The Lemonade Raid Page 3
“Well, I’ve got to get these dogs back to their owners. Sorry about raiding your lemon box, Nancy.” Ned walked away.
George scrambled out of the lake. “I don’t feel like jumping from the tire swing anymore.”
“Me neither,” Nancy said, carefully making her way to the prickly bushes. “But I’m going to grab one of those squishy lemons. It could be a clue.”
When Nancy and George were back on shore, Hannah walked them to the stand and said goodbye. “Don’t be late for dinner,” she said to Nancy as she headed out of the park.
“I’m going to get you a special treat for staying here while George and I went swimming,” Nancy said to Bess.
“What is it?” Bess said, jumping up and down.
“You’ll see,” Nancy said.
• • •
“Hi, Sid,” Nancy said when she walked into the Double Dip.
Sid Alden was scooping lemonade supreme ice cream into a cone for a customer. “Back again so soon?” he asked.
“I need three cups of ice cream: a scoop of fudge ripple for me, one scoop of chocolate for George, and a special peanut butter cup sundae for Bess,” Nancy said.
“I wonder where Bobby is,” Sid said, giving the other customer his change.
Nancy didn’t say anything.
“I’ve been so busy,” Sid continued, “and Bobby always seems to disappear just at the wrong moment.”
Nancy thought about her promise to Bobby. She wasn’t going to tell Sid that Bobby hung out in the park sometimes. But she didn’t like keeping a secret from him.
As Sid squirted chocolate syrup onto the peanut butter cup ice cream, Nancy looked at all the other flavors through the glass display case. Then something caught her eye.
There, behind the counter, she saw a box of lemons! Nancy’s mouth fell open.
“Something wrong?” Sid asked.
Nancy looked up quickly. “Uh, I was just wondering where you got that box from.”
Sid plopped a cherry on top of Bess’s sundae. “Lemonade supreme is doing so well,” he said, “that I sent Bobby to Greenfield’s to buy some more lemons.”
Nancy’s heart sank. The box wasn’t hers. It was hopeless. She was never going to solve this mystery.
Sid looked at Nancy. “I know something’s wrong.” He walked around the display case and bent over, his hands on his knees. “Tell me about it.”
“I thought that box of lemons was mine,” Nancy said in a tiny voice. She told Sid all about the mystery.
“I’m sorry, Nancy,” Sid said, touching her chin. “Will some more free ice cream make you feel better?”
Nancy looked up at Sid. He’s even nicer than Santa Claus, she thought.
The little bell on the front door rang. Bobby walked into the ice-cream shop.
“It’s about time, Bobby,” Sid said to his grandson. “Take this delivery bag to Mrs. Cranford’s house—and quick. It’s for a party.”
Bobby took the big bag from his grandfather. It had Double Dip printed on it in fancy pink letters.
Then Sid handed Nancy the three cups of ice cream in a fancy bag, too.
“Thanks, Sid!” Nancy said. “I feel better already.”
Back at the park, Nancy, Bess, and George ate their ice cream and quickly went back to work squeezing lemons.
No sooner were they covered with juice than Brenda walked up to them.
“You guys are working hard for nothing.” Brenda laughed, pointing at the sticky mess on their table. “Alison and I are going to win.”
“Why don’t you just go back to your own stand?” Bess said.
“Okay, but at five o’clock today, we’ll find out who’s going to eat bugs,” Brenda said.
“Or worse!” Nancy shouted as Brenda walked away. She took a lemon from the grocery bag. She wanted to throw it at Brenda, but she didn’t. Instead she cut it in half and put it on the juicer.
As she squeezed the lemon, Nancy thought of something Sid had said. He had told Nancy that his box of lemons was from Greenfield’s grocery. Nancy looked down at her sack. Greenfield’s lemons came in bags, not boxes!
Nancy stood up so fast she almost knocked over the juice she had worked so hard to squeeze.
“What’s going on, Nancy?” George asked, startled.
Nancy was so angry she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Sid Alden is a liar!”
7
A Smelly Clue
Sid, a liar?” Bess said. “Impossible!”
“He gave us free ice cream twice,” George added. “A liar wouldn’t do that.”
“Maybe there was a reason he gave us all that ice cream,” Nancy said. Then she explained how she had seen the box of lemons at the Double Dip.
“He said the box was from Greenfield’s,” she continued. “But it couldn’t be.”
“You’re right,” George said. “My mom always gets lemons from Greenfield’s. And they’re always in bags.”
“Sid definitely could have bought us the new lemons,” Bess added. “A kid might not have had enough money.”
By the sad looks on Bess’s and George’s faces, Nancy could tell her friends were convinced. “We have to go to the Double Dip and get our box. Then we’ll have proof,” Nancy said.
“But, Nancy,” Bess said, “if we stop selling lemonade now, Brenda and Alison will win the contest.”
“This contest is over,” Brenda said loudly as she and Alison walked up. They were carrying their jar full of quarters.
“Let’s count the money,” Alison said.
