Case of the Sneaky Snowman

  Can Nancy solve this chilling mystery?

  Who wears a blue scarf and old rubber boots, and has broccoli for a nose? It’s Sherlock—Nancy, Bess, and George’s snowman! The girls are thrilled to be on winter vacation and take part in all of the season’s activities! Nancy’s friend Deirdre has even transformed herself into Madame Chocolata, a fortune-teller who predicts the future by reading hot cocoa marshmallows!

  But the wintry days get a little too chilly after many of Deirdre’s visions come true. Sherlock even goes missing—just as predicted! Can the Clue Crew put a freeze on this mystery before it snowballs out of control?

  TEST YOUR DETECTIVE SKILLS WITH THESE OTHER CLUE CREW CASES!

  #1: Sleepover Sleuths

  #2: Scream for Ice Cream

  #3: Pony Problems

  #4: The Cinderella Ballet Mystery

  See inside for a free activity!

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  A Ready-for-Chapters Book

  Cover designed by Lisa Vega

  Cover illustration copyright © 2006 by Macky Pamintuan

  Ages 6-9

  www.SimonSaysKids.com

  1206

  Who is this cool ghoul?

  This really is a mystery, Nancy thought. Who could the Snowman be?

  Suddenly something big and white dashed out from behind a tree. A bright blue scarf fluttered from its neck as it darted from tree to tree.

  “Yikes!” Nancy gasped.

  “Nancy—are you okay?” Bess asked.

  “Yeah,” George said. “You look like you just saw a ghost!”

  Jom the CLUE CREW

  & solve these other cases!

  #1 Sleepover Sleuths

  #2 Scream for Ice Cream

  #3 Pony Problems

  #4 The Cinderella Ballet Mystery

  #5 Case of the Sneaky Snowman

  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.

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Text copyright © 2006 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Macky Pamintuan

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

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS, NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW, and colophon are

  trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  NANCY DREW is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Designed by Lisa Vega

  The text of this book was set in ITC Stone Informal.

  First Aladdin Paperbacks edition December 2006.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2006922340

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1254-5 (print)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4424-5914-4 (eBook)

  ISBN-10: 1-4169-1254-1

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE: PUZZLE IN THE PARK

  CHAPTER TWO: SNOW PROBLEM!

  CHAPTER THREE: SNOWBALL FRIGHT

  CHAPTER FOUR: COLD CASE

  CHAPTER FIVE: PRANKS A LOT!

  CHAPTER SIX: SNOWMAN OR NO-MAN?

  CHAPTER SEVEN: CHILL ON THE HILL

  CHAPTER EIGHT: CHIP, CHIP, HOORAY!

  CHAPTER NINE: HEADS UP!

  CHAPTER TEN: NICE ON ICE

  CHAPTER ONE

  PUZZLE IN THE PARK

  “And now for the finishing touch!” eight-year-old Nancy Drew said. She held out her hand. “Carrot please, George!”

  Nancy’s best friend George Fayne dug into the pocket of her bulky blue parka. She pulled out something green and fuzzy. Then she stuck it into the face of the snowman with a crunch!

  Bess Marvin was Nancy’s other best friend. She stared at the fuzzy green thing with wide eyes.

  “You were supposed to bring a carrot for the snowman’s nose,” Bess said.

  “That’s broccoli,” Nancy said.

  “My mom needed carrots for her catering job,” George explained. “Broccoli was the only veggie we had left.”

  Nancy smiled. It was Tuesday morning and the best winter break ever! That’s because it had snowed for two days straight. By the time Nancy, Bess, and George got to the park it looked like a giant marshmallow sundae—perfect for building their first snowman of the year!

  “Wait! Wait! We’re not finished yet,” Bess said. The pom-pom on her red hat bounced as she jumped up and down. “We forgot to name our snowman!”

  “How about Sherlock?” Nancy asked.

  “Sherlock?” George said, wrinkling her nose.

