Case of the Sneaky Snowman Read online

  “What did you girls do in the park today?” Hannah asked. “Build a snowman?”

  Nancy, Bess, and George sat around the kitchen table eating their soup.

  “We built a snowman two days ago,” Nancy said.

  “Now we’re trying to find him,” George said.

  “Find him?” Hannah said. “Do you think he melted?”

  “No,” Nancy, Bess, and George said together.

  “Well, then,” Hannah chuckled. “He couldn’t have just up and walked away!”

  The girls exchanged looks around the table.

  “Um,” Nancy said slowly. “May we have some crackers, please?”

  After lunch the girls hurried up to Nancy’s room. George sat at Nancy’s computer to start a new detective file. She named it “What Happened to Sherlock?” Nancy and Bess carefully placed the green threads and the note into the clue drawer in Nancy’s desk.

  “I still don’t get it,” Bess said. “If somebody knocked down Sherlock, what happened to his things? Like his scarf, his boots, the dog kibbles, and the broccoli nose?”

  “The guilty person probably took them,” Nancy decided. “Or hid them somewhere.”

  “Poor Sherlock,” George said, sighing as she typed. “Such an awesome snowman—totally wiped out!”

  Wiped out? Wipeout!

  “Remember the kid on the snowboard?” Nancy asked. “He yelled ‘wipeout’ before he almost knocked down Sherlock.”

  “But he didn’t knock him down,” Bess said.

  “He could have come back to finish the job!” Nancy said. “If only we knew his name so we could find him.”

  “Maybe he goes to our school,” George said. “He looked like he could have been in fourth grade.”

  Nancy didn’t know many kids in fourth grade. But she did know her good friend Ned Nickerson!

  “I’ll ask Ned!” Nancy said. “He knows everybody!”

  George stood up so Nancy could sit down at the computer. Nancy clicked the mouse and went online. As she scrolled down her buddy list she saw Ned’s screen name. He was online too!

  Bess and George peered over Nancy’s shoulder as she sent Ned an instant message: “Hi Ned. Do U know a fourth grader who snowboards in the park?”

  The girls waited for Ned’s answer. After a few seconds they heard a chime. Ned’s message popped up on the screen:

  “Bradley Sorensen. He’s bad news!”

  “Bad news? Sounds like our man!” George said.

  Nancy IM’d Ned again: “How can I find him?”

  “Send him an IM,” Ned sent back. “His screen name is easy 2 remember.”

  “What is it?” Nancy typed. She waited for Ned’s message. When it popped up the girls stared at the screen. Bradley’s screen name was—

  “The Snowman!” Nancy gasped.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHILL ON THE HILL

  “That’s the name we found at the scenes of the crimes,” George exclaimed. “Bradley’s got to be guilty!”

  “Go ahead, Nancy!” Bess said. She pointed to the keyboard. “Send Bradley an instant message!”

  Nancy thanked Ned and signed off. “I think I’d rather question Bradley face to face first,” she said. “If we can find him again.”

  “We can look for Bradley in the park,” George said.

  Nancy thought about Bradley’s fancy moves on his snowboard. “Or we can look for him somewhere else,” she said.

  “Where?” Bess and George asked together.

  “Nightmare Hill!” Nancy said with a grin.

  “Whoa!” George cried. “That’s the steepest hill in River Heights!”

  “You have to be superbrave to go down Nightmare Hill,” Bess said. “Or supercrazy!”

  Nancy thought of Bradley and said, “Exactly!”

  Nightmare Hill was five blocks away. The girls had permission to walk there together. As they stood on the hilltop they saw a few extreme sledders and snowboarders. But not Bradley.

  “I guess even Bradley’s not crazy enough to go down Nightmare Hill.” Nancy sighed.

  They were about to walk away when someone yelled, “King of the hill! I’m king of the hill! Woo-hooooo!”

  Nancy whipped around. Zipping down the hill on his snowboard was Bradley Sorensen. He was wearing black ski goggles, a blue parka, and matching pants. Suddenly Nancy noticed something else. . . .

  “Look at Bradley’s gloves!” Nancy said. “They’re green—the same color as those woolly threads we found!”

