Great Detective Race by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Author:Gertrude Chandler Warner [Chandler Warner, Gertrude]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-2904-0
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2011-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

Jessie agreed. “I’m been thinking the same thing, Henry.”

Violet had to admit it was possible. “This is a funny place to hide a clue,” she said. “In the middle of nowhere.”

“It’s not just that,” said Henry. “Potter’s Creek is outside of town.” He paused for a moment to let them think about it. “Debra Belmont said all the clues were hidden around Greenfield.”

“But the riddle said we’d find something weird at Potter’s Creek,” Benny reminded them.

Jessie frowned. “I have a hunch somebody planted a fake clue.”

“And we fell for it,” added Henry. “That’s the kicker.”

“You mean, somebody played a trick on us?” A frown crossed Benny’s round face as the idea began to sink in. “But … why?”

Jessie had an opinion about this. “To throw us off the track.”

“I guess somebody was afraid we’d beat them to the code word,” Henry concluded.

“Who would do something like that?” Benny wondered.

“You know,” said Violet, “I keep thinking about that boy on the skateboard.”

Jessie nodded. “It does seem like an awfully strange coincidence that he was at the Morningside playground.”

“Maybe he was tracking down clues,” Benny suggested. “Just like us.”

“I wish I could believe that,” Violet said. “But I don’t.”

“Neither do I,” said Henry. “I have a hunch he was the one who tore the page from Jessie’s notebook.”

“If he did,” Violet reasoned, “then he knew we were headed for the Morningside playground.”

Jessie bit her lip. “And when we went back to get my notebook—” she began.

“He had time to get to the playground and plant the fake clue,” finished Henry.

Jessie nodded as she poured lemonade into her cup. “Remember what he said when he was signing up for the race?”

“‘Does spelling count?’” Henry replied. “Those were his exact words.”

“That would explain the spelling mistake in the message,” said Jessie.

“That’s true,” said Henry. “But we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions until we have more evidence.”

Jessie had another thought. “The boy on the skateboard isn’t the only suspect.”

The others turned to her, puzzled.

“I think we should include Amber Madison on our list.”

Benny looked confused. “But Jessie, Amber isn’t even in the race.”

“That’s right,” Violet said with a nod. “She’s only in town to promote her book.”

“But she wants an radio interview so she can promote it,” Jessie pointed out. “She wasn’t very happy to be stuck on the Late Night show—but Mike Devlin will be interviewing the winner of the race on his daytime show.”

“So, if Amber wins,” said Violet, “she’ll get an interview with Mike. Is that what you’re saying, Jessie?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“You might be on to something, Jessie,” Henry said thoughtfully. “She could’ve heard us telling Debra about all the mysteries we’ve solved.”

“That would explain why she keeps pumping us for information,” Violet realized.

Benny crunched into an apple. “You think Amber planted the fake clue?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Jessie tossed the sandwich wrappers into her backpack. “I bet she was afraid we were close to finding the code word.”

Henry had something to add. “There’s one other person we should add to our list of suspects—Debra Belmont.

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