Playground Detective

by Sally Rippin

  Tables of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Copyright Page

  Billie B Brown sits with her friends in their brand-new Secret Mystery Club Headquarters. It is a treehouse that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, just like magic, in the old apple tree at the end of Billie’s backyard.

  One day, there was nothing in the tree but an old bird’s nest. The next, there was the most brilliant treehouse Billie and her friends could ever imagine.

  Billie knows it was her dad who built the treehouse. She also knows it was her dad who organised the trail of notes with secret codes, to keep them busy while he was building it.

  All their parents were in on it.

  Each of them came up with a code they knew only their child would be able to crack.

  Even though the treehouse is the most wonderful surprise ever, Billie and her friends have decided it wasn’t a real mystery if their parents made it up. It was more like a fun game.

  But Billie has had an idea. A super-dooper idea. There is something at school she thinks the SMC should investigate.

  ‘Please tell us, Billie!’ Mika begs. ‘We can’t wait until tomorrow. Go on! Just give us a clue.’

  ‘Well, all right,’ Billie says, grinning, and she draws the others in close to listen. ‘I guess I can tell you now. You remember how Benny got called into the principal’s office last week for putting leaves in Rebecca’s sandwich?’

  Jack, Mika and Alex all nod.

  ‘Well, I don’t think it was him,’ Billie says. She crosses her arms and smiles triumphantly, waiting to see what the others will say.

  ‘Of course it was him!’ Alex snorts. ‘Benny always does stupid things like that.’

  ‘And Lola said she saw him in the corridor by the school bags that day,’ Mika adds. ‘When she was going to the bathroom. So there’s even a witness.’

  ‘Yes, but did she actually see him put the leaves in Rebecca’s sandwich?’ Billie asks. ‘She’s only a witness if she actually saw him do it.’

  ‘No, but his pockets were full of mulberry leaves,’ Alex says, reminding Billie. ‘He was pretty much caught red-handed, Billie. Case closed.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s definitely evidence,’ Jack says. ‘He had leaves in his pockets, Billie!’

  ‘Maybe,’ says Billie, staring mysteriously into the distance. ‘But he still says he didn’t do it. He says the leaves were for his silkworms.’

  ‘Wouldn’t you say you didn’t do it?’ Alex says.

  Billie shrugs. ‘I might, but not Benny. He loves boasting about all the silly things he does. He thinks it makes him look cool. But this time … he seemed different.

  Didn’t you notice? He was almost in tears when Mr Benetto sent him to Mrs Singh’s office. He kept saying, “I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it!” That’s not like him at all.’

  Mika nods slowly. ‘You have a point,’ she says. ‘I’ve never seen Benny cry before. Not even that time he broke his arm at soccer.’

  ‘It’s true,’ says Jack. ‘But who else would put leaves in Rebecca’s sandwich? It’s a pretty stupid thing to do.’

  A slow smile creeps over Billie’s face. ‘Well? Isn’t this a mystery we can solve?’

  ‘That’s your super-dooper mystery?’ Alex says, looking unimpressed. ‘I thought it would be a bit more exciting than that!’

  ‘I think it’s a good idea!’ Mika says, standing up for Billie. ‘If someone got in trouble when it wasn’t their fault, isn’t it important to find out who really did it?’

  ‘Yeah,’ says Jack. ‘It’s not fair if Benny got in trouble for something he didn’t do.’

  ‘And now Rebecca’s not talking to him,’ Mika says. ‘Neither is Lola.’

  ‘What do you think?’ Billie asks looking hopefully at Alex. Even though he is annoying sometimes, she still wants him to like her ideas.

  ‘I guess you’re right,’ says Alex.

  ‘Then we start our investigation tomorrow!’ Billie says happily.

  She sticks her hand into the middle of their circle. Jack slaps his hand down on hers, then Mika, then Alex. ‘Cock-a-doodle-dooooo!’ they all shout together.

  ‘Billie!’ Billie’s mum calls to them from the back door. She has Noah on her hip. ‘Mika’s mum is here to take Mika and Alex home.’

  The four of them climb down out of the treehouse one by one, landing on the grass with soft thuds.

