McKenzie’s Branson Brainteaser by Shari Barr

business is located. Everybody simply refers to him as that quiet woodcarver who keeps to himself.” Miss Val parked the car in the driveway at her house.
    McKenzie sighed. “Nobody knows him, but we see his crafts all through Branson. That’s kind of strange.”
    Miss Val nodded as they walked to the front door. “Mr. Ford is doing an awfully good job of preventing his family from finding him. He must really have some hurt feelings.”
    â€œI don’t think we’re ever going to find him.” For the first time, McKenzie felt the case was hopeless.
    Miss Val unlocked the door and ushered the girls inside. She flipped a table light on and turned to the girls. “I want you to find this man, and I think God does, too. It sounds to me like the entire family needs to forgive each other. You’ve come this far in solving the mystery; don’t give up now. That family needs you.”
    McKenzie nodded. Shara had become a good friend, and McKenzie wanted to help her family. She thought of the mysteries the Camp Club Girls had solved together. God had brought Shara and her together for a reason, and McKenzie knew she couldn’t quit now.
    Miss Val asked, “Do you girls still want to camp out tonight?”
    â€œSure. Where should we pitch our tent?” McKenzie asked.
    Miss Val answered, “I know the perfect spot. There’s a fire pit down by the creek where you could set up your tent on the bank and have a campfire. How does that sound?”
    â€œOoh, that sounds great!” McKenzie looked eagerly at Sydney. “But can we chat with the Camp Club Girls for a couple of minutes before we leave? We want to fill them in on our investigation.”
    â€œSure,” Miss Val agreed. “I’ll pack a cooler while you chat, and then we’ll load up the SUV, and I’ll drive you down to the creek.”
    The girls hurried to the computer while Miss Val brought a large cooler in from the garage and began filling it with ice and goodies. The girls logged on to the Camp Club Girls chat room.
    â€œEverybody’s here except Kate. It’s late in Philadelphia, so she’s probably already in bed.” McKenzie looked at the clock.
    Bailey:
Where have you been? Thought maybe you forgot about us
.
    Sydney:
We’ve been out looking for the statue we saw while out on the lake the other day, and we found it in some man’s yard! Actually the statue is two fairies instead of one. It’s a set of carved twins. We even saw the initials on the statue. The man thinks he got it at a place called Twin Falls Crafters. He thought the artist carved a lot of twin figures back then, but he thinks the guy changed the name of his business. He had never heard the name Reggie Ford or Shara Smiles
.
    Bailey:
At first you couldn’t find any of his work. Now, you’re finding two of everything. I’m going to call him the Twin man
.
    McKenzie laughed. Bailey was always coming up with nicknames for people.
    Sydney:
That’s a good one, Bailey. He does carve lots of things in pairs
.
    Alexis:
I’ve been looking at that note you scanned. There’s a dark spot on one corner. Did something spill on it? Check it out. It could be a clue
.
    McKenzie glanced at Sydney.
Did we overlook a clue?
    â€œGirls,” Miss Val hollered from the kitchen. “I’ll be ready in five minutes, so you’d better get ready.”
    The girls promised to keep in touch before signing off and racing upstairs. McKenzie stuffed bug spray, Kate’s night vision goggles, the bag of kettle corn, and taffy in her duffel bag.
    A girl can never have too many snacks
, she thought. She spotted the anonymous note on the dresser and dropped it in her bag.
    Minutes later the girls piled into Miss Val’s SUV. Since they had so much gear to take with them, Miss Val had offered to drive them the half mile to the camping site. The back end was crammed with sleeping bags, a tent,