“And now, if I’m right, we can retrieve all our lost photos and this whole mystery will be concluded.”
I borrowed a pair of scissors from Mrs. Penzler and snipped open Harry’s parcel. From inside the brown paper wrapping I pulled his lunchbox with pictures of Notre Dame on it. I opened the lunchbox…
…And inside, wrapped in birthday paper (and with a note from Harry to his ex-stepmom saying: The lunchbox is mine, it’s just protecting this present.) was the fourth of those Eiffel Tower piggy banks. Flipping the piggy bank over, I removed the plastic cap from its base, held my hand out, and gave the piggy bank a shake.
A small blue memory card dropped into my hand. The class erupted in a mixture of yells and applause. I gave Harry his lunchbox and piggy bank, and I gave Izzy her memory card. She looked like she was about to kiss me, so I took a step back, just in case.
“Saxby, you’re a genius,” she said.
“I know,” I said.
After such a brilliant series of deductions, I’d expected to be the center of attention for the rest of the day. But no, everyone flocked around Danielle. They wanted to hear every last detail of the DeSalle case. By break time, Danielle Plummley was the most popular girl in the school. The only fly in the ointment was that Harry Lovecraft was even more smug and smarmy than usual. And probably would be for days. Oh well, at least this case had taught me not to jump to conclusions too quickly!
Later that day, I returned to my shed and my Thinking Chair. I’d missed it while I’d been away.
Case closed.
Simon Cheshire
spent over a decade working in the marketing departments of various publishing companies before quitting to become a full-time writer. Visit him at www.simoncheshire.co.uk.
R.W. Alley
is perhaps best known for illustrating the Paddington Bear books. He has also produced more than one hundred books, including most recently There’s a Princess in the Palace, written by his wife Zoë. They live together in Barrington, Rhode Island.
Text copyright © 2011 by Simon Cheshire
Illustrations copyright © 2011 by R.W. Alley
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Roaring Brook Press is a division of
Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
mackids.com
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cheshire, Simon.
The Pirate’s blood and other case files / Simon Cheshire; illustrated by R. W. Alley.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Saxby Smart, Private Detective)
Summary: Saxby Smart, schoolboy private detective, invites the reader to follow the clues as he investigates three cases involving hidden treasure, a string of break-ins where nothing is stolen, and a rare comic book taken from an undamaged safe.
ISBN: 978-1-4299-7589-6
[1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Schools—Fiction. 3. Pirates—Fiction. 4. Stealing—Fiction. 5. School field trips—Fiction. 6. Humorous stories.]
I. Alley, R. W. (Robert W.), ill. II. Title.
PZ7.C425213Pir 2011
[Fic]—dc22
2010029240
Roaring Brook Press books are available for special promotions and premiums. For details contact: Director of Special Markets, Holtzbrinck Publishers.
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