Case #1: The Case of The Lake Monster

Many kids and teens were on a bus going to a summer camp called Camp Pinewood on the day camp started. When they first arrived at the campground, all the campers and C.I.Ts lined up at the registration desk to see which cabins they would be staying in and all the people bunking with them. All the kids were campers, and all the teenagers were Counselors in Training, who all the real counselors would train. When a girl named Judy got to the registration desk, Hazel, the head counselor in charge, signed her in. After signing in, Judy took her bags to Cabin 9, where she met Meg, her counselor. Meg said, "Welcome. I'm Meg, and you must be Judy, my new C.I.T." Judy stated, "Yes. Yes, I am." Meg said, "OK. Let the training begin. First off, how many years of camp experience do you have?" Judy stated, "None." Meg said, "But you like kids, right?" Judy said, "I don't know. I've never dealt with any in my whole life." Meg said, "So, why do you want to be a camp counselor?" Judy stated, "I don't. The outdoors isn't my thing, but my parents thought some fresh air would benefit me. They say I spend too much time in front of the computer, so they signed me up for this camp." Meg said, "Don't worry, you'll have a good time." Judy stated, "Maybe I should run for it while I can."

Meanwhile, Ricky went to Cabin 13 with his dog, Jake. Ricky saw his counselor, Kris, inside and unpacking his things. Ricky said, "Hi, bunkmate." Kris stated, "Hi, I'm Kris, counselor of Cabin 13." Ricky said, "I'm Ricky, and this is my dog, Jake." Kris stated, "You must be my new C.I.T. Well, we start training tomorrow." Ricky said, "So, what are the cabin rules?" Kris stated, "Rules? I'm not big on rules. I just let the campers enjoy themselves."

When nightfall came, the lake started to bubble, and a lake monster came up out of it and saw everyone gathering around the campfire. Then, the beast returned to the lake while all the campers, C.I.Ts, and counselors enjoyed their campfire. While they were all around the campfire, the Cabin 18 counselor named Bobby started to play his guitar for everyone, and when he finished, everyone clapped because they all enjoyed his music. All the campers enjoyed marshmallows and s'mores while listening to Bobby play his guitar. Once Meg and Judy came out of their cabin and joined everyone outside, Judy spotted Bobby's C.I.T. Brad, and Brad spotted Judy. Then, they both walked up to each other and held hands. Brad said, "Hi, I'm Brad." Judy stated, "I'm Judy." Brad said, "Want to sit down with me? Judy said, "Sure."

While everyone was around the fire, Gladys, the camp owner, told everyone a scary story about The Lake Monster of Camp Pinewood. Gladys held a flashlight up to her face and said, "Once upon a time, when the camp got built, Sarah Broadworth and Jed Harington hid a treasure somewhere here. After they threw the treasure in the lake, a green monster came out of it and tried to destroy them, and the monster haunts the camp to this day, waiting for anyone who dares step foot in the lake." A girl named Cassidy said, "What a great tale of the past, and it was barely scary." Judy stated, "I can't believe this is a haunted camp." Meg said, "It's not. There's no lake monster or any other monsters in the woods." Hazel said, "Right, monsters are just what little kids are scared of." After Gladys told the story, Bobby took his guitar and started to play his new song. Then Bobby began to sing about the camp and its fun. Then, everyone around the campfire joined in and sang with Bobby. They sang about everything they could do at the campground and everything that could happen around camp. While singing, someone with a green hand, razor-sharp claws, and a nasty growl was spying on them. After the fire, some campers, C.I.Ts, and counselors played pool and foosball in the mess hall.

When it was time for everyone to sleep, Judy was lying on her bed and heard a knock on her window. Judy looked out it and saw Brad outside her window. Brad said, "Want to come out and play?" Judy opened her window and stated, "Are we prepared to go into the woods?" Brad showed Judy his flashlight and camera. Brad said, "Flashlight to look around and a camera to capture anything interesting. Plus, you should always go with someone when you go into the woods, and you look pretty bored." Judy looked at her campers and saw they were asleep, so she agreed. Judy said, "Good enough." Judy grabbed her flashlight and camera, snuck out of her cabin, and entered the woods with Brad.

