Amanda Lester and the Pink Sugar Conspiracy Read online

Amanda Lester

  and the

  Pink Sugar Conspiracy

  PAULA BERINSTEIN

  The Writing Show

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s twisted imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright 2015 by Paula Berinstein.

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

  If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the author at [email protected].

  The Writing Show

  P.O. Box 2970

  Agoura Hills, CA 91376-2970

  www.amandalester.net

  www.writingshow.com

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9860304-8-2 (softcover)

  ISBN-10: 0-9860304-8-1 (softcover)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-942361-06-0 (ebook)

  Cover design by Anna Mogileva

  Maps by Alan Chaney

  Text set in Garamond Premier Pro

  Also by Paula Berinstein

  Amanda Lester and the Orange Crystal Crisis

  Amanda Lester and the Purple Rainbow Puzzle

  Amanda Lester and the Blue Peacocks’ Secret

  For Alan, and for Anna Banana

  Acknowledgements

  As with every book, this one would not have been possible without the help, love, and inspiration provided by friends, family, and colleagues, and I would like to thank those without whom Amanda would not exist. If I have inadvertently left anyone out, I apologize.

  My friend Steven Short nudged me to actually make something of the ideas I’d been gathering for years. Without him, they would still be filed away gathering virtual dust.

  My immensely helpful test readers included first and foremost my husband, Alan Chaney, who repeatedly dropped everything to help me and contributed incredibly incisive comments and suggestions. I would also like to thank my dear friends and friends of friends Kennedy Arsnoe, Greg Bolcer, Jackson Bolcer, Ella Bowen, Barry Chersky, Jim Cornelius, Cole Crouch, Sudie Crouch, Mary Fritsch-Derrick, Alex Hetzler, Barbara Javor, Blythe Kropf, Jerry Manas, Aden Mandel, Ayla Mandel, David Mandel, Ellen Ruderman, Alyssa Spillar, Keenan Spillar, LaShelle VanHouten, and Barbara Wong. In addition, I would like to thank my sister, Jan Berinstein, my stepson Alex Chaney, my stepdaughter Ellie Chaney, and my sister-in-law, Louise Argyle. You all provided invaluable feedback and helped keep me on track. I can’t believe how much time you put into this project!

  My book designer, Jill Ronsley, and my cover designer, Anna Mogileva, are too awesome for words. Thank you, ladies, from the bottom of my heart, for your beautiful work.

  The writers I’ve met through my podcast, The Writing Show, have been so supportive and inspiring I can’t begin to thank them properly. I appreciate all of you more than I can say.

  I wouldn’t have been able to write fiction at all without the wisdom of the late screenwriting guru Blake Snyder. He was and continues to be my muse.

  My friend Sudie Crouch was so enthusiastic about my writing that she took time out of many busy days to discuss it with me. She also made imaginative and insightful suggestions, which have greatly enriched the book.

  And without the love and inspiration my husband, Alan, gave so freely, there would be no book at all.

  Grab a Free Ivy Story!

  Amanda’s friend Ivy Halpin may be blind, but she’s the best detective in the school. And now she’s discovered something no one else knows about.

  Get the free “The Locked Room Mystery,” featuring Ivy and her friend Simon Binkle.

  Visit https://www.amandalester.net

  Table of Contents

  Front Matter

  The Legatum Garage Parking Area

  Houses and Common Rooms

  Legatum Floor Plans

  Legatum Continuatum Class Descriptions

  The Story

  Chapter 1: The End of the Stick Dogs

  Chapter 2: The Secret Detective School

  Chapter 3: A Detective’s Mystique

  Chapter 4: Mysterious Shapes

  Chapter 5: The Inimitable Simon Binkle

  Chapter 6: Funny Desserts

  Chapter 7: The Monster Mash

  Chapter 8: The Class Project

  Chapter 9: Pink Powder

  Chapter 10: Amanda the Spy

  Chapter 11: Explosion!

  Chapter 12: Cutting Class

  Chapter 13: A Ticking Clock

  Chapter 14: Holmes Productions

  Chapter 15: The Garage

  Chapter 16: Gluppy Things

  Chapter 17: The Secret Room

  Chapter 18: Slime Mold

  Chapter 19: Thinking Like a Criminal

  Chapter 20: Snow Globe

  Chapter 21: Counting Calories

  Chapter 22: Secret Room Redux

  Chapter 23: Threats

  Chapter 24: A Kick in the Nose

  Chapter 25: 3D Printing

  Chapter 26: Body Snatching

  Chapter 27: Putting Two and Two Together

  Chapter 28: Bunch of Nut Jobs

  Chapter 29: Stowaway

  Chapter 30: Monkeyshines

  Chapter 31: The Sugar Factory

  Chapter 32: Schola Sceleratorum

  Chapter 33: Trapped

  Chapter 34: Acting

  Chapter 35: Confrontation

  Chapter 36: The Class Project Explained