  “After Sherlock Holmes, the famous detective in the books,” Nancy explained. “We’re detectives, so our snowman should have a detective name. Right?”

  “Right!” Bess and George said together.

  Not only were the girls detectives, but they had their own detective club called the Clue Crew. When a mystery popped up in River Heights, Nancy, Bess, and George were on the case!

  The friends stepped back to admire their work. Sherlock had Nancy’s old blue scarf wrapped around his neck. Over his head were earmuffs. Bess built them out of two white powder puffs and a plastic headband. George stuck a pair of her dad’s old rubber boots near the snowman’s base. For his mouth and smile, Nancy used little round dog kibbles—the kind she fed to her puppy, Chocolate Chip.

  “Did we do an awesome job or what?” Bess sighed.

  “We?” George cried. “You mostly just watched, Bess!”

  Bess rubbed her thick red mittens together to keep warm. “I told you. I’m skating in the River Heights Ice Spectacular Show this Saturday,” she said. “I can’t get my hands cold!”

  “You’re not skating on your hands, Bess,” George said. She rolled her dark eyes. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re my cousin.”

  Nancy sometimes couldn’t believe it either!

  George had dark hair and brown eyes. She was a computer geek and proud of it. Bess had blond hair and blue eyes. She loved building and fixing things. But now Bess had something else to look forward to. A few days ago she won a raffle at the ice-skating rink. The prize was to skate in the ice show with Russian ice dancing stars Svetlana and Alexi Dubonov. On Saturday Bess would wear a pretty costume and ice skates with pink pom-poms. Then she would skate in the show like a star herself!

  “It’s okay, Bess,” Nancy said. “You made Sherlock’s earmuffs. That was a big job!”

  Bess stuck her chin out at George. Suddenly someone shouted, “Wipeout!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George whirled around. A boy was riding a snowboard down the hill—straight toward them! They jumped behind Sherlock and all held their breath as the boy zipped by.

  “He almost rode into Sherlock!” George complained.

  “And he didn’t even say excuse me!” Bess said.

  Nancy watched as the boy skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill. He laughed as he picked up his board and walked away.

  “Oh, forget about him,” Nancy said. She pulled the zipper of her red parka all the way up to her chin. “Let’s go to the Snack Shack for some hot chocolate.”

  “With marshmallows!” Bess added.

  The girls said good-bye to Sherlock. Their boots made deep footprints as they walked through the snowy park. Tons of kids were busy sledding and building snow people. But as the girls passed the playground they saw something that made them stop. Between the slide and the swings was a purple and go
ld tent!

  “That was never there before,” Nancy said.

  She looked closer. Eight-year-old Toby Leo was standing in front of the tent. Toby was in the girls’ third-grade class at River Heights Elementary School. He usually wore a sweatshirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. But today he was wearing a fancy green turban and a gold cape!

  “Wow,” Nancy said. “Toby looks like someone out of the story ‘Aladdin.’”

  “So does that tent,” Bess said. “But what’s it doing on the playground?”

  “I’ll bet Toby is putting on some kind of play,” George said. “Let’s ask him.”

  As the girls walked closer Nancy saw a sign pinned to the tent: HOT CHOCOLATE WITH MARSHMALLOWS. $1.00.

  “Are we lucky or what?” George said.

  “Hi, Toby,” Nancy said. “Can we have some—”

  “Stop!” Toby said. He held up his hand like a school crossing guard. “You must wait your turn!”

  The flap of the tent swung open. A girl burst out with a big smile. “Yes!” She pumped her fist.

  “I’m going to be an astronaut when I grow up! I’m going to the moon! The moon!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George traded puzzled looks.

  What was going on in there?

  Toby folded his arms across his chest. “Madame Coco Chocolata will see you now!” he announced in a deep voice.

  “Madame Chocolata?” George whispered.

  “Who is Madame Chocolata?” Bess whispered back.

  Nancy stared at the tent. This was way too weird!

