Sleepover Sleuths (2 page)

“I heard Heather's poncho is made out of real cashmere,” Bess said. “That's wool from goats.”

“I heard she has real leather boots!” George said.

“And sterling silver earrings!” Nancy put in.

“I read on the City Girls Web site that there's only one Hollywood Heather left in the whole country,” George added.

Mr. Drew slowed down as he drove up a tree-lined street. He stopped the car in front of a huge white house.

“This is the Shannon house, girls,” Mr. Drew said.

Nancy leaned over Bess and George to look out the window. “Wow!” she exclaimed.

A red carpet lined the path leading to the house. There were huge lights on the lawn and cardboard cutouts of famous movie stars!

Deirdre stepped out of the house wearing dark sunglasses and a fancy feather boa. As Nancy, Bess, and George walked up the red carpet, Mr. Shannon snapped pictures of them. Nancy guessed they were for Deirdre's Web site. Mr. Shannon was a lawyer, just like Nancy's dad.

“Nancy, George, Bess!” Deirdre called, swinging her boa. “Are you ready for your close-up? I mean—sleepover?”

“What's up with this?” Bess whispered to Nancy and George.

“I think Deirdre has gone Hollywood,” George whispered.

The flash from Mr. Shannon's camera made Nancy see spots. “I don't get it,” she said as she blinked. “Isn't this supposed to be a City Girls party?”

“Hi, girls!” Mrs. Shannon said as they entered the house. Deirdre's mom was wearing a pink sweater and black stretch pants. Her brown hair was combed in a neat flip.

“Hello,” Nancy said in her most polite voice.

“Why don't you bring your gear down to the basement?” Mrs. Shannon said. “That's where the fun is!”

“And the snacks!” Deirdre added.

Deirdre waved them to the door leading to the basement. George pointed to a dark blue duffel bag against the wall. “Looks like someone forgot their bag,” she said.

Deirdre squeezed her nose and said, “That's Trina Vanderhoof's smelly basketball bag. I'm
making her keep it upstairs so it doesn't stink up the sleepover.”

Nancy felt something tickle her ankle. She looked down and saw a furry white cat. It purred softly as it rubbed against Nancy's leg.

“She looks like a marshmallow!” Nancy cooed.

“You guessed her name,” Deirdre said. “It's Marshmallow!”

“Can Marshmallow come to the party?” George asked.

“I wish,” Deirdre sighed. “Trina is allergic to cats.”

Trina Vanderhoof was in Mrs. Bailey's third grade class at school. She was so tall that she played basketball with the fourth grade boys at recess. She was also becoming very good friends with Deirdre.

The girls walked down the narrow staircase to the basement. The room was decorated with silver
and gold balloons and big cardboard stars. A sign on the wall read,
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD
! There was also a big-screen TV, a DVD player, a sofa against one wall, and shelves filled with books and games. A table was piled high with presents for Deirdre.

Nancy saw more girls sitting on the floor with their dolls. She recognized Trina, Kendra Jackson, Madison Foley, Andrea Wu, and Marcy Rubin. Nancy knew everyone from school—except a little girl running around in footsie pajamas.

“Marcy pours orange juice on her cornflakes!” the little girl sang out loud. “Marcy is afraid of spiders!”

“That's my little sister, Cassidy,” Marcy groaned. “My parents went to a concert tonight, so I had to bring her.”

Cassidy began jumping up and down. “Marcy sleeps with a teddy bear! Marcy bites her toenails—”

“Put a sock in it!” Marcy cut in.

One more girl with copper red hair and freckles
entered the room. It was Nadine Nardo. Everyone knew Nadine wanted to be an actress when she grew up, so her nickname was “Nadine the Drama Queen.”

“I love those stars!” Nadine said, pointing to the wall. “They remind me of …
me
!”

Nancy, Bess, and George dropped their gear on the floor. They pulled out their birthday presents for Deirdre and placed them on the table with the other gifts. Nearby, on a smaller table, stood something covered with a long white cloth.

“What's under this?” Nancy asked. She was about to lift the cloth when—

“Don't peek! It's a surprise!” Deirdre shouted. She turned to Cassidy, who was creeping toward the table. “Anyone who peeks underneath will grow warts on their nose and hair on their tongue!”

“Pizza time!” Mrs. Shannon sang as she breezed into the room. Behind her Mr. Shannon carried three pizza boxes in his arms.

As the girls sat on the floor to eat their slices, Nancy kept glancing at the small table. “I wonder what's under that cloth,” she whispered.

“I hope we find out soon,” Bess whispered back.

