“An ornithologist. It means bird-watcher,” explained Jerry. “Someone who studies birds.
“I was wondering if I could do a bit of bird-watching from the church tower,” he continued, holding up his binoculars. “There have been reports of a South American Jacuzzi Stork here in town—a very rare bird. If I am lucky enough to have a sighting of it, I’ll report it to the newspaper right away. It would be a huge sensation for Pleasant Valley.”
“I’m sure that’ll be all right,” replied the caretaker, and showed Jerry the door leading up to the tower.
Up in the tower, the caretaker opened some of the shutters that faced the street. He wished Jerry luck and headed back downstairs.
Once alone, Jerry crouched down and began looking through his binoculars at Mohammed Carat’s jewelry store on the opposite side of the street. The investigation was on!
CHAPTER 5
Investigations Inside and Out
Down in the store, Jerry could see Vivian Leander showing jewelry to the elderly gentleman. The tray lined with red velvet held glittering necklaces and sparkling rings. She looks pretty happy, thought Jerry. I wonder why?
The elderly man looked at the jewelry, but he seemed more interested in the assistant.
Jerry could see Maya cleaning on the other side of the store. He was sure she was trying to hear what Vivian and the customer were saying.
When the elderly gentleman turned to leave, Vivian stopped him with a kiss on the nose! What service!
Does she do that to all the customers? wondered Jerry.
Inside the store, Maya took her window-cleaning supplies and headed up to the second floor. She knocked and then opened the door to Danny Braveheart’s office.
“I’m going to clean the windows in here,” she said politely.
Danny Braveheart quickly shut something away in his desk drawer—something he obviously didn’t want Maya to see. Maya tried to peer across the room to see what it might be, but Danny stopped her with a hiss. “Don’t you have something else to do besides snoop on me? Go ahead and start cleaning the windows if you must!”
What a nasty guy, thought Maya. He’s definitely hiding something.
From his perch in the church tower, Jerry could see everything. Maya had moved to the window. She cautiously waved to him and he waved back. But then Jerry saw something else—something that scared him.
Danny Braveheart had opened his desk drawer and taken out a long knife! He tested the blade against his thumb and nodded approvingly.
Maya is trapped in a room with a mad man wielding a knife, and I can’t do anything about it! Jerry thought desperately.
He waved frantically at Maya and gestured for her to turn around. But Maya just waved happily back.
R-I-I-I-P!
Maya spun around at the sudden noise, and saw Danny Braveheart opening letters with a long, sharp knife. It was a letter opener.
“I’ve finished the windows in here,” said Maya nervously.
Danny Braveheart didn’t answer. When Maya left the room, she heard him opening the desk drawer again.
I guess he’s taking out whatever he hid before, thought Maya.
Jerry lowered his binoculars and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
No one said detective work was easy, he thought. Then he heard someone stomping up the stairs to the church tower.
It was the caretaker again.
“Have you seen a Jacuzzi Stork yet?” he asked curiously.
“Not yet,” answered Jerry. “But an ornithologist needs a lot of patience. Jacuzzi Storks are tough to spot this early in the year.”
“If the newspaper decides to write anything about the bird, could you tell them that I was the one who opened the church tower for you?” asked the caretaker.
“Of course!” said Jerry.
“My name is Roland Sussman—Sussman with three Ss,” said the caretaker.
But Jerry hadn’t heard him because he was already busy looking through the binoculars again.
CHAPTER 6
The Missing Apple
Maya was now on the top floor, standing just outside Luke Smith’s office. She took a deep breath and lifted her hand to knock. After finding a large knife on the second floor she wondered what she might find on the third floor. Suddenly, the door opened and Maya was confronted by Luke Smith dressed in a tracksuit. Maya gasped.
“Sorry to surprise you,” Luke said kindly. “I always go for a jog before lunch.” He gestured to his sneakers and smiled.
Through his binoculars, Jerry could see Maya’s surprised expression. Then he saw Luke Smith leave the building through the front door.
