Not to mention, the Chief was in the bathroom again right now! Which was like the Werewolf’s favorite place to be!
“Sam!” I whispered. “You’re not going to believe it, but I think —”
And that’s when the door to the bathroom opened.
I clammed up fast.
As the Chief came out, I saw another disposable razor on the sink behind him. And there was a tuft of thick fur on the back of his neck! He had missed a spot with his razor!
There was no doubt about it. The Chief was the Werewolf.
And we were trapped in his office with him!
I couldn’t risk saying anything to Sam. Not without at least letting the Chief know that I knew who he was first!
“This is not going to end well for you,” the Chief growled at me.
Oh no! I waited for him to say “Because I know you know!” and then leap at me!
But instead he said, “Because you’re about to go to jail for a long time.”
Whew! I didn’t think anyone had ever felt so relieved to hear they were going to jail!
“Chief, wait,” said Sam.
“You’re in enough trouble as it is, Detective! That boy should already be behind bars,” said the Chief as he pointed a white-gloved finger at me.
Now that I knew what to look for, I could see there was something wrong about his fingers inside his white gloves. Because they weren’t fingers at all.
They were claws!
“Sam, I’m really ready to go to jail right now!” I cried.
“Good,” said the Chief. “Take him now, Sam. I’ve got somewhere I have to be.”
The Chief got up to leave. Oh, crud! He must have been leaving to commit his crime!
I just wanted to get out of his office without the Chief turning his claws on me.
But the note he wrote to Lavenza said people might get hurt. Maybe even killed. I had to do something.
Maybe there was a way I could figure out what the Chief was planning to do. Without him figuring out what I was trying to do! Then I could fill Sam in when we were safely out of the Chief’s reach. I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to try.
So I turned to the Chief and tried to sound normal as I asked, “So, um, where are you off to?”
One of the Chief’s bushy eyebrows moved an inch up his forehead. “Why would you want to know that?” he asked.
Well, because the shredded note said the Werewolf was going to strike tonight, but it didn’t say where! But I couldn’t tell the Chief that! Or else he’d surely shred me too!
“Go on, J.D.,” Sam told me. “Answer the Chief.”
Oh man! I guess Sam hadn’t figured the Chief was the Werewolf!
“Show him your journal,” said Sam, as he grabbed it out of my pocket. “Show him the surveillance photos from the convention center. The one that shows the Werewolf going into a bathroom and the other that shows the Chief showing up a minute later. Tell him how we found shaving cream and a razor in that bathroom. And how the Werewolf’s file is gone, even though very few people have access to it.”
Sam put my journal in my terror-frozen hands. Then he flipped through the pages, showing the Chief everything we had found.
“Oh, I’m sure the Chief doesn’t want to see all this,” I said nervously.
“Actually, I do,” said the Chief, taking off his gloves.
“Sam, run!” I cried. “The Chief is the Werewolf!
“So you figured it out!” he roared as he leaped and blocked the door. “Nice detective work.” Then he flashed his claws! “Not that it’ll do you any good!”
“Maybe not,” said Sam. “But I think this will.”
Sam held up his walkie-talkie, showing the Chief it had been on the whole time. The rest of the police department must have heard everything!
Sam had already known the Chief was the Werewolf. Figures. We were related, after all.
“RRRRRRR!” the Chief roared angrily. He leaped across his desk and swung a huge claw right at my chest.
Just as it was about to hit . . . RRRRRRRUMMBLE! The room shook!
It was another earthquake!
It only lasted a second, but that was long enough to throw off the Chief’s swing!
And that’s when the police burst in with their guns drawn! The Chief put his clawed hands up.
Sam rushed over to where I had fallen on the ground. The Chief’s claws had missed my chest, but they’d still hit something vital.
My journal! I’d lost a few pages. But better them than me!
It took a dozen policemen to drag the Chief away. Even more showed up to slap Sam on the back. He was a hero!
They all told Sam they had had hunches that the Chief was no good. But it was Sam who had finally proven that to be true.
Sam left with them to take my journal (which was now evidence) to be processed. I spent a few minutes waiting in the Chief’s empty office.
Pretty quickly, a police officer came and handed me my journal. He slapped me on my back (I guess back-slapping is something police officers like to do?) and thanked me for helping Sam discover that the Chief was the Werewolf. He assured me I was no longer a suspect and that I was free to go.
I wanted to say goodbye to Sam. But the officer made it clear Sam was busy making sure the Chief stayed behind bars for good and that I should get going.
So I left police HQ. As I did, something fell out of my journal.
It was a note. From Sam!
I saw that Sam had stuffed something else in my journal. The pages from my dad’s police file!
There were probably a ton of clues in there that would lead me to the rest of my cousins!
I was psyched. If this had been the end of my story, it totally would have been a happy ending.
But that’s not the way life works.
It keeps going and going. If you’re lucky.
I had a lot of cousins out there who might not be so lucky. Unless I figured out where the rest of my dad’s body parts came from. Fast!
And that was just what I was going to do!
Scott Sonneborn has written dozens of books, one circus (for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey), and a bunch of TV shows. He’s been nominated for one Emmy and spent three very cool years working at DC Comics. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two sons.
Timothy Banks is an award-winning illustrator known for his ability to create magically quirky illustrations for kids and adults. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art & Design, and he also teaches fledgling art students in his spare time. Timothy lives in Charleston, SC, with his wonderful wife, two beautiful daughters, and two crazy pugs.
I, J.D., dedicate this journal to my dad, FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER.
The Frankenstein Journals
is published by Stone Arch Books,
A Capstone Imprint
1710 Roe Crest Drive
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.capstoneyoungreaders.com
Text copyright © 2014 Capstone
Illustrations copyright © Capstone
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on the Library of Congress website.
ISBN: 978-1-4342-9130-1 (paper over board)
ISBN: 978-1-4965-0357-2 (ebook)
Summary: Fourteen-year-old J.D. discovers Dr. Frankenstein’s Journal – and that he is the son of Frankenstein’s Monster! The boy always wanted a big family. Now he’s got a doozy: the donors of his jigsaw-puzzle papa! Fans of adventure and classic monster movies will gasp with delight as they follow J.D. throu
gh this diary-style thriller!
Designed by Hilary Wacholz
Illustrated by Timothy Banks
The Frankenstein Journals Page 6