Detective Camp (2 page)

Josh snuck up behind Dink and said, “Come back inside. I want to show you something.”

“What?” Dink said as he followed Josh. “Come on, we’re gonna be late on our first day!”

“Look,” Josh said. He was pointing to a small wooden chest under Buzzy’s bed. It had a hasp, and the padlock was in the locked position.

“Josh, what do I care if—”

“After the other kids left, I saw Buzzy hide something in there,” Josh said. “He was real careful, like he didn’t want anyone to see what he was doing.”

“But Josh the snoop saw him, right?” Dink asked.

Josh nodded. “This is Detective Camp, right?” he said. “Well, I’m being a detective!”

Dink and Josh ran down the path. A couple of minutes later, they heard voices and followed them to the lake.

They found all the other kids sitting on tree stumps arranged in a big circle. In the center was a ring of rocks surrounding a pile of wood. A few yards away, a dock jutted out into the lake. There were several canoes piled upside down on the dock. Paddles stuck out from beneath each canoe.

Ruth Rose had saved two stumps, so Dink and Josh sat on either side of her.

“You two are late,” Ruth Rose said in
a whisper. “Bad Moose boys!”

Suddenly a loud whistle pierced the air. Angie was standing on a stump with her whistle in her mouth.

“Welcome to Detective Camp!” she said. “Whenever you hear a whistle like this, you need to stop what you’re doing and listen. Later, you’ll be getting daily schedules. For now, the guys and I want to tell you what to expect over the next week.”

She turned and pointed toward the dock. “No one is allowed on the dock or near the canoes unless you’re with a counselor,” Angie went on. “You’ll get a chance to swim or canoe every day, starting tomorrow.”

Luke took over next. “Each day, you’ll also get a chance to do other camp activities like crafts, nature walks, stuff like that,” he said. “You’ll also learn detective skills from a real detective!”

A lot of the kids whistled and clapped at the word
detective
.

“You’re expected to do camp chores, too,” Luke continued.

“What kind of chores?” a girl with a long ponytail asked. “Like dishes and stuff?”

“No dishes, Jade, but you’re expected to keep your bunks neat,” Angie said. “And we sweep the cabins every day. Some of you may want to feed the chickens and collect eggs. We even have a vegetable garden, if you like getting your hands dirty. Anyway, the chores don’t take long, and you can switch around so no one gets bored.”

“When do we eat?” Josh asked, getting a laugh.

“Mealtimes are sacred around here,” Buzzy said. “Mario is the cook, and he won’t wait for latecomers. Breakfast is at eight, lunch at noon, and supper
is promptly at five o’clock.”

“We eat outside on the picnic tables by the barn, unless the weather is bad,” Angie added. “If it rains, we don’t eat.”

Most of the kids went silent and stared at her.

“Are you kidding?” Josh asked.

Angie grinned. “Yes. We eat in the barn if it rains. So that’s another chore, to help carry the picnic tables inside if the weather looks bad.”

“When you’re not doing these camp things, you’ll have free time to relax, write letters home, whatever,” Luke said. “Okay, any more questions?”

“Wait, Luke,” Buzzy said. “We forgot to tell them the most important thing!”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Luke asked with a big grin on his face.

“The Marvelous Mystery Map!” Buzzy said. “Detective Robb will explain it all later. For now, we just want to clue
you in that there’ll be a treasure hunt with a really cool prize.”

“Awesome!” a bunch of kids yelled.

“One more thing before we head up to the barn,” Angie said. “This’ll be fun. Break up into your three cabin groups. We want each group to decide on a cabin cheer. Try to keep it under fifteen words. Later, each cabin will get to yell out their cheer. Okay, get busy. You’ve got ten minutes!”

The kids all scrambled around to sit with their cabinmates. Dink and Josh and the other six boys from Moose Cabin sat under a shady pine tree.

“This is so cool!” Hunter said. “I’ve never been to camp before!”

“Does anyone have any ideas for a cheer?” asked Billy.

“How about putting in something that rhymes with
moose
?” said Ian, one of the twins.

“Yeah, like
noose
or
goose
or
loose
,” his brother added.

“Or
juice
,” said Josh.

“Or
caboose
,” added Campbell.

“What about this?” Dink said. “HEY, I AM A MOOSE. I DRINK MY JUICE. AT NIGHT, I SLEEP IN MY CABOOSE.”

“That’s sixteen words,” Duke said.

“I have an idea,” Campbell said. “MOOSIES ROCK! MOOSIES ROLL! MOOSIES RULE!”

“I like that better than mine,” Dink said.

“Everyone else does, too,” Josh said, grinning at Dink. “Let’s take a vote. If you like Campbell’s idea, raise your hand!”

