Written Notes, Mystery Calls

    It was a normal August day, eleven year old Ruby Ormsbey was on the bus listening to music with her earbuds. She glanced out the window and saw something strange. Two really tall men with huge muscles were slinking around behind her neighbor’s backyard. One guy had a big black bag swung over his shoulder. It looked like there was something inside squirming around in the bag.

Ruby ran off the bus and inside to find her mom pacing around in circles on the phone. “Yes … .I know, Ruby was….I just don’t think that’s something Ruby would do….Okay, bye.” She hung up and started crying.

Ruby went over to her mom and hugged her. Then she went into the kitchen, grabbed a box of tissues, and gave the box to her. Ruby could tell something was very wrong. “Mom, are you okay? Why were you talking about me on the phone?”

“Oh, honey.” She hesitated. “That was Miss Berry, she said that this morning, she saw you outside with a shovel. Is that true?”

Ruby thought for a while. “Yeah, I found a dead bird and wanted to bury it. So I put it in a bag and dug a hole, then I put the bag in and buried it. Oh, then I said, ‘Rest in peace,’ why?”

Ruby’s mom had stopped crying and had a disgusted look on her face, “Number one, that’s gross. Number two, where did you bury it and where did you find it?”

“It was on the road, and I buried it in the backyard. Is Miss Berry accusing me of something? Again?”

Ruby’s mom didn’t say anything. Finally she said, “Well, Miss Berry went outside to water her plants and…. She said all her plants were dug up and destroyed.”

“Mom, that’s horrible! Do you really think I did that?” Ruby ran up to her room and slammed the door. “Am I really that mischievous?” she whispered. It made her feel like her neighbors and her own mom didn’t even believe her.

She was just about to open her book when she remembered. She rolled out of bed and burst out her door. When she fell down the stairs, she got right back up and continued running. She almost ran into her mom.

“Honey, what’s the matter, I know I upset you but-”

“Mom! When I got close to the house on the bus, there were some huge people in Miss Berry’s backyard. One was carrying a big bag; something was moving around in it.”

Before Ruby finished, her mom was picking up the phone.

“What, you’re gonna call Miss Berry and tell her I’m innocent? Thanks!” She had raised her voice.

“No, I’m calling the police. If someone was robbing her house we need the police to know!” She said it in her sternest voice and it made Ruby calm down.

Just then Ruby and her mom heard sirens. They could see police cars racing down the road. Ruby was surprised but even more surprised when the cars pulled into Ruby’s neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory’s, yard.

“Mom, you didn’t call the police yet, did you?” she said with a confused look on her face.

“I haven’t even dialed their number yet.”

Ruby and her mom hurried outside onto Mr. and Mrs. Gregory’s property. Mrs. Gregory was crying and Mr. Gregory was talking to the police.

“What’s wrong, Kendra?” Ruby’s mom asked. Kendra is Mrs. Gregory’s first name.

“Oh, Katie, I’m so glad you and Ruby are here,” she sniffed. “This afternoon Kris, my son, he was playing outside and…” she started to cry super hard. “I heard him scream and I ran outside, all I found of him was a note he wrote for you, Ruby.”

“Me? He barely knows me and I barely know him.” Ruby was very confused now.

Mrs. Gregory handed Ruby a crumpled, dirty piece of paper with some messy handwriting scribbled on it. It read:

Dear Ruby, I know you like solving mysteries and you are really good at solving them. Well, now you have one. I don’t know where I’ll end up or anything. But, please, please help me. I don’t know how many people there are in this or anything, but, please help me! I don’t know which direction we are going in either. You know how Mrs. Brindell dislikes kids, right? Well, I think she is trying to get rid of all the kids in the neighborhood. If you want me to tell you how I was able to write this, it’s because I was drawing when they took me, I was able to throw the paper out the top of the bag. Stay away from everybody who could be hiring the men, and I’ll try to keep writing to you. Sincerely, Kris.

“Yes! A mystery for me!” She started smiling, and the smiling turned into laughter. She knew it was going to be risky, but she had to try. She needed to help, it’s like it was calling for someone to solve Kris’s mystery. She showed the note to Mrs. Gregory.

“Please help, Ruby, I want my son back.” She passed the note to Ruby’s dad who was a police officer that had come to the case.                     

