Rebekah--Girl Detective #1

  Contents

  Title Page

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Next Steps

  Now Available In Audio!

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  Other Titles

  Legal Notices

  Rebekah - Girl Detective #1

  The Mysterious Garden

  By

  PJ Ryan

  Copyright © 2013 PJ Ryan

  Cover Illustration by Carolina Storni

  All rights reserved.

  PJRyanBooks.com

  “Rebekah - Girl Detective” is a short story series for children ages 9-12 with the remaining titles to be published on a regular basis. Each title can be read on its own.

  You can join Rebekah’s fun Facebook page for young detectives here:

  http://www.facebook.com/RebekahGirlDetective

  I’d really love to hear from you!

  I very much appreciate your reviews and comments so thank you in advance for taking a moment to leave one for “The Mysterious Garden”.

  Sincerely,

  PJ Ryan

  Chapter 1

  “Chirp, chirp,” said the stuffed bear. Rebekah knocked it sideways and glared at the floor behind it.

  “Oh I'll find you, beast,” she hissed and waved the beam of her flashlight in rapid circles. She had been hunting the cricket for over an hour. It really was not fair to lay down for a nice sleep, only to be awakened by that incessant chirping.

  “Chirp, chirp,” the bookshelf across the room called out.

  “Argh!” Rebekah squealed and lunged in its direction.

  “Rebekah!” her mother cried out from the doorway of her attic bedroom. “What in the world are you doing? The whole house can hear you tromping and stomping around up here,” she shook her head as she stifled a yawn. “We're trying to sleep.”

  “Well, so am I,” Rebekah frowned. “But there is a cricket in here somewhere, and it will not stop chirping! Shh! Listen,” she put her finger to her lips. Her mother stuck her head all the way into the room and listened very closely. After a few moments she sighed.

  “Rebekah, I don't hear anything, just go back to bed,” she groaned and headed down the stairs. Rebekah lived in a three story house, and her room was the entire third story. It was not as big as it might seem as the roof sloped sharply, but it was her own little world, and she liked it very much. That was, when there was not a cricket living in it with her.

  Once her mother was gone, Rebekah collapsed on her bed. She was exhausted from a day of playing soccer and investigating the latest mystery in her tiny town of Curtis Bay. As she stretched out in her small daybed, she tried to fall asleep faster than the cricket could chirp. It always seemed to help her fall asleep to sort through whatever mystery was on her mind.

  Rebekah was determined to be the latest and greatest detective to hit the streets and she saw no reason to wait until she was a grown up. At nine, she was certain that she could do a better job than most. So whenever she spotted something even the slightest bit off, she would do her best to get to the bottom of it.

  Like, why did the mailman always deliver the mail at the same exact time, except on Thursdays when he delivered a half hour later? Why if garbage cans were put out at the curb standing straight up, were they often found face down when she returned from school?

  These were the type of questions that she absolutely had to have answered. Of course it was easy to figure out that Mr. Mason, who was the mailman for her neighborhood was a half hour later on Thursday's because he always stopped by for a free ice cream cone at Lyle's Ice Cream Parlor. The ice cream cones were only free from 3pm to 4pm on Thursdays.

  And she soon discovered that it was only polite to place the cans upside down, showing that the trash had been taken and they were empty. But there were also bigger questions to answer, like why did the principal always show up late for school when it rained? Why did recess last five extra minutes on Fridays?

  The mystery currently weighing on her mind, was the disappearing flowers. Her town had a community garden, and she would always stop by to water the plants. Lately she had noticed that flowers were disappearing! So far she had interviewed the gardener, Mr. Polson.

  “And just where are these flowers going?” she had asked, with her notebook flipped open and pen ready to jot down notes.

  “I'm not sure,” Mr. Polson sighed as he leaned on his shovel.

  “Well, they did not just get up and walk away did they?” she asked as politely as she could.

  “Well no,” Mr. Polson grumbled. “I didn't see any flower footprints.”

  Rebekah giggled and scribbled that in her notes. “No flower footprints found at the scene.”

  As she lay in bed, reviewing the clues, she was just about to fall asleep.

  “Chirp, chirp!” her pillow cried out.

  “Argh!” Rebekah jumped up and threw her pillow across the room. But there was no cricket to be found.

  Chapter 2

  The next day at school Rebekah was feeling very sleepy. She and the cricket had fought all night. She still had not found that bug.

  "Are you okay?" her best friend Mouse asked. Mouse was not called Mouse because of his size, which was average for a boy of nine, but because he always carried around a mouse in his pocket. He reached down and fed the mouse a piece of cheese.

  "Which one is that?" Rebekah asked. Mouse had at least twenty mice for pets. He could tell them all apart, but no one else could.

  "Einstein," he replied with a grin. "He likes the sunshine."

  It was a very bright and sunny day. Normally Rebekah would be looking forward to soccer practice in the afternoon, but today she was dreaming of a nap.

  "Anything new on the flower thief?" Mouse asked, and Einstein squeaked for another piece of cheese.

  "No," Rebekah sighed and narrowed her eyes as she looked across the playground. "Why would anyone steal flowers, when they could just pick them?" she wondered.

