The Lemonade Raid Page 2

“That’s a relief,” Bess said, finishing up the last of her ice cream.

  “Yeah.” George giggled. “If Sid went to jail for stealing our lemons, who’d make our ice cream?”

  After Nancy and George had finished their lemonade supreme, the three girls waved goodbye to Sid and went out into the hot afternoon sun. They didn’t know what to do next. Their whole day was ruined.

  “I guess we could go back to the park,” George said. “We can always play on the swings.”

  “And watch Brenda and Alison sell lemonade?” Bess said. “No way.”

  “And watch our number one suspects, you mean,” Nancy said. “Come on.”

  At the playground Nancy, Bess, and George sat on the swings. They had a clear view of Brenda and Alison’s stand.

  “They sure are selling a lot of lemonade,” Bess said.

  George swung back and forth on her swing. “I’ll bet she’s hiding our lemons under that tablecloth.”

  As the girls watched, more and more people lined up to buy lemonade from Brenda and Alison.

  A mother with three little girls bought some. Two old men were drinking lemonade, too. And four dogwalkers were patiently waiting their turn. Brenda and Alison were pouring cup after cup.

  “We have to think of a way to get a look under their table,” Nancy said, starting to swing.

  Then Bess started. “I can swing higher than you can, George,” Bess sang. “I can see the people by the picnic tables.”

  “No, you can’t,” George said, laughing. “I’m swinging so high, I can see the kids on the baseball field.”

  “I can go higher than both of you.” Nancy pushed as hard as she could. Her reddish blond hair flew out behind her as she swung up. “Hey, I see Ned,” she called. She brushed her feet against the dirt to slow her swing.

  “He has four teeny tiny poodles with him,” Bess said. “They’re soooo cute.”

  But it looked as if Ned didn’t think the poodles were very cute right then. They were yipping and running around, getting their leashes tangled around his legs.

  “He’s buying lemonade from Brenda!” George said, pointing.

  Brenda helped him untangle the poodles’ leashes. Then Ned bought a second cup.

  “Let’s talk to him before he leaves the park,” Nancy said, stopping her swing.

  They waited until Ned and the poodles left Brenda’s stand. “Wait up!” Nancy yelled to him.

  Ned looked over at Nancy, Bess, and George, but he didn’t stop. Nancy called louder, but Ned started walking faster.

  “Why won’t he talk to us?” Bess asked as they followed him out of the park.

  “Wait up!” Nancy called again.

  Ned turned around angrily. The poodles yelped and jumped excitedly at his legs. “Stop following me!”

  “Why are you so mad?” Nancy asked when she finally caught up with him.

  “I don’t like being followed by pesty girls,” Ned said. Now the poodles were running in circles around his feet.

  Nancy tightened her lips. “That’s a mean thing to say,” she said. “Did you know someone stole our lemons?”

  “Nope,” Ned said, trying to untangle the leashes. “Who would steal your stupid lemons?”

  Bess crossed her arms. “That’s what we’d like to know.”

  “I don’t know who took them.” Ned started walking away. Then he looked over his shoulder. “And stop bothering me!”

  “We didn’t do anything to you!” Nancy shouted.

  Ned spun around. “Remember the dogs I was walking this morning?” he asked.

  Nancy nodded.

  “The owner had told me not to get them dirty because they were just groomed,” he continued. “They were so wet and muddy from jumping in the lake after Chip that the owner fired me. Now I’m losing a dollar a day because of you!” Ned led the poodles away from the girls.

  “That’s terrible,” Bess said after he had left. “But it wasn’t our fault.”

  Nancy watched as Ned quickly walked along the street. Halfway down the block, he had to bend down and untangle the four little poodles’ leashes again. When he straightened up, Nancy gasped. A bunch of lemon slices had fallen right out of his shirt pocket.

  “He’s got our lemons!” George cried. “Let’s get him!”

  4

  Fresh-Squeezed Lie

  Nancy, Bess, and George raced after Ned. He saw them, picked up the four tiny poodles, and ran away.

  “He had… too much of a… head start,” George said to Nancy, out of breath. They had stopped running.

