Buggy Breakout

  Bugs on the loose!

  After lunch and recess, everyone went back to the classroom so they could continue with Bug Show-and-Tell. Mrs. Ramirez had told the students to come up with three observations about each bug.

  “Oh, no!”

  Nancy turned around. Sonia was standing next to her desk, and she looked really upset.

  “What’s wrong, Sonia?” Nancy asked her.

  “It’s Princess Bess. She’s gone!” Sonia cried out.

  “What do you mean, Princess Bess is gone?” Nancy asked Sonia.

  Sonia pointed to her pet beetle’s green cage. “The door’s open. And she’s not inside!”

  “Maybe she crawled out,” George suggested.

  “How could that happen? I closed the door before lunch. I latched it too. I’m sure of it!” Sonia bent down and peered all around her desk. “Here, Princess Bess! Where are you, Princess Bess?”

  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

  Nancy Drew and The Clue Crew

  Buggy Breakout

  BY CAROLYN KEENE

  Illustrated by macky pamintuan

  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 March 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 / 0110 OFF

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Library of Congress Control Number 2009927035

  ISBN 978-1-4169-7814-5

  ISBN 978-1-4169-9899-0 (eBook)

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE: BUG WEEK

  CHAPTER TWO: SCORPION ATTACK!

  CHAPTER THREE: BUG SHOW-AND-TELL

  CHAPTER FOUR: BUGS ON THE LOOSE

  CHAPTER FIVE: ELIO’S EXOTIC PETS

  CHAPTER SIX: A NEW SUSPECT

  CHAPTER SEVEN: ANOTHER BUGGY CLUE

  CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TWO MICHAELS

  CHAPTER NINE: AN UNEXPECTED TWIST

  CHAPTER TEN: RESCUING PRINCESS BESS

  Chapter One

  Bug Week

  “I love Bug Week!” Nancy Drew said, doing a little skip as she walked down the hall toward class.

  “Me too!” her friend George Fayne piped up.

  “Me three!” Bess Marvin added. “Check out my cool bug outfit!” She twirled around, showing off the red ladybugs on her white T-shirt. The pockets of her jeans were embroidered with different-colored butterflies.

  Nancy giggled. Leave it to Bess to come up with a fashion statement about bugs. Bess was way into clothes. George, Bess’s cousin, was more into sports.

  This week was Bug Week for the third graders at River Heights Elementary School. The girls’ teacher, Mrs. Ramirez, was teaching the students all about insects.

  The day before, they had watched a cool movie about common bugs and their habitats, or homes. Today they were going to make bug posters, and tomorrow they were going on a field trip to the new River Heights Insectarium. Nancy couldn’t wait!

  The three girls walked into the classroom and took their seats. The rest of the students were already sitting down. Up front, Mrs. Ramirez was writing some words on the blackboard:

  HEAD

  THORAX

  ABDOMEN

  The teacher turned around. “Can anyone tell me what’s so important about these three things?”

  A boy named Michael Dorf waved his hand back and forth. “Mrs. R.! Mrs. R.! Mrs. R.!”

  “Yes, Michael D.?” Mrs. Ramirez said. She called him that because there was another Michael in the class: Michael Lawrence, or Michael L.

  Michael D. sat up very straight. “All insects have a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. What is a thorax? A thorax is the part of the body between the head and the abdomen.” He spoke precisely, like a scientist.

  “Very good, Michael D.,” said Mrs. Ramirez. “Can anyone tell me what—”

  “Insects have other things in common too,” Michael D. interrupted. “Like three pairs of jointed legs, two antennas, compound eyes, and a hard exoskeleton. What are compound eyes? Compound eyes are eyes that are made up of lots and lots of simple eyes. With compound eyes, insects can look in many different directions at the same time. What is an exoskeleton? An exoskeleton is a skeleton that’s on the outside of the body instead of the inside. Like a turtle’s shell.”

  Nancy stared at Michael D., impressed. He sure knew a ton of stuff about bugs!

  “Very good, Michael D.,” Mrs. Ramirez said. “Can anyone tell me if spiders are insects?” Michael D.’s hand flew into the air. “Someone other than Michael D., that is,” she added.

  Luna Valeri raised her hand. “Um … they’re insects? I hate them because they’re creepy-crawly and supergross.”

  “Hmm. They’re definitely creepy-crawly. But are they insects? Anyone else?” Mrs. Ramirez peered around the room.

  Sonia Susi put her hand up. “Actually, they’re not insects. They don’t have antennas. And they don’t have compound eyes.” She turned to Luna. “I’m kind of scared of them too,” she said with a grin.

  “That’s right, Sonia,” said Mrs. Ramirez. “All right, class. I’m going to pass out some poster board and markers. We’re going to make posters of our favorite, or not-so-favorite, bugs. First you will pick a bug to be your
subject. Then you’re going to draw your bug and label its head, thorax, and abdomen. You will label its other parts too, like its antennas, eyes, and wings—that is, if your insect has wings. Who can name an insect that has wings?”

