The Case of the Digital Deception

by Ellie O'Ryan

  “You’d be surprised how many records there are,” Ben said as they arrived at his house. Since his parents weren’t home yet, Ben unlocked the front door. Corey made a beeline for the kitchen. For once, he was actually happy he waited for his afternoon snack. Ben’s mom always had the best cookies. Once Corey felt he had sufficiently crammed enough cookies into his mouth, he joined his friends in Ben’s room, which was the perfect place for analyzing evidence outside of school. Thanks to Ben’s love of everything having to do with science, he had plenty of chemistry sets, dissection kits, and science books. Ben even had his three microscopes! He powered up his computer then and opened his Internet browser.

  “Check out this site,” Ben said “All you have to do is enter the IP address and . . . Bam! It plots it on a map.”

  Hannah and Corey leaned over his shoulders to get a better look at the screen. “Um, Corey?” Ben began, turning to his still-munching friend. “You’re getting crumbs all over my keyboard.”

  “Oh sorry,” said Corey. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to hold the cookies over a napkin.”

  “Yeah,” said Ben, and then he made a little joke. “I’ve got enough cookies inside my computer already.”

  When Corey and Hannah didn’t laugh, Ben continued. “You know, cookies. Information from the Internet that gets stored on your hard drive? Digital markers that track sites you’ve visited on the Internet?”

  “Oh yeah. I’ve heard of those,” said Hannah. And then she smiled. “Do you think we can get back to the map now?”

  Ben entered the IP address from the e-mail.

  “I guess this rules out Maya,” Hannah said as a map of their town appeared on the screen. “The e-mail was sent locally, wasn’t it?”

  “It looks that way,” Ben replied, nodding.

  “Zoom in!” Corey cried as a blinking red arrow appeared over the map.

  Ben clicked the mouse until a street address flashed on to the map: 1250 Oak Street.

  “So is that it? Is that the sender’s address?” Corey asked.

  “We’re about to find out,” Ben replied as he ran an Internet search on the address.

  For a moment, no one spoke as Club CSI stared at the search results.

  “Well, that can’t be right,” Hannah finally said. “The library isn’t on Oak Street. It’s on Westwood.”

  “I think . . . ,” Ben said slowly, “I think this is the address for the new branch. The one that opened a few months ago.”

  Corey grabbed his backpack. “What are we waiting for?” he asked. “Let’s go!”

  Chapter 7

  Ben, Hannah, and Corey ran to the street corner, where they caught a bus across town to the new branch of the library.

  “I wish we had known we’d be going to the new library when we were still at Pirouette,” Corey said. “It’s just a few blocks away from there, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. I can’t believe I haven’t been there yet,” replied Hannah. “I’m excited to check it out. I heard it’s really cool.”

  “Me too,” Corey replied. “Too bad it isn’t closer to school.”

  “And too bad the e-mail was sent from a public computer,” Ben added, still focused on the case.

  When they reached the library, the friends spent a few minutes wandering around to get acquainted with the layout. Tall rows of bookshelves filled with brand-new books lined the walls. The very center of the room had a bank of six computer stations, each one nestled into a unique cubicle. As Club CSI walked around the computers, Ben noticed something. “Look,” he whispered to Hannah and Corey. “Each computer’s IP address is taped to its monitor! We’ll be able to find the exact computer that was used to send the e-mail!”

  “That’s great and all,” Corey whispered back, “but how will that help us find the person who sent it?”

  “I’m not sure,” Ben admitted. “Let’s see what we can find out from the librarian.”

  Hannah glanced over toward the reference desk—and her eyes grew wide. She immediately grabbed Ben’s and Corey’s shoulders and pulled them behind a row of books.

  “Did you guys see that?” she asked in a hushed voice. “The librarian?”

  Ben and Corey tried to look, but Hannah pulled them behind the books again.

  “It’s Alyssa’s mom!” she said. “Mrs. Gomez. Remember? She subbed in the school library last year when Mrs. Davies had her appendix removed.”

  “Oh yeah,” Ben said as he recognized her.

  “What are the odds?” Corey mused. “I mean, this can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

  “Sure, it can,” Ben replied. “Let’s go talk to her and see what we can find out.”

