Lights, Camera . . . Cats! Read online

  Lucy looked at the girls. “Do you all go to Carl Sandburg Elementary School?”

  The girls smiled and nodded.

  “You are still coming,” George said. “Aren’t you?”

  “After what you did?” Lucy cried. “No way!”

  “Lucy, wait!” George called as Lucy ran to her trailer.

  “Oh, no,” Nancy said. “The kids at school will never speak to me again.”

  “But I lost Harry,” George said.

  “It doesn’t matter, George,” Nancy said. “Lucy asked me and I let her down.”

  George leaned against the bench. “Oh, well,” she said. “Who wants a snooty movie star to visit our school anyway?”

  Bess shrugged. “Everybody.”

  Nancy stared at the bench. She couldn’t believe that Harry escaped. Lucy had locked both latches on the case.

  “Something seems fishy,” Nancy said slowly. She walked to the bench and ran her finger along the seat.

  “What are you doing?” George asked.

  “Harry’s feet were covered with tomato sauce from the pizza,” Nancy reminded her.

  “So?” George asked.

  “So Harry would have left some sort of messy trail, right?” Nancy asked.

  “That’s for sure,” Bess said.

  “Maybe Harry didn’t escape,” Nancy said. “Maybe Harry was stolen.”

  “You mean turtle-napped?” Bess asked.

  “Come to think of it,” George said, “when I put the case on the bench, the door faced forward.”

  “Go on,” Nancy urged.

  “But after Harry was missing, the door was facing backward,” George said.

  Nancy snapped her fingers. “The turtle thief might have turned the case around to open it,” she said.

  “This is a real mystery,” Bess said.

  “Are you going to try to solve it, Nancy?” George asked.

  Nancy nodded. “Someone has to find Harry. It’s the only way Lucy will come to our school on Monday,” she said.

  “Too bad you didn’t bring your detective notebook today,” Bess said.

  Nancy pulled the blue book from her jacket pocket. “Who said I didn’t?”

  “Way to go, Nancy!” George said.

  Nancy opened her notebook to a fresh page. On the top she wrote, “Where’s Harry?” Right under that she wrote, “Suspects.”

  “Who would want a turtle that bad?” George asked.

  “Kittens are much cuter,” Bess said.

  Bess and George looked over Nancy’s shoulder as she wrote, “Vera.”

  “The director’s assistant?” Bess whispered.

  “She’s so nice,” George said.

  “I heard Mr. Bluestone tell Vera to get rid of Harry,” Nancy said. “It sounded like an order.”

  “No!” George gasped.

  Nancy twirled her pencil as she thought. “Who else?” she asked.

  “What about Brenda?” Bess asked.

  Nancy shook her head. “Brenda left early. She probably didn’t even see Harry.”

  Nancy thought for a while. Then she added Rebecca’s name to the list.

  “Why is she a suspect?” George asked.

  “Rebecca was mad that Lucy didn’t ask her to look after Harry,” Nancy explained.

  “And Rebecca said she needed a turtle to be just like Lucy,” George added.

  Bess gave a big sigh. “Why doesn’t she just curl her hair?”

  Nancy checked her watch. It was time to meet Mrs. Marvin. The girls walked through the movie set to the corner of Main Street.

  Suddenly Bess grabbed Nancy’s arm. “Nancy! Look who’s coming out of the Bow Wow Shop,” she whispered.

  Nancy turned toward the pet store. She saw Rebecca standing at the door with a paper shopping bag.

  “That’s weird,” George whispered. “Rebecca doesn’t have any pets.”

  “Unless she has a new turtle,” Nancy said. “Named Harry.”

  The girls walked over to Rebecca.

  “Hi, Rebecca,” Nancy said. She pointed to the bag. “Did you buy anything new?”

  “I—” Rebecca started to say.

  Just then Mr. Ramirez popped his head out the door.

  “Rebecca?” he said. “Can you carry one last thing for me?”

  “Sure, Daddy,” Rebecca said. She placed the shopping bag on the sidewalk and ran back inside the store.

  The girls stared down at the bag.

  “Should we peek?” George asked slowly.

