The Gold Coin

When you are in Claire's room, you notice a picture of a very cute little boy and ask who it is.  Claire says that it is her little brother, and says that he LOVES shiny things.  Now, you don't want to jump to conclusions,  but you just want to make sure....   "Hewo! I'm Claire'th brother, Michael Thtevens! Thats how you're greeted by her little brother, Michael.  His voice sounds very babyish, but he's eight years old! (You also notice that he has a lisp.)  You start to question him, and you notice that he's getting very nervous, fiddling with  his blanket, standing up and stretching, then finally saying "uuuuh, i gotta go..."   So you get up and leave.

The next day, you question Mr. Terry in person.  "Do you remember anything unusual about the thief, like, did he say anything?"  "As a matter of fact, he did"  says Mr. Terry. You ask Mr. Terry what he said, and he says the thief said "You're too thmall, ha! Nobody maketh fun of me, no way!"    "THATS IT!!!"  you cry.  You go straight back to Claire's house, and demand to see Michael.  When you're in his room, he's fiddling with something in his hand, and you take no notice, but then you see a flash of gold!  "AHA!"  you shriek, so loudly that he jumps a foot in the air.  "Admit it! YOU'RE the thief of the Golden Coin! Come on, show me black costume!"  Michael nods guiltily and shuffles glumly over to his wardrobe. Inside, he takes out all his clothes to reveal a secret compartment in the back of his closet and shows you the black costume.  Of course, he had the perfect alibi. 

Perfect little innocent Michael, who would ever suspect that a cute little boy ( who in fact is a fiendish eight year old) would steal a precious gold coin?  You look Michael in the eyes and tell him that you won't tell his parents or the police, that HE has to tell them, and that he has to take full responsability of what he's done, and understand why he's being punished. He nods sullenly.  The next morning, you get up wondering why you feel so satisfied with the world. Then you remember!  Thats another case cracked! you think to yourself the medal you're going to win for solving the mystery of the Golden Coin, as your mother's voice comes floating in through the door and tells you its time for your special breakfast, celebrating your cracked case!

P.S about the piece of paper with the name Margaret, that was just the name of the girl he was planning to give the coin to on her birthday, whom he rather liked!

 Excellent ideas, Juli! But see if the second paragraph can be divided into two and check punctuation when you use dialogue! Miss Ale

The Mysterious Prints

I started to look for more pawprints with my dust method.  I found 56 more, leading up untill the woods.  That was where the creepy shack was!  I thought of telling the other sleuths in training what I had found, and whilst I had been thinking I had been absent-mindedly dusting the floor with my kit!  I swore and grumbled to myself that it wasn´t fair.  Suddenly, a booming bark sounded behind me! 

I jumped.  I could only just see the outline of a man through the trees.  He seemed to be running towards a large figure.  Without thinking, I plunged into the darkness before me.  "Sir?"  I called out.  "Shhh!"  the man said.  "Follow me"  Pushing away any doubt, I followed him.  He led me to the Creepy Shack, where he sat me down and confessed.  He said he was the owner of Fang and had told Fang to get the teacher's lunch because he was so hungry.  The booming bark I had heard, he explained, was Fang who had barked because he didn't want to give the lunch over.  So the man had started running, afraid that Fang might bite him.  So where WAS Fang?

At that precise moment, Fang was in the doorway of the Creepy Shack.  He dropped the paper bag when he saw me and leaped directly at my face!

AAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I screamed, terrified. Fang was SO heavy!  I fell to the floor thinking I was going to die by having my face ripped off.  I heard a wheezy laugh behind me.  HEEEELPP!!!!! I screamed, before realizing that Fang was licking my face!  I heard running footsteps and suddenly a stampede of sleuths in training toppled on top of me!   "are you all right?"  "are you hurt?"  I was overwhelmed by all the questions being asked.  Finally I was pulled to my feet and my teacher looked overjoyed that I had solved the case!  "Outstanding!"  He cried, beaming at me.  "You get a 100% on everything, tracking, interrogation, the lot!"  Before I knew it, I was in the cafeteria being congratulated by everone and having a 100%.  You know, the best prize given to me wasn'tgetting a 10, it was FINALLY GETTING TO EAT MY LUNCH!!!!