  “Corey, can I take the lead on this interview?” Hannah asked. “I think Mrs. Gomez might remember me. She was really helpful when I was doing research for my report on mummies.”

  “Yeah, of course,” Corey told her.

  Hannah approached the reference desk, with Corey and Ben trailing behind her.

  “Hey, Mrs. Gomez!” she exclaimed, and then she whispered, “Oops! Sorry to be loud. I’m surprised to see you here!”

  Mrs. Gomez smiled warmly at Hannah. “Hi, Hannah,” she replied. “How’ve you been? I miss subbing at the middle school, but when I was offered a full-time job at the brand-new library, I couldn’t refuse!”

  “It’s really nice here,” Hannah said. “This is my first time at the new branch.”

  “Would you like a tour?”

  “Oh, we’re just kind of . . . exploring on our own,” said Hannah. She glanced around. “Hey, is Alyssa here?”

  Mrs. Gomez shook her head. “No, not today—cheerleading practice.”

  “Oh,” Hannah said slowly. “I thought maybe she would be hanging out here.”

  “Most days she does,” Mrs. Gomez said. “She gets her homework done, and then she likes to use the computer while I finish up. But starting today, she has cheerleading every afternoon until Regionals. Want me to give her a message?”

  “Yeah, just tell her I said hi,” Hannah said. “I’d probably better get started on my homework too. See you later, Mrs. Gomez.”

  “Come by and visit me any time!” Mrs. Gomez said with a big smile.

  Club CSI didn’t talk about the case until they were outside, waiting for the bus.

  “Well?” Hannah asked the guys. “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” Ben replied. “It’s not definitive proof, you know? Just because Alyssa’s mom works at the library and Alyssa hangs out there doesn’t mean Alyssa sent that e-mail.”

  “But she’s the best suspect we have right now,” Corey pointed out.

  Hannah pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I have an idea,” she said. She started texting furiously.

  whitney r u there?

  “Wait a second,” Corey interrupted Hannah. “Whitney must have cheerleading practice too. So you’d better be careful what you text her, since she’ll probably be with Alyssa.”

  “Not unless they made up from their fight,” Hannah replied, her eyes glued to her phone. “And that’s pretty unlikely. From what I heard, it was epic.”

  Ping!

  Corey and Ben squeezed in so they could read Whitney’s text along with Hannah.

  cheer just ended. what’s up?

  Hannah sent a quick response.

  quick q. does alyssa know your e-mail password?

  There was a long pause before Whitney replied.

  yeah . . . y?

  Hannah smiled at the response, but she needed to talk to Whitney face-to-face . . . and she knew just how to make that happen. She sent another text.

  just wondering. corey has a msg 4 u—can u meet us @ his locker tmrw b4 school?

  “Hey, wait,” Corey said in a rush. “Why’d you say that?”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Hannah said as she sent yet another text. “I’m going to tell Alyssa the same thing.”

  “But why a message from me?” Corey repeated.

  Hannah finally lo
oked up from her phone. “Because I want to make sure they both show up.”

  Corey went out of his way to arrive at school extra early—but Whitney and Alyssa still beat him. He found the feuding friends waiting for him at his locker . . . and they didn’t look very happy about it.

  “What’s she doing here?” both girls snapped at the same time.

  “Uh . . . ,” Corey stammered. He glanced around wildly, hoping to spot Ben or Hannah. But they were nowhere to be seen. “Uh . . . why don’t we just, uh . . . ”

  Corey grabbed his cell phone and sent an urgent text to Hannah and Ben.

  WHERE R U GUYS?!?!!?!

  Ping! Ping!

  Corey sighed in relief as two text message alerts sounded just behind him. He spun around to see Ben and Hannah turning the corner.

  “Hey, guys,” Corey said loudly. “Nice of you to join us. Uh, Whitney and Alyssa have been waiting, so—”

  “Hi, everyone,” Hannah said cheerfully. She turned to Whitney and Alyssa. “We think we’ve solved the mystery of who really sent that e-mail to Alyssa.”

  “Oh yeah?” Whitney said, perking up right away. “Well? Who did it? Who hacked my account?”

