Read Online Gooney Bird and All Her Charms by Lois Lowry - Free Book Online Page A

“Now we just have to get Napoleon back!”

10
    Back in the classroom, Gooney Bird passed around the hat, the scarf, and the two limp balloons. The objects went from desk to desk. Each child sniffed them. Some of the children made a face. “Yuck,” Malcolm said loudly.
    Tricia said, after she sniffed, “Yikes! I might need my inhaler!”
    â€œAre we all in agreement about who stole Napoleon?” Gooney Bird asked.
    Everyone nodded.
    Mrs. Pidgeon frowned. “It certainly smells like Mrs. Gooch’s perfume, that’s true. Over-the-top gardenia.”
    â€œAnd she’s the one who hates Napoleon,” Beanie pointed out.
    â€œBut we don’t really, truly have
proof
,” Barry said, with a worried look. He stared down at the numbers written on the back of his hand.
7508J
.
    â€œI have an idea,” Gooney Bird said. “Veronica Gooch is in third grade, right?”
    Everyone nodded.
    â€œWell,” Gooney Bird said, “we could try this. She described her plan.
    â€œI think perhaps we should talk to Mr. Leroy,” Mrs. Pidgeon said, after a moment.
    â€œI’ll put on my formal meeting hat,” Gooney Bird said. Carefully she arranged her flowered hat over her red hair. Then she put on her white gloves and set out, with Mrs. Pidgeon’s permission, for the principal’s office. She was carrying the clues.
    Seated behind his big desk, Mr. Leroy listened carefully to Gooney Bird’s description of the kidnapping of Napoleon. He looked very concerned.
    Carefully he sniffed the hat, gloves, and balloons.
    â€œI agree,” he said. “That’s Mrs. Gooch’s perfume. She’s been in this office several times in the past few weeks, complaining about the skeleton. Her scent is very distinctive. I’ve had to spray air freshener in here again and again. My secretary always says, ‘We’ve been Gooched.’”
    â€œAnd we think it was Mrs. Gooch driving past in a blue car, watching us, when we discovered Napoleon was missing. We got the license number. Barry has it written on his hand.
7508J
. She kept going around the block really slowly,” Gooney Bird explained. “She was probably even
laughing
,” she added angrily.
    Mr. Leroy stroked his necktie while he thought about the situation. Today he was wearing a tie with Jack-in-the-boxes on it. Jack had a silly smile on his face. But Mr. Leroy didn’t. He looked very serious.
    â€œAnd you said you have a suggestion?” he asked.
    â€œWell, I’m the head detective. And we need proof that she is the thief. We have her perfume, of course.” Gooney Bird wrinkled her nose and gestured to the little pile of objects on Mr. Leroy’s desk. “But now we need to find out if that was her car driving sneakily past, watching us.
    â€œSo here is my idea. You get on the intercom and announce that you are holding a contest.”
    â€œA contest?” Mr. Leroy said.
    â€œYes. You tell everybody you’re wondering how many children in the school know their parents’ car license plate numbers. You can say it’s a test of observation and memory. Tell all the children to write down the numbers. With their names, of course.
    â€œThen you collect all of those from all the classes and we look through the third grade ones to see if Veronica Gooch wrote down 7508J. And if she did? Ta da! We know it was her mom driving past.”
    Mr. Leroy was silent for a moment. Then he opened a drawer of his desk and removed a folder with a blue cover.
    â€œYou know what, Gooney Bird?” he said. “You are a wonderful detective. And I always enjoy your hats.”
    â€œThank you,” Gooney Bird said, arranging her flowered hat more tidily on her head. “I should be wearing my Sherlock Holmes hat. But I didn’t know we’d have a mystery to solve today. So I am wearing my important meeting hat.”
    â€œWell, this is certainly an