The Case of the Ruined Ram Page 4

  The library was one of the older buildings in town, with big pillars out front and lots of wood inside. Some people thought the town should build a new, modern library, but Hannah liked the old one. She’d been coming here since her parents brought her to the children’s section when she was little. The day she’d gotten her own library card, she’d felt so proud and excited.

  “What are we looking for?” Corey whispered.

  “Local crimes against school mascots,” Ben whispered back. “We’re trying to find out if anything like the destruction of Rocky the Ram has happened around here before.”

  “I’ll start on the Internet,” Hannah said, heading for one of the library’s computers.

  Corey looked puzzled. “Couldn’t we have just used the Internet at home?” he asked.

  Ben nodded. “Sure, but not everything’s on the Internet. The library’s got files of information on this town that date way back. Come on, I’ll show you.”

  Ben showed Corey the library’s collections of clippings and newspaper articles. “Why can’t they just scan all this stuff and put it on the Internet?” Corey asked.

  A librarian, who was shelving books nearby, overheard them. “We don’t have the time. Or money,” she said. “What are you looking for?” With her help, Ben and Corey started searching for any stories related to the town’s sports mascots over the years.

  It took a while. But after almost an hour of hunting . . .

  “Aha!” Corey said loudly. He instantly remembered he was in the library and then looked around only to see the librarian glaring at him. He silently mouthed the words I’m sorry.

  Hannah and Ben had heard his outburst, so they quickly joined him to see what he’d found. In front of him was a big folder labeled “Weird Crimes.” It was one of many folders covering the town’s history.

  In his hand he was holding a piece of thin cardboard. It had an old newspaper article glued to it. The paper had turned brown, but you could still read the headline: “Mascot Costume Burned.”

  “It’s from twenty-five years ago!” Corey whispered excitedly.

  “What happened?” Hannah asked.

  “Believe it or not, almost exactly the same thing,” Corey said. “Somebody stole the Rocky the Ram costume and then burned it on a pep rally bonfire the night before the game against Jefferson High School!”

  “No way!” Ben said. He could scarcely believe an identical crime had been committed twenty-five years earlier, but there it was, right in the newspaper.

  “Did they ever find out who did it?” Hannah asked.

  “Let’s see,” Corey said, looking through the folder. “Here it is!”

  He held up another piece of cardboard. The article glued to it had a headline that read “Mascot Case Solved.”

  The three friends practically clunked their heads together moving in to read the article. It said that “players from the rival Jefferson High School football squad confessed to the act of vandalism. The Vikings agreed to replace the costume.”

  Corey looked up from the article, nodding and smiling. “See?” he said. “I told you the Vikings did it.”

  “Just because they did it back then doesn’t mean they did it this time,” Ben pointed out. He was always very careful about jumping to conclusions before they’d gathered all the evidence.

  “Still, it is a pretty amazing coincidence,” Hannah said.

  “Maybe it’s not a coincidence at all,” Ben suggested. “Maybe whoever burned the costume this time knew about the incident twenty-five years ago.”

  “You mean a copycat crime?” Hannah asked.

  “It could be,” Ben said. “But we definitely need more evidence.”

  Corey held up the two articles. “I think this is an amazing piece of evidence. I mean, if the Vikings didn’t burn Rocky the Ram, who did?”

  “How about that guy?” Hannah said. Corey and Ben looked to see who she was talking about. It was Logan Canfield, the kid from the pep rally who’d complained so intensely about Mitchell. He was sitting at a table studying by himself.

  “Logan?” Corey asked doubtfully. “Why would Logan burn the costume? He loves Rocky the Ram!”

  “Maybe he wanted to make Mitchell look bad,” Hannah said. “He figured Mitchell would get blamed, so when the school bought a new costume, they wouldn’t let Mitchell wear it. And then Logan could step in and take over as Rocky.”

  “I don’t know . . . ,” Corey said.

  “I say it’s worth talking to him,” Ben said. “Come on.”

  Ben grabbed his backpack and headed toward the table Logan was sitting at. Corey and Hannah quickly gathered up their stuff and then followed him.

  “Hey, Logan,” Ben greeted. “How’s it going?”

  Logan looked up, startled to see three junior high kids standing over him. “Who are you?” he asked.

  “We met at the pep rally last Friday night, remember?” Hannah asked, smiling sweetly.

  “You were talking about how Mitchell shouldn’t be Rocky the Ram,” Corey added.

  “Oh yeah,” Logan said. Here in the library, he didn’t seem nearly as enthusiastic about criticizing Mitchell.

  “Did you hear about what happened to the costume?” Corey asked.

  “Yeah,” Logan said, looking away.

  “Excuse me,” said the librarian, who had walked right up without them noticing. “If the four of you want to talk, I’m afraid you’ll have to leave the library.”

  “Sorry,” Hannah whispered. She turned back to Logan. “Do you want to go outside and talk?”

  “What about?” he asked.

  “Rocky the Ram,” she said.

  Logan frowned. He thought about it for a second, then nodded. He started to gather up his books and put them into his backpack. He stood up, put on his jacket, and gestured for Club CSI to lead the way.