  “We think it was . . . Alyssa,” Ben replied.

  Club CSI watched Alyssa closely. She opened and closed her mouth very quickly, but no words came out.

  “We know that the e-mail was sent from the Oak Street branch of the library—the same one where Alyssa’s mom works. We also know it was sent on Wednesday afternoon, at 4:56 p.m., when Alyssa was still hanging out at the library—and using one of the computers. And we also know Alyssa had access to Whitney’s e-mail account, since she had the password,” Ben continued. “Alyssa, did you send yourself that e-mail from Whitney’s account?”

  Two tears spilled down Alyssa’s cheeks. “Yes,” she whispered. “I did.”

  “Why would you do that?” Whitney exploded. “I cannot even believe you did that!”

  Alyssa sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes. She seemed too upset to speak.

  “I think I know why,” Hannah spoke up. “It’s because Alyssa also vandalized the photo in Whitney’s locker. You didn’t want Club CSI to figure out you were the vandal, so you sent that e-mail hoping we’d get mad at Whitney and drop the case.”

  “No!” Alyssa cried. “I swear, I didn’t touch the photo!” She turned to face Whitney. “You have to believe me, Whit, I would never do that.”

  Whitney looked down at the floor. “I know you didn’t,” she mumbled.

  “How do you know that?” said Corey.

  “Because I did it, okay?” Whitney snapped. Her face started to turn red. “I scribbled on the picture myself.”

  Alyssa started to giggle through her tears. “You did that?” she asked Whitney. “You seriously did that?”

  A reluctant smile crept across Whitney’s face. “I know, right? So lame! I am so embarrassed!” she exclaimed.

  Ben and Corey looked completely confused, but a knowing look crossed Hannah’s face.

  “Did we miss something?” Ben asked her.

  Hannah nodded. “Let me guess,” she said to Whitney. “You wanted to hang out with Corey . . . so you vandalized the photo to have a reason to talk to him.”

  Whitney nodded without speaking.

  “And you didn’t like that,” Hannah said to Alyssa, “because . . . you also wanted to hang out with Corey, right?”

  Alyssa nodded too.

  “So you sent that nasty e-mail to make sure Corey wouldn’t want to hang out with Whitney anymore,” Hannah finished.

  This time, Alyssa covered her face with her hands before nodding. Hannah thought Whitney was going to be really angry. After all, Alyssa tried to sabotage Whitney’s plans to get to know Corey. Instead Whitney burst out laughing. “That is the craziest thing you’ve ever done, Lys,” she said.

  When Alyssa dropped her hands, she was laughing too. “Yes, but is it crazier than what you did?” she asked. “I don’t think so.”

  “No,” Whitney admitted. “Probably not. I am the worst friend. I’m sorry I scribbled on the picture you gave me.”

  “I’m the worst friend! I’m sorry I sent that stupid e-mail from your account,” Alyssa apologized.

  “F and F?” Whitney asked, holding out her pinkie.

  “F and F,” Alyssa said, linking her pinkie finger with Whitney’s.

  Then the two girls hurried down the hall toward the girls’ bathroom, their heads bent close together as they whispered something in secret.

  “F and F?” Ben said at last. “What does that mean?”

  “Oh, that’s their little code,” Hannah said. “It stands for ‘forgive and forget.’ This might not surprise you, but Whitney and Alyssa get into a lot of fights. Usually not as big as this one, though.”

  “But . . . if they wanted to hang out with me, why didn’t they just say so?” Corey asked. “Why go to the trouble to make up a case and send fake e-mails and all that stuff?”

  “Because they, well, like you, Corey,” Hannah told him. “I mean, like like. You know?”

  “Ohhhhhh!” Corey exclaimed as he suddenly understood. Then his face fell a little. “So they weren’t just impressed with Club CSI because of my great interviewing skills?”

  “I’m sure that had something to do with it,” Hannah comforted her friend.

  “I guess you were right all along, Hannah,” Ben said. “This case pretty much was a waste of time.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know about that,” Hannah replied. “All that IP address stuff was really interesting. And who knows? Maybe it will be useful for another case.”