For the next fifteen minutes, both teams counted their quarters. Then they counted again to make sure they were right the first time.
“Alison and I made fourteen dollars and seventy-five cents,” Brenda announced. “Beat that.”
Nancy was almost finished counting the money out loud for the second time. “Fourteen dollars and fifty cents… seventy-five cents…” Then she looked up and plunked down the last quarter. “Fifteen dollars!”
“We won! We won!” Nancy, Bess, and George screamed together. They hugged one another and jumped up and down in a circle. “Yay!”
“No!” Brenda shouted. “I’m not going to eat a bug.”
“Me neither,” Alison said, looking worried.
“Don’t worry,” Bess said, giving them a big fake smile. “We’re going to make you do something much worse.”
“Meet us by the big oak tree at noon tomorrow,” George said. “Or else.”
Brenda and Alison looked at each other and frowned.
“We’ll be there,” Brenda said, but she didn’t sound happy.
Nancy, Bess, and George packed their things in the wagon.
“What are we going to make Brenda and Alison do?” Bess asked.
“I don’t know,” Nancy said, “but it has to be really gross.”
All the way home, the girls tried to think of something awful enough for Brenda and Alison. But when they reached Nancy’s house, they still hadn’t decided. The three friends unloaded the wagon and carried everything into the kitchen.
“We’re going to the Double Dip,” Nancy told Hannah.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Hannah said. “It’s very close to dinnertime.”
“Please, Hannah? We just need to talk to Sid. We won’t eat any ice cream,” Nancy promised.
“Okay. But be back in half an hour, Nancy,” Hannah said.
On the way to the shop the girls talked about the case.
“I can’t believe Sid took our lemons,” George said.
“Yeah.” Nancy kicked a pebble.
“The Double Dip’s been so crowded,” Bess said, “you’d think he’d be too busy to go around stealing from kids.”
“What did you say, Bess?” Nancy asked.
“I said that Sid was really busy,” Bess answered. “Why?”
Nancy snapped her fingers. “Sid was really busy,” Nancy said. “He even told me he was at the Double Dip making ice cream when our lemons were sto
len.”
“But he could be lying,” George said.
“I don’t think he is,” Nancy said. “I haven’t seen him in the park at all. Have you guys?”
Bess and George shook their heads.
“And making that ice cream takes time,” Bess said. “Right?”
“But then who did steal the lemons?” George asked.
“Well, I have an idea,” Nancy said slowly. “But I’m not sure.”
The girls walked silently until they reached the door to the ice-cream shop.
“I can’t take it anymore, Nancy,” Bess said suddenly. “You have to tell us who you think it is.”
Nancy turned to her friends. “The more I think about it, the more the clues point to Bobby,” she said. “He was around our stand a lot. He works at the Double Dip, so he could have put the box behind the counter. He’s nice enough to feel guilty and buy us extra lemons. And he has a job, so he could pay for them.”
“I just remembered something,” George said. “Ned said that he saw Bobby carrying a box of ice cream. Maybe that box didn’t have ice cream in it. Maybe it was full of lemons instead!”
“The only thing left to do is see if that box is ours.” Nancy sighed. “If it is, that proves Bobby stole it.”
“But he bought our lemonade,” Bess said. “Why would he steal from us?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Nancy said. “Here’s the plan. You and George keep Bobby and Sid busy. I’ll see if I can find that box.”
When they walked into the ice-cream shop, Sid was behind the counter, setting up for the after-dinner rush. He was carrying tubs of ice cream from the big freezers in the back of the shop and putting them in the display case.
Nancy peeked through the glass case at the spot where she had seen the box of lemons earlier. It wasn’t there. How am I going to get a chance to snoop? she wondered. Then out loud, she said, “Where’s Bobby?”
“Bobby went on an errand,” Sid answered. “He’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“I need a peanut butter cup sundae with sprinkles,” Bess said, trying to keep Sid from going into the back of the shop.
“Didn’t you already have ice cream today?” Sid asked.
“Just one teeny-weeny scoop,” Bess said. “Please?” She gave Sid her sweetest smile.
Sid laughed and put a very small scoop of ice cream into a cup.
“How come you put the ice cream in the big freezers at night?” George asked. “Isn’t this counter freezer cold enough?”
Good thinking, George, Nancy said to herself. Sid loved talking about that stuff.
While Sid told Bess and George about how different temperatures affect ice cream, Nancy quietly slipped down a short hallway. She walked to the back of the restaurant and opened the door to the storage room. There were no lemon boxes there.
Then she tiptoed out the back door into the alley and saw a big green metal Dumpster with the top open. Maybe the box is in there, Nancy thought. She pulled a wooden crate close to the Dumpster and climbed up for a better look.
This is really smelly, Nancy thought, holding her nose. But she knew she had to look inside. All the really good detectives on TV went through garbage to find clues.