Luke Smith ran a few short feet, then stopped by the building’s drainpipe, kneeling down to tie his shoelaces. With a quick motion, he picked up something from the street, hopped up, and ran off toward the post office. He had a big smile on his face.
That’s a strange route for a jog, thought Jerry.
Meanwhile, Maya looked around Luke’s office. It had the same layout as Danny Braveheart’s office below. There was one workbench and two windows facing the street—one of which was open.
Luke’s tools were spread out along the workbench, and some of his clothes hung on the coatrack against the wall.
Maya walked to the open window and waved to Jerry in the church tower. Jerry waved back.
Maya moved around the room slowly, looking for something without knowing exactly what she was looking for. She picked up the tools, twisting and turning them to see how they worked. She checked the drawers in the desk: They were locked.
There’s something missing, she thought.
Then she realized: The apple!
Something told her that Luke’s green apple was very important. She didn’t know why; it was just a feeling she had. When she pictured Luke, she immediately saw the green apple right in front of her eyes.
She looked everywhere but couldn’t find the apple. He must have eaten it, she thought, and I know just how to find out! Maya raced over to the trash can to look for the apple core—but it was empty!
Suddenly, Jerry saw Luke Smith leave the post office. He tucked a small key in his pocket and jogged back to the jewelry store.
Oh no! Maya was still nosing around his office looking for clues!
Jerry watched Luke open the jewelry store door and disappear into the building. This is where a good tip-off would come in handy, thought Jerry. He needed to warn Maya somehow. Jerry opened his detective bag and took out a small mirror. He held it out through the shutters of the church tower and turned it toward the sun. It caught a ray of sunshine and reflected straight into Luke Smith’s workshop.
Jerry directed the beam of light into Maya’s face.
At first, Maya was irritated and held her hands across her eyes—but then she understood that Jerry was trying to tell her something. She ran across the room to the cleaning supplies and pretended to work.
Just in time! As soon as she picked up the bucket and squeegee, the door to the room opened. In walked a still-smiling Luke Smith.
“Hi there, junior worker,” he said with a smile.
“I’ve just finished the window,” Maya said cheerfully, and headed out the door.
Phew, that was a little close for comfort. Jerry sighed over in the church tower.
CHAPTER 7
A Snack and a Solution
On the way down from Luke Smith’s room, Maya bumped into Danny Braveheart, and he dropped what he was carrying. Betting slips and gambling tickets fell like confetti and scattered down the stairs. Danny hastily gathered all of the fallen paperwork and cast a worried look down the stairs.
Aha! thought Maya. That’s what he was doing when I interrupted him earlier: He was sitting at his desk gambling instead of polishing the jewelry like he’s supposed to. And now he’s afraid that Moha
mmed Carat will catch him.
“Look where you’re going, you clumsy fool,” barked Danny Braveheart before disappearing into his room.
Maya quickly excused herself and continued down the stairs.
Jerry came down from the church tower. In the church, he ran into Roland Sussman, the man with three Ss.
“Did you spot any birds?” asked the caretaker.
“No, no luck today,” replied Jerry, shaking his head. He said good-bye and walked across the street.
Jerry and Maya had arranged to meet at the café next to the jeweler’s. There, they each ordered apple juice and a granola bar.
They took a seat in the corner of the café where they could talk without being overheard. It had been a long, difficult day, and it wasn’t over yet!
It was time for the two detectives to discuss what they had each seen and heard that day.
They sat in the café for an hour, talking and comparing notes. Jerry saw a lot that Maya couldn’t have, and Maya filled him in on what she heard while she was working in the store. The two of them put together what they knew, and the clues fit together like the pieces of a puzzle.
The waitress was surprised when she checked on the two children: They had barely touched their food!
After a while, Jerry and Maya nodded at each other with satisfaction and got up from the table. All of the pieces were in place and they knew who the thief was!
