The Case of the Library Monster (4 page)

It can climb.

Here is what I don’t know about the monster:

What is it?

Where is it? Is it still in the library or did it go somewhere else?

Where did it come from?

Why is it in our school?

Here is what I’m going to do to find out what I don’t know:

???

I smell that monster again as soon as Mom opens the door to the school the next day. I run a little bit ahead of her, sniffing ... sniffing ... sniffing ...

I don’t think the monster is in this hallway right now, but it’s been here. It’s been here recently.

Sniff ... sniff ... sniff ... hey, what’s that flaky stuff over by the wall?

“Stay with me, Buddy.” Mom pulls me closer to her.

“But there’s something over there,” I say. “Don’t you see it?” I think it belongs to the monster. It might be part of its skin. Whoa!
Can this monster actually take his skin off?

Maybe he’s playing a game with me. Maybe he left some skin as a clue and now he wants me to find him.

Mom steers me around the corner. Sniff ... sniff ... sniff ... I don’t smell any monsters down this hallway.

“Can we go back the other way?” I ask Mom. “Maybe we should check the library and see if the monster went back in there?”

Mom has no idea what I’m saying. I’m not sure she even knows I’m trying to talk to her. It’s so frustrating when humans don’t understand.

Mom leads me into the main office, then into her office, and points to my pillow. “Lie down, Buddy,” she says.

I lie down. Mom shuffles over to her desk, turns on her computer, and sits down. The light above her flickers one or seven times. She raises her eyes, sighs, and gets to work.

When Ellie comes in, she says good morning to Mom, then tosses me a treat. Hey, this is a NEW treat. Beef instead of liver. I LOVE beef treats. They’re my favorite food!

“Can I please have another one?” I ask Ellie with my eyes.

The phone rings and Ellie reaches for the phone instead of a treat. “Hello? Four Lakes Elementary School,” she says. “Yes ... yes ... hmm ... I don’t think so, but I’ll check and get back to you.”

Ellie hangs up the phone, then calls into Mom’s office, “That was Bob, the Reptile Guy on the phone. He thinks he may have left a box of baby mice in the library when he was here yesterday. Do you know if we’ve found a box of mice?”

“Mice?” Mom’s eyebrows rise. “Do you mean
live
mice?”

“That’s what it sounds like,” Ellie says.

“I doubt it,” Mom says. “But check with Mrs. Warner to be sure.”

“Okay.” Ellie picks up her phone and calls Mrs. Warner. While she’s on the phone, Mr. Poe tromps into the main office.

“Hello, Mr. Poe,” I say. I like Mr. Poe. He always smells good. Today he smells like wood and oil.

I don’t think Mr. Poe sees me lying here in Mom’s office. He steps over to the board with all the keys on it. He stares at it for a while, then turns toward Mom’s office. “Do you know where the key to the furnace room is, Sarah?” he asks.

“Isn’t it hanging on the board?” Mom asks.

“No. It’s not,” says Mr. Poe.

Mom scoots her chair back and marches over to that board.

I can see from where I’m lying that there’s an empty hook on the bottom row. Is there supposed to be a key on that hook?

“That’s odd,” Mom says, scratching her chin. “If it’s not hanging here with the other keys, I don’t know where it would be. When was the last time you saw it?”

“I don’t know,” Mr. Poe says. “I haven’t been in the furnace room since last spring. But it’s getting colder outside, so I wanted to check the furnace today.”

“I noticed that key was missing last week,” Ellie says as she hangs up the phone. “I assumed you had it, Mr. Poe. Nobody else ever goes down there.”

“I don’t have it,” Mr. Poe says.

It sounds like there’s another mystery to solve around here: The Case of the Missing Key.

All of a sudden, the light in Mom’s office flickers and goes out.

Mom groans. “I thought I just had a loose connection in there. Looks like I need a new bulb.”

“I’ll go get you one,” Mr. Poe says.

As soon as he leaves, Mrs. Christie pokes her head into the office. “Are you ready to go to the library, Buddy?” she asks me.

“I’m always ready to go to the library,” I say, hopping to my feet. I LOVE the library. It’s my favorite place!

Mrs. Christie leads me down the hall. Sniff ... sniff ... sniff ...
I smell monster!
I also smell pencils, crayons, glue, paint, lots and lots of humans ... and as soon as we turn down the hall that leads to the library, I smell monster again! The scent is getting stronger.

Now we’re in the library. I’m still sniffing ... sniffing ... sniffing ... where is that monster???

“Do you need to go outside, Buddy?” Mrs. Christie asks. “Maybe I should take you out before the kids come.”

“No, I don’t need to go outside,” I tell Mrs. Christie. “I need to find the monster.”

But Mrs. Christie takes me outside anyway. I sigh and quickly do my business. When we get back inside, I search the library some more.

I don’t think the monster is here right now.
So where is he?

I spend the morning listening to ten or three kids read to me. A lot of the kids bring books about reptiles today instead of books about buses. So now I know what a reptile is.

A reptile:

Breathes air

Is cold-blooded

Lays eggs