A Monster of a Mystery Read online

  “Can you believe this?” Colin exclaimed when he reached them, waving both hands in the air. “I can’t believe the Spork is gone!”

  “Me neither,” Biff agreed. “Who do you think took it?”

  “We’re not sure yet,” Joe began. “We think—”

  “It’s extra serious because this is, like, the Spork!” Colin interrupted. “It’s the very first one they made—the one Morpho was holding in the movie when he got captured by the commandos. That makes it a superspecial and one-of-a-kind collector’s item.”

  “Really?” Joe said. “No wonder those Morpho guys looked so upset.”

  Before Frank could say anything, they all heard Mr. Roberts calling for attention again. When the room quieted down a little, he said he had another announcement to make.

  “We really need that Spork back, and soon,” he said with a serious look on his face. “If it’s not back before three o’clock at the latest, the rest of today’s Morpho event will be canceled.”

  Another Mystery

  Oh no!” Frank blurted out, looking worried. “We’ve got to find that Spork!”

  “Yeah!” Biff exclaimed. “This is really getting serious.”

  “Don’t worry, you guys,” Joe said. “We’ll find the Spork!”

  He looked around for Adam, but he didn’t see him. It was hard to spot anyone in the store just then. Everyone was milling around, looking upset and talking about Mr. Roberts’s announcement.

  “Even if you don’t find it, it’s no big deal,” Colin said. “They’re having a Morpho event at the comics store in my town next month. You could all come there—it’s only a two-hour drive.”

  “We should still try to find it,” Joe said. “Let’s split up. We can talk to more people that way.”

  “Cool,” Biff said. “Come on, Colin. Let’s go find someone to interview.”

  As soon as they left, Frank pulled Joe aside. “That was kind of weird,” he said. “If Colin could go see Morpho in his own town in a month, why’d he bother to come all the way to Bayport?”

  Joe shrugged. “Colin’s a superfan, remember? He probably goes to all the Morpho events he can.” He looked around. “Anyway, we have bigger problems right now. We have to figure out what happened to that Spork!”

  “Do you still think Adam took it?” Frank asked.

  “Yeah,” Joe said. “But you were right. We have to investigate everyone, just in case.”

  Frank smiled. Joe knew why: His brother loved being right.

  “Okay,” Frank said. “Let’s get back to interviewing people.”

  They parted ways. As Joe wandered into the crowd, all around him he could hear people talking about the missing Spork. But nobody sounded as if they knew what might have happened to it.

  Then he spotted Adam near the comics rack. He was leaning against the rack as he paged through the new Morpho comic.

  Joe narrowed his eyes and watched him for a few seconds. But Adam didn’t move. He just kept reading the comic book.

  Finally Joe decided to move on. He could keep an eye on Adam while he talked to people.

  He interviewed several kids about the missing Spork, but nobody had anything useful to tell him. Just as he finished talking to a skinny girl with braces, he saw Frank coming toward him.

  “Did you find out anything?” Frank asked.

  Joe shook his head. “Nothing useful. What about you?”

  “Maybe,” Frank said. “A couple of kids said they saw someone in a Morpho mask sneaking into the back room a few minutes after the event started.”

  “A Morpho mask?” Joe looked around. Without even trying, he spotted at least four or five masks like the ones Chet and Colin had brought. “That doesn’t narrow it down much. Besides, isn’t the bathroom back through that back door? Maybe that’s where that mystery person was going.”

  “Maybe. But the kids I talked to thought it was weird, since the person in the mask left right when the artist started showing all those cool sketches.” Frank shrugged. “Anyway, it’s the only clue we have so far.”

  Joe thought about what Frank had said. Those Morpho masks were kind of expensive. Anyone who had one was probably a big fan. Why would someone like that want to miss part of this event?

  “I guess that is a pretty good clue,” he told Frank. Suddenly he remembered the teenagers who’d tried to trick him with the fake-out story. “Wait,” he added. “Who were the kids who told you? Are they reliable witnesses?”

