Butterfly Blues Read online

  “Someone who wanted a butterfly,” Bess decided. “Really wanted a butterfly.”

  “Harper Novak!” Nancy exclaimed. “She wanted to take a butterfly home. Before we left, I heard Harper say, ‘See you later, Morpho!’ ”

  “Write Harper’s name, George!” Bess said.

  “I am, I am,” George said, typing quickly.

  “Two suspects but only one clue,” Nancy said. “Let’s go back to Flutter House and look for more.”

  George found the Flutter House website. It was open on Saturdays and Sundays from eleven thirty to four o’clock.

  “Flutter House, here we come,” Nancy said. “And I hope we find lots of clues!”

  “I hope we won’t get dusted again,” Bess said with a frown. “That feathery thing tickles!”

  Clue-in-the-Box

  It was eleven thirty when Hannah drove into the Flutter House parking lot. While Hannah sat in the snack hut, called the Caterpillar Café, the girls headed straight to the Flutter House building.

  “Remember,” Nancy said, “we have to meet Hannah outside the cafe in a half hour. So let’s work fast.”

  When Nancy, Bess, and George reached the ticket booth, they frowned. Tickets for the butterfly dome were eight dollars each!

  “We don’t have eight dollars!” Nancy groaned. “How are we going to go inside?”

  “We can pretend we lost something,” George said. “That excuse always works for us!”

  The girls rushed to the ticket booth, where a teenage girl sat. Stitched on her polo shirt was the name “Sophie.”

  “You can’t go inside without a grown-up,” Sophie said.

  “We don’t want to go inside!” Bess said. “I mean—we do want to go inside, but not to look at butterflies.”

  “But it’s a butterfly habitat,” Sophie said. “What else is there to look at besides butterflies?”

  “We were here on a class trip yesterday,” Nancy said quickly. “And I lost my—”

  “—Watch!” Bess finished.

  “You’re wearing a watch,” Sophie said, nodding down at the purple watch on Nancy’s wrist.

  “Um—I wear a watch on each wrist!” Nancy blurted.

  “She likes to have a lot of time on her hands!” George joked. “Get it?”

  Sophie didn’t chuckle. She reached down and pulled up a big cardboard box.

  “What’s that?” Nancy asked.

  “Our lost and found,” Sophie explained. “You can look for your watch in here.”

  The girls traded disappointed looks. All they wanted to do was go inside Flutter House!

  “But—” Nancy started to say.

  “Each item is tagged with the time and place it was found,” Sophie explained. “I found most of the stuff. I’m great at lost and found!”

  “Thanks,” George muttered, taking the box.

  The girls pretended to look through the lost items. There were three wool hats, two hoodies, a bunch of gloves, and—

  “Someone’s retainer?” Bess said, wrinkling her nose. “How gross is that?”

  “Let’s give this box back and try to get inside,” George said.

  Suddenly Nancy spotted something sparkly. She pulled it out. It was a gold butterfly-shaped barrette. On it were the initials HN.

  “HN for Harper Novak!” Nancy pointed out. “It’s one of Harper’s butterfly barrettes!”

  “So?” George said. “She probably lost it yesterday during the class trip.”

  “Harper was wearing a pink barrette yesterday!” Nancy said. “Not a gold one.”

  “She could have been here weeks ago,” Bess said.

  Nancy turned the barrette over in her palm. On the back was a tiny sticker with the date and time the barrette was found.

  “The barrette was found yesterday at four o’clock!” Nancy said.

  “What does that mean, Nancy?” Bess asked.

  “Maybe Harper came back after school yesterday,” Nancy said, “to take Morpho!”

  “Why would she be wearing a different barrette?” George asked.

  “Doesn’t everybody change their clothes after school?” Bess asked.

  “Everybody but me!” George argued.

  Nancy, Bess, and George returned the lost and found box to Sophie, but not the barrette.

  “May we take this barrette, please?” Nancy asked. “We know who lost it.”

  Sophie raised an eyebrow. “How do I know you don’t just want a pretty sparkly butterfly barrette?” she asked.