  "Maybe they don't like flowers," Mouse suggested with a shrug.

  "Who wouldn't like flowers?" Rebekah laughed.

  AAACHOO!

  They both jumped at the sound of the huge sneeze behind them.

  "Oh how I hate spring," Mrs. McGonal moaned as she trudged past them.

  "You hate spring?" Rebekah asked quickly. "Why?"

  Mrs. McGonal blew her nose in a tissue and then smiled. "Oh sorry, I shouldn't say hate, I just have such terrible allergies to all of the pollen. It is a beautiful time of year for most people, but for me," she held up the box of tissues she was carrying. "It is allergy season."

  "Hm," Rebekah whipped out her small notebook and jotted down a note.

  "Do you think Mrs. McGonal stole the flowers?" Mouse whispered.

  "No," Rebekah frowned. "She may be grumpy, but she is not usually mean. I don't think she would do it."

  "Then who?" Mouse asked as he too looked over the playground.

  Rebekah scowled across the basketball court at a young boy who was huddled near the water fountain.

  "Ernie," she replied with a growl. "I think Ernie is behind this."

  "Ernie?" Mouse asked with surprise. "But he's so quiet, and he never bothers anyone."

  Ernie was very shy and tended to stay by himself. Whenever they were on the playground he would stay near the water fountain and pretend to be thirsty if anyone walked up to him.

  "Exactly," Rebekah nodded firmly. "It is the quiet ones that you have to watch out for. They are always u
p to something."

  Mouse tilted his head to the side, wondering how Ernie could ever be up to anything, but he knew better than to argue with Rebekah. Once she had a suspect, she would not give up until she had proof.

  "First, we have to find some evidence," Rebekah smirked as she stood up from the bench she was sitting on.

  "And how are you going to do that?" Mouse asked and tucked Einstein back into his pocket as a teacher walked past.

  "I'm going to make friends," Rebekah said with a bright smile and began to stride across the playground.

  Chapter 3

  When Ernie saw Rebekah walking toward him, he ducked his head and pretended to be drinking from the water fountain. Rebekah waited patiently for him to finish. After drinking what must have been a gallon, Ernie looked up at her shyly.

  “Thirsty?” she asked and smiled.

  “Uh, a little,” he nodded.

  “I'm Rebekah,” she held out her hand in a friendly way of saying hello.

  “I know,” he cleared his throat and stared at her hand.

  “Just a little handshake,” she widened her smile and wiggled her fingers.

  Ernie blushed and wiped his hand on his jeans before he shook hers. She grabbed his hand tightly and flipped it over, studying his nails closely.

  “Hm, Ernie, I see there is soil under your fingernails,” she leaned a little closer.

  “Hey,” Ernie protested and tugged his hand free. “What's this about?” he demanded and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  Rebekah began to march solemnly back and forth with her hands clasped behind her back. “This is about flowers Ernie,” she glanced over at him sharply. “Stolen flowers, from the community garden.”

  Ernie winced and shuffled his feet. “I don't know anything about that,” he muttered.

  “So you've never been to the garden?” Rebekah suddenly asked.

  “Well, I didn't say that,” he mumbled and cringed.

  “Which is it Ernie, you know nothing, or you know something?” Rebekah demanded, poking her nose close to his.

  “Neither, both, ugh!” Ernie covered his face with his hands. He was trembling like a leaf. Rebekah would have felt badly, were it not for the tell tale soil under his fingernails.

  “Well, well, Ernie. I think I have caught my flower thief,” she smirked.

  “No you haven't,” he growled and shook his head. “I go to the garden at night, because I am too shy to volunteer,” he held out his fingernails. “They get dirty because I weed the garden.”

  Rebekah's eyebrow shot high up along her forehead. “And I am supposed to believe you because?”

  Ernie hung his head. “I don't know, but it's tue. You can ask Mr. Polson he is the one that lets me in.”

  Rebekah tapped her chin thoughtfully. She whipped out her small notepad and scribbled down this new information.

  Mr. Polson has secrets!! she wrote.

  “You're off the hook,” Rebekah said and started to walk away, then she stopped, and turned back. “For now,” she added in a gravelly voice.

  Ernie gulped, and went for another drink of water.

  Chapter 4

  Later that day when Rebekah arrived at the community garden she decided to check out Ernie's story.

  “Mr. Polson, does a kid named Ernie come here at night to weed the garden?” she asked before even saying hello.

  “Why yes,” Mr. Polson nodded. “Ernie's a good kid. He always cleans up the garden nicely, and makes sure things are tidied up before he leaves.”

  “And you don't think he has anything to do with the disappearing flowers?” Rebekah asked as she whipped out her notepad and poised her pen above it.

  “No way,” Mr. Polson shook his head. “Ernie wouldn't do anything to hurt the flowers.”

  Rebekah sighed as she realized that so far she had two suspects, but neither of them seemed to be the culprit. She wondered if that cricket keeping her awake at night was causing her to lose her detective mojo. She decided to spend some time watering the flowers, so that she could think things through. Her favorite watering can was lime green and had a deep bucket. It could water nearly the entire garden without having to be refilled, but it was a bit heavy. The garden was filled with all different colors and types of flowers. It even had a section for berries and vegetables. Anyone in the community could donate a small fee, and take from the garden a portion of the food. It was a great resource for the entire neighborhood. That was why it seemed so odd to her that anyone would want to hurt or destroy it. As she reached the end of the garden, she gasped.

