Big Top Flop, Page 3

  “Do you have any suspects?” Mr. Drew asked.

  “We’re pretty sure Fifi and Felix Fabuloso did the switcheroo, Mr. Drew,” George said.

  “The proof is in the glitter!” Bess added.

  Mr. Drew was a lawyer but often thought like a detective. He smiled at the girls in the rearview mirror and said, “Just be careful not to accuse Fifi and Felix right away.”

  “Why not, Daddy?” Nancy asked.

  “Because sometimes even your proof needs proof,” Mr. Drew replied.

  Before Nancy could ask what he meant, Mr. Drew pulled up to the park.

  “Thanks again, Daddy!” Nancy said as she and her friends filed out. “See you after we find Fifi and Felix!”

  “Where do you think the twins are?” George asked as they walked away from the car.

  “Maybe in their trailer getting ready for the next show,” Nancy said.

  “Or their next trick!” Bess said with a frown.

  The Clue Crew reached the circus grounds. They were about to walk past the big tent toward the trailers when—

  “Excuse me, girls,” someone said.

  Nancy and her friends turned. A guard stood behind them. The name on her shiny silver badge read FRAN.

  “Kids aren’t allowed on the circus grounds until a half hour before the show,” Fran said.

  Nancy knew they had to look for Fifi and Felix right away.

  “George was the junior ringmaster yesterday, and she forgot something in her trailer,” Nancy blurted. “Can we go there and look for it, please?”

  “It’s her favorite pink hair barrette!” Bess added.

  “Yuck, Bess!” George cried horrified. “Since when do I ever wear pink hair barrettes?”

  Nancy was about to jump in when she noticed Fran smiling at George.

  “So you’re the one who couldn’t whistle?” Fran asked.

  “That was me,” George muttered.

  “Tough luck, kid,” Fran said. She nodded toward the trailers in the distance. “You can go to your trailer and look for that pink barrette. Just don’t stay long, okay?”

  Nancy thanked Fran. As the girls rushed toward the trailers, George pulled the broken whistle from her pocket.

  “Even the guard thinks I’m a whistling loser!” George complained. “Why won’t this dumb thing work?”

  George stuck the whistle in her mouth. Puffing her cheeks, she tried to get a sound out of it. It was no use.

  “It doesn’t work, George,” Nancy said.

  “And you look like a blowfish!” Bess giggled.

  George dropped the whistle back in her pocket. As the girls walked, they could hear dogs barking in the distance.

  “We know Oodles of Poodles are here today,” Nancy said with a smile. “But where are Fifi and Felix?”

  “There!” Bess said excitedly.

  Nancy looked to see where Bess was pointing. Coming out of the snack tent and eating bananas were the twins!

  “Hey!” George shouted. “Fifi and Felix!”

  The twins turned around. They were wearing light jackets over their purple leotards.

  “What’s up?” Felix called back.

  “We want to know if you switched something in George’s trailer yesterday,” Nancy called.

  The twins traded sly grins. Then Fifi said, “Maybe we did it.”

  “Maybe we didn’t,” Felix added and snickered.

  Nancy frowned. The trapeze-twirling twins were tough nuts to crack. But before she could ask more questions, Fifi gave her brother a nudge.

  “Whatever you do,” Fifi whispered loud enough for the girls to hear, “don’t let them see what’s in your pocket!”

  Pockets? The Clue Crew glanced down at the pockets on Felix’s jacket. Both were lumpy with stuff. But what kind of stuff?

  “I’ll bet my whistle is in there!” George snapped. “The good whistle you switched with a dud!”

  The twins spun on their heels and shot off!

  “Don’t let them get away!” Nancy cried.

  The Clue Crew ran after Fifi and Felix. They were about to catch up when the twins tossed their banana peels in their path. Nancy, Bess, and George froze to a stop. Banana peels were slippery!

  “They ran around the tent!” George shouted.

  The girls jumped over the banana peels and raced around the tent. There they found the Fabuloso twins swinging from trapezes!

  “Get down right now!” Nancy called. “And show us what’s in your pockets!”

  “Come and get us!” Fifi shouted as the two swung higher and faster.

