Marty Frye, Private Eye--The Case of the Stolen Poodle Read online

  Mr. Dupont told Mr. Hammond that the photographer knew what she was doing. “She’s very creative,” he said. “She’ll have lots of ideas on how to photograph your spicy jawbreakers. The last piece we did together, she had the whole town involved.”

  Mrs. Bowman reappeared wearing a pair of wax candy lips. She took them out of her mouth and told Mr. Dupont he had to try her salted caramels too.

  “You need to question her,” Mr. Hammond whispered to Marty.

  But Marty didn’t have to question Mrs. Bowman because he’d just about solved the case.

  AHA!

  Marty headed outside with Mr. Hammond right behind him.

  “You can’t give up!” Mr. Hammond said. “You’re the only detective I know.”

  But Marty wasn’t giving up. He was finding the missing candy.

  Marty hurried to the commotion at the fire station.

  He gestured toward the firefighters in full uniform. They were holding a giant hose pretending to put out a fire— in a pyramid of candy jars filled with jawbreakers.

  “No cause for concern—your candy’s returned!” said Marty.

  A woman with dark hair put down her camera and shook Mr. Hammond’s hand. “I’m Lisa from the newspaper. Soon everyone in town will know about your fiery jawbreakers.”

  Mr. Hammond looked at the firefighters, the truck, and all the jars of candy. These photos would bring in lots of business.

  Lisa smiled when she saw Mr. Dupont.

  Mr. Hammond apologized for not being there when Lisa arrived. He turned to Marty and asked him how he knew the photographer was involved.

  “When I heard she was inventive, I became attentive.” Marty knew fire trucks and sirens equaled something HOT.

  Mr. Dupont took one of the jawbreakers. “Let’s see if these things are as hot as everyone says.”

  Marty, Mr. Hammond, Lisa, and the firefighters watched as Mr. Dupont sucked on the jawbreaker. After a few moments, the critic’s eyes began to water. Then his forehead started to sweat. Marty even thought he saw steam coming out of Mr. Dupont’s ears. Lisa grabbed the hose from the firefighter and aimed it at her friend. Marty didn’t need his detective skills to see that Felix wasn’t too happy getting soaked.

  “You’re still going to give me a good review, aren’t you?” Mr. Hammond asked. Mr. Dupont told Mr. Hammond these were the best spicy jawbreakers he’d ever had.

  Lisa thanked the firefighters for their time and started to pack up the candy to take back to the store. She handed several jars to Jerome who had come to help.

  Marty blocked Jerome’s path.

  Jerome told Marty not to worry, that he was definitely taking the candy back to Mr. Hammond’s store.

  “But I figure since I’m helping out, I should at least get one jawbreaker as a tip.”

  Marty thought that was a good idea and popped one into his mouth too.

  A JOB WELL DONE

  Mr. Hammond fussed over the canisters of candy, making sure all were filled to the brim. When Mrs. Bowman came over from the comic book store, Mr. Hammond didn’t throw her out. Instead he showed her the photos of the firefighters he’d taken with his phone.

  Marty wondered if Mr. Hammond and Mrs. Bowman might end up being friends. He took the thank-you bag of goodies from Mr. Hammond and headed home.

  But before he did, he crossed the street and climbed up his favorite tree one more time.

  There was only one thing better than sitting in a tree and that was sitting in a tree with a giant bag of candy.

  3

  THE CASE OF THE

  STOLEN POODLE

  THE CRIME

  When Marty got home, his sister, Katie, was doing her homework. The kitchen table was filled with piles of pennies, nickels, and dimes.

  Katie counted out pennies as she worked. “Three plus seven equals ten,” she said.

  Marty swiped one of the pennies. “No disrespect, but your answer’s incorrect.”

  Katie threw herself over the rest of the coins.

  Marty was heading upstairs to play video games when their neighbor Jackie burst into the kitchen.

  Darlene was Jackie’s poodle. Jackie loved dressing up Darlene in sweaters and bows and tiny shoes that Marty thought were silly. He wondered if Darlene ran away because she didn’t want to be Jackie’s canine doll anymore.

  “Don’t break a sweat—I’ll find your pet,” Marty said.

  “Oh, thank you, thank you!” Jackie did a hula dance around the kitchen table that made Marty want to hide inside the cupboard.

