The Case of the French Fry Phantom

By Erik Christopher Martin

Elderton is under attack! French fries are disappearing from ovens, fryers, and freezers. Potatoes go missing right out of the bin in the middle of the day. No one ever sees the thief. The police are baffled.

Eleven-year-old Dotty Morgan is Elderton's best (only) supernatural sleuth, a role for which she's trained since a gnome stole her mother’s fabric and Dotty took the blame.

Eager to solve her first case, Dotty investigates the mysterious thefts and uncovers a sticky-fingered phantom. But that discovery creates more questions. How did the phantom come to be in Elderton? Why potatoes? Why are the adults in town acting so weird? And what are the strange charms that appeared in the school cafeteria the same day the phantom materialized?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erik Christopher Martin
• Release date: Jun 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9780998118253

Erik Christopher Martin

Erik Christopher Martin lives and writes in San Diego, where he subsists on a steady diet of coffee and tacos. He believes in radical ideas like, "All people deserve dignity and respect," and "No one should be a billionaire until all people have adequate food, housing, and medical care." He is married to a super awesome grown-up lady named Toni. His pronouns are He/Him and They/Them. Erik is a dog uncle.Visit http://ErikChristopherMartin.com.

Book preview

The Case of the French Fry Phantom

Dotty Morgan Supernatural Sleuth Book One

Erik Christopher Martin

In A Bind Books

In a Bind Books

San Diego, CA

First published 2023

All rights reserved

The Case of the French Fry Phantom © 2023 by Erik Christopher Martin

Dotty Morgan Supernatural Sleuth Book One

Cover art and illustrations © 2023 by Tatiana Hubich

ISBN 978-0-9981182-4-6 paperback edition

ISBN 978-0-9981182-5-3 ebook

ISBN 978-0-9981182-6-0 hardcover edition

ISBN 978-0-9981182-8-4 audio book

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022920001

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Summary: Eleven-year-old Dotty Morgan investigates the theft of French fries from her hometown by a larcenous phantom.

Books by Erik Christopher Martin

Dexter of Pozzelby

Miralee: A Shadow Knights Tale

The Storm Crows

Dotty Morgan Supernatural Sleuth Series

Book One – The Case of the French Fry Phantom

Book Two – The Case of the Zombie Ninjas (COMING IN 2024)

For Toni, who puts up with me spending half my time sitting alone in a room messing around in other worlds.

Contents

1. Dotty Morgan Sitting in a Tree

2. Scattered Leaves

3. A French-Fried Mystery

4. The Girl in the Yellow, Rubber Hat

5. Weirdness in the Cafeteria

6. Bullies Reduced

7. Morgan's Multiverse

8. Shenanigans at the MMA Studio

9. Potatoes Pilfered from the Wiggly Piglet

10. Dotty Gets Busted

11. Yoga One, Dotty Zero

12. Dotty Hatches a Plan

13. The Fry Cap

14. The Plan Goes Awry

15. A Friendship Broken

16. Low-Tech Solutions

17. A Kitchen Asunder

18. The Phantom Revealed

19. Busted Again

20. Grounded and a Friendship Renewed

21. The Sisterhood of the Lunch Ladies of Elderton

22. Carl Hates Potatoes

23. The Third Thing

24. Gredel Feather-Creek Moss Half-Grandé

25. A Three Card Spread

26. Yoga Comes to School

27. A Case Solved

28. An Unlikely Alliance

29. Rainbow Commando Selfies

30. The Plan Is Launched

31. Yoga Beach is Open for Business

32. Dotty Alone

33. The Lunch Ladies Cast Their Spell

34. Heart, Not Head

35. The Secret of the Pit

36. Carl Steps Up

37. Mrs. Morgan Learns the Truth

38. Dotty Volunteers

39. The Sword and the Cup

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Dotty Morgan Sitting in a Tree

One gray Sunday in October, a large acorn struck Mrs. May Mulberry on the head as she walked down the tree-lined sidewalk past her neighbor's backyard. While her thick Sunday hat provided some armor against acorns, she didn’t like them falling on her head. She looked up into the limbs of a yellow-leafed oak, expecting to see a squirrel, or a crow, or nothing. Instead, May Mulberry saw a small, dark-skinned child sitting on a branch twelve feet off the ground. The child wore a flannel shirt, a boys' maroon canvas jacket, a baseball cap, and jeans.

Young man, what are you doing up in that tree? she asked.

The child looked down. May Mulberry saw the baseball cap was pink with a unicorn on the front, shiny tinfoil stuck out from underneath, and a braid hung out the back. The child's eyes were magnified by a thick pair of rainbow-framed glasses.

Dotty Morgan. I should have guessed.

Oh. Good afternoon, Mrs. Mulberry.

May knew Dotty's mother, Leticia, from church. Leticia Morgan was a lovely woman. May guessed the daughter must take after her father. Who knew? The father was never around. It was odd. And for all that Leticia Morgan seemed to be a nice, respectable young woman, Dotty Morgan was a strange one.

What are you up to? Throwing acorns at people's heads?

No, ma'am, but there's a guilty-looking squirrel up here.

