The Case of the Busted Video Games Read online

  “Hey, Mr. Detective—want to race?” Chanda asked.

  He found the owner wiping a puddle of his daughter’s drink from the floor.

  Marty brought Murray over to the row of broken machines and pointed to the slots. “If I had to deduce, I’d say this was juice.”

  Murray watched his daughter bounce between the machines—at the same height as the coin slots. “I thought someone was damaging my machines on purpose,” Murray said. “I can’t believe the answer was under my nose the whole time. This is all my fault—I never should’ve mixed fruit with yogurt, chocolate milk, and ice cream!”

  The woman with the popcorn reassured Murray. “How were you to know you’d need a pro?” She shot Marty a wink. “You’re not the only one who can rhyme.”

  The woman crumpled the empty bag of popcorn into a ball, hopped on her toes, and aimed. The makeshift ball landed squarely in the wastebasket on the other side of the room.

  A smile spread across Marty’s face and he pulled out a quarter from his pocket.

  Murray, his daughter, and the lady with the popcorn followed Marty to the karaoke machine.

  A JOB WELL DONE

  When Marty’s mom and sister returned from the bookstore, Marty was singing the theme song from The Banana Splits show with Chanda and Wally. Murray grabbed the juice cup away from the baby just as she was about to spill it all over the karaoke machine.

  “That girl is a menace!” Wally said.

  Marty defended Murray’s daughter.

  Murray said he would make his daughter a healthier drink tomorrow.

  “You ready to go?” Marty’s mom asked. “I’ve got dinner to prepare and papers to grade.”

  Marty and his sister followed their mom to the parking garage.

  “Wait!” Murray hurried to catch up. He handed Marty a string of prize tickets. “Next time, I promise not to make you work. Just come and play.”

  No one had to ask Marty twice to play video games at the arcade. He told Murray he’d see him soon.

  3

  THE CASE OF THE

  MISSING

  PHONE

  THE CRIME

  Marty and Katie put the groceries away while their mom roasted a chicken for dinner. Their cat, Rip Van Winkle, rubbed against Katie’s leg.

  “I guess you’re hungry.” Katie opened a can of food and dumped it into Rip Van Winkle’s bowl.

  “While you’re at it, can someone clean Mr. Van Winkle’s litter box?” their mom asked.

  Marty and Katie played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide which of them would get stuck with the dreaded job. Marty cheered when his scissors beat Katie’s paper. She shuffled off to the basement to empty the cat’s litter box.

  I solved two cases today—hip, hip, hooray! Marty thought as he went upstairs. Hopefully he’d have as much success with tonight’s science homework.

  He’d read only a few pages before his mother came upstairs and asked Marty if he’d seen her phone.

  “I thought I put it on the kitchen table when we came back from the mall,” she said. “But I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find it.”

  She tilted her head and looked at her son. “I might have to hire a private detective. Do you know where I can find a good one?”

  Marty closed his textbook.

  “The job is yours,” his mom said. “See if you can find it before dinner.”

  It was a challenge Marty was happy to accept.

  SEARCHING FOR CLUES

  If Marty’s calculations were correct, his mother had misplaced her phone fifty million times this year. He asked if she’d checked her purse, her car, and the table by the door where she always put her keys.

  “I’ve looked in all the usual places,” she said. “But this time I really think it’s gone.”

  Marty took out his magnifying glass and checked inside the fridge between the cartons of milk and juice. He checked the oven. (Potatoes and chicken were all he found.) He took everything out of his mom’s purse—what a mess!—then put it all back when he didn’t find the phone.

  “I called my cell from the home phone,” his mom said. “But I didn’t hear it ring. I don’t think it’s in the house.”

  It was time for some real private-eye work. Marty called the manager of the bookstore and Murray at the video arcade to see if his mother had left her phone at the mall. Neither of them had seen it.

  Next, Marty tracked down Katie playing with her dolls on the porch. The dolls were dressed in their best clothes and Katie was spraying them with her mother’s perfume.

  “Don’t they look nice?” Katie asked. “They’re on their way to a dance.”

  Marty rolled his eyes. How could Katie play while a mystery was unfolding right before their eyes?

  He asked Katie if she’d seen the phone since they returned from the mall.

