Elizabeth Wrobel

        My name is Sam Sleuth. Well, it's really Samantha Green, but Sam Sleuth looks better on the tree house window. It attracts more clients. I'm a detective. I help out with all the big crimes in the neighborhood. I've brought down a lot of bad guys in this area. But one case really stands out to me. It was the most exciting and most delicious case I've ever worked on…
     It was summertime when Sara Jane Wilson came to see me.
     "Sam Sleuth," I heard her tiny voice call from down on the ground. I was sitting in my tree house at my desk, waiting for clients. I knew her voice. I also knew she was afraid of heights. A good detective keeps an eye out for little details like that. I climbed down the rope ladder so she wouldn't have to climb up. Knowing that about her made a good first impression. By showing her I care, there's a better chance of her hiring me. When I got down there, Sara Jane was staring at the grass. I could see her knuckles turning white because she was holding on so tightly to the skirt of her pink sun dress. She was nervous. Anytime Sara Jane was nervous, she held her clothes. She stared at the ground. She was so quiet. She was almost whispering.
     "How can I help you, Miss Wilson?" I asked in my most professional voice.
     "My dog is in trouble," she answered.
     "Is he missing?" I asked.
     "No. See, my sister, Alisha, and I are staying with Grandfather for the summer. Rover's my dog, not hers. Grandpa really didn't want Rover to come, but he said yes after I begged," she explained.
     I nodded. My brother had a pet spider that our grandparents don't really like, but Ethan always gets his way.
      "Today when Grandfather and I came home from the grocery store, the cookie jar was open," Sara Jane continued. "Rover had crumbs in his mouth. Grandfather was sure he was eating cookies. Rover has also been chewing up Grandfather's shoes. Now, after the cookie thing, he won't let Rover stay with us anymore. I know Rover is innocent. I know you can prove it so Rover can stay here all summer. Oh! Please help me. Please!" Sara Jane begged.
     "I'll do my best," I said pulling my notebook out of my back pocket. "Take me to the crime scene."
     "The what?" Sara Jane asked.
     "Uh, the cookie jar," I rephrased.
     "Okay, follow me," she said.

    "What are you doing here?" Alisha asked me when we got to Sara Jane's house.
     "Sara Jane hired me to find the cookie snatcher," I explained, again using my most professional voice. I didn't like Alisha very much. Every year she and Sara Jane spent the summer with their grandfather. Alisha was thirteen. Only one year older than me. She was always snotty. She acted like she was so much better than other people. Still, I agreed to help Sara Jane with this case. A good detective never lets personal feelings get in the way of his or her job.
     "Rover is the one who ate the cookies." Alisha rolled her eyes. "I don't know why Grandfather doesn't make you get rid of that mutt."
     "Because I love Rover!" Sara Jane cried. "He's my best friend."
     "Don't leave the room. I'll need to question you after I examine the crime scene," I told Alisha.
     Alisha rolled her eyes again. "You can play your little detective game all you want, but I have plans. I'm going to a party. I'll be upstairs getting ready."
     I groaned. Little detective game? It made me mad when people told me what I did was just a game.
     "Alisha could be a suspect," I told Sara Jane. It would have been great if Alisha was a suspect. "Now, where's the cookie jar?"
     "Through there, come on." Sara Jane pushed opened the kitchen door. I followed her to the counter where the cover was back on the cookie jar.
     "Let me think about this," I said, tapping my finger on my chin. Rover wanted a cookie. He got up on his hind legs and hit the cookie jar with his front paw until the cover fell off. Then he put his paw inside, knocking the cookie jar on it's side. "Were there any crumbs on the counter?" I asked.
     "I don't think so," Sara Jane said in a low voice.
     "That's all right," I told her. "There wouldn't have to be. If Rover got a cookie out, it might have landed on the floor."
     "There were lots of crumbs on the floor." Sara Jane frowned.
     I sighed. "This isn't looking good for Rover."
     "Oh please, you have to do something," Sara Jane begged.

     "Well, what's going on in here?" Mr. Wilson came into the kitchen.
     "Hello, Grandfather."
     "Hello, Mr. Wilson." I smiled. "Sara Jane hired me to clear Rover's name."
     "Have you?" Mr. Wilson asked.
     I shook my head. "No, not yet, but I'm not giving up." I continued to think about this. I took off the cover of the cookie jar and examined it. There were no dings or cracks in it…That's when I knew I was overlooking the biggest clue of all.
     "Was the cookie jar tipped over when you found it?" I asked Mr. Wilson.
     "No," Mr. Wilson answered.
     "Were there any broken pieces of glass?"
     Mr. Wilson shook his head.
     "If Rover knocked the cover off, it would have broken when it hit the counter. The lid is in perfect condition." I explained. "Also, he would have jabbed his paw inside to get at the cookies. For him to get any out, the jar would have tipped over. Someone took the cover off and placed it gently on the counter. Sara Jane is too short, so I'm afraid Alisha did it."
     "Alisha!" Mr. Wilson called.
     "What is it, Grandfather?" Alisha asked sweetly as she entered the kitchen.
     "Did you eat cookies today after I specifically told you not to?" Mr. Wilson asked.
     "I wouldn't do anything like that, Grandfather," Alisha said. But I knew she was lying. She was acting way too phony.
     "We have proof," Sara Jane told her sister.
     That's when Alisha burst into tears. That proved she was guilty. "My friend, May, said we wouldn't get caught. She said it would be okay. We each took a cookie. Then I heard your car in the driveway. I grabbed another cookie and fed it to Rover. After that, May and I hid outside. I'm sorry, Sara Jane. I'm sorry, Grandfather."
     "I'm afraid I'm going to have to tell your parents you disobeyed me." Mr. Wilson told Alisha. "As punishment, you're going to miss that party tonight."
     "But, Grandfather," Alisha started to argue.
     "Go upstairs. We'll talk about this privately," he told her.
     Without saying a word, Alisha left the kitchen.
     "Does that mean Rover can stay all summer, Grandfather?" Sara Jane asked.
Mr. Wilson sighed, but he was smiling, too. "I guess so."
     "Oh, thank you!" Sara Jane hugged her grandfather. "Thank you, Sam Sleuth, for proving Rover didn't do it." Sara Jane then wrapped her arms around my legs.
     "You're welcome." I smiled. Another case solved. Another happy client.
     "But I don't have any money to pay you," Sara Jane said, looking down at the floor. "I should have told you before I hired you."
     "It's okay--" I started to explain that I hadn't really expected her to pay me when Mr. Wilson made a suggestion.
     "Will you take a cookie for your fee?" he offered.
     "Yes, I will, thank you." I smiled as Sara Jane handed me a cookie from the jar. It was the most delicious cookie I've ever eaten. Sara Jane can hire me anytime, as long as she pays my fee in cookies! 

~©Elizabeth Wrobel~

 

©Elizabeth Wrobel 
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