You being smart? I saw your mother in church this morning. Why weren't you with her?

Can't. I'm working a case.

A case?

Yes, ma'am. I'm a supernatural sleuth.

The nearby backyard belonged to Larry Tanner, a teacher at Elderton High School. From her perch in the oak tree, Dotty could see the street in front of his house as well as his entire backyard. She watched as Mr. Tanner's car pulled out of the driveway and drove away.

Show time, Dotty thought.

A supernatural sleuth? What in the world is that? May Mulberry asked.

I'm about to go live. You're welcome to watch.

I don't think so. Mrs. Mulberry walked on, muttering about kids these days.

An acorn hit the back of Dotty's head. An irate squirrel, the one she'd mentioned, glared down at her. She tried to ignore it. The squirrel chittered in reproach.

Hey! I could have slipped. Relax. I’ll be gone soon.

"Chit chiiit chuk!"

I'm working. I won't bother your nest.

Maybe the squirrel understood. It climbed higher and left Dotty alone.

She pulled out her cell phone and opened the camera. Her face filled the screen. Not bad, she thought, tilting her head and looking up her nose. No boogies. A rogue braid had strayed out from underneath her baseball hat. She tucked it in carefully to avoid snagging it on the tinfoil lining the inside. The tinfoil itched her scalp, but it prevented psychic possession—a fair trade.

She was ready. Dotty pressed the button on her phone and went live.

This is Dotty Morgan. It’s Sunday, October fifteenth, fifteen hundred hours; that means three o’clock. I’m staking out Mr. Tanner’s yard, investigating reoccurring instances of mysterious vandalism.

She turned the phone to show his backyard with its menagerie of lawn ornaments: ceramic deer, gnomes, metal fairies, terra cotta birdbaths, and other miscellaneous statuary, many broken or held together with glue.

Yesterday, when I was in line behind him at the Wiggly Piglet, Mr. Tanner told the checkout clerk that someone...or something...has been vandalizing his yard when he goes out. You can see his whole yard is surrounded by an eight-foot-tall solid wooden fence. I believe supernatural forces are at work, probably a poltergeist. Mr. Tanner just left. I'm going to investigate using this...

She pulled a device out of her pack. To the untrained eye, it looked like an old metal alarm clock with the hours replaced by a gauge numbered zero to two thousand and added LED lights mounted onto a bicycle handle grip.

This is the Arcanometer. I invented this to detect supernatural energies. Full disclosure, I got the idea from a video I watched on YouTube, but theirs didn't work. Mine does. Now, let's catch a poltergeist.

Minutes ticked by. She saw her online audience creep up to more than thirty viewers.

She heard scraping from the far side of the fence.

Okay, here it is. Definite activity!

She checked the Arcanometer—nothing.

That can't be right.

A tawny dog followed by a black one popped up from under the fence. They had dug out a small gap. Dotty had noticed, but she’d been sure this was a supernatural case and had discounted its importance.

The dogs tore around Mr. Tanner’s backyard, chasing one another through the obstacle course of lawn ornaments. The black dog turned too wide and careened into a flock of pink plastic flamingos, toppling three.

Dotty sighed. A stream of laughing emojis filled the screen of her live feed. She ended her broadcast. She put the Arcanometer into her coat pocket and began to climb down. Halfway to the ground, her backpack snagged a branch and she nearly fell. She swore the squirrel laughed.

Not funny, she told it.

She reached solid ground without further mishap. As she plodded off, she missed seeing a ghostly figure shimmer into existence near Mr. Tanner’s garden. The apparition reached down with a pale hand and pulled up every potato plant and placed the delicious tubers into a spectral sack before vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

Chapter 2

Scattered Leaves

Her forehead wrinkled, and she frowned as she tapped the glass face of the Arcanometer.

It must be broken, she decided as she trudged down the sidewalk, nearly tripping over an uneven slab.

Two blocks away, she had noticed the Arcanometer had picked up another reading as she had left Mr. Tanner’s.

But it had to have been a false reading, right? Unless the dogs were possessed? They weren’t wearing protective tinfoil.

Dotty stopped and considered. Nah. She kept walking.

I better check the circuits. Is the sidewalk softer and crunchier?

Hey! What the heck are you doing!?

Dotty’s head snapped up. A giant, ginger-haired girl brandishing a rake rushed toward her. Dotty's heart jumped; it was Hannah Matson.

Also in the sixth grade at Elderton Middle School, Hannah was new this year. Dotty had never spoken to her even though they were in the same homeroom, gym class, English class, and lunch period.

Hannah had a reputation.

Kids said Hannah was in a gang in Charlotte and had beaten up a teacher at her last school. The tallest kid in their grade, she certainly looked intimidating. But from what Dotty had seen in school, Hannah kept to herself.

She didn’t look like she wanted to talk now. Her face burned as red as her hair. Dotty realized she had just tromped through a leaf pile. She glanced at Hannah’s rake and put two and two together.

OMG, I'm sorry. Is this your leaf pile? I didn’t mean to. It’s just that there was a poltergeist, or I thought so. You see...