  Bess came up after them. “Why didn’t you guys wait for me?” she asked, panting.

  “We wanted to catch Ned,” Nancy said. “But he was too fast.” She looked at her watch. “It’s getting late. We’d better go home.”

  “But what about Brenda and Alison?” George asked. “They could have stolen our lemons, too.”

  “Don’t worry,” Nancy said to her. “If they took our lemons, they’ll want to use them. We’ll catch Brenda and Alison tomorrow.”

  • • •

  As Nancy sat on the porch, waiting for her father to come home from work, she looked at the “Missing Lemons Mystery” page in her detective’s notebook. Finding Ned with that lemon was weird, Nancy thought.

  “Another mystery, pudding pie?” Nancy looked up from her notebook to see her father standing in front of her. She jumped up and gave him a big hug.

  “Oh, Daddy,” she said, “something awful has happened.”

  Carson Drew led Nancy into the house. “Tell me all about it, pumpkin.”

  At dinner Nancy explained the mystery, the lemonade-selling contest, and everything that had happened.

  “And the worst thing, Daddy,” she said, wiping her mouth with her napkin, “is that if we don’t get our lemons back, we’ll lose the contest. And Brenda and Alison will make us eat bugs!”

  “Well, I hear bugs have a lot of vitamins,” Carson Drew said with a laugh.

  “Daddy!” Nancy said. “This is serious.”

  “I know, pumpkin. I’ll help you buy some more lemons. If Brenda and Alison took them, they won’t expect you to be selling lemonade tomorrow.”

  “Dessert!” Hannah called, coming into the dining room with a pie. “It’s delicious and maybe even good for you.”

  “Are there any bugs in it?” Carson asked Hannah, giving Nancy a wink.

  “Bugs?” Hannah said with a huff. “Not in my lemon meringue pie!”

  Nancy and her father burst out laughing.

  Later Nancy phoned Bess and George with the plan. That evening they made a fancy brand-new sign—much nicer than Alison and Brenda’s. It had a large sparkle-painted lemon with drops of juice coming out and glitter all over it.

  Early the next morning Hannah woke Nancy up with some good news.

  “Look what I found on the porch when I went out to get the newspaper,” Hannah said. She was holding a bag from Greenfield’s grocery store. It was filled to the top with lemons. “It came with a note.” Hannah handed Nancy a piece of paper.

  Nancy read it:

  Sorry this bag isn’t as big as your box of lemons. It’s the best I could do.

  The Lemon Stealer

  This is a strange clue, Nancy thought as she folded the paper and stuck it in her detective’s notebook. Why would the lemon stealer feel bad about stealing?

  After breakfast Nancy put on her favorite blue bathing suit underneath her shorts and T-shirt. Hannah had promised to take the girls swimming in the lake that afternoon.

  When Bess and George got to Nancy’s house, Nancy grabbed Chip’s leash, and they were off to the park. On the way, Nancy told them about the note.

  “Brenda and Alison actually felt guilty?” George said, pulling the wagon behind her. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Why else would they leave us a bag of lemons?” Bess said. “They took our box, and now they’re sorry.”

  “But we don’t know that for sure,” Nancy said. “Ned’s a suspec
t, too.”

  Bess looked at the bulky bag lying in the wagon. “Well, at least we have these.”

  “Yeah, but I still want to find out who stole the other ones,” George said.

  Nancy thought of her special notebook. She had stuck it in the wagon. “Don’t worry, George. We will.”

  The girls got to the park so early that Brenda and Alison weren’t even there yet. They quickly set up their card table with the pink tablecloth, hung their glittery sign, and set out the pitcher and the paper cups.

  When Brenda and Alison arrived, Nancy and her friends already had customers. Brenda’s mouth dropped open when she saw them.

  “Do you see the way they’re staring?” Bess said. “They thought they wouldn’t see us here again.”

  “Well, if they try anything funny, we’ll be waiting,” George said. “They won’t get away with stealing our lemons twice.”

  The rest of the morning, Nancy, Bess, and George sold so much lemonade that they didn’t have time to think about the mystery. Bobby Alden even bought two cups.

