Pool Party Puzzler

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE: THRONE . . . AND GROANS

  CHAPTER TWO: NOT COOL IN THE POOL

  CHAPTER THREE: SNAKY SHOCKER

  CHAPTER FOUR: SOMETHING FISHY

  CHAPTER FIVE: TOENAILED

  CHAPTER SIX: LITTLE RIDDLE

  CHAPTER SEVEN: SHELBY’S SECRET

  CHAPTER EIGHT: A-MAZE-ING!

  CHAPTER NINE: SNIP, SNIP, HOORAY!

  CHAPTER TEN: MESS UP, FESS UP!

  LAST LEMONADE STANDING EXCERPT

  ABOUT CAROLYN KEENE AND PETER FRANCIS

  THRONE . . . AND GROANS

  “I’ve heard of sweet sixteen parties before,” George Fayne said, “but whoever heard of a sweet half-sixteen?”

  Nancy Drew looked up from the goody bag she was filling for Deirdre Shannon’s sweet half-sixteen party.

  “Eight is half of sixteen,” Nancy explained. “So since Deirdre is turning eight, she asked her parents for a sweet half-sixteen party!”

  “And whatever Deirdre wants,” Bess Marvin said, dropping a fancy iced cookie into a bag, “Deirdre gets!”

  It was summer vacation and the theme of Deirdre’s party was Beach Party Blast. Nancy, Bess, and George had come extra early to help George’s mom cater the party. Louise Fayne had catered lots of kids’ birthday parties, but nothing as fancy as this!

  “We’re eight years old and half-sixteen, too,” Nancy pointed out. “And we have something just as awesome as a party like this.”

  “What?” Bess asked.

  “Our own detective club called the Clue Crew!” Nancy answered with a smile.

  Nancy, Bess, and George high-fived. The three best friends loved solving mysteries more than anything. They even had their own detective headquarters in Nancy’s room!

  “And my dad just gave me this brand-new notebook,” Nancy said, pulling a notebook with a shiny red cover from her bag. “He told me it would be a good place to write down suspects and clues for our cases. I’m going to call it the Clue Book!”

  Nancy’s father wasn’t a detective, but he was a lawyer. To Nancy that was the next best thing.

  “But we already write down all of our suspects on your computer, Nancy,” George pointed out. George loved electronic gadgets more than anything!

  “That’s true.” Nancy nodded. “But we can take the Clue Book with us wherever we go. It will make us even better detectives!”

  “Okay, if we’re such great detectives,” George said, “then why are we all dressed up so goofy?”

  “Deirdre asked everyone to wear sea costumes over our swimsuits,” Nancy reminded her. “I’m a sea horse, Bess is a sea fairy, and you’re a—”

  “Jellyfish!” George groaned. The ribbon tentacles streaming from her hat wiggled over her face. “Don’t remind me.”

  Nancy brushed aside her reddish-blond bangs to look around for Deirdre. She was probably getting ready for her grand entrance. Mrs. Fayne said it would be at one o’clock sharp—after the guests arrived.

  “Great job, girls,” Mrs. Fayne said after all the goody bags had been stuffed and placed on a table. “Why don’t you explore the yard before the others get here?”

  Nancy smiled as she looked around the Shannons’ backyard. It looked more like a beach than a yard. There was real white sand and beach umbrellas around the pool. On each party table was a sand castle centerpiece surrounded by shells and starfish. Inflated palm trees dotted the lawn. So did some of Deirdre’s birthday presents—like a shiny lavender electric scooter with a matching helmet!

  “This party is going to be amazing,” George said. “I’ll bet every kid in River Heights is invited.”

  “Every kid but Shelby Metcalf,” Nancy said. “Deirdre is still mad at Shelby for not trading lunches with her at school one day.”

  “What kind of lunches?” Bess asked.

  “Shelby had peanut butter and jelly,” Nancy explained. “Deirdre had a soggy spinach salad.”

  George suddenly stopped walking. “Hey, check it out!” she said, pointing to something in the distance.

  Nancy and Bess looked to see where George was pointing. A woman wearing a sun hat was busily snipping hedges behind the pool. The three hedges were shaped like sea creatures!

  “Let’s get a closer look!” Nancy said excitedly.

