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It was a perfect night for crime, the smell of cooked turkey filled the neighborhood air. When there was a CRASH! Gasps filled the Brown’s house. Clara Brown jumped in for action.

Our story starts where all good stories start, from the beginning. It was a cheerful day in the town Smallville for it was Thanksgiving. Clara Brown just finished from her latest case. The case of the stolen earrings. Clara Brown loves mysteries because who doesn’t love a good puzzle. She had loved riddles and puzzles ever since she could walk. When Clara was 3 years old her mother got a job, so they hired a housekeeper who was like a babysitter for Clara. Although the housekeeper’s name is Mrs.Buttingham her parents insisted that they called her Cook because of her delicious snacks and meals. Mrs.Buttingham or cook as you have might of guessed spends most of her time in the kitchen, this gave young Clara a chance to explore a bit. And by the time Clara was 4 she had finished every puzzle in the house. From jigsaw puzzles to Rubik’s cubes were solved. When Clara was only seven her parents registered her in several riddle and puzzles contests if my calculation is correct about 41 contests which Clara came first place in all of them. Young Clara is now 9 years old.

Clara kept her beautiful red notebook on the kitchen counter and stared at her housekeeper who was too busy to notice. Cook (Mrs.Buttingham) was busy with the preparation for the huge thanksgiving feast almost everyone in Clara’s family was invited expect Clara’s grandma and why you ask because her grandma was terribly ill, and her father wished that she stayed home to get better.  Clara’s house was a special house but no one wanted to live in it because it was haunted but Clara had already solved that case. The house was huge it made people think Clara’s family was rich. That was true when Clara was 2 years old her grandfather died and left lots and lots of money for her father and because of all the contests Clara won her family got really rich.

Clara stood just outside kitchen “Cook” she asked, “Can I have a snack?” 

“Ahhhhhhhh!” Cook screamed almost spilling all the cranberries on the clean marble kitchen floor. But luckily, she caught them just in time.

“Darling…  you scared …the life out of me” Cook exclaimed as she kept her hand on her heart while breathing very loudly.

“Sorry, I just was hungry” Clara giggled; she had this effect on people she could listen to a band of robbers talk without getting caught which was helpful during some mysteries. “Well, you can get something from the fridge, I suppose” Cook replied calming down. 

Clara walked into the kitchen. She quickly went to the fridge and looked inside and picked out a nice bowl of strawberries, some whipped cream, and Hershey syrup. Then she set them on the kitchen counter. She sprayed the whipped cream on the strawberries then slowly poured the Hershey syrup on top. After that she went to the huge, crowded pantry and picked out one of her favorite toppings Sprinkles. But these weren’t any sprinkles they were rainbow sparkly sprinkles. “Yes!”  She said reaching out to grab the container. Finally, she sprinkled the sprinkles on top of her delicious snack. “Done!” she cried grabbing a spoon for a bite. 

“Well, that looks sweet, darling” Cook complimented as she went to grab her purse.

“Where are you going?” Clara asked.

“To get the turkey” Cook said quickly as if she was late for something. She watched the stressed woman put on her jacket. Clara looked a bit closer and found that cook was sweating. Sweat was dripping off her forehead. Cook smiled a fake smile.

“I’ll get it, I want to help and I’m sure everything will be done by the time mama, papa, and the guests come” Clara reassured.

“Sweetheart, thank you so much while you get the turkey, I’ll cook, bake, and decorate the house “Cook explained happily.

Clara smiled as she slipped into her shoes and jacket. And out she went.

Clara stepped out of her house into the cold weather. Everyone was moving in a hurry, as she walked down the streets. Clara’s house was a bit far but not that far from the store. She walk a bit more when she came to the meat store. In the meanwhile Cook was done cooking and baking the pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, lasagna, and mashed potatoes. She was also starting to decorate the house. Hours later Clara came back with the biggest, tastiest turkey in the world. “My what a turkey “Cook cried when she saw it. She picked up the turkey and sneezed as she went to the kitchen. Clara found herself bored when a familiar voice came. “Where’s my little detective” a voice called.

“Papa!” Clara called running into her father arms.

Then she quickly walked away “Inspector Brown, can you tell me about your latest case?” She asked. Mr. Brown smiled as he looked into his daughter’s pretty blue eyes.

“Well, I was correct that the owner of new store was the culprit and solved the case. So, the mayor gave me an award from my outstanding work.” Her father explained proudly. Clara smiled and looked at her mom who was busy helping Cook with the turkey. Few minutes later the doorbell rang “Ding dong!” Clara opened the door and found an old man there “Grandpa James!” she smiled then more and more guests entered. When all the guests were in the party began. Clara and the other kids played while the grownups talked. When the dinner bell rang everyone took their seats around the long table. The smell of turkey filled the room. Oohs and ahhs were everywhere as the turkey was kept on the table. When the lights went out and there was a Crash!

When the lights were on again. The turkey was gone from the table! It was nowhere in sight. Clara jumped in for action, she got her notebook and her lucky pencil and got to work. She noticed that Aunt Mary, Grandpa James, Dad, Mom, and Cook were out of their seats. She knew her suspects and investigation began.

“Aunt Mary where were you when the light went out?” she asked 

“It was dark and Oh my terrible eyes could not see a thing I thought my glasses fell of and got out of my seat when a sort of sneezing dark creature bumped into me and I fell down. But then I remembered I was wearing contacts, so I got up when I heard a crash but just then the lights came on” Aunt Mary explained.