Stop! I don’t want to hear it. I have two more yards to rake before it gets dark. Do you think it’s funny ruining people’s work? Hannah shook her rake for emphasis.

Dotty stepped out of the leaves and onto the sidewalk. I don’t think that at all. I just told a squirrel the same thing. Listen, I am sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. I’ll help you if you want. Do you have another rake?

Hannah deflated slightly, but her jaw remained clenched tight.

The house's front door opened. A thin, blonde woman in a pink fleece top and designer yoga pants stepped onto the porch. The woman’s face looked like she was smelling sour milk. Dotty didn’t know her. A moving truck had been at the house two weeks prior.

How’s it going out here? the woman asked. You said you’d be done by a quarter till four, but I see you’re talking to your little friend.

Hannah grimaced but only Dotty could see. She turned and nodded. I’ll be done by a quarter till, like I promised. This isn’t my friend, and she’s leaving now.

Hannah’s glare hit Dotty like a stiff shove.

"Fine. I’m sorry about your leaves." Dotty turned and started walking. She glanced at the blonde woman.

What a jerk.

A brand new, grass green electric car sat in the house’s driveway. Two bumper stickers on the back read NAMASTE and CARBS ARE THE ENEMY.

She decided to make a quick stop at Delphic Books. Boasting Oblique answers to the Impenetrable Mysteries of Being, Delphic Books was Elderton's premier (and only) New Age bookstore.

She smelled sage ten feet from the door. Gentle chimes announced her entrance. The owner sat behind the counter.

Rainbow Miracle was a middle-aged white woman who wore her hair in dreadlocks.

Dotty had been with her mother the first time she had gone into Delphic Books. Mrs. Morgan disliked Rainbow immediately.

Dreadlocks have cultural significance for a lot of our people. Not fashion for some hippy, Mrs. Morgan explained.

The bookstore owner said her hair expressed her universal spirit, like the crystals hanging around her neck and dangling from her ears, the colorful, baggy Chinese-style silk clothes she favored, and the tribal tattoos on her body and henna tattoos on her hands.

Dotty wasn't sure how she felt about it. Rainbow seemed oblivious to the criticism. But she liked Dotty, and Dotty liked her.

Mrs. Morgan chose not to accompany her daughter into Delphic Books after the first time.

Hey, Dotty! Blessed be. Today, the woman had on sky-blue silks and a Bindi on her forehead.

Hi, Rainbow.

Your aura is a little off. Everything alright?

Dotty held up her Arcanometer. I'm not sure this is working. Do you know anything about paranormal electronics?

Rainbow shook her head. I know a lot about the paranormal, but nothing about electronics. And I'm a little wary about your invention. Some things are meant to be unknowable. Science can't quantify everything.

Why not?

Rainbow smiled. I have something for you.

She searched under the counter for a moment before coming up with a polished, heart-shaped stone the size of a half-dollar. Bands of red and white ran through it. A smooth horizontal hole ran through the length of the center.

This is red agate. I found this along Crooked Creek last Sunday. When I handled it, the energy made me think of you.

Dotty took it and rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger. Thank you. It looks ready-made for a thong or chain.

Agate promotes transformation. It can take in negative energy and turn it positive.

Dotty thanked Rainbow and headed for home. As she reached the sidewalk, she slung her backpack around to her front and slid the Arcanometer inside. She was getting her pack situated when she walked past the Fat Cooker (Best burgers in Elderton!), so it was understandable that she failed to notice the floating line of potatoes coming out the backdoor and disappearing into a translucent sack, and the flummoxed employee who ran out after them.

Chapter 3

A French-Fried Mystery

Dotty’s BFF, Parker Pose, perched on the steps by Dotty’s front door. A slight boy with an olive complexion, he wore a pale pink jacket with bright pink spots, black shorts with blacker polka dots, and a matching shirt.

He jumped up and hugged her. He was shivering. Well, it was October, and he was wearing shorts.

I love it. This is what you’ve been working on? Dotty stepped back to take in the outfit.

Parker smiled and nodded. He gave a little spin.

I modeled it on a vintage Dior. Parker followed every fashion magazine, blog, and podcast. I went with paradise pink on champagne. What do you think?

I think you look great! Come on.

Dotty kicked off her muddy boots in the foyer. Parker took off his shoes, even though they were pristine.

Mom, I’m home! Parker’s here!

Dotty’s mother poked her head out from the kitchen.

Looking good, Parker. Your design?

Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Morgan. I just finished it.

I’m making Sloppy Joes and fries. She held up a bag of crinkly fries.

I’ve been waiting for fries all day! We’ll be upstairs, Dotty called out as she and Parker ran upstairs to her room.

Shelves filled with books about the supernatural occupied most of the wall space in Dotty’s bedroom. Posters from her two favorite plays, Wicked and Fun Home, hung in the area that remained.

In the corner sat a small desk covered with sketches she’d drawn of a gnome. Not the ceramic kind like in Mr. Tanner’s yard, but a real gnome, full of bristly hair and a potato-shaped head.

When Dotty had been nine years-old, she had seen a