entertainment for the families of his employees.
“The current president of the company, Robert
Castle the third, has continued in his grandfather's
footsteps. Royal Chocolates remains active in
community activities. We award scholarships and
administer educational programs throughout the
country.”
Nancy heard footsteps behind her and turned to see
a man striding toward them.
“Joyce,” he said, his voice stern and clipped.
Joyce stopped talking midsentence. “Mr. Tumey.
John Tumey didn't seem to notice the Science
Sleuths or the fact that Joyce was in the middle of
something.
“We've got a crisis upstairs,” he said. “I've been
paging you for twenty minutes.”
“I'm sorry,” Joyce said. “I left my beeper in my
office.”
“Just where it belongs,” John Tumey said sar-
castically. “Where you belong, I might add.”
Joyce took a deep breath. “I'll be back to work as
soon as I'm finished here,” she said firmly, swallowing
the nervousness in her voice. “This is a public relations
matter, and I did clear it with Mr. Castle.”
“Yes,” John said. “Imagine my surprise when he told
me I'd find you here. I took the liberty of scheduling a
conference call for you at ten-thirty with Toni Conte.
Be there.”
John stalked out before Joyce could reply.
Nancy noticed Joyce's flushed cheeks as she
apologized to the Sleuths for the interruption.
“Now, where was I?”
“You were telling us how the air gets knocked out of
the chocolates,” Noah volunteered.
Joyce gestured toward the conveyor belt. “Yes. You
can see the bumpy ride that's in store for the molded
chocolate bars.”
She showed the Sleuths how the candies bounced
down the length of the room before disappearing into a
metal tunnel.
“At this point, the chocolate is a hot liquid. It can
reach temperatures of a hundred and fifty degrees
Fahrenheit or more. How do you think we make it turn
solid?”
“You cool it,” several Sleuths answered. *
“Excellent,” Joyce said. “You're exactly right.” She
patted the metal tubing. “This is called the cooling
tunnel. It's where the chocolate solidifies, before it
reaches the inspectors. As you can probably guess, it's
the inspectors' job to remove any bars which haven't
molded perfectly.”
Laura's hand waved in the air. “What do they do
with those?”
“They can eat them. Or take them home to friends
and family.” Joyce smiled. “Sounds great, right? But
most inspectors learn to control their appetites pretty
quickly. Believe it or not, it's easy to get sick of
chocolate.”
“I can't believe it,” Bess said to Nancy and George.
“These workers are making Jelly Rogers.” Joyce
gestured toward the production line as they passed.
“It's a new candy that will be sold on a trial basis in
three cities before the end of the year. How would you
like to do a taste test?”
There was an enthusiastic chorus of yeses from the
Sleuths and Bess.
“What are these?” Nancy asked as she and Andrea
helped pass out the candies.
“Raspberry jellies covered with dark chocolate,”
Joyce said. “They're delicious. Not that I'm biased or
anything.”
Joyce asked the Sleuths to rate the candy on a scale
of one to ten in terms of flavor, texture, and overall
appeal.
“Chocolate and fruit.” Kenny made a face. “Zero.”
“Hey. Let's not be rude. You know what Andrea
would say,” Bess chided him.
Surprised by Andrea's silence on the subject, Nancy
turned to look for her. She was stunned to see Andrea
seated on a bench, her face red, her breathing labored.
Nancy ran to her side. “Andrea. What's wrong?”
“I. . .” Andrea grasped Nancy's hand. “Help me!”
7. Paying Peanuts
“What is it? What can I do?” Nancy checked Andrea's
pulse, which was rapid and weak.
Andrea lowered her head as though she were dizzy.
“Allergic reaction,” she managed to say.
Nancy knew Andrea carried medication in the
Sleuths' first aid kit in case she had a life-threatening
reaction. She pulled out the bag and dug through it
until she found the syringe.
George glanced over at Nancy and saw what was
happening. “Okay, everyone. Let's go to the gift shop,”
she said to the Sleuths abruptly.
“But—” Kenny protested.
“Let's go,” George repeated. She shepherded the
group out of the room as Joyce and Bess hurried over
to help Nancy with Andrea.
With her hand shaking, Andrea plunged the needle
into her arm.
“What's wrong?” Joyce asked.
Nancy shook her head. “She's having an allergic
reaction of some sort. I don't know. Please call nine-
one-one.”
Joyce nodded, already moving toward the door. “We
have a nurse here. I'll go get her.”
Nancy and Bess tried to make Andrea comfortable
as they waited for help. Her breathing had improved
following the injection.
“The peanut butter,” Andrea whispered.
“Don't try to talk,” Nancy said.
Andrea nodded and closed her eyes.
