Judy Moody's Mini-Mysteries by Megan McDonald
Detective Judy knows that a good detective is ready for anything. You can be prepared for anything, too. MYODK! Make Your Own Detective Kit. Turn the page to see some ideas for must-have items in your kit. Don’t leave home without it — you never know what could happen. A real-live mystery could be just a fingerprint away!
COLLECTING EVIDENCE:
• detective notebook (for keeping track of clues, witnesses, and suspects)
• pencil (for recording information in your notebook)
• zip-top bag (for holding evidence, like pieces of fabric, food wrappers, pet hair, or anything else you might find at the crime scene — Stink’s gum wrappers don’t count!)
• tweezers (for picking up evidence)
• magnifying glass (for finding fingerprints, footprints, or other hard-to-see evidence — mag-ni-fy-cent!)
DISGUISING YOURSELF:
• sunglasses (for changing your appearance quickly; also useful on sunny days)
• fake noses and mustaches (another way to quickly alter your appearance)
• eyebrow pencil (for drawing fake mustaches or freckles)
• hat and wig (for deep undercover work, where not even Jessica Finch will find you!).
Hint: raid the Halloween costume box.
SPYING:
• binoculars or telescope (for keeping an eye on faraway suspects)
• mirror (for seeing people or things — or Stink! — behind you or for decoding mirror writing!)
• walkie-talkies (for communicating with fellow agents)
OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT COME IN HANDY:
• flashlight (for nighttime stakeouts, seeing in dark basements or attics, or hiding in closets)
• money (for paying a reward or buying supplies; if you don’t have any money, try asking your brother or sister to loan you some)
• bobby pins (for picking locks — or keeping messy hair out of your eyes!)
• small cup (handy for listening through walls)
• SOS lipstick (for writing HELP messages!)
• watch with alarm (in case you doze off on stakeouts)
• snacks (cracking cases makes you hungry)
• gum (what’s a gumshoe without it?)
• brush or tape (for dusting for fingerprints)
• ruler (for measuring footprint sizes)
You’ll need:
• a spiral-bound notepad that is small enough to fit into a pocket
• a small pencil or pen
WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR NOTEBOOK:
Facts about the case
• date and time of the crime
• witnesses and information you gain from interviews with them
• evidence found at the scene of the crime
• a list of possible suspects
Diagrams, drawings, charts, sketches, and graphs
• the shape and layout of a room
• the placement and size of objects in a crime scene
• the location of all possible entrances and exits from a crime scene
Other visual aids
• a suspect sketch
Notes
Just the facts, Judy! Try to stick to the most important facts you find. Put only one fact on a page. At the top of each page, write the heading in large letters (i.e., DATE AND DAY, TIME, WITNESS BY NAME, etc.) so it’s easy to find again later. Below each fact, list important details. As you make notes, try answering a detective’s most important questions: who, what, when, where, and why.
alibi: an excuse used to prove a person’s innocence
example: Judy’s alibi was airtight. There’s no way she could have “borrowed” a quarter from Stink since she was at Jessica Finch’s house all day.
clue: something that helps to solve a mystery
example: Stink’s white mustache was a clue in the case of the missing milk.
culprit: the person responsible for a crime
example: In the case of the missing tuna fish, Mouse was the clear culprit.
deduce: to come to a conclusion based on facts
example: Judy deduced that a rabbit had made a snack out of her snowman’s nose based on carrot crumbs nearby and paw prints in the snow.
hunch: a suspicion or guess
example: Judy couldn’t prove it, but she had a hunch Mr. Todd was going to give a pop quiz.
motive: a person’s reason for doing something
example: In the case of the missing Magic 8 Ball, Mom’s motive for moving it was cleaning up Judy’s room before Grandma Lou came to visit.
red herring: a misleading clue; something that diverts attention from the truth
example: A strawberry bubble-gum wrapper was a red herring in the mystery of the missing watermelon gum. The wrapper drew attention, but was not related to the mystery.
stakeout: close watch of a location or suspect to collect information
example: Stink had a stakeout in his backyard to collect evidence of Bigfoot.
witness: a person who sees or hears a crime take place
example: Judy was a witness in the case of the missing math sheet. She saw Mr. Todd put it in the recycling bin by mistake.
“Everyone on the bus!” Mr. Todd said. Class 3T was going on a field trip to the Z-O-O zoo! Judy couldn’t wait to see the animals. Mostly she couldn’t wait to see Romeo and Juliet, the new king penguins. Mom had shown her a newspaper article about these new additions to the zoo. They were about to hatch an egg!
The bus pulled up to the zoo just as the front gates were opening. Judy could barely sit still. “Class, we’ll start our visit in the bird area,” said Mr. Todd. “Follow me.”
Bird area? That means penguins! Judy thought.
The students followed Mr. Todd to the bird area, and there, like a frozen wonderland, was the penguin habitat. Judy peered through the tall fence.
“There’s Juliet!” she said to Frank. Juliet was balancing an egg on her feet, keeping it warm. And she was making funny chirping sounds.
“Look! The mom and dad penguins take turns keeping the egg warm.”
“Really?” asked Frank. “That’s pretty cool.”