  Billie looks up at the little house again and smiles. From the ground it is completely hidden by the leaves. She feels her heart almost burst with pride.

  ‘Let’s meet in the playground before school tomorrow to discuss our plan,’ Billie says to the others. ‘I’ll bring my special secret notebook. We can write down our ideas in there.’

  ‘Oh! I have a little digital voice recorder!’ Alex says, remembering.

  ‘If we interview people we can record what they say.’

  ‘Good thinking, Alex!’ Billie says.

  ‘Come on, let’s go inside. But remember, everyone, this is top secret—OK?’

  ‘OK,’ agree the others and they run inside.

  After Billie’s friends have left, Billie goes upstairs to find her dad. He is in the bathroom giving Noah a bath.

  Billie’s little brother is splashing about so much that her dad is covered with water and bubbles.

  Billie giggles when she sees him.

  ‘So,’ she says, leaning against the doorframe. ‘This treehouse just appeared in our apple tree.

  Out of nowhere!’

  ‘Really?’ says her dad, raising his eyebrows. ‘How astonishing!’

  ‘What house? What house?’ Noah asks.

  ‘A clubhouse. For a secret mystery club,’ Billie says, grinning.

  ‘I have no idea what Billie is talking about,’ her dad says to Noah. His mouth twists up a little in the corners. ‘I’ve never even heard of a secret mystery club. Have you, Noah? If it’s a secret mystery club, how can I possibly know anything about it?’ He winks at Billie.

  ‘What secret? What secret?’ Noah says. ‘Can I have a house-club-tree-secret?’

  Billie and her father laugh. Billie wipes some bubbles from her dad’s cheek and gives him a big kiss. ‘Thanks, Dad,’ she whispers. ‘You’re the best.’

  Her dad winks and dabs some bath foam onto her nose. ‘You’d better go. Otherwise you’ll get covered in bubbles, too!’

  Noah squeals and tosses a fistful of foam into the air. Billie ducks away quickly and jogs back downstairs.

  Yummy dinner smells are coming from the kitchen, mixing with the lovely lemony smell of the biscuits her dad baked that afternoon.

  Billie pulls a stool up to the kitchen bench and perches beside her mum, who is grating carrots. ‘What’s for dinner?’ she asks.

  ‘Spaghetti bolognaise,’ her mum answers, smiling.

  ‘My favourite!’ Billie says, happily.

  At that moment she feels like the luckiest girl in the world. She has a secret treehouse, three best friends and a new secret mystery to solve.

  The next morning, Billie arrives at school extra early and waits for Jack, Alex and Mika under the peppercorn tree in the playground.

  She takes her notebook, which has a real lock, out of her school bag and opens it up to a clean page.

  Across the top of the page she writes the date in curly writing with her blueberry-scented pen. Then she draws a wiggly line and some stars underneath for decoration.

  Her notebook is so small that now almost the whole page has been filled, so she w
rites in extra-small writing:

  SMC Mystery number 3: Who put leaves in Rebecca’s sandwich?

  When she looks up again, her friends are jogging towards her across the playground. They sit down beside her and look over her shoulder to read what she has written in her special secret notebook.

  ‘So, what’s the plan?’ Jack asks.

  ‘Well, I think we should start by asking people questions to find out some clues,’ Billie says. ‘But don’t make anyone suspicious, OK?

  We don’t want them to know we are investigating a mystery.’

  Jack, Alex and Mika nod.

  ‘Why don’t I talk to Benny?’ says Billie. ‘And see if I can get any more information out of him.’

  ‘Good idea,’ says Mika. ‘I’ll talk to Rebecca at lunchtime. We’re on compost duty together today.’

  ‘Great!’ says Billie.

  ‘I’ll talk to Lola,’ says Jack. ‘She’s the main witness!’

  ‘And I’ll talk to Sam,’ says Alex. ‘He’s Benny’s best friend so I’m sure he’ll know something.’

  Then Alex pulls a tiny voice recorder out of his pocket and grins. He presses a button and all of their voices come out of it, high and squeaky. ‘You didn’t even know you were being recorded, did you?’ he says gleefully. ‘Isn’t it cool?’

  ‘Wow, sure is!’ says Jack. ‘Can I see?’