  The girls hurried over to the woman. She was in the middle of trimming the claw on a hedge shaped like a crab.

  “Hello,” Bess said. “Are you a gardener?”

  “I’m what they call a garden designer,” the woman replied with a cheery smile. “My name is Taffy, and I create topiaries.” She pointed at one of the leafy hedges.

  “To-pi-ar-ies,” Nancy repeated.

  “Topiaries by Taffy,” Taffy said proudly. “That’s the name of my company!”

  “Did Deirdre see these topiaries yet?” George asked.

  “If she did,” Bess said, “I’d bet she loved them!”

  But Taffy shook her head and heaved a sigh.

  “Deirdre wasn’t very happy with my topiaries,” Taffy said. “She wanted one of them to look like her!”

  “You mean she wanted a grassy statue of herself?” George asked.

  Taffy nodded and said, “Deirdre said she was Queen of the Sea and her party had to be perfect.”

  “That sounds like Deirdre, all right,” Bess said.

  “Oh well,” Taffy said. She gave her topiary one final snip. “I guess I’ll have to surprise Queen Deirdre later.”

  Nancy wondered what the surprise would be. Before she got a chance to ask, Bess shook Nancy’s arm.

  “The other guests are here!” Bess announced.

  Nancy turned to see other kids dressed like sea creatures in the Shannons’ backyard. The most awesome party of the year was about to begin!

  After saying a quick good-bye to Taffy, the girls ran to join the others. Many were dancing. Some were sipping smoothies.

  Nancy recognized Kendra Jackson, Marcy Rubin, and Henderson Murphy from school. But there was one kid no one knew.

  “Who’s that?” George asked. She nodded toward a kid wearing a green sea monster costume. A mask and headdress totally covered his or her face. Both hands were stuffed inside gloves with long webbed fingers!

  “I know how we can find out,” Nancy said with a smile. “Let’s go over and say hi.”

  The girls walked over to the sea monster kid.

  “Hi, there. That’s a neat costume,” Bess said kindly. “But aren’t you hot in it?”

  The kid shook his or her head, then walked away without a word.

  “We still don’t know who she is,” Bess said.

  “How do you know she’s a she?” Nancy asked.

  “Her feet weren’t covered,” Bess said. “Did you see her purple sandals and pink toenail polish? Totally girlie-girl.”

  “Like you, Bess!” George teased. “Only you would notice purple sandals and pink toenail polish!”

  Nancy giggled. Bess and George were cousins but totally different. Bess had blond hair and blue eyes, and she loved clothes more than anything. George had dark eyes and curly hair. She was fine with new clothes as long as they had enough pockets for her electronic gadgets!

  “I have an idea,” Nancy suggested. “Let’s get some smoothies—before the tropical ones are gone.”

  “Last one there is a rotten coconut!” George declared.

  They were about to run to the party’s special smoothie stand when a big voice boomed through a DJ’s speakers. “Attention, kids! Let’s give it up for everybody’s favorite sweet half-sixteen birthday girl, Queen Deirdre of the Sea!”

  “It’s Deirdre’s grand entrance!” Nancy said excitedly. She glanced at her watch. It was one o’clock. “And right on schedule!”

&nb
sp; The kids gathered on the patio to watch. A trumpet blared as four teenagers wearing huge fish headdresses marched around the side of the house. In each of their hands was a pole. Resting atop the four poles was a giant half-shell throne!

  Nancy couldn’t believe her eyes. Waving down from the elaborate shell was Deirdre. The birthday girl was dressed in a glitzy mermaid costume and shell-covered crown!

  “Awesome!” Nancy exclaimed.

  The teens made a sudden sharp turn and the throne tipped. Deirdre screamed as it swayed back and forth!

  “Oh, noooo!” Nancy shrieked as she covered her eyes. “Queen Deirdre is going to fall!”

  NOT COOL IN THE POOL

  “Steady, you guys!” one of the teens shouted. “Bring it down easy . . . nice and easy.”

  Nancy peeked out from between her fingers. Both the shell throne and Deirdre were slowly being lowered onto the ground.

  The party guests sighed with relief. But Deirdre hopped off the throne hopping mad!