  George folded her arms. “And how do we know you’re so great at finding things?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?” Sophie asked.

  “You didn’t find the missing blue morpho butterfly, did you?” George demanded. “Well, did you?”

  Sophie blinked a few times. She then waved her hand at the barrette as if to say, Take it.

  “Thank you!” Nancy said. She pocketed the new clue. Then she, Bess, and George headed for the Caterpillar Café.

  “That Sophie was a tough nut to crack,” George complained. “What next?”

  “Cookies at the Caterpillar Café!” Bess declared. “I heard they’re shaped like butterflies.”

  “But after cookies, we find Harper Novak,” Nancy said. “And hopefully Morpho!”

  * * *

  It was a little after noon when Hannah dropped the girls off near Harper’s house. They weren’t sure where the Novaks lived. Only that their new house was near Bess’s.

  “I sometimes see Harper riding her bike up and down this block,” Bess said as they looked around. “It’s a pink bike covered with butterfly stickers.”

  “Surprise, surprise,” George joked.

  After a few more steps, Nancy saw a sign taped to a tree. It read: MAKE YOUR WISHES COME TRUE!

  Pasted on the sign were a butterfly sticker and an arrow pointing up the block.

  “Let’s see where it leads,” Nancy said.

  The girls headed straight up the block until they found another sign, also decorated with butterfly stickers. This one read: WISHES AROUND THE CORNER!

  Nancy, Bess, and George turned the corner to see another sign taped to a tree: MEET THE BUTTERFLY WHISPERER!

  “What’s a butterfly whisperer?” Nancy whispered.

  “And what do they whisper to butterflies?” Bess whispered.

  “I don’t know,” George said. “But why are we whispering?”

  Suddenly they heard voices. Nancy, Bess, and George turned to see a bunch of kids lined up in front of a house.

  “What are they lining up for?” Nancy wondered.

  “It can’t be for lemonade,” Bess decided. “It’s still too cold.”

  The girls neared the house. They could see a small table at the end of the line. Sitting behind the table was Harper. On top of it was a sheer net cage. Inside was . . .

  “A blue butterfly!” Nancy gasped.

  The girls traded excited looks. They knew of only one blue butterfly, and that was Morpho!

  Caterpillar Chiller

  Nancy, Bess, and George walked toward Harper and the caged butterfly. Until Henderson Murphy shouted, “Hey! No jumping the line.”

  “This is business,” Nancy explained.

  “Detective business!” Bess added.

  Marcy Rubin’s little sister, Cassidy, was the last in line. The six-year-old folded her arms and said, “Business-shmizness. Even detectives have to wait their turn!”

  “Okay, okay,” Nancy said as they stepped behind Cassidy. “What’s everybody lined up for, anyway?”

  “That new girl from school has a wishing butterfly!” Cassidy said, pointing to Harper. “I’d tell you my wish for a real-live pony, but then it wouldn’t come true.”

  “Riiight,” George said slowly.

  Nancy’s eyes had already lit up. Did Cassidy say a wishing butterfly?

  “Harper saw me make a wish on the orange butterfly,” Nancy told Bess and George. “Maybe she wanted a butterfly to make wishes on.”
r />   “Or for other kids to wish on,” Bess said.

  “Why would she want Morpho?” George asked. “Wouldn’t any butterfly be good enough?”

  “Morpho was the biggest butterfly in the butterfly dome,” Bess said. “Big butterfly—big wishes.”

  Nancy tried to be patient as they inched closer to Harper and the blue butterfly.

  “Listen, everybody!” Harper told the crowd. “Be ready to write down your wish when you get to the table.”

  “Why should I give my wish to you?” a girl called from the middle of the line.

  “So I can whisper it to the butterfly!” Harper said, pointing to the cage. “That’s why.”

  “Why can’t we whisper our wishes ourselves?” another girl asked.

  “Because,” Harper said, her face beginning to turn red, “I’m the Butterfly Whisperer, that’s why!”

  Cassidy raised her hand. “But if you see my wish for a real-live pony it won’t come true!” she said.

  “And aren’t you supposed to free the butterfly after every wish?” a tall boy with glasses asked. “No wish will come true with it cooped up in that dumb cage!”

