked people who had ties to Royal

  who would make believable wrapper forgers. Then you

  sent them each a winning wrapper.”

  “I wouldn't call it setting them up,” Joyce said. “I

  provided them with the means to win a million dollars

  apiece. You can't tell me that did them any harm.”

  “I thought only one winning wrapper was printed,”

  Bess said. “How did you make two?”

  “The same way anyone else would,” Joyce said. “I

  have a nice color printer. I had the instant win code. I

  forged them.” She cleared her throat. “Actually, there's

  a third winning wrapper out there somewhere. The

  real one. And probably no one will ever claim that

  prize. Somebody ate that candy and threw away the

  wrapper. Or maybe it's still sitting on a shelf

  somewhere. It happens all the time. Instant-win

  contests are a big joke. But this time, I had to make

  sure people actually came forward to claim the prize.

  That's why I targeted Andrea and Diana specifically.”

  “Which is why you were so shocked when Bess came

  forward with the winning wrapper,” Nancy said. “You

  were expecting Andrea.”

  “Your knee is in my back,” Joyce spat at George.

  “Sorry.” George shifted to make Joyce more

  comfortable.

  “Yes, I was expecting Andrea,” Joyce told Nancy. “It

  wasn't until I realized your connection to Andrea that I

  understood what must have happened. That she must

  have given the wrapper to Bess, and that Bess

  obviously had no clue as to what was going on.”

  “That's when you tried to turn us against Andrea,”

  Bess said. “You tried to make us think she was lying.”

  “I bet,” Nancy added, “you never even told Mr.

  Castle that Andrea wanted to speak with him so she

  could apply for an educational grant.”

  “That's true,” Joyce admitted. “But it wouldn't have

  changed anything. Mr. Castle wasn't going to talk to

  her. Trust me. I felt sorry for Andrea. Really, I did. I

  know how badly Mr. Castle can treat people. So I

  figured this would work to everyone's advantage.

  Andrea would get the money for her precious Science

  Sleuths. And I would get money from Pleasant for

  making waves at Royal. They even promised that when

  I couldn't stand it anymore, they'd hire me away from

  Royal. I was doing an excellent job at this spying

  business, if I do say so myself. Our profits were

  decreasing. Pleasants were increasing.”

  “Wait a minute.” Bess stopped Joyce. “How did you

  think Andrea was going to collect the instant-win

  money?”

  “That's easy,” Andrea said. “Nobody could have

  proven those wrappers weren't legit—that either Diana

  or Andrea was a forger. To keep things quiet, Royal

  would have paid up. It would have worked out great for

  everybody.”

  “But Andrea wasn't eligible to claim the prize,”

  Nancy said. “You had to know that.”

  “No,” Joyce replied. “Mr. Castle disinherited her

  entire side of the family. Legally speaking, that made

  her perfectly eligible. She just didn't realize it, I guess.

  The wording is a little confusing in that area.”

  “Wow,” Bess said. “Poor Andrea. All
that worry for

  nothing.”

  “All your contest fixing would have been for noth-

  ing,” Nancy told Joyce, “if the media didn't find out

  about Royal's problems. You wanted to make Royal

  seem untrustworthy in the eyes of the public, so you

  leaked the contest story to the press.”

  “You also ran us off the road that day,” Bess accused.

  “And you gave Andrea that horrible allergic reaction.”

  “It wasn't a big deal,” Joyce said. “I just wanted to

  make Royal look bad and make you suspicious of

  Andrea. Maybe scare you into taking the kids away

  from the park before anything bad could happen to

  them. I figured Nancy would be less of a pain if she

  wasn't right here, breathing down my neck. But then

  the van got damaged, and my plan kind of backfired.

  Things just sort of escalated from there. I never meant

  for anybody to get hurt.”

  “Until tonight, you mean.” Nancy heard the sound of

  sirens approaching. “I'm sure the police will be anxious

  to hear how noble your motives were.”

  Joyce groaned when she saw Mr. Castle enter with

  four police officers. “The one bright spot in all this was

  that I'd hoped never to see you again,” she told her

  boss.

  Mr. Castle took in the scene of Joyce, struggling and

  spitting and covered in chocolate. “Joyce, I think the

  feeling is definitely mutual.”

  Two officers escorted Joyce to the squad car as the

  other pair took statements from Nancy, Bess, and

  George.

  “I don't know how to thank you,” Mr. Castle kept

  saying. “I can't believe I was so wrong.”

  When the police had collected all the information

  they needed, Mr. Castle asked whether there was

  anything he could do for Nancy and her friends. “At

  least let me put you up in a nice hotel tonight.”

  “Tonight?” Nancy laughed. “The sun's coming up as

  we speak.”

  “I think we all just want to go home,” George said.

  “We're really anxious to tell Andrea what hap-

  pened,” Bess added.