“I see” Clara said and moved on to Cook who was busy in the kitchen washing her hands.

“Cook who is this sandwich for?” she asked jotting everything that Aunt Mary said in her notebook.

“Oh darling, this sandwich is for me, I have this terrible allergy to turkey and oh and just the smell of turkey makes me sneeze.” she explained taking a bite of her sandwich. 

Clara quickly took a note and asked, “Where were you when the light was out?”

Cook took a moment to think before answering “I was at the kitchen of course making a jelly sandwich.” Then she sneezed.

Clara looked at her notebook and jotted this down too.

Next, she had to ask her grandfather. “Grandfather James, where were you when the lights went out?” she questioned.

Grandpa James looked up he was too busy playing patter cake with Clara’s cousin baby brother to notice she was there.

“I was scared that this cutie pie would get scared in the dark, so I stood up to find him when a person crashed into me. A sneezing person, I could make out that the person was a she but when I got up to ask the woman who she was the lights came on and she was gone. Thankfully, little Willy was safe” he explained patting little willy on the head. Clara felt something was fishy but what? She jotted some clues down and ran up to her room. Her room was the most brilliant room in the house there was bed on one side of it and a desk with her things but then there was also a bookshelf that if you pick one specific book the bookshelf will spin, and a huge library will appear. Clara quickly picked up the book and went inside the huge library she looked down at her notes and got a book on allergies and blackouts. And walked back into room with just a push, the bookshelf went back in place and the library disappeared.

Clara took a moment to read the two books when she found something useful and jotted the interesting fact down.

 Her brown hair swayed as she went to her next suspect. “Mom” she started to say, “I want to know where you were when the lights were out?” Her mother looked up at her sweet daughter before saying “Oh that, I was going to the kitchen to see if Cook was ok, but she wasn’t there and if she was it was awfully too dark to see anybody, so I went to my sister, Aunt Mary who had just fallen on the floor and I was about help her up when the lights came on.” she answered honestly. Clara jotted this down too. So, who was the culprit she thought? Her stomach rumbled, she was hungry and there was no turkey in sight she looked down at her suspect list only one suspect left Inspector Brown or as she called him Papa.

Inspector Brown very busy in his room trying to solve a case of his own. Inspector Brown’s room was the messiest room in the house. His bed was clean, but his desk and floor were a mess. Red yarn, papers, newspapers, and his clothes covered the floor his desk had even more papers, pens, and coffee mugs. No one could convince him to clean his room not even Mrs. Brown. On one side of Inspector Brown’s room was bulletin with the clues on his latest case. Today the bulletin board had only one clue. A piece of paper was pinned onto the board on it was a code for something. Clara ran into her father’s room and walked through the messy maze. She found her father looking at the paper, he would stare at it and take a note, stare at it and take note. Clara ran to her father and hugged him then walked away and stood next to him and stared at the paper too. This is what the paper said:

                      O vqfz ngx zg dttz dt qx jxqctk,&;))

Clara smiled picked up a paper off the floor took her pencil and wrote:

                                I want you to meet me at Quaver ,7:00

She handed the paper to her father. “Wow you solved it so fast how did you do it?” he asked surprised he kept the paper on a desk and faced his daughter.  As he talked his mustache moved. Clara laughed then explained “Oh papa, it is so simple it is the order of your computer keyboard. A would-be Q, B would be W, C would be E, and so on” 

Her father smiled too “Why are you here anyway?” he asked

Clara stopped laughing and asked her father her question “Where were you when the lights were out?”

Inspector Brown thought and said, “I was going to my room for a flashlight when I saw Cook or maybe your mom or your Aunt, well someone bump in your Grandfather, so I went to ask them both if they were ok but then the lights came on and the person who bumped into your grandfather disappeared.”

Clara wrote this down in her notebook too. When she knew the answer. She knew the culprit. She knew who had the turkey. She solved the case!

“I know the answer!” she cried racing to the scene of the crime, the long table. Her father ran behind her. Everyone gathered once more at the table. She told all her suspects to stand in line. And started to say “This case was difficult but simple, I asked all my suspects the same question, “Where were you when the lights went out? of course they all answered differently but one answer felt a little wrong. Can anybody make a jelly sandwich in the dark? Well Cook can” Clara pointed at Cook who was holding her stomach in pain.

 “And there was something similar in 2 of the answers someone got knocked on to the floor by a sneezing woman. And Cook told me that she was allergic to turkey and was sneezing a lot today. Plus, thanks to my personal library I know that if a person is allergic turkey, they are also likely allergic to wheat like wheat bread like the bread Cook had with jam for her sandwich.” Clara continued 

Cook blushed with embarrassment. “So, tell us Cook where is the turkey?” she asked.

Cook still in pain led everyone in the kitchen opened a cabinet and there was the turkey. Cook sneezed before saying “Good job with the test”

Clara looked shocked. This was a test? she thought.

Inspector Brown ran to his daughter “yes, this was a test to see if you are a true detective, we tested your knowledge, code cracking skills, interrogation skills and your answering skills. And you passed. By the way, the clue on the bulletin board was fake it was for testing your code cracking skills.” he said happily. Clara smiled. And what happened next as you might have guessed the family went back to the thanksgiving feast. And everything was great.

When the phone rang. Clara went to answer it, but the caller was quite after few seconds the anonymous caller whispered this “Meet me at Quaver street tomorrow 7:00 am.” Then hanged up.

Clara was surprised and excited for a new adventure was about begin…