  “If you’re not afraid of heights!” Felix laughed.

  “Great,” Nancy whispered. “We’ll never be able to search Felix’s pockets all the way up there!”

  “Oh yeah?” George whispered with a grin. “Watch this!”

  WASH AND CRY

  What was George’s plan? Nancy didn’t have a clue as she and Bess followed George to the trapezes. But they were about to find out.

  “Your swinging is awesome!” George shouted up to the twins. “But I bet you can’t swing upside down!”

  “Oh yeah?” Felix shouted back.

  “Let’s show them!” Fifi called to her brother. “On my count. Three . . . two . . . one . . . FLIP!”

  In a flash the twins flipped upside down, still hanging from their legs. As they swung back and forth—CLATTER, CLATTER, CLUNK—stuff from both twins’ pockets spilled out all over the ground!

  So that was George’s plan!

  “Ye-es!” Nancy cheered under her breath as they ran toward the stuff. “Let’s look for the whistle!”

  The girls scooped up two packs of bubblegum, a balled-up tissue that made Bess gag, a pen, and—

  “A bar of soap?” Nancy said, picking it up. That was a weird thing to have in a pocket!

  “But no whistle,” George said sadly. “Anywhere.”

  Fifi and Felix were already on solid ground as they glared at the girls.

  “You tricked us!” Fifi complained.

  “Us?” George snorted. “If anyone knows about tricks it’s you two.”

  “Where’s George’s whistle?” Nancy asked.

  “What whistle?” Felix asked.

  “George’s ringmaster whistle that was switched with a broken one!” Bess said. “As if you didn’t know!”

  “We found purple glitter on the windowsill of George’s trailer,” Nancy explained. “Just like the purple glitter on your leotards.”

  Fifi looked down at her leotard. “That’s not purple,” she said. “It’s violet!”

  “Give me a break,” George muttered.

  Suddenly the pen dropped out of Nancy’s hands onto the ground.

  “Nancy, that pen is green,” Bess pointed. “Wasn’t the party invitation written with green ink?”

  George didn’t mind getting dirty. She grabbed the pen and scribbled a squiggly line on her wrist . . . a green squiggly line!

  “You wrote that party invitation to get us out of the trailer,” George told the twins.

  “So you could do the switcheroo!” Bess added.

  “Okay, we did make a switch,” Fifi said, “but it wasn’t whistles.”

  “What was it?” Nancy demanded.

  “Fifi! Felix!” a woman called.

  Nancy turned to see Mrs. Fabuloso, wearing her own purple leotard.

  “Come to the tent, kids,” Mrs. Fabuloso called. “Uncle Alfonso is swinging by his teeth and wants you to watch!”

  “In a minute, Mom!” Fifi called. She turned to the girls and said, “We’ll take back our stuff now!”

  Nancy and her friends handed Fifi and Felix everything they had picked up, including the green pen. The twins stuffed their pockets, and then they raced toward the big tent.

  “They did say they switched something,” Nancy said. “But they didn’t say what.”

  “It still could have been the whistles!” George said. “And what kid carries a bar of soap around with him?”

&nb
sp; Bess wrinkled her nose and said, “Speaking of soap, can I wash my hands? I touched that gross tissue!”

  “There was a sink in George’s trailer,” Nancy suggested. “Let’s see if it’s still open.”

  The door to George’s trailer was still unlocked. Nancy knocked three times. When no one answered she opened the door and they stepped inside.

  “It’s empty,” George said. “I guess no one moved in after me.”

  “While Bess washes her hands, we can look for more clues,” Nancy said.

  Bess hurried to the sink and turned on the water. Nancy and George walked slowly around the trailer, looking up and down and all around.

  “I’m pretty sure the twins snuck in here to switch whistles,” Nancy admitted.

  “Me too,” George agreed. “What else is there to switch in here?”

  Suddenly—

  “Eeeek!!!” Bess screamed.

  Nancy and George looked toward the sink. Bess was turning around slowly, horrified.

  “Bess, what happened?” Nancy asked.

  “My hands!” Bess cried. “They’re . . . blue!”

  SEE-REX!

  Nancy and George stared at Bess’s hands. They were blue—bright blue!