While they were hiking, Judy gently hit Brad, and he jumped. Brad looked at Judy, and Judy said, "You're not scared. Right?" Brad stated, "Well, it's better than being in my cabin. Instead of being bored to death like you, I had to comfort my campers until they went to bed so they wouldn't be so scared." Judy said, "So, do you think we'll find the monster out here?" Brad stated, "No, but if we don't, it will prove Gladys' story was just an urban legend or a made-up myth." While Brad and Judy were hiking, they thought their footsteps echoed, so they stopped walking but still heard footsteps coming their way. Brad and Judy turned around, flashed their lights before them, and saw two other C.I.Ts following them. Brad said, "Who are you two?" Cassidy stated, "I'm Cassidy, C.I.T. of Cabin 15, and this is my friend, Ricky, of Cabin 13." Ricky showed Brad and Judy his dog and said, "And this is my dog, Jake." Brad stated, "I'm Brad, C.I.T. of Cabin 18, and this is my friend, Judy, C.I.T. of Cabin 9." Judy stated, "How about we all go together?" Cassidy said, "Works for me."

Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake hiked through the woods together. Judy looked at the ground and saw some odd-looking footprints. Judy said, "Hey, guys, look." All four came over to where Judy was and noticed that the prints she found looked like they belonged to something mutant. Brad said, "Those can't be animal footprints." Cassidy stated, "I wonder what they belong to then." Judy took her camera from her backpack and photographed the footprints. Then she flashed her light further along the path and saw footprints leading to the lake. Judy said, "Come on." Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake followed the footprints through the woods and saw glowing green slime everywhere. Cassidy got down on her knees and rubbed her hand on the goo. Then she lifted her hand and looked at what was on her hand. Ricky said, "What is that stuff?" Cassidy stated, "Some kind of goo." Cassidy then got up and continued following the tracks to the end of the docks. Judy said, "Whatever made these tracks must have gone in the water." Cassidy stated, "Well since we're the only ones here, we may as well look at what this goo is."

Cassidy took a slide from her backpack and put a small goo sample onto the slide. Brad said, "Do you always carry slides with you?" Cassidy reached into her bag and brought out her microscope. Cassidy stated, "What good is a microscope without a slide?" Cassidy looked under the microscope to see what the goo was. While Cassidy looked at the goo through her microscope, the water turned green and bubbled. Then the monster came up out of the water and roared. When Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake saw it, they ran away from the docks, and the monster chased them. All five ran into the camp's barn, hiding in different places. When the beast ran into the barn, he saw no signs of the kids or dog, so he left. After he did, the kids emerged from hiding and returned to bed before anyone woke up.

The following day, Brad met up with Judy and Cassidy. Brad said, "Hey." Judy stated, "Hi." Brad stated, "Still wondering about last night?" Cassidy said, "Yep. I'd say we have a mystery on our hands." Judy stated, "But we can't sneak away to investigate; we'll get caught." Brad said, "I got an idea." So, Brad, Judy, and Cassidy went to Cabin 13 and asked Ricky to help them. Ricky stated, "I don't know." Cassidy stated, "Come on, we need you." Ricky said, "OK. But if I go, Jake goes." Brad stated, "OK, here's what we do. We go about our everyday activities and try to find anything suspicious." And when everyone goes to bed, we'll all sneak out and use the night to our advantage." Judy said, "Good idea."

Brad was out taking his campers zip-lining, Judy and her campers went canoeing, Cassidy and her campers practiced archery, and Ricky took his campers and Jake for a hike in the woods. After all of Brad's campers reached the bottom, Brad went down the zip line himself. Judy went out on the lake with her campers, and while paddling, she hit something in the water. Judy reached her paddle and saw that razor-sharp teeth had bitten the top half. Then the lake monster came out of the water and scared Judy and all her campers. Then they all rowed back to shore, but the lake monster chased after them. The campers paddled quickly, but the beast jumped out of the water. Meg hit it with her paddle, and it fell back into the lake. After Meg got rid of the monster, the campers beached their canoes, left them, and ran for it. Judy said, "That was close." Judy and Meg then took their campers away from the lake.

