Trouble at the Arcade (5 page)

Frank just nodded. He guessed that the owner must still be following them. “I just hope we can catch whoever it is in time,” he said. “Otherwise, they could escape out another entrance.”

Soon they reached the end of the line of Skee-Ball lanes. They had to leap over a trash bin at the far end. When he landed, Joe let out a shout.

“There!” he cried, pointing. “At the snack bar!”

Frank saw that Joe was right. The kid in blue jeans had run into the snack bar for this section of Fun World. It was in the back of the room, and
there was no other exit. Joe put on a burst of speed and caught up to the other kid.

“Hey,” he said in surprise as their quarry looked around desperately. “It's you. The new girl.”

She turned around, her shoulders slumping. “Yeah,” she said. “Hi. I'm Callie.”

“We know.” Frank had caught up by now. He stared at Callie. “Why'd you run away like that? Did you steal that money?”

“No way!” Callie said right away.

Frank could hear Mr. Fun and the others still coming. “Then why'd you run?” he asked.

Callie just shrugged and stared at the ground. A second later Mr. Fun and the others arrived. Chet and Iola were there, along with Adam and most of the others. Even Mimi was bringing up the rear.

Mr. Fun was huffing and puffing from the run. “Did you catch the thief, boys?” he asked.

“Um . . . ,” Frank began uncertainly.

Suddenly Callie whirled around and pointed straight at Adam. “It was him!” she cried. “I saw him with that money. But when I told him he should give it back, he said he'd beat me up if I told anyone! That's why I ran away!”

6

What?” Mr. Fun roared, turning on Adam.

“No way!” Adam protested. “She's lying.”

“No, I'm not.” Callie folded her arms. “It was just a little while ago. I was at the other snack bar—the one in the arcade.”

Mr. Fun nodded. “The Snack Shack.”

“Adam was standing over by the counter,” Callie went on. “He was counting a big stack of
money—you know, dollar bills and stuff. But he stuck them in his pocket when he saw me looking.”

“Oh yeah?” Adam challenged her. “Then how come there's no dollars in my pockets right now?”

He pulled both front pockets out of his pants. Joe leaned closer for a better look. All that came
out of Adam's pockets were a few coins, a short paper clip chain, and a pebble. There was no sign of any paper money at all. Adam also turned around so everyone could see his back pockets. They were empty too.

Mr. Fun didn't look convinced. “I don't know,” he said. “I think I'd better call your parents, young man.”

“That's not fair!” Adam exclaimed. “The ones you should call are
her
parents.” He pointed at Callie. “She's a liar!”

Callie's cheeks went pink. “I'm not a liar! You are!”

Mr. Fun looked uncertain. But before he could say anything, his son Darryl came jogging up.

“There you are, Dad,” said Darryl, sounding annoyed. “I've been looking everywhere!”

Mr. Fun raised one eyebrow. “I could say the same to you,” he said. “Where have you been?”

Joe's eyes widened when he saw that Darryl was holding a fistful of cash. “Is that the missing money?” he blurted out.

Darryl looked from Joe to the cash to his father. “Missing money?” he said. “What missing money?”

Mr. Fun looked stern. “Where did you get that cash, Darryl?” he demanded.

“It's mine,” Darryl said with a frown. “This lady came in and asked if I'd help her carry some heavy stuff out to her car from one of the shops across the street. After I did, she gave me a tip.” He waved the money he was holding.

Frank and Joe traded a look. Joe could guess what his brother was thinking. Was Darryl telling the truth? Or was that the money from the cash box?

“I locked the door while I was gone, just like you're always telling me to do,” Darryl put in sullenly. “So what's the big deal?”

“The big deal is, the money from the cash box is gone!” his father snapped. “And I want to know where it went.”

“Whoa.” Now Darryl looked kind of worried. Suddenly he blinked. “Hey,” he said, looking at someone behind his father. “Where'd
you
get all that stuff?”

Joe glanced that way and saw Mimi staring at Darryl. Her round cheeks started to turn pink, and she ducked behind Iola.

Darryl took a step toward her. “Why are you hiding?” he demanded. “Is it because you know you shouldn't have all those prizes?”

“Hey,” said Frank. “Take it easy. She's just a little kid.”

Darryl snorted. “I already chased her out of the office once earlier,” he said. “She was sniffing around looking for extra tickets to trade for prizes.” He narrowed his eyes as he glanced at
Mimi again. “I didn't give her any. So where'd she get all that loot? Maybe
she
stole that money, and some tickets, too.”

Mimi burst into tears. “I didn't!” she sobbed, clinging to Iola. “A lady never steals stuff!”

Mr. Fun was starting to look confused and annoyed. “Come with me,” he said, grabbing Darryl by the arm. “The rest of
you, don't go anywhere. Especially you, you, and you.” He pointed to Mimi, Callie, and Adam. Then he turned and dragged Darryl off toward the arcade.

Everyone else started talking and wandering after them. Iola and Chet were trying to stop Mimi from crying. Adam was glaring at Callie, who was ignoring him.

Frank shot Joe a look. “Wow,” he whispered. “Now I really wish Dad was still here. This is turning into a real mystery!”

“Who needs Dad?” Joe whispered back with a grin. “We're eyewitnesses, right? I think we should try to solve the case ourselves!”

7

Frank hadn't thought about it that way. He realized Joe had a point. The two of them had been right nearby when the money got stolen, and they knew most of the people who might have done it. Plus, they knew all about solving crimes from listening to their father's work stories their whole lives. Who better to figure out the mystery than the two of them? Besides, it could be fun!

“Let's do it!” he agreed. “Dad's taught us a
lot about solving crimes over the years. So let's think about it—what would he do right now if he were us?”

“Give Adam a wedgie until he admits he took the cash?” Joe suggested.

Frank rolled his eyes. “No. He'd say that a good detective needs to figure out the
W
s.”

“Huh?”

“Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.” Frank ticked each word off on his fingers.

Joe laughed. “Come on,” he said. “Even I know ‘How' doesn't start with a
W
. ”

“No, but it ends with one,” said Frank. “I guess that counts. Anyway, Dad always puts it on the list.”

Joe nodded. “Okay. So we already know What—the What is that someone took that money.”

“Right,” Frank said. “And we know Where. Right here at Fun World, in the office.”

“Why's pretty easy too,” Joe pointed out. “Everybody likes money.”

“True. So all we need to do is figure out the rest. Especially the Who.” Frank thought for a second. “I guess there are a few people who could be the Who. Let's go back to the arcade so we can keep an eye on them while we think about the other
W
s.”

Soon the brothers were huddled behind a video game near the center of the arcade's main room. Adam was nearby, bragging about how he was going to win that contest if it ever started again. Callie was leaning against the wall by herself. Mimi had stopped crying after Chet traded in one of his tickets to buy her a lollipop.

“Okay, let's figure this out.” Frank dug into his pockets. He found a scrap of paper and a stubby pencil and pulled them out. “We should start by making a list.”

“Are you kidding?” Joe snorted. “Who needs
notes? This isn't school—it's a mystery! We should just go question people like Dad would do.” He glanced around. “Starting with Adam Ackerman.”