The Case of the Barfy Birthday Read Online Free PDF

Scientist Nell to explain.”
    “Thank you, Detective Doyle.” Nell clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace. “Now, any good scientist will tell you that ‘matter’ is defined as anything that has weight and takes up space. For instance, the planet Earth is composed of matter. This tree is composed of matter. You, Sloane, are made of matter.”
    “And there’s plenty the matter with you, too,” snapped Sloane.
    “Be quiet, Sloane,” said Valerie. “You are, like, so busted.”
    Sloane scowled and crossed her arms.
    “Now,” continued Nell, “matter can exist as a solid, a liquid, or a gas. Water is a perfect example of the three phases of matter. When frozen, it is a solid. At room temperature, it is a liquid. Boil water, and you see it rising as steam, or gas.”
    “Well said,” said Drake.
    “But dry ice is a different matter altogether,” said Nell. “You see, dry ice is composed of carbon dioxide—”
    “Frozen to a temperature of minus one hundred and nine degrees Fahrenheit,” said Drake. “Only, when dry ice melts it doesn’t turn into a liquid. It goes directly from a solid to a gas.”
    “It’s called sublimation,” said Nell.
    “But, like, what does dry ice have to do with the ghost?” asked Valerie, chomping her gum. “I mean, like, we haven’t even done our nails yet, and it’s getting kinda late.”
    “Excellent question, Ms. Applegate,” said Drake. “Simply put, Sloane put dry ice into this PVC pipe, covered both ends with balloons, and then added water through the little hole in one of the balloons.”
    “The dry ice melted rapidly in the water—” said Nell.
    “But,” added Drake, “it melted into a gas . A cold gas, I might add, which then shot out through the hole in the balloon and froze your neck.”
    “Allow me to demonstrate,” said Nell. And without further ado, she whipped out a readymade demonstration kit from behind the bush. Both Nell and Drake pulled on heavy gloves and put on their safety glasses. And while everyone watched, Nell poured water into a bowl. In the bowl was a chunk of dry ice. Vapor instantly rose from the dry ice, looking quite spooky.
    “You see,” said Drake, “Sloane attached the pipe to the end of this long board using a nail and a rubber band. She loaded the pipe with dry-ice chips and a few drops of water and then hoisted the board through the branches. When the dry-ice blaster was high enough, she aimed it through the cracks in the tree house. Purely diabolical.”

    “Diabolical, indeed,” said Nell.
    Valerie turned to Sloane. “You are, like, so out of the Snob Club.”
    “Spare me the gory details,” said Sloane. “Oh, wait . . . I think I’m gonna cry. Wait . . . wait . . . here it comes . . . no . . . guess not. Better luck next time, poodle puff.” And with a purely diabolical laugh, Sloane stalked off into the shadows.
    Drake handed Valerie their business card. “Call us, anytime.”
    “Like, you know, thanks a bunch,” said Valerie. “I’ll totally give you a free weekend in the tree house as payment, man. Just don’t touch anything.”
    “All in a night’s work.” Nell shook Valerie’s hand, once again satisfied with a job well done.
    And off went Drake and Nell into the night, another ghost busted.

D rake snapped the rubber band into place. Then he turned the crank, which turned a wheel, which whirled the blades. A breeze began to blow. “Ahh,” he sighed, dabbing his brow with a hankie.
    He scribbled in his lab notebook:
    New invention quite cool.
Just the thing for a hot day.
    As Drake shut his notebook, the phone rang.
    “Doyle and Fossey,” Drake answered, sounding quite cool and collected.
    “Mighty glad you’re there, Drake Doyle.” Drake recognized the drawl. It was Jessie Simmons, the new girl in class. Just last week, her family had moved from Oklahoma to Mossy Lake. Jessie wore a cowgirl hat and boots, said things like “Ain’t life grand?” and twirled her lasso during