Meanwhile, Cassidy shot an arrow at the target and hit the bullseye. Then, all her campers each took a shot. Some struck the mark, some didn't, but none struck the bullseye. While Cassidy and her counselor, Susan, were teaching archery, Ricky and Jake took their campers hiking through the woods. While they were walking, Ricky spotted some footprints on the ground. Ricky said, "Hey, campers, look." One of the campers stated, "Tracks?" Ricky said, "From a hiking boot, from the looks of it. Come on, let's follow them and see where they go." Kris, Ricky, Jake, and the campers followed the footprints back to camp and to Hazel's cabin. Then Kris walked all his campers back to their cabin since their hike had ended, but Ricky stayed for a minute. While Kris walked the campers back to their cottage, Ricky turned around and saw the lake monster behind him. Then the lake monster roared at Ricky and Jake, and Ricky tried beating it with a stick. Then the beast grabbed the stick Ricky was hitting him with, took it from him, and squeezed it until it snapped and broke into pieces. While Ricky was getting attacked, arrows assaulted the monster. Ricky looked at where those arrows came from and saw Susan, Cassidy, and their troop with their bows and arrows launching them at the beast. It ran off while Susan, Cassidy, and their campers fired arrows at the beast and scared it away.

The monster then went to the zip-lining trees and saw Brad and his troop descending the lines. Once they all went down, the beast used one of his claws to cut the line they were zipping on. Once the line got cut, Bobby, Brad, and their troop fell to the ground, and the monster attacked them. Bobby returned the campers to their cabin while Brad held the monster off. Brad tied the beast up in the zip line, but the beast cut it with his claws. Then Brad ran for his life, and the monster chased after them.

Once nightfall came, Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake met up, and Judy told Brad what had happened. Judy said, "The monster didn't just go after you. We each got attacked." Brad stated, "The monster must want us to leave." Ricky then told them what he and Jake had found. Brad whispered, "Are you sure that's where your hike ended?" Ricky whispered, "Positive. It looks like we have a suspect." Cassidy whispered, "Come on. Let's check it out."

Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake walked to Hazel's cabin. They tried to decide who was going in. Brad whispered, "Jake can't go in; he'll wake everyone up. So, Judy, Cassidy, and I will go in. Ricky, you stay outside with Jake and make sure he doesn't wake anyone. Alarm us by knocking quietly on the door if you see anyone coming." Brad turned the knob on the door, and they quietly snuck into Cabin 21 and tried not to wake Hazel, her campers, or her C.I.T., Lydia. Brad whispered, "Spread out. I'll look in the bathroom. Judy, you check under their beds and try not to wake them. And Cassidy, you look in the closet."

Brad looked all over the bathroom but didn't find any clues. Judy checked under Hazel's bed and uncovered many things, but only some were a clue. Cassidy looked in the closet and examined the stuff in it. Finally, Judy checked under Lydia's bed and found a box. Judy whispered, "Hey, I found something." Judy slid the case out, and all three cast their lights on it. Judy opened the box and whispered, "It's a makeup set. Lydia could have made the monster mask from this makeup kit." Cassidy whispered, "Or she's planning on using the makeup for a different purpose." Brad whispered, "One thing's for sure: we got our first clue." Judy quietly put the makeup kit back, and they all snuck out of the cabin before anyone caught them.

All five gathered in Judy's cabin and thought about the case while it rained outside. Cassidy also used her portable chemistry set to analyze the slime they found. She checked out its chemical properties and tried to figure it out. Cassidy said, "This isn't slime." Judy stated, "It's not?" Cassidy explained to Brad, Judy, and Ricky that the critical ingredients of slime are water and sodium borate. But her tests show that the stuff they found in the woods is a mixture of spores and phosphorous paint. Brad said, "OK, but what does it all mean?" Cassidy stated, "I'm not sure. We're going to have to investigate further. What else do we have?"

