Sleepover Sleuths (3 page)

“I was saving my allowance for Hollywood Heather!” Nadine said. “I'm going to be a star someday. So I should have Hollywood Heather!”

“Well,” Deirdre said, “she's mine.”

“Oh, great,” George whispered. “This is the second fight so far.”

“Why can't we all be friends?” Bess whispered.

“Don't you like your New York Nikki doll?” Nancy asked Nadine. “She has a cool leather
jacket and jeans. And her brown hair is so long and shiny.”

“Sure, I like her,” Nadine said. “But I can have more than one City Girls doll.”

“You can play with Hollywood Heather any time, Nadine.” Deirdre sighed. She then yelled up the basement stairs, “Mom! Time for cake!”

While the girls admired Hollywood Heather, Nancy looked at Trina and Nadine. They both seemed pretty upset.

“Cake!” Mrs. Shannon sang as she walked in. Mr. Shannon followed. He was carrying a birthday cake glowing with candles. As he set it down everyone smiled. It was decorated with a picture of Hollywood Heather!

After everyone sang “Happy Birthday,” Deirdre made a secret wish. Then she blew out the candles. “Let's eat, you guys!” she announced.

The cake tasted as good as it looked. Nancy was enjoying a big piece—until she dropped frosting on her cupcake pajamas!

“Oh, well,” Nancy sighed. “Now I have chocolate frosting on my cupcakes.”

Soon there was only one piece of cake left. Cassidy was about to reach for it when Deirdre said, “No, you don't. I'm the birthday girl, so I'm saving it for tomorrow.”

“Meanie!” Cassidy said, stomping her foot.

After cake everyone painted each other's toenails purple, pink, and blue. A few minutes later, the girls began to yawn.

“We can't fall asleep!” Madison said.

“We're supposed to stay up all night!” Kendra said.

“I guess we have to remember that it's called a
sleepover
,” Nancy said with a yawn, “and not a
wakeover
.”

“I'm putting Hollywood Heather on the windowsill,” Deirdre said, “so everyone can see her as we fall asleep.”

She carried the doll to the windowsill. Since they were in the basement, the window was much higher than usual—too high for Deirdre to reach.

“Let me do it,” Trina said. “I don't play basketball for nothing.” She took Hollywood
Heather, reached up, and placed her carefully on the windowsill.

“Thanks,” Deirdre said quietly.

“No problem,” Trina answered.

The girls lined their gear up against the walls. Then Deirdre snapped a picture of everyone underneath the window.

“It's for my Web site,” Deirdre said. “I want the whole world to know I have a Hollywood Heather doll!”

After brushing their teeth and washing their faces, the girls unrolled their sleeping bags and snuggled inside. Nancy lay between Bess and George. When the lights were out, she could see Hollywood Heather shining in the moonlight.

“It's dark in here!” Cassidy suddenly whined. “No spooky stories, okay?”

“How about some jokes?” George asked in the dark. “Why can't you give a cookie to a teddy bear?”

“Why?” Cassidy's voice asked.

“Because they're always stuffed!” George said. Some girls laughed. Some groaned.

“My turn,” Nancy said. “How do you know if an elephant's been in your refrigerator?”

“How?” Bess asked.

“Because,” Nancy said. She could feel her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. “His footprints are in the … the … the …”

That was the last thing Nancy remembered before falling asleep. The next thing she knew, an arm was shaking her awake.

“Where is she?” Deirdre asked in a shaky voice. “Where's Hollywood Heather?”

“Huh?” Nancy asked. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The room was light. The clock on the wall read eight o'clock.

Deirdre was walking between the sleeping bags.

“Where's Hollywood Heather, you guys?” she cried.

Nancy looked at the windowsill. Then she sat straight up. Hollywood Heather was gone!

“What happened to Hollywood Heather?” Nancy asked.

All the girls were wide awake now. They were sitting on their sleeping bags and staring at the window.

“That's funny,” George said. “I went to the bathroom at six forty-five this morning. When I came back, the doll was on the windowsill.”

“How do you know it was six forty-five?” Bess asked.

“I looked at the clock before I fell back to sleep,” George explained.

“Did anyone see what happened to my doll?” Deirdre cried out.

All heads shook back and forth.

“Then help me find her!” Deirdre pleaded.

Nancy scrambled to stand up. She could see that one of the sleeping bags was empty. The basketball design on the bag told her it belonged to Trina.

“Hey, what happened?” a voice asked.

Nancy turned. She saw Trina walk into the room. Trina's eyes widened when Madison told her about the missing doll.

“Look everywhere,” Deirdre instructed. “If you find Hollywood Heather, yell out at the top of your lungs!”

The girls searched the room for Hollywood Heather. They looked under tables, behind bookcases—even under sleeping bags. Nancy was about to look near the windows when she saw Cassidy. The little girl sat on top of her sleeping bag. She clutched a yellow and red backpack. The outside flap had a picture of the cartoon character Artie the Aardvark on it.