“I read about it in the paper,” said Judy. “But where’s Romeo?”
Judy looked in the water. Judy looked on top of the rocks. Romeo was nowhere to be found!
“Excuse me, students,” a zookeeper said. “Unfortunately, Romeo the penguin is missing. We’ll need you to leave the area while we search for him.”
“Missing!” Judy exclaimed. “But everyone knows both penguin parents have to keep the egg warm and help it hatch! We need to find him!”
“Sorry, kids,” said Mr. Todd, “Let’s go check out Insecto Zone while the zookeepers look for Romeo.”
“Insecto Zone? Gross, insects bug me,” said Judy. Plus, I absolutely, positively have to help find Romeo, she thought.
Judy ducked behind a bench and watched the rest of her class follow Mr. Todd away from the bird area.
Once Class 3T was gone, she came out from behind the bench. The zookeeper who had told the class the bad news about Romeo was searching the area outside the fence. Judy went over to her. “Excuse me, Mrs. Baumgarten,” Judy said, reading her name tag out loud. “I’d like to help you find Romeo.”
“And who are you?” Mrs. Baumgarten asked.
“Judy Moody, Girl Detective. And penguin fan,” Judy said.
“Shouldn’t you be with your class?” said Mrs. Baumgarten.
“I’ll catch up with them, I promise. But when was the last time you saw Romeo?” Judy asked, whipping out a pocket notebook and Grouchy pencil stub. She, Judy Moody, was on the case.
“Before the zoo closed last night, around six forty-five.”
“Romeo was near the fence, nibbling on a piece of squid. Juliet was sitting with the egg.”
“Interesting,” said Judy. Scribble, scribble.
A woman in a wet suit walked by. “Hello, Miss Flores,” Mrs. Baumgarten said. “Any sign of Romeo yet?”
“’Fraid not,” Miss Flores said.
“When did you last see Romeo?” Judy asked Miss Flores.
“Last night,” she said. “I got their dinner from the food-prep building and fed them, like I do every night, at six.”
“What food did you get them?” asked Judy.
“Their usual: a bucket of squid. But the bucket I normally use was missing. I grabbed a smaller one and filled it to the very top with squid.”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” said Judy.
“After I fed the penguins, I went home for the night. I’m sure I latched the gate behind me, so I don’t know how Romeo could have gotten out. The fence is high, and —”
“Penguins can’t fly,” said Judy. Miss Flores nodded.
Miss Flores went back to searching the area for signs of Romeo. Judy went back to searching, too. She studied the ground alongside the fence, hoping to find any sort of clue. But all she found was a hair elastic, an ice-cream wrapper, and a puddle of water.
Bang! Judy crashed right into another zoo worker — Mr. Gallagher. (All good detectives read name tags.) His walkie-talkie flew into the air and landed on the ground. He adjusted his glasses as he picked it up. “Well excuse me, young lady,” he said. “I apologize. I’m quite distracted by this missing member of our zoo.”
“Me, too,” said Judy. “And I want to help. When was the last time you saw Romeo?”
“I went home around seven,” Mr. Gallagher said. “Right after I finished unloading and stacking a shipment of ice blocks in the penguin habitat. King penguins like it cold, you know.”
“Check. Uh-huh. What else?” Judy asked.
“That’s about it. I locked the penguin gate on my way out. That’s the last time I saw Mr. Romeo. He was eating his dinner. In fact, I almost slipped on some of the squid that had spilled outside of the fence. I don’t know how Romeo could have gotten out! Poor little guy. That egg’s in its seventh week, about to hatch, and Juliet really needs him. She’s been chirping and singing for him all day.”
“Call Mrs. Baumgarten on your walkie-talkie!” Judy said. “I think I just-might-maybe know where Romeo is!”
Turn the page to solve the mystery!
Romeo escaped by climbing up the ice blocks that Mr. Humphreys had stacked against the fence. He wanted to get to some squid that had dropped out of Miss Flores’s bucket on the other side of the fence. By morning, the ice had melted, leaving a puddle, so it seemed impossible that Romeo could have climbed out.
Judy figured out that, after climbing out of his habitat on the ice blocks, Romeo must have followed Miss Flores’s trail of dropped squid all the way to the food-prep building, where, sure enough, Judy and the zookeeper found him!
Sometimes a mystery may seem uber-tricky and impossible to solve. In that case, a good way to think about it may be to use logic: narrowing down the possibilities until the conclusion is clear. Can you solve the following logic puzzles?
PLAYING FAVORITES
Judy’s four friends each have a different favorite zoo animal. Someone’s favorite is the polar bear, another person’s favorite is the flamingo, another’s is the alligator, and someone else’s is the leopard. Can you figure out which person likes which animal based on the clues on the following page?
Hint: First, copy the following chart into your notebook.
Draw an X in the box when you know a situation is not possible. Draw a check mark in the box to indicate a correct answer. For example, in this puzzle, you can draw an X in Frank’s row for the animals that have fur, since you know from the clues that his favorite animal is fur-less. Click here for the answers.
