A Monster of a Mystery (4 page)

A kid near the front of the crowd raised his hand. “How did you come up with the idea for the Morph Spork?” he asked.

“Great question.” The artist smiled, then turned to signal to the assistant. “Bring out the Spork, will you?” he called.

There was a murmur of excitement from the audience. Everyone was eager to see the real Spork from the Morpho movie!

“I wonder if it'll look smaller in person, like the actor does?” Joe said to the others.

Iola giggled. “I guess we're about to find out!”

A second later the assistant reappeared. But he wasn't carrying the Spork—or anything else. He hurried up to Dave and whispered something in his ear.

The artist frowned. “Are you sure?” he said. “Let me look.”

He hurried offstage and through the door. “Don't worry, kids,” the actor said. “He'll be back soon with the Spork.”

The artist did come back soon. But he wasn't
holding the Spork. The owner of the comic book store, Mr. Roberts, was with him. They both looked worried.

“Where's the Spork?” someone in the crowd yelled eagerly.

“I'm afraid we have a problem,” Mr. Roberts announced. “Morpho's Morph Spork is missing!”

Where's the Spork?

O
h no!” Joe exclaimed. He couldn't believe his ears. How could the Morph Spork be missing?

Everyone else was surprised too. Just about the whole audience started talking at once.

“This is terrible,” Phil said. “Morpho's nothing without his Spork!”

Joe glanced at the stage. Mr. Roberts was talking to Dave and Jack. All three of them looked upset.

Joe couldn't blame them. This was bad news.

“Attention, please!” Dave called out. “We really need that Spork back.”

Jack nodded. “We know there are lots of enthusiastic Morpho fans here. But stealing is wrong.”

“Do you think someone stole the Spork?” Frank whispered.

Joe shrugged. “What else could have happened to it?”

Meanwhile, a kid near the front raised his hand. “Who cares if the Spork is gone?” he called out. “I read on MorphoNet that there's going to be a new SuperSpork in the next movie!”

There was a murmur of interest from the crowd. But Jack shook his head.

“We still need the old Spork,” he said. “We're supposed to auction it off for charity after this tour is over.”

Mr. Roberts looked more worried than ever.
“Whoever took that Spork needs to return it right away,” he said. “Until it's back, this event is on hold.”

“No way!” someone cried. A few other people protested too.

But Mr. Roberts didn't say anything else. He headed out through the Employees Only door, followed by Jack and Dave.

“This stinks,” Iola declared.

Joe nodded and looked around. The store was in an uproar. Everyone was talking about what had happened. Some people were also casting suspicious looks around at everyone else.

“You know what I think?” Phil said.

Joe glanced at him. “What?”

“I think this sounds like a mystery.”

Iola gasped. “You're right!” she exclaimed. “You guys should investigate!”

Joe shrugged. “We don't need to. I already know who took that Spork.”

“Who?” Biff asked.

“Who else?” Joe said. “It has to be Adam Ackerman.”

Frank frowned. “Why does it have to be him?”

“Don't you remember our first mystery?” Joe couldn't believe his brother didn't get it. “When all that money disappeared at the arcade, Adam turned out to be the thief. This is just like that time.”

“Adam
is
bad news,” Iola said. “He steals people's lunches at school all the time.”

Joe nodded. “Let's go find him and tell him to give the Spork back before Mr. Roberts cancels the whole Morpho day!”

“Hold on!” Frank said. “None of us likes Adam. But we can't just accuse him of stealing the Spork with no proof.”

“Why not?” Joe asked impatiently. “We know he did it!”

“No, we don't,” Frank said. “Dad always says it's important not to jump to conclusions, right?”

“Yeah, I guess he says that sometimes,” Joe agreed reluctantly. “So what?”

“So, what if it
wasn't
Adam?” Frank said. “We shouldn't get too focused on a suspect until we're sure. Even if Adam
is
a pretty good suspect.”

“I think he might be right, Joe,” Phil said. “That makes sense.”

“Yeah,” Iola agreed. “There are tons of people here, and we don't know all of them. Some of them might be just as rotten as Adam.”

Joe still thought Adam was the thief. But he realized his brother and the others were right.

“Okay,” he said. “Even if it
is
Adam, I guess we need some proof. Otherwise, he'll never confess.”

Frank smiled. “Good point. I'm not saying it's
not
Adam. He's definitely at the top of the suspect list. But we need some evidence or it's just our word against his.”

“So how do you find evidence?” Biff asked, looking interested.

“We usually start out with the six
W
s,” Frank explained. “That means we ask Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How and try to . . .”

Joe didn't hear the rest of what his brother said. He'd just turned to scan the store.

“Check it out!” he interrupted, pointing. “Adam Ackerman is trying to sneak out the front door right now!”

Looking for Suspects

W
ait!” Frank yelled to Joe.

But it was too late. Joe was already rushing across the store toward Adam. Iola was right behind him, but Biff and Phil got left behind.

Frank hurried after his brother. He caught up just as he and Iola reached Adam.

“I knew it!” Joe exclaimed, pointing at Adam. “You were the one who took that Spork, weren't you? Just admit it!”

Adam turned toward him with a scowl. “
I
knew it,” he said. “That's why I was leaving. You guys are always accusing me when bad stuff happens!”

Iola folded her arms across her chest. “That's only because you're usually guilty,” she told him.

He glared at her, then at Frank and Joe. “I know you goody-goodies think I'm always the bad guy,” he said. “But I swear I didn't take that Spork. I'd never do that to Morpho!”

“Then who took it?” Joe challenged him.

“How should I know?” Adam shot back.

There was a big strong man standing by the front door. Frank noticed him looking their way with a frown.

“Hey, you guys,” Frank said quietly. “Let's back off, okay?”

“Not until Adam gives back the Spork,” Iola said.

Frank looked at Adam. That's when he realized something. He grabbed Joe and pulled him aside, leaving Adam to argue with Iola.

“Hold on a second,” Frank whispered. “If Adam took the Spork, where is it? He isn't carrying a bag or anything.”

Joe looked at Adam. Then he shrugged. “He could've hidden it somewhere so he could come back and get it later,” he pointed out. “That's what he did with the money that time at the arcade.”