Read Monsters and Mischief Online
Authors: Dan Poblocki
Monsters and Mischief (13 page)
Viola, Sylvester, and Woodrow sat there thinking, almost stumped. Finally, Sylvester raised his head. “Mrs. Chelzwert stunk,” he said.
“Sylvester!” said Viola. “You don’t have to be rude.”
“I’m not being rude,” said Sylvester. “That must have been Greg’s final clue.” Rosie smiled and nodded for him to continue. “Rosie said that when he’d opened the tapeworm jar, he noticed a horrible stench. Whoever had retrieved the items from the jars probably got some of that preservative fluid on herself. Hence, she’s a stinker. If Greg smelled the same aroma on his substitute teacher, he would have guessed that she was the one who’d helped Faina get the stolen objects out of the science room. She probably just shoved the objects in her purse after class, locked the science room door, and walked out of the school.”
Rosie nodded again. “According to Greg, her purse still smelled that morning. She put the wet, stinky dollar bills right into her wallet!”
“Gosh,” said Woodrow. “No wonder all the Chelzwert kids seem so strange. Their parents are probably career criminals.”
“Makes you feel grateful for the nice teachers we’ve ended up with this year,” said Viola. “They could have been so much worse!”
“What’s Greg going to do?” asked Woodrow.
“He’s already told the high school principal,” said Rosie. “They’re investigating.”
“Ha,” Sylvester exclaimed. “Now they’re gonna have to get a substitute for the substitute!”
The clock in front of the library struck eight, the chimes ringing out a slow indication that the day was winding down. Each of the four stood up and said good-bye, reluctantly heading toward their own houses, yet certain that they’d have a reason to find one another at the Four Corners soon enough. They felt lucky. Moon Hollow was that kind of town.
ABOUT THE AUTHORDan Poblocki is the author of
The Stone Child
and
The Nightmarys
. Like many writers, he’s had a long list of strange jobs. Dan has traveled New Jersey as a bathing suit salesman, played the role of Ichabod Crane in a national tour of
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
, wrangled the audience for
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
, sold snacks at
The Lion King’s
theater on Broadway, recommended books at Barnes & Noble, answered phones for Columbia University, and done research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He has never been a detective though, and after writing the Mysterious Four books, he thinks he might just give it a try.Visit the author at www.danpoblocki.com.
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Copyright © 2011 by Dan Poblocki
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First printing, October 2011
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E-ISBN 978-0-545-38820-7