Also by Dan Smith: The Invasion of Crooked Oak The Beast of Harwood Forest The Horror of Dunwick Farm
First published in 2023 in Great Britain by Barrington Stoke Ltd 18 Walker Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7LP Illustrationswww.barringtonstoke.co.ukText©2023DanSmith©2023ChrisKing The moral right of Dan Smith and Chris King to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in any part in any form without the written permission of the publisher A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library upon request ISBN: 978-1-80090-130-8 Printed by Hussar Books, Poland
“This is rubbish,” Nancy said. She was at the kitchen table, eating Corn Flakes and reading the local newspaper, the Crooked Oak Chronicle . “Is it, darling?” Nancy’s mum replied as she stared into her coffee mug. “Yes,” Nancy complained. “The headline is ‘Goat Rescued from Roundabout’. That’s not news.” She closed yesterday’s newspaper, leaving it face down on the table. “We need some proper news. Something exciting.”
1 CHAPTER 1 A New Mystery
ThisThisnewspaper.wasit.wasnews
“ Storm Carrie is expected to hit north‑east England on Thursday night ,” the weather presenter said. “ The Met Office has issued a red weather warning. That means dangerous weather is likely and you should take action to keep yourself and others safe. ”
“There’s a storm coming,” her mum said. “Is that exciting enough for you?” She nodded to the TV beside the microwave. It was showing the end of the weather report.
“I suppose we’ll lose a few roof tiles,” Nancy’s mum sighed. But Nancy wasn’t listening to her mum. She was staring at the article on the back page of the to get excited about.
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Nancy picked up her phone and took a photo of the article. She dumped her cereal bowl in the sink and grabbed her school bag.
“Your dad could have given you a lift,” Nancy’s mum called after her. She hated Nancy riding her bike to school, especially on dark winter mornings like today. And Nancy’s dad was the headmaster at Crooked Oak Academy, so Nancy could get a lift with him any“Ugh,time. no thanks!” Nancy mumbled. She hurried out into the cold morning and slammed the front door behind her.
“Hey!” Nancy’s mum said. “Do you think we have washing-up fairies in this house?” “Yes,” Nancy replied with a smile that made her nose wrinkle. “And they don’t want me to be late for school.” She gave her mum a quick hug and hurried out of the kitchen.
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Nancy tied her auburn hair into a ponytail, unlocked her bike and jumped on. As she raced along Elm Street, all she could think about was the article on the back page of the newspaper. A new
Andmystery.Nancycouldn’t wait to show her friends.
4
Melting Sheep
Pete Brundle and Krish Shyamalan were waiting for Nancy by the school bike racks. They were wearing winter coats and jiggling about to keep warm. Nancy was the smartest kid in Year Eight, but Krish wasn’t far behind. Between them, they seemed to know just about everything. Pete, on the other hand was … Pete. There was no one else like him. He was the bravest and most reckless person Nancy and Krish knew. Together, the three of them were the best friends anyone could hope for.
5 CHAPTER 2
The Mystery Shed was a website that had stories about weird and creepy things happening around the world. Pete, Nancy and Krish were obsessed with it and were always looking for stories they could post there. Whenever they posted something, they signed it with the name “Area 51”. Krish leaned over Nancy’s phone and pushed his glasses up his nose. Pete called this his “serious mode”. “
Melting Sheep Mystery ,” Krish read aloud from the article: Sheep Mystery
Melting
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“Have you guys seen this?” Nancy said, showing them the photo of the newspaper article on her phone. “It might be something for the Mystery Shed.”
On 15 January, Mr Robert Williams, the owner of Back Hill Farm, discovered two
“It’s like the sheep just melted right there in the field,” said Mr Williams. “I’m sure it’s something to do with that new research place up at Hilltop House.” Hilltop House was built in 1723 and was recently purchased by the Spencer Institute for use as a research farm. The Spencer Institute is highly respected and known worldwide for research into organic bio‑fuels and sustainable food crops.
“I’ll be keeping my sheep out of the top field from now on,” said Mr Williams. “I’ll
7 of his sheep were missing. Mr Williams said, “I checked all the fences and looked in all the brambles. But all I could find was something strange in the top field, close to the land around Hilltop House. Two large puddles of weird gunk.” Mr Williams described the “gunk” as a thick, slimy liquid containing pieces of bone and wool. Unfortunately, the “gunk” had soaked into the ground before the Crooked Oak Chronicle was able to photograph it.
8 not let them anywhere near Hilltop House. There’s something unnatural going on up there.” Krish stopped reading and looked up at Nancy. There was a spark of interest in his dark brown“Doeyes.you think he’s making it up?” Nancy said.“The farmer?” Pete asked. “Maybe. But if he’s not, ‘melting sheep’ could be a Mystery Shed story. We have to check it out.” Without a word, Nancy walked away from the bike racks and around the main school building. Pete and Krish followed her past the temporary classroom at the far side of the playground. They stopped at the edge of the school playing field, where a pair of magpies was chattering loudly. At the far end of the field was a tall hedge with fields stretching up
“Don’t pretend you’re not interested in the gunk,” Pete said, nudging Krish in the ribs. “We
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the hill behind it. Right at the top of the hill stood the dark shape of Hilltop House.
“Creepy,” Krish said. His breath steamed in the “Yeah,”cold. Pete agreed. “I wonder what kind of research they do there.” Nancy put her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. “The article said bio fuel and sustainable crops,” she reminded them. “Yeah, but what about the gunk?” Pete reminded her. “Could be ectoplasm, like in Ghostbusters .”
“There’s no such thing as ectoplasm, you doofus,” Krish said. “Or ghosts. Anyway, the farmer probably made it up because he wants to make the research farm look bad.”
10 should go and talk to the farmer – find out about this ectoplasm stuff.”
“That’s Miss Wan. Our English teacher.”
“We don’t have to talk to the farmer,” Nancy told him. “Look who wrote the article.” She took out her phone again and zoomed in at the bottom of the photo. “Julia Wan?” Pete asked. “So?” “So …” Nancy said, rolling her eyes at him.