Eight hands flew into the air.

“Okay, time’s up, everyone,” Angie announced a few minutes later. “If you didn’t finish, you’ll have time to get together with your cabinmates before
supper tonight. Now we’ll head over to the barn and the lodge so you can meet the Darbys.”

In a long, straggling line, the kids followed the three counselors back along the path.

“Did your cabin finish making a cheer?” Dink asked Ruth Rose.

“No,” Ruth Rose said. “But we have some good ideas.”

“We did our cheer,” Dink said.

“You did? Tell me!” Ruth Rose begged.

Both boys shook their heads.

“You’ll have to wait,” Josh teased.

The group went around the lodge to the barn. It was bigger than Dink had thought when he first saw it. There was a long extension in the back. Through the open doors, Dink could see archery equipment hanging on one wall. There was a big empty space in the middle
of the barn floor, and in a corner sat three potter’s wheels and shelves holding craft supplies.

“Okay, campers, gather around,” Buzzy yelled. “This is where you’ll come for any craft activities. We eat on those picnic tables over there. Around the side is the chicken coop and Mote’s house.”

“Whose house?” one of the girls asked.

“Remote is a goat,” Buzzy said. “He’s the camp mascot. He once chewed up the Darbys’ TV remote. Since then, everyone calls him Remote, but I call him Mote the goat.”

Suddenly a large red rooster strutted around the side of the barn. He had red and black feathers and a fierce-looking beak. He stopped when he saw all the strangers.

“And this is Ronald the rooster,” Luke said. “He and Remote are buddies,
but he’s not very friendly with anyone else. So watch out!”

Ignoring everyone, Ronald began scratching the ground for bugs and worms.

“Next we’re going into the lodge,” Angie continued. “The Darbys are excited to meet you. Remember, this is their home. They love reading mystery and detective stories, so they decided to create this camp.

“This is its first year, so it’s sort of an experiment. They hope to have even more kids here next summer.”

Buzzy held the back door open and everyone filed into the lodge. They walked into a large, bright kitchen. A tall man wearing an apron was standing at a worktable, chopping vegetables.

“Hi, I’m Mario,” the man said. “I do all the cooking, so be nice to me! And on your way out, grab a cookie. I’m taking a batch out of the oven in three minutes.”

Mario’s head was completely bald, and he wore a red bandanna as a headband. He had a large brown mustache that curled up into pointy ends.

“Thanks, Mario!” everyone said.

“Let’s go into the great room,” Angie said, passing through a doorway.

They all gathered in a huge room filled with sofas, tables, lamps, and more books than a small library. Most of the walls had bookcases, and they were all stuffed.

Several paintings hung on the walls. Some were so old and dirty that Dink couldn’t tell what he was looking at. But others were bright and clean, as if they’d just been painted.

Dink noticed Buzzy peering into a cabinet with glass doors. On the shelves inside were dozens of small animal figurines. They were metal and gleamed softly like the silver teapot Dink’s mom used only on holidays.

Just then they all heard a screeching noise. A door slid open, revealing an elevator. As all the kids stared, a man and a woman walked slowly off the elevator. They both had white hair and wore glasses. The woman used a walker.

Their wrinkled faces lit up when they saw the gang of kids.

“Hello,” the man said. “I am Michael Darby. This is my wife, Bessie. Welcome to our home!”

The couple walked among the campers, shaking hands.

“I’ll try to remember your names, but forgive an old lady if I forget!” Bessie said.

“Oh, excuse me,” another voice said from behind the group.

They turned and saw a woman coming down the central stairs. Her black dress matched her hair, and she wore rose-colored glasses. She rested one pale hand on the banister as she paused at the bottom of the stairs.

Dink thought he’d never seen such white skin before. Then he realized the woman was wearing white rubber gloves.

“I am Mademoiselle Musée,” the woman said.

“Mademoiselle is living in Darby Lodge while she cleans our poor old paintings,” Bessie Darby said. “How are they coming, my dear?”

The woman bowed slightly. “Very well, Mrs. Darby,” she said with a French accent. “Only a few more, and then I will be gone and you will have your dining room back again.”

“May we watch you clean a painting?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Perhaps,” Mademoiselle Musée said. “If you have some free time later, come to visit me, yes? Mr. and Mrs. Darby, do you have a moment?”

“Of course, Mademoiselle,” Mr. Darby said.

“Okay, gang, let’s get some of Mario’s cookies,” Luke said, heading back toward the kitchen.

As Dink followed, he noticed that Buzzy was no longer in the group. Shrugging, Dink kept walking. As he entered the kitchen, he smelled something wonderful, and his mouth began to water.

Mario stood by his worktable, smiling. In front of him was a platter piled high with warm cookies.