The Tortoise and the Scare Read online

  Nancy let out a deep breath. She was starting to understand where Ocean was coming from. No matter how wrong it was to steal a tortoise from the center, he didn’t think he was actually stealing Rainbow. He thought he was saving her.

  “I know it’s hard, but you’re going to have to tell Belinda everything that happened, and why,” Nancy started. “And of course, Rainbow has to come back here to live at the center. Where is she now?”

  “I brought her home on my break,” Ocean said. “She’s with Bette. They’re together.”

  “Well, you’ll have to bring her back as soon as possible,” Nancy went on. She went to the door and gave Ocean her hand, helping him to stand up. Bess and George walked out of the room, and they trailed behind them into the Reptile Hall. “Come on. If you leave now you can be back before we head home. . . .”

  • • •

  It took Ocean half an hour to get back to the River Heights Wildlife Center with Rainbow. He placed her gently back into her habitat and watched as she crawled toward a pile of strawberries. For a moment Nancy was worried he might cry.

  Bess came down the hall with Belinda and Bob. Bob’s eyebrows were knitted together, and his cheeks were bright red, like he might start yelling at any second. “Where is she?” he asked, his voice booming.

  “She’s here, she’s okay,” George said, pointing into the habitat.

  “Well, I should hope she’s okay!” Bob cried.

  Belinda stared down at the tortoise, then leveled her eyes at Ocean. She looked so serious, it was such a change from how she’d greeted them that morning. “Please, explain this to me. I really want to understand.”

  “I’m so sorry Belinda . . . ,” Ocean said, and this time his eyes really did fill with tears. He went through the whole story, telling her that he knew he didn’t go about things the right way, but he really was just thinking of Bette and Rainbow. He also went into a long, weird tangent about animals, and how he believed they were unique souls.

  “I just didn’t know what to do,” Ocean said. “It was like you didn’t even hear what I was saying. You were never going to let Rainbow leave the center,” Ocean continued.

  “Of course she wasn’t!” Bob snapped. “This is Rainbow’s home. This is where she belongs.”

  Belinda tilted her head to the side, considering everything that Ocean had said. After a long while she finally spoke. “It’s not an excuse, Ocean,” she said. “What you did was wrong, even if your intentions were good. But you were right when you said I couldn’t hear that suggestion. I love Rainbow like she’s my own pet, and it’s hard for me to think about her not being here every day when I walk in the door.”

  “I’m glad she’s back,” she continued. “I am. And I’ll think about your suggestion. Maybe Bette can come visit Rainbow here at the center every weekend. That might work. And we could see how it goes. Maybe there are other options we can explore, keeping Bette and Rainbow’s happiness in mind.”

  Ocean’s face brightened. He smiled, relieved. “That would be great. She’d love that.”

  “But I’m afraid you’ll have to stop volunteering at the center,” Belinda went on. “You’ve broken my trust, and that’s no small thing. We’d love to have you as a visitor whenever you like. Just say the word.”

  Ocean dabbed at his eyes and nodded. “I understand.”

  Nancy’s stomach twisted in a knot. She knew it was the right decision, and it was what Belinda had to do, but it was still a little sad that Ocean wouldn’t be able to come back to work. She wished none of this had happened in the first place.

  “As for you girls,” Belinda said, glancing at her watch, “it’s almost time for you to head back to school. You should all meet me in the gift shop for a special surprise.

  Belinda turned and went back down the hall, Bob following right behind her. He muttered something that sounded like “Unbelievable!” It was only then that Nancy had the courage to say what she was thinking out loud.

  “If there hadn’t been that leak,” she said, “Bette and Rainbow wouldn’t have met. None of this would have ever happened, and you would still be able to work here.”

  “No,” Ocean said. “I wouldn’t have wanted that. I’m glad they met because now they can be happy together. Even if that means Bette spends more time here than she does at home. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George said their goodbyes to Ocean, though George still didn’t feel that bad for him. He was responsible for his own actions, and he’d chosen to do what he did. They walked down the long hall toward the gift shop, where Mrs. Pak was waiting with their friends.

  “Nancy!” Lily called out. “Belinda is giving us all a special treat because you found Rainbow!”

  Lily held up a giant lollipop with swirling greens and blues in it. It was covered in a plastic wrapper that had the River Heights Wildlife Center logo on it. Nancy glanced around, realizing all of her classmates were holding one.

  “And these are for you,” Belinda said, handing Nancy, Bess, and George one. “It’s a small token to say thank you. But I want you to know, any time you come here you’ll be given the VIP treatment. Just ask for me and I’ll give you a private tour. You missed so much of today because you were solving this mystery for us. I want you to enjoy yourselves the next time you’re here.”

  Mrs. Pak patted Nancy on the back, prouder than ever. “You did well, girls.” She laughed. “Now come on, we have to get on the bus.”

  All of Nancy’s classmates came over and congratulated them, giving them high fives and a few cheers. Harry and Liam said they took all the mealworms out of the girls’ backpacks, and told Nancy they thought what she did was “really cool.” It seemed like they were starting to be more impressed with the Clue Crew than they were with Antonio Elefano.

