Mini Mysteries. Rick Walton

along a fireplace mantel. She held up her fingers. “Not much

      dust. This should be easy.”

      “If we were just dusting this room,” said Marie. “But cleaning this

      whole place will take forever.”

      Gwen pointed to the staircase. “Artisans hand-

      carved this banister. Notice the glass eyes of the

      dragons. Aren’t they beautiful?”

      “Beautiful and creepy,” Marie whispered to Noelle.

      Gwen led the girls through the house. “And here we

      have the dining room,” Gwen said. “The family shipped

      the table from Italy and the grandfather clock from

      France.”

      Gwen flipped a switch next to a cabinet, and

      suddenly green-and-white china sparkled on the

      shelves. “Even the family’s children knew to be careful

      with these treasures.”

      “I hope we don’t break anything, either. That would

      cut into our savings for Hawaii,” Noelle said.

      “Good point,” Marie replied. “Maybe we should just

      clean things that can’t be knocked over or moved.”

      “That leaves the floor,” joked Noelle.

      “Imagine yourself gliding into this room for your

      first party,” said Gwen, recalling a line in a script she

      had obviously worked hard to memorize. “You see this

      house—this room—exactly as it was two hundred years ago.”

      While the three girls imagined themselves in the past, the only

      sound they could hear was a ticking clock.

      “We need to go,” said Gwen quickly.

      “Why?” asked Marie.

      “I need to show you something I’ve never shown to anyone before

      today.”

      “Where’s Mrs. Peterson?” asked Noelle. “Shouldn’t we get to

      work?”

      “This is more important.” Gwen led the girls from room to room

      until they arrived at a door. “You won’t believe this!”

      Slowly Gwen turned the doorknob. She cracked open the door, slid

      her hand inside, flipped a switch, and screamed.

      “Ah!” yelled Noelle and Marie as bright light poured over shelves

      stocked with cleaning supplies. All three laughed.

      “Did you enjoy the tour?” Mrs. Peterson asked. She stepped from

      a small office into the room with the girls.

      “Loved it!” Noelle exclaimed.

      “And Gwen’s a great tour guide,” said Marie. “She excites you

      about the house. But she did have one small error in her tour script.”

      Marie smiled at the teen.

      “She did?” asked Mrs. Peterson.

      “I did?” Gwen looked confused. And then she smiled.

      “Oh, yeah! Good catch. I noticed that on my first

      day and forgot to change it.”

       Exactly what did Marie catch? To cast a little light on the subject, tap here for the answer.

      The Neighbor’s

      Garden

      The girls volunteer for community service. Will they

      discover a hidden truth about a neighbor?

      “I don’t like the look of this place,” said Sage Matthews.

      Noelle shrugged. “It’s just a little messy,” she said.

      “That’s why we’re here,” said Hailey Ferris. “To help Mrs. Duncan

      clean up her yard.”

      “Messy?” said Sage. “Look at that garden. Who knows what’s

      hiding under all those weeds.”

      “We’re going to find out,” said Marie.

      Sage turned to Hailey. “When your mom asked us to help out

      your elderly neighbor, I was willing, but this place is really creepy.”

      The girls had arrived at Hailey’s this Saturday morning dressed

      in work clothes and carrying hoes and rakes.

      “Mom says Mrs. Duncan just can’t get around like she used to,”

      said Hailey. “She tinkers in her yard quite a bit, but she doesn’t have

      the energy to control her weeds. She’ll really appreciate everyone’s

      help.”

      “Well, hello, girls!” said Mrs. Duncan when she met them at her

      door. “Thank you so much for helping me. These old bones just don’t

      move as well as I’d like them to.”

      “We’re happy to help, Mrs. Duncan,” said Hailey. “Where would

      you like us to start?”

      “Oh, I don’t know. There’s so much to do. Anyplace you want to

      work is fine with me. I doubt you can get everything done that needs to

      be done, but anything you do will be a big help. I’m just happy to have

      you here.”

      “Why don’t we each just choose a section of the yard and work on

      it?” said Marie. “I’ll take the lawn. Mrs. Duncan, if you’ll show me your

      mower, I’ll make this lawn look beautiful.”

      “And I can trim your bushes,” said Noelle.

      “And I’ll start weeding in your garden,” said Hailey. “Sage, how

      about helping me?”

      Mrs. Duncan was happy with the arrangement, and the girls set

      off to work.

      “They all look like weeds to me,” Sage confessed when she saw the

      garden.

      “I’ll show you which is which,” said Hailey. “See these, with the

      long leaves that look like grass? Pull those out. And the ones with

      the thorns—pull those out, too. That’s why we brought these gloves.”

      Hailey and Sage began weeding. Soon they heard the sound of

      clippers snapping at branches and the roar of the lawn mower.

      And then a scream pierced the air.

      Noelle dropped the clippers. Marie turned off the mower. They

      both