  “I told you he was guilty!” George said.

  “Not yet,” Nancy said. “There’s one more thing I want to find out.”

  Bradley began climbing back up the hill.

  “Bradley Sorensen!” Nancy called. “I can’t believe it! Can I have your autograph? Can I? Can I?”

  “Huh?” George said.

  “Nancy . . . yuck,” Bess whispered.

  Bradley looked surprised too. “My what?” he asked.

  “Your autograph!” Nancy said. “You’re going to be a famous Olympic snowboarder someday. So I want to be the first fan to get your autograph!”

  “I think I’m going to barf,” George muttered.

  Bradley grinned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an empty candy bar wrapper. Then he pulled out a pen. Nancy watched as Bradley scribbled his name on the wrapper.

  “Here,” Bradley said. He held out the wrapper.

  “But next time I charge five bucks!”

  Nancy snatched the wrapper. She looked at the autograph and shouted—

  “Just as I thought. Green ink!”

  Bess jabbed the autograph.

  “And look!” she said. “The letter S is curly. The same as the messages!”

  “What are you girlies talking about?” Bradley cried.

  “You’re the one who did all those mean pranks in the park,” Nancy said. “You’re the Snowman!”

  Bradley narrowed his eyes at the girls. Then he slipped his feet into his snowboard and said, “Oh, yeah? Catch me if you can!”

  The girls watched as Bradley pushed down the hill.

  “Oh, great,” George said. “He’s getting away!”

  Bess glanced around. She ran over to a big sheet of cardboard and dragged it over.

  “What’s that?” Nancy asked.

  “An instant sled,” Bess said. “Hop on!”

  “But this is Nightmare Hill!” George cried. They sat in a row on the cardboard. Then they leaned forward and pushed it down the hill!

  “Whoaaaaaaaa!” the girls shouted.

  Nancy gritted her teeth as they sped after Bradley. It was like being on the bumpiest, scariest roller-coaster ride!

  “King of the hill!” Bradley shouted as he gained speed. “King of the—aaaaaaah!”

  Bradley’s snowboard flipped over. He flew through the air and landed right in a snowbank.

  The cardboard sled stopped at the bottom of the hill. The girls jumped off and ran to Bradley. He was standing up covered with snow.

  “Now you’re king of the spill!” George laughed.

  “Why did you do it, Bradley?” Nancy asked. “Why did you do all those pranks?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Bradley growled.

  Bradley dusted himself off. Suddenly Nancy spotted something stuck to his sleeve. It looked like a strand of green Silly String!

  “I think you do know what I’m talking about,” Nancy said. She plucked the string from his sleeve and smiled.

  Bradley stared at the string and sighed.

  “Okay, so I squirted a bunch of sleds,” he said. “And papered some bushes. And threw some eggs. Big deal!”

  “You forgot something,” George said. “You knocked down our snowman too.”

  “No way!” Bradley said. “That I didn’t do!”

  “You didn’t?” Nancy asked.

  “Nah!” Bradley said. “I stopped knocking down snowmen in second grade!”

  Bradley picked up his board. Then he
stomped his way up the hill.

  “How do we know he’s telling the truth?” Bess asked.

  George pointed to one of Bradley’s footprints.

  “His boots have that starry design on the sole,” George said. “Just like the footprints near the pranks.”

  “But not like the ones near Sherlock,” Bess said.

  “I don’t think Bradley knocked down Sherlock,” Nancy said. “And he won’t make any more trouble either now that we know who the Snowman is.”

  “But we still don’t know what happened to Sherlock,” George said.

  Nancy, Bess, and George chatted as they walked away from the hill. The friends still couldn’t believe they had sledded down the highest hill in River Heights!

  “And I built a sled!” Bess said proudly. “Well . . . sort of!”

  The girls headed back to the Drew house. Nancy’s puppy Chocolate Chip was tethered to a tree in the front yard. The chain fastened to Chip’s collar was long enough for her to romp around in the snow.

  Chip buried her little brown face in the snow. When she pulled it out, it was completely white!

  “Chip loves the snow!” Nancy said.

  “I can see that!” George laughed.