  But when you’re a poet detective, you don’t say no to a new case.

  SEARCHING FOR CLUES

  Marty and his sister followed Jackie to her house. “There’s a Bobby the Bloodhound marathon that Darlene and I were going to watch today. But our television isn’t working—I was trying to figure out how to tell Darlene.”

  Marty was having second thoughts about helping Jackie. But Jackie had lived in their neighborhood for years and was a good friend.

  It was time to ask some tough questions.

  “About Darlene—when was she last seen?”

  Jackie told him she was getting ready to take Darlene for a walk when she realized her poodle had suddenly disappeared.

  “What’s that smell?” Katie asked.

  Jackie led Marty and Katie into a kitchen full of goodies. Marty remembered that Jackie liked to cook and his mouth began to water when he saw the counter lined with tarts and quiches. (Here was another mystery—how could he possibly be hungry after eating so much candy that afternoon?)

  Jackie took out plates for her friends. While the girls ate, Marty snooped around the house.

  He found chew toys.

  He found a dog bed.

  He found dog food.

  But no Darlene.

  Marty spotted something sparkly. He reached underneath the shelf then held up his discovery for Jackie to see.

  “That’s because I hadn’t slipped it on Darlene yet! Someone stole her, Marty!”

  Marty was disappointed the leash wasn’t a clue. He’d already solved two crimes today—would he be able to solve a third?

  THE SUSPECTS

  “Do you know anyone mean who would hurt Darlene?” Marty asked.

  “Tina who lives next door hates Darlene,” Jackie said.

  “Remember when she said poodles were the ugliest dogs ever?” Katie added. “We should make sure she isn’t the kidnapper.”

  Marty didn’t tell his sister that kidnapping a poodle was actually dognapping. (Katie was not a detective, after all.)

  The three friends marched over to Tina’s. She opened the front door just a crack. Marty could hear a silly TV song playing in the next room.

  Jackie told Tina that Darlene was missing.

  Tina looked nervous. “Even if I knew where your dog was, I wouldn’t tell you.”

  Marty pointed to something placed neatly on Tina’s front steps.

  Jackie stared at the mangled chew toy. “Yup—that’s definitely the work of Darlene.”

  “Get that off my front steps!” Tina shouted.

  Marty looked around the yard. If Darlene was here, did she come on her own or did someone bring her? And what was that silly music playing from inside Tina’s house?

  Sean the mail carrier came up the walk and asked what was going on. Marty was the first to answer.

  “I want my dog back!” Jackie cried.

  “I want another tart!” Katie shouted.

  Tina slammed the door.

  “Um … I’m going to get back to work,” Sean said.

  But Marty wasn’t done spying. Sticking out of the mail carrier’s bag were some dog biscuits. Had he been the one to lure Darlene away from home?

  THE SEARCH CONTINUES

  Marty knew mail carriers often carried dog treats in their bags. He knew biscuits were a good way to bribe pets to stop barking. But Marty wondered if something else was going on. He hid behind cars and trees as he followed Sean on his r
oute.

  He watched Sean deliver a stack of mail to the pet shop.

  Marty snuck behind the gerbil cages where the clerk was watching a show on the large TV. “Check this out,” the clerk said to Sean.

  He pointed to a terrier in a nearby cage. The terrier started howling at the Bobby the Bloodhound commercial.

  Marty watched Sean go through the magazine rack. After a few minutes, he picked out an armload of magazines and took them to the cash register. Sean was surprised when he looked up and spotted Marty.

  Marty asked the mail carrier why he was buying poodle magazines. “That’s a lot to read about one breed,” Marty said.

  “Jackie isn’t the only one who loves poodles,” Sean said. “I think they’re great too.”

  Marty looked around.

  “I would never steal someone’s pet!” Sean said. “As soon as you said Darlene was missing, I started looking for her on my route. I’m buying these magazines for my girlfriend—she has a poodle too.”

  It was time for Marty to head back to Jackie’s to say he had no leads.

  “You sure you don’t want to stay for the Bobby the Bloodhound marathon? It’s starting now.” The clerk pointed to the screen. “All the strays in town will be lined up to watch it.”

  Marty listened to the theme song and realized where he’d heard it before. He hurried out of the shop to tell Jackie the good news about her dog.

  AHA!

