Strawberry Thief

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Copyright Page

  It’s Saturday afternoon and Billie B Brown is on her way to her friend Mika’s house.

  Billie and her friends have a brand new mystery to solve. Mika’s mum, Mrs Okinawa, has the most beautiful patch of strawberries.

  Two days ago, the plants were bursting with ruby red fruit. But when she got home from work the next day, Mrs Okinawa discovered that all her ripe strawberries were gone. Every single one of them!

  But the most curious thing of all was that the netting she had so carefully tucked in around the strawberry plants was undisturbed. Who, or what, could have stolen all of Mrs Okinawa’s strawberries? It’s a mystery, for sure!

  The Secret Mystery Club are determined to uncover the truth.

  The SMC has arranged to meet at Mika’s house to look for clues. Billie’s mum is driving Billie and Jack there. They pull up outside the house.

  ‘See you, Mum!’ Billie says as she and Jack hop out of the car. Just then, Alex’s car pulls up and he gets out. The three of them walk together to the front door.

  Billie whispers excitedly to Jack and Alex. ‘Can you believe it? Another new mystery to solve already! We must be the busiest spies in the whole neighbourhood!’

  ‘It’s detectives, Billie. Remember?’ Alex says, rolling his eyes. ‘Spies are like James Bond. Detectives are the ones that solve mysteries.’

  ‘Same thing,’ Billie says with a shrug, and rings the doorbell. Sometimes Alex worries about the most unimportant details, she thinks.

  Mika answers the door. ‘Thank goodness you’re here! I’ve been keeping Mum away from the strawberry patch all morning,’ she says, leading Billie and Jack through the house towards the back garden. ‘You know, in case she messes up any of the clues.’

  ‘Good thinking,’ says Alex, looking serious. ‘Does she suspect anyone? You know, does she have any enemies? Anyone who might want to pay her back for something?’

  Billie giggles. ‘Alex, you watch too much TV. It’s only Mrs Okinawa’s strawberries that have gone missing. Not her jewellery!’

  Alex turns red and Billie feels a bit mean for teasing him. ‘But they’re good ideas!’ she says quickly, to make him feel a little better, even though he teased her about mixing up spies and detectives.

  ‘No, no enemies, as far as I know,’ Mika says. ‘Mum gets along with all our neighbours.’

  Mika takes them through the lounge room towards the backyard. Billie gazes at all Mrs Okinawa’s ornaments on display.

  Billie loves visiting Mika’s house. Mrs Okinawa has filled her lounge room with all kinds of beautiful Japanese treasures: little porcelain dolls, tiny painted plates, delicate teacups and lots of paintings of cherry blossoms.

  At Mika’s house there is only her and her mum, so there is nobody to break all the beautiful ornaments.

  Billie knows that those little porcelain dolls wouldn’t last long at her house, with Noah around!

  Mrs Okinawa is sitting at the kitchen table working at her computer. ‘Hi, kids!’ she calls out and waves as they all trundle past.

  ‘Hi, Mrs Okinawa!’ they call back.

  ‘We’re just going outside to play,’ Mika tells her mum.

  They have all pinky-promised not to tell anyone what they are up to.

  Anything the Secret Mystery Club does is Top Secret!

  ‘OK. Come back in a little while and I’ll get you some snacks,’ Mrs Okinawa says, smiling.

  ‘Thanks, Mrs Okinawa!’ Billie says, happily. She loves the snacks Mika’s mum gives them. They come in fancy packaging and they are always very sweet.

  Mika opens the back door onto the garden. Billie sighs with envy.

  Billie’s backyard is just patchy lawn, a vegetable patch, and some stinky chickens out the back. Mika’s backyard is like a fairy paradise.

  They walk along a white-pebbled path, between Japanese maple trees and flowering cherry trees, then past a little pond. As they pass, an enormous fish bobs up to the surface of the water and opens its mouth as if to say hello.

  Billie laughs.

  Soon they reach Mrs Okinawa’s strawberry patch, growing along the fence at the end of the garden.

  ‘The scene of the crime!’ Jack says dramatically, clutching his hand to his chest. The four of them giggle excitedly.

