Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook by Mary Amato Read Free Book Online

you
    all alone
    in the dirty water
    of life.
    Edgar understood it! She wasn’t really talking about a fish. She was talking about her former best friend. Maia was the fish who swam away to be with Gabriela!
    â€œHave a seat, class,” Mr. Crew called out.
    Edgar sat down. Destiny came in a moment later,hugging her notebook to her chest, and quietly took her seat.
    Now that I have read Destiny’s poems, I know more about her. She is sad, sad, sad.
    Is everybody hiding some kind of sad secret inside them? I guess some people have sadness in them and some people don’t. I bet Taz is always in a good mood because he is always cracking jokes. I bet Patrick is never sad, either, because he is always succeeding in everything he does. They have it easy. Like my brother.
    As Mr. Crew began his lesson on Mexico’s history, Edgar began to reconstruct the crime from Destiny’s point of view. On that fateful morning, she must have arrived early and found Ms. Herschel’s classroom empty. She sat down, feeling miserable. Perhaps she looked over at Slurpy and recalled that her former best friend, Maia Gomez, had given the goldfish to the class as a gift. Angry, she wrote the poetic note, taped it to the board, and picked up Slurpy . . . but how? Did she put the fish in a bowl? And then what? If she left the classroom, certainly someone would have seen her walking around with a goldfish: Edgar’s brown eyes grew bigger. She must have hid it in Ms. Hershel’s room. But where? Maybe, just maybe, the fish was in Destiny’s cubby!
    He jumped up.
    â€œWhat is it, Edgar?”
    â€œI need to use the bathroom.”
    â€œYou just got back from recess, Edgar. You can go after class. Have a seat.”
    â€œI have to use the bathroom, too,” Sammy said.
    â€œNo bathroom breaks now,” Mr. Crew said.
    The lesson on Aztec trade and transportation went in one ear and out the other. Edgar simply could not concentrate. Today was PE, so after social studies, they went straight to the gym, which was on the opposite side of the school.
    Finally, PE was over and they were heading back to Ms. Herschel’s room for end-of-day dismissal. Edgar walked as fast as he possibly could. He wanted to be the first one there so he could look in Destiny’s cubby and discover the goldfish!
    Ms. Herschel was sitting at her desk grading papers when he rushed in.
    â€œHow was PE?” she asked.
    â€œFine!” Edgar zoomed straight to the back of the room. He found Destiny’s cubby. In it was a pink jacket, a purple book bag, and a small twig with two graceful willow leaves.
    No Slurpy.
    â€œWhat are you looking at?” Patrick’s voice made Edgar jump.
    â€œNothing!” Edgar said and rushed to his own cubby.
    Patrick peered into Destiny’s cubby.
    â€œWhat are you looking at?” Destiny’s voice made Patrick jump.
    â€œNothing!” Patrick said and glared at Edgar. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Edgar. I don’t know why I’m bothering to keep my eye on you.”
    It’s true. I don’t know what I’m doing. If I were a butterfly, my wings would be torn. If I were a number, I’d be zero.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

    That evening after dinner, Henri got out his clarinet and announced that he needed an audience. “Mr. Copland said we should practice all the songs for the fall band concert like it’s the real deal.”
    â€œA man after my own heart,” Tubby said, picking Rosy up out of her high chair. “A dress rehearsal tonight, Rosy! And we get to be the audience!”
    For the occasion, Twig tried to put a little tiara headband on Rosy, but Rosy made Tubby wear it on his bald head. Tubby placed a small top hat on top of Twig’s red hair and asked, “What do you want to wear, Edgar?”
    â€œI have homework,” Edgar said.
    His parents set up three chairs in the living room, and Tubby sat down in