  Club CSI had no idea how right Hannah was going to be.

  Chapter 8

  club csi! need help—URGENT. can u meet me @ my locker after school tmrw? pls pls pls pls pls!

  Hannah, Ben, and Corey didn’t know what to make of the next text message they received from Whitney. It had been a few weeks since they’d solved the Case of the Feuding Friends, which was their unofficial name for what had happened between Whitney and Alyssa, and since then, Whitney and Alyssa had been supertight. Sometimes the girls nodded at Club CSI when they passed them in the halls, but that was about it. It almost seemed like the vandalized photo, the fake e-mail, and their mutual crush on Corey had never even happened.

  But now Whitney claimed to have an important case for them. There was only one way to find out if she really did: go to the meeting.

  “Do you think it’s another phony case?” Corey asked Ben on their way to Whitney’s locker.

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Ben replied. “I can’t exactly say that I trust Whitney and Alyssa after what they did. We should pay attention to their body language, to see if they give any signs that they’re not being completely honest again.”

  “Good idea,” Corey agreed. “I’ll focus on Whitney and you keep an eye on Alyssa. And Hannah—”

  “I don’t think we need to worry about Hannah,” Ben said with a grin. “She’s onto both of them!”

  When Ben and Corey arrived at Whitney’s locker, Hannah, Alyssa, and Whitney were waiting for them. Whitney got right down to business. “So we have another case for you,” she began. “And this one is for real.”

  “Go on,” Hannah said.

  Whitney glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “This is top secret, okay,” she said, lowering her voice. “Do you swear you won’t repeat what I’m about to tell you?”

  Club CSI exchanged glances, then nodded.

  “Last night, I got into huge trouble,” Whitney continued. “With my parents. I mean, seriously, seriously busted. But here’s the thing . . . I didn’t do anything wrong!”

  “She didn’t,” Alyssa chimed in.

  “Then why did you get in trouble?” asked Ben.

  “Have you ever played that online drawing game?” Whitney asked. “You know the one. It’s called You Can Draw It!”

  Hannah and Corey nodded, but Ben shook his head. Ha
nnah tried to explain. “It’s this Internet game that’s really big right now,” she told him. “Basically, the game gives you a word, and you have to draw it by using your mouse and arrow keys. Then another player tries to guess what you’re drawing. The more you play, the more points you earn, which you can use to get upgrades so that your pictures will look better.”

  “The upgrades are tools like extra colors or pattern packs or special features like sparkles or animation effects,” Corey chimed in. “You definitely need a lot of upgrades to draw the best pictures.”

  Everyone turned to look at him.

  “What?” he asked with a shrug. “I’ve played it a few times. It’s pretty cool.”

  “But it takes a long time to earn enough points to get even one expansion pack,” Whitney said. “So earning points isn’t the only way you can get upgrades. You can also buy them for, like, ten dollars each; nine dollars and ninety-nine cents to be exact. And someone hacked into my account and bought ten expansion packs!”

  Everyone immediately glanced over at Alyssa.

  “Don’t look at me,” Alyssa said, holding up her hands. “First, I would never do something like that. It’s totally stealing. Second, Whitney and I promised each other that we wouldn’t go into each other’s accounts. Not after what happened. We even changed the passwords on all of our accounts. We learned the hard way what can happen when you don’t keep your password secret, even from your best friend.”

  As she spoke, Alyssa looked directly into Ben’s eyes, then Corey’s, and finally Hannah’s.

  “And third, I’ve never even played You Can Draw It!” Alyssa continued. “Drawing isn’t my thing, you know?”

  “So my parents got their credit card bill yesterday, and there was a charge for almost a hundred dollars from You Can Draw It!” Whitney continued. “They think I made that purchase—but I didn’t!”

  “Did you tell them that?” asked Corey.

  “Of course I did,” replied Whitney. “But they don’t believe me. See, there was this one time—ugh, this is so embarrassing—I bought a shirt online and didn’t tell them about it, so they think I did the same thing with the upgrades. And I was supposed to have this awesome party next Friday night, but my parents have grounded me for a month! I really, really, really don’t want to cancel my party—I would, like, die. Everybody already knows about it!”