“Ha!” Mr. Winter said. “It’s just as I thought. You’re not very good with numbers! Maybe the car was not in spot thirty-six. Maybe it was spot sixty-three or thirty-three or sixty-six.”
“No. It was in thirty-six.”
Eric asked Cam, “Do you remember if their car was in that spot?”
“They came after us,” Cam said. “We were leaving the coatroom when they came in. I didn’t see their car.”
Just then Mrs. Pace returned to the gym. Water dripped from her closed umbrella and raincoat. She walked to the head of the line.
“I checked,” she told her husband. “You’re right. The car is gone.”
“Don’t worry,” Mr. Winter said. “I’ll find your car.”
“No,” Eric said. “Cam will find it. She’ll just say, ‘Click!’ and solve the mystery.”
“‘Click! Click! ’ You keep saying that. Hey, wait. All those clicks gives me an idea,” Jim E. Winter said. He stepped around the table. He stood right by Danny’s father. “I may have already solved this mystery.” Mr. Winter held his hand in front of Danny’s father and said, “Let me see your car keys.”
Mr. Pace reached into the right pocket of his raincoat. Then he reached into his left pocket and took out his keys. He gave them to Jim E. Winter.
“Look at this,” Mr. Winter said. “You have a clicker on your key chain. I don’t need to know where you parked your car. All I have to do is go to the parking lot and press this clicker. The lights on one of the cars will flash or the horn will honk. And that will be your car.”
There was still a long line of people waiting to get their books signed.
“I’ll be right back,” Mr. Winter said. “I’ll sign all your books. But first, I’ll solve this mystery.”
Chapter Four
“This is so exciting,” Beth said. “I’m going out. I want to be there when Jim E. Winter solves this mystery.”
Eric said, “I’m going, too.”
“I have to do something with these books,” Cam said. “I didn’t pay for them. I can’t take them out of the gym.”
“And I have to get my dad,” Beth said. “I’ll have to tell him I’m going outside.”
Cam and the other children put their books on a table near the entrance. Beth got her dad. Then Cam, Eric, Diane, Danny, Beth, and their parents all followed Jim E. Winter out of the gym. They followed him to room 17 for their coats, hats, and umbrellas.
“Button your coat. Put on your rain hat,” Mrs. Jansen told Cam. “I don’t want you to get sick.”
Jim E. Winter put on a large dark-blue raincoat and an old felt hat. He bent down the front brim of his hat and walked outside.
Cam and all the others followed him.
“Look, Mom,” Cam whispered. “There’s our car.”
“Oh, good,” Mrs. Jansen told Cam.
Danny’s father pointed to parking spot thirty-six and said, “My car was right there, and now it’s gone.”
“Well,” Mr. Winter told him, “that part of your story checks out. There’s no car in thirty-six. But I think you got your numbers mixed.” He smiled. “I don’t need to know where you think your car was. This clicker will find it.”
Mr. Winter held the clicker out and pressed it as he walked through the side parking lot. No lights blinked. No horn honked.
Cam and the others followed him.
Mr. Winter walked to the lot behind the building. He kept pressing the clicker, but still, no lights blinked. No horn honked.
A gust of wind blew Mr. Winter’s hat off. He ran and grabbed it. He shook the water off the hat and put it on.
“This is a terrible night to be outside,” he complained. “It’s so windy. It’s so cold and wet.”
The parking lot was dark. The only people outside were those looking for Danny’s father’s car.
“Here,” Jim E. Winter said, and gave Danny’s father his keys. “I have books to sign. I’m going inside.”
Cam watched Mr. Pace take the keys. As he put them in the pocket of his raincoat, Cam looked at him, blinked her eyes, and said, “Click!”
“But what about my car?” Danny’s father asked. “You said you would find it.”
Danny’s father ran after Mr. Winter. Danny, his mother, Cam, and some of the others followed the two men into the school.
“What about my car?” Danny’s father asked again.