  “What's going to happen with the contest?” Nancy

  asked Mr. Castle.

  “I'll have to check with the legal department, but

  I'm fairly certain that the rules state the results must be

  declared null and void in the event of tampering. Of

  course, you will receive a substantial reward for your

  efforts.”

  Nancy shook her head. “That's not necessary, Mr.

  Castle. If you want to show your appreciation, maybe

  you might reconsider the Science Sleuths' application

  for an educational grant.”

  “You don't have to ask, Nancy.” Mr. Castle flushed

  slightly. “I read the literature you left me about

  Andrea's Science Sleuths. I was already feeling

  ashamed for the way I treated you yesterday. It's

  obviously an excellent program. The Sleuths are

  thoroughly deserving of whatever money I can give

  them.”

  Nancy looked into his eyes. “I wish you'd tell Andrea

  that, Mr. Castle.”

  “If she would consent to speak with me, I would be

  happy to. I look forward to hearing more about the

  incredible work my cousin is doing. But—” Mr. Castle

  said.

  Bess frowned. “But?”

  “You must let me do something for you, too,” Mr.

  Castle insisted. “Wait! I know! Rumor has it you're

  quite the chocolate fan,” he told Bess. “How about a

  lifetime supply of Crown Jewels bars?”

  Bess made a face. “No offense, Mr. Castle. But after

  what happened tonight, I don't think I want another

  morsel of chocolate as long as I live.”

  “Excuse me?” Nancy shook her head. “I'm so tired, I

  think I must be imagining things. I thought I just heard

  you say you didn't want to eat any more chocolate.”

  “My no-chocolate resolution didn't last even a day,”

  Bess lamented the next afternoon as she took a Royal

  Scepter bar from Kenny.

  “We're melting them to see how much is chocolate

  and how much is almonds,” Kenny explained. “Then

  we're comparing the Pleasant Bar to see which is

  nuttier.”

  “I certainly hope the Scepter wins. Our lab says it's

  twenty-two percent nuttier.” Mr. Castle stepped inside

  the classroom through the back door. Bess exchanged a

  look with Nancy and George. She showed them that

  her fingers were crossed.

  “Mr. C-Castle,” Andrea stammered.

  Mr. Castle held up his hand. “Before you throw me

  out, I hope you'll hear me out.” He addressed the

  Sleuths. “How would you like to come back to Kings

  Commons next year?”

  There was a deafening cheer from the children.

  “I want you to know that you'll always be welcome in

  the Kings Commons family. And to make sure you can

  keep coming back to see us, I have a little present for

  Andrea.” He handed Andrea an envelope.

  “I was going to invite you to the park to award you

  this educational grant,” he told Andrea. “But Nancy

  suggested that I come to River Heights and see the

  Sleuths in action. I admit, I was motivated as much by

  guilt as anything else in deciding to give you this

  money. That's no longer the case. I've been standing

  here observing you, and it's obvious these children love

  what they're doing. You have a true gift—all of you. I

  can only hope you'll forgive me for misjudging you so

  badly.”

  “I know you had a busy schedule this week, Mr.

  Castle. It means a lot to me that you made time for us.”

  Andrea gestured toward the Sleuths. “As they say in

  physics, for every reaction there is an—”

  “Equal and opposite reaction,” the Sleuths sang out.

  “Very good!” Andrea gingerly took the envelope

  from Mr. Castle's fingers. “If you can take such a big

  step, Mr. Castle—”

  “Robert,” he corrected.

  “Robert.” Andrea smiled. “If you can take such a big

  step, I can reach out, too. Thank you.”

  “Thank you, thank you.” The Sleuths clustered

  around Mr. Castle, showing him their projects and

  filling the room with laughter.

  “We've had a little too much sugar,” Andrea

  apologized.

  “It's no different from a typical day at Royal

  Chocolates,” Mr. Castle said.

  “Mr. Castle,” Kenny said, “we just did a taste test,

  and Crown Jewels beat Golden Bars two to one. I

  thought you might like to know that.”

  “Then I guess you're going to love the box of Crown

  Jewels bars I brought for the class,” Mr. Castle said.

  There was a mad rush for the box of chocolate.

  As the candy quickly exchanged hands, Andrea came

  over to Nancy.

  “I didn't get a chance to properly thank you, Nancy.

  Bess and George, too.” She smiled as she watched Mr.

  Castle handing out candy to the children. “None of this

  would have ha
ppened without you. I only wish I'd

  trusted you with the whole truth from the beginning.”

  “It doesn't matter.” Kenny took a huge bite of his

  chocolate bar. “They had the Sleuths to help them

  out.”

  “Yes,” Laura said, “but Nancy's the one who taught

  us to be Sleuths.” She grinned at Nancy. “And she's

  still the best Sleuth of all.”