George and Bess stared at Nancy, waiting for her to explain what she’d meant when she said she’d just solved both mysteries. Before they could ask, the two boys returned with fistfuls of napkins in their hands.
Max said, “The paper towel dispenser in the bathroom was empty, so we had to detour to the snack bar. Here you go.”
Bess waved them off. “Thanks, but we’re all set.”
She was eager to hear Nancy’s theory. Her shirt could wait! Max and the other boy looked confused, but they shrugged and set the napkins next to Bess.
“They’re there if you need them. We’re going to play Monaco Racetrack,” Max told them.
Bess and George gave distracted thanks and waves as the boys left.
“What do you mean, you solved both mysteries?” George asked, turning back to Nancy.
Nancy gave them a secret smile. “It’s just a hunch . . . but I think I’m right. We need to get back to Michael’s house.”
The cousins exchanged confused looks.
“But we already ruled out Michael as a suspect!” Bess protested.
Nancy’s smile grew even bigger. “We did. But I’m not interested in talking to Michael this time.”
Still baffled, Bess and George trailed Nancy out of the arcade. They were barely to the corner, though, when a small cluster of adults blocked their path. They could see that the mayor of River Heights was part of the group.
As they drew closer, the three girls could tell that everyone was listening to a woman holding a clipboard and wearing a navy-blue business suit. Over her shoulder was a soft-sided briefcase embroidered with the words BEAMISH BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS.
“That must be the judge!” Bess said in a hushed voice.
The girls moved aside to let the group pass. They watched carefully as everyone paused outside the entrance to the arcade. Sure enough, the mayor reached over and opened the door, ushering the others inside.
“Hurry! There’s no time to waste!” Nancy yelled, tucking her notebook into her pocket and picking up her pace to a run. George and Bess did the same.
They careened around the corner and nearly crashed right into Michael and Caroline. All five kids spilled onto the concrete, but luckily, no one was hurt.
“Where’s the fire?” asked Michael.
“Actually . . . we were . . . coming to see . . . you,” George said through huffs and puffs as she collected her breath after running so hard.
“Me?” asked Michael.
But Nancy was shaking her head. “Nope. Not you. Actually, we were coming to see your sister.”
Bess and George swiveled their necks to stare at Nancy.
Caroline squeaked, “You were?” in a small voice.
Nancy smiled reassuringly. “Yes, and we have no time to waste, because the world record judge just arrived. If we don’t act fast, Katie might tell her she can’t compete today!”
“What does that have to do with my sister?” Michael asked.
Nancy turned to Caroline, who was still sitting on the sidewalk, looking alarmed. “Caroline? Is there any chance you have Katie’s lucky headband in your bag?”
Everyone gaped at the little girl, who immediately pulled her purse to her. It was decorated with hot-pink glitter swirls, and row after row of tiny rhinestones dotted the edges. Bess and George both gasped when they spotted the embellishments.
“Rhinestones!” whispered Bess.
“Glitter,” whispered George.
Nancy held up the washcloth she still carried in her hand.
Caroline reached inside and extracted a stretchy fabric headband, which was covered in hot-pink glitter and rhinestone accents.
“Sure. It’s right here,” she said. “I was just bringing it back to Katie before she went for the world record.”
Bess couldn’t contain her groan. “We’ve been all over town looking for that. Katie’s really upset it went missing!”
Caroline bit her bottom lip and looked like she might cry. “She is? I thought for sure I’d get it back to her before she even noticed, but the glue was taking forever to dry and I wanted to make extra sure the rhinestones wouldn’t fall off while she danced. It took way longer than I expected.”
Michael stared at his sister. “Caroline! You should have known better.”
“But Nancy and Bess were so excited about my designs, and then I saw Katie put away her plain-as-could-be headband and I thought maybe I could surprise her for her special day. I didn’t mean to cause any problems!” Caroline looked so small and upset that none of the other kids had the heart to lecture her.
Instead Bess said, “It really does look great. And I’ll bet Katie will love it. Let’s hurry and get it to her before it’s too late!”
Caroline still looked glum at how badly her surprise had backfired, but she scrambled to her feet and joined the others as they raced back to the arcade.