Cam Jansen and the Birthday Mystery Read Free

for the police.”
    “But I think I saw him,” Cam said.
    She told her parents about the man on the path.

    “Cam has to tell the police what she saw,” Mrs. Jansen said. “And then, instead of sitting in the car, we can wait in the terminal, on those comfortable chairs.”
    It was a long walk across the parking lot. Cam clicked again and looked at the picture she had in her head of the man in the dark blue jacket.
    “He’s wearing a red scarf, sunglasses, and boots,” Cam said, “and he was walking very fast.”
    They were walking on the path now, with lots of other people who were on their way to the terminal. Many of them were carrying luggage. None of them was wearing a dark blue or black jacket.
    At the end of the path was a traffic light and a Walk — Don’t Walk sign. People stopped there and waited for the Walk sign to light up.
    People were waiting across the road, too. They were on their way to the parking lot. Many of them were also carrying luggage.
    Cam watched cabs ride past and let their passengers off at the curb. Then the cabs joined the end of the line waiting to take people from the airport.
    The Walk sign lit up. The path across the road was quickly crowded with people walking to and from the terminal.
    “There they are,” Eric called out. He pointed to Cam’s grandparents and the two police officers. They were looking at the long line of cabs waiting by the curb.
    Cam ran to them. She told Officer M about the man in the dark blue jacket.
    “If he’s the thief, why would he be walking in the parking lot?” Officer M asked.
    Cam was thinking about that when her parents and Eric caught up with her.
    “Did you tell them who you saw?” Cam’s mother asked.
    “Yes,” Cam answered, “but now I’m not sure he’s the thief.”
    Just then Officer Taylor pointed to a cab that had just stopped by the curb. There was a large dent in its side. Two people got out of the cab.
    “Is that the cab you were in?” she asked Cam’s grandparents.
    They turned to look at it.
    Gramps said, “It’s hard to tell from here.”

    “Let’s go,” Officer Taylor said. “Let’s take a closer look.”
    The cab started to drive off.
    “Hey! Stop!” Officer Taylor shouted.
    She and Officer M ran to the middle of the street and held up their hands.
    Granny and Gramps ran after them. Cam and Eric started to run, too.
    “Wait here,” Cam’s father told Cam and Eric. “The police don’t need your help.”
    Screech!
    The cab quickly stopped.
    Officer M poked his head into the window of the cab. Then the door on the driver’s side began to open.
    “They’ve caught him,” Eric declared. “They’ve caught the thief!”

Chapter Seven
    The driver got out of the cab. He was bald and he was wearing a blue sweater.
    “Where’s his blond hair and black jacket?” Mr. Jansen asked.
    “Maybe he was wearing a blond wig when he stole the luggage,” Eric said. “And maybe he took off his jacket.”
    The cab driver spoke to the police and Cam’s grandparents for a while. He opened the trunk of his cab. It was empty. The police thanked him. The driver got back in his car and drove off.
    “Hey,” Eric said and pointed to a cab at the end of the line. It had a large dent in its hood. “The thief may be in one of the other smashed cars.”
    Cam looked at the cab with the dented hood. Then she saw another cab stop. A man got out. He was carrying a small suitcase. Cam looked at the front of the line. A woman and a small child got into a cab while the driver loaded two large suitcases into the trunk.
    Cam’s grandparents and the two police officers returned to the curb. Eric and Cam’s parents watched them look at each of the cabs.
    Cam didn’t. She closed her eyes and said, “Click!”
    As a cab at the front of the line drove off, all the others moved up. Others kept joining the end of the line.
    Cam said, “Click!” again.

    “There’s one with a large dent on the side,” Eric said and pointed to the