CHEW ON THIS
Judy, Stink, Mom, and Dad get gumballs out of a bubble-gum machine. Four different flavors of gum come out: Ripe-Red Strawberry, Refreshing Minty Mint, Sour-Red Cherry, and Yellow Lemon. Copy the chart into your notebook:
Can you use logic to figure out who got which flavor? Click here for the answers.
Judy couldn’t wait to teach her cat, Mouse, a new trick. Mouse already knew how to make toast. Now Judy was going to teach her how to turn off a light switch. But she needed some cat treats to do it.
“Mom! Dad! I’m going to Fur and Fangs!” Judy yelled. She strapped on her helmet and hopped on her bicycle. It was an extra-windy day. As Judy pedaled past the Speedy Market, she noticed that the wind had blown the P off of the sign. It now read S EEDY MARKET. Judy laughed. Then she pedaled like lightning to the pet store, wind whipping through her hair.
At Fur and Fangs, Judy locked up her bike outside and went in. The wind blew the door shut behind her. Before she could ask Mrs. Birdwistle where the cat treats were, the pet-shop owner rushed over to Judy. “I just can’t find it anywhere!” Mrs. Birdwistle said. She wiped her forehead and kept rummaging around the store, looking in boxes and under cages.
“Can’t find what?” Judy asked. She was always in a girl-detective, solve-a-mystery mood.
“The shipment of guinea-pig food,” Mrs. Birdwistle said. “It was supposed to have been delivered right here to six Hummingbird Avenue this morning. But now it doesn’t seem to be anywhere. Oh, my poor little piggies. They must be getting hungry.” Judy heard a gaggle of guinea-pig squeals from the cages in the corner.
“When was the last time you saw the food?” asked Judy.
“I didn’t actually see the shipment come in,” said Mrs. Birdwistle. “I’ve been cleaning and feeding animals all morning. But it comes every Saturday morning at this time.”
Judy made a note in her detective notebook. Then she stepped outside to look around the store entrance for clues.
Judy spotted the mail truck parked across the street. Jack Frost! She ran over to say hi and ask him a question. But Jack Frost was not in his truck.
Judy saw the postman walking down the sidewalk, making deliveries. But the postman was not Jack Frost. “Excuse me,” she called to him. “Isn’t this Jack Frost’s route?”
“Sure is. Except for some Saturdays. I’m the substitute postman. Name’s Sam. Saturday Sam, they call me.”
“Hi, Saturday Sam. I’m Judy. We’re looking for a missing shipment of guinea-pig food. Did you make a delivery to Fur and Fangs by any chance?”
“That does ring a bell,” said Sam. “I don’t know if it was guinea-pig food, but I did have a cardboard box for six Hummingbird Ave. Yes, that’s right — I delivered it earlier this morning!”
Judy wrote down Saturday Sam — shipment to #6 in her notebook.
She, Judy Moody, had a for-real mystery on her hands. Fact #1: The box was not at Fur & Fangs. Fact #2: Postman Sam was sure he had delivered it.
Weird! This called for some serious sleuthing around the neighborhood. As in evidence. Judy looked up and down the street. All of the stores on the street had the same brass numbers nailed on their front doors.
First stop, Lots of Savings Bank next door at eight Hummingbird Avenue.
Maybe someone at the bank knew something about the food. Plus, the bank always had a bowl of lollipops on the counter, so it was worth a try. Her hair was blowing every which way in the wind. Judy tried to tamp it down as she stepped inside the bank.
Judy rushed up to the bank teller’s counter and said in her best detective voice, “Excuse me. If you were going to steal guinea-pig food, where would you put it?”
The bank teller answered, “I don’t have a guinea pig, so I certainly wouldn’t steal guinea-pig food. . . .”
“But if you did have a guinea pig, where would you put its food?”
“The best spot would be the bank safe, I suppose,” said the teller.
“I’ll need to take a look in the safe,”
“Sorry,” said the teller, “Employees only. Nobody else is allowed in there.”
Suspicious, thought Judy. She grabbed a free lollipop with a joke on the stick on her way out the door.
Next stop, nine Hummingbird Avenue. Roscoe’s Flower Shop, across the street from Fur & Fangs.
The wind had knocked over a pot of geraniums and an umbrella stand on the front stoop. Roscoe was outside, hammering the brass number to the door.
“Go on inside out of the wind,” he said. He opened the door and followed her inside.
Judy could barely see the floor. There were cardboard boxes, flowers, stems, and vases everywhere. “Well, hello!” said Roscoe. “Please don’t mind the mess. I’m at sixes and nines with this wind today. It keeps knocking everything over and I have to haul it all inside.”
“It’s not the mess I’m worried about,” said Judy. “It’s the hungry guinea pigs.”
“Hungry guinea pigs?” asked Roscoe.
“That’s right,” said Judy. “There’s some piggy food missing from Fur and Fangs. Any idea where it might be?”
Roscoe waded through the vases and flowers and boxes and over to Judy. He thought for a second. “Can’t say that I know. Sorry kiddo. Gotta get back to fixing this mess.”
ROAR! Judy stepped back outside. The wind flipped the pages of her notebook. Her head down, Judy hurried back toward Fur & Fangs.