Cat Burglar Caper

  Catch That Cat Burglar!

  “A couple of kittens from a brand-new litter disappeared yesterday from the River Heights Animal Shelter,” Chief McGinnis said. “Know anything about it?”

  “I didn’t hear about any missing kittens,” Pete told the officer. “I’ve got some new little ones myself, but I got them from a breeder named John Jones.”

  The police officer turned on his heel to leave the store. Nancy led her friends in a rush to catch up.

  “Chief McGinnis,” Nancy Drew called after him. “Can we help you find the missing kittens?”

  The chief turned, grinning warmly. “You know, Nancy, I can always use help from you and your friends.”

  “Well then,” George said happily, “let’s get started.”

  Join 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

  #6 The Fashion Disaster

  #7 The Circus Scare

  #8 Lights, Camera … Cats!

  #9 The Halloween Hoax

  #10 Ticket Trouble

  #11 Ski School Sneak

  #12 Valentine’s Day Secret

  #13 Chick-napped!

  #14 The Zoo Crew

  #15 Mall Madness

  #16 Thanksgiving Thief

  #17 Wedding Day Disaster

  #18 Earth Day Escapade

  #19 April Fool’s Day

  #20 Treasure Trouble

  #21 Double Take

  #22 Unicorn Uproar

  #23 Babysitting Bandit

  #24 Princess Mix-up Mystery

  #25 Buggy Breakout

  #26 Camp Creepy

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  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

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin paperback edition September 2010

  Text copyright © 2010 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Macky Pamintuan

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

  ALADDIN is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and related logo is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  NANCY DREW and related logos are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Designed by Lisa Vega

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

  Manufactured in the United States of America 0810 OFF

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Control Number 2009927921

  ISBN 978-1-4169-9436-7

  ISBN 978-1-4424-0941-5 (eBook)

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE: WHERE’S HANNAH?

  CHAPTER TWO: KITTEN-NAPPED!

  CHAPTER THREE: SUSPICIOUS SHELTER

  CHAPTER FOUR: QUICK QUESTIONS

  CHAPTER FIVE: REAL RESEARCH

  CHAPTER SIX: THE PERFECT PLAN

  CHAPTER SEVEN: SEARCHING THE SUSPECTS

  CHAPTER EIGHT: KIND KITTENS

  CHAPTER NINE: CAT CAPER CLOSED?

  CHAPTER TEN: THE NOSE KNOWS

  CHAPTER ONE

  Where’s Hannah?

  “I’m sooo bored …,” Bess complained as she flipped through the pages of an old magazine.

  It was a beautiful day and eight-year-old best friends Nancy Drew, Bess Marvin, and George Fayne were hanging out in Nancy’s bedroom with no real plans.

  Nancy was splayed out on the floor, making a castle out of dominoes. “I’ll do whatever you guys want to do,” she said, momentarily distracted by a metal clanking sound coming through the open window. Blocking it out, Nancy continued building her guard tower.

  “We need an adventure,” George said, flopping back over Nancy’s bed so her short brown hair hung upside down.

  Bess tossed the magazine aside. “I wish we had a mystery to solve. That would be exciting.”

  Even though Bess and George were cousins, they were very different from each other and hardly ever did the same thing. At that moment, however, the two girls both looked at their friend Nancy.

  Nancy was a great detective. Bess and George often helped her solve mysteries. Together the three girls called themselves the Clue Crew and made their headquarters in Nancy’s room.

  “You never know when a mystery might happen,” Nancy told them, carefully setting another domino on her stack.

  Bess sighed. “Since we aren’t investigating anything right now, we might as well go shopping.”

  George groaned. “Are you kidding?” She thought for a minute, then sat up and asked, “How about a movie instead?”

  “Ugh, again?” Bess asked, standing up and tossing back her blond hair. She put her hands on her hips.

  “How about this: We head downtown, see a movie, then go shopping afterward?” Nancy suggested, raising her head to look at her friends.

  When neither of them responded, Nancy refocused on the dominoes, saying, “Or we could just stay here and do NOTHING all day.”

  At that, the girls both agreed to go to the movies and then shopping.

  “Great!” Nancy popped up quickly, accidentally knocking into the tower she’d spent the past hour building. The girls watched as the dominoes fell in a wave. “Oh no,” Nancy moaned, pressing her hands to her cheeks. Nancy was used to being a little clumsy, so it wasn’t the first time she would have to start a project over. She immediately began thinking of ways to improve the castle. “I’ll work on it again after we get back. Right now, we need a ride downtown. Let’s go find Hannah.”

  Hannah Gruen had been the Drew family housekeeper since Nancy was three years old. When Mr. Drew was at work, Hannah took care of Nancy and the household chores.

  “Hannah!” Nancy called out as the girls entered the kitchen. It was the most logical place to find her because Hannah was an amazing cook.

  “She’s not here,” Bess said, looking around. “I wonder where Hannah is.”

  The girls checked the living room, then Mr. Drew’s study. No Hannah.