  Harper’s face was tomato red as she stood up. She slammed her palms on the table, making the butterfly cage jump.

  “Whatever, okay?” Harper cried. “I’m sick of all this complaining!”

  She picked up the cage, turned toward the house, and said, “Find some genie to tell your wishes to. I quit!”

  “No!” Nancy, Bess, and George said at the same time. They had to get a look at that blue butterfly before they lost their chance.

  The butterfly cage swung from Harper’s hand as she climbed the front steps of her house.

  “Wait, Harper!” Nancy called.

  Too late. With a slam of the door, Harper and the blue butterfly were inside the house.

  The Clue Crew ran to the door. Nancy knocked, and after a few seconds it was opened by Harper’s mom.

  “Hi,” Mrs. Novak said with a smile. “You must be Harper’s new friends.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George nodded their heads.

  “Her room is right upstairs,” Harper’s mom said, pointing up a staircase. “The one with the butterfly sign on the door.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Novak!” Nancy said.

  The Clue Crew bounded up the stairs to Harper’s room. The door was open a crack, so they peeked inside.

  “I don’t see Harper,” Nancy whispered.

  “Or the butterfly cage,” Bess asked.

  “I’m going in,” George said, opening the door wider.

  “George,” Nancy hissed. “Wait—”

  George was already inside the room. She sighed at the butterfly pillows on Harper’s bed and the butterfly-stitched curtains on her window.

  “Doesn’t she ever get sick of butterflies?” George asked, shaking her head. “What’s wrong with dogs or cats or hamsters—”

  “Look!” Bess said. She pointed to a glass tank on Harper’s desk. “It’s filled with fuzzy caterpillars!”

  “Harper told us she had caterpillars,” Nancy said as she peered inside the tank. “They’re fuzzy, all right.”

  “Did Harper ever say she had a giant caterpillar?” George asked slowly.

  “Giant?” Nancy repeated. She looked to see where George was pointing and gulped. In the back of the room, lying still against the wall, was a super-sized caterpillar!

  “Omigosh—it’s as big as me!” Bess squeaked.

  The Clue Crew stood frozen, staring at the caterpillar. Until it squirmed, and they screamed!

  “Eeeeeek!”

  A head popped out of one end of the caterpillar. It was Harper’s head!

  Harper pulled a set of earbuds out of her ears. “Nancy? Bess? George?” she said. “What are you doing in my room?”

  “Your mom let us up here,” George said. “Didn’t you hear us?”

  “I was listening to music,” Harper said, holding up the earbuds. “I heard you scream, though.”

  “What were you doing inside that thing?” Bess asked.

  “It’s my awesome caterpillar sleeping bag,” Harper said. She crawled out and stood up. “I snuggle in it and listen to music when I’m sad.”

  “Why were you sad?” Nancy asked.

  “Because my Butterfly Whisperer table was an epic fail!” Harper groaned.

  “Where is the butterfly now?” Bess asked.

  “Here,” Harper said. She pulled aside the curtains. On the windowsill was the butterfly cage. Inside was the blue butterfly!

  “Where did you get it?” Nancy asked.

  “It’s my first butterfly to hatch!” Harper explained proudly. “Pretty cool, huh?”

  Nancy wanted to run straight to it, but Harper kept talking. . . .

  “It’s not easy being the new kid at school,” Harper said. “That’s why I made myself the Butterfly Whisperer. To make new friends.”

  “Is that why you took Morpho, too?” George asked.

  “Morpho?” Harper asked, surprised. “I heard he was missing, but why would I take him?”

  Nancy pulled the butterfly barrette from her pocket.

  “We found this at Flutter House today,” Nancy explained. “It was lost there right after our class trip.”

  “So that’s where I lost it!” Harper exclaimed. “The gold one is my favorite barrette.”

  “So you did go back to Flutter House after school?” Nancy asked.

  “I went back with my mom,” Harper said. “I wanted to show her all the neat butterflies.”

  Harper then frowned and said, “But they closed early because of a missing butterfly.”