  Alex shows Jack how to work the recorder, and the two of them record each other making funny voices. Billie and Mika giggle.

  Just then the bell goes. ‘Oh no,’ says Billie. ‘We still haven’t worked out our whole plan.’

  ‘I think we have enough to start with,’ Alex says. ‘Let’s interview people today, then why don’t we meet in the treehouse after school and we can share anything we’ve found out?’

  ‘Good idea,’ says Billie. ‘Will your parents let you come over?’

  ‘I think it should be fine,’ says Mika. ‘My mum can take Alex home again afterwards.’

  ‘Great!’ says Billie. ‘Then, let’s get to work. And meet you at the treehouse after school!’

  The four of them run off to class.

  The first class for the day is art, which Billie is very happy about. Firstly because she loves art and secondly because their teacher, Ms Parkes, doesn’t mind if they talk in class. It is the perfect opportunity to do some secret detective work.

  ‘OK, kids!’ Ms Parkes calls out as the students shuffle into the room and perch on stools around the big tables. ‘Today we are going to work on our Saving The Environment posters to put up around the neighbourhood. Who can remember some of the topics we discussed last week?’

  Lola shoots up her hand. She always likes to be first to answer questions.

  ‘Yes, Lola?’ says Ms Parkes.

  ‘Recycling. Saving water. Not littering …’ Lola says, counting the topics off on her fingers.

  Ms Parkes interrupts her. ‘Excellent, Lola. Anyone else?’

  Billie puts up her hand. ‘Not wasting electricity?’ she says.

  ‘Good,’ says Ms Parkes. ‘Benny?’

  Benny looks up, quickly. He has been staring out the window. ‘Sorry?’ he says, his cheeks turning pink.

  ‘Have you thought of a topic for your poster?’ Ms Parkes asks.

  Benny looks down at his desk. ‘Um, not yet,’ he says quietly.

  ‘How about “Not destroying other people’s things”?’ Lola says, glaring at Benny.

  Benny glances at Rebecca and his cheeks turn from pink to red.

  ‘That’s enough,’ Ms Parkes warns Lola. ‘Benny has already been punished for what he did.’

  ‘But, I didn’t …’ Benny mumbles, then he stops and looks back out the window, frowning. Billie feels sorry for him.

  ‘All right, everyone, I’d like you to work in pairs,’ Ms Parkes tells the class, ‘so make sure you choose someone you are going to work well with.’

  Billie jumps up and walks over to Benny. He looks up at her in surprise.

  Jack looks surprised, too. He and Billie always work together. But Billie gives him a secretive look, which he understands straight away. He nods and walks off to find someone else to work with.

  ‘Can I work with you?’ Billie asks Benny.

  Benny narrows his eyes suspiciously. ‘Why?’ he says.

  Billie shrugs. ‘Because you’re good at drawing trucks.

  I want to do a poster on recycling, and I need someone to draw a recycling truck.’

  ‘Well, all right,’ Benny says slowly, looking pleased. ‘But who’s Sam going to work with?’

  ‘I’ll work with Sam,’ Alex says quickly. He taps his top pocket where Billie knows he has hidden his voice recorder. So Sam walks over to sit next to Alex, and Billie sits down next to Benny. She opens up her sketchbook.

  ‘So, I was thinking we could draw a normal rubbish truck and a recycling truck, then draw the different things that go into each of them,’ Billie says. ‘You know, like glass and paper and milk cartons go in the recycling truck, and plastic bags and other stuff go in the rubbish truck. What do you think?’

  Benny shrugs. ‘OK,’ he grumbles.

  ‘Are you still upset about what Lola said?’ Billie asks.‘Why do you even care what she thinks?’

  ‘I don’t!’ Benny scowls. ‘It’s just that everybody believes her and not me.’

  ‘Well, you do do lots of silly things, Benny,’ Billie says. ‘Why should we believe you didn’t do it this time?’

  Benny frowns. ‘I wouldn’t do something like that to…’ he stops. ‘Never mind. Nobody believes me anyway.’ He looks over to where Rebecca and Lola are sitting. When Rebecca looks up, he quickly looks away, his cheeks flaring pink again.