Brad said, "Two trails of footprints." Judy stated, "A makeup set under Lydia's bed." Cassidy said, "And this phony goo." Ricky said, "What does it all add up to?" Cassidy stated, "Bupkis. We got nothing." Judy said, "Maybe we're missing something." Ricky said, "What about our suspect list?" Judy stated, "We have Hazel and Lydia. The footprints you found led straight to their cabin. And we found a makeup set underneath Lydia's bed. So, I say Lydia is behind this." Ricky said, "No, I think Hazel is the better suspect. If Lydia's behind this, she'll have to sneak away while on duty to pull this off. But Hazel could leave Lydia in charge of the campers while Hazel puts on the monster suit and scares everyone." Brad said, "What about Gladys? This whole thing started after she told us that story?" Cassidy stated, "I'm not sure who's behind this, but I think I know the next best place to look for clues." Since it was raining outside, they all waited until the next day.

The next day, Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake went out on the water with a motorboat and some high-tech equipment. While they took their boat to the deepest part of the lake, their counselors took all their campers out on the water in canoes to have fun. While having fun, Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake parked their boat in the deepest part of the lake, put on their scuba gear, and went underwater.

Once they got underwater, they swam to the bottom of the lake. Once Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake got there, the monster found them. The beast then swam in front of them, and they made a swim for it. The beast then swam after them and followed them to an undersea cave. Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake swam into the cave, but when the monster tried to pursue them, he got stuck in the entrance because he didn't fit in the opening. Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake swam to the surface and removed their scuba masks. Brad said, "That was close." Judy pointed before them and stated, "Look, there's a cave with a light coming from it." Brad said, "Let's check it out."

Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake climbed out of the water, removed their scuba gear, and followed the cave to a dead end. When they got to the end of the cave, they saw lanterns lighting it, and there were a bunch of crates and boxes everywhere. Judy opened one of the crates and saw it filled with money. Judy said, "Hey, look, money. Tons and tons of money." Ricky stated, "But where did it come from?" Cassidy said, "I think I know. Let me see one of those bills." Judy gave Cassidy one of the Twenty-dollar bills, and she took a good look at it. Judy said, "Sorry. But this is counterfeit money." Judy stated, "What makes you say that?" Cassidy said, "Look at the cereal number on another one of the bills and read it." Judy looked at one of the five-dollar bills and read the cereal number. Judy said, "A0123456." Cassidy stated, "So this money got printed. And whoever did it must have had a reason."

Judy opened another crate and said, "Maybe they were trying to hide these." Judy reached in and brought out what was in it. Brad stated, "Diamonds and jewelry." Judy stated, "And they're real. I can tell a real jewel from a fake one, and these diamonds and jewels are real. I'd say they're worth about ten million dollars." Cassidy said, "Which would be the same amount of counterfeit money they were trying to print." Ricky stated, "We got to report this to the police." Cassidy said, "But how are we getting out of here?" Brad stated, "The same way we got in." Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake put their scuba gear back on, swam out of the cave, and headed back to their boat. Once they got to their ship, they drove it out of the water and returned to their cabins before it darkened. As soon as it got dark out, everyone gathered around the fire, and the campers made smores while the counselors and C.I.T.s told them scary stories. When they finished, everyone went to bed.

The following day, all the counselors and C.I.T.s took their campers to the camp's petting zoo. Then Brad told his counselor, Bobby, what happened last night. Bobby said, "I'm sure whatever chased you guys into the woods wasn't a monster. I bet it was Gladys." Brad stated, "Gladys, the camp owner." Bobby said, "Yeah, she hates this place, her job, and us. I wouldn't put it past her if she wanted to close this place down to make us all miserable and build something that would make her happy in this place." Brad said, "Well, she can't do that." Bobby stated, "Actually, she can. As the camp owner, she can do almost anything she wants." Brad had his suspicions and thought about checking Gladys out. Then he backed into a bug zapper, got electrocuted, and screamed in terror. Brad yelled, "Help! The lake monster has me!" Brad moved forward, stopped being electrocuted, and fell to the ground. Bobby helped Brad up and showed him what got him. Bobby pointed at the bug zapper and said, "Brad, that's a bug zapper, not a monster." Brad laughed and stated, "Oh, my bad." Bobby chuckled, too, and then checked on the kids petting the bunnies, goats, and other animals in the petting zoo.