  “Then where did you lose the barrette?” Bess asked.

  “Probably at the Caterpillar Café,” Harper said. “It was still open, so my mom and I went there for cookies.”

  “Cookies, huh?” George said. She lifted an eyebrow. “What are they shaped like?”

  Harper looked at George as if to say, Duh. “They’re shaped like butterflies!” she said.

  “Could be a lucky guess,” George whispered to Nancy and Bess.

  Nancy studied Harper. Was she telling the truth? Had she lost her barrette in the café, and not in the butterfly dome?

  “While you’re here,” Harper said with a grin, “do you want to see my fuzzy caterpillars?”

  George pointed to the blue butterfly on the windowsill. “We’d rather see that!” she declared.

  Nancy, Bess, and George raced to the sheer white cage and looked inside. The butterfly was blue.

  “This one is smaller than Morpho,” Nancy said.

  “He’s a lighter color, too,” Bess added. “How do we know if it’s a blue morpho?”

  “Here’s how,” George said as she pulled her mom’s minitablet from her jacket pocket. She opened the Butterfly Spy app, held the tablet over the cage, then clicked the button.

  “Is it a morpho?” Nancy asked.

  George turned the tablet over and looked at the screen. “Nope,” she said with a frown. “In fact . . . it’s not even a butterfly!”

  Nancy’s eyes popped wide open. Not a butterfly?

  Take the Cake

  “I heard that, George!” Harper said. “What do you mean it’s not a butterfly?”

  “It’s a moth!” George answered. “This thing identifies butterflies and moths.”

  Nancy, Bess, and Harper huddled around George’s tablet to read the screen.

  “It says: blue tiger moth,” Nancy confirmed.

  “It’s a moth, all right.” Bess sighed.

  Harper groaned under her breath.

  “I can’t believe it!” Harper cried. “I thought my grandparents sent me a butterfly-hatching kit!”

  “Didn’t you read the box?” George asked.

  “I didn’t think I had to.” Harper shrugged. “I thought I knew everything about butterflies.”

  Harper pointed to her caterpillar tank. “Great,” she grumbled. “In just a few days my room will be swarming wi
th moths!”

  “Moths can be pretty,” Bess said.

  “Just don’t let them near your sweaters,” George added.

  Nancy felt bad for Harper. All she wanted to do was make friends.

  “I have an idea, Harper,” Nancy said. “Why don’t you join the Bug Club?”

  “Bug Club?” Harper repeated.

  “Some kids from school meet once a week to talk about bugs,” Nancy explained. “Some even bring their bugs to the meetings.”

  “You can bring your butterflies,” George said, then quickly added, “I mean . . . moths.”

  “And you can make new friends, too,” Nancy said.

  Harper seemed to give it thought. “I guess butterflies are bugs,” she said. “Flying bugs with wings.”

  “I guess,” Nancy said, although she didn’t like to think of them that way.

  “Thanks for telling me about the Bug Club,” Harper said. She then turned to the windowsill. “Would you like to make a wish on my . . . moth?”

  “Yeah!” George sighed. “I wish we would find Morpho already!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George left the Novak house.

  “Our only suspect is Dorothy Danner the wedding planner,” Nancy said.

  “Dorothy told Josh she had an outdoor wedding today,” George remembered. “And they’re freeing a bunch of butterflies.”

  “She said the wedding is in the park,” Bess said. “At three o’clock, I think.”

  Nancy glanced down at her watch. “It’s almost two o’clock now,” she pointed out. “We have plenty of time to make it.”

  “Yippee!” Bess cheered. “We’re going to a wedding!”

  * * *

  The girls ate a quick chicken sandwich lunch at Bess’s house. They then headed straight to the park.

  Nancy, Bess, and George all had the same rules. They could walk anywhere as long as it was no farther than five blocks away, and as long as they were together.

  When they reached the park, they glanced around. They saw the playground, dog run, and basketball court, but no wedding.

  Suddenly Nancy, Bess, and George heard soft music in the distance. They followed the music to the prettiest part of the park. The big open field was surrounded by yellow and white daffodils and neatly trimmed hedges.