“Ruby,” her dad said, “I don’t know if an eleven year old should be solving this mystery. You could get hurt and I would be responsible for it.”

“No,” Ruby protested, “I’ve solved many mysteries without getting hurt, why would I this time? Besides, I wouldn’t be alone, I’d have my dog, Peanuts, with me. She used to be a spy’s dog! I love solving mysteries and you can’t make me not want to solve them!” Everyone looked stunned, even Ruby, that those words just came out of her mouth.

“Well,” said Ruby’s dad, “I suppose you could help. Just, make sure to call me before you make a move. You need an ‘Okay’ from me. Got it?”

Ruby nodded.

“Call me if you find anything out, Ruby, and I’ll be checking in on Mrs. Brindell down the road.” He smiled at Ruby.

“Thank you so much for helping, officer,” said Mrs. Gregory. Ruby could tell she was on the verge of tears.

“No problem,” Ruby’s dad said. “It’s my job to solve mysteries and support innocent people.” He put his hand on his head and looked up at the sky. “Woah, I didn’t realize it was so hot out. I better be on my way, we will update you soon.”

“Andy, if you would like to, you could take Ruby for a while so I can get the house clean. Like, maybe take her to the police station and show her around? Since she really is one of you now.”

“That’s a great idea ain’t it, Ruby?” her dad asked. Ruby looked like she just found out she was becoming a billionaire. “Ok, then. Let’s go Ruby!” Ruby’s dad finished.

Ruby knew right away that she would like to go to the police station with her dad. She knew nothing bad would happen when he was around. She could feel it.

“No, no. Please don’t go yet,” Mrs. Gregory cried. “Wouldn’t you like some fresh lemonade and some cake on this hot afternoon?” she asked.

“Well, I do like both of those things…. Oh, alright. It wouldn’t hurt to stay a bit longer,” Ruby’s dad admitted. “Shall we sit inside or outside, Miss?” he asked as politely as he could.

“Oh, I think Ruby should be the one that picks where we sit. She is the one that my little Kristofer wrote to!” Mrs. Gregory exclaimed.

Ruby’s dad just nodded slowly and put his hands in his pockets.

“Ok,” Ruby said. “Well, I really want to get out of the sun. So we can go inside I guess.”

Just then her dad’s walkie-talkie that was hanging on his belt beeped. To Ruby it sounded like a car when you try to open it when it’s locked and the alarm flares.  Mrs. Gregory jumped. Ruby’s dad had a disappointed look on his face.

Then he said, “Well, ladies, I guess I have a meeting pretty soon. I really better be going now.”

Mrs. Gregory looked very sad as she ran inside. A few moments later she was carrying a tray with one slice of cake and a cup of lemonade. She smiled sadly and hugged Ruby’s dad very tightly. He looked very surprised. It looked really awkward because he was so tall and she was a foot shorter than him. “Thank you, for helping my son, and you too Ruby.” She pulled Ruby into the awkward hug.

“You’re welcome, Miss. It’s my job to do things like this, as I said before. Well, let’s go Ruby.”

They got into the police car slowly. Ruby had never been in one before. Ruby sat in the back so her dad could show her how he straps people in. That was Ruby’s favorite part while in the car. Another cool part was that they had to pull someone over for a speeding ticket! There was a lot of cursing though. Ruby got to hand the man the little ticket that read, “Great job, you got a speeding ticket: $50, yay!” That was the second best part of the ride.

When they got to the police station, Ruby gasped. She had never seen a building this big in town! Except for her best friend’s house; her house looked like a mansion!

“Well, Ruby. What do you think?” her dad asked.

Ruby just stood in awe.

“Does that mean you like it?” he chuckled.

They quietly walked in towards the front counter. “Officer Ormsbey!” the lady at the desk said. She sounded happy. “Who do you have here?” Her smile faded as she pointed at Ruby. “Another one of those kids…. You know, THOSE kids. The kids we are looking for?”

“Oh, no, no, no Mrs. Henshaw. This is Ruby, she is my new partner, also my daughter. We are going to meeting room #303. Could I please have a children’s pass?” he asked.