Jerry and Maya entered the jewelry store and walked toward Mohammed Carat’s office. They knocked, but nobody answered. Strange . . . where could he be? Carefully, Maya nudged the door. It wasn’t locked, so Maya gently pushed it open. Inside, they found Mohammed Carat lying on his back on the brown sofa. He wasn’t moving! Was he dead?
Jerry and Maya rushed over.
Thankfully, he wasn’t dead—he was breathing. But he was lying completely still, staring blankly ahead. He must be in shock, thought Jerry. The two detectives saw tears running down Mr. Carat’s cheeks. They dripped to the floor, where his earlier tears had already begun to form a little puddle.
“Today, a seventh diamond was stolen,” he sniffled. “It’s over! I will have to sell my beloved store.”
“Not so fast, Mr. Carat,” said Maya. “We think we know who has stolen your diamonds.”
In a flash, Mohammed Carat sat up on the sofa, his eyes wide.
CHAPTER 8
Who, Why, and How?
“Let me guess,” said Mohammed Carat eagerly, wiping tears from his mustache. “It must be Vivian! She’s disappointed because she’s not getting a raise. She stole my diamonds so she could build a new house, and then she buys expensive necklaces and clothes with the money instead. Oh, how could she?!” groaned Mohammed Carat.
“Vivian is innocent,” said Maya. “But she has a fiancé—a rich man who showers her with presents. Vivian didn’t steal your diamonds. The only thing she’s guilty of is kissing customers at work.”
“I know who it is!” cried Mohammed Carat, jumping up. “It’s Danny Braveheart. That crafty old fox! He’s cheated me.” Mohammed Carat shook his clenched fist toward the floor above, where Danny Braveheart worked.
“He stole my diamonds to ruin me!” roared Mohammed Carat. “Once he has enough money, he’ll buy back the store that his father once owned.”
“Of course Danny Braveheart wants to get rich,” agreed Jerry. “But not by stealing your diamonds: He gambles on horse races. Danny Braveheart isn’t a particularly friendly or dedicated employee, but he isn’t a diamond thief.”
Mohammed Carat sank to his knees. Weeping with rage, he banged his fists on the floor.
“Luke Smith!” he hollered. “You bragging, sports-car-driving villain! How could you?”
Mohammed Carat fell silent. A wrinkle appeared on his sweaty forehead.
“Yes . . . how could he?” he asked, and looked at Jerry and Maya. “How on earth did he get the diamonds out of the store, and where is he hiding them?”
“The main character in this story is actually an apple,” said Maya. “An apple that isn’t there.”
Mohammed Carat scratched his head. Jerry scratched his nose. Mr. Carat clearly didn’t understand, so Maya continued.
“Every morning, Luke Smith brings an apple to the office. But he doesn’t eat it, and he doesn’t take it home. So the question is: Where does the apple go?”
“Yes,” Jerry added. “In the mornings, Luke works alone in his room. And that’s when he takes the opportunity to press one of your diamonds into his green apple. Then he opens the window and tosses the apple onto the roof. The apple rolls across the roof and into the gutter, where it then falls down the drainpipe and onto the sidewalk below. As soon as that’s taken care of, Luke puts on his tracksuit and goes for his daily jog.”
Mohammed Carat looked at the two sleuths with his mouth wide open. Maya said, “Just in front of the drainpipe, Luke, your healthy, apple-eating jogger, stops and pretends to tie his shoelaces. That’s when he picks up the diamond-stuffed apple and runs to the post office to lock it in a safe-deposit box.”
“We think there will be seven green—or not-so-green—apples in the safe-deposit box, and you’ll find the key in Luke Smith’s tracksuit,” concluded Maya.
“By golly! You’ve solved the case!” cheered Mohammed Carat as he jumped up in the air with joy. After he calmed down, he went to his safe and took out a thick stack of dollar bills.
“Here you are!” he said happily. “I am very pleased with the Whodunit Detective Agency! But now, you must excuse me: Luke Smith and I are going to take a little walk to the post office together.”