  As Nancy and her friends trailed behind the group, they heard a familiar voice call out behind them. “Nancy! Wait one minute!”

  They turned to see Bob with a huge smile on his face. He stepped toward them and gave them a tiny bow, like they were royalty. “I just wanted to say thank you,” he said. “And you were right. I never should have doubted you.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have,” Nancy laughed. “And you’re welcome.”

  Then they left for the bus, waving at him before they slipped out the door.

  Keep reading for a preview of

  Turkey Trot Plot

  by

  Carolyn Keene

  “Nope,” Bess Marvin said, shaking her head. “Those feathers are wrong. Totally wrong.”

  “But they’re such pretty colors, Bess,” eight-year-old Nancy Drew said, holding the plastic bag of feathers in her hand.

  “Feathers are feathers,” George Fayne insisted.

  It was Wednesday afternoon. Nancy and her best friends had gone straight from school to Chippy’s Craft Market to buy feathers. But not just any feathers . . .

  “Those are hen feathers,” Bess said, pointing to the label on the bag. “We’re running in a Turkey Trot tomorrow, not a Hen Heat.”

  George sighed as she grabbed another bag from the shelf. The feathers in this one were long and white with a brown stripy design. “Totally turkey,” she said. “Happy yet?”

  Bess read the label on the bag out loud: “ ‘One dozen synthetic turkey feathers.’ What does ‘syn-thet-ic’ mean?”

  “I think it means ‘fake,’ ” Nancy said.

  “Good enough,” George said, tossing the bag into their shopping basket. “Now that we found the right feathers, what do we do with them?”

  Reaching into her backpack, Bess pulled out a fashion sketch. “Here’s my design for our Turkey Trot costumes,” she explained. “All we have to do is glue turkey feathers around the necks of sweatshirts and on leggings. Then we glue a few feathers on our headbands.”

  Bess ran her hand over the sketch and said, “Simple . . . yet elegant!”

  “Simple?” George scoffed. “What’s so simple about gluing hundreds of feathers on
e by one?”

  Nancy liked Bess’s design but agreed with George. Gluing so many feathers would take forever. “There’s got to be a quicker way,” she said.

  George’s dark curls bounced as she tilted her head in thought. “Here’s an idea,” she said with a grin. “We squirt sticky maple syrup all over our clothes, dump feathers in front of a fan, turn it on, and—whoosh!”

  “I say let’s dump that idea, George,” Bess said.

  Nancy giggled. Bess and George were cousins but as different as turkey and peacock feathers. Bess was a serious fashionista loving the newest styles. George was a tech geek and proud of it. Her style was jeans, sneakers, and definitely not turkey costumes.

  “Why do we have to trot in goofy costumes anyway?” George asked as they filled their basket with more turkey feather bags.

  “That’s the whole idea of the Turkey Trot tomorrow,” Nancy explained. “The kid or team with the best turkey costume wins a giant chocolate turkey.”

  “Not just any chocolate turkey, Nancy,” Bess reminded her. “This one is from Classy Coco, the fancy new chocolate store on Main Street.”

  “I’ve never tasted Classy Coco’s chocolate,” Nancy said, “but everyone says it’s amazing.”

  “Just remember our deal, you guys,” George said. “If our team wins, we split the chocolate turkey into three pieces—”

  “For our Thanksgiving dinners tomorrow,” Nancy cut in excitedly. “Go, Galloping Gobblers!”

  This wasn’t the first time Nancy, Bess, and George teamed up. They also had their own detective club called the Clue Crew. Nancy even had a clue book to write down all their clues and suspects.

  “Let’s buy the feathers before it gets late,” Nancy said. She was about to pick up their basket when—

  “Yodel-ay-ee-ooooo . . . Yodel-ay-ee-ooooo!”

  The girls froze at the strange sound.

  “What was that?” Bess asked.

  “It doesn’t sound like a turkey gobbling,” George said.

  “Yodel-ay-ee-ooooo!” There it was again!

  Nancy, Bess, and George followed the yodeling to the next aisle. There they saw a girl looking at packaged ribbons.

  She was dressed in an embroidered skirt and a puffy-sleeved blouse. Over her blouse was a black velvet vest, and on her blond braided hair was a green felt hat.

  To Nancy she looked like a girl from a Swiss storybook. She also looked familiar. . . .

  “You guys,” Nancy said while the girl kept yodeling. “Isn’t that Shelby Metcalf?”

  “But Shelby doesn’t have long blond hair like me,” Bess said. “That girl does.”

  “Or braids, either,” George said.

  Shelby turned to the girls and smiled. “It’s a wig,” she said. “I just need to tie on a few ribbons, and I’m all set!”

  “Cool,” George said. “But what’s with the Heidi costume?”

  “Shouldn’t you be shopping for a turkey costume?” Nancy asked. “The Turkey Trot is tomorrow on Thanksgiving morning.”