“Peanut butter?” Bess turned to Nancy. “I know
Andrea's allergic to peanuts, but there's no peanut
butter in Jelly Rogers.”
“And that's what she was eating right before she got
sick.” Nancy spotted the torn Jelly Rogers wrapper on
the bench next to Andrea. Two candies were packaged
together, but only one remained in the wrapper. “We'll
give this to the paramedics.” Nancy began wrapping
the uneaten chocolate. “They can have it analyzed at
the hospital lab.”
Bess cast an expert glance at the candy in Nancy's
hands. “There's no need,” she said. “That's not a Jelly
Roger. It looks almost the same, but do you see the
crimped edges? It's a Kings Cup.”
Bess took the chocolate from Nancy and broke it
open to prove her point. It was filled with crumbly
peanut butter.
Nancy raised her head when she heard Joyce
running toward them with a young woman in uniform.
“The paramedics are on the way. Is she okay?”
“I think so.” Nancy stepped away to give the nurse
room to examine Andrea. The paramedics arrived
within a few minutes and administered oxygen as they
prepared to transport Andrea to the hospital.
“She's going to be fine,” the nurse assured Joyce.
“They'll probably keep her overnight for observation,
but there should be no lasting effects.”
Joyce gave a sigh of relief. “At last, some good
news.” Then she noticed the candy Bess was holding.
“Where did you ge
t that?”
“This was wrapped in the Jelly Roger package
Andrea was given,” Nancy explained. “Apparently, she
got a Kings Cup by accident.”
Joyce's hand went to her mouth. “Are you saying the
wrapper was mislabeled?”
“Yes,” Bess said. “And Andrea's allergic to peanuts,
so . . .”
“So,” Joyce finished, “we're lucky this turned out as
well as it did. Not only for Andrea. Life-threatening
allergies to peanuts aren't uncommon. If these candies
had gone out to stores this way, people might have died
because of our mistake.” She took the Kings Cup from
Bess. “I'll have to tell the workers to stop production,
and then pull all the batches that have already been
packaged. That's the only way to make sure no one else
gets sick.”
Joyce left to find the factory supervisor as the
paramedics bundled Andrea onto the gurney to wheel
her out.
Nancy and Bess found George in the gift shop,
waiting for the Sleuths to move through the line with
their chocolate purchases.
“Is Andrea okay?” George asked as soon as she
caught sight of her friends.
“The paramedics took her to the hospital,” Nancy
said. “They think she'll be fine.”
“That's a relief. What happened?” George wanted to
know.
Bess explained about the Kings Cup mix-up.
“Mix-up?” George asked. “Or deliberate attempt to
hurt Andrea?”
“But who could benefit from having Andrea out of
the way?” Nancy asked. “I'll admit, the thought did
cross my mind, but who knew about Andrea's allergy
besides us? Diana, I guess. I don't see how she could
have been involved in switching Andreas candy sample.
And, as I said, why would she want to hurt Andrea?”
“She might want to get me out of the way,” Bess
noted. “But not Andrea.”
Nancy shook her head. “Actually, she doesn't know
about your wrapper. And Royal is doing a thorough
investigation of her right now. If she cheated, she's out
of luck regardless of whether someone else comes
forward to claim the prize.”
“So you're saying what happened to Andrea was a
coincidence,” George said. “An accident.”
“No.” Nancy glanced toward the Sleuths. “Since we
got here yesterday, we've had two unfortunate
accidents and one piece of incredibly good luck. I don't
think any of it could be called coincidence.”
Nancy went on to explain about what she had
discovered in the computer lab about someone
searching for information about their group.
Bess tapped her foot. “I don't get it. Who would do
that? Why?”
Nancy shrugged. “Aside from the instant-win
wrapper, we're just an ordinary group visiting Kings
Commons. And no one knows about the instant-win
wrapper, so I'm totally baffled, too,” Nancy admitted.
“Totally baffled?” Joyce came up behind them and
put a hand on Nancy's shoulder. “That's great. Me,
too.”
“Did you get the factory to pull the Kings Cups?”
Nancy asked.
“Yes,” Joyce said, “but now we've got a new sit-
uation. I'm glad I tracked you down. I have to get back
to my office, but I wanted to let you know. The Royal
lab finished the chemical analysis of Bess's wrapper. It
showed traces of rubber cement, which did not come
from the Royal Chocolates factory.”
“I don't understand,” Bess said. “What does rubber
cement have to do with anything?”
“I don't understand, either,” Joyce replied. “I was
hoping you might be able to give us some idea as to
how it came to be found there and why.”
“Uh—n-no,” Bess stammered. “I guess we could ask
Andrea about it. Once she's feeling better.”
