“You’re so smart and logical,” said the girl in the daydream.
“And I know judo, too,” Jupe added.
“You’ve probably already got a girlfriend,” the girl said.
“Well. ” Jupe said.
“Hey, Jupe. Are you ready?” asked a voice from behind.
Jupe snapped out of his daydream and saw Bob standing in the doorway. He was wearing a navy-blue and red striped polo shirt and white casual pants.
“Who were you talking to?” Bob asked as they walked to his car.
“Just going over the facts of the case,” Jupe answered, his face flushing.
When they arrived at Big Barney’s enormous mansion in Bel Air, Pete and Kelly were waiting for them.
“Hope you brought a lot of change,” Pete said. “You need bus fare to get from the front door to the pool.”
The mansion was a stately forty-room, three-story stucco building with ivy growing on the walls. But that’s where any semblance of elegance stopped. Everywhere there were reminders of how the Chicken King had made his millions. Instead of lawn jockeys there were chickens in jockey uniforms. The windsock on top of the flagpole was a rubber chicken. And many of the fat, round shrubs were trimmed into topiary versions of chickens wearing crowns.
The party was being held poolside, behind the mansion. There, two hundred people, young and old, were gathered around a chicken-shaped swimming pool, eating fried chicken, dancing, and having a great time.
“Remember, we’re not here just to have fun,” Jupe said. “Especially you, Kelly. Be sure to ‘forget’ to pick up your clothes from Juliet. That way you’ll have an excuse to see her again.”
“I know, I know,” Kelly said impatiently. “Come on, Pete, let’s go find Juliet. And if I catch you having any fun, I’ll tell Jupe on you.” Kelly laughed as they walked away.
“Why does she take everything I say so seriously?” Jupe asked Bob.
Bob shook his head. “No — why do you take everything she says so seriously? C’mon, let’s look around.”
They squeezed their way through the crowd. It seemed to Jupe that everyone had a juicy drumstick or — a chicken wing in their hand. They were pointing with them, waving them, even dueling with them. But most of all, they were chewing on them.
“This is torture,” moaned Jupe. “When the wind blows in our direction, I can smell all eight of the herbs and spices in Big Barney’s secret patented formula.”
“Jupe, have some chicken,” Bob said. “It won’t kill you.
Bob looked at Jupe and Jupe looked at Bob, and they both winced. Maybe it wouldn’t kill them, they realized — and then again, maybe it would!
“No, thanks,” said Jupe.
“Hi,” said a girl. She was about seventeen, with swept-back short brown hair. She had a juicy drum-stick in one hand and an empty soda cup in the other.
And she was staring right at Bob. “I’ve been watching you ever since you came in.”
Bob gave her a winning smile and said, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
The girl laughed. “Now there’s a new line,” she said. “Sure you know me. I’m your mother.”
Bob laughed and steered the girl away. “Hi, Mom. Let’s go get something to drink and I’ll tell you what a wonderful kid I was.”
Jupe sat down in a lounge chair and watched Big Barney work the crowd like a night club comedian. Every once in a while his big voice boomed across the pool, drowning out the chatter of all the other party guests.
But suddenly another voice caught Jupe’s attention. It was coming from a man standing directly behind Jupe. Jupe casually turned his head. He saw an energetic man in a white suit introducing himself to a blonde young woman who was only a few feet away.
“Don Dellasandro,” the man said, handing the woman his business card.
“Peggy Bennington,” said the blonde.
“It’s nice to network with you, Peggy,” Don said.
The more Jupe listened, the more certain he was that he recognized the man’s voice.
“I’m doing some market research, Peggy,” said Don. “Do you want to taste something that’s going to impact on your life significantly?”
“Sure.”
Don handed her a small foil-wrapped candy.
Jupe stood up to get a better view.
“Miracle Tastes?” Peggy said, reading the words on the wrapper.
“That’s my company and this is my latest,” said Don.
Peggy unwrapped the candy. It was a piece of chocolate. Jupe thought it looked cream-filled.
“I try to stay away from candy,” Peggy said.
“But this is zero calories!” Don said with a grin. “And that’s only half the miracle.”
The candy was in Peggy’s right hand, which Dellasandro pushed closer to her mouth. “Taste it and enter the twenty-first century.” Peggy finally took a bite.
“It’s really good!” she exclaimed.
Jupe’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth. The man noticed.
“Don Dellasandro,” the man said, handing Jupe his business card and a candy at the same time.
The candy was smooth and creamy and delicious.
“What do you taste?” Don asked.
“I distinctly taste three things,” Jupe said. “Dark chocolate, marshmallow, and mint. No calories? How do you do it?”
“Flavorings,” Don replied. “That’s what Miracle Tastes is all about. I create flavors. And you did perfectamento at picking out the tastes. I’m glad I interfaced with you.”
Jupe’s eyes opened wide. He had been so interested in the delicious calorie-free candy that for a second he’d forgotten about Don’s voice — until that moment. But there was no doubt in Jupe’s mind. Don Dellasandro was the man who had been calling the hospital every half hour to ask about Juliet Coop! “I’ll be interfacing with her,” he had told Jupe just before he hung up.
“I don’t suppose you’ve got a card, do you?” Don said. “You’re one heck of a taster.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” Peggy Bennington said, laughing at Don. “He’s a teenager.”
As a matter of fact, Jupe thought to himself, I do have a card. But that was the last thing Jupe wanted to do — give Don Dellasandro one of his Three Investigators cards. He didn’t want Dellasandro to clam up just when Jupe needed to ask him a million questions. Like, why had he called the hospital? Why was he being so mysterious on the phone? And what was Don’s connection to Juliet or Big Barney?
Juliet came up to them just then and took Don Dellasandro’s arm. “Don, I’ve got to have another candy. You didn’t warn me I couldn’t stop eating them,” she said happily.
Don gave Juliet another piece of candy in the Miracle Tastes wrapper. “This kid is a natural taster,” he said, pointing at Jupe.
“Don’t steal Jupiter Jones from me,” Juliet said. “Jupe and his friends are detectives, and they’re going to help me figure out where I was the day of my accident.”
Keep your face frozen, Jupiter told himself. Don’t let on that Juliet just blew your cover.
“No kidding,” Don said, looking at Jupe with narrowed eyes. “I never would have known it to look at you, pal.”
Jupe had to find Bob and Pete fast. He had stumbled onto some kind of a clue, although he wasn’t sure what it was.
Jupe excused himself and wandered through the crowd, looking for his friends. Near the beak end of the chicken pool there was a cluster of people, and in the middle, towering over his guests, stood Big Barney Coop. Anyone who was six feet six inches would stand out in a crowd. But that wasn’t enough for Big Barney. He wore a bright-orange jogging suit with his chicken emblem stitched over his heart.
“And I said, ‘I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out why the chicken crossed the road,’ ” Barney said with a guffaw. Laughter did not just come out of Big Barney Coop. It detonated, and when it did, even though the jokes weren’t the funniest, the aftershocks made the crowd roar.