  Billie pulls her detective things out of her backpack. The first is her secret mystery notebook with the real lock and key. The second is her magnifying glass.

  The last thing is a real camera that Billie’s dad lent her. Billie is going to take lots of photographs of the scene of the crime for them to study later.

  Alex has brought along his voice recorder as well. He pulls it out of his pocket and turns it on. ‘The Secret Mystery Club’s next mystery,’ he says into the recorder in an important voice. ‘Who stole Mrs Okinawa’s strawberries?’ He sticks his hand out, palm down.

  The others all slap their hands onto Alex’s and call out loudly, ‘Cock-a-doodle-doooo!’ into the recorder. Then Alex plays it back for them to hear and they all fall about laughing. Billie laughs the loudest of all. The Secret Mystery Club is the best fun ever!

  Billie puts her magnifying glass to her eye and leans in close to study the netting over the strawberry patch. It is propped up on a bamboo frame and pegged neatly to the ground all around the plants.

  ‘Hmmm. I can’t see any holes in the netting,’ she murmurs. She writes this fact down in her little book.

  ‘Can I have a go with the magnifying glass?’ Jack asks Billie. ‘I haven’t had a turn with it yet.’

  ‘Sure,’ says Billie, and she hands it to him. Then she takes the camera out of its case and begins snapping pictures of the strawberry patch instead.

  Mika and Alex crawl around the edge of the strawberry patch looking for clues.

  ‘Hey, look at this!’ says Mika.

  The others rush over to see what she’s found. There, caught in the net, is a small brown feather. Billie takes a photograph of it.

  Jack studies it through the magnifying glass. ‘Well, it’s not a magpie feather, that’s for sure,’ he says. ‘If it was a magpie it would be black and white.’

  ‘It’s probably a mynah,’ says Alex, importantly. He’s the one who knows the most about birds. Birds and maths are his specialty. ‘But if a bird took the strawberries, how did it get them through the net? Your mum says it hadn’t been touched, Mika.’

  ‘That’s true,’ says Mika. ‘But maybe its beak was small enough to poke through the holes in the net?’

  Jack pokes his finger and thumb into a hole in the netting.

  He takes hold of one of the pale unripe strawberries that the thief has left behind. Then he tries to pull it back through the hole in the netting. He shakes his head. ‘No. It won’t fit,’ he says. ‘I can poke my fingers through, but the strawberries are too big to pull back out through the holes.’

  ‘Besides, birds make a big mess,’ says Alex. ‘If it was a bird that had eaten the berries there would be lots of strawberries with holes pecked in them.’

  ‘And bird poo,’ Billie adds, giggling. She keeps snapping photos as she talks. ‘There’d be poop all over the net, too.’

  ‘I think it has to be a person,’ Jack decides. ‘How else could all those strawberries have been stolen without the netting being moved? Only a person could lift up the netting and put it back again.’

  ‘I agree,’ Mika says. ‘That’s exactly what I thought!’

  ‘Well, I don’t have any i
deas,’ Alex says, stepping back and taking off his glasses to clean with his T-shirt. ‘I mean, how can we possibly find out who stole the strawberries? They’ve probably eaten them by now anyway. As Billie said, it’s not like it was Mrs Okinawa’s jewellery that got stolen!’

  ‘We can’t give up yet!’ Mika says. ‘What if it happens again?’

  ‘Look, there are all these little baby strawberries growing now,’ she adds. ‘What if someone comes to steal them just when they get ripe, too? It’s not fair!’

  ‘Mika’s right!’ Billie says, putting her hand on her friend’s shoulder. ‘We’ll find out who did it, don’t worry. I say we start by interviewing the neighbours. See if they saw anything or suspect anyone.’

  ‘We can’t just go around to people’s houses and ask if they saw a strawberry thief,’ Jack says.

  ‘Why not?’ says Billie.

  ‘Well, we’re supposed to be undercover, for one,’ Jack says.

  ‘And we don’t want the strawberry thief to know that we’re looking for them,’ Mika adds. ‘We need to be careful.’

  ‘True,’ says Billie frowning. She rubs her forehead.