Judy walked up to the campers and told them they were hiking next. But before they go, she will review all the plants they should watch out for while walking. While Judy was teaching her campers, one of Brad's campers, named Mike, snuck on one of Judy's campers, Lucy, and put a spider on her shoulder. Lucy said, "Hey, cool spider, thanks for showing me, Mike." Mike stated, "But you were supposed to be scared." Lou stated, "But common house spiders aren't scary." Judy said, "She speaks the truth." Lucy held a snake up to Mike, and it scared him. After he screamed, all of Judy's campers laughed at Mike.

Hazel and Lydia took her campers swimming in the lake the next day. When they did, Brad, Judy, and Cassidy took their campers to the lake. While Judy's campers were swimming, a shark's fin swam up to them. Lucy grabbed the shark's mouth, lifted it, and saw it was Mike. Lucy said, "You'll have to do better than that, Mike." Lucy swam away, and Mike stated, "Oh man."

All the cabins camped in the woods when it got dark. When they found the perfect spot to set up their campsite, a bear came and tried to attack them. Then Lucy pulled the zipper on the back of the bear's neck, let go, and showed everyone it was only Mike. Lucy said, "Nice try, Mike." Brad said, "OK, kids, time for bed." After the kids went to bed, Brad, Judy, Cassidy, Ricky, and Jake got up and returned to camp. When they got there, they went to Cabin 21 and investigated it. Brad said, "This would be the third time we've searched this cabin." Cassidy stated, "I know, but we need answers. And the monster always seems to return here each night it attacks."

Brad looked under Hazel's bed, Judy looked under Lydia's bed, Cassidy checked out the bathroom, and Ricky and Jake looked under the campers' beds. Brad said, "Any clues?" Judy stated, "Nope." Cassidy stated, "Nothing in here." Brad stated, "But, hey, I found something." Brad brought out what he found and showed it to the others. Cassidy said, "A diving suit? What's that doing here?" Judy stated, "I think I know. And I believe I figured out this mystery. Now, all we must do is trap that monster."

While everyone was asleep, Brad and Judy set up a net at the end of the lake. Cassidy then tied a lasso onto one side of a motorboat and threw the loop into the lake. Ricky then set a ramp by the side of the lake and put a parachute in the boat. When they finished placing the trap, they returned to the campout and slept before anyone saw they were gone.

The following day, they decided who would lure the monster into the trap with Jake. Brad took four straws and held them up to everyone. All four picked a straw and showed each other which straw they got. Brad, Judy, and Ricky got the longest straws, and Cassidy got the shortest straw. Brad said, "Sorry, Cassidy, you're the bait."

Cassidy and Jake went to look for the monster, and when they found him, it roared at them. Then Cassidy screamed, and she and Jake ran while the monster chased them. Cassidy and Jake hid under the docks when they returned to where they set the trap. When he arrived, the beast lost Cassidy and Jake, who saw Ricky in a motorboat. Ricky said, "Catch me if you can." Ricky then drove his boat onto the lake. Then, the monster jumped into the lake and swam after Ricky. When Ricky saw the beast was following him, he made a U-turn and caught the monster's ankle in the lasso they tied onto the boat. Then, he drove another U-turn and headed for the side of the lake. While Ricky was operating the ship, the monster moved under the water with his ankle tied to Ricky's boat. Once Ricky got to the side of the lake, he steered his boat up the ramp. Then Ricky jumped out of the ship and used the parachute they put in there to land safely. Then he watched his craft and the monster getting caught in their net. Then Brad and Judy pulled the ropes to close the net and let go of it so he would drop to the ground. Judy said, "We got him."