  “It’s not nice to snoop,” Bess said.

  “I said, peek, not snoop,” George said. “There’s a big difference.”

  “Let’s wait until Rebecca comes back out,” Nancy said. “Maybe—”

  But it was too late. George had already grabbed one handle of the bag.

  “I want to see, too,” Bess said. She grabbed the other handle.

  There was a loud ripping sound as the bag tore in half. Everything inside spilled onto the sidewalk.

  The girls stared at the ground.

  “Nancy?” George whispered. “Do you see what I see?”

  Nancy nodded. “A turtle tank, a bag of Turtle Chops, turtle toys,” she said.

  Bess picked up a bottle. “I didn’t know turtles took vitamins,” she said.

  “Do you know what this means, Nancy?” George asked excitedly.

  Nancy nodded. “Rebecca has a new pet. And it’s a turtle!”

  4

  Turtle-napped

  Rebecca must have stolen Harry,” George said.

  “Why else would she have all this turtle stuff?” Bess asked.

  “What are you doing?” asked an angry voice.

  The girls spun around. Rebecca stood behind them with her hands on her hips.

  “You were snooping through my bag, weren’t you?” Rebecca demanded.

  “We were peeking,” Bess said. “There’s a big difference. Right, George?”

  “I guess,” George muttered.

  Nancy looked at Rebecca’s hand. She held a pink plastic carrying case. It was exactly like the one Lucy had.

  “Harry is missing,” Nancy said.

  “Lucy’s turtle?” Rebecca gasped.

  “Did you see him?” Nancy asked.

  “Nope,” Rebecca said.

  Nancy couldn’t hold back any longer. She pointed to the case. “Then who is in there?” she asked.

  Rebecca smiled. She opened the door of the case and reached in.

  “Ta-daa,” Rebecca sang. She pulled out a turtle and held it up. “Meet Sylvia.”

  “Sylvia?” Nancy asked.

  “The purple sneakers weren’t enough,” Rebecca said. “If I wanted to be just like Lucy I had to have a turtle, too.”

  “We know that,” Bess said. “But how do we know your new turtle isn’t Harry.”

  Rebecca placed the turtle into Bess’s hand. “See for yourself,” she said.

  “Eeeewwww!” Bess cried. She quickly handed the turtle over to Nancy.

  “Do you see a star-shaped mark on her shell?” Rebecca asked Nancy. “Or two white dots on her head?”

  Nancy shook her head. The turtle wasn’t Harry at all. It was Sylvia.

  “You thought I stole Harry, didn’t you?” Rebecca demanded. “You probably even wrote my name in your notebook.”

  “Sorry, Rebecca,” Nancy said. “But you did seem pretty mad before.”

  “I was mad,” Rebecca admitted. “Until I realized something very important.”

  “What?” Bess asked.

  Rebecca lifted Sylvia dramatically. “Someday I’m going to be a big star, too,” she said. “And everyone will want to turtle-sit for me!”

  “Oh, brother,” George mumbled.

  The girls helped Rebecca put everything into a new shopping bag. By the time they were done, Mrs. Marvin drove up.

  Inside the van, Nancy crossed Rebecca’s name out of her notebook. The only suspect left was Vera.

  “We have to go back to the movie set to loo
k for clues,” Nancy said.

  “But we were just there,” Bess said.

  Nancy shrugged and smiled. “Think of it as Take Two!”

  • • •

  Later that afternoon Nancy, Bess, and George got permission to ride their bikes to Main Street. On the way, they stopped to buy Panda Bars from an ice cream truck.

  The girls leaned their bikes against a tree. They were about to unwrap their ice cream when two little boys walked over.

  “Aren’t those Orson Wong’s six-year-old twin brothers?” George whispered.

  Nancy nodded. “Yes—Lonny and Lenny,” she whispered back.

  “Why did the truck have to park in front of Orson’s house?” Bess asked.

  Lonny and Lenny stopped in front of the girls. They stood and stared at them.

  “What do you want?” George asked.

  Lonny pointed to the girls’ Panda Bars. “Those!” he said.

  “Get your own,” Bess said.

