Scavenger Hunt

by Erika McGann

  He handed me the scarecrow trophy. On a golden plaque on the wooden base I read the words:

  Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt

  WINNERS!

  I smiled and tried to hide the unexpected tears that welled up in my eyes.

  ‘Thanks, Graham.’

  I held up the trophy and read the plaque one more time. I was so glad the team name didn’t go on it.

  Puzzle Pals. Ugh!

  Operation Scavenger Hunt

  a.k.a. Operation Catch the Cheating

  Cheaty Cheaters

  a.k.a. Operation Weather Vane

  SOLVED

  I was in such a good mood on our last day working in Shady Oaks gardens, that not even Nathan could spoil it.

  ‘What are those?’ he said, pointing to a few delicate little purple buds on two of the succulent plants.

  ‘They’re eggs,’ I said, without missing a beat.

  ‘Eggs?’

  ‘Yeah. Caterpillar eggs. Don’t touch them cos, eh … I think they can be poisonous. That’s how they can live on a cactus and not get sick.’

  None of that made sense, but I said it with so much confidence that Nathan obviously thought it must be true.

  ‘Oh.’

  I got to my feet.

  ‘Are you going into the centre?’ he said. ‘Again? Do you love it in there or something?’

  ‘Do you know what, Nathan? I kind of do.’

  I walked away with a smile on my face. Those pretty purple buds would be pretty purple flowers soon and the rock garden wouldn’t be so boring after all.

  Me, Lex and Nicholas had one final visit to make. We knocked on the open door of Mr Fox’s room. He looked up from his book.

  ‘You lot again? Come to take more stuff?’

  ‘Nope,’ I said. ‘The opposite.’

  The paper yellow rose was still looking a little sad and empty without its centre.

  ‘What does that mean?’ said Mr Fox.

  I turned to Lex.

  ‘Mr Fox,’ said Lex, ‘we think your art stuff is so brilliant, and we felt bad that your paper flower isn’t finished anymore. So …’ She reached into her pocket and held out one of her Community Games medals – a gold one she got for winning first place in the hundred-metre race. ‘I think it’s just about the right size.’

  Mr Fox stared at the medal for a moment, then did something very unexpected – he smiled.

  ‘It’s perfect. Thank you.’

  ‘You’re very welcome.’

  ‘Well,’ Mr Fox seemed a little uncomfortable – I don’t think he was used to being friendly, ‘would you three like to help me with a collage?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ said Nicholas.

  ‘Yes, please,’ I repeated. ‘But you don’t have to smile the whole time if you don’t want to.’

  Mr Fox sighed in relief and gave me his usual grumbly expression. ‘Thank you.’

  We spent the whole rest of the afternoon making the collage. As we worked my brain was already searching for our next great adventure. Would we find out the truth about the ghost of Rowan Tree Manor? Would we discover an evil genius crow intent on taking over the world? Would we ever understand what teenagers are talking about?

  This is one of the frustrating things about being a genius detective – so many mysteries, so little time.

  About the Author

  ERIKA MCGANN lives in Dublin in her own secret clubhouse (which is actually an apartment) and spends her time solving mysteries and having brilliant adventures (well, she writes about them anyway). She likes cold weather (because it’s an excuse to drink hot chocolate by the gallon) and cheesy jokes (because cheesy jokes are always funny, even when they’re not funny). Her other books about Cass and the Bubble Street Gang, The Clubhouse Mystery, Making Millions and Diary Detectives are also published by The O’Brien Press. Making Millions was the UNESCO Dublin City of Literature 2018 Citywide Read for Children.

  Copyright

  This eBook edition first published 2019 by

  The O’Brien Press Ltd,

  12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar,

  Dublin 6, D06 HD27 Ireland.

  Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777

  E-mail: books@obrien.ie.

  Website: www.obrien.ie.

  First published 2019.

  The O’Brien Press is a member of Publishing Ireland

  eBook ISBN: 978–1–78849–111–2

  Copyright for text © Erika McGann 2019

  Copyright for typesetting, layout, editing, design and illustration

  © The O’Brien Press Ltd

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Cover and internal illustrations by Vince Reid.