Wait!”
But Judy didn’t stop. She didn’t wait. Judy flew down the attic stairs, through the front door, and out into the sunshine as fast as she could, all the way home.
Judy tried not to think about haunted houses. She tried not to think about swinging chandeliers and spooky music. She tried not to think about gorillas or ghosts.
She, Judy Moody, was in a mood. A tingle-up-your-spine mood.
What color is my mood ring?
She looked down at her hand.
Hello!
Her mood ring! It was G-O-N-E, gone! This was a for-real mystery for Judy Moody, Girl Detective:
Mystery of the Missing Mood Ring.
When had she last seen it? At breakfast. At soccer. In the car with Stink . . .
Stink!
Judy Drewdy went to find her number-one suspect. She shone a flashlight in Stink’s eyes. “Where’s my mood ring?” she asked a million and one times. Judy held up an apple but wouldn’t let him eat it. Yet.
“Honest to pizza! I did NOT steal it! You had it on in the car. I saw you checking it. Maybe that gorilla ATE your mood ring.”
The gorilla! Of course! She’d had her mood ring on in the attic just before . . .
Wait just a Nancy Drew minute! This was exactly like . . . Nancy Drew Book #2,
The Hidden Staircase
. Nancy goes to a creepy mansion, sees the creepy chandelier swinging, hears creepy music, finds a creepy hidden staircase, and sees a creepy gorilla at the window.
Maybe Alyssa’s house was haunted after all! And, she, Judy Moody, had to go back there to get her ring.
Brrr.
Judy shivered at the thought.
Alyssa opened the front door. She looked surprised to see Judy.
“Hey, have you seen my mood ring?” Judy asked Alyssa.
“Mood ring?” Alyssa said. “You had it on when we went upstairs.”
“Then I think your house is haunted for
real,
” Judy said.
Alyssa howled like a hyena. “I got you! I got you so good!”
“You mean — all that spooky stuff was just a big fat fake-out?”
“I got the idea to spook you from reading
The Hidden Staircase
. So I asked my brother to jump on his bed to make the chandelier swing, play creepy music, and hide up in the attic with his gorilla mask. Judy Moody, you cracked the case!”
“RARE!” said Judy. “But — there’s still the Mystery of the Missing Mood Ring.”
Judy and Alyssa crawled on hands and knees across the attic floor, searching for her mood ring. “I’m sure you just dropped it,” said Alyssa.
But where was it?
“I guess my mood ring is
not in the mood
to be found,” said Judy. All of a sudden, her hand pressed down on a loose floorboard. The board popped up. Under the loose board was . . . a way-cool secret compartment!
“My ring!” shouted Judy, sliding it onto her finger. “I guess it flew off yesterday when I saw your brother the gorilla, and it fell though a crack.”
Alyssa peered into the dark hole. “Hey, what’s this?” She picked something up and blew on it. A cloud of dust cleared. A note! The note was in a secret code.
OLLP RM GSV IZUGVIH.
Signed,
Nancy Drew’s biggest fan,
Alice Sutherland
December 29, 1930
“Alice in Wonderland left us a secret code from 1930?” Judy screeched.
“No, silly.
Alice Sutherland.
She must have lived in this house a way long time ago! She read Nancy Drew, too. How cool is that? Just think: she left this note for us to find someday. It’s like an eighty-year-old mystery.”
“That’s older than my grandma Lou!”
Judy stared at the secret code. “It’s a classic reverse alphabet code. You know, where the letter
A
equals
Z
?” The girls got a pencil and worked out the code.
LOOK IN THE RAFTERS.
Judy and Alyssa searched the attic up and down. “I think I see something blue back here!” Alyssa shouted, reaching up into the rafters. She pulled down a musty, dusty old book. “Nancy Drew book number two.
The Hidden Staircase!
It’s like the one I got from the library, only way old.”
Holy macaroni!
Judy barely dared to breathe.
