Case of the Mossy Lake Monster

by Michele Torrey

  The next day was Friday. Election day.

  Sure enough, black teeth, black eyes, mustaches, and beards were plastered all over the posters.

  Alexandra stamped her foot. “I thought you were going to get to the bottom of this!” she screeched.

  Drake plugged his ears. (He had no idea that beauty princesses could screech so loudly.)

  Once she stopped screeching and stamping her foot and turning purple, Drake said calmly, “I assure you, Ms. Landsright, it’s all part of the plan. Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives, will nab your culprit in plenty of time for the election, never fear. Now, here’s what I want you to do …” And he lowered his voice to a whisper.

  Afterward, Drake and Nell marched to the principal’s office and received permission from Mr. Hong to carry out the rest of their plan. (Mr. Hong wanted to catch the bad guys just as much as they did. “Do what you have to do,” he said, shaking their hands. “The full resources of the school are yours.”)

  That afternoon, all the students filed into the gym. Nell and Drake sat in the first row. Haley Glibb sat beside them. Her fingers were crossed. The row of student candidates sat facing them.

  The hour wore on. There was speech after speech. Speeches for wannabe treasurers, secretaries, and vice presidents. Finally, it was time for the presidential speeches.

  Frisco was first. “I promise to be a good president. There’ll be no more homework, no more tests, and everyone will get A’s from now on. So,” he said with a smirk, “vote for me. Frisco. Because I said so.” And he sat down to sounds of cheering and applause.

  Then Alexandra stepped up to the podium.

  And everyone giggled. (Except Alexandra, Drake, Nell, Haley, the teachers, and the principal, of course.) Alexandra cleared her throat and flipped her glossy hair. She then gave a rather nice speech about how she would make a good president, bring beauty to the school, and all of that. “And finally, to conclude, I would like to call on Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Landsright,” said Drake and Nell. Together they took center stage.

  “Hey, wait a second,” said Frisco, looking confused. “I don’t think that’s allowed. Is that allowed?”

  Drake ignored him and spoke into the microphone. “Drake Doyle here. As everyone knows, an evil plot was hatched this week at Seaview Elementary. It was politics at its dirtiest. Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives, were hired to handle this most difficult case. Ms. Fossey?”

  “Thank you, Detective Doyle.” Nell cleared her throat. “Our mission, of course, was to find out who was ruining Ms. Landsright’s posters.”

  “So we set up surveillance,” continued Drake. “Only, it didn’t work.”

  “Not even close,” said Nell.

  “So we were forced to take drastic measures,” said Drake.

  “Is this going somewhere?” Frisco whispered from behind them. “Or should I get some sleep?” “As I was saying,” said Drake, ignoring Frisco, “we took drastic measures. We made twenty new posters, lickety-split. But they weren’t ordinary posters.”

  “Not ordinary at all,” agreed Nell.

  “We coated them with a secret formula. To be precise, we coated them with ultraviolet thief-detection powder,” said Drake proudly. “A powder used by detectives everywhere to catch thieves.”

  Nell looked out at the audience. “It all has to do with light. You see, there are different levels of light. There is light you can see, and light that is invisible to the human eye.”

  “Meaning, of course,” said Drake, “that you can’t see it.”

  “Precisely. Ultraviolet light is light that you can’t see. Ultraviolet thief-detection powder absorbs ultraviolet energy and—”

  “—when exposed to ultraviolet light,” continued Drake.

  “—releases that energy in the form of light you can see,” finished Nell. “This is called fluorescence.”

  “So what?” Frisco asked, yawning loudly. “Does anyone care?”

  Nell turned toward Frisco while speaking carefully into the microphone. “Perhaps you will care when we flip out the lights.”

  “Huh?”

  “Cut the lights!” ordered Nell.

  Suddenly, the room was plunged into darkness. Everyone gasped. And then, a great, scary silence settled over everyone.

  Finally, Drake spoke into the silence. “Whoever marked up the posters is in this room. They don’t know it, but they are covered with ultraviolet thief-detection powder. In just a few seconds, we will turn on an ultraviolet light.”

  “And whoever it is,” said Nell, “will glow like a glowstick.”

  “Ultraviolet light, please!” ordered Drake.

  And from behind Drake and Nell, a purplish light turned on.

  It took only a moment before the culprit was revealed.

  Drake gasped.

  Nell gasped.

  Mr. Hong gasped.

  Alexandra gasped.

  Haley gasped.

  In fact, Haley gasped extra loudly because she was the one glowing like a glowstick. She jumped to her feet and pointed a glowing arm at Frisco. “He paid me!” she shrieked.

  “Shh!” hissed Frisco. “You’re ruining everything!”“I’ll take it from here,” said Mr. Hong. “To the office. Both of you.” And out of the gym he marched, holding Frisco and Haley by the arms.

  After that, the lights came on. Order was restored. The election proceeded. And Alexandra won by a landslide.

  “Congratulations on your election victory,” Drake said later, handing Alexandra his business card. “Call us. Anytime.”

  “Oh, thank you,” she gushed. “You were awesome. Who’d have thought it? Haley. Of all people. Naturally, she was jealous of me.” Alexandra tossed her hair and smiled quite dazzlingly. “Most people are.”