  “You stop by our stand almost as often as we go to the Double Dip,” Nancy said to Bobby as she poured his second cup.

  Bobby laughed. “I have a secret.” He leaned in closer. “I come to the park every time I run an errand for my grandfather. Right now I’m on my way back to the shop.”

  “Does Sid know?” Bess asked.

  “Nope.” Bobby picked up his cup. “I’m supposed to go straight back, so don’t tell him, okay?”

  “Okay,” Nancy said as he walked away.

  For a while, nobody came to their table. Nancy looked over at Brenda and Alison’s stand. No one was there, either.

  “It’s time to find out if Brenda and Alison have our lemons,” Nancy said.

  “But they’ll never let us near their stuff.” Bess poured herself a cup of lemonade. “Ah, scrumptious,” she said after taking a gulp.

  “I know what we can do,” Nancy said, pouring herself and George some, too. “We’ll walk Chip over to Brenda and Alison’s stand. Then I’ll let go of Chip’s leash, and she’ll run around. I’ll search under their table when they’re not looking.”

  “Sounds ingenious,” George said, touching her cup to Nancy’s.

  “I’ll stay here, just in case,” Bess said. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to our new lemons.”

  “Good thinking, Bess.” Nancy picked up Chip’s leash. “Come on, George. Let’s snoop!”

  Nancy and George walked Chip past Brenda and Alison’s table.

  “Great stand, Brenda,” George said sweetly, looking at their Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade sign. “Wasn’t it a good idea to have a contest?”

  “Especially since we’re winning,” Alison said. She bent down and pretended to look through the grass. “What kind of bugs do you guys like?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Nancy let go of Chip’s leash. The puppy jumped up on Alison and started licking her face.

  “Yecch, doggy kisses!” Alison yelled. She pushed Chip away. Then, before anyone had a chance to do anything, Chip darted underneath the table. A second later she scurried out, holding several paper packets in her mouth.

  Brenda tried to grab them, but Chip ran over to Nancy. Then Chip shook her head, and the packets burst open. As Brenda groaned, Nancy took the torn envelopes out of Chip’s mouth and frowned.

  “Dirty, rotten cheaters,” she said. “This is lemonade mix!”

  5

  Ned Tells the Truth

  Your sign is a big lie!” George shouted. “You aren’t using fresh-squeezed lemons at all!”

  “It’s not a lie!” Brenda held up an empty box. “See? It says, ‘Tastes like fresh-squeezed lemonade.’”

  “You’re still cheating,” George said.

  “No, we’re not.” Alison raised her nose in the air. “We’re just saying what it says on the package.”

  “Besides”—Brenda gave George and Nancy a sneaky smile—“nobody said we had to use fresh lemons for the contest.”

  Without saying a word, Nancy grabbed Chip’s leash and headed back to the stand. She and George had taken only a few steps when they heard Alison say to Brenda, “That dog ruined all of our lemonade mix. Now we have to go buy some more.”

  George grinned. “Chocolate Chip sure is smart.”

  The two girls laughed all the way back to their stand.

  “This means Brenda and Alison aren’t suspects anymore,” Bess said when Nancy and George told her about the mix.

  “They’re still suspects,” George said. “They want to win the contest, right?”

  “They would have won, too, if someone hadn’t bought us these.” Bess took a lemon from their bag and started squeezing it.

  “Wait a minute,” Nancy said suddenly. “Brenda and Alison can’t be suspects.”

  “Why not?” George asked.

  “You said it yourself,” Nancy said. “Brenda and Alison want to win the contest. So why would they steal our lemons and then buy us more? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “They felt guilty?” Bess said with a smile.

  George looked at her cousin. “Yeah, maybe… not!”

  “Those lemons had to come from Ned. He’s the only suspect left,” Nancy said. “We have to talk to him. But I haven’t seen him at all today.”

  “He probably feels too guilty to come around here,” George said.

  “I can’t think about this anymore.” Bess rubbed her stomach. “I’m starving.”