  That was a term he’d heard his father use lots of times. A reliable witness was someone who was likely to be telling the truth.

  “I’m not sure,” Frank said. “It wasn’t anyone we know. They said they were from out of town.”

  Joe frowned. “What if they’re making it all up? They could even be friends of Adam’s. He could have told them to cover for him.”

  “I guess.” Frank sounded doubtful. “Anyway, we should try to find out if anyone else saw what they said they saw.”

  “Right,” Joe said. “Dad has a word for that, right? A cardboard witness, or something.”

  “I think it’s a corroborating witness,” Frank said.

  Joe shrugged. Frank was always better than he was at vocabulary words. “Whatever. We should figure out who was near that door and ask them.”

  “I know!” Frank looked excited. “I just remembered—Biff said his cousin would probably be in the front row when the Morpho guys came out. He would have a great view of that Employees Only door from there, right?”

  “Right!” Now Joe was excited too. This could be the clue they needed! “Let’s go find Colin!”

  They looked around. The store was still really crowded, so it was hard to see anyone more than a few feet away.

  Joe led the way into the crowd, searching for Colin. He and Frank had only gone a few yards when they heard Chet calling their names.

  “Hi, guys,” Chet said breathlessly, hurrying over to them. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

  He looked worried. Joe thought he knew why.

  “Don’t worry,” he told Chet. “We’re trying to find Morpho’s Spork.”

  “Okay,” Chet said. “Um, but have you seen Mimi lately?”

  “Mimi?” Frank shook his head. “I haven’t seen her since she got scared and ran out with her friend.”

  Chet bit his lip, looking more worried than ever. “Neither has anyone else,” he said. “Janie’s sister chased them through the Employees Only door, but she couldn’t find them anywhere. They’re missing!”

  Sidetracked

  Joe groaned. “Are you serious?” he asked Chet. “This really isn’t a good time for Mimi to pull one of her goofy stunts.”

  Frank knew how his brother felt. He really wanted to keep searching for the Spork. But he knew they’d better help find Mimi and her friend first.

  “So nobody has seen them since they ran away?” he asked Chet.

  “Nobody we’ve talked to so far.” Chet glanced around anxiously. “I’m going to go check the girly section again. Maybe they’re sitting under a table reading Giggle Girlzies comics or something.”

  As he hurried off Frank glanced at Joe. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go talk to that guy at the front door.”

  “What guy?” Joe asked.

  “He looked like a guard or something. I noticed him watching when you were arguing with Adam a little while ago.”

  Frank headed toward the front door with Joe right behind him. When they got there, the same big guy was standing just inside the door.

  Just then a pair of teenage girls hurried toward the exit. Both of them were carrying shopping bags.

  “Pardon me, young ladies,” the guard said. “I’ll need to check your bags.”

  “Why?” one of the girls asked. “All that’s in there are our new Morpho comics.”

  “Yeah,” the other girl said. “We paid for them.”

  The guard shrugged. “I’m supposed to check everyone’s bags for that missing movie prop,” he
explained.

  “Oh, okay.” The first girl held up her bag. “It’s not in here.”

  The guard looked in both girls’ bags, then waved them through. When he was finished, Frank stepped up to him.

  “Excuse me,” he said politely. “We’re looking for two little girls.”

  The guard waved his hand at the door. “You mean those two who just left?”

  “No,” Joe said. “Way younger than that. These girls are about four years old. Did you notice if they left the store this way?”

  The guard raised one eyebrow. “Four-year-old girls?” he said. “Nope, haven’t seen any of those leave. And I definitely would have noticed. This isn’t exactly that kind of crowd!”

  He chuckled and glanced into the store. Frank looked too. He saw what the guard meant. Most of the people in the store were their age or older. And only a few of them were girls.

  “So you’re sure no little girls have left?” he asked.

  “I’m positive,” the guard said. “Good luck finding them.”

  Just then a teenage boy came along wanting to leave. The guard turned to check his bags, and Frank and Joe wandered back into the store.