  Jackie and Katie were tearing apart the garage looking for Darlene. Marty almost tripped over a giant pile of board games in the middle of the driveway.

  Jackie looked even more panicked. “Do you think Darlene ran away because she doesn’t love me anymore?”

  Marty motioned for Jackie and Katie to follow him next door. They stood on tiptoes and looked through the window where Tina was sitting on the couch—watching TV with Darlene.

  Jackie burst into the house.

  Darlene’s tail wagged as soon as she saw Jackie.

  Tina looked up sheepishly. “I think Darlene knew your TV was broken and she brought me the bone because she wanted to watch Bobby the Bloodhound.”

  “I’m a sleuth—you should’ve told me the truth.” Marty explained that he recognized the Bobby the Bloodhound theme song from when they talked to Tina earlier.

  Tina wrinkled her nose and turned to Jackie. “Every time I see you and Darlene together, I get jealous. I want a dog so much but my parents won’t let me have one.”

  “If you’d just invited us to watch Bobby the Bloodhound with you, we would’ve come,” Jackie said.

  “Really?” Tina motioned to the rest of the couch. “Then have a seat!”

  Katie ran back to Jackie’s house and returned with a plate of tarts and quiches for them to share. (Even Darlene got one.)

  Marty couldn’t resist spending time with his friends—especially after solving the case. But you didn’t need to be a poet detective to see what was going on between Darlene and Bobby the Bloodhound.

  “Please don’t blush, but Darlene’s got a crush.”

  For the rest of the show, Marty watched Darlene staring at Bobby the Bloodhound. Her tail never stopped wagging.

  A JOB WELL DONE

  Marty’s mom was stirring a large pot of tomato sauce at the stove when he and Katie got home.

  “With meatballs and garlic bread,” his mom added.

  As he and Katie set the table, their mom asked them how they were doing.

  “Just another day, keeping crime at bay,” Marty answered.

  Marty ran through the day’s events: helping Nurse Laughlin, then Mr. Hammond at the candy store, followed by finding Jackie’s poodle.

  Today was busy for ANY poet detective.

  He hoped tomorrow would be half as much fun. He’d be prepared to solve more mysteries—especially after a giant plate of spaghetti.

  About the Author

  Janet Tashjian

  Janet Tashjian is a middle-grade and young adult novelist who’s been writing books for children for fifteen years. Her first novel ‘Tru Confessions’ was made into a critically acclaimed Disney TV movie starring Clara Bryant and Shia LaBeouf. ‘The Gospel According to Larry’ series is a cult favorite and ‘Fault Line’ is taught in many middle and high schools. Her novels ‘My Life As a Book,’ ‘My Life As a Stuntboy,’ and ‘My Life As a Cartoonist’ are all illustrated by her teenage son, Jake. Their collaboration continues with a new series, ‘Einstein the Class Hamster.’

  Janet has been doing school visits for fifteen years; you can email her for details.

  You can follow her on Twitter and like her books on Facebook, and check out her YouTube Channel. You can sign up for author updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  1. The Case of the Angry Nurse

  The Crime

  Searching for Clues

  The Suspects

  The Search Continues

  Aha!

  A Job Well Done

  2. The Case of the Stolen Candy

  The Crime

  Searching for Clues

  The Suspects

  The Search Continues

  Aha!

  A Job Well Done

  3. The Case of the Stolen Poodle

  The Crime

  Searching for Clues

  The Suspects

  The Search Continues

  Aha!

  A Job Well Done

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Henry Holt and Company

  Publishers since 1866

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, New York 10010

  mackids.com

  Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  Text copyright © 2017 by Janet Tashjian

  Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Laurie Keller

  All rights reserved.

  Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Tashjian, Janet, author. | Keller, Laurie, illustrator.

  Title: Marty Frye, private eye: the case of the stolen poodle / Janet Tashjian,

  illustrated by Laurie Keller.

  Other titles: Case of the stolen poodle

  Description: First edition. | New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2017. | Series:

  Marty Frye, private eye | Summary: Seven-year-old Marty Frye is on the job

  again, speaking in rhyme as he solves three new mysteries for the school nurse,

  the candy store owner, and a neighbor.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016037267 | eISBN 978-1-250-18507-5

  Subjects: | CYAC: Mystery and detective stories. | Lost and found possessions—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.T211135 Maw 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016037267

  First Edition—2017

 

 

 
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