  Inside the house the girls sat around the kitchen table drinking Hannah’s yummy hot chocolate. They forgot all about the case as they giggled and licked chocolate mustaches from their lips. As they sipped their last drops Hannah held out Chip’s leash.

  “Now that you’ve had some hot chocolate,” Hannah said, “how about walking Chocolate Chip?”

  Nancy, Bess, and George bundled up again and went outside. Chip’s chain was still attached to the tree. But Chip was gone!

  Nancy’s heart beat faster and faster. “B-Bess, George!” she stammered. “Somebody took my dog!”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHIP, CHIP, HOORAY!

  Nancy was about to shout for Hannah when she heard a bark. She ran onto the sidewalk and looked down the street. A boy was carrying Chip away!

  “It looks like Toby Leo!” Nancy said.

  “What’s he doing with Chip?” Bess asked.

  Chip’s ears flopped up and down as Toby hurried down the block. “Toby—stop!” Nancy shouted.

  Toby looked over his shoulder. His mouth dropped open when he saw the girls. Chip barked. As she jumped out of Toby’s arms she dragged the scarf off his neck.

  “Sorry, Nancy!” Toby called as he ran away. “I didn’t mean it! Honest!”

  The girls raced over to Chip. Nancy scooped her up and held her tight. She attached Chip’s leash to her puppy’s collar.

  “Why would Toby take Chip?” Nancy asked.

  “Maybe he wanted a puppy,” Bess said with a shrug. “Everybody wants a cute little puppy.”

  Nancy thought of Cassidy making snow angels and singing about a puppy. That’s when it began to click.

  “Didn’t Madame Chocolata tell Cassidy she would get a puppy?” Nancy asked.

  “Yeah, so?” George said.

  “Maybe Toby took Chip to give to Cassidy!” Nancy said. “So it would look like Deirdre’s fortune came true!”

  “Maybe Toby is making all of Madame Chocolata’s fortunes come true!” George said. “Like Marcy’s bracelet. And Trina’s basketball—”

  “And Sherlock!” Bess gasped.

  Nancy picked up the scarf. It had a tiny hole at the end, just like the one she had wrapped around Sherlock.

  “Toby lives right around the corner,” Nancy said. She tied the scarf around her own neck. “Let’s see what we can find out.”

  The Clue Crew walked Chip around the corner to the Leo house. George rang the doorbell. When no one answered they headed around the house to the backyard. There was a swing set and a snow-covered picnic table.

  But no Toby.

  Just then Chip tugged at her leash. The little puppy pulled Nancy in the direction of a tree.

  “What is it, girl?” Nancy asked.

  “Maybe she has to go again,” George said.

  But when Chip stopped at the tree she started digging. She dug and dug until she reached something in the snow. Nancy could see they were little round dog kibbles.

  “Bess, George, look!” Nancy said. “Those are the same kind of kibbles we used for Sherlock’s nose and mouth!”

  “What else is down there?” George asked.

  While Chip munched on the kibbles, the girls brushed away more snow. Buried underneath was a pair of old rubber boots.

  “My dad’s boots!” George exclaimed.

  Nancy picked one up. It felt heavy. She tipped it over and a stalk of broccoli and earmuffs spilled out!

  “Those are the earmuffs I made for Sherlock!” Bess cried. “And that’s his broccoli nose!”

  Nancy scratched Chip behind her ears. “Good girl, Chip!” she said. “You found some awesome clues. And I think we found the person who knocked down Sherlock!”

  Nancy hurried to bring Chip home. Then the Clue Crew marched straight to the park. They walked past a long line of kids in front of Madame Chocolata’s tent.

  “Hey! Wait your turn!” a boy shouted out.

  “Quit jumping the line!” a girl said.

  “Um—we’re delivering marshmallows,” George said quickly. “Can’t tell fortunes without marshmallows!”

  The girls slipped inside the tent. Deirdre and Toby were sitting on the blanket counting dollar bills.

  “Fifteen, sixteen,” Toby counted. “Seventeen—”

  “Toby Leo!” Nancy snapped.

  “Wha!” Toby cried. The dollars flew out of his hands as he jumped up. “Nancy! I-I g-gave you back your dog!”

