The Riddle of the Red Purse Read Online Free PDF

CHAPTER 1
    M S. R OONEY WAS writing on the board.
    Dawn Bosco crossed her fingers.
    She saw Linda Lorca cross hers too.
    “Paper monitor,” Ms. Rooney wrote. “Sherri Dent.”
    Good. Dawn didn’t want to be paper monitor.
    “Erase boards,” Ms. Rooney wrote. “Jason Bazyk.”
    Dawn crossed her fingers harder.
    She was dying to be class president.
    She bet Linda Lorca was too.
    “Fish monitor: Jill Simon.”
    Dawn sat back. Who cared about being fish monitor?
    “I have fish at home,” Jill said. “Two guppies. One swordtail. Three—”
    Jill was always talking about her birthday fish.
    She had even brought fish food for show-and-tell.
    Yucks.
    Ms. Rooney began to write again: “Class president.”
    Dawn crossed her toes.
    Class president was the best job.
    Ms. Rooney wrote a big D.
    “Dawn Bosco, I bet,” said Linda Lorca. “That bossy thing.”
    “I am not,” said Dawn.
    Ms. Rooney wrote the rest of Dawn’s name.
    Class president! She couldn’t believe it.
    Linda Lorca put her tongue out.
    Dawn wanted to stick hers out too.
    She didn’t, though.
    Ms. Rooney said the president had to be good as gold.
    Ms. Rooney wiped the chalk dust off her hands. “Do good jobs.”
    She looked at Dawn.
    It was time for the pledge.
    That was the president’s job.
    Dawn rushed to the front. “Class, stand,” she said in a nice loud voice.
    Half the class stood.
    “Just a minute,” Jill said. “I have to feed the fish.”
    Alex Walker stuck his head out of the closet. “Hold on,” he said. “I have to find my homework.”
    “You should have done that before,” Dawn said. She tried to sound like Ms. Rooney.
    “I told you she was bossy,” said Linda Lorca.
    Ms. Rooney shook her head at Linda.
    “I pledge allegiance,” Dawn began.
    The rest of the class said the pledge too.
    Then it was time for show-and-tell.
    Dawn had something to show.
    Something important.
    She looked at the box under her desk.
    Could she call on herself first?
    Maybe not.
    Everyone was raising his hand. Dawn made believe she didn’t see Jill Simon.
    Jill would show-and-tell for too long.
    She wasn’t going to call on Linda Lorca.
    She called on Sherri Dent.
    Sherri went to the front. “I have something to tell.”
    “I hope everyone is listening,” Dawn said. She smiled the way Ms. Rooney did.
    “Do you see I’m a little tan?” Sherri asked.
    “You look good,” said Jason.
    “I went to California for the winter break,” said Sherri. “I swam every day.”
    She waved her arms around. “This is me swimming.”
    “Go, go, go,” said Jason.
    Dawn looked at the back of the room.
    Jill Simon was bending over the fish tank.
    One of her braids was getting wet.
    Dawn frowned.
    Jill should be paying attention.
    Sherri went back to her seat.
    “Now I have something to show,” Dawn said.
    She pulled a polka dot box up to the front.
    She opened it for the class.
    “Wow,” said Sherri.
    On top was a pink polka dot hat.
    Dawn put it on her head.
    “This box helps me solve mysteries,” she said. “It has all the detective stuff.”
    “Dawn thinks she knows everything,” Linda Lorca said.
    “I found Emily’s ring last time,” Dawn said. “The blue one. Didn’t I?”
    “That’s right,” said Emily.
    “Your hat is a little big,” Sherri said.
    “Miles too big,” said Linda Lorca. “Elephant head.”
    Dawn made a face at Linda. She held up a magnifying glass. “I have a wig too. No-one can tell who I am.”
    “Neat,” said Sherri.
    “Yes,” said Ms. Rooney. She came to the front of the room. “It’s time for math now.”

    Dawn pushed the box back to her desk.
    She sniffed when she passed Linda Lorca.
    She was sick of being good as gold.
    If only she could find a mystery.
    She’d solve it right this minute.
    Linda Lorca would be sorry.
    That big baby.

CHAPTER 2
    I T WAS AFTER SCHOOL.
    Dawn stood near the schoolyard fence.
    She closed her eyes tight.
    A snowflake landed on her nose.
    “No peeking,” Jason