Then Nancy smiled. Right on top was the cardboard box. Nancy reached in. Just as she grabbed the box, she heard a loud voice.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
8
Grosser than Gross
Bobby was standing in the alley, holding a Greenfield’s grocery bag.
Nancy lowered the box back into the Dumpster so Bobby couldn’t see it.
“You could get hurt up there, Nancy,” Bobby said. “Let me help you down.”
Nancy didn’t want his help. She didn’t want him to see her with the box until she could make sure it was hers.
“Do you always go through other people’s garbage?” He moved closer. “What are you doing, anyway?”
Nancy had to think fast. If Bobby came any nearer he’d see the box.
“Uh, garbage can be really interesting,” Nancy answered quickly.
“Garbage, interesting?” Bobby repeated.
“Yes, um, I mean, I think I lost something in here,” Nancy said. “And it would be interesting if I found it.”
Bobby frowned and shook his head.
“Sometimes you’re a strange kid, Nancy,” he muttered. “Well, I’d better take this stuff inside. My grandpa’s waiting.”
Now Nancy had a chance to look at the box carefully. It was addressed to the Drew family. The box was hers!
Nancy raced into the shop. Bobby looked as if he was about to leave, but she held out the box toward him. “Where did you get this box, Bobby?” she asked loudly.
George and Bess were sitting at one of the little tables.
Sid looked up. “Oh, you’re still interested in that box from Greenfield’s.”
Bobby stopped short, but he didn’t turn around.
“Is it really from Greenfield’s, Bobby?” Nancy asked.
“How should I know?” Bobby said. “All cardboard boxes look alike.”
“What’s going on here?” Sid asked. He looked at Bobby, then at Nancy.
“Remember when I told you someone took our lemons?” Nancy asked Sid.
Sid nodded.
“We think it was Bobby.” Nancy walked over to where Bess and George were sitting.
“Why would I do that?” Bobby asked.
“I don’t know,” Nancy answered. “But if you didn’t, how did our box end up in your Dumpster?”
“That’s the box they gave me at Greenfield’s!” Bobby yelled.
“Enough!” Sid shouted, making everyone stop talking. Then he looked at Nancy. “What makes you think that’s your box?” he asked gently.
“This,” Nancy said. She handed Sid the box and showed him the label. “It’s addressed to my family. My father’s friend in California sent us a whole box of lemons from his very own trees.”
Sid took a deep breath and looked at his grandson. “What’s the meaning of this, Bobby?”
Bobby turned bright red. “You’re right, Nancy,” he said. “I did take your lemons. I had to.”
“You’d better explain right now, young man,” Sid said.
“You gave me money and sent me to the store to buy extra lemons for lemonade supreme,” Bobby started to explain. “And I bought them from Greenfield’s grocery store. It was so hot and such a nice day,” Bobby continued. “I stopped at the park—”
“I told you to come right back,” Sid interrupted.
Bobby looked at his sneakers. “I put the bag down on the shore of the lake and went for a swim. While I was swimming, the bag fell into the water.”
Nancy remembered the floating yellow lemons by the prickly bushes.
“I knew you would be mad at me.” Bobby looked up at his grandfather. “So later, when all the dogs started running around, I took Nancy’s lemons.”
“Didn’t you think we’d mind?” George asked.
“I knew you would. That’s why I bought more right away with my own money,” Bobby said. “I left them on Nancy’s porch that night.”
“Thank you,” Nancy said, “even though you took them in the first place.”
“I’m glad you repaid these girls,” Sid said to Bobby. “But that doesn’t make up for stealing.”
Bobby looked at Nancy, Bess, and George. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
Nancy knew that Bobby really meant it. She remembered the note from the lemon stealer. Bobby was sorry even before she solved the mystery, she thought.
“Well, since you gave us the other lemons, I guess it’s okay.”
“Wait a minute.” Bess stood up. “There is something you could do for us, Bobby.”
George looked at her cousin and giggled. “Yeah, something gross.…”
• • •
The next day at noon Nancy, Bess, and George met Brenda
and Alison at the big oak tree.
“Let’s get this over with,” Brenda said.
“Anything but a worm,” Alison said, squirming.
“We said it was going to be grosser than eating a bug,” George said.
Then Bess went behind the tree. When she came back out, Bobby was with her. “You both have to kiss him,” she said, bringing Bobby closer to Brenda and Alison.
“On the lips,” Nancy added with a sly smile.
Brenda and Alison looked at each other. “Eeeeewwwwww!”
• • •
That evening Nancy sat on her porch with her blue notebook. She turned to her latest mystery page and wrote:
The Missing Lemon Mystery—Solved!
Bobby Alden did the wrong thing, but he made up for it as soon as he could.
Brenda and Alison should never have gotten into a contest where the loser has to do anything the winner says. Because my best friends and I can think up things that are grosser than gross.
Case closed.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First Aladdin Paperbacks edition January 2002
First Minstrel Books edition July 1997
Copyright © 1997 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Produced by Mega-Books, Inc.
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ISBN 978-0-6715-6863-4
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