  “All in the line of duty,” said Drake, his heart pitter-pattering.

  Nell rolled her eyes. “I think I’m going to be sick.” And indeed, she looked rather ill.

  Later at the lab, Drake wrote in his notebook, sighing just a little as he did so.

  Evil plot crushed forever.

  Order restored.

  Alexandra the Winner.

  Received one autographed

  8 × 10 glossy photo.

  Paid in full.

  Contents

  Your Own Lab

  Method to the Madness

  The Truth About Zappy:

  Static Electricity

  Just for Penguins: Oil Spills

  Monster Attack: Buoyancy

  Write a Secret Message:

  Ultraviolet Light

  A Dark and Stormy …

  Mouth: Fluorescence

  As an amateur scientist, it is handy to have your own work space or laboratory. This can be as simple as a table in the laundry room or a desk in your bedroom. By following these simple steps, you can equip your lab with some essential tools, just like Drake and Nell’s!

  1. You will need a lab notebook. A spiral notebook works fine. Record everything in your notebook: your hypothesis, your procedure, your observations, your results—even your flubs!

  A good lab notebook contains

  1) experiment title

  2) method (what you plan to do)

  3) hypothesis (what you think will happen)

  4) procedure (what you did)

  5) observations (what you saw)

  6) results (what actually happened)

  2. Find a lab coat. Lab coats protect your clothes and skin from chemicals. (Plus, they’re spiffy.) Large, white, button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up work well. If you can’t find one around your house (ask first!), they’re available at secondhand clothing stores. Write your name on it using a permanent marker.

  3. Keep a sharp lookout for equipment. For example, start collecting different sizes of bottles and jars (both plastic and glass), different sizes of corks and rubber stoppers, cotton balls and cotton swabs, wire, tubing, balloons, duct tape, a magnifying glass, string …
anything you might need for an experiment. (Make sure you ask before taking.)

  4. All good scientists label everything they’re working on. Keep a roll of masking tape and a marker on hand for labeling.

  Congratulations! You are now an official amateur scientist genius!

  Good Science Tip

  Read through the instructions and set out all needed materials before beginning the experiment. Use only clean equipment. Record each step of the experiment’s procedure in your lab notebook.

  In the story “A Matter of Life or Death,” Drake and Nell used the scientific method. Based on their observations of Zappy, they developed a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a scientist’s best guess as to what is happening. Like all good scientists, Nell jotted the hypothesis in her lab notebook. It might have looked like this:

  Based on our observations, we believe Zappy is gaining extra electrons from the angora blanket, then transferring the electrons to the aluminum pie plate through his nose.

  After a scientist develops a hypothesis, the hypothesis must be proven. The scientist must conduct experiments, following a procedure—step-by-step instructions. While sometimes a scientist follows a set procedure, other times a scientist creates new steps, going beyond what has been done before. In your experiments, you will follow a set procedure. So sharpen those pencils and get ready to go!

  As a good scientist, you will doubtless want to know the truth about Zappy. (Oh, the truth is quite awful, but you probably want to know just the same. After all, scientists are a curious sort.) You wonder: just how badly did Zappy suffer?

  The following activity will help you understand the power of static electricity. (No wonder Caitlin cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried cried cried!)

  Beware. It’s a terribly sad activity.

  MATERIALS

  • aluminum pie plate (small ones work best)

  • blown-up balloon

  • your hair

  • box of tissues

  PROCEDURE

  1. Set pie plate on a table. (Think food dish.)

  2. Rub the balloon in your hair until your hair stands on end. (This works best on cool, dry days with clean, grease-free hair. Hey—all you grunge-heads out there … take a hint!)

  3. Your balloon is now charged with extra electrons in the form of static electricity. (Think Zappy. Think pink, tender schnozzola.)

  4. Bring the balloon close to the pie plate—two inches … one inch … (Sudden exchange of electrons! ZAP!)

  5. Poor, poor Zappy! Dab your eyes with a tissue and blow your nose.

  6. If you can stand the sadness, go into a dark room, wait one minute for your eyes to adjust, and try the experiment again. You can actually see the sparks.

  Good Science Tip

  All good scientists observe carefully. They record what they see and everything that happens in their experiment, whether or not they believe it’s important. Sometimes what they think isn’t important turns out to be the key to the puzzle! Here’s an activity you can do to sharpen your observation skills: Examine an ordinary leaf with a magnifying glass and write down ten things you observe about the leaf. (Example: tiny hairs, different colors, a soft texture.) You will be surprised at how many things you can observe when you try!

  If you’re a penguin, oil spills spell disaster. And if you happen to be a penguin who can spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R, you’re very smart indeed. For this experiment, pluck a couple of your penguin feathers and get ready to see the effect that oil has on them.

  MATERIALS

  • two small bowls

  • 1 tablespoon water

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • two downy-soft feathers*

  *Note: Craft stores carry feathers. Don’t use feathers that you find outside—they may carry germs that cause disease.