After they caught the monster, all the campers, C.I.T.s, and counselors gathered around to see who the beast was. Judy said, "Time to find out who this lake monster is." Judy removed the monster's mask, and they all saw who the beast was when she did. Everyone at the camp said at the same time, "Hazel!" Judy stated, "And I feel she's not alone." Cassidy said, "You're right; someone else is also behind this." Cassidy pointed at Lydia and her campers and announced, "Them." Lydia and her campers ran for their lives, but Ricky shot them with a gun. After he did, Lydia and her campers got woozy and fell to the ground. Hazel was shocked when she saw what Ricky had done. Hazel said, "How could you?" Ricky held his gun up and stated, "Relax. They're not dead; they're unconscious." Ricky took what he shot at Lydia and her campers out of Lydia's butt and showed it to Hazel. Hazel said, "A tranquilizer dart." Ricky stated, "Powerful stuff. They'll be out for hours, maybe days."

The doctors and police put Lydia and her campers in an ambulance and handcuffed Hazel. Meg said, "How'd you guys know?" Cassidy stated, "Let's review. Our first clue was the monster itself. It didn't show up until we did, so I knew it had to be someone at camp." Judy said, "What about the monster attack on the first day of camp? Those footprints weren't human. And how'd she make the water and that slime glow." Cassidy said, "As I mentioned, that stuff got made up of spores and phosphorous paint. In other words, it was moss painted with glow-in-the-dark colors. She put the same phosphorous paint on her costume, so whenever she came up to the surface, the water would glow, and everyone would see her and get scared. She used the monster suit to scare away anyone in the lake while her campers stacked up all those jewels we found, Zeke Pinewood's treasure." Brad said, "Oh, now I get it. They found the treasure and were afraid someone else would find it too, so they made the counterfeit money in the cave and would replace it for the real treasure." Hazel said, "And we would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids and your dog." Then, the police took Hazel to jail while the doctors waited for her troop to wake up so they could go to jail, too. To reward them, Gladys gave them four all-terrain cycles to keep.

The following day, the campers went swimming in the lake and were happy that there wasn't a monster in the water. The gang was also hanging by the lake, watching the police collect treasure and counterfeit money. Brad said, "I can't believe it. We solved an actual mystery." Judy stated, "Got to admit, it's much more fun to solve them than to read about them." Ricky said, "So, now what?" All four members were speechless because now that they'd solved the mystery, what do they do? Brad stated, "I guess we'll see each other around camp. Right?" Judy said, "Yeah." Cassidy said, "Around camp." All four and Jake went their separate ways and re-joined their troops. Cassidy stated, "Wait." All four of them and Jake re-grouped and talked to each other. Cassidy said, "I hear some strange happenings are happening in town. Anyone up for checking it out?" All four of them smiled and got excited. Brad said, "Definitely. Sounds like another mystery to me." Brad put his hand in, Judy put her hand on top of Brad's, Cassidy put her hand on top of Judy's, and Ricky put his hand on top of Cassidy's. Brad said, "Awesome." Judy stated, "Before we go, I got an idea. We could start incorporating." Cassidy said, "Yeah, we could be a mystery group." Ricky stated, "Of course, we'll need a name." Judy said, "I got it. We could be The Clue Crackers." Brad stated, "Works for me." Cassidy said, "Me too." Ricky said, "I'm in." Jake barked, and Ricky said, "I think Jake's in too." Brad stated, "Come on, gang. Let's go."

While their campers were swimming in the lake, all four got on the all-terrain cycles Gladys gave them, put on their helmets, and rode them into town. Once they entered town, they parked their all-terrain vehicles outside its hardware store. Then, they each bought their favorite paint color and painted their all-terrain cycles in those colors. Brad painted his blue, Judy painted hers purple, Cassidy painted hers red, and Ricky painted his and Jake's green. Then, they each painted their group name with yellow paint on both sides of their all-terrain cycles and a magnifying glass with orange. After they painted their all-terrain vehicles, they rode them back to camp, parked them by their cabins, and returned to their troops.

The End