  Katie took the scarf off one doll and put it on another. “Maybe Joel saw it. He’s out back.”

  Joel was the handyman who sometimes helped their mother with tasks around the house.

  “His nephew is with him today,” Katie continued. “You can ask him too.”

  Marty was already on his way outside.

  THE SUSPECTS

  Joel was in the backyard replacing a fuse in the electrical panel while his nephew, Luke, sat on the lawn playing a game—the same game Marty’s mom often played on HER phone. Marty wondered if Luke had borrowed his mom’s phone to entertain himself while his uncle worked. He sat on the grass next to Luke. Luke barely looked up from the screen. “I discovered this app when I found the phone. It’s really fun.”

  This was perhaps the easiest case Marty had ever solved. He told Luke he was glad he liked playing the game but it was time to return the phone to his mother.

  “No!” Luke said. “I found this phone fair and square.”

  Joel closed the electrical panel and asked Marty what was going on. Marty explained that Luke had borrowed his mother’s phone without her permission.

  Marty held out his hand for Luke to return the phone.

  Luke only clenched it tighter.

  “I’m confused, Luke,” Joel said. “I thought that was your phone.”

  Marty asked Luke where he found it. Perhaps on their kitchen table?

  “I’m not telling,” Luke said. “And I’m NOT giving it back.”

  Luke jumped over the hedge and out of the yard.

  Joel shook his head and turned to Marty. “Luke’s having a hard time at school. Don’t worry—I’ll get to the bottom of this,” he said.

  Marty appreciated that Joel was trying to help. But didn’t he understand that getting to the bottom of things was MARTY’S job?

  THE SEARCH CONTINUES

  Marty looked down the street for Luke.

  He looked in the garage.

  He looked in his favorite tree. Would he have time for two climbs in one day?

  But what if Luke WASN’T the thief? Marty didn’t want to waste valuable time if someone else was responsible for taking his mom’s phone. He decided to ask Jackie, their next-door neighbor, if she’d seen anything suspicious.

  Jackie was in her backyard wearing a jumpsuit and a beekeeper’s helmet.

  She lifted her veil and ran over to Marty. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m hunting for bees—help me find some!”

  Every time Marty saw Jackie she was doing something original (and kind of weird).

  He asked Jackie if she happened to see his mom’s missing phone.

  “I talked to Katie a little while ago,” Jackie said. “She didn’t mention anything about your mom’s lost phone.”

  Marty asked Jackie if he could examine her phone. He looked at the number of the last call that came in. Sure enough, his hunch was right. “I know this number well—Katie called from Mom’s cell.”

  He now had an idea what had happened to his mother’s phone. He told Jackie he had to go.

  “Hey! What about the bees?” Jackie called after him.

  Marty ran the whole way home. />
  AHA!

  Katie was on the porch, making her dolls dance around Rip Van Winkle. The cat did not seem amused by the festivities. Marty confronted his sister.

  Katie turned down the music so she could hear her brother. “What are you talking about?” Katie asked. “I’ve been here since we got back from the mall.”

  Marty realized his mistake. He’d retraced his mother’s steps this afternoon but hadn’t retraced Katie’s.

  He guided his sister through their afternoon.

  Katie’s hand flew to her mouth. “Now I remember!”

  Marty led Katie to the basement. They bent down to the litter box next to the sink as Rip Van Winkle looked on with disapproval.

  Marty ran to his room to get his detective kit and then slipped on a pair of latex gloves. (Evidence had to be protected. So did his hands since cat poop was involved.)

  He carefully rummaged through the box until he felt a small rectangle buried in the fresh litter. Marty pulled out his mom’s phone.

  Even climbing their maple tree was not as gratifying as a quadruple rhyme. He was nailing his rhymes AND his crimes today.

  “I forgot that I used Mom’s phone to call Jackie while I was down here,” Katie said. “I must’ve dropped it when I replaced the litter.”

  Marty brushed the fresh litter off the phone and handed it to Katie.

  Katie returned the phone to her mom just as she was taking the chicken out of the oven. Their mom was very happy to have her cell phone back.

  “And you beat the dinner deadline,” Mom said. “Nice job, Marty.”

  Even Marty had to admit he’d been an awfully good detective today.

