----
Sandpiper
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT
Boston ⢠New York
----
Copyright © 2007 by Bruce Hale
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Sandpiper,
an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company,
Boston, Massachusetts. Originally published in hardcover in the
United States by Harcourt Children's Books, an imprint of
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, New York, 2007.
SANDPIPER and the SANDPIPER logo are trademarks of
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should
be submitted online at www.harcourt.com/contact or mailed to the
following address: Permissions Department, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishing Company, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.
www.sandpiperbooks.com
The text of this book is set in Bembo.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Hale, Bruce.
Hiss me deadly/Bruce Hale.
p. cm.
Summary: Chet Gecko is hired by Principal Zero
to investigate the disappearance of valuable items from
Emerson Hicky Elementaryâincluding Mama Gecko's pearls.
[1. GeckosâFiction. 2. AnimalsâFiction. 3. SchoolsâFiction.
4. StealingâFiction. 5. Humorous stories. 6. Mystery
and detective stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.H1295Hi 2007
[Fic]âdc22 2007002952
ISBN 978-0-15-205482-3
ISBN 978-0-15-206424-2 pb
Printed in the United States of America
DOH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
----
To my best buddy Betsu: Friends 4-eva, brah!
----
----
A private message from the private eye ...
I'm Chet Gecko, best lizard detective at Emerson Hicky Elementary. (True, there are no
other
lizard detectives, but let's not quibble over details.)
I am an only child. I have
only
one sister. And that's plenty more than enough, believe me.
I don't have to look up my family tree because I know that I'm the sap. When my sister got robbed, she turned to me for help. And like a dope, I jumped in with both feet.
But a simple case of theft soon grew more challenging than playing Chinese checkers on a bucking bronco. Valuables started vanishing from school, and the top brass called me in. True, I don't know all that much about theft, but I do know what time it is when
a possum steals your refrigerator: time to get a new refrigerator.
I followed the twisty trail of clues until I'd unearthed more suspects than a zombie membership drive. The more I learned, the less I knew. (Of course, this happens to me at school all the time.)
The heat was on. As I drew closer to uncovering the shadowy puppet master behind it all, I got myself in a spot tighter than a blue whale's bikini. Would I make it out with my skin?
Not to worry. As any detective will tell you, it's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.
1. Sub Sandwich
You could attend Emerson Hicky Elementary for a long time without knowing its substitute teachers. And you could know its subs for a long time without meeting Barbara Dwyer.
And that would be just swell.
Barb Dwyer was a sourpuss porcupine with a face like a bucket of mud. From the tips of her many quills to the shapeless hat on her head, she was a surly sub, and she didn't care who knew it.
I could have gone my whole life without meeting her. But because Mr. Ratnose called in sick one gray Wednesday, we were stuck with the dame.
Through math and English classes she had ridden us hard, like a rhino going piggyback on a house cat.
We were taking a breather, doing some silent reading. Most of the kids favored
Winnie the Poobah,
our assignment.
I had slipped the latest
Amazing Mantis-Man
comic book inside old
Winnie.
Private eyes like to live dangerously.
A gentle whisper broke my concentration.
"Chet?" It was Shirley Chameleon, leaning across the aisle.
I gave her a look. She was worth looking at. Shirley had big green peepers, a curly tail, and a laugh like the pitter-pat of raindrops on
Sandpiper
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT
Boston ⢠New York
----
Copyright © 2007 by Bruce Hale
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Sandpiper,
an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company,
Boston, Massachusetts. Originally published in hardcover in the
United States by Harcourt Children's Books, an imprint of
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, New York, 2007.
SANDPIPER and the SANDPIPER logo are trademarks of
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should
be submitted online at www.harcourt.com/contact or mailed to the
following address: Permissions Department, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishing Company, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.
www.sandpiperbooks.com
The text of this book is set in Bembo.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Hale, Bruce.
Hiss me deadly/Bruce Hale.
p. cm.
Summary: Chet Gecko is hired by Principal Zero
to investigate the disappearance of valuable items from
Emerson Hicky Elementaryâincluding Mama Gecko's pearls.
[1. GeckosâFiction. 2. AnimalsâFiction. 3. SchoolsâFiction.
4. StealingâFiction. 5. Humorous stories. 6. Mystery
and detective stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.H1295Hi 2007
[Fic]âdc22 2007002952
ISBN 978-0-15-205482-3
ISBN 978-0-15-206424-2 pb
Printed in the United States of America
DOH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
----
To my best buddy Betsu: Friends 4-eva, brah!
----
----
A private message from the private eye ...
I'm Chet Gecko, best lizard detective at Emerson Hicky Elementary. (True, there are no
other
lizard detectives, but let's not quibble over details.)
I am an only child. I have
only
one sister. And that's plenty more than enough, believe me.
I don't have to look up my family tree because I know that I'm the sap. When my sister got robbed, she turned to me for help. And like a dope, I jumped in with both feet.
But a simple case of theft soon grew more challenging than playing Chinese checkers on a bucking bronco. Valuables started vanishing from school, and the top brass called me in. True, I don't know all that much about theft, but I do know what time it is when
a possum steals your refrigerator: time to get a new refrigerator.
I followed the twisty trail of clues until I'd unearthed more suspects than a zombie membership drive. The more I learned, the less I knew. (Of course, this happens to me at school all the time.)
The heat was on. As I drew closer to uncovering the shadowy puppet master behind it all, I got myself in a spot tighter than a blue whale's bikini. Would I make it out with my skin?
Not to worry. As any detective will tell you, it's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.
1. Sub Sandwich
You could attend Emerson Hicky Elementary for a long time without knowing its substitute teachers. And you could know its subs for a long time without meeting Barbara Dwyer.
And that would be just swell.
Barb Dwyer was a sourpuss porcupine with a face like a bucket of mud. From the tips of her many quills to the shapeless hat on her head, she was a surly sub, and she didn't care who knew it.
I could have gone my whole life without meeting her. But because Mr. Ratnose called in sick one gray Wednesday, we were stuck with the dame.
Through math and English classes she had ridden us hard, like a rhino going piggyback on a house cat.
We were taking a breather, doing some silent reading. Most of the kids favored
Winnie the Poobah,
our assignment.
I had slipped the latest
Amazing Mantis-Man
comic book inside old
Winnie.
Private eyes like to live dangerously.
A gentle whisper broke my concentration.
"Chet?" It was Shirley Chameleon, leaning across the aisle.
I gave her a look. She was worth looking at. Shirley had big green peepers, a curly tail, and a laugh like the pitter-pat of raindrops on
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