Mrs. Henshaw looked at Ruby like she had three heads. “I guess,” she said grumpily as she handed Ruby’s dad a little slip of paper and a pen. Ruby’s dad signed it and held it out to Ruby.

“Sign your name here,” he pointed to a line on the paper, “And clip it to your t-shirt please,” he said and then pursed his lips.

Ruby did what she was told and gave her dad a thumbs up. Her dad smiled at Mrs. Henshaw and pulled Ruby down a hall. Ruby could tell her dad didn’t like Mrs. Henshaw. She could especially tell when he rolled his eyes. Ruby smiled at the thought of her dad rolling his eyes at people.

“Well, here we are, Ruby,” He said in a funny tone, “Through these doors is your first meeting. Are you excited?” he asked Ruby quietly.

“Yeah! It’s my first ever time even in a police station! Wait…. My first ever meeting, as in like, I’m part of the team?”

He and Ruby smiled at the same time. “Yep, welcome to the team, Ruby. I thought you could be a big help. That is if the other police officers like you too,” he said as he pushed open the two big heavy doors. There were a few other officers there but most of them weren’t there yet. There were a variety of men and women.

“Hey, guys, can I get your attention for a minute?” Ruby’s dad asked in a loud voice. They all looked at him. “This is Ruby, she is going to be one of us for a little while, if that’s okay with you guys. She is also my daughter!” Some guys nodded their heads, and some said hi to her, but to Ruby it seemed like they were kind of ignoring her dad when he told them about her.

“Dad, when is the meeting going to start? I’m soooo excited!” Ruby said excitedly.

He looked at his watch. “Any time now. And Ruby, please don’t talk too loud, us officers don’t like loudness,” he said. Just after that, a bell rang and police officers flooded in.

“Hello everybody, today we have three cases assigned to different officers. Also, you may have noticed that we have a new officer here with us today. Ruby Ormsbey, please come up here,” one of the officers boomed. She had a strong voice and a serious face. Ruby thought she could be one of the lead officers.

Ruby could feel her face turning red as she walked up to the front. She could feel more than fifteen pairs of eyes fixed on her. Her legs were like noodles and her arms were glued to her side.

“Ruby,” The main officer said, “Please tell us about yourself to get your kiddie badge.” She paused, then leaned in close and cupped her hands around her mouth and said, “A kiddie badge is what you get when you’re a kid and part of our team, just so you know.” She said it in a clear whispering voice. When some people whisper in Ruby’s ear, she can only hear bits of what they’re saying.

Gulp. “Umm, hi, my name is Ruby Ormsbey. I am eleven years old and until I was seven, I lived in Chicago. I love mysteries and solving problems. I have a dog named Peanuts and her old owner was a spy. I have no siblings and my dad works here and I really like helping with anything I can with police stuff. Oh, I love baseball and used to play for the kids’ baseball team in Chicago. My team was the Chicago Cubs. And, that’s all!” Ruby finished. That wasn’t too bad, she thought.

Some of the police clapped, some of them said, “Woo-hoo!”  A lot of people just smiled. The person that clapped and went, “Woo-hoo!” the most was her dad. He had the biggest smile on his face and his cheeks were red.

“Alright, now I know you guys will all want a kid with you for your mission, but I have a certain person I think will love Ruby with them on their assigned mission. First, we have to narrow down who even has a mission this week and who does not. I will tell you what you are doing,” the main officer said as she picked up a piece of paper.

He said a whole bunch of names and then announced who had a mission. “For the missions, Officer James, come get your sheet. It will tell you what your mission is. Officer Chloe, same as Officer James. And officer Ormsbey, you will get Ruby, and I have a feeling you know what your guys’ mission is.”

Yes! I really wanted to be assigned Kris’s mystery. Ruby thought as she walked up to the front to grab her and her dad’s paper.

Two hours later, they were parking in Mr. and Mrs. Gregory’s driveway. Ruby and Andy opened their doors at the same time. Ruby grabbed the paper and dove out of the car.

“Can I go see Mom really quickly?” Ruby asked. She asked even though she was already running towards her house.

Her dad replied, “Yeah.” He continued, “You might want to pack some stuff because you probably will have to stay the night at the police station now that we have been assigned this serious mystery! Tell your mom though, I need her permission.”

