9 THE BIG NAB

THE BIG NAB The next morning, Bean began to do the regular things—yawn, splash, stumble—and then she remembered the rope. Quickly she zipped out onto her front porch to take a look. The mysterious rope-tyer had come again! The yellow rope stretched like a bright snake beyond Ivy's stairs and up Mr. Columbi's driveway, wrapped once around his garbage can, trailed across his weed collection, and moved on to Ruby and Trevor's house, where it wound in and out of their experimental bean plants and finally came to an end at the far edge of their grass. When she saw it, Bean's heart started to thump. It grew! It was still happening! Pancake Court was a place of mystery!

Then she remembered Dino's worried face, and Sophie S.'s and Prairie's and Trevor's and Ruby's. She thought, I'm supposed to solve this mystery. And then: How the heck am I going to do that? She went back inside. The rest of the regular things—cereal, banana, where's my backpack, someone took it, oh here it is—didn't seem regular. "You look tired, sweetie," said her mom. "Did you get enough sleep?" "Hardly any," said Bean. This wasn't exactly true, but it was nice when her mom worried about her. "She slept, Mom. She was snoring her head off when I went to bed last night," said Nancy.

"I was up half the night," said Bean. She drooped tiredly. She was about to say that she was so tired she should stay home from school, when suddenly she got the idea she'd been waiting for: the perfect plan, like something Al Seven himself might have thought up. She smiled at Nancy.

"Stop smiling at me," said Nancy grumpily. "Sure thing, pal." "It's in our yard now," said Ruby. She was chewing on her hair. "In our beans," added Trevor. "It's wrapped around Mr. Columbi's garbage

can," said Dino. He looked over his shoulder and whispered, "You think it could be a zombie?" "Or a werewolf?" said Sophie S. They all looked at Bean with worried faces. She smiled toughly. "Don't be stooges," she said. "Zombies don't carry ropes. And werewolves can't tie knots. They have paws." She tried to talk without moving her lips. "And you should stop worrying about it, because I've got a plan. A good plan. Maybe even a great plan." "What?" said Dino. "She said she has a plan," Ivy explained. "A good plan, maybe even a great plan." "Tell it," said Ruby. Trevor and Prairie and Sophie S. nodded. Bean looked around at their scared faces. It was her job to make them feel better. "Okay. Here's my plan. Mr. Whoever-tied-the-rope

comes in the night, right?" They nodded. "So tonight, I'm going to get up in the middle of the night and wait for him. When he comes out to tie the rope, I'll nab him!" "What does that mean, nab?" asked Trevor. "Um, get him," Bean said. "Grab him." "What if he's big and mean?" asked Sophie worriedly. Yikes, Bean thought. What if he is big and mean? "I know," said Ivy. "Just take a picture of him. That way you don't have to get close to him. You can take a picture and then run back inside and lock the door." "Good idea," said Bean. "I'll take a picture