by PJ Ryan
“Wow,” she gasped as she gestured to Mouse and Ernie to look closer. “It's not a hole at all.”
“It's a tunnel!” Mouse cried out.
“Creepy,” Ernie shuddered. “Maybe it is gigantic underground worm,” he cringed.
Rebekah tucked her penlight between her teeth and pulled out her notebook from her pocket. She opened it up and made a few notes on the paper.
“Oh it's an underground something,” she mumbled and glanced up at the darkened lights.
Chapter 6
Rebekah was very tired when she laid down that night. She had showered all of the dirt from the garden off of her and put a little ice on her sore ankle. She hoped it would not keep her from playing well in the soccer game on Saturday. As she sat on her bed she picked up the tablet she had borrowed from her father. With it she could access information about all kinds of creatures. She began using the information she had collected to look up what might be hiding underground in the garden. It had to be a very sneaky animal, it had to be capable of knocking out electricity, and snatching whole flowers. As she put the information into the tablet she was disappointed that she did not get any results. In a moment of desperation, she typed in, gigantic underground worm.
“Ugh!” she shrieked when the image of a huge worm burst on to the screen. “Bleh,” she shivered and turned the tablet off. She would just have to take another look at the garden in the light of day. As she was just about to fall asleep, she heard the sound.
“Chirp, chirp,” said her windowsill.
“Oh no,” she moaned and buried her head under her pillow. If it wasn't one mysterious creature, it was another.
She woke early the next morning and hurried to get ready for school. Her mother had toast and eggs waiting for her, but she buzzed right past.
“Sorry Mom, too busy, I'm on a case,” she called out and was just about out the front door when her mother hooked the strap on her book bag and tugged her backwards.
“Even detectives need breakfast Rebekah,” she said firmly and dropped a piece of toast into her daughter's hand.
“Thanks mom,” Rebekah grinned and kissed her cheek lightly. Then she ran out the front door. She ran all the way to the community garden, taking bites of toast along the way.
Chapter 7
When she reached the garden Mr. Polson was already there. He was digging a few fresh holes to plant some fruit trees in, and didn't hear Rebekah when she came running up behind him.
“We have a big problem!” she announced in a shrill voice. Mr. Polson nearly dropped his shovel. He sighed and wiped at his brow as he turned to look at Rebekah.
“What is it now Rebekah?” he asked impatiently.
“Have you tried the lights yet this morning?” she asked and pointed to the lights that surrounded the garden.
“Well no,” he said with a frown. “They're on a timer, and they don't come on in the daylight.”
“Well, they won't work,” she said firmly.
“Why? What happened here last night?” he demanded with concern. “I can't let you kids be in the garden after hours if you're going to break things.”
“It wasn't us,” Rebekah protested as Mr. Polson tried to switch the lights on.
“Oh no,” he frowned. “Now what are we going to do with no lights? Something most have cut off the electricity,” he sighed and began looking over the garden for any sign of what could cause the problem. Rebekah followed along behind him.
“I also found tunnels in the ground,” she said quickly and pointed out the hole she had tripped on the night before.
“Oh did you,” he said quietly and crouched down to peer into the hole. “Well now things are starting to make sense,” he smiled a little.
“You mean, gigantic underground worms?” Rebekah suggested.
“Oh no,” he laughed. “Much worse. Cuter, and furrier, but much worse.”
Rebekah was confused, until Mr. Polson leaned closer to her and whispered something her ear.
“Oh!” Rebekah cried out with surprise.
“Look you're going to be late for school,” Mr. Polson said as he glanced at his watch. “I'll do a little more research, and after school, meet me here, okay?” he asked.
Rebekah nodded with a frown. She hated to head to school right in the middle of a mystery, but she didn't like to miss her classes either. As she walked the rest of the way to school her mind was filled with all kinds of ideas, of how to trap the flower thief. She just hoped that one of them would work.
Chapter 8
At school, Mouse ran up to her with a wide grin. “Guess what, I looked up all of this information about gigantic underground worms last night,” he gushed.
“Ugh Mouse it is not a gigantic underground worm,” Rebekah insisted.
“Oh I know, but still, these worms are fascinating!” he continued to grin.
“That's one way to describe them,” she said reluctantly. As they were walking to class, Ernie stood shyly by his locker. When he saw them coming he looked up nervously.
“Hi Ernie,” Rebekah said in a friendly tone.
Ernie smiled a little. “Hi guys,” his smile brightened when they stopped to talk with him.
“Did you figure out what made those tunnels?” he asked hopefully. He loved going to the garden, and didn't want to be too scared to go back.
“Mr. Polson has an idea,” Rebekah said with a smile. “And I think he may be right. But we will have to see if we can catch the thief. Do you want to help?”
Ernie was surprised to be invited. He was sure that he was still Rebekah's suspect. Besides, he never got invited to anything. It made him feel great that Rebekah and Mouse seemed to want him to be there.
“Well, I guess,” he said shyly. “I mean, if you want me to.”
“Of course we do,” Mouse said. “I mean, who else is going to protect us from the gigantic underground worm,” he held up a picture he had printed off of his computer. “See?”