  “Hmm.” Nancy’s detective skills were kicking in. “Let’s see if she’s in the garage.” The girls walked outside through the open gate over to the garage. “That should have been closed,” she muttered.

  Hannah’s car was parked in the garage, but still no Hannah.

  “Where could she be?” Nancy wondered aloud.

  “What’s this?” George asked, scooping a white rag smeared with black grease off the driveway.

  “Hmm,” Nancy said, pushing a loose strand of reddish brown hair behind her ear. “Bess, your wish has come true. We’
ve stumbled onto a mystery.” Nancy thought about the square of cloth George discovered. “Hannah is always super neat and clean. She must have dropped this by accident. This rag is our first clue.”

  “Here’s another clue!” Bess called from the garage. George and Nancy hurried over to where Bess stood by an open tool box. Bess knew a lot about tools and fixing things. “See?” Bess pointed at an empty space. “A lug wrench is missing.”

  “Huh?” George asked. “What’s a lug wrench?”

  “You use it for fixing tires,” Bess answered.

  Nancy fell quiet for a minute while her friends searched for more clues. Then she declared, “I know where Hannah is!”

  George and Bess both looked at Nancy with a mixture of disbelief and awe, then followed as the detective led them back through the open gate. They crossed the front yard and walked over to Nancy’s neighbor’s house.

  “Hey Mr. Seilsopour,” Nancy greeted their new neighbor. Nancy didn’t know him very well, but Hannah had told her that he was a mechanic and had come to River Heights to open his own car repair shop.

  Hannah was very excited about Mr. Seilsopour’s new shop. Not only was Hannah a great cook, a great nanny, and a great housekeeper, but she was also really good at repairing things.

  Mr. Seilsopour peeked out at Nancy from under the hood of a very old, rusty pickup truck. He wiped his greasy hands on an oil-covered white rag, the exact same kind that George had found, and came over to meet Nancy’s friends.

  “Is Hannah here?” Nancy asked. Nancy had used her detective skills and put it all together: the open gate, the rag, and the missing wrench. She also remembered the clanging she’d heard as she lay on her bedroom floor earlier. Metal clanging, like someone working on a car … or a truck. When she put the clues together, Nancy was certain Hannah was nearby.

  “Over here,” a sweet voice greeted them from behind the truck. Nancy, Bess, and George went over and found Hannah working to put a brand-new front tire on the truck. “Hand me that lug nut, please,” Hannah asked Nancy.

  “Lug nut?” Nancy looked at George. George shrugged. Neither of them knew what Hannah was talking about.

  Bess rolled her eyes and squeezed between her friends. She picked up the object Hannah wanted. “Here.”

  “Thanks, Bess,” Hannah said.

  “You sure seem to know a lot about tools,” Mr. Seilsopour commented to Bess.

  “Bess knows a lot about everything mechanical,” George said proudly.

  “Hannah came over to see this old truck I found at the junkyard,” Mr. Seilsopour told the girls. “She kindly volunteered to help me fix it up.”

  “You’re welcome to help us, if you want,” Hannah extended an invitation to Bess.

  Nancy thought that Bess’s eyes were going to fall out of her head, she was so excited.

  “Can I start now?” Bess asked, bouncing on her toes. “Right now?”

  Mr. Seilsopour laughed. “That’s exactly what Hannah asked!” At that, Hannah grinned.

  “Hey wait, Bess, we’re going to go downtown,” George reminded her. She poked Bess in the side to bring her cousin back to planet Earth. “Movies. Shopping. Remember? We came over to ask Hannah for a ride.”

  Bess’s face fell. She wanted to start on the truck immediately.

  Hannah saw Bess’s disappointed look. She wiped her hands and stood up. “This tire is done so I’m finished here for the day. I’ll be happy to take you girls downtown.”

  “Bess,” Mr. Seilsopour said, “Hannah’s planning to come back over tomorrow. You can help us then, if you want.”

  “Yippee!” Bess said. “I can’t wait.”

  “Well then,” George said with a laugh, “the Mystery of Missing Hannah has been solved!”

  “You never know when there might be another mystery,” Nancy replied, tapping her pocket. “I’m bringing my detective’s notebook along—just in case …”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Kitten-Napped!

  “That movie was awesome!” Bess exclaimed, tossing her popcorn container into a bin near the exit.

  “At first I was so worried about the animals,” George said with a shiver. “After the plane crash, the two dogs and cat went off by themselves, searching for help.”

  Nancy put an arm around George. “It all turned out well though,” she said. “They crossed the mountain and found that woman who understood she needed to get rescue people to follow them back to the plane. It was so exciting.”

  “Yeah,” George smiled thinking back over the movie. “But I was on the edge of my seat when the beagle puppy fell into the river and the water was dragging her downstream.” George clutched her heart dramatically and breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad that cat saved her. That was my favorite part.”

  “I loved that part too.” Bess agreed. “That puppy was super cute with his big floppy ears and little wagging tail.”

