his plants were turned away from the glass. But you also said that the plants usually like to soak up the sunlight. Most plant leaves will turn
toward
their light source, so if they were facing away from the glass, that would indicate that someone had moved them. The thief needed access to the window, and the plants were in the way.”
“You’re right,” said Viola. “And that was the story my father told me last night when he came home from work. The police are still unsure of who did it.”
“So, your dad asked you to help him figure out who the thief was?” said Sylvester.
Viola smiled and nodded. “He knew we might be able to help him out.”
“Ha!” said Woodrow. “Your dad’s so cool. Did you give him an answer?”
“Not yet. I wanted to get everyone else’s input. So what do you think? Do we have enough information here to figure out how to catch the thief and maybe find my dad’s artifact?”
“I think so,” said Rosie. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I know who the thief is.”
Viola sat up. “Really? Who?”
“Mallory,” said Rosie, keeping her voice low.
“No way,” said Sylvester. “The video showed that she was innocent.”
“The video showed that Mallory didn’t leave the office with the figurine,” said Rosie. “But that doesn’t mean she didn’t take it.”
“If I tell my dad that Mallory is the main suspect, he’s going to want proof.” Viola frowned. “So, what’s the proof that Mallory is our villain?”
“Can I give it a try?” said Woodrow. Rosie waved at him to continue. “Mallory was the only other person with a key to your dad’s office. She was the last one to leave the office last night. The video proves that. We also know that she didn’t leave with the figurine — the figurine had to have left via the window. But I don’t think our thief actually came in through the window.”
“What?” asked Sylvester. “How do you figure that?”
“Viola’s dad or the police would have noticed if the window had been broken … or if it had been unlocked,” Woodrow continued. “And although the plants had been moved, they
were
still on the windowsill when Mr. Hart arrived in the morning. So, they’d been moved—but they’d also been moved back. And the window had been unlocked—and then locked again.”
“Which could only have been done from the inside,” Rosie added.
“Right,” said Woodrow. “Mallory must have unlocked the window, moved the plants out of the way, and then dropped the figurine out onto the lawn. Then before leaving, she replaced the plants on the windowsill, locked both the window and the door, and strolled out of the building … and around the corner, to where her prize was waiting.”
“Wow,” said Viola. “I wonder why she did it. Money? I bet if we tell our theory to my father,he’d confront her. Maybe he can even get the figurine back!”
“Either that,” said Sylvester, “or he could just tell the police.”
“I guess so,” answered Viola. “But knowing my dad, he’ll probably want to take care of the situation himself. Threat of a ruined reputation may inspire Mallory to do what’s right. Right?”
19
THE SORROW OF HAL-MUH-NI
(A ??? MYSTERY)
By mid-December, the Timekeepers hullabaloo had nearly died out, and the Question Marks finally felt like their lives had gotten back to normal—as normal as their lives could be. The mystery of Phineas Galby still hung above them like an icicle waiting to fall, but they’d heard nothing more from him since the night at the diner.
Little things came up—like locating a classmate’s missing pencil and guessing who passed gas during math class—but the group agreed that instances like these weren’t worth a serious club meeting.
A couple of weeks before Christmas, Sylvester’s grandmother took a bus trip across the state to visit her sister in Buffalo. After a couple days, Sylvester realized that he missed having her around. And missing her had
toward
their light source, so if they were facing away from the glass, that would indicate that someone had moved them. The thief needed access to the window, and the plants were in the way.”
“You’re right,” said Viola. “And that was the story my father told me last night when he came home from work. The police are still unsure of who did it.”
“So, your dad asked you to help him figure out who the thief was?” said Sylvester.
Viola smiled and nodded. “He knew we might be able to help him out.”
“Ha!” said Woodrow. “Your dad’s so cool. Did you give him an answer?”
“Not yet. I wanted to get everyone else’s input. So what do you think? Do we have enough information here to figure out how to catch the thief and maybe find my dad’s artifact?”
“I think so,” said Rosie. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I know who the thief is.”
Viola sat up. “Really? Who?”
“Mallory,” said Rosie, keeping her voice low.
“No way,” said Sylvester. “The video showed that she was innocent.”
“The video showed that Mallory didn’t leave the office with the figurine,” said Rosie. “But that doesn’t mean she didn’t take it.”
“If I tell my dad that Mallory is the main suspect, he’s going to want proof.” Viola frowned. “So, what’s the proof that Mallory is our villain?”
“Can I give it a try?” said Woodrow. Rosie waved at him to continue. “Mallory was the only other person with a key to your dad’s office. She was the last one to leave the office last night. The video proves that. We also know that she didn’t leave with the figurine — the figurine had to have left via the window. But I don’t think our thief actually came in through the window.”
“What?” asked Sylvester. “How do you figure that?”
“Viola’s dad or the police would have noticed if the window had been broken … or if it had been unlocked,” Woodrow continued. “And although the plants had been moved, they
were
still on the windowsill when Mr. Hart arrived in the morning. So, they’d been moved—but they’d also been moved back. And the window had been unlocked—and then locked again.”
“Which could only have been done from the inside,” Rosie added.
“Right,” said Woodrow. “Mallory must have unlocked the window, moved the plants out of the way, and then dropped the figurine out onto the lawn. Then before leaving, she replaced the plants on the windowsill, locked both the window and the door, and strolled out of the building … and around the corner, to where her prize was waiting.”
“Wow,” said Viola. “I wonder why she did it. Money? I bet if we tell our theory to my father,he’d confront her. Maybe he can even get the figurine back!”
“Either that,” said Sylvester, “or he could just tell the police.”
“I guess so,” answered Viola. “But knowing my dad, he’ll probably want to take care of the situation himself. Threat of a ruined reputation may inspire Mallory to do what’s right. Right?”
19
THE SORROW OF HAL-MUH-NI
(A ??? MYSTERY)
By mid-December, the Timekeepers hullabaloo had nearly died out, and the Question Marks finally felt like their lives had gotten back to normal—as normal as their lives could be. The mystery of Phineas Galby still hung above them like an icicle waiting to fall, but they’d heard nothing more from him since the night at the diner.
Little things came up—like locating a classmate’s missing pencil and guessing who passed gas during math class—but the group agreed that instances like these weren’t worth a serious club meeting.
A couple of weeks before Christmas, Sylvester’s grandmother took a bus trip across the state to visit her sister in Buffalo. After a couple days, Sylvester realized that he missed having her around. And missing her had
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