Serina K. and the Case of the Missing Recipe Read online

  Chapter Six: Serina K. Takes the Case

  The vandalism to the time capsule and the theft of Mrs. Doyle’s Doodle Soup recipe were the subjects of chatter among the congregation before church Sunday morning. I tried not to insert myself into many of the conversations, but listened intently to everyone’s discussions. Now that I had taken it upon myself to solve the heinous crime, I had to consider everyone a suspect. Since nearly every contestant in the soup competition was part of the congregation, eavesdropping could be my most valuable source of information. Unfortunately, the choir began singing before the thief slipped up and accidentally identified themselves. I was unable to gather any clues from the possible suspects in the congregation, but it was still early in the investigation. Even though it would mean that I would be getting behind on my archaeological and scientific work, I decided that solving the case of the missing Doodle Soup recipe would be my new mission.

  When we got home from church, we were met by Suzy greeting us with the morning’s newspaper clutched inside his mouth. Although it appeared that he was performing a good deed, he was really humoring himself by challenging me to a test of strength.

  “Grrrr,” growled Suzy as I attempted to free the paper from his mouth. He stepped back and clutched onto the paper harder. “Grrrr, Grrrr,” he continued to growl playfully.

  After a short tug of war, I was able to wretch the paper away from Suzy. Before I was finished unrolling the paper, I caught a glimpse of the headline on the front page. “Andrew Jackson Elementary School Time Capsule Vandalized,” the headline read on the bite mark infested paper. After I had finished unrolling the paper, I focused on the tattered column under the headline.

  The time capsule planted by third grade students of Andrew Jackson Elementary School last year was supposed to remain sealed until 2035. Before the one year anniversary of its dedication, however, the capsule was exhumed. Broken bits of concrete were all that remained of the monument that marked its location. Although the exhumation of the time capsule appeared to be an act of vandalism, Sherriff Tom Daniels stated that he was not sure if the culprit was a vagrant in search of a cheap thrill, or a thief with plans to sabotage a new soup company. After all the items from the capsule that were scattered along the school campus were collected, there were two items unaccounted for. A Ziploc bag containing $2.28 was missing along with Mrs. Lucy Doyle’s famous Doodle Soup recipe.

  “Until Mrs. Doyle’s recipe is found, we will be treating the case as a theft,” Sherriff Daniels stated. “Mrs. Doyle’s recipe is a very valuable document. Several investors have supplied funds for the Doyle’s soup company as they are banking on sales of Doodle Soup to produce large returns on their investment. If the recipe gets into the wrong hands, it could be catastrophic to their investments.”

  Now I was really mad. Not only did the thief steal Mrs. Doyle’s recipe, but they stole my retirement fund too. “If Mrs. Doyle’s recipe was worth so much money, why did the time capsule burglar bother taking my $2.28?” I asked my dad.

  “That’s what thieves do. They are motivated by greed. Even though the Doodle Soup recipe was the big prize they were probably after, they couldn’t resist the temptation of the smaller prize,” he replied. “Enough is never enough for a thief. Whoever stole the recipe didn’t need your $2.28, but they took it anyway. That’s the sort of actions that usually lead to the thief’s downfall. He may get away with it this time, but he’ll slip up and get caught sooner or later.”

  Sometimes I think my dad thinks he’s a philosopher or something. I’ll ask a simple question, but he’ll tell me a long story to explain his answer. “You’re going to be faced with a lot of tough decisions as you grow up. It’s my job to makes sure you have the knowledge and understanding to help you make those decisions,” he will usually say. I understand his motivation, but sometimes I wish he’d just get to the point. A simple yes or no will do in some instances.

  “He’s not going to get away with it,” I snapped. “I’m going to catch him!”

  “Be careful and don’t cause any trouble,” he ordered.

  I ran upstairs and changed out of my church clothes in preparation to go scout the crime scene at the elementary school. A quick search of my room for tools that would help me find clues produced my metal detector and a magnifying glass that Grandpa Howard bought me for Christmas to help me study artifacts discovered on my expeditions. I grabbed a notebook and pen from Dad’s den to take notes from the investigation and headed to Sara’s house. If she wasn’t busy studying for the spelling bee, she could be my assistant. I will definitely need her help as I will probably be in a hurry and misspell words as I take notes. I would hate not to be able to solve the case because I couldn’t read my own notes.

  I had filled Sara in on all the details of the stolen recipe and my plans to catch the crook. She was willing to be my assistant, but only if I would let her get her picture taken in her Cat Lady outfit for the newspaper after we solved the mystery.

  “It’ll be some good publicity for Lady Sara, Queen of the Cat People,” she explained. “Helping solve the recipe mystery will expose my super powers to the world.”

  I didn’t have time to change her mind. We needed to find as many clues as we could since we had to go back to school the next day. Besides, her outrageous appearance will draw everyone’s attention, while I search for clues in the background. I would investigate incognito, while she serves as a decoy. If this plan works the way I think it will, Nancy Drew might write her next book about me.