  “Okay, so we know Mimi and her friend are still in here somewhere,” Joe said.

  “Not necessarily,” Frank pointed out. “The last time anyone saw them, they were running into that back room. There’s probably a door back there, too.”

  “Oh, right!” Joe said. “Come on, let’s go look.”

  Soon they were walking through the Employees Only door. “This feels weird,” Frank said. “We’re not employees.”

  Joe didn’t pay any attention. He was already in the hallway on the other side of the door.

  Frank shrugged and followed. He looked up and down the hallway. To the left was the bathroom. To the right were two doors. One was closed and said Storage on it. The other was partway open and said Lounge. Frank could hear voices coming from behind that door. He guessed it was where the Morpho people were waiting.

  “Look,” Joe whispered, pointing to a third door. It was bigger and said Exit on it.

  When they pushed it open, they saw a narrow alley. Across the way were the back doors of the stores on the next block. There was a Dumpster behind each door. A large bird was pecking at something on the ground near one of the Dumpsters. Other than that, Frank saw no signs of life.

  “Mimi wouldn’t hang around out here for long,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “It smells kind of gross.”

  Joe nodded. “Still, she might have left this way and then wandered off down the alley looking for ice cream or something.”

  Frank peered down the alley. At the end he could see the street. “Maybe,” he said. “Let’s go inside and see if Chet found anything.”

  He started to turn around. But Joe was staring at something.

  “Do you see that?” he said, sounding excited.

  “What? The bird?” Frank glanced that way.

  “No!” Joe rushed out into the alley, heading for one of the Dumpsters on the other side.

  Frank sighed. Joe was always getting distracted. But they didn’t have time for that now. “Come back!” he called. “We need to keep looking for Mimi.”

  Joe ignored him. He was already stepping up onto a box to reach the top of the Dumpster. When he looked inside the Dumpster, he let out a shout. Then he grabbed something out of it and started waving it around.

  “Check it out!” he yelled. “I just found Morpho’s Spork!”

  Mask Attack

  Joe jumped down from the Dumpster, feeling excited. He couldn’t believe he’d just found the Spork! He raced over to the door, waving the Spork over his head.

  “Come on!” he said to a surprised-looking Frank. “Let’s go give this back!”

  They ran inside. The door to the lounge was still half open. Joe pushed through it. Dave and Jack were inside, along with their assistant. Mr. Roberts wasn’t there.

  “Hey, you guys!” Joe exclaimed. “Look what we found!”

  Dave gasped. “The Spork! Is it all right?”

  He grabbed the Spork from Joe and started examining it. Meanwhile, Jack stared at both Hardys.

  “Where did you find this, boys?” he asked sternly.

  “It was in the Dumpster in the alley out back,” Frank explained.

  Joe nodded. “We were looking out there for someone, and I saw it sticking out.”

  “Oh, really?” Now the actor sounded suspicious. “You just happened to be looking for someone in the alley?”

  Dave looked up. “I think we’d better go talk to Mr. Roberts about this.”

  Joe gasped as he realized what was happening. The Morpho people thought he and Frank had stolen the Spork themselves!

  “No!” he blurted out. “It wasn’t us, we swear!”

  Dave handed the Spork to the assistant. “Don’t let this out of your sight,” he warned. Then he glared at the boys. “You two had better come with us.”

  Dave and Jack hurried out of the room. Joe traded a helpless glance with Frank.

  “They think we’re the thieves!” he whispered.

  “I know.” Frank looked worried. “Come on, we need to talk to them.”

  By the time they caught up, the two men were out in the main part of the store. “Please!” Joe said. “You have to believe us. We aren’t the ones who took the Spork.”

  “Hmm,” Dave said. “If you didn’t take the Spork, who did?”

  Before Joe could answer, he noticed Adam standing nearby. Adam had just overheard what they’d said.

  “I knew it!” Adam spoke up loudly, pointing to Frank and Joe. “Those two are the town troublemakers!”

  “What?” Joe squawked.

