Chapter 1

Shirley Holmes was packing her suitcase because she had just discovered that she and her family were moving to Illinois. When they got to their new home, Shirley saw that the place was an enormous mansion that had looked deserted for years. Shirley and her family walked up to the front doors, opened them, and entered. Mrs. Holmes said, "Is this something or what?" Shirley said, "It certainly is." Shirley walked into the living room and saw a framed picture. Mrs. Holmes said, "Like this place, Shirley?" Shirley pointed at the picture and said, "Who is that?" Mrs. Holmes said, "Oh, that's Elizabeth Malice. This mansion was her home." Shirley looked around the mansion, went up to the attic, and looked around with her flashlight. Shirley flashed her light on the ceiling and saw a bat opening its wings. Then Mrs. Holmes pulled a sheet off a bust that looked like Elizabeth Malice and heard Shirley scream. Then Shirley dropped her flashlight and ran downstairs. When Shirley knew she was safe, she walked around the house to find her bedroom.

When Shirley found her room, she unpacked her things and heard a thumping noise from the attic. Shirley said, "It's probably nothing." Then Shirley opened her closet, and an old book fell out and opened. Shirley picked up the book and looked at what page it opened when it fell. Shirley saw many pictures of Elizabeth Malice on the page. Then she turned the page and saw a bunch of drawings on it. Shirley said, "She probably drew these and saved them in this scrapbook. This place was her home; there are lots of her stuff in it." Then Shirley returned the scrapbook to the closet, got in bed, and slept.

The following day, Shirley went downstairs to have breakfast. While Shirley was eating, she turned on the T.V. and saw construction workers pulling a car out of The Mississippi River. The news lady said, "This car belonging to Edward Paws got found in The Mississippi River this morning. Authorities assume the driver is dead even though they never found him." Shirley put the T.V. on mute and wondered what had happened, so she checked it out. Shirley went upstairs to her room, brushed and ponytailed her hair, and grabbed her backpack. Then she went to a spy store and bought a detective coat and supplies to help her. She put the stuff in her bag, paid for it, and started her investigation.

Shirley went downtown to The Mississippi River, where the news broadcast took place, and looked around. Shirley held her magnifying glass up to the tire tracks that led off the ledge and into the river and saw they drove perfectly straight like someone meant to do it. Shirley then looked at the ground and saw a sticky note. Shirley picked the sticky note up and said, "I may have a clue. This sticky note has initials on it. K.Y., I wonder what that stands for." Shirley put the paper in her pocket and heard the police coming, so she hid so the police would see her. When the police arrived, Shirley peered out of the bushes and saw the police looking around just as she did. 

While the police looked around, Shirley snuck away and went to the library to investigate further. Shirley checked the town's history and saw it skipped pages 95 to 98. Shirley then checked a city map and noticed it had cut-out holes. Shirley then checked a newspaper page with Mr. Paws' column on it and looked right through his column because it got cut out. Shirley said, "Weird. It's as if someone has erased Mr. Paws from history." While Shirley was investigating, the lights turned off. Shirley said, "Hello, anyone there? I'm still working." Then someone ran right by Shirley and scared her. Shirley said, "A.H.! Who's there?" Shirley used the flashlight setting on her phone to find the light switch and tried using it to turn the lights back on, but they weren't working. Then, the person in the library with Shirley ran right by her and scared her again. Shirley said, "Ah! Who's there?"

Shirley turned around and saw a shadow on the wall. Then Shirley looked to the other side of the library and saw someone trying to make a run for it, so Shirley chased after them. Once Shirley got to where she saw the mysterious person, one of the bookshelves fell on her, but Shirley jumped out of the way, and it missed. Shirley saw the person who did it run into the staff lounge, and then Shirley went into the staff lounge after him. Once she got there, Shirley looked around but didn't see anyone. Shirley said, "This is weird." Shirley bought a soda from the vending machine and heard someone shut the staff lounge door. Shirley peered out and saw a man in a hood using a key to unlock the basement door. Then he walked in and went downstairs to the basement. Shirley was suspicious and wondered why anyone would hang out in the basement late at night. Shirley thought about what she saw the next day. Shirley said, "That guy must be up to something. I even bet he's behind this. I need some proof." Shirley checked Elizabeth's scrapbooks and found a picture of her with Mr. Paws. Shirley said, "Elizabeth knew Mr. Paws. I bet she has something to do with his disappearance."

When it got dark, Shirley went to the graveyard and used her flashlight to find Elizabeth's grave. Once she did, she saw the same person entering the library's basement at Elizabeth's grave. Then the guy left after putting flowers on her grave. Shirley checked Elizabeth's grave and read the dates. Shirley said, "Elizabeth Malice, 1928-1993. That means she was 65 when she died." Shirley wrote the years down on her notepad, and the graveyard's caretaker spotted her. The caretaker said, "Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?" Shirley saw the caretaker, and he ran up to her. Shirley then put her notepad in her pocket, jumped over the caretaker's head, and ran for the gate. The caretaker said, "Get back here." Shirley ran out of the cemetery and hid behind a tree so the caretaker wouldn't see her. The caretaker then locked the gates and went home. After the caretaker left, Shirley came out from hiding and started to hear something. Shirley got scared and made a run for it. Once she got home, she slammed the door shut and locked it.