Free Curse of the Arctic Star by Carolyn Keene

ma’am?”
    “Oh, yes, I think so.” Coral was on her feet by now. “Though, silly me, I’m not entirely sure what just happened!”
    “It’s pretty clear what happened, I’m afraid,” Tobias’s father said grimly, grabbing his son by the shoulder. “Tobias must have sneaked his pet spideronboard, and then decided to cause a ruckus by dropping her in the food.”
    “Ow!” Tobias wriggled out of his father’s grasp, the sudden motion almost causing the tarantula to lose its grip on his arm. Hazel gave a little jump, ending up clinging to Tobias’s shirt. A couple of passengers nearby went pale and took a few steps backward.
    “I always kind of wanted a pet tarantula,” George commented to nobody in particular.
    I looked at her. “Not helping,” I said.
    Meanwhile Tobias turned to glare at his father. “You’re right, I did sneak Hazel onboard.” His lower lip stuck out defiantly. “I needed something to keep me busy on this trip.” He carefully stroked the tarantula’s hairy back as she climbed up toward his shoulder. “But I didn’t put her in the food. She could have been crushed!”
    The boy’s mother joined them, her face pale and angry. “Don’t lie to us, Tobias,” she said. “The evidence is right there on your shirt, remember?”
    “I’m not lying!” Tobias glared at her, his eyes flashingangrily. “The last time I saw Hazel she was in her cage in our stupid cabin. I told you, I’d never leave her where she could get hurt!”
    “Hmm.” His father didn’t look convinced. “I think we’d better continue this discussion in our cabin. So sorry for the disruption, everyone.” Stepping over to Coral, he put a hand on her arm. “Special apologies to you, ma’am. I hope you’re okay.”
    “Oh, I’m just fine.” Coral smiled as brightly as ever, though she still looked pale. Alice and Babs took her by the arms and led her toward their table.
    Tobias was dragged off in the opposite direction by his parents, loudly proclaiming his innocence all the while. Captain Peterson watched them go, then squared his shoulders.
    “All right, folks, show’s over. Please go back to enjoying your meals.” He glanced at several employees, who were already busy clearing away the trays where the tarantula had been. “Fresh desserts will be out shortly.”
    He strode off toward the exit, seeming to forget thatwe hadn’t finished our conversation. Good. I needed to talk to my friends about what had just happened.
    “Wow, that was creepy, huh?” Alan commented, slinging an arm over Bess’s shoulders.
    Oops. I’d almost forgotten about him.
    “Hey, Alan,” I said as we walked back to our table. “Seeing that spider made me feel a little shaky. Would you mind grabbing me a soda? With extra ice?” I gestured toward the drink station at the far end of the line.
    “Sure, Nancy. Be right back.” He smiled at me.
    “Isn’t he sweet?” Bess gave a little wave as Alan loped off. “It’s nice to spend time with a guy who’s so nice and considerate to everyone.”
    “Yeah, whatever.” I didn’t want to waste time discussing Alan’s virtues. “Listen, we need to talk.”
    George sat down and picked up her sandwich. “What’s to talk about? This is one crazy incident that’s no mystery.”
    “Agreed.” Bess’s eyes widened. “Actually, it might even solve another mystery. I bet that spider is how Tobias scared the maid yesterday! In the hallway,remember? He stuck something in his pocket—I bet it was Hazel.”
    “You’re probably right.” I sank into my chair, thinking hard. “But listen, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to assume this has nothing to do with the other incidents.”
    George let out a snort. “What, do you think Tobias is the one who’s been sabotaging the cruise?”
    “Maybe,” I said. “Think about it. Hiro mentioned earlier that Tobias is good with computers.”
    “He did?” Bess blinked at me.
    I nodded. “When he was chasing him out of the mini-golf