The Cinderella Ballet Mystery Read Online Free Page B

case. Nancy and Bess sat cross-legged on Nancy’s bed while George sat at Nancy’s desk.
    â€œWe have two new clues,” Nancy announced.
    She held out the heart-shaped rhinestone and the piece of paper that said, “taille 35.” Bess and George studied them carefully.
    â€œWhat does ‘taille’ mean?” Bess mused. “Did somebody misspell the word ‘tail,’ as in a doggy tail?”
    â€œMaybe it’s in code,” George suggested.
    â€œI wondered about that too,” Nancy said. “In any case, I think it’s definitely a clue because the letters are just like the fancy letters on the slipper shoe box.”
    George typed all this into Nancy’s computer. “I know,” she said suddenly. “Why don’t I do a search for the word ‘taille’ on the Internet?”
    â€œThat’s an awesome idea!” Nancy said eagerly.
    George got on the Internet and typed ina series of commands. After a moment, she glanced up from the computer. “It’s a French word pronounced like ‘tie,’” she announced. “It means ‘size.’”
    â€œSize?” Bess frowned. “So ‘taille thirty-five’ means size thirty-five?”
    â€œI’ve never heard of a size thirty-five,” Nancy said.
    â€œMe neither,” George said. “It sounds really, really big!”
    George entered this new information into the computer. As she typed, Bess took the rhinestone from Nancy and examined it closely.
    â€œIt’s so pretty,” Bess said. Then she frowned. “If Gregory stole the Cinderella slippers and put them in his dance bag, the rhinestone could have fallen off one of the slippers.”
    â€œOr someone could have planted the rhinestone there to make him look guilty,” Nancy pointed out.
    George looked up from the computer. “We have three clues now: the barrette, the piece ofpaper with ‘taille 35,’ or size 35, on it, and the rhinestone heart,” she reminded the other members of the Clue Crew. “The barrette doesn’t exactly fit with Gregory being the thief.”
    â€œThat’s true,” Nancy agreed. “Although Gregory sure owns a lot of weird stuff. Today I saw a magnifying glass in his dance bag.”
    â€œA magnifying glass?” Bess repeated. “Who does he think he is, Sherlock Holmes?”
    Just then, a bell-like ting! sounded on Nancy’s computer. George peered at the screen. “Andrea is instant messaging us,” she announced.
    â€œWhat did she say?” Nancy asked, leaning over.
    â€œShe says, ‘Check out Deirdre’s website right away,’” George read.
    â€œDeirdre’s website?” Bess repeated, looking confused.
    George typed in the address for the Dishing with Deirdre site. Nancy and Bess got up from the bed and gathered around George.
    The home page of Dishing with Deirdre filledNancy’s computer screen. Across the top of it was the blazing headline WHO STOLE CINDERELLA’S SHOES?
    â€œWhat!” Bess burst out.
    â€œTypical Deirdre,” George muttered.
    Nancy reached forward for the mouse and used it to scroll down the page. Deirdre had written a “late-breaking story” about the theft of the Cinderella slippers from Tim McGuire’s dance studio.
    Then Nancy noticed something strange. Deirdre had included a photograph of the Cinderella slippers.
    The slippers were lined up on a sidewalk in front of a brick wall.
    What is wrong with this picture? Nancy asked herself.

CHAPTER SEVEN
A New Suspect
    Nancy pointed to the photo. “Do you notice something really weird?” she asked her friends.
    George and Bess stared at the photo. “N-no,” George said after a moment.
    â€œIt’s just a picture of the slippers,” Bess said, shrugging.
    Nancy stabbed her finger at the computer screen. “This photo was taken outside ,” she explained. “How did