Trouble Takes the Cake

  I scream, you scream, we all scream . . . for cake?

  Tory looked down at the cake. She made a face. “This better be all chocolate. I hate that icky jelly stuff!”

  “I’m sure it’s everything you wished for, dear,” her mother said.

  Nancy watched as Harriet cut the cake. Suddenly Tory let out a piercing scream. Green slime spurted out of the cake along with rubber creepy crawlies and fake eyeballs!

  A glob of slime hit Tory in the face with a splat. A rubber worm stuck to her hair and dangled over her nose.

  “Eeeewwwww!” Tory cried.

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Boo Burgers and Franken-furters

  Chapter 2: Happy Birthday to Goo!

  Chapter 3: Things Get Hairy

  Chapter 4: A Message to Nancy

  Chapter 5: Clues and Boos

  Chapter 6: Down for the Count

  Chapter 7: Handle with Scare

  Chapter 8: Scene of the Slime

  1

  Boo Burgers and Franken-furters

  Is Keller’s really the biggest department store in the world, Aunt Eloise?” eight-year-old Nancy Drew asked as they walked through the spinning doors.

  “Bigger than the one in River Heights?” Nancy’s best friend Bess Marvin asked.

  “See for yourself, girls,” Aunt Eloise said when they were inside the store.

  “Awesome!” Nancy cried. She pushed back her reddish blond bangs so she could see everything.

  The store was filled with shoppers. Rows of counters were covered with makeup, handbags, and colorful gloves. There was even a man playing a piano under a huge chandelier.

  Nancy’s other best friend, George Fayne, whistled. “This store makes the one back home look like a lemonade stand!”

  Nancy couldn’t have been more excited. Her aunt Eloise Drew had invited her, Bess, and George to New York City to spend a three-day holiday weekend.

  Aunt Eloise rubbed her hands together. “Let’s shop till we drop, girls!” she said.

  “Your aunt is so cool,” Bess whispered to Nancy as they walked through the crowd.

  “And she’s a teacher,” Nancy added. “Can you imagine her class trips?”

  George stopped walking. She wrinkled her nose. “What’s that stinky smell?”

  Nancy saw that they were passing a row of perfume counters. “It must be all the perfume,” she said.

  A woman in a black dress stepped in front of them with a small glass bottle.

  “Hello! Would you care to try Beautiful Blooms?” she asked.

  George jumped behind Nancy. “Yuck! Don’t let her squirt me with that stuff.”

  Bess held out her wrist. “I’d like to try some, please,” she said.

  Nancy laughed. Bess and George were cousins, but they were totally different.

  Aunt Eloise tried the perfume, too. Then they rode the escalator to the toy department on the seventh floor.

  “I’ve never seen so many toys!” Nancy said. She gazed at shelves filled with games, dolls, and stuffed animals.

  “I’m going to buy some art supplies for my class,” Aunt Eloise said. “Stick close together and don’t wander off.”

  Nancy and her friends nodded. Then they stared at the toys.

  “I want to check out the sports equipment,” George said.

  “A pink bicycle!” Bess cried. Her blond ponytail bounced as she ran to it.

  Nancy walked around slowly.

  I want something that will remind me of my trip to New York, she thought.

  Then she saw it. Her favorite fashion doll stood on a shelf, dressed as the Statue of Liberty. The doll wore a flowing green gown and the famous Miss Liberty crown.

  “It’s perfect,” Nancy whispered. She picked it up carefully.

  But just as she was about to show it to Bess and George, she felt someone yank it out of her hands.

  “It’s mine!” said an angry voice.

  Nancy looked up. A girl with curly brown hair clutched the doll to her chest. She wore a red coat and matching hat.

  “What do you mean it’s yours?” Nancy asked as Bess and George ran over.

  The girl stuck her freckled chin in the air. “My mother said I could have anything I want today. And I want this!”

  “Give me a break,” George mumbled.

  Nancy sighed. “If you want it that badly, then take it,” she told the girl.

  “Now, why don’t you be like Little Bo Peep’s sheep and get lost!” George said.

  “Very funny. Ha. Ha,” the girl muttered. Then she huffed off.

