Valentine's Day Secret Read online

  George nodded as they parked their bikes. It was Saturday and the girls each had permission to pedal to River Street.

  “Maybe we’ll see Bess around,” George said. “She sometimes goes shopping with her parents on Saturdays.”

  “Maybe,” Nancy said.

  But deep inside Nancy hoped not to see Bess. The last thing she wanted was for George to find out about the party! She didn’t want George to feel worse than she already did.

  “Look, here comes Marcy!” George said.

  Nancy looked up and smiled. Marcy and her little sister Cassidy were coming down the block.

  “Hey, guys!” Marcy said. “Are you psyched for Bess’s party today or what?”

  Nancy froze. Uh-oh.

  “Bess is having a party?” George gulped. “Today?”

  “Duh!” Marcy laughed. “Bess is going to crown me Queen of the Valentines because of all the cards I got!”

  “Oh,” George murmured.

  “You’re going, right?” Marcy asked. “I mean, I know you guys had some kind of fight, but you’re still best friends, right?”

  Nancy was about to answer when Cassidy began jumping up and down.

  “I want to go to the party too! I want to go to the party too!” Cassidy said.

  “No way, Cassidy!” Marcy snapped. “It’s for third and fourth graders and you’re only in kindergarten!”

  Cassidy’s face turned as red as her sneakers. “Then I’m telling!” she said. “I’m telling everyone that—”

  Marcy clapped her hand over Cassidy’s mouth.

  “We’d better go,” Marcy said. “I have to get ready for the party—”

  “Mmmph! Mmmph! Mmmph!” Cassidy screamed.

  As they left, Marcy’s hand was still clapped over Cassidy’s mouth.

  “What did Cassidy mean?” Nancy asked. “What did she want to tell?”

  “Who cares what Cassidy was saying?” George cried. “Bess is having a party without me!”

  “She didn’t invite me either,” Nancy replied.

  “I can’t believe it!” George said. “We’ve been going to each other’s parties since we were five years old!”

  “I know,” Nancy said.

  “Remember the Halloween party when Bess sneezed while she was bobbing for apples?” George asked. “I was the only one who kept playing!”

  “I know,” Nancy answered. “That’s why we have to prove to Bess that you didn’t write that creepy card.”

  George scowled as she stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets.

  “And who knows?” Nancy added cheerily. “We might even solve it in time for Bess’s party today. How cool would that be?”

  “Way cool,” George mumbled.

  The two friends walked down the block into Farmer Fran’s Barnyard Buddies. It was always packed with kids on Saturdays.

  Nancy and George went straight to the table where Henderson had sat the day they were there. Two girls and a boy were sitting at the table, working on their stuffed animals.

  “Mind if I look under your table?” George asked. “I’m looking for some chewed-up gum.”

  The boy wrinkled his nose.

  “Wouldn’t you rather chew a fresh piece?” he asked.

  Not explaining, George darted under the table. Nancy waited until she crawled out.

  “No blue gum,” George said, shaking her head. “Just a few wads of pink, yellow, and white.”

  “Ew,” one of the girls said as Nancy and George walked away.

  “Henderson still could have been chewing blue gum that day,” Nancy said. “Maybe instead of sticking it under the table, he stuck it on your cow.”

  Nancy and George were about to look for more clues when they saw Trina Vanderhoof. Trina played basketball every Saturday. She was wearing her uniform and holding a basketball under her arm.

  “Hi, Trina,” Nancy said.

  “Weren’t you just here yesterday?” George asked.

  Trina nodded and said, “My mom said that if I find a basketball uniform for my stuffed horse, she’ll buy it for me for my birthday.”

  “Oh,” Nancy said. But then she thought of something. Something important …

  “Trina!” Nancy said. “Weren’t you sitting at a table near ours yesterday?”

  “Sure,” Trina said. “We waved to each other a couple of times, remember?”

  Nancy nodded and said, “But did you see anything weird happen at our table?”

  Trina flipped her basketball from one hand to the other as she thought. Finally she said, “Yeah—I did!”

  “What?” Nancy and George asked together.