  “I’m not running in the trot,” Shelby said. “I have to get ready for the Pixie Scout International Food Fest on Friday.”

  “International Food Fest?” Nancy repeated. “You mean there will be food from other countries?”

  “Everyone in my troop is bringing a different dish to taste,” Shelby explained. “I’ve been wearing my costume the past few days to get into character.

  Shelby opened her mouth to yodel again. To stop her, George quickly cut in. “What food are you bringing, Shelby?” she asked.

  “I’m making a Swiss chocolate fondue,” Shelby said proudly. “It’s where you dip marshmallows, fruit, and pretzels in a pot of melted chocolate. I’m using melted Choco-Wacko bars!”

  “Yummy,” Bess said. “But too bad the chocolate isn’t from Classy Coco.”

  “You mean that fancy chocolate store on Main Street?” Shelby asked. “What’s so special about that place?”

  “My mom is a caterer and told me all about it,” George said. “Classy Coco is owned by a woman named Anna Epicure. She used to be the editor of a magazine called Bon-Bon Vivant. It’s all about chocolate.”

  “The chocolates in Anna’s store are like little statues!” Nancy explained. “I heard she has them made at fancy chocolate factories all over the world!”

  “Wow!” Shelby exclaimed. “Forget the Choco-Wacko bars. I’ll use Classy Coco chocolate in my fondue!”

  “Good luck,” George sighed. “One chocolate bar at Classy Coco is the price of fifty Choco-Wacko bars.”

  “You’d have to sell a lot of lemonade to buy that, Shelby,” Bess said. “And it’s getting too cold for lemonade.”

  Shelby’s shoulders drooped as she muttered, “Phooey.”

  “I’m sure your fondue will be great anyway,” Nancy said.

  “Great isn’t enough, Nancy,” Shelby said. “My chocolate fondue has to be perfect—no matter what I have to do!”

  Shelby tossed a braid over her shoulder and walked away.

  “She forgot the ribbons,” Bess said. “Ribbons would go great with her costume.”

  “So would a goat,” George joked.

  The girls headed straight to the checkout counter. Bess used her Chippy’s birthday gift card to buy the turkey feathers.

  “Mission accomplished,” Bess declared as the girls left the store. “Now let’s go home and work on our costumes.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George walked up Main Street on their way home. Each girl had the same rule: They could walk anywhere as long as it was less than five blocks and as long as they walked together. That was more fun anyway!

  “What’s that smell?” George asked.

  “I didn’t use the strawberry shampoo you hate,” Bess said, “if that’s what you mean.”

  Nancy noticed the sweet smell too. But it wasn’t strawberries. “It’s chocolate!” she said excitedly. “I’ll bet it’s coming from Classy Coco down the block!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George neared the store. They could see a reporter and camerawoman from station WRIV-TV standing outside. Also in front of the store was a woman with short dark hair.

  “It’s Anna Epicure,” George whispered. “I saw her picture online.”

  The girls could hear the reporter ask, “What makes you think you can run a successful chocolate store, Anna?”

  “I once ran a successful chocolate magazine, didn’t I?” Anna replied. “Running a chocolate store will be a piece of cake.”

  Anna turned to the camera and quickly added, “Speaking of cake . . . try my Black Forest cake truffles—they’re fabulous!”

  About the Author

  CAROLYN KEENE is the author of the ever-popular Nancy Drew series of books.

  PETER FRANCIS lives and works in the United Kingdom. When he’s not helping the Clue Crew solve mysteries, he can be found sketching frantically in his studio, investigating hidden landscapes, or growing his own vegetables.

  Aladdin

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Carolyn-Keene

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Peter-Francis

  Don’t miss a single

  Nancy Drew Clue Book:

  Pool Party Puzzler

  Last Lemonade Standing

  A Star Witness

  Big Top Flop

  Movie Madness

  Pets on Parade

  Candy Kingdom Chaos

  World Record Mystery

  Springtime Crime

  Boo Crew

  And coming soon:

  Turkey Trot Plot

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

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p; 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin hardcover edition March 2019

  Text copyright © 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Peter Francis

  Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.

  NANCY DREW, NANCY DREW CLUE BOOK, and colophons are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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  Series designed by Karina Granda

  Book designed by Heather Palisi

  Jacket illustrations copyright © 2019 by Peter Francis

  The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Keene, Carolyn, author. | Francis, Peter, 1973– illustrator.

  Title: The tortoise and the scare / by Carolyn Keene ; illustrated by Peter Francis.

  Description: First Aladdin hardcover/paperback edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2019. | Series: Nancy Drew clue book ; 11 | Summary: Nancy, Bess, and George are excited about their school trip to the wildlife refuge, but when they arrive, the animal Nancy most wants to see, a sixty-year-old tortoise, is on the loose.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018023376 (print) | LCCN 2018029099 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534414846 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534414822 (pbk) | ISBN 9781534414839 (hc)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Wildlife refuges—Fiction. | School field trips—Fiction. | Turtles—Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories. | JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Friendship. | JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books.