The Crosswire Motors Key Card Mystery
I looked out the window to discover that night had fallen while I was writing. I could sense the change in the air, the disappearance of the day's heat as the sun slipped behind the western horizon, but I did not realize what the time was, nor did I care now aside from the smell of delicious foods emanating through the house. In inhaled through my mouth, taking in the meaty aroma. The roast my mother had prepared for dinner was certainly done, and my mouth watered as I exhaled through it, the scent of carrots dancing around on my taste bugs as I imagined eating the dish. My mother called me for dinner, and I stood quickly to eat the delicious meal.
But as I began to scoot my chair to the table, the phone rang, shattering the silence surrounding this superb Saturday. Someone was likely calling for my mother, I thought, continuing to scoot up my chair as I waited patiently for the call to end. But this call was not for my mother, nor was it for my father. This call was for me, and it was a very important call. One of my classmates had finally taken advantage of my hotline for mysteries.
I had started leaving business cards and flyers on the school's bulletin board at the beginning of school. Late summer storms blew many of them from the boards outside, and janitors disposed of any cards left unattended at the end of the school day. I gave up on passing out more as no calls had come in. That was in early September when my optimism faded. It was mid-October now as crisp air had flowed into Elwood City. Trees were yellow, orange, red, and brown in every yard, and only evergreen trees kept their crisp colors. Fall had blanketed the city in the scent of pumpkin spice and roaring fires in comforting fire places, and I expected it to be just as uneventful as a breezy October night.
As I answered the call, my thoughts changed directions. I grabbed my mother's yellow legal pad to begin taking notes on the call and the events surrounding it, though I knew my memory would not fail me. This would be my first real case as a full-fledged junior detective for Elwood City High School's newspaper, the Grebes Gazette. More importantly, I knew the caller already, and it was none other than Muffy Crosswire.
"Fern, I'm so glad you left those silly cards around school!" Muffy exclaimed. I ignored her insult as she continued, "Daddy and I are so worried. He has a supply closet in his dealership with expensive parts inside it, but it seems all of the keys to get to this closet have disappeared. Can you come by tomorrow to help him search?"
"Please," Ed pleaded in the background, "I could really use your help, and I'm willing to pay top dollar!"
I hesitated, "Well, I'm afraid I can't work the case if it's for monetary value. I'm a detective for the school's newspaper, not a freelance detective, and I'm not allowed to do that without a license from the state, which you have to be eighteen to get-"
"Oh, stop your rambling, Fern!" Muffy hissed. I stopped talking and she continued, "Look, I know you can't be paid, but Daddy is desperate, and when he gets desperate, he tries to get people to do things for him. Money talks, Fern, and that's why this is so important. The lock on the door is a special electronic lock that uses specialized key cards to get inside. Not only would it be too expensive to replace the lock, it will be detrimental to Daddy's funds if you can't figure out where those cards went. And we know they weren't misplaces. Someone had to have taken them!" Muffy exclaimed, her words blurring together as she spoke so quickly.
But I was able to pick up on the details despite her fast pace. I was expected to figure out who stole the keycards without any monetary gain from the project. I would do the job as an outreach to the business owners of Elwood City and their children, the students of Elwood City High School. It would be my first case, and I would handle it dutifully and nobly.
After arranging a meeting time, I consumed Mom's roast with my parents. Both spoke of trivial things like the weather and politics while they ate, but I was unable to remember a single word of their conversation. I was trying to concoct a plan on how to cover this case. Usually missing keys were because people had misplaced them, not because someone had stolen them, but I knew very little of what I was dealing with. I would need to examine the crime scene and find clues, which would not happen until the next morning.
But I could prepare sooner. Before I went to bed, I packed my detective kit within my backpack. Inside one compartment were the materials I would need to examine the crime scene. I had gloves, medium sized without powder, dust and a brush from my fingerprinting kit, and numerous evidence bags. In the other compartment housed my tablet and a notebook, including a small pouch of pens, couch drops, and an SD card just in case. In a side pocket with a clear coat, I stuck in my student ID badge to clarify that yes, I was Fern Walters, student detective. In one final move of preparation, I set my alarm for eight-thirty so I would be fully prepared for my eleven o'clock meeting at Crosswire motives. After turning out the light, I collapsed into bed and feigned sleep until morning.