The girls ate three kinds of pies: pepperoni, mushroom, and extra cheese. Cassidy pressed two pepperonis against her eyes and ran around the room shouting, “I'm an alien from planet Pizza Pie!”

“You mean space cadet,” Marcy muttered.

Nancy took a sip of fruit punch. Then she asked, “Where's your City Girls doll, Deirdre?”

“I couldn't decide which one to bring down,” Deirdre said with a shrug.

That's a strange excuse,
Nancy thought as she picked up another slice.

The girls finished all three pizzas. Then Deirdre opened her presents. She loved the dotted
stationery set that Nancy gave her. After all the presents were opened, everyone changed into their pj's and had a pajama fashion show.

“Here is Bess modeling her favorite pink pj's,” Nadine announced with a French accent. “Merci, Bess!”

Bess twirled like a supermodel. Then George pretended to walk down a runway in her red and white striped pajamas. Following her was Nancy in her favorite cupcake pj's.

Of all the pajamas, Nadine's orange ones were the brightest. And Nancy thought her slippers with the unicorn heads were the most fun!

“Say cheese!” Deirdre said. She held up her camera. “I want a picture of everyone with their City Girls dolls!”

The girls crowded together. They smiled as they held up their dolls.

“Cheese … with pepperoni!” Trina joked.

Deirdre stared at Trina's doll. “What is
that
?” she asked.

“Indianapolis Ivy,” Trina answered. “My City Girls doll.”

“I know all the City Girls dolls,” Deirdre said. “And I never heard of Indianapolis Ivy.”

“I've never heard of Indianapolis Ivy, either,” Madison said.

“Are you saying my doll is fake?” Trina asked.

Nancy hoped Deirdre and Trina wouldn't fight.

“You guys!” Nancy said. “What difference does it make, as long as we all love our dolls?”

Just then Trina threw back her head and let out a big sneeze. “Ah, ah, ah-choooo!”

“Meeeeow!”

Nancy turned around. She saw Marshmallow the cat padding around the room.

“You know I'm allergic to cats.” Trina sniffed.

“My parents must have left the basement door open,” Deirdre said. “Sorry, Marshmallow. It's all Trina's fault you can't come to the party.” She picked up the cat and carried her up the basement stairs.

Madison giggled. But Trina muttered something like, “Whatever, Dee-Dee.”

“Um … let's play another game!” Nancy blurted out.

The game they all played was called, “Find the Prize.” The girls separated into teams. Then they set out to find a goody bag that Mrs. Shannon had hidden somewhere in the room.

Nancy, Bess, and George were on the same team.

“Where do we start looking?” George asked.

Nancy's eyes darted around the room. She saw something sparkling on the carpet and kneeled down for a closer look. It was a tiny clump of green glitter. A few inches away was another speck of glitter.

“I think I see a trail!” Nancy whispered. “Let's see where it leads.”

The girls followed the glitter to a bookshelf. “Look! There's more glitter on one of the shelves,” Nancy cried. Tucked between two books was the goody bag—decorated with green glitter!

“Found it!” Nancy called out.

Everyone watched as Nancy opened the goody bag. It was filled with three pink bangle bracelets and three sets of matching barrettes.

“Pretty!” Cassidy exclaimed.

“How did you find it so fast?” Kendra asked.

“Nancy followed the glitter trail!” George said.

“You're good at finding things, Nancy,” Andrea said.

“And guessing things,” Bess added.

“I guess I am!” Nancy said with a smile.

“You guys!” Deirdre cut in. She was wearing her feathery boa as she stood next to the mystery table. “It's time for my super-big surprise!”

“Yes!” Nancy cheered softly under her breath. They would finally find out what was underneath the cloth!

The girls sat in a semicircle by the table. Deirdre waved her boa and said, “Please welcome … the one and only … the one of a kind … and very expensive …”

She whipped off the white drape and shouted, “Hollywood Heather!”

Everyone gasped.

Nancy stared at the doll. Her blond hair hung in curls over her shoulders.
Her blue eyes were so bright they twinkled. She was wearing an apple green poncho, a white leather skirt, and matching white boots. Her silver hoop earrings glowed against her suntanned cheeks.

“It's her!” Nancy swooned.

“It's Hollywood Heather!” Bess sighed.

“That explains the Hollywood party!” Kendra said.

Just then a slipper hit the back wall. Nancy could see it was a unicorn slipper.

“It's not fair!” a voice shouted. “It's not fair!”

Nancy recognized the slipper and the voice. Nadine Nardo marched over with her hands planted on her hips. Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout.