Edgar Allan's Official Crime Investigation Notebook Read Online Free PDF

Ms. Herschel said. “Interviewing is a great way to get information.”
    â€œThank you! There’s more!” Patrick held up a photo that he had printed out. “This is a shoe print. Someonewith dirty shoes left this print right here at the scene of the crime.” He pointed to the floor in front of the chalkboard. “As you can see, they don’t belong to Ms. Herschel. I checked with Mr. Browning, the custodian. He said he mopped the floor the night before and did not return to the classroom in the morning. So . . . I believe the shoe prints belong to the thief.” He pointed to the picture. “See this distinctive tread pattern with an “O” in the center? During recess, I found matching footprints in the mud. Through careful observation, I discovered who the footprints belong to.”
    Everyone was silent, waiting.
    Patrick grinned.
    â€œWell, who is it?” Kip blurted out.
    â€œThe person who has a shoe print with an ‘O’ is . . . Taz Raskel!”
    â€œI knew it!” Maia exclaimed.
    Everybody looked at Taz’s feet.
    â€œSo? My shoe prints were on the floor,” Taz argued. “What does that mean? I was the first person in the room. Of course my shoe prints would be on the floor.”
    â€œAccording to Ms. Peabody in the office, you were the first student in the
building
,” Patrick said. “You had the time to commit the crime without being seen.”
    â€œNow Patrick,” Ms. Herschel interrupted. “I like that you’re observing shoe print impressions. That’s what an investigator would look for. But remember, just because you find a shoe print near a crime scene, doesn’t mean the shoe print belongs to the criminal. Taz does come in early every day to check on the pets, so it makes sense that his shoe prints would be here.”
    â€œWell,” Patrick said, “I have another piece of evidence!” He held up another photograph.
    â€œWhat is it?” Kip asked, trying to see.
    â€œIt’s a photograph I took of a poem written in the boy’s bathroom.” Patrick read:
    There once was a
    great dude named Taz
    Who had a lot of
    pizazz!
    He likes to play jokes
    On all kinds of folks
    Especially the kids in
    his clazz!
    Ms. Herschel looked at the picture and sighed. “Taz, that’s your handwriting. You know you’re not supposed to write on bathroom doors!”
    â€œThe poem proves that Taz likes to play jokes on people and likes poetry.” Patrick summed it up. “Those are two things that are true of the thief. And we know that Taz is a pet lover. So my theory is that Taz wanted Slurpy all to himself. He took Slurpy, but then he felt guilty about it, so he called his mom. I was a witness.”
    â€œWait!” Taz said. “Another crime has been committed. Someone stole the brain right out of Patrick’s head.”
    The class laughed, but Patrick’s theory made Taz look awfully guilty. Edgar couldn’t bear the thought that Patrickhad solved the crime, so he looked at the picture of Taz’s poem, trying to find a hole in his theory. “Wait!” he cried. “Taz couldn’t be the thief! The thief has great handwriting and Taz’s is terrible!”
    â€œHey, he’s right,” Taz said.
    Ms. Herschel nodded. “Interesting observation, Edgar. Forensic investigators often use handwriting analysis to solve crimes. Patrick . . . we can’t accuse unless we have solid evidence. At this point, I believe we all still need to keep our eyes and ears open.”
    â€œYeah, Patrick,” Taz said.
    Patrick glared at Edgar.
    Ms. Herschel stepped between them. “Edgar, have you uncovered anything else that might help?”
    Edgar looked at his notebook. Sadly, nothing he had done so far was any good. The theory about a professional fish thief, the worry about Mister Furball and the kindergarten