The Mystery of the Stolen Corn Popper Read Free

she was leaving Toys when the records and puzzle book were stolen.”
    The guard asked, “How can you be so sure it was the same woman?”
    “I told you. She has an amazing memory,” Eric said. “Go on, Cam. Show him.”
    Cam looked at the guard. Then she closed her eyes and said “Click.”
    “You’re wearing a green uniform,” Cam said with her eyes closed. Your badge says ‘Binky’s Security Guard, Number 397.’ And you had ketchup for lunch.”
    “That’s right. I did. You do have an amazing memory.”
    Cam opened her eyes. “You should move that badge to cover the ketchup.”
    The guard laughed. “I can’t,” he said. “It’s covering a mustard stain from yesterday’s lunch.”

    The guard took a memo pad from his pocket and said, “Now tell me about that woman.”
    Cam described the woman. The guard wrote down the description. Then he said, “After she stole that first shopping bag, we were looking for her. We didn’t know what she looked like, but we knew she had a gift wrapped in gold paper with a green bow. But she never left the store. Now she’s carrying two stolen shopping bags. We’ll find her.”
    As Cam and Eric walked away they heard the guard talk into his walkie-talkie. He gave Cam’s description of the thief to the other store guards.
    “They’ll catch her now,” Eric said. “Let’s hurry and get the notebooks, pencils, and things. I have to be home in time for supper.”
    As they walked through the Household Helpers department, Cam pointed to someone in the Happy Feet department and said, “Look at that woman. She’s wearing a blue dress.”
    Cam and Eric walked closer. There were flowers on the woman’s dress, and she had brown hair. Cam and Eric waited for her to turn around. When she did, Cam looked right at the woman, blinked her eyes, and said, “Click.”
    “She’s wearing glasses,” Eric said.
    Cam closed her eyes and said “Click” again.
    “That’s her,” Cam said as she opened her eyes. “Let’s go!”
    Eric walked closely behind Cam. He whispered, “Why don’t we tell a guard?”
    “First let’s make sure she’s the thief. Let’s see if she has the two stolen shopping bags.”
    The woman walked slowly through the Happy Feet department. She looked down a lot, as if she were looking for something.

    But she wasn’t carrying any shopping bags.
    The woman left Happy Feet and walked into Household Helpers. She walked right past Cam and Eric.
    “I don’t understand it,” Cam whispered. “She was there whenever a shopping bag was stolen. I was sure she was the thief.”
    “Well, she didn’t have the shopping bags, so she’s not,” Eric said. “And we should tell the guards not to stop her.”
    Cam and Eric walked into the Household Helpers department again. They saw the very tall guard and walked toward him. They planned to tell him that the woman in the blue dress was not the thief. The small boy was still in the guard’s arms. The guard hadn’t found the boy’s mother.
    Eric stopped. He looked at the tall guard. Eric rubbed his chin and said, “I just remembered something. And I think I know where that boy’s mother is.”
    Cam and Eric walked up to the guard. Eric pointed to the front of his own shirt and asked the boy, “What is this?”
    The guard and the boy looked down at Eric.
    Eric pointed to his shirt again and asked, “What is this?”
    “Dirt,” the boy said.
    “Dirt? You mean shirt!” the guard said. “Your mother isn’t buying dirt. She’s buying a shirt.”
    The guard took big, quick steps as he walked to the clothing department. Cam and Eric followed him.
    “How did you know ‘dirt’ meant ‘shirt’?” Cam asked Eric as they walked.
    “That boy reminds me of my sisters. When Donna and Diane were little, it was hard to know what they were saying. ‘Dees’ was ‘keys,’ and ‘gogul’ was ‘bottle.’ ”
    The guard walked past the men’s shirts, neckties, and pants displays. Then, as he was walking