Megan McDonald - Judy Moody, Girl Detective

It was a dark and stormy night. Rain slashed the window. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Spooky shadows like giant teeth danced across the walls.

Tick-tock, tick-tock went the old clock , thumping like a scary heartbeat. Quiet as a ghost , she climbed the dark, dark stairs. In her bare feet , she tiptoed down the dark, dark hallway to the dark, dark door. She tapped one, two, three times, signaling in Morse code. Just then, the door creaked open.

Knock-knock.

AAHHH! screamed Judy from under the covers of her top bunk bed. She let go of the Mood Libs tablet shed been writing in. It sailed through the air, bonking Stink on the noggin.

Ouch! yelled Stink, rubbing his head. Watch the brains! Youre gonna give me an egg on my head.

You already are an egghead, Stink, Judy teased.

Well, you didnt have to throw the book at me.

At least it wasnt the encyclopedia. Thats what you get for scaring the pants off me while I was writing a spooky Mood Libs story.

Why are you under the covers? Its the middle of the day.

Nancy Drew says a person should never be afraid of the dark. So I was practicing.

Why do you have a flashlight?

A good detective always keeps a flashlight under her pillow.

Does Nancy Drew do that?

Hel-lo! Havent you read The Message in the Hollow Oak?

Im not a Nancy Drew cuckoo-head like some people!

Can I help it if Im trying to read all fifty-six original Nancy Drew classics?

Stink waved the Mood Libs book at her. Does Nancy Drew throw stuff at her brother, too?

Nancy Drew doesnt have a brother. But if she did, Im sure shed throw stuff if he scared the jeepers out of her.

Jeepers?

Thats Nancy Drew talk, Stink. Get a clue.

Do Nancy Drew mysteries have any stuff that blows up? Good mysteries have stuff that blows up. Like boats or cakes or maybe exploding motorcycles?

No, Stink. Nancy Drew mysteries have old clocks and hidden diaries and squeaky steps and stuff.

Oh, said Stink. He did not sound one teeny bit scared. He sounded a teeny bit bored.

But Nancy Drew mysteries do have stuff like exploding oranges and flaming rockets and spooky old mansions. Lots of mansions. And they are all haunted, and one time Nancy Drew almost gets crushed when the ceiling falls on her. Another time shes chased by a phantom horse. She even gets strangled by a giant python. No lie.

Exploding pythons are cool, said Stink, getting mixed up. Can I look at one of your Nancy Drews?

Over there. Judy pointed to a pile of stuff on her desk. Under my sock monkey.

Stink lifted up the sock monkey. Under your sock monkey is a pillow.

Under the pillow, Judy told him.

Stink lifted the pillow. Under your pillow is nothing but a big fat dictionary.

Under the dictionary.

Stink lifted up the dictionary. Its a mystery just trying to find your Nancy Drew book. Under the dictionary was Nancy Drew book #43: The Mystery of the 99 Steps. Whys it under all this stuff ?

Well, um... dont laugh, but

Ha! Ju-dy is scare-dy! Stink chimed. You hid it under here because its scary. Youre scared of a Nancy Drew nightmare!

Can I help it if I have an overachieving imagination? asked Judy. I double-dare you to read it. In the dark.

Stink shivered.

See, Nancys friend has this weird dream about these creepy ninety-nine steps, so Nancy goes to France to try to find them and solve the mystery of her friends dream. Its spine-chilling. Says so right on the back. Books dont lie, Stink.

Maybe youll have a bad dream from reading the book. Then I can go to France to solve the mystery of your bad dream... and see the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower is so beside the point, Stink. But you just gave me a genius idea. Im going to solve a mystery. A real-life, Nancy-Drew, scare-your-pants-off mystery. For sure and absolute positive.

Whats the mystery?

I dont know yet. I have to find one first.

Do you have to go to France to find it?

Stink, you dont have to leave the country to find a mystery. There could be one right in your own backyard.

Stink looked out the window into the yard. All I see out there is your purple jump rope, a pink-and-white soccer ball, your bike with the flat tire, and the blue tent we use for the Toad Pee Club. The only mystery is why Mom and Dad dont make you pick up your stuff.

Ha, ha. Very funny. A mystery is out there, Stink. Maybe not in the backyard exactly. But it could be right under our noses. All we have to do is pay attention.

Just like that, she, Judy Moody, went looking for a mystery.

If a person were going to solve a big fat mystery, she had to have a way-official Nancy Drew detective kit.

Flashlight? Check.

Notebook? Check.

Grouchy pencil? Check.

Pocket magnifying glass? Check.

Duck tape? Check.

Zip-top bag? Check.

Lets see, Judy said out loud to herself. All I need now is a disguise, some money, and a French dictionary.

She went into the upstairs bathroom and came back with Moms makeup bag. Judy pulled out a tube of red lipstick, a compact, an eyebrow pencil, nail polish, tweezers, and a bobby pin.

Ooh, cool, said Stink, coming into her room. Is all this stuff for a disguise?

Stink, dont you know anything about detective work? Everybody knows lipstick is for writing SOS messages.

Oh, I get it. Like if something exploded and your leg is pinned under a piece of metal, and you go to yell help in French, but you lost your French dictionary, you write SOS in red lipstick or something?