  PROCEDURE

  1. Pour water into one bowl. Pour oil into the second bowl.

  2. Dip one of the feathers into the water. Take it out and blow on it gently until it dries.

  3. Dip the second feather into the oil. Take it out and blow on it for about the same length of time as before.

  4. Now answer this question: Which would you (a penguin) rather swim in—oil or water?

  How Can I Help?

  While there’s not much you can do to prevent an oil tanker from running aground, you can still help. The surprising fact is, most of the oil in our oceans comes from motor oil that is dumped down the storm drain. If your parents change their own car oil, ask them to try to recycle the oil through your local recycling center or auto repair shop.

  Did you know?

  Did you know that Drake and Nell’s idea for the penguin sweaters is based on a true story? In 2000, there was an oil spill off the coast of southeast Australia, near Phillip Island. The tiniest penguins in the world live on Phillip Island and were endangered by the oil spill. Thinking quickly and creatively, workers dressed the penguins in doll sweaters. Soon sweaters knitted by people from all over the world poured into Phillip Island, and the little penguins were saved! For more information, see:

  www.penguins.org.au

  www.factmonster.com/spot/penguinsweater.html

  www.adorablog.org/penguins/index.html

  (Full of cool pics of sweatered penguins!)

  The Scene: You are camping with your family beside a lake. The birds are chirping. The squirrels are scurrying. The flowers are blooming. All in all, it is rather peaceful. Your family goes fishing, hoping to catch a fat trout for dinner. Suddenly, a monster rears its ugly head! It’s slimy. Horrible. Ghastly. All of the above. Your family screams and scampers into the hills.

  The Secret: You’re the culprit! Yes, you! You were sneaky. Sly. Crafty. All of the above. Using the principles of buoyancy, you constructed a monster just like Code 61. Here’s how:

  MATERIALS

  • empty 2-liter plastic bottle

  • scissors

  • 12 quarters

  • duct tape

  • large balloon

  • several long twist ties

  • 12 feet of plastic or rubber tubing from a hardware store, approx. 3/8 inch in diameter

  • string

  • Halloween monster mask

  • small cork (optional)

  PROCEDURE

  (Hot tip: Practice this first in a bathtub to make certain everything works.)

  1. Lay the bottle on its side. Ask an adult to help you cut four holes in the bottle—two on the top side, and two on the bottom side. (If someone asks you what you’re doing, say, “Oh, nothing really. Just an experiment on buoyancy.”)

  2. Stack the quarters into three piles and tape each pile to the bottom of the bottle, in line with the two bottom holes. These are your weights. (If you’re broke, use three rocks of similar weight.)

  3. Slip the mouth of the balloon over one end of the tubing. Wrap a twist tie around both the balloon and the tubing. Twist the two ends of the twist tie together until the seal is extremely tight. Check the tightness by blowing into the other end of the tubing. If the seal leaks, use several twist ties.

  4. With the tubing still attached, insert the uninflated balloon through the mouth of the bottle. (Tubing will extend out of the mouth of the bottle.)

  5. Use string to tie the monster mask securely onto the bottle.

  6. When no one is looking, submerge the bottle in the lake. Make certain there are no air bubbles in either the bottle or the mask. Keep hold of the end of the tubing.

  7. Hide the end of the tube behind the bush.

  8. Join your family around the campfire, roast a few marshmallows, and act casual.

  9. When your family goes fishing, pretend you have to … well … you know. Anyway, hide behind the bush.

  10. Inflate the balloon by blowing into the tubing. (You may not be able to blow up the balloon with one puff of air. Just hold your finger over the end of the tubing between breaths.)

  11. Once the balloon is filled, either hold your finger o
ver the end of the tube or stick a cork in it.

  12. As your family sees the monster rising from the deep, scream something monsterish like “AARRGGGG!” or “GRRRRUURRR!”

  13. To sink the monster, pull the cork from the tubing or remove your finger.

  14. Pretend it wasn’t you.

  Warning! Warning! Your archenemy is lurking outside your door. You must send a secret message to your fellow detective or all is lost. You write your message. You send it “special delivery” right out the door and into the enemy’s hands.

  But, never fear, all is not lost. Instead of reading your secret message, your archenemy says, “Rats! It’s just a blank piece of paper.” And he lets your messenger go. The day is saved.

  (Of course, only you and your partner know the real secret. Read on to find out how it’s done. Once again, this is detective work at its best.)

  MATERIALS

  • oil-free sunscreen lotion (SPF 15 or higher)

  • cup or plate

  • cotton swab

  • blank piece of white paper

  • ultraviolet (UV) “black” light

  Note: Black lights are available at hardware stores, lightbulb supply companies, novelty stores, and online. Beware. Not all “black lights” are real black lights. Make sure you buy an ultraviolet (UV) black light instead of a regular lightbulb that has been painted purple.

  PROCEDURE

  1. Pour a small amount of sunscreen into a cup or onto a plate.

  2. Dip the end of the cotton swab into the sunscreen.

  3. Using the cotton swab like a pen, write a message on the paper. (Hint: Use a small amount of sunscreen—so small you can barely see it when you write. If you use too much, it will soak through the paper, and the enemy will be able to read your message. You may have to practice a few times to get it just right.)