  Outside, it was still windy and even chillier. They found a corner of the building that seemed to be out of the wind. Mostly. Until it changed direction.

  “So, what do you think happened, exactly?” Ben asked casually.

  Logan looked slightly annoyed. “I know what happened. Somebody threw the costume on the bonfire so it’d burned up.”

  “You didn’t see it happen, did you?” Corey inquired.

  Logan looked at Corey like he was crazy. “Of course not. Otherwise I would’ve reported it. Or stopped them.” He shook his head. “This never would have happened if they hadn’t picked Mitchell to be the mascot.”

  “Why do you say that?” Hannah asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Logan said. “Mitchell didn’t put on the costume that night, so someone was able to steal it and then burn it. It’s all his fault. He should have taken better care of Rocky. I would have, if they’d picked me.”

  He picked up a pebble and then tossed it at a tree. He missed.

  “Did you ever hear about the other time this happened?” Ben asked. “Twenty-five years ago?”

  Logan nodded. “Sure. Anyone who’s studied the history of Rocky the Ram knows about that. Of course, I doubt Mitchell knows about it. Listen, I’ve gotta go.”

  Without another word, he walked away. The members of Club CSI waited until he was out of earshot before they said anything.

  “Nice guy,” Corey remarked, not meaning it.

  “Friendly,” Hannah added.

  “Everything he said fits with Hannah’s theory about him wanting to make Mitchell look bad,” Ben observed. “Pretty much all he wanted to talk about was what a bad mascot Mitchell was.”

  “Yeah,” Corey said. “And he knew about the burning twenty-five years ago.”

  “I say he’s still a suspect,” Hannah concluded.

  The two guys agreed with her. But they needed evidence. And Corey still thought the p
layers at Jefferson High School were the best suspects.

  “Remember the player we spotted at the rally?” he said. “The one hanging around that tree, spying?”

  “What makes you think he was spying?” Ben asked.

  “He looked suspicious,” Corey said.

  “Maybe,” said Hannah. “But I didn’t see him carrying a ram costume.”

  They started walking home.

  “No,” Corey said. “But maybe later, after we saw him, he sneaked into the gym, stole the costume, and slipped it into the bonfire before the firefighters put it out. Then he pinned that note to the tree.”

  “I guess it’s possible,” Ben said. “But before we tackle a bunch of football players—”

  “So to speak,” Hannah interrupted.

  Ben looked puzzled.

  “Tackle?” Hannah said. “Football players?”

  Ben got it. “Oh right. Anyway, before we . . . question them, I think we need more evidence.”

  “More evidence, more evidence,” Corey echoed. “You always think we need more evidence.”

  “You can never have too much evidence,” Ben said. “And tomorrow in class, Miss Hodges is going to let us examine the burned costume and the note.”

  “Cool,” Corey said, kicking at leaves on the sidewalk. “And since I didn’t see any of our classmates at the library, I’ll bet we’ll be the only ones who’ll know about the burning twenty-five years ago!”

  Chapter 7

  They weren’t.

  As soon as they arrived at forensic science class the next day, they heard Ricky talking about how the mascot had been burned twenty-five years earlier.

  “How did he find out?” Hannah asked Ben and Corey. “He definitely wasn’t at the library when we were there. I would’ve heard him. Listen to that loud voice.”

  Ricky was telling a couple of kids that the earlier crime was exactly like the one they were investigating.

  “Maybe he got there after we left,” Corey offered.

  “Dude,” Ryan was saying to Ricky. “How’d you find out about this stuff?”

  Ricky smiled proudly. “My dad. He knew all about it. At dinner I remembered we were supposed to research whether there’d been any similar crimes, so I brought it up. And he told me about the time twenty-five years ago when the costume got burned. He was in school then, so he remembered the whole thing.”

  “That’s your research?” Ryan asked. “Asking your dad at dinner?”

  “What research did you do?” Ricky accused.

  Ryan shrugged. It was obvious he hadn’t done any research at all.

  “We only talked about it at the end of dinner, and then he had to go to work,” Ricky said. His dad worked a night shift at a bakery. “I’ll bet he knows tons more about it. Our team is definitely going to win. Right, partner?”

  Ricky punched Charlie’s arm. Charlie managed to smile and nod before he walked away, rubbing his arm.

  Other kids in the class surrounded Ricky, pumping him for information about the incident that had occurred twenty-five years before. Apparently, none of them had come up with any similar crimes in their research.

  Ricky spotted Club CSI standing together, watching him. “Hey, Club See Us Lose!” he called across the room. “Don’t you want to hear about my killer research?”

  “No, thanks,” Hannah replied. “We did our own.”

  As they sat down, Corey said, “Well, at least it sounds as though he didn’t learn anything we didn’t already know.”

  “Yeah,” Ben said, “but I’ve got a feeling Ricky and Charlie might provide some tough competition.”

  “But a little competition is good, remember?” Corey reminded them.

  Miss Hodges brought the class to order. “Hello, class. I hope you all read the section in our textbook about fire forensics. It may prove useful today.”

  Jennifer asked, “We’re going to examine the mascot costume, right?”

