Chapter 1

Shirley was at SeaWorld, enjoying all the sea animals they had. Shirley watched the dolphin show and had fun watching the trainers do tricks with their dolphins and sometimes race them. After the show, Shirley saw the sharks at SeaWorld and thought they looked amazing with their giant mouths and razor-sharp teeth. The people who work at SeaWorld threw a bunch of fish in the tank, and everyone watching the sharks watched them eat the fish. Shirley then saw the beluga whales of SeaWorld and thought they all looked cute. After visiting SeaWorld, Shirley returned to her hotel and kept her phone on her desk in case a mystery arose. Shirley kept her hair straight and put away all her detective gear, including her coat. But since there were no mysteries to solve, she wondered where she should go next in Orlando. Shirley read about a show the orcas at SeaWorld would perform later, so she decided to see it.

Meanwhile, Warren Diego was doing a magic show at the New York Theater in New York City. Warren said, "For my first trick, I'll need a volunteer from the audience." A girl named Lilly Worthington in the audience raised her hand, and Warren pointed at her. Lilly came on stage with Warren, and then Warren locked Lilly in a giant box. Then Warren put swords in the box to make it look like he was killing Lilly. The audience was shocked, but Lilly was gone when Warren opened the box.

Warren shut the box again and took out all the swords. When Warren opened the box again, Lilly reappeared. The audience clapped, and then Warren helped Lilly onto a table for his next trick, and she stood on it. In the middle of Warren's trick, somebody put a marble on a slide, hitting a domino. Then, the domino knocked over a whole row of them. When the last domino fell off a table and hit a red button, it released a rope holding an ax. Then, the ax swung down and cut a cable supporting a sandbag. Warren said, "And now I will make...." Warren looked up and saw the sandbag falling on Lilly's head. Then, Warren pushed Lilly out of the way, and the sandbag destroyed the table she was standing on. After the incident, the audience readied their tomatoes and threw them at Warren. The audience said, "BOOOOO! Get off the stage, loser. Disaster Causer" When the magic show was over, Warren called the best detective he knew.

Shirley was watching the orcas perform when she got a phone call from New York City. Shirley said, "Shirley Holmes detective agency." Warren said, "Hello, Shirley Holmes. My name is Warren Diego, and I got you a mystery here in New York City." Shirley said, "What's the mystery?" Warren said, "I'm a magician and just did a magic show tonight." Shirley said, "Good to know." Warren said, "Thanks. But during one of my tricks, a sandbag almost smashed the assistant I called from the audience. After I saved my assistant's life, everybody blamed me for the incident by throwing tomatoes at me." Shirley said, "I'll be there soon."

Shirley went to her hotel room, put her detective coat and backpack on, ponytailed her hair, and then drove to New York City. When she got to New York City the next day, she met with Warren, who was waiting for her. Warren ran up to Shirley and hugged her. Warren said, "Shirley, I'm so glad you're here," Shirley said, "Yes, yes. Don't worry; I will solve this mystery and clear your name. But first, I need to see the scene of the crime."

Warren took Shirley to the theater, where the crime occurred, and Shirley checked out the crime scene. Shirley dusted the area for fingerprints. She also used her magnifying glass to look for clues. Warren showed Shirley the fallen sandbag in the theater, and Shirley looked at the rope holding it up. Shirley held her magnifying glass up to the rope and looked closer. Shirley said, "Looks like this was no accident," Warren said, "What makes you say that?" Shirley grabbed the sandbag's rope and pointed at its tip. Shirley said, "Take a look; It got cut with an ax. Someone had to have done it on purpose." While she was investigating, another girl came into the theater and quickly ran on stage. The girl pushed Shirley off the stage and took her magnifying glass from her backpack. Shirley said, "She's a detective too." The girl held her magnifying glass to the ropes that held the sandbag up and found a clue. The girl said, "Bingo. These ropes didn't break by themselves; they got cut with an ax. It looks like I have a saboteur on my hands." The girl then looked at the side of the magic box and saw a note on it. The girl took the note off the chest, read it, and saw it was a threat. The girl said," 'Player 1 Has Lost All His Life. Surrender To Me Now, or I'll Play Forever.' I wonder what that means." The girl folded the threat up and put it in her backpack.

Shirley stopped the girl before she left and questioned her. Shirley said, "Who are you?" The girl said, "I'm Sherry, Sherry Mystery, the best detective in the country. I heard about what happened and decided to catch whoever did it," Shirley said, "No way, my title is Worldwide Girl Detective, and I'm very good at detecting, too. So maybe we can work together in this case. The saboteur wouldn't stand a chance against two detectives." Sherry said, "No, thank you. I work alone," Shirley said, "Maybe you could make an exception this one time." Sherry said, "No way. A partner would get in my way." Shirley said, "No, it won't. Sometimes partners are helpful." Sherry said, "Not to me." Shirley said, "OK, well, good luck."

After Sherry refused to partner with Shirley, Sherry left, but the note the culprit left fell out of her backpack. Shirley picked the threat up and read it. Shirley said, "Whoever wrote this doesn't want Sherry or me involved. They're trying not to be identified and arrested. Well, they will, whether by Sherry or me." Shirley then put the note in her backpack and kept it for her investigation.