  “Let’s cross the street and look at the pets in Pete’s Pets.” Nancy suggested. “After that movie, I want to see some real cats and dogs.”

  Hannah walked the girls to the pet shop, then went next door to the hardware store to grab a few parts for Mr. Seilsopour’s truck. “I’ll meet you here in a half hour,” she told the girls.

  Pete was welcoming his customers at the door, showing off some puppies he was selling. “I knew families would want to adopt beagles after seeing that new movie,” Pete told Nancy and the girls as they entered the shop.

  “Cool,” Bess said. She petted the puppy Pete was holding on its fuzzy little head.

  “There are more over there,” Pete said, pointing toward the back of the store. “Plenty of puppies for everyone.”

  “Thanks, we’ll take a look,” Nancy said. Nancy already had a dog named Chocolate Chip, but she was happy to visit the shop’s puppies.

  “Look all you like,” Pete said with a warm smile.

  The girls headed to the back of the store, where the puppies were playing around in small pens. Two girls from school, Deirdre Shannon and Suzie Park, were already there, looking at the beagles.

  “Hey, Nancy,” Deirdre was holding one of the beagle pups in her arms. She showed it to Bess and George. “I’m going to ask my dad if we can adopt her,” she said happily. “I’ll call her Sunrise because she’s got golden colored splotches. They remind me of clouds in the early morning sun.”

  “Cute name,” Bess said. She knew that Deirdre didn’t have any pets. “Do you think your dad’ll let you have him?”

  Deirdre was struggling to control the wiggly fellow, saying, “Her. And, I hope so.”

  Bess remarked, “Sunrise looks exactly like the puppy in the movie that we just saw.”

  “That’s why I picked her. I saw the movie yesterday,” Deirdre explained.

  George agreed with Bess that Sunrise looked a lot like the movie dog, but Nancy thought that the famous dog had darker brown spots.

  “What do you think, Suzie?” George asked.

  Suzie tossed back her long, dark hair and shrugged. “I haven’t seen the movie yet. I’ve been too busy.” She pointed to the logo on the jacket she was wearing. The jacket was too big and very warm for such a nice day, but Suzie was obviously pleased to be wearing it. She stood up straight so Nancy could read the printing.

  “River Heights Animal Shelter.” Nancy noted that the words were right above a little picture of a dog and a cat, standing on their back legs, shaking paws.

  “I’ve been volunteering at the shelter,” Suzie said proudly. “I go there every day.” Suzie then offered to show Deirdre a better way to hold the puppy. “I have a special technique,” she claimed.

  Deirdre tried to hand Suzie the squirmy little dog, but Suzie’s slick jacket made holding the puppy difficult, so Suzie took off the coat and laid it on the floor.

  Nancy, Bess, and George leaned in to see Suzie’s holding technique. Suzie managed to settle the restless dog down, but when she handed the pup back to Deirdre, it got excited again and leaped out of Deirdre’s arm
s, scampering across the store at full speed.

  Bess and George rushed after the puppy. Nancy started to run too, but she slipped on Suzie’s jacket and went sailing in a different direction, toward a sheet-covered cage tucked in a corner of the store.

  “Aah!” Nancy exclaimed in surprise as she surfed across the slick floor. She grabbed at the cage intending to steady herself, but the sheet came off in her hands and Nancy crashed to the floor in a heap.

  “Are you okay?” Suzie came hurrying over. She had the runaway puppy tucked under one arm. “I’m so sorry,” she said, picking up the jacket with her free hand.

  Nancy dusted herself off. “I’m fine,” she said with a smile. “Your jacket is good for soft landings.”

  Suzie chuckled. “It’s warm and cozy to wear, too.” Suzie walked away, carrying the puppy back to Deirdre.

  “Look!” Bess exclaimed, once she and George had caught up with Nancy. She was peering into the open-topped glass cage that Nancy had uncovered. Inside were two of the tiniest kittens that Nancy had ever seen. They looked like little, brown fuzz balls with wee, toothpick legs.

  “I totally want a kitten!” Bess announced. “Aren’t they adorable?” Nancy and George looked at Bess questioningly. She’d never even mentioned wanting a pet before.

  Pete came over. “Those kittens aren’t ready for adoption yet,” he said, gathering up the sheet that had covered the cage. “They’re too young.”

  “How old are they?” Nancy asked, looking into the cage, noticing that Pete had made them a nice bed out of old, torn blankets.

  Pete explained. “They’re only a few weeks old, so I’m still bottle-feeding them. Once they can feed themselves from a bowl, I’ll put them up for adoption.” He picked up one of the kitties. “It’ll be a few more weeks.” He held out the baby to show the girls. “I’m getting more from this same litter. They’ll be here in the next few days, if you want to come in and see them, too.”

  “I really, really want a kitten,” Bess said softly. She looked up at Pete. “Can I hold one, please?”

  Pete very tenderly moved the kitten from his palm into Bess’s. She smiled brightly as she ran her thumb over the kitten’s tiny back. But then—