  “Bess braided the tail of her stuffed horse,” Trina said. “I like Bess, but I thought that was kind of weird.”

  Nancy shook her head. “That’s not what I meant,” she said. “When we were at the Cocoa Café, did anyone—”

  “George must have made an awesome cow!” Trina interrupted. She twirled the basketball on her finger.

  “What do you mean?” George asked.

  “The helper in the pig suit went over to your table and picked it up,” Trina said. “She looked like she was checking it out—in a good way.”

  “When?” Nancy demanded.

  “While you were at the Cocoa Café!” Trina replied.

  Nancy grabbed George’s arm and gave it a squeeze. The helper in the pig suit was Tanya!

  “What else did Tanya do?” Nancy asked.

  “Did she stick something in my cow’s pocket?” George asked. “Something that looked like a valentine?”

  Trina was starting to look bored. She kept glancing over at the Costume Corral.

  “I don’t know,” Trina said. “I was busy dressing my horse. Now if I could just find a basketball uniform to dress him in. That would be so cool.”

  “Good luck, Trina,” Nancy said. “And thanks.”

  “See you at Bess’s party later,” Trina said. She walked toward the Costume Corral, dribbling her basketball all the way.

  “Bess’s party! Bess’s party!” George cried. “Everybody’s going to Bess’s party except us!”

  “Forget that, George!” Nancy said excitedly. “Trina just gave us the best clue!”

  “So it was Tanya who put that creepy valentine in my cow’s pocket,” George said. “Let’s tell Farmer Fran now!”

  “Not yet, George,” Nancy said. “We have to question Tanya first.”

  “Fine,” George said. “Then we tell Farmer Fran!”

  The teenage helpers were in the middle of their song and dance show. Tanya was doing fancy cartwheels across the stage in her pig suit.

  “What a ham!” George chuckled.

  When the show was over Nancy and George ran straight to Tanya. But before they could say anything, Tanya smiled at George.

  “Hey!” Tanya said, her braces flashing like lightning. “How did you like that little surprise I stuck in your Barnyard Buddy the other day?”

  George’s mouth dropped wide open.

  So did Nancy’s.

  “You did do it?” George cried.

  “Sure!” Tanya said. “I thought you guys would never leave your table. But when you went to the Cocoa Café, I made my move!”

  Nancy couldn’t believe her ears. Not only was Tanya admitting to giving the creepy valentine to George, she was bragging about it!

  “Look, Tanya,” George said. “I said I was sorry for knocking down your pig pile.”

  “And I’m sorry I yelled at you the way I did,” Tanya admitted. “That’s why I decided to give you a ticket.”

  “Ticket?” George asked.

  “What ticket?” Nancy asked.

  “A prize ticket!” Tanya said, raising an eyebrow. “Give yours to Farmer Fran so you can collect your prize.”

  Tanya flashed another shimmering smile. Then she turned to leave.

  “I didn’t get any prize ticket, Nancy,” George insisted. “I checked both my cow’s pockets right after I found that creepy valentine!”

/>   Nancy shook her head back and forth. “I don’t think Tanya gave you the creepy valentine, George,” she said.

  “You don’t?” George asked. “Why not?”

  “Because Tanya couldn’t have been chewing blue gum—or any kind of gum,” Nancy explains. “Tanya wears braces!”

  Nancy and George left the store and began walking down River Street.

  “We have only one suspect left,” Nancy said.

  “Henderson!” George said as she stopped walking.

  “Right,” Nancy said.

  “No—I mean, there he is!” George said. She pointed through the window of Pete’s Pizza Paradise. Sitting alone in a booth next to the window was Henderson.

  Henderson was wearing a karate uniform and orange belt. He was making a mess trying to karate-chop a cheesy slice of pizza.

  “Come on,” Nancy said. She waved her hand in the direction of the door. “Henderson might be making a mess, but he’s going to come clean.”

  Once inside, the girls approached Henderson’s booth. Henderson stuffed the last of his piece of pizza into his mouth.

  “What’s up?” Henderson asked.

