Who Stole Halloween? Read Online Free PDF Page A

ball of crinkly stuff. I held it up for Yasmeen to see. “It’s a sachet,” she said. “You know, you put them in drawers to make your clothes smell good.”
    Okay. But then why was Luau acting crazy—mewing pathetically and trying to climb me like a tree?
    â€œCan he have it?” I asked.
    Yasmeen said why not, so I tossed it on theground. Luau pounced, then looked around like he thought for sure someone must want to steal such a marvelous prize.
    â€œNo, really, Luau. It’s all yours,” I said. “Enjoy.”
    Luau is ordinarily a very dignified pet. But whatever this stuff was, it brought out his inner kitten. Clutching the ball between his paws, he rolled onto his back and thumped at it with his hind feet, finally tossing it into the air. Then—and I never knew he was this coordinated—he caught it in his mouth and rolled over and over with it till you’d swear he had to be dizzy.
    And that’s when—
duh
, Alex—I realized what the white ball was made of. I opened my mouth to say the word, but Yasmeen beat me to it: “Catnip!”

Chapter Eight

    Was the catnip a clue?
    Or a coincidence?
    Yasmeen and I had a lot to discuss that night, so I got permission to eat over at her house. The only trouble with having dinner there is that her parents are so strict. Grace before dinner. Cloth napkins. And no matter what kind of mushy, mysterious green stuff a kid finds on his plate, he is expected to eat it.
    â€œAlex?” Mrs. Popp, Yasmeen’s mom, looked up at me after we’d all said amen. “Would you like to start the conversation?”
    When I was little, Yasmeen’s parents scared me. By now, though, I’ve figured out that they’re okay, they even like me—as long as I remember to speak in complete sentences.
    â€œSure, Mrs. Popp,” I said. “Yasmeen and I have had an interesting afternoon.”
    â€œTell us about it, Alex,” Yasmeen’s dad said.
    So—between small bites of some mysterious meat—I told them. In a way, it was nice to be telling the story now because for once Yasmeen didn’t interrupt. At Yasmeen’s house you don’t dare interrupt.
    â€œ. . . a sachet Yasmeen called it.” I was almost done. “But then we both realized, because of how crazy Luau was acting, that it had to be catnip. After that, we brought it home. We’re still trying to figure out what it means.”
    For about a minute Jeremiah, Yasmeen’s little brother, had been shaking his head and looking gloomy. Actually, he looks gloomy most of the time.
    â€œDo you have something to contribute, Jeremiah?” Yasmeen’s mom asked.
    â€œUh-oh,” said Jeremiah.
    â€œWhy do you say that?” asked Mrs. Popp.
    â€œBecause somebody’s a litterbug,” said Jeremiah. “Miss Deirdre tells us
never
be a litterbug. And I never will.”
    â€œAdmirable, Jeremiah,” said Professor Popp. “What else does Miss Deirdre tell you?”
    â€œPut the play dough back in the bag or it will dry out,” he said. “Drink your milk, unless you’re allergic. Oh—and always be kind to animals. She says that a lot.”
    Professor Popp said, “Excellent advice,” and he sounded serious, but he might have been kidding. Professor Popp has an English accent because he grew up on some island I can never remember; to me he always sounds serious.
    Jeremiah nodded. “Miss Deirdre knows everything,” he said.
    â€œEverything?” asked Mrs. Popp.
    Jeremiah nodded again.
    â€œThere’s one thing I bet she doesn’t know,” Yasmeen said. “She doesn’t know who stole Halloween.”
    â€œSo you two children are at it again, eh?” said Professor Popp. “Playing detective? I must say I think the catnip is a clue. Could the thief have dropped it?”
    â€œThat’s what I think,” said Yasmeen. “The