  “Why did you let her have the doll, Nancy?” Bess asked. “It was the only one.”

  Nancy shrugged. “I don’t want to spoil my trip to New York City by fighting with a snooty-nosed brat.”

  “Oh, well,” George said. “At least you’ll never see her again.”

  • • •

  Instead of the doll, Nancy bought a stuffed bear wearing a New York City T-shirt. George bought a soccer ball key-chain. Bess bought a plastic bracelet.

  “I hope shopping gave you a big appetite,” Aunt Eloise said. “Because our next stop is Haunted Harriet’s.”

  “Haunted Harriet’s?” Nancy asked.

  “It’s a restaurant, and the theme is a haunted house,” Aunt Eloise explained.

  “Uh-oh,” Bess said. “Sounds spooky.”

  “Don’t worry,” Aunt Eloise said. “Harriet is a good friend of mine. We were roommates in college.”

  “What was she like?” Nancy asked.

  “Harriet always loved spooky movies and costumes,” Aunt Eloise said. “She once slipped a rubber spider under my pillow.”

  “Neat!” George cried.

  “I think you’ll like Haunted Harriet’s,” Aunt Eloise said. “They have great Boo Burgers and Franken-furters.”

  Aunt Eloise hailed a taxi. They piled in and rode down a street called Broadway.

  “There are so many people in New York,” Bess said as they stared out the window. “Can you imagine solving a mystery here, Nancy?”

  Nancy smiled. She was the best detective at Carl Sandburg Elementary School. She even had a blue detective notebook where she wrote down her clues.

  “Nope,” Nancy said. “But I brought my detective notebook just in case.”

  The taxi stopped in front of a building wrapped in cobwebs. Aunt Eloise paid the driver, and they went inside.

  Nancy’s eyes sparkled. “This place does look like a haunted house,” she said.

  “The waiters and waitresses are dressed like monsters!” George exclaimed.

  A man dressed as the Hunchback of Notre Dame limped over. “I have a hunch you’re the Drew party. Follow me to the dessert kitchen.”

  The girls giggled as the hunchback led them into a bright kitchen. A woman with black hair came out from behind a counter.

  “Eloise!” the woman cried. She ran over and gave Nancy’s aunt a hug.

  “Hi, Harriet,” Eloise Drew said. “I’d like you to meet my niece, Nancy.”

  “Hello,” Nancy said. “These are my best friends, Bess and George.”

  “Welcome, girls,” Harriet said.

  “Do you own the restaurant and bake, too?” George asked Harriet.

  “Yes, but I have help,” Harriet said. She walked over to a young man standing by the oven. “Meet my assistant, Scott. He just graduated from cooking school.”

  Scott waved shyly. Nancy noticed a large pocket on the front of his apron. It was filled with shiny baking tools.

  “Scott is such a good baker, he has his own cabinet,” Harriet said. She pointed to a cupboard with Scott’s name on it.

  Nancy looked around and saw a table filled with chocolate cakes. “Those cakes look yummy, Harrie
t,” she said.

  “One of the cakes is going to a special birthday girl,” Harriet said.

  “Which cake?” Nancy asked.

  “Why don’t you choose?” Harriet asked.

  Nancy knew which cake to pick. “That one,” she said, pointing to the fourth cake. “The one with the pretty pink roses.”

  Harriet picked up the cake. “I’ll put candles on it right now,” she said.

  “Who is the birthday girl, Harriet?” George asked.

  “Just look out the door,” Harriet suggested. “She’s sitting with her mom next to the mummy’s tomb.”

  The girls ran to the kitchen door and peeked out. Then Nancy groaned.

  “What’s wrong, Nancy?” Bess asked.

  Nancy wrinkled her nose. “It’s the snooty girl from Keller’s Department Store!”

  2

  Happy Birthday to Goo!

  Are you sure it’s her?” Bess asked.

  Nancy nodded. “It’s her, all right.”

  George made a face. “She even looks snooty from way back here.”

  Nancy turned to Harriet. “What makes her so special?” she asked.