Why isn't she looking for the doll?
Nancy wondered.

“Tell your mom and dad, Deirdre,” Kendra said. “Maybe they can help us look.”

“I can't!” Deirdre said. “I promised I'd take extra good care of Hollywood Heather.”

“It's just a doll,” Trina said.

“Just a doll?” Deirdre gasped. “Is the Statue of Liberty just a statue? Is the Great Wall of China just a wall? Is Johnny Appleseed just an apple?”

“He's not an apple,” Andrea said slowly. “I think he planted apple trees or something.”

“Whatever!” Deirdre cried.

The girls looked for Hollywood Heather for half an hour. But she was nowhere to be found.

“If anyone in this room took Hollywood Heather,” Deirdre said, “tell me now.”

The room was silent. Then Mrs. Shannon opened the basement door at the top of the stairs and called, “Girls! Breakfast is ready!”

They quietly climbed the stairs. Cassidy was still holding her Artie the Aardvark backpack.

Why is she bringing her backpack to breakfast?
Nancy wondered.

Upstairs everyone sat down at the Shannons' dining-room table. Mr. and Mrs. Shannon served scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast. Nancy looked around the table as she ate. Deirdre was picking at her eggs with her fork. Her best friend Madison was pretty quiet too.

As Nancy reached for the strawberry jam, she noticed that Cassidy was leaning over her backpack as she ate.

“Bess, George,” Nancy whispered. “Do you think maybe Cassidy took Hollywood Heather?”

“Why do you say that?” Bess asked.

“Cassidy won't let go of her backpack,” Nancy said quietly. “And she is sort of a—”

“Pest,” George finished.

After breakfast the girls went to the basement to collect their gear.

“Madison,” Deirdre asked her best friend. “Can you stay and help me look for Hollywood Heather?”

“Can't!” Madison said quickly. “I have to go home and clean my room.”

Deirdre frowned as Madison left the basement. When most of the other girls were gone, she looked sadder than ever.

“Don't worry, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “Maybe the person who took Hollywood Heather will give her back soon.”

“Sure!” Bess said cheerily. “Nancy even thinks she knows who took her.”

“Bess!” Nancy hissed.

“Please tell me, Nancy!” Deirdre said, shaking Nancy's arm. “Who do you think took Hollywood Heather?”

“I don't know for sure,” Nancy said. “So I don't want to say anything.”

Deirdre looked disappointed. Suddenly her eyes lit up.

“I have a superific idea!” Deirdre said. “Why don't
you
find the person who took Hollywood Heather?”

“Me?” Nancy asked.

“You found the hidden goody bag,” Deirdre said.

“And you're great at guessing things, Nancy,” George said. “You always guess the school lunch.”

“You even guessed Marshmallow's name!” Bess said.

“Yes,” Nancy said. “But—”

“Come on, Nancy,” George urged. “Don't you want to solve a real-life mystery?”

“You can be like—a detective!” Bess said.

A detective? I am pretty good at finding things and guessing things,
Nancy thought.
I do like reading mystery books and watching mystery shows on TV with Daddy. So maybe solving a mystery would be fun … way fun
.

“I can try,” Nancy said. “But I don't want to do it alone. Does anyone want to help?”

Bess's and George's hands flew up.

“I would if I could,” Deirdre said. “But I have to practice my tap, gymnastics, and my recipe for Junior Chefs of America Club today.”

“Do
you
think you know who took your doll, Deirdre?” Nancy asked.

Deirdre nodded. “Trina was the only one who could reach the window,” she said. “And she came into the basement after the doll was missing. She was probably stuffing Hollywood Heather into her stinky gym bag!”

“But Trina is your friend,” Nancy said. “Not your best friend like Madison—but still your friend.”

“Maybe she wanted Hollywood Heather more than she wanted to be my friend,” Deirdre sighed.

Nancy, Bess, and George stared at Deirdre as she left the basement.

“Wow,” George said. “She's totally upset.”

“I'm totally psyched,” Bess said. “We're going to solve a real-life mystery, you guys!”

The three friends high-fived.

“Now that we're detectives,” Nancy said, “where do we start?”

“Don't ask me!” George laughed. “I don't have a clue!”

“Clue!” Nancy exclaimed. “That's it! The first thing we do is look for clues!”

“Let's check the windowsill,” Bess said. “That's the last place Hollywood Heather was before she disappeared.”

They hurried to the window.

“It is high,” George said. “How would a little kid like Cassidy reach the doll?”

Nancy pointed to a bench nearby. “She could have climbed up on that,” she said.

The bench wasn't very heavy. The three girls moved it under the window. Then they all climbed up on it. Nancy checked the window to make sure it was locked. It was. Next she ran her hand along the windowsill. Instead of dust, there was some soft white fuzz all over it.

“Maybe it came from Hollywood Heather's
poncho,” Bess said. “The wool was soft and fuzzy too.”