“Okay!” Ruby called back. She was so excited she could hardly breathe when she got to the door to her house. She burst open the door and yelled for her mom, “Mom, I’m home!” Her mom ran to the door and hugged her so she couldn’t breathe at all.

“Honey, you’re back! What are you doing, I thought you’d be gone a little longer,” Mom said. She sounded very confused.

Ruby couldn’t wait to tell her about the news. “Mom! I get to stay at the police station, if it’s okay with you. Dad needs your permission though. Just sign this, then I’ll be able to, and I need to pack really quick,” she said really fast.

Ruby shoved the paper to her mom that she had to sign in order for her to stay at the station all night. Then she ran to the kitchen table and grabbed a pen. She ran back to her mom and shoved that in her face too.

“Honey, I’m not sure you’re ready, why don’t you wait until you’re older,” Mom said politely.

“No, Mom, I’m ready to grow up. I don’t need you to always be right there for me anymore, I’m eleven now!” Ruby said rudely.

Her mom looked sad. “Ok honey, you can go, just behave yourself! Now go pack, you don’t want to take long,” her mom said as she signed the piece of paper and handed it to her.

Ruby couldn’t wait any longer, she snatched the paper from her mom and flew up to her room. She grabbed her suitcase and packed three outfits. Then she set the paper on her bed. This should be good. She thought as she zipped up her bag. She had also put her two favorite books in the suitcase, “Charlotte’s Web” and “When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie.” The second one was a chapter book.

“I can’t wait!” she yelled as she raced down the stairs totally forgetting the paper on the bed. “Bye, Mom. I will see you tomorrow!” Ruby went over and hugged her mom who was on her phone. Probably texting grandma and grandpa, she muttered to herself. She tugged on her suitcase and hauled it out the door.

“Have a good rest of your day! I will see you tomorrow, I love you!” Ruby’s mom yelled after her. Ruby felt kind of guilty leaving her mom alone in the house, but she hurried over to her dad anyways.

“Did Mom say you could stay at the police station?” Ruby’s dad asked as he glanced at Ruby. He had been kneeling down looking through a fancy magnifying glass. ‘’Ruby, where is the paper?”

“Oh, it’s in my suitcase,” Ruby said. She really had totally forgotten about the paper.

“Let’s have a look to make sure,” her dad said as he quietly unzipped her suitcase. “No paper in here. You’re sure it’s in there?” he asked.

Ruby looked up at the sky, thinking. “Oh! I think I might have left it in the house, so I’ll go grab it,” she said as she ran back into the house.

A few minutes later Ruby came charging back outside. Her dad had something in his hand. He waved it in the air. A piece of paper!

“Ruby! Another note! That must mean the wind took it here and I bet he had to wait until the wind changed direction,” Ruby’s dad explained.

“It’s getting late.” It was 7:14. “Maybe we should take the paper back to the police station and read it,” Ruby said as she took the note from her dad.

“Well, I think we should read it here and then go to the police station. Maybe it is an emergency and we’d have to find Kris right now. So just read it now,” Ruby’s dad said. He was trying to snatch back the paper.

Ruby opened the crumpled up paper that had only a few words on it. It read,

Dear Ruby, I know where I am! You know where the three huge maple trees are right? Well, go there at 3 p.m. tomorrow, you will see what Mrs. Brindell is doing. Yes, it is Mrs. Brindell, I saw her with the men who took me here. I really hope this gets to you! Sincerely, Kris.

Ruby noticed something strange. The writing was a lot better than last time. Hmmm. Ruby thought as she turned to show her dad.

“Look at the writing, doesn’t it look like an adult wrote this?” Ruby asked in a concerned voice. Her face looked concerned too.

“Ruby…. I think we just got set up,” her dad said in his lowest and scariest voice. It made Ruby laugh. Her dad laughed too. “Now let’s head back to the station, we can tell the other officers about this. We probably will need backup for tomorrow…. 3 p.m.,” he said with a grin on his face.

“Wait…. we are going to go to the three big maples? What if it is a trap?” Ruby asked, sounding alarmed.

“That’s why we are going to go back and get backup police officers!” Ruby’s dad said as he signaled for her to get in the car. He was already buckling his seatbelt.

Ruby put her suitcase in the seat closest to the left side door and hopped in onto the seat in the middle. “Let’s go!” Ruby yelled in an impatient voice.

