The Sword Maker's Seal by Trevor Schmidt

school.”
    â€œHe started it,” Carson yelled, his face turning pale.
    â€œI saw the whole thing, kid, now beat it before I call your parents,” he said forebodingly.
    He turned to Ezra and asked, “You all right?”
    â€œYeah, and you didn’t have to—I had everything under control,” Ezra said and looked to his feet.
    â€œI’m sure you did, but I wanted something to be known.”
    Detective Reinhart turned back toward Carson.
    â€œIf I catch anyone messing with Ezra or his friends they’ll have to answer to me,” he said with a dark voice.
    Detective Reinhart released Carson, who grabbed his bag and ran off without once looking back.
    â€œOh yeah, Ezra, I came by for another reason. First, we caught Edmund Dillinger. Last night our chief got in contact with the London Police and informed them of Mr. Dillinger’s involvement as the mastermind of the heist. They went to question him and he was gone, but with a little persuading, his housekeeper let it slip that Mr. Dillinger was leaving the country. They found him boarding a plane for China.
    Ezra crossed his arms and a confused look crossed his face.
    â€œIf he’s rich enough to go anywhere, why choose China?” he asked.
    â€œChina doesn’t extradite to the U.S. He wouldn’t have to worry about anyone coming after him and his money, supposing he kept it in a foreign bank account the Brits wouldn’t be able to freeze, would be worth much more.”
    â€œI guess that’s true.”
    â€œNow to my next item of business. My station is starting an after-school program for future detectives and I think you would be just right for it. We’ll train you to one day be a detective yourself and solve crimes for a police station or the government. I’m sure you’ve always wanted to work for the FBI?”
    Well, I’ve actually always wanted to be a zombie hunter, but I guess I’d settle for the FBI, he thought, and then said, “Sounds like a blast! How do I sign up?”
    Detective Reinhart smiled and continued, “Come down to the station next week and we’ll talk about it.”
    Ezra thanked him and walked home with Addie and the twins. The walk was always nice on fall afternoons; when it wasn’t raining, that is. He wanted to take his time on his walk before the weather turned and began raining every day.
    Madison and Mason went back to bickering and shoving each other around, this time it was over whose turn it was to make dinner.
    â€œI don’t want to cook,” Madison argued. “But anything is better than TV dinners like you would make.”
    â€œIf I have to suffer through spaghetti again I’m moving in with Ezra!”
    Ezra and Addie walked along behind the quarrelling twins. Addie looked over at old Mr. Jenkins watering his flowers; but when Ezra looked he saw an old man scowling, surely hiding a grave secret.
    Addie glanced across the street at a moving van and two movers carrying a long black bag; Ezra saw two men throwing a bag the shape of a limp body into the back of the van.
    For each scene he saw on the walk home, he created a mystery in his head, which he had to solve. He began to see details underneath the broad picture, which was what he was used to seeing. Everything around him turned into a mystery. Something he needed to solve. He looked to Addie, then to Madison and Mason. He knew that this was just the beginning. He knew there were countless mysteries left to solve and that he would be there to solve them.