  ‘I know!’ she says, grinning. She has had a super-dooper idea. ‘The recycling posters we made in art! We have to stick them up around the neighbourhood, don’t we?’

  The others nod.

  ‘We should ask Alf if we can put them up in his shop,’ says Billie, ‘and while we’re there, see if we can find out some more information. He knows everyone around here.’

  ‘That’s a great idea, Billie!’ says Mika, looking happy again. ‘Let’s go there tomorrow afternoon.’

  ‘Yes, let’s. Bring your posters. Meanwhile, I’ll upload these photos this afternoon at home and let you know if I find any more clues,’ Billie says, tapping her camera. Then she gives Mika a cheeky smile. ‘I think there’s just one more thing we need to do here.’

  ‘What’s that?’ says Mika.

  ‘Go inside and eat some of your mum’s snacks.’ Billie giggles. All this talk of juicy strawberries is making her hungry!

  Later that afternoon, Jack comes over to Billie’s house. They ask if they can use the computer to upload the photographs they took that day.

  Billie closes the door to the study so that Noah can’t come in.

  Noah is too young for secret mystery business. Last time Billie let him come in while she was using the computer, he pushed the off button and Billie lost all her work! Even though Billie loves Noah to bits, sometimes he can be very annoying. Now, Billie can hear Noah crying outside the door because they won’t let him in.

  ‘We’ll be finished soon, Nozy,’ Billie calls out. ‘Go and play with your cars.’

  She feels a little bit mean, but she can’t play with her brother all the time. Sometimes she has important things to do!

  Eventually Billie’s mum takes Noah to play in the lounge room.

  ‘Phew!’ says Billie. ‘All right. Let’s get to work.’ She plugs the camera cord into the computer and downloads the thirty-two photographs she took of Mrs Okinawa’s strawberry patch.

  Most of the photos are a little blurry, which isn’t very helpful, but luckily some of them are in focus. Billie opens a photograph. It is a close-up of the netting over the strawberry patch.

  ‘Zoom in so we can see if there are any clues we missed,’ says Jack.

  Billie zooms in, but they can’t see anything unusual.

  ‘Try another one,’ says Jack.

  Billie zooms into one photo after another. It takes a long time.

  They study the photos carefully, but other than leaves and netting and the wood of the back fence, there is nothing very exciting to look at.

  ‘Hmm, maybe this isn’t very helpful after all,’ Billie says, after they have zoomed in on their twenty-seventh photograph. She is starting to get a teensy bit bored. Outside it is still sunny and she feels like going out to play.

  ‘Just a few more,’ Jack says.

  ‘We haven’t looked at those ones yet.’ He points to the last five photographs.

  ‘All right,’ Billie sighs and opens another photograph so they can study it. She shrugs. ‘Next?’

  ‘No, wait!’ Jack says. ‘Zoom in there. There. That bit by the tree. What’s that?’

  Billie zooms in. She gasps. There, right by the netting, is a footprint. A big boot mark in the dirt.

  ‘We must have missed that!’ Billie says excitedly. ‘That is definitely a clue!’

  ‘It sure is!’ Jack says happily. ‘That is one big footprint.’

  Billie nods. ‘Much too big to be Mrs Okinawa’s foot.’

  ‘Or Mika’s!’ Jack agrees.

  Billie prints off the photograph with the big boot print on it. Then she turns to Jack and grins.

  ‘I think if we find who this footprint belongs to, we’ll find our strawberry thief!’

  ‘Cock-a-doodle-dooooo!’ the two of them crow, happily. Billie can’t wait to tell the others!

  The next day is Sunday. The four members of the Secret Mystery Club meet in their treehouse in Billie’s backyard. Mika has brought a packet of Japanese biscuits for them to share because she knows they are Billie’s favourite.

  Billie pulls one of the long chocolate-covered sticks out of the box and chomps on it like a rabbit while the others stare at the photograph of the boot print.

  She and Jack give each other a look and Billie feels her tummy bubble with excitement. She can’t wait to hear what Mika and Alex have to say about the new clue they have discovered.

  ‘Hmm. That is definitely a man’s boot print,’ Alex says.

  He is peering carefully through Billie’s magnifying glass. ‘And there are no men living at your place, are there, Mika?’