“Ah!” Ernie jumped back against his locker, then all three of the friends began to laugh. Just then the bell that signaled the start of their first class rang. They scattered to their classes, not wanting to be late. At recess, Mouse, Ernie, and Rebekah huddled around her notebook. She was going over the clues she had gathered during her investigation. With each one she felt it was more likely that the creature that Mr. Polson suspected was the flower thief.
“How could something so small do so much damage?” Mouse wondered.
Einstein poked his head up out of his pocket. “No not you Einstein,” Mouse laughed and patted the tiny creatures head. Ernie offered him a piece of cheese form his sandwich. Einstein nibbled it gone in no more than a second.
“Cute,” he laughed.
“He's got tons,” Rebekah sighed.
“Not tons,” Mouse corrected. “Just, plenty,” he smiled broadly.
As they left school that day they promised to meet up after dark at the community garden. Instead of heading home though, Rebekah went straight to the garden. Mr. Polson was waiting there for her with an extra shovel.
“Here you go,” he said as he handed her one of the shovels. “Let's get to work.”
They found each and every hole that had been made in the garden. Carefully they filled the tunnels with dirt, until only one remained.
“Looks like our little thief chewed through the electrical wires,” he sighed and shook his head. “They are hard creatures to nab, are you sure that you're up for this Rebekah?”
“Absolutely,” she replied. “No more flowers will go missing on my watch,” she said firmly. Mr. Polson handed her a cage he had bought that day and explained to her how to set the trap.
Chapter 9
Rebekah, Mouse, and Ernie gathered at the garden just after dark. They were armed with flashlights and ready to catch a flower thief. She and Mr. Polson had filled in every hole in the garden, except for one. Near that one, the three set up a trap, a cage with a tasty plant waiting inside, for the flower thief. If it w
as hungry, it would be forced to come out of that one hole, and find the plant waiting for it.
The trap was set, and Rebekah was excited to see if her and Mr. Polson's theory was right. She, Mouse, and Ernie all huddled down behind a large wheelbarrow, waiting to see if their flower napper would dare to appear. The bright light of the moon was enough to illuminate the garden, and shine on every single petal. It was a perfect night for capturing a flower thief.
"What if we're wrong," whispered Mouse. "What if we sit out here all night, and nothing happens?" he frowned as he swatted at an insect that was flying around him.
"We're not wrong," Rebekah insisted. She pulled her notebook out of her pocket and reviewed the clues that she had picked up along the way.
"It is a stealth thief, it comes and goes without anyone seeing. It leaves no footprints behind. It takes the whole plant, roots and all."
"But what if it isn't what we think at all," Ernie wondered through chattering teeth. "What if it's some kind of magical elf that is collecting flowers from our world. Maybe, once it has enough flowers, it will want to collect children!"
Mouse and Rebekah both looked at Ernie with wide disbelieving eyes. "Are you serious?" Rebekah asked and quirked a brow.
"It could happen," Ernie said with a frown. "I've seen it on television."
"Ernie," Mouse said patiently. "Don't you think if the magical elf wanted children, it would be at the school, not in the community garden?"
Ernie sighed. "I guess you're right," he fell silent.
"Or, it could be that magical elves don't exist," Rebekah pointed out and shook her head at the two boys.
"You don't know," they both said sharply.
"Actually, I do," Rebekah said sternly. "I have investigated many magical creatures, and none of them have any basis in science."
"Hm, that's why they're called magical," Ernie rolled his eyes and Mouse snickered.
"Argh,' Rebekah sighed and looked back at the trap they had set. "Shh, we might scare it off if we talk too loud."
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" a loud noise began filling the air around them.
"Ernie, please stop squeaking," Rebekah said as patiently as she could.
"It's not me," Ernie squeaked, then cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not me," he said sternly.
They both looked at Mouse who had his hand over his pocket. "Einstein, shh," he said and tried to quite the mouse in his pocket.
"What has him so upset? Out of cheese?" Rebekah asked.
"No, I don't know what's wrong," Mouse frowned. "He is never this noisy."
"Maybe he knows the magical elf is coming," Ernie whispered, his voice shaking.
"Ernie," Rebekah growled.
Just then Einstein managed to wriggle his way out of Mouse's pocket, and went racing across the garden in a swift white streak.
"Einstein!" Mouse cried out and started chasing after him.
"Shh!" Rebekah hissed. While they were looking at the fleeing rodent nobody noticed the pair of eyes that were peeking up out of the ground right beside the trap they had set.
Ernie was the first to notice the beady stare. "Th-that's not an elf," he gasped and started stumbling backwards. When he did, he knocked over the large watering can, and water began spilling everywhere. Mouse was still chasing after Einstein and Rebekah turned back in time to see what Ernie was pointing at.
"Oh! It's you!" she growled and crouched down. "Come on little flower thief, take the bait!"
As she and Ernie huddled close together they watched the small animal crawl out of the only hole they had left unfilled. It crept slowly across the soil toward the beautiful plant they had left in prime view, just waiting to be stolen.