  Miss Hodges smiled, nodding. “Yes, the costume and the note. First we’ll examine them together as a group, and then each team will have some time alone with the evidence to do their own examinations.”

  She walked across the room to open the door to her small office. “Okay,” she said. “We’re ready.” She turned back to the class and said, “I’ve got a special assistant today: Principal Inverno.”

  The principal came out of Miss Hodges’s office, carrying the garbage bag. “Good morning!” he said cheerfully.

  “I needed someone to supervise your individual sessions with the evidence, so Principal Inverno very kindly agreed to help,” Miss Hodges explained.

  “Happy to do it,” Principal Inverno said. “After all, I’m the one who brought you this smelly mess in the first place.”

  Without thinking, some of the students sat up straighter in their seats. They weren’t used to having the principal of the school in their classroom.

  “All right,” Miss Hodges said as she pulled the burned costume out of the black garbage bag. “Let’s begin our examination of Rocky the Ram.”

  She laid the costume out on a table. “Gather around,” she said, inviting them up for a closer look.

  The students got up and gathered around the table. At first the costume just looked like a blackened mess. But as they stared at it, they started to make out some of its features—the hooves, the fur, and the horns on the oversize head.

  “Maybe one of us should put it on,” Ryan said, daring to make a joke with the principal right there.

  “Are you volunteering?” Principal Inverno asked. The students laughed.

  “Normally I don’t allow you to use your phones during class,” Miss Hodges said. “But I encourage you to take pictures, just as real CSI investigators would.”

  The students whipped out their phones and started to click away. They jostled for good positions, trying to snap photos from the best angles.

  “Please don’t touch the evidence,” Miss Hodges said. “You’ll be able to during your team’s individual examination, but for now, just use your eyes. You might want to take notes.”

  Several students got out their notebooks and started writing.

  “Anyone notice anything they’d like to share with the class?” Miss Hodges asked.

  But since they were all competing with one another, everyone kept their thoughts to themselves. No one wanted to give anything good away to the other teams.

  “It’s definitely been burned,” Ricky said.

  A couple of kids laughed, but Miss Hodges said, “Actually, that’s an important observation. Just because it was found at the site of a bonfire doesn’t prove that it was thrown on the bonfire while it was still burning.”

  “I smell that it’d been burned,” Ryan said. “I don’t need to see it.”

  “But it might smell burned just from being in the ashes,” Charlie pointed out. “That doesn’t prove it’d been burned.”

  Charlie standing up to Ryan? He was getting bolder every day.

  “Very good, Charlie,” Miss Hodges said. “We can’t always trust just one of our senses. We need confirmation from as many senses as possible. Smell, sight, touch . . .”

  “Taste?” Charlie said, smiling. Now Charlie was making jokes. The world had turned upside down.

  Miss Hodges smiled back. “Only if we have a volunteer.” The class laughed.

  “All right,” she said. “I think that’s long enough for our group examination. Principal Inverno?”

  The principal put the costume back into the bag and then carried it into the little office. Meanwhile, Miss Hodges laid out some ground rules.

  “Each team will have a brief period of time alone with the costume and the note, supervised by Principal Inverno. You may touch the costume. You may even take small samples, but it’s imp
ortant that you leave enough for the other teams. If, for example, there’s a section of fur with a stain on it, you may collect a few hairs, but leave plenty for the others. Club CSI, you’re up first.”

  Ricky looked disappointed to not be first. “Remember, leave plenty of evidence for us!” he called out.

  “You got it,” Corey said as he followed Hannah and Ben into the office. They closed the door behind them.

  Inside, Principal Inverno had laid the costume on Miss Hodges’s desk. Ben noticed immediately that the desk had been cleared off and covered with a plastic tarp. “Ah, Club CSI,” the principal said. “Rocky’s all yours.” He stood in the corner of the office with his arms folded across his chest.

  At first it felt a little weird being crammed into the small office with the principal and the smoky-smelling costume. But once they started concentrating on their examination, Club CSI almost forgot the principal was there.

  Hannah began by taking more pictures with her cell phone. She thoroughly covered the costume, recording every inch. Halfway through, Ben and Corey turned the costume over so she could get the other side.

  “Let’s check the inside, too,” Ben said. They couldn’t turn the costume inside out, but they did manage to peer inside it. They didn’t find anything unusual.

  “I don’t see any stains on the fur,” Corey said. “Just scorch and burn marks.”

  “We’ll gather a few hairs from different parts of the costume,” Hannah said. They put the hairs in plastic bags to examine later.

  “The head doesn’t seem as badly burned,” Corey noticed. All three of them examined the head more closely. It looked squished down. The frame inside the head was flattened.

  “What’s this?” Ben said, leaning over the head to peer at it closely. Hannah and Corey looked too.

  “Looks like little pieces of glass,” Hannah observed.

  “And pebbles,” Corey added.

  “There’s also dirt and possibly some oil,” Ben said. “Let’s get some close-ups and some samples.”

  Hannah took close-up photos of the ram’s head. Ben carefully plucked out a few samples of the materials they’d found stuck in the head and then put them in plastic bags.