  “My dad said that I have to be home in time for dinner,” Lady Sara said as she scampered down her front porch steps.

  “If all goes well, we’ll have the case solved by then,” I replied confidently.

  I grew more confident along the walk to school. Sara only lives about 2 ½ blocks from the school, so it only took us about ten minutes to get to the crime scene. It was enough time, however, to realize that my plan was going to work out perfectly. Every car that drove by us slowed down to catch a glimpse of Lady Sara. There were even a couple of vehicles that nearly crashed into each other because they couldn’t take their eyes off her. Sara was going to be the perfect decoy after all.

  I was not prepared, however, for what we found when we made it to the school campus. A WBFD news truck was parked in front of the office. A large van with a satellite dish on top of it was parked behind it. A huge crowd of people were gathered near the flagpoles where the time capsule was once buried.

  “Stop for a minute,” I directed Sara.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “That’s a lot of people at the crime scene. I need to gather my thoughts and form a plan of attack,” I answered.

  My first thought was that this was going to make it more difficult to obtain clues with so many people around. Taking my dad’s voice to think more optimistically, I realized that this would provide an even better opportunity for me to remain incognito. In addition, the crowd of people gathered now provided me with a crowd of suspects to question.

  “Turn the metal detector on,” I instructed Sara. “We might as well search the entire school grounds for clues. The crook might have dropped something during his get-away,” I suggested.

  Actually, this was a ruse. I figured that the sight of Sara approaching the crowd with the metal detector in her outrageous costume would distract the crowd enough for me to question everyone without it being obvious that I was a detective. With any luck, I could narrow the list of possible suspects down.

  As we approached the crime scene, I suddenly heard a familiar voice shout my name.

  “Serina!” the voice shouted again.

  I couldn’t believe my eyes when Autumn burst through the crowd and ran toward me.

  “Autumn!” I screamed as I ran to met her.

  I threw my arms around her and gave her a huge hug when we caught up with each other. I still couldn’t believe that it was really her.

  ”When did you get in town,” I asked. “Are
you moving back?”

  “Sheriff Daniels called us about the time capsule,” she replied. “Mom was outraged when she heard the news. She said there was no way that someone was going to use the recipe to take credit for her life’s work. We left Chicago last night and arrived early this morning. We haven’t had much rest since we got here. Reporters have been driving us crazy since the news broke. A National News Network van followed us into town and even rented the hotel room next to us.”

  “Tell your mom not to worry. I’m on the case,” I informed her.

  “I’m sure that will ease her mind,” Autumn said sarcastically.

  “Who is that?” she asked as Sara approached us with the metal detector.

  “That’s my assistant, Sara.”

  “I’m Lady Sara, Queen of the Cat Kingdom,” Sara said as she introduced herself.

  “You must be desperate for an assistant,” Autumn mumbled.

  “I’m also Serina’s best friend,” Sara added.

  “Is that right?” Autumn questioned.

  “Actually, she’s my cousin. Her dad took your dad’s old job as the head basketball coach after you moved to Chicago.”

  “So, her whole family just moves in and takes our place?” Autumn asked.

  “It’s not like that at all,” I attempted to explain.

  “I’ll catch up with you later,” Autumn spouted. Mom’s got an important interview with the National News Network. It looks like they’re getting ready. The reporter insists that the whole family be on camera. Watch for me on TV tonight,” she said before jogging back to the crime scene for the interview.

  Before I could say anything, she was gone. Autumn and I had been best friends all of our lives. I didn’t understand why she snubbed me. Was she jealous of Sara? Was I not supposed to have any friends since she left? Besides, it’s not like I was hanging out with just anybody. Sara is my cousin. More than just a cousin, she had actually become my best friend in Autumn’s absence. It was Sara, not Autumn, who thought of the fool proof plan to make Suzy and the mail man get along. If it wasn’t for Sara, I’d be worrying about busting blocks for the rest of my life instead of investigating the theft of the Mrs. Doyle’s Doodle Soup recipe.

  It was hard to concentrate on the investigation after the confrontation with Autumn. I wasn’t in the mood anymore to ask anyone any questions. Instead, we scoured the entire school grounds with the metal detector before heading home.

  “We’ll pick up the investigation tomorrow at school,” I told Sara. “We’ll interview students, teachers, and even the principal. We have to consider everyone a suspect.”

  “Do you want me to dress as Lady Sara?” she asked.

  “That won’t be necessary. We’ll save your super powers for later.”

  We went our separate ways to our own homes. I went to bed earlier than normal that night. The confrontation with Autumn was stuck in my mind like Sara’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t understand why she acted so pompous and jealous.

  To make matters worse, I was now staring at her on my TV screen being interviewed by the National News Network. I couldn’t watch. I clicked the off button on the remote control and turned over in my bed. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day.