  Michael D. raised his hand again. So did Nancy. “Nancy?” Mrs. Ramirez said, pointing.

  “Bees,” replied Nancy.

  Michael D. leaned across the aisle. “You forgot wasps,” he whispered. “And butterflies. And moths. And dragonflies. And—”

  “She said an insect,” Nancy whispered back.

  “Very good, Nancy,” said Mrs. Ramirez. “While I pass out the supplies for your posters, why don’t you all start thinking about what bug you’d like to draw?”

  “Can I draw Bess Marvin?” Michael L. joked. Bess whirled around and glared at him.

  “Michael L., that’s enough,” Mrs. Ramirez warned him. “Also, class? Don’t forget that tomorrow is our field trip to the River Heights Insectarium. Anyone who hasn’t given me their permission slips, I need them now.”

  Sonia raised her hand. “Mrs. Ramirez? Can I make an announcement about something bug-related?”

  “Yes, of course, Sonia,” Mrs. Ramirez replied.

  Sonia stood up and brushed her long, wavy blond hair out of her face. “I wanted to tell everybody about the River Heights Elementary School Bug Club,” she began. “We’re accepting new members! We meet once a week, and we share stories about our pet bugs. We already have three members: Michael D., Michael L., and me. I’m the president.”

  Nancy glanced over her shoulder at Michael L. He was bent over his notebook, doodling something that looked like a big, fire-breathing dragon. He wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to Sonia’s announcement. Nancy was surprised that he was a member of the Bug Club. He didn’t seem that interested in bugs. Yesterday, during the bug movie, he had gabbed with Antonio Elefano the whole time and gotten in big trouble with Mrs. Ramirez.

  “We’re going to be starting a website about bugs soon,” Sonia went on. “And this Thursday, we’ll be bringing our pet bugs to school for Bug Show-and-Tell, and—”

  But Sonia was interrupted by an angry voice. “Stop the Bug Club!” someone shouted. “It’s got to be shut down—now!”

  Chapter Two

  Scorpion Attack!

  Nancy craned her neck to see who had interrupted Sonia. It was Carly Henek. She wore a black T-shirt that said FREE THE BUGS!

  Sonia put her hands on her hips. “Why are you telling people to shut down my club, Carly? That’s so mean!”

  Carly stood up and put her hands on her hips too. “I’m not mean. You know what’s mean? Keeping bugs in cages as pets … that’s mean. So is the Insectarium. They keep bugs in cages too.”

  “I appreciate where you’re coming from, Carly,” Mrs. Ramirez told her. “It’s great that you’re worried about how the bugs are treated. But I think the members of the Bug Club take good care of their bugs. The people who work at the Insectarium take good care of their bugs too. In fact, bugs in captivity probably do better than bugs in the natural world. After all, bugs in nature have to deal with predators attacking them and eating them.”

  Michael D. raised his hand. “Mrs. R. is right! In the natural world, bugs have to fight off birds, amphibians, small mammals, fish, spiders, and even other bugs. Edgar is much safer in his cage at home.”

  “Edgar? Who’s Edgar?” George spoke up.

  “Edgar is my pet hissing cockroach,” said Michael D. proudly. “You’ll all be meeting him on Thursday during Bug Show-and-Tell.”

  “H-hissing c-cockroach?” Bess whispered to Nancy.

  Nancy shrugged. She wasn’t sure she wanted to meet something called a “hissing cockroach” either.

  “I still think keeping bugs in cages is wrong,” Carly insisted. She held up something that looked like a flier, printed on light green paper. “Anyone who wants to join my club should talk to me during lunch or recess. I can give you a flier. Free the bugs!” she exclaimed, then sat back down.

  Sonia sat down too. Nancy glanced back and forth between Sonia and Carly. Wow, Bug Week is getting really interesting! she thought.

  “Welcome to the River Heights Insectarium,” Mr. Valeri said. “Who here has ever been to an insectarium before?”

  A few kids raised their hands. “I’ve been to the one in Montreal,” Kevin Garcia said.

  “I’ve been to the one in Philadelphia,” said Nadine Nardo.

  “I’ve been to both of them,” Deirdre Shannon bragged. Deirdre was always bragging about something.

  Luna Valeri raised her hand. “I’ve been to this insectarium before because you’re my dad,” she said.

  Mr. Valeri looked embarrassed. “Uh, right. So, boys and girls! As you’ll see, we have both mounted displays and live displays, in vivariums. Does anyone here know what a vivarium is?”

  Michael D. raised his hand. “A vivarium is kind of like an aquarium. It’s a place where you can raise live animals, such as insects, under natural conditions.” Next to him, Michael L. rolled his eyes.