  “First of all, you’re not supposed to talk with your mouth full,” Nancy said. “And second—we want to ask you a few questions.”

  Henderson swallowed with a big gulp. He wiped his mouth with the back of hand and said, “The answer is yes!”

  “Yes—what?” George asked.

  “Yes, you can have my leftovers!” Henderson replied. He stood, picked up his greasy paper plate and a balled-up wad of dirty napkins, and shoved them into George’s hands.

  “Gee, thanks!” George grumbled.

  Mr. Murphy, Henderson’s dad, walked over from the cash register. “Come on, big guy!” he called. “You don’t want to be late for karate!”

  “Hi-yaaa!” Henderson cried. He karate-chopped the air as he followed his dad out the door.

  “Great,” Nancy said. “How are we going to know if Henderson’s guilty now?”

  George placed the tray on the table with a clunk. But as she lifted her hand, something sticky was webbed between her fingers.

  “Yuck!” George said. “Henderson stuck his gum under his tray!”

  Nancy stared at the gum on George’s hand.

  “George!” she said. “That is so great!”

  “Great? You mean gross!” George cried.

  “No—great!” Nancy said with a smile. “Look what color it is!”

  “It’s blue,” George said slowly. The gum stretched between her fingers as she spread them apart.

  “Just like the blue gum we found on your Barnyard Buddy!” Nancy said.

  The girls decided not to save the icky gum as evidence. But they did decide to question Henderson after his karate class.

  “There’s only one karate school in River Heights,” Nancy said. “Let’s go to our headquarters and look up the address.”

  “After I wash my hand,” George said. She wrinkled her nose at the gum. “At least three times!”

  Back at the Drew house the girls raced up to their headquarters. As George sat down at the computer, she noticed Nancy’s scrapbook on the desk.

  “Hey, it’s your valentines!” George said as she flipped through the pages. She stopped to stare at one page. “Nancy, check it out!”

  Nancy looked to see where George was pointing. On the page was a valentine with a red heart and a smaller pink heart flap.

  “It looks just like the creepy valentine you got!” Nancy said. She picked up the flap and read the signature. “It says—Happy Valentine’s Day! Your friend, Marcy Rubin!”

  The girls compared the nice valentine in Nancy’s scrapbook to the mean one. The cards were a perfect match. So were the two handwritings!

  “Marcy wrote me that creepy valentine?” George cried. “Why would she do that?”

  “Didn’t you once spill grape juice on Marcy’s arts and crafts project?” Nancy asked.

  “Marcy didn’t mind,” George insisted. “She’d run out of purple paint!”

  “I don’t get it.” Nancy sighed. “But it sure looks like Marcy wrote the creepy valentine.”

  “Why didn’t you notice Marcy’s valentine when you stuck it in your scrapbook, Nancy?” George wanted to know.

  Nancy remembered the afternoon she was scrapbooking. It was the same afternoon she found out about Bess’s party.

  “I must have been thinking about something else,” Nancy admitted.

  “You do get distracted sometimes!” George joked. “Let’s find Marcy and ask her a bunch of questions.”

  “Can’t,” Nancy said. “She’s at Bess’s party now. And we weren’t invited.”

  “What are we going to do?” George asked. Her eyes darted around the room as she thought. Finally she smiled and said, “Bess loves my mom’s veggie lasagna. There’s always a humongous pan of it in our basement freezer. Maybe Bess will let us be a part of her party if we bring her some.”

  Nancy nodded. George’s mom ran her own catering company. She cooked all the food and delivered it too.

  “Go for it,” Nancy said.

  George quickly phoned her mom. In less than an hour Mrs. Fayne pulled up in her catering van. Nancy and George climbed in the backseat next to a jumbo defrosted pan of lasagna.

  “What if Bess doesn’t let us in?” Nancy asked.

  “Then I hope you like lasagna!” George answered.

  Mrs. Fayne drove the van to the Marvin house. She waited in the van while the girls rang the doorbell. After a few seconds Bess’s voice called through the door:

  “If you came for my party, you’re too late,” she said. “It’s just ending.”