“There's another problem, too. I had scheduled
Andrea for a meeting with Mr. Castle this morning
about an educational grant. She's obviously not going
to be able to make it. Mr. Castle is booked solid the
rest of the week, so we can't postpone. What do you
want me to do?”
Nancy thought for a moment. “I hope Andrea won't
mind, but would it be okay if I met with Mr. Castle?”
Joyce brightened. “That's a great idea. Mr. Castle
was only told he'd be meeting with a representative
from the Science Sleuths. So why not you.”
Joyce told Nancy to report to the fifth floor at
eleven-fifteen and to wait for her in the reception area.
“I've got to run,” she said. “I'll see you there.”
Bess turned to Nancy as Joyce hurried off. “Okay,
Nan. What's going on here? Rubber cement?”
“It's all very strange,” Nancy agreed, “and it keeps
getting stranger.” She unzipped her purse. “I'm glad I
stashed away this Crown Jewels bar for an emergency.
I knew I shouldn't have skipped breakfast.” She began
to tear the wrapper, then stopped suddenly.
“What's the matter, Nan?” George asked.
“Do you see anything unusual here?” Nancy held up
the wrapper.
George looked at Nancy. “Do you mean besides the
fact that you're eating chocolate for breakfast?”
“This is the Crown Jewels bar Andrea gave me
yesterday,” Nancy said. “The one she bought in River
“Wait a minute,” Bess said. “That wrapper doesn't
say anything about an instant win contest.”
“Exactly,” Nancy said. “We know they're not selling
the instant-win bars at Kings Commons. Therefore, we
know your winning bar came from outside the park,
Bess. The others—or at least this one—clearly came
from somewhere else. Probably one of the vendors
right here.”
“I don't understand.” Bess sank into a chair. “Why
would Andrea lie to us?”
8. Making Waves
Before Nancy could answer, the Sleuths took off. They
raced out of the gift shop with their bags of Royal
merchandise.
“We're not going to hang out here all day, are we?”
Kenny asked. “I want to go on some rides.”
“We will,” Bess promised.
“I thought we were going to the water park,” Emma
said.
“We are,” Bess assured her.
“I'm hungry,” Noah complained.
“I know, I know, I know. We'll get a snack first, then
go to the water park, then on to the rides.” Bess ticked
off the agenda on her fingers. “Any complaints? Wait!
On second thought, don't answer that question.”
Nancy grinned at George. “I think you guys have
everything under control. I hope you don't mind if I
duck out, but I've got to take care of a few things
before I see Mr. Castle.”
George waved her hand. “No problem. We should
be fine until the water park. At which point we'll need
you desperately.”
Nancy nodded. “
I'll meet you there.”
Nancy went back to the motel room. First things
first, she told herself inside her room. She picked up
the phone and called the hospital to check on Andrea.
Andrea's condition was good, the nurse reported,
and she should be released in the morning. However,
she was asleep and could not speak with Nancy right
then.
Nancy sighed. Now might not be the time to bring
up the rubber cement, but she had really hoped to
discuss the Science Sleuths program with Andrea
before she met with Mr. Castle. Nancy looked down at
her sweatshirt and faded jeans—she needed to change
into something more presentable. She raided Bess's
side of the closet for a navy blazer. It was a little large,
but it would have to do.
Next she put on a clean pair of khakis and finally dug
around in her suitcase for the brochures Andrea had
given her about the Science Sleuths. After reviewing
them, she felt better prepared for her meeting with
Mr. Castle. If he asked any tough questions, she'd have
to get the answers from Andrea later, she told herself.
Joyce buzzed Nancy into the building and was
waiting for her in the fifth floor reception area at
eleven-fifteen on the dot.
“I'll take you in and introduce you to Mr. Castle,”
Joyce said. “But first, let me offer a word of advice. As
you might imagine, the whole instant-win disaster is a
very touchy subject with Mr. Castle. He doesn't know
you have any connection to Bess, and you'll probably
want to keep it that way.”
“That makes sense,” Nancy agreed. “Thanks for the
tip.”
Joyce knocked timidly on the door before ushering
Nancy into an enormous suite at the end of the hall.
Joyce cleared her throat. “Mr. Castle,” she said
softly, “this is Nancy Drew of the Science Sleuths in
River Heights. She's here to speak with you about
applying for an educational grant.”
Mr. Castle rose and shook Nancy's hand. He was at
least six feet four, Nancy guessed. She had to crane her
neck to meet his gaze. He wore an expensive-looking
suit, and his sideburns were tinged with gray. “Pleased
to meet you, Ms. Drew,” he greeted her.
“Likewise,” Nancy said, taking the seat he offered
her. “Please, call me Nancy.”
“Good luck,” Joyce mouthed to Nancy as she pulled
the door closed behind her.