“I bet this is one of the first Nancy Drew books
But Judy didn’t stop. She didn’t wait. Judy flew down the attic stairs, through the front door, and out into the sunshine as fast as she could, all the way home.
Judy tried not to think about haunted houses. She tried not to think about swinging chandeliers and spooky music. She tried not to think about gorillas or ghosts.
She, Judy Moody, was in a mood. A tingle-up-your-spine mood.
What color is my mood ring?
She looked down at her hand.
Hello!
Her mood ring! It was G-O-N-E, gone! This was a for-real mystery for Judy Moody, Girl Detective:
Mystery of the Missing Mood Ring.
When had she last seen it? At breakfast. At soccer. In the car with Stink . . .
Stink!
Judy Drewdy went to find her number-one suspect. She shone a flashlight in Stink’s eyes. “Where’s my mood ring?” she asked a million and one times. Judy held up an apple but wouldn’t let him eat it. Yet.
“Honest to pizza! I did NOT steal it! You had it on in the car. I saw you checking it. Maybe that gorilla ATE your mood ring.”
The gorilla! Of course! She’d had her mood ring on in the attic just before . . .
Wait just a Nancy Drew minute! This was exactly like . . . Nancy Drew Book #2,
The Hidden Staircase
. Nancy goes to a creepy mansion, sees the creepy chandelier swinging, hears creepy music, finds a creepy hidden staircase, and sees a creepy gorilla at the window.
Maybe Alyssa’s house was haunted after all! And, she, Judy Moody, had to go back there to get her ring.
Brrr.
Judy shivered at the thought.
Alyssa opened the front door. She looked surprised to see Judy.
“Hey, have you seen my mood ring?” Judy asked Alyssa.
“Mood ring?” Alyssa said. “You had it on when we went upstairs.”
“Then I think your house is haunted for
real,
” Judy said.
Alyssa howled like a hyena. “I got you! I got you so good!”
“You mean — all that spooky stuff was just a big fat fake-out?”
“I got the idea to spook you from reading
The Hidden Staircase
. So I asked my brother to jump on his bed to make the chandelier swing, play creepy music, and hide up in the attic with his gorilla mask. Judy Moody, you cracked the case!”
“RARE!” said Judy. “But — there’s still the Mystery of the Missing Mood Ring.”
Judy and Alyssa crawled on hands and knees across the attic floor, searching for her mood ring. “I’m sure you just dropped it,” said Alyssa.
But where was it?
“I guess my mood ring is
not in the mood
to be found,” said Judy. All of a sudden, her hand pressed down on a loose floorboard. The board popped up. Under the loose board was . . . a way-cool secret compartment!
“My ring!” shouted Judy, sliding it onto her finger. “I guess it flew off yesterday when I saw your brother the gorilla, and it fell though a crack.”
Alyssa peered into the dark hole. “Hey, what’s this?” She picked something up and blew on it. A cloud of dust cleared. A note! The note was in a secret code.
OLLP RM GSV IZUGVIH.
Signed,
Nancy Drew’s biggest fan,
Alice Sutherland
December 29, 1930
“Alice in Wonderland left us a secret code from 1930?” Judy screeched.
“No, silly.
Alice Sutherland.
She must have lived in this house a way long time ago! She read Nancy Drew, too. How cool is that? Just think: she left this note for us to find someday. It’s like an eighty-year-old mystery.”
“That’s older than my grandma Lou!”
Judy stared at the secret code. “It’s a classic reverse alphabet code. You know, where the letter
A
equals
Z
?” The girls got a pencil and worked out the code.
LOOK IN THE RAFTERS.
Judy and Alyssa searched the attic up and down. “I think I see something blue back here!” Alyssa shouted, reaching up into the rafters. She pulled down a musty, dusty old book. “Nancy Drew book number two.
The Hidden Staircase!
It’s like the one I got from the library, only way old.”
Holy macaroni!
Judy barely dared to breathe.
“I bet this is one of the first Nancy Drew books
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