  “How did that happen?” Nancy gasped.

  “The soap on the sink is white!” George said, pointing to the sink.

  “Then it must be trick soap!” Bess wailed.

  “I washed in here yesterday,” George said. “And I don’t look like a Smurf!”

  Nancy was still thinking about the word “trick.” It made her think of two people: Fifi and Felix Fabuloso!

  “Fifi and Felix switched Ringmaster Rex’s soap once,” Nancy said. “And they said they switched something here.”

  “So they switched soap?” George asked.

  “No wonder Felix had soap in his pocket,” Bess said. “That was the good soap he switched with the trick kind.”

  “Okay,” George agreed. “But while they were here, those twins could have switched whistles, too!”

  Nancy shook her head. “If they did, then your real whistle would have been in Felix’s pocket,” she said. “I think the twins are clean.”

  “But my hands aren’t!” Bess cried. “How do I get this blue stuff off?”

  “Let’s ask Ringmaster Rex,” Nancy said. “He can tell us how he got the blue off his hands when he was tricked.”

  Bess was careful not to touch anything as the girls left the trailer. Nancy took out her Clue Book. She stopped walking to cross the Fabuloso twins off her suspects list.

  “We have no more suspects,” Nancy said as she shut her book.

  “Somebody in this circus switched my whistle!” George said. “We can’t give up!”

  As Nancy dropped her Clue Book in her pocket, she spotted a tall man with dark hair. It was Ringmaster Rex. He wasn’t wearing his ringmaster suit, but his twirly mustache twitched as he spoke on his phone. Rex didn’t seem to see the girls as he turned away, still talking on the phone. . . .

  “I told Mayor Strong that opening day was too important for a junior ringmaster!” Rex was saying in his usual booming voice.

  The girls stopped in their tracks.

  “Did he say junior ringmaster?” Nancy whispered.

  “He’s talking about me!” George hissed.

  Nancy wanted to listen. She waved Bess and George behind a nearby tree. From there Ringmaster Rex’s voice could be heard loud and clear.

  “The junior ringmaster idea was a bad one,” Rex went on, “but I’m glad I made the big switch!”

  Nancy, Bess, and George exchanged wide-eyed stares. Did Ringmaster Rex say switch?

  “The switch was worth it.” Rex chuckled. “Who has the last laugh now? This guy!”

  Ringmaster Rex ended the call. He pocketed his phone, and then he headed toward a nearby green-and-white trailer. Once he was inside, the girls darted out from behind the tree.

  “Ringmaster Rex said he made a switch!” Bess said. “Could he have switched the whistles?”

  “Rex said he didn’t want a junior ringmaster,” George said angrily. “He could have left me a broken whistle to make me look bad!”

  “And just when we thought we had no more suspects,” Nancy said, taking out her Clue Book. She wrote Ringmaster Rex’s name on her suspect list.

  “Let’s go straight to Ringmaster Rex now!” George said, pointing to the trailer. “And demand to know where my whistle is!”

  Nancy looked at Ringmaster Rex’s trailer. Unlike George’s, the windows were low.

  “Let’s peek through the window first,” Nancy suggested. “Maybe we’ll see the real whistle inside.”

  The girls scurried toward the trailer. When they peeked inside, the first thing they saw was Ringmaster Rex. He was standing in front of a mirror and peeling the mustache off his face!

  “Omigosh!” Bess whispered. “Ringmaster Rex’s famous mustache is fake!”

  The girls watched as the ringmaster stuck his mustache on a piece of cardboard. The cardboard was lined with more twirly, swirly, and curly fake mustaches!

  “Eenie, meenie, minie, mo,” Ringmaster Rex said, pointing to each one. After choosing a big bushy mustache, he stuck it right on his face!

  “Ringmaster Rex is tricking everybody with those fake mustaches!” George said, narrowing her eyes. “And I’ll bet he tricked me by switching whistles!”

  “We don’t know for sure yet,” Nancy said.

  “I’m sure!” George said. “I want to knock on his door right now and—”

  MWWWWAAAAAAAAAA!!!

  The girls froze.

  “What was that?” Nancy murmured.