“I solved that mystery,” Jim E. Winter said as he walked into room 17. “I know what happened to your car. Now I have to sign more books.”
Jim E. Winter took a hanger from the coatrack. He took off his raincoat and hat and hung them up. Then he turned and faced Danny’s father.
“Your car was stolen,” Jim E. Winter said. “That’s what happened to it. Now you must call the police. And I have to sign more books.”
Jim E. Winter quickly left the room.
“Hey,” Mr. Pace said. “He didn’t solve this mystery. If he did, I would have my car.”
Danny turned to Cam. “Now it’s up to you,” he said. “It’s up to you to find my dad’s car.”
Chapter Five
Danny’s father took out a cell phone. He pressed some of the buttons, waited, and then said, “My car has been stolen.”
Mr. Pace described his car and gave the address of the school.
He listened.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll wait for you in the front lobby.”
He returned the cell phone to his pocket. Danny and his parents left room 17. Cam was about to follow them.
“Hang up your coat and hat,” Mrs. Jansen told Cam. “I don’t want you wearing your wet things.”
Cam hung up her coat and hat. Then she followed Danny and his parents to the lobby.
“My car was stolen from the school parking lot,” Danny’s father told Dr. Prell. “The police are coming.”
“That’s terrible,” Dr. Prell said. “I’ll wait here with you. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“I’ll help, too,” Cam said.
“Please,” the principal told Cam, “go back to the gym. The police will handle this.”
“I agree with Dr. Prell,” Mrs. Jansen told Cam. “When it’s all over, Danny will tell us what happened.”
Mrs. Jansen walked with Cam into the gym. Beth and her dad went, too. Cam and Beth took their books from the table near the entrance to the gym.
“Let’s get back on line and have our books signed,” Beth said.
“You go ahead,” Cam said. “I’ll wait here. I want to see what happens.”
“Stay right here,” Mrs. Jansen told her. “I don’t want you bothering Dr. Prell.”
Beth got on line to have her books signed. Her father went back to the biography table. Cam’s mother returned to the history book table.
Cam stood by the entrance to the gym. She looked through the open doors and waited.
Danny and his parents stood in the lobby with Dr. Prell. Cam could see that they were talking, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Two police officers walked into the school. Cam watched them talk to Dr. Prell and Danny’s parents.
Hey, Cam thought, I know one of those officers. He’s been at the school before. That’s Officer Oppen.
Cam waved to him. She hoped he would see her and ask her to come into the lobby. If a police officer tells me to leave the gym, Cam thought, I’ll have to go!
Officer Oppen had his police pad out. He was writing whatever Danny’s father said.
Danny’s father reached into his pocket. He took out his wallet and showed something to Officer Oppen.
That must be information on his car, Cam thought.
Cam waved some more. She called out, “Hello!”
Officer Oppen saw Cam. He smiled, but he didn’t tell her to join him.
Danny’s father talked some more. Then it seemed he was done. Officer Oppen closed his pad.
Just then, Eric, his sister Diane, and his father came into the school. They hurried over to the police officers. Mr. Shelton said so
mething, and Officer Oppen took out his pad again. He started to write.
Cam waved to Eric. He didn’t see her. Cam called out his name.
Eric looked toward the gym. He saw Cam. He waved to her. Then he held up his hand. He would be right there.
Cam waited and watched. Officer Oppen wrote a lot in his pad. Then Mr. Shelton took out his wallet and showed something to Officer Oppen.
Cam waved again to Eric. She signaled to him to come over.
Eric hurried to the gym entrance.
“You won’t believe what happened,” he told Cam. “After all of you went inside, Dad said, ‘Hey, where’s my car?’ We looked and looked, but it’s gone. My dad’s car was stolen, too!”
Chapter Six
“Two cars were stolen from the school lot,” Cam said. “I have to tell Mom.”
“Wait,” Eric said. “First listen to what the police officer told us. He said he would call in the license number and description of our car. The police will look for it. But he said they may not find Dad’s car.”
“Wow!”