  “I don’t have a clue,” Nancy said. She took a step toward the tent. “But there’s only one way to find out!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  SNOW PROBLEM!

  “Close the flap!” a voice cried. “It’s freezing out there!”

  The girls stooped to get into the tent. Nancy smiled when she saw their classmate Deirdre Shannon inside. Deirdre was sitting cross-legged on a blanket. She wore a gold turban, hoop earrings, and beaded necklaces over her down jacket. On the blanket was a thermos, a stack of paper cups, and a bag of mini-marshmallows.

  “Hi, Deirdre!” Nancy said.

  “What’s up?” George asked. “Halloween was months ago.”

  “I am not this Deirdre you speak of,” Deirdre said. “I am Madame Coco Chocolata—teller of fortunes!”

  “Fortunes?” Nancy, Bess, and George said together.

  Deirdre’s turban almost fell off as she nodded her head. “Some fortune-tellers read palms. Others read tea leaves,” she explained. “But I, Madame Chocolata, read the marshmallows in hot chocolate!”

  “Huh?” George said.

  Deirdre picked up the thermos and smiled. “For just one dollar you get a steaming cup of cocoa,” she said, “and your life’s destiny.”

  Nancy glanced sideways at her friends. Deirdre Shannon always got whatever she wanted—which probably explained the fancy tent. But she was usually busy working on her website, Dishing with Deirdre.

  “Whoever heard of reading marshmallows?” Bess whispered.

  “She’s got hot chocolate,” George whispered. “Who cares what she does with it?”

  “Thanks, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “We’ll each have a cup . . . and our fortunes!”

  “And so you shall!” Deirdre said. As she poured hot chocolate into three cups, Nancy chatted about Sherlock.

  “You should go and see him, Deirdre,” Nancy said. “He’s the best snowman ever!”

  “Really? What does he look like?” Deirdre asked.

  “You’re the fortune-teller.” Bess giggled. “You tell us!”

  Nancy jabbed Bess with her elbow. Deirdre was taking this game very seriously!

  “Sherlock has a blue scarf and a broccoli nose,” Nancy said. “And he’s right near the water fountain.”

  “Which isn’t really a water fountain today because the water’s frozen,” George added.

  Deirdre lined the white cups in a row. “Quick!” she said. “I must read your fortunes before my trance breaks. And before the mini-marshmallows melt.”

  The girls sat cross-legged in front of Deirdre.

  “Madame Chocolata will read Nancy’s fortune first,” Deirdre said. She stared into a cup without blinking. “I see a pizza in your future. A large pizza with extra cheese. Madame Chocolata predicts pizza for dinner tonight!”

  “If you say so,” Nancy said. “But my dad only orders pizza on Saturday nights—”

  “Next!” Deirdre said a little too loudly.

  “That’s me,” George said. “What do you see in my hot chocolate? Am I going to get that neat computerized watch I want?”

  Nancy smiled. George loved computers more than anything. She even had a computerized toothbrush!

  “I see a snowman,” Deirdre said slowly. She stared into the cup. “Near the water fountain.”

  “Ye-ah! We just told you that,” George said.

  “Wait!” Deirdre said. She leaned over as she stared deeply into George’s cup. “The snowman is taking a long, long journey. He is walking . . . walking . . .”

  George laughed and said, “Snowmen can’t walk—”

  “Next!” Deirdre cut in.

  “Bess, that’s you,” Nancy said.

  “This is too silly,” Bess said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to play. I just want a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows, please.”

  Deirdre narrowed her eyes at Bess. She waved her hands over the last cup of hot chocolate and said, “I see a big ice show! I see someone falling on the ice! And lots of people laughing and saying, ‘What a klutz! What a klutz!’”

  “What?” Bess gasped. “You mean I’m going to fall in the Ice Spectacular? With Svetlana and Alexi Dubonov?”

  “It’s in the marshmallows,” Deirdre said with a shrug. “That will be three dollars, please. Have a nice day.”

  The girls dropped their dollar bills into a basket. They sipped their hot chocolate as they left the tent.

  “Nancy, George!” Bess cried. “What if Deirdre really can see the future? She already knew I was in the show!”

  “Who doesn’t know?” George said. She licked a marshmallow from her upper lip. “You told practically the whole school. And the world!”

  “Deirdre is just doing this for fun,” Nancy said. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

  The girls finished their hot chocolate as they made their way over to Sherlock. Nancy pointed to their snowman and smiled.

  “See?” Nancy said. “Sherlock didn’t take a long journey like Deirdre said. He’s still where we left him.”

  Bess smiled and said, “You’re right. I guess it was kind of silly.”

  “If anyone is a klutz, it’s me!” Nancy said. She pointed to a stain on her scarf. “See? I already dripped hot chocolate all over myself!”

  The girls watched as a bird landed on the broccoli nose. They giggled as he began pecking at it.

  “At least somebody likes broccoli!” George said. “Let’s go home now, before my toes turn into toesicles!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George left the park. They all had the same rules. They could walk anywhere as long as it was no more than five blocks from their houses. And as long as they were together.

  “Let’s come back to the park tomorrow,” George said. “We can make snow angels and have a snowball fight.”

  “Maybe we can build a snowwoman!” Nancy said.

  “Okay,” Bess said with a groan. “But from now on, let’s bring our own hot chocolate!”

  “Can people read fortunes, Daddy?” Nancy asked at the dinner table that night.

  Mr. Drew shrugged as he poured dressing over his salad. He was a lawyer and great at figuring things out. “Some people say they do,” he said. “They read palms. Or tea leaves. Or—”

  “Marshmallows?” Nancy said.

  “Did you say marshmallows?” Mr. Drew asked.

  “Deirdre says she can read the marshmallows in hot chocolate,” Nancy explained. “But it didn’t work.
She said we’d have pizza tonight—”

  “And we’re having vegetable lasagna!” Hannah said as she carried a casserole dish into the dining room.

  Hannah Gruen was the Drews’ housekeeper. Hannah had been taking very good care of Nancy since Nancy was three years old. That’s when Nancy’s mother had died. Hannah brushed Nancy’s reddish-blond hair every morning until it shined. She made the best tuna sandwiches with tomatoes. And Hannah always smelled like sugar cookies—even when she wasn’t baking!

  “Yummy!” Nancy said. She took a whiff of the hot steaming lasagna. “Who needs pizza when we can have this?”

  Just then the doorbell rang.

  “Who could that be at dinnertime?” Mr. Drew asked.

  Nancy glanced at the clock in the dining room. It was six o’clock. Sharp.

  Mr. Drew left the room to answer the door. When he came back he was holding a big flat box. “Did anyone order this?” he asked.

  Nancy stared at the box. There was only one thing that came in a box like that!

  “Pizza?” Nancy gasped. “No way!”

  “Maybe Hannah ordered the pizza,” George said. “To go with the lasagna!”

  It was Wednesday morning. The girls were walking through the main gate of the park. It was so cold they wore layers of fleece shirts under their parkas.

  “Hannah said she didn’t,” Nancy said. “She even called Pizza Paradise. They said someone ordered the pie at five thirty but didn’t leave a name.”

  “Omigosh!” Bess gasped. “Madame Chocolata said you’d have pizza for dinner and she was right!”

  Nancy smiled as she shook her head. “Daddy and I figured it out,” she said. “Deirdre probably ordered the pizza herself to make it look like her fortune came true.”

  “But I saw Deirdre at the mall yesterday,” George said. “She was trying on shoes with her mother. And it was exactly five thirty.”

  “How do you know it was exactly five thirty?” Nancy asked.

  George pulled up her sleeve to show a hi-tech silver watch. “Because I got the computerized watch I wanted,” she said excitedly. “I couldn’t stop looking at it!”