  But Dave seemed to believe Adam. “Is that right, son?” he asked. “I’m glad you let us know.” He glanced at Jack. “Stay with them,” he told the actor. “I’ll find Roberts and tell him to call the police—and these guys’ parents.” Then he hurried off into the crowded store.

  Joe couldn’t believe this was happening. How dare Adam accuse them of being troublemakers?

  “You shouldn’t listen to him!” he told Jack, pointing at Adam. “He’s the only troublemaker around here! Ask anyone!”

  Adam smirked and wandered away. Joe looked around for someone to vouch for them. But there was no sign of Chet, Iola, Phil, Biff, or anyone else they knew.

  “Where is everyone?” Frank said, sounding nervous.

  “They’re probably all still looking for Mimi,” Joe replied. “I wonder where she is, anyway?”

  “What if she’s the one who took the Spork?” Frank said. “She’s really scared of Morpho. Maybe Mimi thought throwing away his Spork would mean he couldn’t eat her brains.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like her,” Joe said.

  Jack was listening, looking skeptical. “Look, it won’t do you any good to blame someone else,” he said. “I’m sure the police can get to the bottom of things.”

  Just then Mr. Roberts came rushing over. Dave was right behind him.

  “There they are,” Dave said, pointing to the Hardys.

  Mr. Roberts looked surprised. “These are the boys you were talking about?” he exclaimed. “I think there’s been some mistake. Frank and Joe Hardy are good kids.”

  Jack and Dave traded a look. They still seemed doubtful.

  “I’ve known these boys for years,” Mr. Roberts went on. “Their father, too—he’s a top-notch private investigator, and these two are pretty good little detectives themselves. You should see the write-up they got in the newspaper when they solved a shoplifting case at a store down the block.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Roberts,” Frank said.

  “Yeah,” Joe added. “We’ve been trying to figure out who took the Spork.”

  Mr. Roberts finally convinced the Morpho people to let the Hardys keep investigating to find out who’d really stolen the Spork.

  “All right, but you’d better hurry,” Dave said at last. “Even though the Spork is
back, we’re not going on with the show until we’ve caught the thief.”

  Jack checked his watch. “You still have until three o’clock.”

  “Okay,” Joe said. “Come on, Frank. Let’s go back out and look for clues in the alley.”

  Soon the two of them were back at the Dumpster. Frank started looking on the ground for clues while Joe climbed the ladder again.

  At first he didn’t see anything inside the Dumpster except trash. Yuck! This Dumpster belonged to a restaurant, so the trash was filled with old food—and was pretty gross.

  Then Joe spotted something sticking out from a pile of discarded rice. He reached over and grabbed it. When he pulled it out, he gasped.

  “I found a Morpho mask!” he called to Frank.

  He climbed down and handed the mask to his brother. Frank wiped off most of the rice, holding the mask carefully by its green-goo-covered nose.

  “This makes me think about what those kids told me,” he said. “They said they saw someone in a Morpho mask sneaking through the Employees Only door, remember?”

  Joe nodded. “Whoever was wearing this mask probably grabbed the Spork out of the back room,” he guessed.

  “Right,” Frank agreed. “Then they hid it in the Dumpster along with this mask, and sneaked back inside.”

  “So all we have to do is figure out who’s missing their Morpho mask,” Joe said.

  Frank looked worried. “That won’t be easy. There were at least ten or fifteen people with those masks here today. I’m not even sure I remember all of them.”

  Joe shrugged. “At least it’s a clue,” he said. “Come on, let’s go back in.”

  The two of them headed inside and started checking everyone they’d seen earlier with one of the masks. They’d checked several people already when Joe spotted Biff’s cousin.

  “Hey, Colin,” he said, hurrying over. “Where’s your Morpho mask?”

  Colin reached around and pulled out the mask sticking half out of his back pocket. “Right here,” he said, twirling it around by its green-and-purple nose. “Why do you ask?”

  “Um, no reason.” Joe didn’t have time to explain right now. They still had more masks to check.