  Nancy stepped closer to the door. “George has a giant pan of her mom’s veggie lasagna for you, Bess,” she said. “With extra cheese.”

  “And it’s extra heavy!” George called. “So open the door!”

  The door flew wide open. Bess was standing in the door frame. Behind her were a bunch of girls from her party.

  Nancy saw Kendra Jackson, Andrea Wu, Trina, and Nadine. Where was Marcy?

  “Tell your mom thanks,” Bess said with a small smile. She took the pan and was about to close the door when George stepped forward.

  “Wait, Bess!” George said. “We have to speak to Marcy!”

  Suddenly Marcy squeezed through the crowd of girls. On her head was a gold cardboard crown. Across her chest was a sash made out of red paper hearts.

  “That’s Queen Marcy!” Marcy declared, raising both arms. “Marcy Rubin—Queen of the Valentines!”

  Nancy narrowed her eyes at Marcy. How could she be such a show-off after the horrible thing she did to George?

  “Okay, Queen Marcy,” Nancy said. “We know what you did.”

  Marcy blinked hard.

  “Um … what do you mean?” she asked.

  “In other words,” George said, folding her arms across her chest, “we know what you wrote!”

  Marcy paled as all eyes turned to her. After a few moments of awkward silence she groaned under her breath.

  “My little sister must have opened her big mouth!” Marcy cried. “I did it, okay? I did it!”

  Nancy leaned closer to George. “Was that just a confession?” she whispered from the corner of her mouth.

  “Sounded like one to me,” George whispered from the corner of hers.

  “What did you write, Marcy?” Bess asked.

  Marcy’s eyes began welling with tears. “You know all those valentines I got on Valentine’s Day?” she asked.

  Everyone nodded their heads.

  “I wrote them myself!” Marcy cried.

  “Huh?” Nancy and George said at the same time.

  “I wanted everyone to think I was popular!” Marcy explained. She pointed to the gold crown on her head. “And it worked. See?”

  Nancy’s head felt like it was spinning. It was a confession—but not the one she was expecting from Marcy!

  “Did you also give t
his to George?” Nancy asked. She pulled the creepy valentine out of her pocket and read it out loud. “Roses are red, violets are blue, feet are stinky, and so are you!”

  Giggles and gasps.

  “I did write that,” Marcy said, scrunching her eyebrows. “But it wasn’t for George. It was for Henderson!”

  “Why Henderson?” George asked.

  “He gave me one of those creepy valentines in school that day,” Marcy explained. “So I wrote him one too!”

  “When did you give it to him?” Nancy asked.

  “At Barnyard Buddies,” Marcy said. “When he wasn’t looking, I stuck it in his cow’s pocket. I didn’t sign it because I wanted him to wonder who it was from. You know, psyche him out!”

  “So you didn’t write that creepy card to me, George!” Bess said, smiling at her cousin. “I knew it all the time!”

  “Yeah, right,” George said.

  “I’m sorry I blamed you,” Bess said. “Can we be friends again?”

  “You bet we can!” George declared.

  Bess shoved the lasagna pan into Nancy’s hands and gave her cousin a hug.

  Nancy was cartwheel-happy. Her best friends were best friends again. But she still didn’t get it. How did George end up with Henderson’s cow?

  Suddenly Trina’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

  “Wait a minute, you guys,” Trina said. “Marcy tricked us.”

  “That was dumb, Marcy,” Andrea said. “You already have lots of friends.”

  “Yeah,” Nadine said. “Us!”

  “So what’s the big deal about being popular?” Andrea asked.

  Marcy shrugged. “I guess it was kind of dumb,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  “We’re over it,” Kendra said. “Come on, you guys. Let’s get our goody bags from Mrs. Marvin.”

  The girls turned and headed back into the house. Marcy looked at Bess and asked, “Can I still wear the crown?”

  “You already got cupcake frosting on it,” Bess said. “So yeah, sure.”

  “Cool!” Marcy said as she turned to follow the others. Bess stayed behind at the door.

  “I really missed the Clue Crew,” Bess told Nancy and George. “Can I come back?”