proves that the moose spent a lot of time outside. Rosie explained to me that the copper had oxidized, which means a chemical reaction occurred that made the metal change to a greenish hue when it was exposed to water. Years of rain and snow while sitting on top of the dairy barn turned the moose the same color as the Statue of Liberty.”
“So what does that prove?” asked Woodrow.
“Mr. Fredericks claimed that he’d kept the moose in storage since he’d crafted it himself a few years ago. If that was true, the moose would have been shiny and penny-colored. Since Mr. Fredericks obviously made up his story, we reasoned that he might have actually been the thief. We certainly had no proof of that, but my mom contacted Mr. Klein and told him how he could get his moose back. When Mr. Klein approached Mr. Fredericks again — this time armed with our argument — Mr. Fredericks gave in.
“To thank us, Mr. Klein gave us each a month’s worth of farm-fresh dairy. Rosie and I are going to teach ourselves how to make ice cream. You guys can help too if you want.”
The boys glanced at each other, then quickly nodded.
“Mint—chocolate chip, please,” said Sylvester with his eyes wide.
14
THE MAGNIFICENT CASE OF THE McKENZIE COMIC
(A ??? MYSTERY)
“How was your trip to New York?” Rosie asked Woodrow.
“It was fun,” he said. “But Sylvester ran into a little bit of trouble at the comic book show.”
Sylvester cleared his throat, as if preparing to perform. “I wouldn’t say I
ran
into trouble…. I would say I
thwarted
it. My favorite comic book is called McKenzie the Magnificent. It’s about a parlor magician who also happens to have secret superpowers. The story takes place during the Great Depression. McKenzie travels around the Dust Bowl with a medicine show, impressing and entertaining the poor people, and every now and again, vanquishing an evildoer or dastardly villain.
“Since the series started, two different people have written and drawn the books. Jerry Jones,Senior, began the series in the forties, and recently his son, Jerry Jones, Junior, took over. I like both of them equally, but the older comics are much rarer. That makes them more popular at these kinds of shows, especially if they’re signed.
“My mom and dad gave me a little bit of extra money to pay for food while I was staying with Mr. Knox, but Woodrow’s dad insisted on treating us to everything. So I ended up with some cash to spend at the comic show on Sunday. I was excited to look for one of the older McKenzie books. I thought it would be a really cool souvenir.
“The convention hall was enormous. Every aisle was packed with people. It was hard to even see what everyone was waiting in line for. But we did end up seeing some amazing stuff. Like the Marvel preview table and the DC giveaways. We saw tons of costumed avengers. Someone had even dressed up like Jabba the Hut!
“Finally, I found a vendor who was selling McKenzie issues. One copy was prominently displayed. It was super old and a little bit worn out, but I looked closer and saw a signature scrawled across the cover. It read, ‘Jerry Jones, Senior. September 25, 1950.’ I checked the price and realized I could just afford it. I had to get it, even if it was beat up—the signature madeit worthwhile. I asked Woodrow and his dad, and they both agreed it was totally cool.
“But just in time, I realized that I was about to waste my money. Do you know why buying the comic would be a waste?”
“I looked closer at the signature and realized it was a forgery. I’d never seen Jerry Jones’s autograph before, so I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to look like. But something else about it tipped me off. What was it?”
“The fact that the autograph read ‘Jerry Jones, Senior,’ and was also dated nineteen fifty proved to me that the signature was a fake. Why?”
“Jerry Jones, Senior, would not have signed his name as ‘Senior’ back then
“So what does that prove?” asked Woodrow.
“Mr. Fredericks claimed that he’d kept the moose in storage since he’d crafted it himself a few years ago. If that was true, the moose would have been shiny and penny-colored. Since Mr. Fredericks obviously made up his story, we reasoned that he might have actually been the thief. We certainly had no proof of that, but my mom contacted Mr. Klein and told him how he could get his moose back. When Mr. Klein approached Mr. Fredericks again — this time armed with our argument — Mr. Fredericks gave in.
“To thank us, Mr. Klein gave us each a month’s worth of farm-fresh dairy. Rosie and I are going to teach ourselves how to make ice cream. You guys can help too if you want.”
The boys glanced at each other, then quickly nodded.
“Mint—chocolate chip, please,” said Sylvester with his eyes wide.
14
THE MAGNIFICENT CASE OF THE McKENZIE COMIC
(A ??? MYSTERY)
“How was your trip to New York?” Rosie asked Woodrow.
“It was fun,” he said. “But Sylvester ran into a little bit of trouble at the comic book show.”
Sylvester cleared his throat, as if preparing to perform. “I wouldn’t say I
ran
into trouble…. I would say I
thwarted
it. My favorite comic book is called McKenzie the Magnificent. It’s about a parlor magician who also happens to have secret superpowers. The story takes place during the Great Depression. McKenzie travels around the Dust Bowl with a medicine show, impressing and entertaining the poor people, and every now and again, vanquishing an evildoer or dastardly villain.
“Since the series started, two different people have written and drawn the books. Jerry Jones,Senior, began the series in the forties, and recently his son, Jerry Jones, Junior, took over. I like both of them equally, but the older comics are much rarer. That makes them more popular at these kinds of shows, especially if they’re signed.
“My mom and dad gave me a little bit of extra money to pay for food while I was staying with Mr. Knox, but Woodrow’s dad insisted on treating us to everything. So I ended up with some cash to spend at the comic show on Sunday. I was excited to look for one of the older McKenzie books. I thought it would be a really cool souvenir.
“The convention hall was enormous. Every aisle was packed with people. It was hard to even see what everyone was waiting in line for. But we did end up seeing some amazing stuff. Like the Marvel preview table and the DC giveaways. We saw tons of costumed avengers. Someone had even dressed up like Jabba the Hut!
“Finally, I found a vendor who was selling McKenzie issues. One copy was prominently displayed. It was super old and a little bit worn out, but I looked closer and saw a signature scrawled across the cover. It read, ‘Jerry Jones, Senior. September 25, 1950.’ I checked the price and realized I could just afford it. I had to get it, even if it was beat up—the signature madeit worthwhile. I asked Woodrow and his dad, and they both agreed it was totally cool.
“But just in time, I realized that I was about to waste my money. Do you know why buying the comic would be a waste?”
“I looked closer at the signature and realized it was a forgery. I’d never seen Jerry Jones’s autograph before, so I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to look like. But something else about it tipped me off. What was it?”
“The fact that the autograph read ‘Jerry Jones, Senior,’ and was also dated nineteen fifty proved to me that the signature was a fake. Why?”
“Jerry Jones, Senior, would not have signed his name as ‘Senior’ back then
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