  “Mr. Polson!” she shouted in a high pitched voice.

  “What is it? Are you okay?” he asked as he ran up out of breath.

  “Look!” Rebekah pointed to the empty holes where flowers had once been. “How could more be gone?” she moaned.

  “Well I just don't know,” Mr. Polson sighed and scratched his head. “It's a real mystery.”

  “Yes, yes it is,” Rebekah said with a frown. She finished watering the flowers and then hurried off to soccer practice.

  Mouse sat on the bleachers watching Rebekah played. He preferred to watch sports, rather than play them. Rebekah chased the ball up and down the field. She always played better when she had a mystery on her mind. By the time practice was over, the coach was praising her for her speed.

  “Great job Rebekah, you really hustled out there.”

  Rebekah took a big gulp of her water and smiled. “Thanks coach,” she said, but her smile soon faded. She could not get the missing flowers off of her mind.

  “I think tonight, we should check on our friend Ernie ourselves,” she said to Mouse as she took another drink.

  “I don't know Rebekah, he seems so shy, we might upset him,” Mouse warned.

  “Or we might catch him stealing flowers,” she replied darkly.

  “Alright,” Mouse nodded, but he was not convinced.

  Chapter 5

  They waited until sunset and then returned to the community garden. Mr. Polson was just leaving, and they could see Ernie in the garden, weeding by the overhead lights. There was no one else in the garden with him.

  "Let's go," Rebekah said from behind the parked car they had hidden behind.

  "Rebekah, are you sure?" Mouse started to ask, but it was too late. Rebekah was already walking into the garden.

  "Hello there Ernie," she said as she crossed her arms and settled her eyes on him. Ernie jumped right out of his skin, at least that's what it felt like. He looked up at Rebekah and winced.

  "What is it now?" he asked with a frown. "See, just weeds," he held up the weeds in his hands.

  "Likely story," Rebekah mumbled and began to pace back and forth behind him.

  "Oh Rebekah it looks like he's just weeding the garden," Mouse hissed when he caught up with her.

  "Yes, that's what it looks like," she said quietly.

  All of the sudden the lights above them began flickering, like strobe light.

  "What's happening?" Mouse asked nervously as he looked up at the lights. Rebekah was puzzled as she watched the lights flicker.

  "Very suspicious," she mumbled as she looked around the garden.

  "It's been happening the past couple nights," Ernie admitted. "I told Mr. Polson, but he didn't find anything wrong with the lights," he lowered his voice. "It's really kind of spooky."

  Rebekah started to walk toward one of the lights, but as she did, all of the lights suddenly went completely dark. The sun had finished setting, and the garden was very dark since there were no houses or buildings too close to it.

  "Ah!" Mouse gasped. "What could make the lights go out?"

  "Maybe our flower thief is more clever than we thought," Rebekah frowned.

  "Maybe it's a ghost," Ernie suggested. "Ghosts like the dark."

  "He's right, it could be a ghost," Mouse said quickly.

  "No it couldn't," Rebekah countered. "Even if ghosts were real, which they are not, why would a ghost be in a garden? Why would a gh
ost steal flowers?"

  Ernie lifted his chin high in the air. "You're the investigator, aren't you?"

  Rebekah rolled her eyes and pulled out her keys from her pocket. She had a small penlight attached to her key chain so that she would always be able to see into small dark spaces. It didn't do much to light up the garden, but at least she could see if anymore flowers were disappearing. When she saw the leaves of one plant rustling she rushed forward, expecting to catch the thief. Instead her foot found an empty space where ground should have been.

  “Ugh,” she gasped as she lost her balance and her ankle twisted. She had stepped into a hole in the ground. She fell forward and managed to break her fall with her hands. She flopped on the ground and blew her hair out of her face as she looked up at the two boys above her.

  “Are you okay?” they asked at the same time.

  “I think so,” she replied, and looked past them at the plant that had been shaking. Only, there was no plant to see. It had disappeared!

  “Oh, the thief got another one!” she sighed and sat up in the dirt. Her shoulders slumped.

  “Some investigator I am,” she shook her head.

  “You're a great investigator,” Mouse said firmly.

  “Yeah, you sure try hard,” Ernie encouraged. “Look how close you came.”

  “Yes that's true,” Rebekah nodded. “I would have caught that thief if it weren't for the trap it set for me,” she growled and glared at the hole she had tripped in. “Who would go around a garden digging holes?”

  “Uh, a gardener?” Mouse muttered.

  “Maybe a gh-”

  “Don't say ghost,” Rebekah growled. She tapped her chin lightly as she thought about the situation. Somehow the thief had managed to turn out all of the lights in the garden. The thief had also left behind traps to keep her from catching it.

  “This is a very stealth thief,” she said quietly. She crept over to the hole she had tripped in. It was just big enough for her foot to get stuck in. She shone the penlight into the hole.