  ‘Rebecca won’t even talk to me anymore,’ he mumbles. ‘She won’t even look at me! She used to be nice to me, but now…’ He sighs.

  Billie’s brain begins to whizz. Suddenly she thinks she understands. A smile creeps over her face. ‘You … like Rebecca!’ she whispers slowly to Benny.

  ‘What?’ Benny says, his eyes flashing. ‘Don’t be silly, of course I don’t! That’s stupid!’

  ‘You do!’ says Billie, grinning. ‘I can tell! You watch her all the time. And you go all funny whenever she looks at you.’

  Benny looks like he might cry. ‘Billie,’ he begs. ‘Please be quiet! She already hates me. Don’t make it worse.’

  Billie puts her hand on Benny’s arm. She has all the information she needs. Why would he put leaves in Rebecca’s sandwich if he likes her? she thinks. That doesn’t make any sense!

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she says kindly. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’

  Benny breathes out in relief. ‘Promise?’

  Billie nods. ‘I promise,’ she says.

  Now Billie is one hundred per cent sure that Benny didn’t commit the crime. She looks around the classroom. Everyone is chatting noisily about their projects.

  But then if Benny didn’t do it, who did? she wonders.

  At the end of the day, the Secret Mystery Club meet in their new clubhouse in Billie’s backyard.

  Billie’s mum has made some snacks for them and Jack has brought over a bottle of home-made lemonade from his house.

  The four of them munch on rice crackers and hummus as well as the lemon biscuits Billie’s dad baked the day before.

  Outside, the sun is shining fiercely, but inside the secret treehouse, high up in the apple tree, it is cool and breezy.

  Billie lies back on the cushions she has borrowed from her bedroom and gazes out the window at the dancing leaves.

  She thinks this could possibly be the best place in the whole wide world.

  ‘So, back to business!’ Alex says, slipping the last rice cracker into his mouth. He pulls the voice recorder out of his pocket and grins.

  Billie, Mika and Jack crowd around to listen to what he has recorded. They hear Alex and Sam chatting about their poster and the noise of the class in the background.

  Finally, they hear Alex ask Sam, ‘Hey, you
know those leaves in Rebecca’s sandwich? Do you think Benny really did it?’

  Then they hear Sam’s voice: ‘Of course! Who else would do something like that? I thought it was pretty funny, actually. It’s not like Rebecca couldn’t eat the sandwich once she’d pulled the leaves out. Those girls always make a big deal out of nothing.’

  Alex switches the recorder off. ‘See?’ he says. ‘Even his best friend said he did it. Case closed.’

  Billie frowns. ‘That’s not good enough. Just ’cause Benny does silly stuff a lot of the time, doesn’t mean he did it this time. I talked to him and I’m absolutely sure he didn’t do it.’

  ‘How come?’ Mika asks. ‘What did he say?’

  Billie frowns. She wishes she could tell them what she knows.

  But a promise is a promise. ‘I can’t say,’ she says. ‘You’ll just have to trust me.’

  Mika sighs. ‘I have to agree with Alex on this one, Billie. Sorry. I talked to Rebecca at lunchtime. She’s absolutely sure Benny did it. She says he’s always staring at her. Like he’s just waiting to do something horrible.’

  ‘But that’s because…’ Billie stops, feeling frustrated.

  Her friends look at her expectantly. ‘Oh, never mind,’ she mumbles. ‘Jack? Did you get a chance to talk to Lola?’

  ‘Not yet,’ Jack says. ‘She stayed inside at lunchtime to finish off her poster. I thought it would look a bit suspicious if I hung around to talk to her.’

  ‘True,’ says Billie. ‘But I still think we should try to talk to her tomorrow.’

  Jack shrugs. ‘Look, even his best friend said he did it, Billie. I don’t think there’s really much of a mystery here. Everyone thinks it was Benny.’

  ‘Well, I don’t!’ says Billie, feeling a little annoyed that her friends are giving up so easily. ‘And I’m going to prove it!’

  ‘How?’ Mika asks.

  ‘By finding out who did do it,’ Billie says, crossly.

  That evening before dinner, Billie takes out her secret notebook and turns to a fresh page. On it, she writes a list of names and puts a tick next to the ones they have already spoken to: