Judy Moody, Girl Detective Read Free

compartments inside her new lunch box this morning. I must have taken off my glasses to get a closer look.”

    “And they ended up inside my lunch box!” said Jessica.
    “Judy, you know better than to get into someone else’s personal things.”
    “But I was on a case! And I did find your glasses.”
    “That’s no excuse. You wouldn’t like Jessica going through your lunch box, would you? You need to apologize.”
    “Sorry,” Judy mumbled. She, Judy Moody, was in a mood. A why-do-I-always-get-in-trouble mood.
    “Okay, show’s over. Take your seats. Mystery solved.” Mr. Todd put his glasses back on. “Except for the mystery of why I can’t see through my glasses.”
    Jessica Finch pointed and laughed. “Pink icing! From my cupcake.”
    Mr. Todd swiped off the icing and licked his finger. He raised his eyebrows. He rubbed his glasses with a hankie. “Good as new,” said Mr. Todd.

Judy Moody, Frank, and Rocky sat in the second-to-front row, waiting for the all-school assembly to start.
    “Why did you bring your backpack?” asked Frank.
    “It’s not my backpack. It’s my detective kit,” Judy told her friends. “You never know when a mystery might pop up, just needing to be solved.”
    “In the multipurpose room?” asked Rocky. Judy frowned.
    “I can’t wait to meet Officer Mr. Chips,” said Frank.
    “That’s a funny name,” said Judy.
    “Not if you’re a dog,” Frank said, laughing.
    “A police dog is coming here? To school?” Judy asked.
    “Earth to Judy. Come in, Judy. Didn’t you listen to anything Mr. Todd told us this morning?” Rocky asked.
    “Sorry,” said Judy. “I was on a case.”
    “It’s a police puppy,” said Frank.
    “Girls and boys,” the principal announced, “as you know, October is Crime Prevention Month. We are very pleased to have with us today two crime fighters: Officer Kopp and his partner, Mr. Chips.”
    A policeman in a dark blue uniform with patches on his sleeves came onstage. He was leading a brown puppy on a leash. The puppy had blue eyes, floppy ears, and a shiny, wet nose. He was all legs, with huge puppy paws.
    “Aw! So cute!” kids from the audience said all at once.
    “I’m Officer Kopp, and this is Mr. Chips,” said the policeman. “Mr. Chips is a chocolate Lab. Labs are smart, friendly, dependable, and good-natured. He likes to run, fetch, and play ball. And he really likes kids.”

    Officer Kopp showed the kids how Mr. Chips could chase after a ball and bring it back. Next, Mr. Chips carried an egg in his mouth all the way across the stage without breaking it! The crowd went wild.
    “Mr. Chips is my best friend and my partner and the newest member of our K-9 team at the police department.” Officer Kopp scratched the dog’s head and patted him on the back.
    “This little guy is learning to be a police dog. He’s being trained to help us sniff out bad guys, search buildings, and even locate stuff that’s been stolen. This guy’s sense of smell is so great that one day, Mr. Chips might help us catch a bank robber or he could find a missing child.”
    “Mr. Chips lives near my house,” Jessica Finch bragged. “He wore a fancy collar in the Fourth of July parade, and I got to feed him dog treats!” It didn’t take a super-sleuth to figure out that Jessica Finch was Miss Know-It-All.
    The audience clapped like crazy for Mr. Chips.
    “Does he eat bones?” a first-grader asked.
    “Mr. Chips eats mostly puppy food. And he likes doggie treats.”
    “Does he live at the police station?” a fourth-grader asked.
    “Nope. I’m his handler, so he lives at home with me and my family.”
    “On my street!” Jessica Finch blurted.
    Officer Kopp called on Stink. “Does he ride in your police car?”
    “Mr. Chips likes riding in cars more than anything. Every morning, he barks at me, begging to go for a ride. It’s like he’s saying, ‘Car! Car! Car! Car! Car!’”
    Officer Kopp stroked Mr. Chips’s ears. “Who’s a car dog?