Detective Waddlesworth was strolling down the street looking as glum as can be. How he hated not to have a mystery on the loose! But today was just one of those days when it was raining and there was nothing to do. Suddenly a ray of hope shot out! There it was! His favorite muffin was in the bakery window. He rushed to the bakery door, slung it open and eyeballed the muffin. Detective Waddlesworth gave the cashier money and grabbed the muffin. After he had taken his first bite, the alarm rang. And everybody knew what this meant. There was a mystery to be solved!!! So Detective Waddlesworth stuffed the muffin in his mouth and ran out of the bakery. He rushed down Main St. and into the parking lot where his car was parked. As he got in his car he dialed the museum’s number. “Hello,” he said. “Has there been someone who has stolen something?” asked Detective Waddlesworth. The museum director said, “No, not that I know of.” “Ok,” said Detective Waddlesworth and he hung up. Next he dialed the jewelry store’s number. He thought that surely someone would steal something from there. The jewelry store always had things that were VERY expensive! “Hello,” he said. “Is there anything missing in your store?” he asked. The jewelry store clerk replied, “Yes, there is. In fact my most expensive item has gone missing! So if you can, come here right now.” He hung up and drove down Main St. to the jewelry store. The phone rang again and he answered it. “Oh and one more thing,” said the clerk. “The item is an emerald stone.” “Thanks,” he said.
Finally he was there. Detective Waddlesworth walked inside looking for any clues that he could find. He asked the clerk, “Where is the glass case that the emerald stone was in?” “It was over here on display by the window.” Detective Waddlesworth walked over to the glass case and looked all around it with his magnifying glass. But he couldn’t find any clues. So he looked around the store and on the wall he found a sign that said in bold letters, WANTED THIEF: BUTCH RYDER.“Do you think Butch Ryder stole the emerald stone?” he asked the clerk. The clerk thought about this for a while but finally said, “He might have and might haven’t. You know there are other criminals in town.” Detective Waddlesworth knew the clerk was right so he went back to the glass case again. He searched all around the case and do you know what he saw? Well, on top of the case was a white glove with two red letters. It was a B and an R. Detective Waddlesworth thought about what the letters stood for. Maybe they meant Box Ridge. After a few times he finally came up with it. The answer was Butch Ryder! “I’ve got it!” yelled Detective Waddlesworth. “Butch Ryder stole the emerald stone!” He was so happy that he could do a back flip! “All I have to do now is call the police. Then they have to catch Butch Ryder,” he said. “Sounds good to me,” said the clerk. Detective Waddlesworth dialed the police station’s number. “Hello,” he said. “We know who stole the emerald stone. It was Butch Ryder,” said Detective Waddlesworth. “We’ll locate him and put him in jail,” replied the police.
A few minutes later he saw the police chasing Butch Ryder down the street. On the third time around the block the police finally caught him. Butch Ryder got in the back of the police car. Because he stole an expensive thing Butch had to stay in jail for a year. Detective Waddlesworth turned to the clerk and said, “I better go home. It’s getting late.” “Ok” said the clerk. He left and went to his car and drove away. At his house he ate dinner and then got in bed. For a few minutes he turned on the T.V. You’ll never guess what he saw! Detective Waddlesworth saw a picture of himself. Other men were talking about how he solved another mystery. He was so excited that he was on T.V. Then he turned it off and snuggled up under the covers. Detective Waddlesworth fell asleep and dreamed about his next mystery.