  A JOB WELL DONE

  Joel marched his nephew into the Fryes’ kitchen. Luke stared down at his feet as he spoke.

  “I’m sorry I was rude,” Luke said. “But I found this phone in the woods, not here.”

  “We went through the recent calls and located the phone’s owner,” Joel said.

  Joel told his nephew that the woman who lost her phone had been looking for it all day.

  “Too bad she doesn’t have a detective in the family like I do,” Mrs. Frye said.

  “But in a weird way, Marty helped that woman get her phone back too,” Joel said. “I never would’ve known it was lost if Marty hadn’t asked Luke about it. We’re on our way to return it now.”

  Marty was glad he’d been able to help someone else too, but when he glanced at Luke, he seemed sad. Marty took his mom’s phone off the counter and handed it to Luke.

  Luke’s face lit up as he grabbed the phone, eager to open the app.

  “Joel, how about a plate of chicken and veggies before you and Luke go?” Marty’s mom asked.

  She didn’t have to ask twice.

  As everyone served themselves, Katie snuck up behind her brother.

  Hey! Marty thought. First the popcorn lady, now my sister? Rhyming is MY routine! But the kitchen was full of delicious food and friends, so he decided not to complain.

  He beat Katie to the counter and handed her a plate.

  “Don’t get used to it,” Katie said. “It was a one-time thing.”

  That was okay with Marty. Having one poet detective in the family was probably enough.

  That night in bed, Marty reviewed his notes from the day. Three crimes, plenty of rhymes, and two tree-climbing sessions. (After-dinner climbs were the absolute best.)

  He shut off the light and put his notebook on the nightstand. If he was lucky, tomorrow might be another great day.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Janet Tashjian is a middle-grade and young adult novelist who’s been writing books for children for over two decades. 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 bestselling My Life As a Book series is illustrated by her son, Jake. They also collaborated on the Einstein the Class Hamster series. Janet collaborated with fellow Macmillan author Laurie Keller on the chapter book series Marty Frye, Private Eye. Janet currently lives in Los Angeles and made her new home city the setting of the Sticker Girl series, which details the adventures of Martina who overcomes being shy with the help of her magical stickers that come to life. You can sign up for email updates here.

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

  Laurie Keller is the acclaimed author-illustrator of Do Unto Otters, Arnie, the Doughnut, The Scrambled States of America, and Open Wide: Tooth School Inside, among numerous others. She grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and always loved to draw, paint and write stories. She earned a B.F.A. at Kendall College of Art and Design, then worked at Hallmark as a greeting card illustrator for seven-and-a-half years, until one night she got an idea for a children’s book. She quit her job, moved to New York City, and soon had published her first book. She loved living in New York, but she has now returned to her home state, where she lives in a little cottage in the woods on the shore of Lake Michigan. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  1. The Case of the P.E. Vandal

  The Crime

  Searching for Clues

  The Suspects

  The Search Continues

  Aha!

  A Job Well Done

  2. The Case of the Busted Video Games

  The Crime

  Searching for Clues

  The Suspects

  The Search Continues

  Aha!

  A Job Well Done

  3. The Case of the Missing Phone

  The Crime

  Searching for Clues

  The Suspects

  The Search Continues

  Aha!

  A Job Well Done

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Copyright

  Henry Holt and Company

  Publishers since 1866

  175 Fifth Avenue,

  New York, New York 10010

  mackids.com

  Text copyright © 2018 by Janet Tashjian

  Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Laurie Keller

  All rights reserved.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

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

  Title: Marty Frye, private eye: the case of the busted video games / Janet Tashjian; illustrated by Laurie Keller.

  Other titles: Case of the busted video games

  Description: First edition. | New York: Christy Ottaviano Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2019. | “Book Three.” | Summary: Seven-year-old Marty Frye, the poet detective, solves mysteries for his gym teacher, at a video arcade, and for his family.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017042625 | ISBN 9781627794619 (hardcover)

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

  Classification: LCC PZ7.T211135 Mat 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017042625

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

  First edition, 2018 / Designed by April Ward and Sophie Erb

  Printed in the United States of America by LSC Communications, Crawfordsville, Indiana

  eISBN 9781250185082
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