“Ok, ok. I will go as fast as I can, just be patient,” her dad said as he started the car. The car started zooming down the road, faster than Ruby had ever gone in a car.

“Woah!” Ruby screamed, “Why are we going so fast, Dad?” She asked in a confused voice.

“You said you wanted to go fast! Police cars are allowed to go faster than the speed limit,” her dad explained without taking his eyes off the road.

Around twenty minutes later, the car pulled into the police station parking lot. Silently, Ruby and her dad got out of the car. Her dad pulled the suitcase for Ruby so it wouldn’t take as long as it would with Ruby pulling it. By then it was 7:41. They were both tired and hungry.

“Is there a place where we can eat supper here? I’m starving,” Ruby asked and complained dramatically. In school Ruby was super dramatic, too.

“I guess we could go down to the McDonald’s a block away if that’s ok. Unless you want to go elsewhere,” Ruby’s dad told her.

“Sure,” Ruby said excitedly. She didn’t care where they went to eat, she just wanted to eat! “Are we there yet?” Ruby complained after two minutes.

“Not yet Ruby. Please be patient, it has only been a couple of minutes!” Ruby’s dad pleaded.

When they got there, Ruby hopped out of the car lazily but ran inside even though she was tired.

“Now Ruby, please be quiet when we get in there. Don’t tell anybody, ‘We are going to the three big maple trees to solve a mystery but it is a trap so we are bringing backup.’ Don’t tell anyone that. Any person here could be the culprit,” her dad explained.

Even though she was kind of offended, she nodded and walked in with him without a fight. They pretty much ate in silence. Ruby liked the peace and quiet that she didn’t get at home because of the neighbors’ dogs.

“Hi, what can I do for you?” The lady at the counter had asked. She wore a McDonald’s vest and a matching McDonald’s baseball cap.

Ruby’s dad had told the lady his order and asked, “What do you want, Ruby? Tell the lady.” He had pulled his wallet out from his pocket and got ready to hand his credit card to the lady in the McDonald’s vest.

“Uhm, can I have a McDouble, one medium sized french fry and a blue slushie?” Ruby asked as she put her hands in her pockets.

Her dad handed over his credit card and the cashier took it with a smile. “$8.75, would you like to round up to $9.00 to give to the Ronald McDonald House?” The lady asked politely.

“Sure!” Ruby’s dad answered casually. The lady gave back the credit card and smiled as she walked to the other side of the building to get their food.

“So…” Ruby’s dad said, “Anything you want to talk about?” he asked Ruby as he scooped some french fries into his mouth with his hand.

“Not really, I mean, I’m excited to catch the bad guy,” she whispered. Her dad chuckled and shoved some more french fries into his mouth. “And please stop shoving french fries in your mouth, it’s rude,” Ruby finished.

“Hey, now you’re the one telling ME what to do!” Ruby’s dad complained. They both laughed loudly. All the other people in the restaurant looked at us. “Sorry,” Ruby’s dad told everyone. That made Ruby laugh some more. Then her dad laughed too. Pretty soon, all the people in McDonald’s were laughing!

Time went by very quickly and pretty soon it was time to go. “Yep, have a good day sir! Thank you for the food!” Ruby’s dad said to the waiter. “Alright, Ruby, we should get back now,” her dad told Ruby; it was 8:21.

Wow, time went by fast! Ruby thought as they left the restaurant. “Are we going to go back to Mrs. Gregory’s house?” Ruby asked as they hopped into the police car.

“Maybe. Well, yeah, I think we should before we go anywhere else,” Ruby’s dad said as he turned the steering wheel and the car started moving.

They drove for twenty minutes and finally parked in Mr. and Mrs. Gregory’s yard. Ruby’s dad got out first, he had to wake Ruby up. Must be pretty tired after all this exciting stuff! He thought.

“Ruby, wake up,” her dad said quietly, “We have reached our destination!” He said in a robot voice. Ruby’s eyes fluttered open. She nodded and slowly stepped out of the car.

After a few minutes of searching for clues Ruby cried, “I found footprints!” She ran over to her dad.