  “Her name is Tory Buckingham, and her mom is a reporter for Big Apple magazine,” Harriet explained. “If Mrs. Buckingham likes Haunted Harriet’s, she might give it a great review.”

  “How can she not like this place?” Nancy asked. “It’s super!”

  “Thanks,” Harriet said with a grin. “Now, how about a super lunch?”

  The hunchback led the girls and Aunt Eloise to a table under a giant spiderweb. Nancy was happy to see that the snooty girl was on the other side of the dining area.

  “Ohmygosh!” Bess whispered after they sat down. “Look what’s coming!”

  Nancy saw a young woman wearing a black-and-silver fright wig. Her face was green, and her gown was tattered.

  The creepy woman came over and opened her mouth. Inside were white, gleaming fangs. “Care for a bite?” she asked.

  “Nope.” George giggled. “But fangs anyway!”

  “I am the Bride of Frankenstein,” the woman said. She leaned over and winked. “But you can call me Sally. Have you decided what to order?”

  Nancy nodded. “I’ll have the Yummy Mummy Casserole,” she said.

  “And I’ll have the Godzilla Gardenburger,” Aunt Eloise said.

  George looked up at Sally. “Are the Wolfman Waffles good?” she asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Sally laughed. “They’re a howl!”

  Bess ordered a Boo Burger with Monster-Mash Potatoes. Sally wrote down their orders, then walked over to the next table.

  “Can we look around the restaurant now, Aunt Eloise?” Nancy asked.

  “Sure,” Aunt Eloise said. “As long as you come back to the table in ten minutes.”

  “We will,” Nancy promised.

  But just as the girls stood up from their seats, they heard a loud crash.

  “What was that?” Nancy asked. She spun around and saw Sally kneeling over a pile of broken dishes. There was gooey chocolate syrup all over the floor.

  “Sally dropped a tray at the next table,” George whispered.

  Nancy saw Harriet rush out of the kitchen. She did not look happy.

  “Sally, this has got to stop,” Harriet said. “Yesterday you dropped a whole Coconut Scream Pie!”

  “It won’t happen again, Harriet,” Sally promised.

  “That’s what you say every day.” Harriet sighed. She shook her head and went back to the dessert kitchen.

  As the girls carefully stepped around the broken mess, Nancy heard Sally mumbling to herself.

  “Harriet is always yelling at me,” she was saying. “I can’t take it anymore!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George forgot about the accident as they explored Haunted Harriet’s. There were surprises everywhere.

  A hairy werewolf played an old-fashioned piano. “Blue moooooon!” he sang.

  Not far from the werewolf was a mad scientist with wild blue hair.

  “Welcome to my lab,” the mad scientist said. She waved her hand over a row of beakers. They bubbled with green slime.

  “What makes the slime bubble?” George asked.

  “Glad you asked,” the mad scientist said. She picked up a brown bottle and popped off the lid. Green gook oozed out from the top.

  Bess jumped back. “Eew!” she cried.

  “It’s my secret formula!” the mad scientist cried. “And it’s alive! It’s alive!”

  Just then Nancy felt someone breathing on the back of her neck. She whirled around and shrieked. Right behind her was a vampire!

  “Good afternoon,” the vampire said with a strange accent. He smiled to show a mouth filled with pointy fangs.

  “G-g-good afternoon,” Nancy stammered.

  The vampire’s face was as white as chalk. His lips were dark red. He wore a flowing black cape.

  “Allow me to introduce myself,” the vampire said. “I am Count Snackula!”

  The count pulled a silver tray from under his cape. On it were candy bats in different flavors. “Care for a snack?”

  Nancy was relieved. The vampire was funny, not scary.

  “Are they good?” Bess asked.

  Count Snackula nodded. “You can count on it,” he said.

  After the girls picked their favorite flavors, Count Snackula disappeared behind a heavy, black curtain.

  “Where did he go?” George asked.

  Nancy pointed to a sign over the curtain. It read: Count Snackula’s Castle.

  “It’s probably part of the joke,” Nancy said. “Let’s look inside.”

  The girls peeked through the curtain. The room was dark, but Nancy could see Count Snackula. He was talking to another monster with a white wig and a tall black hat.