“Dad’s dry-cleaning—a few shirts and his good suit—is in the trunk. Donna’s and Diane’s ice skates are also in the trunk.”
“Wait here,” Cam said. “I’ll tell Mom what happened. She said I have to stay in the gym, but I can’t stay here with so much happening outside.”
“I’ll go with you,” Eric said. “I’ll tell her we need you to find Dad’s car.”
Cam and Eric went to the history book table.
“Look at this,” Mrs. Jansen said to them. “This book is all about Benjamin Franklin. Did you know he made the first bifocal eyeglasses?”
“Mom,” Cam said, “Mr. Shelton’s car was stolen. I want to help look for it.”
“Oh, my,” Mrs. Jansen said to Eric. “Your father should call the police.”
“He already spoke with the police. They said they’ll do what they can.”
Mrs. Jansen told Eric, “We can give you a ride home.”
“Please,” Cam said. “Maybe I can help find the car. Let me go with Eric.”
Mrs. Jansen returned the book about Benjamin Franklin to the table.
“I’ll go with you,” she told Cam. “I’ll make sure you don’t do anything dangerous. And if you go outside, I want to be sure your put on your raincoat and hat.”
Cam returned her three My Name Is Blake mysteries to the table by the entrance to the gym.
Jim E. Winter walked past them. “I’m finished,” he told Dr. Prell. “There’s no one left on line.”
The principal introduced the writer to Officers Gray and Oppen.
“I read your books when I was a child,” Officer Gray said.
“I read them to my children now,” Officer Oppen told Mr. Winter.
Officer Gray was a tall woman with curly black hair. Officer Oppen was not so tall and had a short beard.
Cam, Eric, and Mrs. Jansen joined them.
“Hello,” Officer Oppen said to Cam. Then he laughed, blinked his eyes, and said, “Click!
“I know this girl,” he told his partner. “She’s smart. She has a great memory.”
“That’s very nice,” the taller officer said. “But we must get going.”
Officer Gray reached into her pocket and took out a set of car keys.
“Are you left-handed?” Cam asked.
“Yes, I am, but how did you know?”
“You keep your keys in your left pocket,” Cam explained.
“That’s very interesting,” Officer Gray said, “but we really must go.”
Cam closed her eyes. She said, “Click!” Then, with her eyes still closed, she said, “And, Mr. Pace, are you right-handed?”
“Yes, I am,” Danny’s father said.
“I know that,” Cam said with her eyes still closed, “because when Jim E. Winter asked for your keys, you first reached into your right pocket.”
“But the keys weren’t there,” Mr. Pace said.
“No,” Cam said. “They were in your left pocket.”
“Right pocket, left pocket!” Officer Gray said. “Let’s go. We have reports to file.”
Cam opened her eyes.
“You’re right-handed,” Cam told Danny’s father, “so you would have put your keys in your right pocket. But I think someone took your keys out of your pocket and then put them back.”
“The thief?” Mr. Pace asked.
“Yes,” Cam said. “I think he took off your car key. Then he put the keys back. He used the key to steal your car.”
Mr. Pace took his keys out of his right pocket. There were several keys on his key ring. He checked them all.
“You’re right,” he said. “My car key is missing.”
Mr. Shelton took out his key ring and looked at it. “Hey,” he said. “My car key is also missing.”
“What does all this mean?” Jim E. Winter asked.
“It means,” Cam said, “that the thief came into the school. He went into room seventeen, stole the keys, and then stole the cars.”
Chapter Seven
Officer Oppen took out his pad. Jim E. Winter took out a pad, too.
“I’ve got to write all this down,” Officer Oppen said.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” Cam said. “I remembered that Danny’s father first reached into one raincoat pocket and then the other to get his keys. That told me two things. First, he kept his keys in his raincoat, which he left in room seventeen. Anyone who went into the coatroom could take his keys.”
“I know what’s second,” Eric said. “Someone must have moved his keys from one pocket to the other. Since his car was stolen, it must have been the thief.”