  “We forgot to bring lunch,” Nancy said. “But we can’t go home. Now that Brenda and Alison are at the store, we have a chance to win the contest.”

  George grinned. “Let’s have ice cream for lunch!”

  “I heard that,” a voice said from behind them. It was Hannah. She was carrying a cooler. “I figured you girls were working hard. So I brought you—”

  “Lunch!” The three girls attacked the cooler. Inside were chicken salad sandwiches, oatmeal cookies, and a peach for each of them.

  The girls sat down on the grass to eat.

  “We don’t have anything to drink, Hannah,” Nancy said, munching on her sandwich.

  Bess and George stopped eating and looked at her.

  “Just kidding.” Nancy giggled. She went over to the table and brought back the big pitcher of lemonade.

  “Don’t eat too much,” Hannah said. “You’re going swimming soon.”

  “But who’s going to guard our stand and take care of Chip?” George asked.

  “I’ll do it,” Bess said. “I don’t like swimming that much.”

  Nancy remembered the time she and Bess had gone to Camp Treehouse. Bess hadn’t wanted to go swimming even then. “We’ll do something really special for you later,” she said.

  After the girls had rested awhile after lunch, Hannah walked Nancy and George over to the lake and sat down near the lifeguard.

  The girls saw some of their friends jumping off the floating dock.

  “Come on,” Katie Zaleski called to them before she plunged into the water.

  “Race you!” Nancy shouted to George as they jumped in.

  “I beat you,” George said, laughing as she touched the wooden dock first.

  Nancy dunked herself under the water. She came up really fast and pushed a wave at her friend. “Gotcha!”

  George did the same thing back. She hit Peter DeSands with water, too, and Nancy laughed. Then Peter tried to splash George but got little Jimmy Koombs instead. Jimmy started crying, and Mrs. Koombs had to come in to get him.

  “Let’s go over to the tire swing and jump off,” Nancy said.

  “Sure.” George started to swim.

  The girls swam as fast as they could to a big tire hanging over the water from a tree branch.

  “Let’s rest here for a minute,” George said, floating on her back. “But stay away from the prickly bushes along the lakeshore.”

  When Nancy looked at the bushes with the light green leaves, something yellow caught her eye. “Wait a
minute,” she said, and swam a little closer to the edge of the lake. George followed her.

  There, floating near the prickly bushes, they found some fat, mushy lemons.

  “There’s a whole bunch of them,” George said. “I’ll bet they’re ours.”

  “But why would the lemon stealer throw them in the lake?” Nancy asked.

  Just then she heard growling behind her. Nancy and George turned around quickly and saw Ned standing by the shore. He had another pack of dogs with him.

  “Look,” he said. “I just want to apologize for taking your lemons.”

  6

  Supreme Suspect

  I knew it!” George said right away.

  “I didn’t think it was any big deal,” Ned said, trying to hold on to his dogs.

  “No big deal?” Nancy said. “We might totally lose a contest with Brenda and Alison because of you!”

  “Look, I said I was sorry.” Ned turned to leave.

  “Why did you buy us a new bag of lemons after you threw our old ones in the lake?” Nancy asked.

  “What are you talking about?” Ned said, turning back around.

  “Those.” Nancy pointed to the lemons floating near the prickly bushes.

  “I didn’t do that,” Ned said. “And I didn’t buy you a new bag, either.” He bent down to pet a cocker spaniel.

  “I only took a couple of lemons because the golden retriever liked them so much,” he continued. “She started obeying me when I gave her a couple of slices. Now I use them as treats. Some of my dogs don’t like them, but these do. See?”

  Ned took some lemon slices out of his shirt pocket and fed them to the dogs. They quickly gobbled up the sour fruit.

  “Did you see anybody near our stand when you were walking out of the park?” George asked.

  Ned nodded. “I saw a lot of people near your stand. But the only one I knew was Bobby Alden.” He stood up and handed some more slices to the dogs. “But he didn’t have anything with him except a box of ice cream.”

  “Oh,” Nancy said sadly. She thought for sure that either Ned or Brenda and Alison had stolen the lemons. Now it was clear that they weren’t guilty.