  Turning slowly, the girls gulped. Standing behind them was Shirley the Seesaw Llama. But this time she wasn’t riding a seesaw with her owners.

  This time she was spitting!

  ALL EARS

  MWWWWAAAAAAAAAA!!! Shirley groaned again.

  Nancy, Bess, and George wanted to run, but Shirley was backing them against the trailer.

  “Gob rockets!” George shouted as Shirley fired spit in the girls’ direction. “Duck!”

  The Clue Crew did a good job dodging Shirley’s spit until Ringmaster Rex ran out of his trailer.

  “What on earth is going on out here?” Rex demanded.

  “Why don’t you ask Shirley the Seesaw Llama?” George said. “She’s the one who attacked us!”

  The ringmaster looked at Shirley. His new mustache wiggled as he flashed a smile.

  “You mean Shirley the guard llama,” Rex replied.

  “Guard llama?” Nancy repeated.

  “Llamas are often used to guard sheep from coyotes,” Rex explained. “Shirley was a guard llama before she joined the circus.”

  Ringmaster Rex reached out to gently pat Shirley. “I guess now she guards our trailers,” he said.

  When Shirley calmed down, Ringmaster Rex turned to George.

  “Weren’t you the junior ringmaster yesterday?” Rex asked. “The one with a whistling problem?”

  “It wasn’t George’s fault, Ringmaster Rex,” Nancy said. “Her whistle was switched with a broken one.”

  “We think the one who did the switcheroo,” George said, folding her arms across her chest, “is you!”

  “Me?” Ringmaster Rex exclaimed. “Why, I did nothing of the kind!”

  “We overheard you talking on the phone,” Nancy said. “You said something about making a switch.”

  “What else could it be but whistles?” Bess asked.

  “How about . . . trailers?” Rex asked slowly.

  “Trailers?” Nancy and her friends said together.

  “Peggy asked me to switch trailers with the junior ringmaster,” Rex explained. “My trailer was bigger and closer to the big tent.”

  “So why are you glad you made the switch?” Nancy asked.

  “Because this one has Wi-Fi!” Rex said, pointing to the green-and-white trailer. “How cool is that?”

  Ringmaster Rex t
ugged Shirley by her collar and said, “I’ll bring Miss Shirley back to her owners now.”

  Nancy, Bess, and George watched as Ringmaster Rex gently led Shirley toward the tent.

  “How do we know he told us the truth about switching trailers?” George asked.

  “If Ringmaster Rex fooled us with his fake mustaches,” Bess said, “he could be fooling us with a fake story!”

  But the fake mustaches gave Nancy an idea.

  “I know how we can find out if Ringmaster Rex is telling the truth,” Nancy said. “We can give him an honesty test!”

  • • •

  The girls waited until the ringmaster returned.

  “Ringmaster Rex?” Nancy asked bravely. “Is your mustache real . . . or fake?”

  Ringmaster Rex’s eyes widened. He glanced both ways, and then he leaned over and whispered, “None of my mustaches are real. They’re the press-on kind.”

  “No way!” Nancy said, pretending to be surprised.

  “It’s true,” Rex admitted. “Now, can you girls promise to keep my mustaches a secret?”

  “If you tell us another secret,” Bess said. She raised her hands. “How do you get trick soap off?”

  “Regular soap and water,” Rex said with a grin. “Good luck!”

  As the ringmaster walked into his trailer, Nancy crossed his name off her suspect list.

  “If Ringmaster Rex was honest about his mustache,” Nancy said, “he must be honest about switching trailers, not whistles.”

  “But now we have no suspects again.” Bess frowned.

  “What about Miles?” George said. “He didn’t have to be a junior clown to be at the circus yesterday.”

  “How do we know Miles is really in Chicago, filming a commercial for Super-Sour Suckers?” Bess said.

  Nancy was about to give Miles a thought when—

  “Girls?” someone called. “What are you still doing here?”

  Nancy, Bess, and George whirled around. Walking toward them was the guard Fran.

  “We were just leaving!” Nancy said.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” Fran asked.

  Nancy thought about George’s whistle and shook her head. “No,” she replied, “but we’re not going to give up!”