BACK NECKLACT 6' Detective and the case of the stolen necklace Michaela came down the stairs expecting to sit down to breakfast, but instead, her mom handed her a paper plate full of food and a styrofoam cup of orange juice. "What's this for?" asked Michaela. Her mom replied, "Detective Sanchez is waiting for you in the driveway." "Don't tell me. Let me guess." said Michaela, "Lucifer Snidely hired someone to steal the world's most expensive necklace again." While Michaela was eating her breakfast on the way to the museum, the policeman explained, "This case has us completely stumped. When we looked at the recordings from the security cameras, we saw that the robbers weren't carrying anything in their hands when they left the museum. And from past experience we know that they either hid the necklace inside the museum OR they used a balloon or a rocket to carry the necklace away through the air. But we searched the museum top to bottom and we couldn't find any evidence of a hiding place inside the museum. Nor could we find any evidence on the roof that they used a rocket or a balloon. Michaela asked, "What were the robbers carrying when they came into the museum?" "We only looked for what they were carrying AWAY from the museum." replied the policeman. When she got to the museum, Michaela looked at the recordings from the security cameras showing the robbers coming into the building. "One robber is carrying a tool box." said Michaela as she pointed to the television screen. The policeman replied, "They used the tools to break into the display case and then they left the tools and the tool box on the floor beside the display when they left." Michaela pointed at the screen again saying, "The other robber is carrying what looks like a football. Did you find a football anywhere inside the museum?" "Nowhere." replied the policeman. Immediately, Michaela stood up and ran up the stairs to the roof of the museum. "We already looked up here!" exclaimed the policeman as he followed her up the stairs. Michaela said, "I know. But I think I know what he did with the football." "What?" asked the policeman. Michaela stood in the middle of the roof of the museum and turned a complete circle. Then she turned back toward the building across the alley. "There!" she exclaimed. The policeman replied, "I don't see anything." Michaela explained, "That football we saw in the security recordings was not really a football. It was actually a vault that was shaped like a football." The policeman scratched his head and admitted, "I still don't get it." (Can you guess how Michaela knew where they'd find the necklace) Michaela explained, "A football is shaped the way it is so you can throw it a long way. I'm pretty sure the burglars put the necklace inside the football shaped vault, then threw it over the alley onto the roof of the building next door. After the police go away, Lucifer Snidely will send someone up to the roof of that building to get the necklace." "Well, that sly fox!" exclaimed the policeman, "No wonder we couldn't find the necklace here!" Sure enough, when they went downstairs, across the alley and up to the roof of that building, they found what looked like a football. "Well done!" exclaimed the policeman. Then he picked up and examined the football-vault and exclaimed, "Oh oh!" "What's the matter?" asked Michaela. "We've got two problems." explained the policeman, "This vault has a ten key pad like a telephone. But there are no numbers on the keys. And we have no idea which order to press the keys to open the vault." "What's on the keys?" asked Michaela. "Pictures." replied the policeman, "What good are pictures?" Michaela explained, "The pictures just make it more difficult to open the vault. I'm sure the robbers left some clues. All we have to do is find them." (Here are the pictures that appeared on the keys:) A woman's dress A man's shoes A man's big toe A tree A nail A baseball cap A maple leaf A woman's chin A lake A light bulb Michaela examined the football with her magnifying glass. Except for the ten-key pad, the vault looked just like a football. It was covered with leather and fastened with laces on one side. "Aha!" exclaimed Michaela. "Did you find a clue?!" asked the policeman. "Ten clues!" exclaimed Michaela, "One clue for each picture on the keys. The clues are written in very small writing on the laces." (Here are the ten words written on the laces) country snail flake satellite cashew handicap tomato belief urchin address "Well, I'll be!" exclaimed the policeman as he peered at the words through the magnifying glass. Then, he frowned, "Wait a minute, these words have nothing to do with the pictures on the keys. Not one of them is the same!" (Can you tell from these clues which keys to press to open the football-shaped vault?) Michaela studied the list of words and the ten keys for several minutes, then explained, "If you say the words out loud, the ends of the words are what's in the picture." The policeman studied the football for a few seconds, then admitted, "I don't get it." (Can you tell from Michaela's explanation which keys to press?) Michaela pointed to the first word on the laces, saying, "Look here. The first clue is COUNTRY. The end sound on the word COUNTRY is TREE. The end sound on the word SNAIL is NAIL. The end sound on the word FLAKE is LAKE. The end sound on the word SATELLITE is LIGHT. The end sound on the word CASHEW is SHOE. The end sound on the word HANDICAP is CAP. The end sound on the word TOMATO is TOE. The end sound on the word BELIEF is LEAF. The end sound on the word URCHIN is CHIN. The end sound on the word ADDRESS is DRESS." So, Michaela pressed the keys in this order: TREE NAIL LAKE LIGHT SHOE CAP TOE LEAF CHIN DRESS There was a click, a buzz and a hum, then the vault opened like a clam shell revealing the world's most expensive necklace. Michaela, the world's greatest detective solved yet another case! ©2009 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: This story is free. Pay no fees or royalties. Do not sell this story or rewrite it. You may reproduce and distribute this story freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org/kid email: bob@bobsnook.org BACK |