  “You should have been more careful. After all, you were carrying a queen’s throne!” Deirdre scolded. “Not some tray at Crabby Carl’s!”

  Deirdre gave the teens one last glare and ran off to join her friends. The four teens stood to the side, frowns on their faces.

  “I thought those fish hats looked familiar,” Bess said. “Those teenagers are waiters at Crabby Carl’s Seafood Restaurant!”

  “The waiters look pretty crabby right now,” George whispered. “After being yelled at by Queen Deirdre.”

  “I feel bad for the fish teens,” Nancy said. “Let’s tell them they did a great job!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George walked toward the teenagers. As they got nearer they heard them talking in lowered voices.

  “Deirdre Shannon has been bossing us around since we started practicing,” a girl was saying.

  “She’s a queen, all right,” another girl said. “The queen of mean!”

  “Forget about it,” one boy said. He flashed a sly smile. “Because it’s time to carry out our secret plan.”

  The teens’ fish headdresses wiggled as they bumped fists. They then turned and walked around to the side of the house.

  “Secret plan?” Nancy asked. “What secret plan?”

  “It wouldn’t be a secret if we knew!” George shrugged.

  Nancy wanted to know. She was about to suggest following the teens when—

  “Attention, kids!” Mrs. Shannon shouted into a bullhorn. “Please follow Queen Deirdre into the house so you can hang up your costumes.”

  “Then everybody into the pool!” Deirdre cried, her hands waving in the air.

  The kids cheered. Nancy forgot about the teens and their secret plan as she, Bess, and George followed Deirdre and the others.

  As they walked around the swimming pool, Nancy glanced into the water. It was crystal clear all the way down to the bottom. Perfect for swimming!

  “Hey, you guys,” George said, interrupting Nancy’s thoughts. “There’s the sea monster.”

  Nancy turned to see the kid in the sea monster costume. Instead of following the others, the monster lagged behind.

  “Aren’t you coming too?” Nancy called.

  The sea monster shook her head, which was still totally covered.

  “Oh well,” Nancy said as she and her friends continued walking. “Maybe she didn’t bring her swimsuit.”

  “I brought three suits,” Bess said with a smile. “The one under my costume plus two other options.”

  “Give me a break!” George groaned.

  Once inside the house, the kids hung up their costumes. Nancy carefully put the Clue Book into her bag, and hung up her bag beside her costume. George couldn’t wait to get out of her jellyfish suit!

  “Hurry up, hurry up!” Deirdre cried. She was now wearing a bright blue swimsuit with her Queen of the Sea crown. “My parents have another big surprise for me outside.”

  “Bigger than the electric scooter?” Henderson asked.

  “I hope so!” Deirdre said. She gave a little jump and squealed, “You guys—is my super sweet half-sixteen party perfect or what?”

  When all the costumes were hung on racks, Deirdre rushed everyone to the back door. Deirdre was the first outside for her latest surprise. Nancy could see Deirdre’s jaw drop as she stared straight ahead.

  Nancy followed Deirdre’s gaze. What she saw was a beautiful mermaid seated on a gold throne decorated with pink and silver seashells!

  “Happy birthday, Deirdre!” the mermaid called as she waved. “It’s so good to ‘sea’ you. That’s s-e-a, as in the ocean. Hee-hee!”

  Deirdre turned to her parents. “You got me a mermaid?” she asked.

  “Not just any mermaid, honey,” Mr. Shannon said. “It’s Marissa—Queen of the Mermaids!”

  “I’ve come to swim for you all today!” Mermaid Marissa exclaimed, still waving her hand.

  “Okay, kids,” Mrs. Shannon called to the guests. “Who wants to meet Queen Marissa?”

  “Me, me, me!” everyone shouted.

  Nancy, Bess, and George raced straight to Queen Marissa’s throne with the others. Those with cameras or phones took pictures of the glittering mermaid.

  “How about a picture with the birthday girl?” Mr. Shannon asked, holding up a camera. He looked around. “Where did Deirdre disappear to, anyway?”

  “Over here!” Deirdre shouted.

  Nancy turned to see Deirdre squeezing through the crowd. When she reached the mermaid’s throne she flashed a smile for the camera.