Jim E. Winter wrote all this in his pad. “This is clever, very clever,” he said as he wrote. “I can use this in one of my books.”
“But how did he know which coats to search?” Officer Gray asked.
“He was somewhere in the parking lot,” Cam said. “He watched people as they got out of their cars. If he saw someone put his keys in his coat pocket, he remembered the coat and stole the keys.”
“He didn’t even have to remember the coat,” Officer Oppen said. “He just went to room seventeen and checked which raincoat was still dripping wet. That meant it was just hung up.” Officer Oppen closed his pad. “I told you this girl is smart,” he said to Officer Gray.
“Okay, she’s smart,” Officer Gray said. “We know how the thief stole the cars. But we still don’t know where to find him.”
“You also don’t know where to find my car,” Mr. Pace said.
“Or mine,” Mr. Shelton added.
“We do know something else,” Jim E. Winter said. “He came back after he stole the first car, so he must have left it nearby. Maybe it’s hidden somewhere.”
“Yes!” Officer Gray said. “Let’s drive around. If he’s anywhere near this school, we’ll find him.”
The two police officers started to walk toward the front door of the school.
Cam closed her eyes. She said, “Click!”
“Wait!” Eric called out. “Cam is looking at another picture. She may have another clue.”
The two police officers stopped. They turned and waited.
“I think I saw him,” Cam said with her eyes still closed. “I think I saw the thief.”
“Where did you go?” Cam’s mother asked her. “I told you to stay in the gym.”
“Mom, we both saw him. When you drove into the school parking lot, you had to stop. A man was walking across the road.”
“Yes, of course,” Mrs. Jansen said. “Who else but a thief would be walking in such horrible weather?”
Officer Oppen had his pad out again. “Can you describe him?” he asked.
“The car windows were fogged,” Cam said. “But I did see that he was short and fat. I saw his raincoat, too. It was light brown. He had on a large brown hat. ”
“Oh, I also saw him!” Dr. Prell said. “The brim of his hat was bent over his eyes, so I didn’t see his
face. But I saw him. He came in and said his daughter was already inside. I told him where to hang his coat and where the books were.”
Dr. Prell shook her head. “I even welcomed him to the book fair!”
“Well, we’ll catch him,” Officer Gray said. “We’ll catch him and welcome him to jail.”
Officers Gray and Oppen left the school.
“That was great!” Jim E. Winter said. “I might put a girl like you in one of my next mysteries. She’ll have red hair and freckles just like yours. I’ll name her Camelia.”
“‘Cam’ is not short for ‘Camelia,’” Eric said. “It’s short for ‘The Camera.’ We call her that because she has a mental camera. Her real name is Jennifer.”
“Oh, yes,” Jim E. Winter said, and wrote in his pad.
Cam stood by the front door to the school. She watched the police drive off in their car.
“Good,” Cam said. “Now that the police car is gone, maybe we can catch the thief.”
With her hands, Cam wiped the fog off the school’s large front window.
“Look at your hands,” Cam’s mother told her. “They’re all wet!”
Cam wiped her hands on her shirt.
“Look at your shirt,” Mrs. Jansen said. “Now that’s wet.”
“I’m sorry,” Cam said. “But I want to see out the window. Before, the police car was here. That would scare the thief away. But now it’s gone. The thief already came here twice to steal. Maybe he’ll try again. If he does, we’ll see him, and we’ll catch him.”
Chapter Eight
“So,” Eric asked Cam, “what do we do? How do we catch the thief?”
“We wait here and watch for him,” Cam said.
“Much of detective work is waiting and watching,” Jim E. Winter told Eric. He looked around. “But when I was a detective, I usually did my watching sitting down.”
There was a bench near the entrance. Mr. Winter pulled the bench to the window and sat on it.
“You know,” Jim E. Winter said, “the thief may not come back. He may have room in his garage for only two cars. Or he may have come back and seen the police car. That would have scared him away.”
Cam Jansen and the Mystery Writer Mystery Page 2