Girlfriend Detectives: The Missing Photo Mystery

By Leni Ramberg

When Nettie and Jade solved their first case, each girl decided that detective work might be a good career choice. But that was weeks ago! As Nettie says on their way to Maxton Middle School, “I guess mysteries don’t come around just because you want them to.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781618427861

Book preview

JW

Chapter 1. DETECTIVES WITHOUT A CASE

Monday.

If we don’t get another mystery to solve what am I going to write about? I asked Nettie.

Nettie Hansen has been my best friend since second grade. She’s really smart. Together we solved our first mystery case. That was last month, end of September.

I guess mysteries don’t come around just because you want them to, Nettie said.

We were having our discussion in her dad’s car on our way to start a new week at Maxton Middle School. Mr. H. was driving, of course. Nettie and I are only eleven and in the sixth grade. She was in the passenger seat up front. I was in the back seat, right behind her.

Yeah, but one case and that’s it? I complained. "We need a new case and we need it soon. Something we can solve and I can write about in the next Gazette."

I caught Mr. Hansen glancing at me in the rear view mirror. I am Watson and Nettie is Sherlock Holmes, Mr. H. That’s what my dad says."

Your dad and I are both fans of that great detective, Mr. H. said.

Something strange. Something crazy. Something hard to explain. That’s what we need. I asked Nettie’s dad if he knew of any mysteries that needed to be solved.

It’s a mystery why this truck in front of us is going so slow, he said. That’s all I can think of at the moment. But I’ll keep your problem in mind.

The Gazette is our sixth grade project. Online and in print. It’s actually the Garcia Gazette, named for our teacher Mr. Garcia. He didn’t name it after himself. Our class suggested titles and most of them included our teacher’s name. He’s tough but popular. Everyone in class voted in a secret ballot and Garcia Gazette came out on top.

Jeffrey Tyler wanted to name it after himself, call it the Tyler Times. Stupid. The only thing Jeffrey submitted for the first issue was an old joke everybody had heard before. Okay, he was stupid thinking anyone would name the newspaper after him. I was stupid telling him I planned to write a mystery story for every issue.

Who am I kidding? Mr. G’s plan is to do six issues during the school year. He says it will be a great learning experience. We’ll see. For sure I’m learning that detective work doesn’t come along that often. And I bragged I was going to write five more this year? I don’t know why I should care what stupid old Jeffrey thinks anyway. I don’t, really. But still, I would like us to get another case.

Our first case involved a missing necklace that belonged to Nettie’s aunt Christine. I wrote about how we found it and my article was published in the Gazette’s first issue. In the story I called Nettie a super sleuth.

You probably guessed that Nettie and I both have Mr. Garcia for our teacher this year. Our other best friend is Maria. We’ve only known her since last year when we were all in fifth grade together. This year Maria has Mrs.Wanamaker, the other sixth grade teacher at Maxton Middle. When we found out what teachers we had this year we were soooo disappointed that we weren’t all in the same class again.

Mr. H. interrupted my thoughts to say there was a traffic lane closed and we were still behind the same truck. Nettie was looking out the side window, watching the houses go by, I guess. She’s a thinker, always less chatty than me. I don’t remember Nettie ever getting in trouble for talking in class when you’re supposed to be quiet. Never. Sometimes, I can’t help talking. I think of something and if I don’t share it I feel like I’m going to explode.

This year Nettie is extra quiet. Her mom died at the beginning of last summer. Nettie knew it was going to happen. Her mother was sick for almost a year. So, anyway, it seems she talks even less now than she did last year.

Since Nettie seemed to be in a world of her own, I decided to stop complaining about needing a client for our detective business. Instead I opened the zipper on my backpack to dig out my calendar. It was time to count how many days were left before the next Gazette deadline.

I turned to the month of October in my small calendar and noticed a ginormous "M on next Sunday’s date. Oh, no! I said. It’s Maria’s birthday next Sunday."

Sunday like a week from yesterday? Nettie asked.

Exactly like a week from yesterday. I didn’t look at my calendar all weekend or I would have seen it.

Okey-dokey, girls, Mr. Hansen said. He pulled into the curb at the loading/unloading zone in front our school.

Nettie glanced at me. Mr. Hansen says okey-dokey every morning on the days he drops us off at school. Nettie is more observant than me usually, but I’m the one who noticed this first. Maybe I didn’t notice the expression in fifth grade because I wasn’t planning to be a detective when I grow up. Or, maybe I just wasn’t around her dad as much last year. Nettie’s mom usually drove us to school.

While Nettie ran over to the driver’s side and gave her dad another kiss, I turned away and started walking towards school so I wouldn’t cry. I couldn’t help but think about all those kisses she used to give her mom.

Soon Nettie and I were at the school’s main entrance. I was still trying not to think about Nettie and her mom when Nettie pointed to the chrome-plated letters on the right side of the double doors that spell out MAXTON FALLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

Those letters look shinier than last week, Nettie said.

Huh?

Maybe I’ll ask one of the janitors if they polished them over the weekend.

Yeah, good idea, I said.

Honestly I would never think to notice those letters. Not that I don’t like our school. It’s about fifty years old and built of reddish-yellow brick, all on one level. Behind it is a huge field that slopes down to a narrow creek and wooded area. In the springtime our teachers take us down to look at the flowering cowslips and bluebells. Last year we saw at least a dozen hummingbirds.

Maria had a great party last year, remember? Nettie said. I wonder if she’ll have one this year, too.

Nettie said this as we were walking down the hallway to our classroom. There weren’t many students around. I told myself we weren’t late. Everybody else was just early. But I walked faster.

"Jeepers, I wish I had looked at my calendar over the weekend. I would have scheduled some time to think about