Thanksgiving Thief Read Free

alibi?”
    â€œYeah, I can, and yes, I do,” Peter replied. He turned and called, “Nickerson!”
    Ned quickly hurried over to them. “Hi, Nancy! Hi, Bess, George. What are you guys doing here?”
    â€œWe’re on a case,” said Bess.
    â€œAnd I’m a suspect,” Peter said, “but I was just explaining to Nancy that you and I have been busy all day, recruiting guys for the bowling team.”
    â€œYou think Peter committed a crime?” Ned said. “Come on, Nancy! Get real!”
    â€œWell, we need Peter’s alibi,” Nancy replied.
    â€œSure thing. We started out really early this morning, looking for guys, and now we have a team that’s going to burn the competition,” Ned said.
    â€œGood for you, Ned,” said Nancy. She turned to Bess and George. “I guess we’d better be going.”

    â€œGood luck with the investigation,” Peter called to them as the girls headed out the door.
    â€œNow what?” Bess asked.
    Nancy looked at her watch. “Oh no! I forgot to ask Peter what time he’ll be home, and I need to get home too,” she said. “It’s almost time for dinner, and I promised Hannah I’d clean my room!”
    Nancy’s father, Carson Drew, was a successful lawyer, so Nancy often discussed some of theClue Crew’s cases with him. Over dinner, she told Mr. Drew and Hannah about their investigation.
    â€œWe thought Peter Patino was a suspect, but it turns out he has an alibi,” Nancy said. She sighed. “We’d go back to the crime scene to look for other clues, but by now it’s probably been compromised.”
    â€œWhat?” said Hannah.
    Nancy grinned. “I heard it on television. That means people have probably walked all over the clues and destroyed them.”
    â€œWell, you’ve been in situations like this before, Nancy. You know that sooner or later evidence will turn up that’ll help you solve the crime,” Mr. Drew said. “Just keep on sleuthing!”
    â€œThe Clue Crew never gives up, Daddy!” Nancy assured him.
    The next afternoon, Saturday, Nancy and the Clue Crew met Mary White Cloud at the gymnasium. Mrs. White Cloud was going to help them with their parts in the pageant when shefinished making her Indian fry bread. While they were waiting, Nancy and the Clue Crew filled Mary in on what they’d found out about Mr. Madison’s pumpkin puree.
    â€œWe didn’t find any clues,” Bess said, “but”—she pulled the feather out from behind her and showed it to Mary—“I did find this. It was left by some bird in the alley outside the school kitchen.”
    â€œThat’s wonderful! You’re the first person to pick up a feather, Bess,” Mary said. “That’s special in our culture.”
    Bess beamed.
    â€œI’m glad your mother wants to help us with our lines,” said Nancy.

    â€œWell, my mom has been in a lot of Native American pageants all across the country,” Mary told them proudly.“She knows how we should act.”
    Just then, they heard a commotion coming from the kitchen.
    Nancy looked at everyone. “Come on!” she shouted. “Let’s find out what’s going on!”
    When they got there, Mrs. White Cloud was talking to Mrs. Stanley, who owned a bakery in town.
    â€œWhat happened?” asked Nancy.
    â€œI just discovered that somebody got into the storeroom where I had put my special bags of turkey stuffing mix,” Mrs. Stanley said. “They ruined every one of them!”
    â€œOh no, not again!” Nancy groaned. “Someone really is trying to destroy the River Heights Thanksgiving Celebration!”

“This is awful,” Bess said.
    â€œIt most certainly is,” Mrs. White Cloud agreed. “Everyone in River Heights has told me nothing tastes as good as Mrs. Stanley’s special turkey stuffing mix, and I was really