  Lonny and Lenny looked at each other and giggled. Then they began to sing: “We know something you don’t know! We know something you don’t know!”

  “What?” Nancy asked.

  “Orson’s room is filled with neat Lucy Webb stuff,” Lenny said. “Want to see it?”

  “Orson isn’t home,” Lonny added. “So you’d have his whole room to yourself.”

  “No, thank you,” George said. “We know all about Orson’s gross souvenirs.”

  Nancy grabbed Bess’s and George’s arms. She gently pulled them aside.

  “What is it, Nancy?” Bess asked.

  “Orson might have added Harry to his collection,” Nancy said.

  Bess nodded. “Orson Wong—the perfect suspect,” she said.

  Nancy and her friends walked back to the Wong twins.

  “Okay, lead the way,” George said.

  “Not so fast,” Lenny said. He and his brother held out their hands.

  Nancy, Bess, and George handed over their Panda Bars. The boys ripped open the wrappers at once.

  “Our house is right over there,” Lenny said. He pointed to a bright yellow house.

  “Orson’s room is the first one up the stairs,” Lonny said through a mouth full of ice cream.

  The girls walked quickly toward the Wong house.

  “Oh,” Lenny called after them. “And watch out for Orson’s new pet!”

  5

  Monster in the House

  Did he say new pet?” Nancy asked.

  The girls stopped walking.

  “Harry!” they cried at once. They ran to the house and rang the doorbell. Orson’s mother opened the door.

  “Hello, girls,” Mrs. Wong said.

  “Hi, Mrs. Wong,” Nancy said quickly. “We heard Orson has a new pet. May we see him, please?”

  “I’m sure Orson wouldn’t mind,” Mrs. Wong said. “He’s so proud of that creature.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Wong!” George said.

  The girls hurried up the stairs. Nancy found a door with a sign on it: Orson’s room. Keep out! This means you!

  “He can’t keep us out today,” Nancy said. She opened the door. “He’s not home.”

  The girls walked inside. George stepped on a plastic action figure. A pile of dirty socks lay near the bed.

  “What a dump,” Bess mumbled.

  Nancy looked around. A poster of Lucy Webb was taped over Orson’s desk. Pictures of famous magicians were taped to the walls. Nancy knew that Orson wanted to be a magician someday.

  “Let’s look for clues,” Nancy said.

  They walked around the room. Nancy found a table filled with jars and boxes. Each one had a label that read, Lucy.

  The girls looked inside all of the boxes and jars. They found plenty of junk but no Harry.

  “I’ll check out his desk,” Nancy said.

  It wasn’t easy. Orson’s messy desk was covered with papers, pens, and notebooks. But then Nancy saw something else. It was a green plastic tank.

  Nancy tried to look through the clear lid but it was covered with a sign. It read, World’s Best Pet.

  “Bess, George,” Nancy called.

  “What is it?” Bess asked as she and George rushed over.

  Nancy tapped the lid. “Orson’s pet is probably in here,” she said.

  “But we can’t see through it,” George said. “How do we know it’s Harry?”

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Nancy said. She pulled up the lid. Then she looked inside and gasped.

  A green, scaly creature with bulging eyes stared up at her.

  “Is it Harry?” Bess asked quickly.

  “N-no,” Nancy stammered. “It’s—it’s some kind of dragon!”

  Nancy jumped back as the creature popped his head out of the tank. He gazed around the room and flicked out his tongue.

  “He looks like he’s going to breathe fire!” Bess screamed.

  “Let’s get out of here!” George said.

  The girls raced for the door. But just as they were about to run out, they crashed right into Orson.

  “Ah-ha!” Orson shouted. “Trying to find out my magic secrets, huh?”

  “No way,” Bess said.

  “And your bratty little brothers said you weren’t home,” George said.

  Lonny and Lenny peeked out from behind the door. They had mischievous grins on their chocolate-covered faces.

  “I see you’ve met Taco,” Orson said. He walked over to the tank.

  “Taco?” Nancy asked.

  “My pet iguana,” Orson said. He lifted the reptile from the tank and placed him on his shoulder. The iguana’s long tail flicked against Orson’s chest.

  “When I become a magician I’m going to pull Taco from a hat,” Orson said.

  “Most magicians use bunny rabbits,” Bess said.

  “Well, I’m not most magicians,” Orson said. “I’m Orson the Awesome!”

  The girls rolled their eyes.

  “So what were you doing in my room anyway?” Orson asked.

  “We were looking for a missing turtle,” Nancy said. “Lucy’s turtle.”

  Orson’s eyes lit up when he heard Lucy’s name. “I knew Lucy had a turtle,” he said. “But I didn’t know it was missing.”

  “So you didn’t steal him?” Bess asked.

  Orson shook his head. “But I’d love to find him. Then I’d be a hero.”

  Nancy decided to herself that Orson was no longer a suspect. He liked Lucy too much to steal her pet.

  “Let’s go,” she told her friends.

  “Wait!” Orson called. He held Taco a few inches from their faces.

  “Want to hold him?” he asked with a grin.

  The girls froze as Taco flicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. Then they charged out of the house without saying a word. When they finally reached their bikes, Nancy scratched Orson’s name from her list.

  “Orson is clean.” Nancy sighed.

  “But his room’s a mess!” George said.

  “I’m never going in a boy’s room again,” Bess said, still shaking. “You never know what you’ll find.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George rode their bikes to Main Street. The movie equipment and trailers were still there.

  As they parked their bikes, Nancy saw Mr. Bluestone and Vera.

  “I don’t want them to see us here,” Nancy said. “Let’s hide.”

  “Where?” Bess asked.

  Nancy quickly looked around. There was plenty of space underneath a trailer.

  “Under there,” Nancy said.

  “It’s dirty!” Bess complained.

  The girls slipped under the trailer and peeked out. They could only see Mr. Bluestone’s and Vera’s legs.

  “Mmmmph,” Mr. Bluestone was saying. “Dese arck gooth.”

  “Mmm-mmm,” Vera said.

  “It sounds like they’re munching on something,” Nancy whispered.

  “They shouldn’t talk with their mouths full,” Bess whispered back.

  Nancy strained her
ears to listen.

  “Vera, I’ve eaten turtles before but this one was the tastiest,” Mr. Bluestone said.

  Bess gave a little shriek. George clapped her hand over Bess’s mouth.

  Vera went on. “And the crunchiest. There’s more where that came from in the makeup trailer.”

  “Excellent!” Mr. Bluestone said.

  “Did you hear what they said?” Nancy asked after Mr. Bluestone and Vera walked away.

  “They just ate a turtle,” George said.

  “Oh, no,” Bess said. “Not Harry!”

  6

  Chewy, Gooey…Phooey!

  Who would eat a turtle?” Nancy asked as they crawled out from under the trailer.

  George dusted herself off. “I once saw a TV show about food around the world. In one country they eat turtle soup.”

  “That is so gross,” Bess said.

  George shrugged. “Not everyone eats pizza and Panda Bars,” she said.

  “I know a way to find out if Mr. Bluestone and Vera snacked on Harry,” Nancy said.

  “How?” George asked.

  “Vera told Mr. Bluestone there was more in the makeup trailer,” Nancy said.

  “Like what?” Bess cried. “Harry’s shell?”

  George shook her head. “That was probably the crunchy part,” she said.

  “Quit it, George,” Bess complained.

  Nancy looked up Main Street. In the middle of the block was a long trailer. A big sign on the door read, Makeup.

  “There’s the makeup trailer,” Nancy said, pointing. “Let’s try to look inside.”

  “Goody!” Bess said. “Maybe we can try on some makeup.”

  “Maybe not,” George said.

  The girls climbed the stairs to the trailer door. Nancy pulled at the handle. The door opened and she peeked inside.

  “It’s empty,” Nancy said. She stepped inside. Bess and George followed.

  A big mirror hung on the wall. It was framed with bright lights. There were three swivel chairs and a table filled with cases of eyeshadows and tubes of lipstick.

  “Lipstick!” Bess said as she ran toward the mirror.

  “Forget that,” George said. She pointed to an open box of caramels on the table. “Check out the candy.”

  Nancy saw a pretty blue hat hanging on a hook near the mirror.