  “What’s up?” Deirdre asked. “I mean—what can Madame Chocolata tell you today?”

  “How about telling us if Toby knocked down our snowman,” Nancy said.

  “Tell us, Toby,” George said. “Or we’ll tell your parents that you took Nancy’s dog right out of her yard!”

  “I told you I didn’t mean to take the puppy!” Toby said. “It was temporary insanity! Temporary insanity!”

  “Dog? Snowman?” Deirdre said. “What’s going on?”

  Toby hung his head. “Okay, okay,” he said. “I’ve been listening in on your fortunes, Deirdre. And I’ve been making them come true.”

  “What?” Deirdre gasped.

  “I knocked down their snowman,” Toby went on.

  “I even put on his boots and walked out of the park—so it would look like his footsteps!”

  “And you buried the boots in your yard,” Nancy said. “Along with the kibbles, the earmuffs, the broccoli nose—”

  “But I kept the scarf!” Toby cut in. He pointed to the scarf around Nancy’s neck. “Blue is my favorite color!”

  “Why did you do it, Toby?” Bess asked.

  “So Madame Chocolata would have lots of customers,” Toby explained. “We were splitting the money even-steven. The more money I got, the more I’d have to buy that new sled I wanted.”

  Nancy got it. No wonder Toby was staring into the toy store window yesterday.

  “But I had to use all my money to buy stuff like pizzas and plastic bracelets,” Toby said with a frown. “I even gave Trina Vanderhoof one of my own basketballs because I couldn’t afford to buy a new one.”

  Deirdre glared at Toby long and hard.

  “All this time I thought my fortunes were coming true!” she said between gritted teeth. “I was going to have my own fortune cookies! A new website! I was even going to write a bestselling book called Mystic Marshmallows!”

  “Sorry, Deirdre,” Toby said. “Once I started I couldn’t quit. But I’ll quit now. I promise!”

  Deirdre reached up and pulled off her turban. “Well, if I can’t tell fortunes, then I quit too!” she declared.

  “What?” Nancy, Bess, and George said together.

  “These hoop earrings pinch and this stupid tent is freezing,” Deirdre groaned. “And if I have to stare at one more marshmallow I’ll flip!”


  “So you’re not Madame Chocolata anymore?” Nancy asked.

  “I am so over it!” Deirdre said. She turned to Bess. “I’m sorry I said you’d fall on the ice. I was just mad you called me silly.”

  “And I’m sorry I called you silly,” Bess said.

  Nancy was so happy she could do cartwheels. The Clue Crew solved the case. And Bess and Deirdre made up!

  Just then the kids outside the tent began to shout.

  “We want Madame Chocolata! We want Madame Chocolata! We want Madame Chocolata!”

  “Uh-oh,” Nancy said. “How are you going to tell all those kids that you quit?”

  “Oh, I’m not telling them,” Deirdre said. She crossed her arms and turned to Toby.

  “Me?” Toby squeaked.

  Nancy, Bess, and George slipped out of the tent past the crowd.

  “Did you hear that?” Bess said happily. “Deirdre made up the fortune that I’d fall in the show!”

  “And Toby confessed to knocking down Sherlock!” Nancy said. “So we solved the case!”

  They were about to high-five when Nancy saw something big and white flit by in the distance. This time Bess and George saw it too.

  “Did you see that?” Bess gasped. “It looked like a walking snowman!”

  “He’s back,” Nancy said slowly.

  “Back?” George said. “You mean you saw him once before?”

  Nancy explained how she had seen a figure that looked like a snowman. But she hadn’t said anything because she wasn’t sure if she saw it or not.

  The girls walked carefully to where they had seen the figure, but all they could see were his footprints. They weren’t like the footprints the boots had made, though. They were huge deep holes in the snow.

  Nancy, Bess, and George were silent as they stared at the strange footprints.

  “This case is not closed,” Nancy said. “Not until we find out who that was.”

  “Or what it was,” Bess said with a shiver.

  That night Nancy sat in the den watching TV. She wasn’t really paying attention, though. She was too busy wondering about the mysterious figure they had seen in the park that day.