  ‘Nope!’ says Mika confidently. She takes the magnifying glass to look at the photograph herself. ‘Oh, wait. There’s Gus.’

  ‘Gus?’ they all ask together.

  ‘He prunes the trees. And cuts the grass.’ Mika shrugs. ‘He put the netting over the strawberries for Mum. That’s probably his boot print.’

  ‘What?’ says Billie, choking on her chocolate stick.

  Jack looks upset, too. ‘Well, maybe he’s the thief, Mika? He could easily lift up the netting and peg it back down without anybody knowing. Couldn’t he?’

  Billie and Alex nod in agreement.

  ‘He’s allergic to strawberries. He told me when he was putting the netting down,’ Mika says, shaking her head slowly.

  ‘Sorry guys. I guess we’re back to square one.’

  Billie lets out a deep sigh. How disappointing! She takes another chocolate stick to make herself feel better.

  The Secret Mystery Club climb down from their treehouse, determined to find more clues.

  Jack and Alex have decided they will talk to Mika’s neighbours, to ask if they saw or heard anything unusual on the night of the robbery.

  Billie and Mika are going to visit Alf in his corner shop.

  Alf is sure to know something, Billie thinks. Carrying rolled-up posters under their arms, she and Mika walk down the street. Alf knows everything about everyone.

  Billie pushes open the glass door and the little bell rings. Alf comes out from the back of the shop, wiping his hands on his big grimy apron.

  ‘Hey, kids,’ he says in his gruff voice. ‘What can I do for you?’

  Billie looks at Mika. But Mika has gone quiet and her cheeks are turning pink. Billie has forgotten that sometimes Mika gets nervous talking to people she doesn’t know very well.

  Even though Billie knows Alf is kind, he doesn’t smile much, which can make him seem a little unfriendly. So she quickly steps in front of Mika.

  ‘Um, we’ve done some posters at school about saving the environment,’ Billie says. ‘We were wondering if we could put them up in your window?’

  Alf points to the front of the shop. ‘If I take any more of your posters I won’t be able to see out my own window!’

  Billie and Mika turn to look. They had been
so busy chatting on the way in that they hadn’t paid attention to Alf’s front window.

  It is already full of Saving The Environment posters. Billie recognises posters from lots of people in her class — and other classes, too.

  ‘Sorry, kids,’ he says. ‘You’ll have to find somewhere else to stick them. My window’s full.’

  Billie sighs. This day is turning out to be full of disappointments!

  ‘That’s all right,’ she says glumly. ‘Thanks anyway, Alf.’

  Billie turns to walk out of the shop. I hope Jack and Alex are having more luck than us! she thinks.

  ‘Wait!’ Mika’s voice comes out as a squeak. Billie turns around in surprise to look at Mika.

  ‘Yes?’ Alf says gruffly.

  Mika’s cheeks turn pinker, but she takes a big breath and continues. ‘I was just, um, wondering, who made your jam?’

  ‘Hmpf?’ Alf says, looking puzzled.

  ‘The strawberry jam on the counter,’ Mika insists. ‘The sign says it’s home-made.’

  Billie feels her tummy flutter with excitement. Go Mika! she thinks.

  ‘Oh! That’s Andrea,’ Alf says, picking up a little glass jar and turning it over in his big dry hands. ‘She said she made such a big batch she couldn’t eat it all herself. So she dropped some off for me to sell.’

  ‘Thanks Alf!’ Mika says. ‘That’s very helpful!’ Alf looks more puzzled than ever. Mika grabs Billie’s hand and the two of them dash out of the shop.

  ‘Andrea!’ Mika squeals, once they are safely outside. They dash around the corner where Alf can’t see them. ‘The witch lady!’

  ‘She’s not a witch,’ Billie corrects Mika. ‘Remember? She’s a friend of Jack’s mum.’

  ‘But does she have a strawberry patch?’ Mika says, a smile creeping across her face.

  ‘Hmm. I don’t think so,’ Billie says, trying to picture Andrea’s backyard.

  Mika jumps up and down on the spot. ‘She might not be a witch but she could be a thief!’