Jerry and Maya walked out of the office. Vivian Leander was standing outside. She had been listening at the door as usual.
“Oh, I was just . . . ,” she said, blushing.
Jerry and Maya looked at each other and tried to hide their smiles.
On the bus ride home, Maya suggested they buy a computer with the money they had just earned from Mohammed Carat. But Jerry wasn’t listening. He was looking out the window and scratching his nose.
“Now I understand,” he said finally, and laughed. “Danny Braveheart was talking about gambling on horses when he said, ‘You only need one horsepower if you choose the right one.’”
“Exactly!” exclaimed Maya. “He was thinking about winning a horse race, as usual.
“A good detective leaves no questions unanswered,” she said, and smiled admiringly at Jerry.
The next day, the church caretaker, Roland Sussman, and everyone else in the little town read something very exciting in the newspaper:
The Whodunit Agency Solves Yet Another Case
The young detectives of The Whodunit Detective Agency, Maya and Jerry, have successfully solved a difficult case. Through clever investigative work, they have linked one of Mohammed Carat’s jewelry-store employees to a crime.
Twenty-nine-year-old Luke Smith has confessed to police that he had stolen seven diamonds, each worth thousands of dollars. Mysteriously, Jerry has told the paper that he and Maya have three Ss to thank for helping them solve the case.
Now, a long prison sentence awaits Luke Smith. And there will certainly be many more assignments to come for Jerry and Maya’s newly opened, but already successful, detective agency.
The Hotel Mystery
VIP Guests
Here in the meeting, the moody receptionist noisily drummed his fingers on the table. Clearly, he didn’t think he had time to sit there.
Next to the unpleasant Bert Anderson sat his complete opposite: the friendly and always-cheerful Rita Henderson, a chef from New Orleans. Jerry’s uncle said that the manager, Ronnie Hazelwood, had a crush on Rita.
Rita dreamed of one day opening her own restaurant in France. But she didn’t have enough money, and spent most of her paychecks on lottery tickets and scratch cards, hoping to
win big. During the meeting, she was scratching a card with a penny.
“Useless!” She laughed and ruffled Jerry’s hair. “I didn’t even win a dollar! But one day I’ll hit the jackpot, and then I’ll be off to France!”
Opposite friendly Rita sat Pierre Chalottes, a dark-haired and sad-looking housekeeper from France. Pierre didn’t say much, but Jerry and Maya had noticed how he and Rita liked to sit together and whisper during their lunch breaks.
“Well, now,” said Ronnie Hazelwood. “The hotel’s holiday celebrations are under way.” The manager’s whole face lit up with a smile. “Maya is helping Rita bake a big gingerbread house, which will go in reception. First thing tomorrow morning, Jerry will decorate the tree in the lounge. We’ll hand out the holiday presents there at 4:00 p.m. I’ll dress up as Santa Claus—or do you think we should have a reindeer this year? That could be a part for you, Bert!”
The hotel manager chuckled and gave Bert a friendly thump on the back. Maya saw Bert’s upper lip twitch slightly. Some might have thought it was the beginning of a smile, but Maya suspected it was more of a snarl, and that Bert Anderson would like to bite his boss’s hand.
“Anyway,” the hotel manager continued, without noticing his receptionist’s annoyance, “tomorrow is not only Christmas Eve, but also a very important day for the hotel. The Braeburn family has reserved the hotel’s best suite. The family plans to stay for quite a while. This means a lot of money for the hotel, and goodness knows we certainly need it. We all must make sure that everything runs perfectly during their stay.”
Jerry and Maya could see that the manager was nervous.
“Mr. and Mrs. Braeburn will be here with their daughter, Pippin, and a small dog, Winston.”
The manager continued talking about the wealthy family: “Mr. Braeburn made it very clear that Winston is to receive the best treatment. Otherwise he could become stressed and stop eating. Evidently, the Braeburns own a very expensive and unusual dog, and nothing bad must happen to it,” he firmly concluded.
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