  Nancy strained her ears to listen.

  Count Snackula groaned. “Being Count Snackula bites, Bruce.”

  “Why?” the other monster asked.

  “I hate these stupid fangs!” Count Snackula cried. “And if Harriet wants someone to hand out candy, why doesn’t she get Willy Wonka?”

  “Wow,” Nancy whispered to Bess and George. “He’s not a happy camper.”

  “You think I like being Phantom of the Omelets?” the other monster asked. He picked up a basket of eggs. “How many times can I say, ‘Try the omelets. They’re egg-cellent’?”

  “But I loved being the mad scientist,” Count Snackula said. “Until Harriet gave the part to someone else.”

  The Phantom of the Omelets sighed. “Nobody handled slime the way you did.”

  Count Snackula paced back and forth. “Soon Harriet will regret it,” he said.

  “Regret it?” the Phantom asked.

  Count Snackula rubbed his white hands together. “When she gets the cake. Mwah-hah-hah-haaaaaa!”

  The count whipped his cape and spun around. The girls ducked outside the curtain just in time.

  “Did he see us?” Bess asked as they ran away from Count Snackula’s Castle.

  “I don’t think so,” Nancy said. “But let’s go back to our table.”

  “Good idea,” George said. “That was too creepy, even for me.”

  The girls made their way through the dining area. But just as they got close to their table, the lights went out!

  “Now what’s going on?” Nancy asked.

  Just then Nancy saw the doors to the dessert kitchen swing open. Harriet marched out carrying a birthday cake with glowing candles. Scott followed.

  “Happy birthday to yoooou!” Harriet and Scott sang.

  “That’s the cake you picked, Nancy,” Bess said.

  “Too bad it’s going to that snooty girl, Tory,” George grumbled.

  Nancy smiled. She loved birthday cakes. “Let’s watch her blow out the candles,” she suggested.

  Nancy, Bess, and George ran closer to Tory’s table. The lights flashed back on just as Harriet placed the cake in front of Tory.

  Tory looked down at the cake. S
he made a face. “This better be all chocolate. I hate that icky jelly stuff!”

  “I’m sure it’s everything you wished for, dear,” her mother said.

  Nancy watched as Harriet cut the cake. Suddenly Tory let out a piercing scream. Green slime spurted out of the cake along with rubber creepy crawlies and fake eyeballs!

  A glob of slime hit Tory in the face with a splat. A rubber worm stuck to her hair and dangled over her nose.

  “Eeeewww!” Tory cried. “Eeeewww!”

  3

  Things Get Hairy

  Is this part of the show?” a little boy called from another table.

  Tory’s mother jumped up from her chair. A fake eyeball rolled off her lap.

  “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.

  George giggled. “Tory looks pretty gory,” she whispered.

  “I have no idea how this happened,” Harriet insisted. She turned to Scott. He quickly shrugged.

  “Will the person who did this horrible trick please step forward?” Harriet called out.

  The monster-waiters shrugged and shook their heads.

  Then Tory jumped up from her chair and marched over to Nancy.

  “I know you!” Tory shouted. She pointed a dripping, slimy green finger at Nancy. “You were that nasty girl in the department store!”

  Harriet walked over and put her arm around Nancy’s shoulder.

  “This is Nancy Drew,” Harriet said. “She’s a very nice girl and a good friend of mine.”

  “Ah-ha!” Tory shouted in Nancy’s face. “If you’re a friend of Harriet’s, then you probably helped her bake that gross cake!”

  Bess marched over to Tory. “Nancy didn’t bake it. She just picked it.”

  “Bess!” Nancy cried.

  “Picked it?” Tory screamed. She turned to her mother. “See? She was part of it!”

  Nancy turned around. All the people in the restaurant were staring at her. She could see her aunt Eloise walking over.

  “But I—” Nancy started to say.

  Tory’s mother turned to Harriet. “If you think I’m going to write nice things about this terrible place, forget it.”

  “But, Mrs. Buckingham—” Harriet pleaded.

  Mrs. Buckingham grabbed Tory’s slimy hand. “We’re going,” she said coldly.