  “And now,” Queen Marissa said with a shake of her fin, “it’s time for my spectacular deep-sea swim show!”

  The DJ played soft music as bubbles drifted from machines. Excited whispers also filled the air as Queen Marissa hobbled across the diving board. When she reached the edge, she raised both hands gracefully above her head.

  “She’s going to dive!” Nancy said.

  “I’ve never seen a mermaid swim before,” Bess said.

  “This is going to be good,” George declared.

  Marissa gave a little hop. But just as she was about to jump, she froze to a stop.

  “Look!” Marissa screamed as she pointed down at the water. “At the bottom of the pool. Th-th-there’s a snake!”

  SNAKY SHOCKER

  Everyone began talking at once.

  “In the pool?”

  “A real live snake?”

  “No way!”

  Mr. and Mrs. Shannon kept the kids away from the pool, but the green and yellow snake coiled at the bottom wasn’t hard to see.

  “Ew!” Bess shrieked.

  “You don’t see that every day!” George said.

  That’s for sure, Nancy thought. She knew she hadn’t seen a snake in the pool when she had looked in it earlier!

  Mr. Shannon rushed to help Queen Marissa off the diving board. He tried to apologize, but she wouldn’t hear it.

  “I’m out of here!” Marissa declared. “No more kiddie parties for me—ever!”

  Nancy couldn’t take her eyes off of the snake. It wasn’t moving. And it looked like something was hanging from its tail!

  “Mr. and Mrs. Shannon?” Nancy called. “I think that snake has a tag on its tail.”

  “A tag?” Mr. Shannon said.

  Using a skimmer, one of the caterers helped fish the snake out of the pool. The snake did have a tag on its tail—a price tag!

  “Guess what, boys and girls?” Mr. Shannon chuckled with relief. “This snake is a fake!”

  “It sure is!” Mrs. Shannon said, reading the tag. “It’s from Yuks Joke Shop on Main Street!”

  “Some joke!” Deirdre snapped. She turned to glare at her party guests. “Okay, which one of you jokers threw that fake snake into the pool?”

  The kids stared blankly at Deirdre, not saying a word. Some mumbled “Not me” or “Nuh-uh.”

  Mrs. Shannon put a gentle hand on Deirdre’s shoulder.

  “Deirdre, dear,” she said. “Why don’t we forget ab
out that silly snake and continue with the pool party?”

  “Well . . . ,” Deirdre muttered. “Okay.”

  “You heard the queen!” Mr. Shannon boomed with a smile. “Everybody into the pool!”

  Deirdre was smiling again as the kids grabbed swim rafts and floatation noodles. But as the others hopped into the pool, Nancy, Bess, and George stood to the side, talking softly.

  “I think Deirdre was right,” Nancy admitted. “Someone here must have thrown that snake into the pool.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t just a dumb joke either,” George said. “Maybe somebody wanted to ruin Deirdre’s party.”

  “Who would want to ruin an awesome party like this one?” Bess asked.

  “I don’t know,” Nancy said. “But I think the Clue Crew should find out.”

  Bess gave a little hop as she clapped her hands. Parties were fun, but so were solving mysteries—especially for the Clue Crew!

  “Okay,” George said. “Let’s tell Deirdre we’re on the case.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy we want to help!” Bess said.

  But when Nancy, Bess, and George offered to find the snake slinger, Deirdre shook her head.

  “This is a pool party!” Deirdre replied firmly. “Not some mystery party!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George stared openmouthed at Deirdre as she huffed away. Still wearing her crown, she jumped into the pool with a big splash.

  “I guess she doesn’t want us to solve this mystery.” Bess sighed.

  “Deirdre may not want to solve this mystery,” Nancy said. “But I do.”

  “So do I,” George said. She cracked a little smile. “If you ask me, something fishy is going on around here.”

  “George, puh-leeze!” Bess groaned.

  The girls didn’t want to leave the party for their detective headquarters. Instead they discussed the case floating on a lobster raft in the pool.

  “I’m sure the snake was thrown in right before Queen Marissa’s show,” Nancy said. “Probably while we were all in the house.”

  “How do you know?” George asked.

  “I peeked in the pool right before we went inside,” Nancy explained. “The water looked great. There were no snakes!”