“Really?! Show me!” He said as he started running after Ruby. Right when they got to the back of the house, they both saw it. A long line of four huge footprints were on each side of fat, heavy garbage bag tracks. “Well, now we know that they really did go to the three big maples!” Ruby’s dad exclaimed as they walked back to the police car.

“Yep,” Ruby said as she buckled her seatbelt.

Later at their apartment in the police station, Ruby and her dad were playing a game of UNO. “Hey, that’s cheating… Oh, alright, you win!” Ruby’s dad said grumpily. He always got so mad when he lost games. “Time to go to bed, Ruby. Goodnight, see you in the morning!”

“Good morning, dad!” Ruby said sleepily as she walked out of her little room, “I’m so excited-” Ruby’s dad stopped her by interrupting.

“Come on Ruby, let’s go!” Her dad said excitedly, he already had his shoes and sweatshirt on and was waiting by the door.

Time went by so fast, they played lots of games at an arcade, they got ice cream from Dairy Queen, and lots more fun things!

“Time to go, Ruby,” He said as they got in the car. He got out his walkie-talkie and said into it: “We are leaving now, meet us at the parking lot of the park next to the three maples. Over.”

“Roger that,” a voice answered back. Ruby smiled as they got into the car from the mall. Her dad smiled back.

The car slowly pulled up to the parking lot close to the park with the three big maple trees. Ruby and her dad got out of the car and closed the door behind them at the same time. Two other police cars pulled in. Two police officers got out of each car.

“Here,” said one of the officers. “Seen any movement yet?” he asked.

“Not yet,” Ruby’s dad replied as he slowly started walking to the three maples. “Wait, there’s someone over there! Get down!” he yelled and jumped into some tall grass. All the others did the same. Ruby looked around nervously, then jumped into the grass, accidentally on top of her dad!

“Ack!” he cried.

“Who’s there?” a woman’s voice echoed from a little cabin. A head popped out of the little door.

“Miss Berry?!” Ruby screamed. She covered her mouth and looked at her dad and the other police officers. They all had surprised looks on their faces.

Miss Berry looked shocked. “I said, w-who’s t-there?” She asked again but more loudly. “I know s-someone’s there, tell m-me who y-you are,” she said more quietly than last time.

Ruby’s dad jumped out. “Alright, where is Kris? Tell me!” he boomed as he started walking towards her.

“W-w-who is h-he?” she said not very truthfully. “I-I h-have no idea o-of who you a-are talking a-about!”

“You know who he is, Miss Berry, if that even is your real name!” Ruby said angrily. Miss Berry laughed.

“Ruby! How nice to see you here.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “But not really. You had to ruin my peaceful neighborhood by moving here and solving all your garbage mysteries.”

“My mysteries are NOT garbage!” Ruby protested. “I think you are mistaking mysteries and yourself,” she spat at Miss Berry.

Silence. Ruby laughed and Miss Berry grumbled.

“Where is he?” Ruby’s dad asked again, “And where are the men you hired to take him away?”

“Ha! You really think I would tell you?” Miss Berry asked. “Because if you do, you are certainly wrong!”

Ruby’s dad took out handcuffs. “Tell me, and you won’t have to stay in jail as long as you should right now.”

“Ok, we can do this the hard way.” She took out a gun and pointed it at Ruby. Everyone gasped.

“That’s IT!” Ruby’s dad yelled, “You’re being very dumb right now.” He grabbed her by the shoulder and quickly snatched the gun away and handcuffed her in seconds.

“This. Is. Not. Fair!” She screamed as another police officer shoved her into the car.

“Where. Is. Kris?” Ruby’s dad imitated Miss Berry dramatically. He was serious this time, he wanted to solve this mystery.

“Fine, that rat is in the basement of the cabin, and I don’t really know who those brutes who snatched him from his little hammock outside are,” she yelled at Ruby’s dad as the car drove away.

“Mission accomplished,” they said at the same time.

Ruby’s dad smiled. “Well, this was a short mission thanks to you! Hey, we make a pretty good team! We should do it again!” her dad said excitedly as he held out his hand for a high five.

Ruby smiled. Exactly what I was thinking, partner. THE END.

(Only the end of the story, not Ruby’s and her dad’s friendship! They continue to solve mysteries together, Kris is reunited with his family and Ruby becomes an actual police officer when she grows up!)