  “Are the bugs in the mounted displays … um, dead?” Bess asked nervously.

  “Yes, they are. In fact, some of them are more than a hundred years old,” Mr. Valeri replied. “In addition to the insects in our vivariums and in our mounted displays, we also have a live butterfly and moth room. We’ll stop by there later this morning. You’ll be able to walk around an enclosed space while butterflies and moths from all over the world fly around your head.” He started walking toward a wide, arched doorway. “But first, we’re going to visit the mounted display room. Please follow me. Take your time looking at the displays, and feel free to ask me any questions.”

  “This place is awesome!” George said as everyone headed into the mounted display room. There were dozens of glass cases filled with all sorts of insects.

  Nancy noticed that Carly wasn’t looking at the glass cases but was instead passing out fliers to some of the other kids. She was wearing another “Free The Bugs!” T-shirt today, this time in purple.

  “This place is superawesome!” Sonia agreed. “I wish I had my camera!”

  “Do you like to take pictures of bugs?” Nancy asked Sonia.

  Sonia nodded. “I love, love, love taking pictures of bugs! Especially my pet bug! Let me show you.” She reached into her book bag and pulled out a photo. “Isn’t she beautiful?” she said proudly.

  Nancy, George, and Bess gathered around to look at the picture. Sonia’s bug had a shiny black shell that reminded Nancy of patent leather dress-up shoes. It was posing next to a silver teaspoon and a mug with Sonia’s name on it.

  “What kind of bug is it?” asked George.

  “It’s a bess beetle,” Sonia replied.

  “A … what?” Bess said, looking startled.

  “A bess beetle. Hey, Bess, they named a bug after you!” Sonia joked. “Isn’t that cool?”

  Bess frowned. “I’m … not sure.”

  “She’s got a cool name, too. Princess Bess,” Sonia added.

  Bess’s face lit up. “Princess Bess? That is a cool name.”

  “My, what a fine bess beetle specimen!”

  Nancy turned around. Mr. Valeri was standing behind her, peering over her shoulder at Sonia’s photo.

  “Her name is Princess Bess,” Sonia told Mr. Valeri.

  “Oh, so she’s yours? She looks quite large next to that spoon,” Mr. Valeri observed.

  “She’s almost two inches long,” said Sonia. “I measured her last week.”

  “My! That’s very large,” Mr. Valeri remarked. “In fact, that’s one of the largest bess beetle specimens I’ve ever heard of.”

  “Really?” said Sonia eagerly.

  Luna walked up to the group and tugged on Mr. Valeri’s sleeve. “Dad? I need to talk to you,” she whispered.

  “Just a second, Luna. Can’t you see I’m busy?” Mr. Valeri said impatiently. He turned back to Sonia. “Yes, indeed! I’ll have to double-check, but your Princess
Bess might hold some sort of record.”

  Sonia gasped. “Oh my gosh! Wait’ll I tell the other members of the Bug Club!”

  Just then there was a loud scream. It came from Michael D. “Scorpion!” he yelled. “I’m being attacked by a scorpion!”

  Chapter Three

  Bug Show-and-Tell

  Michael D. was jumping up and down in the doorway and tugging on his T-shirt. “Scorpion!” he shouted. “He put a scorpion down my back!”

  He pointed to Michael L., who was standing a few feet away from him. Michael L. was laughing so hard that his shoulders were shaking.

  Both Mrs. Ramirez and Mr. Valeri rushed up to Michael D. The other third graders, including Nancy, circled around the Michaels to see what was going on.

  A second later, a wriggly-looking scorpion fell out of Michael D.’s T-shirt and tumbled to the floor. Several kids screamed.

  Nancy bent down to take a closer look. The scorpion was small and brown and shiny. Too shiny. She had seen pictures of scorpions. They were shiny, but not this shiny.

  “It’s not real,” Nancy announced. “It’s fake!”

  “What?” Michael D. stopped jumping up and down and stared at the scorpion. He turned to Michael L., his face red and angry. “You tricked me! How dare you!”

  “You fell for it, Dorf the Dork.” Michael L. smirked. “Guess you’re not such a bug expert, huh?”

  “I know way more about bugs than you!” Michael D. shot back.

  Mrs. Ramirez held up her hands. “Boys! Enough! Michael L., I want a word with you—now!”

  Michael L. stopped smirking and followed Mrs. Ramirez out of the room. Michael D. picked the fake scorpion off the floor and stuffed it into his pocket hastily. Nancy thought he looked kind of embarrassed.

  “I guess I’ll wait to tell the other Bug Club members about Princess Bess,” said Sonia with a heavy sigh. “Especially since the other Bug Club members hate each other.”

  “I don’t think they hate each other,” Nancy reassured her. “They’re just having a dumb boy fight. They’ll get over it.”