Just as the gopher was about to scuttle right into the trap, Einstein went running past, followed closely by Mouse. The gopher squealed and ran for his hole.
"Oh no he's getting away!" Ernie cried out and started to run for the gopher, but he slipped in the mud that had been created by the spilled watering can, and landed on his back. "Owwww," he complained. Rebekah lunged after the gopher and just before it could escape back into its tunnel she managed to flip the wheelbarrow over on top of the small opening, blocking the gopher's way.
"No escaping justice!" she declared and glowered at the gopher. The gopher of course was not in the mood to be caught, so he began digging furiously in the ground to make a new tunnel.
Before he could though, Mouse with Einstein finally tucked back into his pocket, managed to lift the small cage they had prepared to catch the gopher, and scoop the creature up with it. Once the cage was locked all three gathered close to peer between the narrow bars.
"He doesn't look so bad," Mouse cooed, and Einstein poked his head out to say hello.
"He's actually kind of cute," Ernie admitted and clucked his tongue at the gopher.
"Cute?" Rebekah narrowed his eyes. "Oh no my friends, this gopher has been living a life of crime. He has been stealing our flowers right out from under our noses, and there is nothing cute about that. Bad gopher!" she wagged her finger at the gopher. It sniffed at her finger and grunted.
"See, he's confessing," Rebekah said confidently.
"Aw come on Rebekah, he's really just like a big mouse-" Mouse started to say.
"No Mouse, your mother is not going to let you keep a gopher as a pet."
"Maybe she would," Mouse protested.
"Nope, no way," Rebekah shook her head. "Your mother will not have a thief living under her roof."
Mouse sighed.
Ernie frowned.
Rebekah whipped out her notepad and jotted down a note to declare the crime of the stolen flowers officially solved.
Chapter 10
The next morning Mr. Polson arrived at the community garden to find the gopher still sitting in its cage.
"Well hello there little fellow," he chuckled. "Looks like Rebekah caught her thief after all."
He picked up the cage and carried it to his truck. He drove to an open area with plenty of lush wild plants and flowers for the gopher to devour.
As Rebekah settled in for bed that night she sighed with relief. For now the community garden was safe and free of pests, now if only she could say the same about her bedroom.
“Chirp, chirp,” said her bookshelf.
“Chirp, chirp,” said her windowsill.
“Chirp, chirp,” said her teddy bear.
“Oh no,” Rebekah groaned and buried her head under her pillow.
Next Steps
This book is part of the children’s series, “Rebekah - Girl Detective”.
I’d really love to hear from you!
I very much appreciate your reviews and comments so thank you in advance for taking a moment to leave one for “The Mysterious Garden”.
You can join Rebekah’s fun Facebook page for young detectives here:
http://www.facebook.com/RebekahGirlDetective
Sincerely,
PJ Ryan
Now Available in Audio
Rebekah - Girl Detective #1: The Mysterious Garden is now available as an audiobook!
You can listen to a free sample here:
http://pjryanbooks.com/books/the-mysterious-garden/
More audio versions coming soon!
Visit the author website at:
PJRyanBooks.com
Please enjoy the following preview for #2 Alien Invasion
Chapter 1
“Rebekah how does it feel to be the first ten year old to go into space?” the reporter asked and then shoved the microphone into Rebekah's face. Rebekah, dressed in a lime green space suit, with her bright red curls tucked into her very own space helmet smiled.
“It is a great honor,” she said. She looked over at the space ship. It was shaped like a circle. Around its curve Rebekah was printed out in bold white letters.
“What will be your first stop Rebekah?” the reporter asked. “The moon? Mars?”
“I am planning on getting to the bottom of Saturn's rings,” she repli
ed and lifted her eyes to the crowd around her. “There is something very strange about those rings. I think that planet may be hiding something.”
“Rebekah,” the reporter called out. “Rebekah!” she said in a more upset tone.
“I said, Saturn,” Rebekah frowned.
“Rebekah!” her mother's voice shouted.
Rebekah's eyes snapped open and she rolled over in her bed. She was not in a lime green space suit. There was no reporter in her room. It had all been just a dream. But she still wondered about that sneaky Saturn.
“I'm up, I'm up,” Rebekah called out sleepily. Rebekah was normally the first person awake in her family. She liked to keep an eye on everyone and everything and sleep got in the way of that. But the night before she and her best friend Mouse had been out in the backyard very late studying the stars with her brand new telescope. Of course this had stirred up all kinds of questions for her. Science was still one of the great mysteries in her mind. Sure a lot of things had been discovered, but there was still so much more to learn about and get to the bottom of.
Chapter 2
When she reached science class she was excited to see that Mr. Woods had set up a projector in the class. She liked it when he showed slides of different bacteria and organisms. Today, however, that was not what he was showing slides of.
"Today we are going to talk about life on other planets," Mr. Woods said as he dimmed the lights in the classroom. Rebekah looked over at Mouse who was busy trying to make sure his friend for the day, Whiskers, was still safely tucked into his pocket. He knew one incident of one of his mouse friends escaping would get him into some very big trouble.
Rebekah huffed and raised her hand, demanding Mr. Woods' attention.