The morning dew caused leaves to stick to the bottom of my shoe. I wiped off my feet carefully as I stepped into Crosswire Motors. The smell of car parts was in the air, especially the smell of rubber from a stack of new tires. They were all-weather tires, the deep grooves aiding Elwood City's drivers on slick, snow-covered streets. I eyed the stack carefully as I stood in lobby awaiting Muffy and Ed Crosswire.
After a few moments, Ed emerged from his office. He shook my hand firmly and led me inside, closing the glass door behind me. The only lines came from thin, black beams holding the pieces together, but Ed Crosswire's office was made entirely of glass. I noted this on my tablet as we began our session.
"I'm sorry that Muffy couldn't make it. She's been helping the youth soccer team run their practices, but one of the other volunteers backed out for today. Muffy is such a team player, so she immediately rushed in to take her place," Ed beamed, leaning forward, "Her grades are stellar too! Chip never made this high of marks when he was in school.
"But you're not here to hear me brag about my children. You're here because I have a serious problem, and Muffy told me you could help me," Ed said, his lips forming a tight line as he looked out over his dealership, "That closet over there contains the luxury upgrades for various makes and models offered by me at any given time. My lead mechanic, Timothy Gray, oversees that closet, and he's one of only two people who has a key to that closet. Do you know who the other person is?" Ed questioned. I pointed to him, and Ed quickly nodded, "That's right, Fern, I am. I am the only one with access to that closet, and I keep the key for it inside that safe," he pointed.
There was one wall in Ed's office, and on it was a portrait of him and his wife. Ed was dressed in a crisp, blue jacket while his wife wore a red dress. Both had stern expressions, but I could see a mistake in the picture. The skyline shifted in the background, causing the one tree in the background to overlap on itself. I followed the line to Ed's shoulder, back up his right ear, across the sun, and back down to the same tree. The dimensions were just right for a small safe.
"Inside are two things: my cash box and that key card," Ed continued. "I checked the safe last week after Tim told me he couldn't get into the closet. Sometimes his key would stick, he said, so I was used to this. But when I opened the door, my key card was gone."
"What about the cash box?" I questioned. Ed sat back in his chair with a dumbfounded expression, "It was still there, as were the five thousand dollars in cash inside it. I counted the money, then I had my secretary count the money, and I even had Muffy count the money. The cash box just latches in the front. I have no idea why they didn't take anything from it."
I nodded carefully, "May I examine the safe, then the closet door itself?" I questioned. Ed quickly allowed me free reign of the facilities so that I could collect evidence. After jotting down the last notes from our interview in my tablet, I placed it back in my bag, zipped the compartment, and unzipped the compartment holding my detective kit. After putting on a pair of gloves, I pulled out my flashlight and put my backpack beside Ed's desk.
The first thing I did was run my hand over the face of the safe. Not only was the safe well-hidden, it had a double lock system. Hidden within Millicent's right eye was one spinning lock painted to match her almost perfectly. Hidden within Ed's tie pin was another lock system with four numbers. Whoever got into the safe would not only need both codes, but they would have to find a way to open the safe. The latch was tucked behind the right edge of the frame with such precision that I barely found it. I quickly made a mental note that whoever stole Ed's key card from his hidden safe not only knew both combinations, but they also knew how the safe opened.
After examining the rest of the office for clues, I went to the closet and examined the door. The electronic lock was like nothing I had seen before. I could tell the key card was the sole way to get through the door without removing the entire doorframe, door and all, from the wall. Various locks held the door in place, and the room appeared to be vacuum-sealed from the outside walls. I used my tablet to photograph the closet, then I returned to Ed's office to do the same with his safe.
With my examination of the accessible areas of the crime scene complete, I walked two blocks to a coffee shop to examine my notes. After ordering a pumpkin spice latte, I sat along the back wall and reread everything I dictated from my interview with Ed Crosswire. I even jotted down his notes about Muffy and her whereabouts. Seeing that she was the initial caller, I felt it was necessary to interview her as well. After entering the coffee shop's wifi password into my tablet, I went on the local website for organized soccer. A series of games was being played at the Lakewood complex by local twelve-year-olds, so I gathered my things and boarded a bus headed for that neighborhood.
When I arrived at the fields, I immediately spotted Muffy behind the fieldhouse. She was sitting on a cooler with her hands clasped under her chin. She was wearing blue shorts with a two yellow stripes, the official uniform for local volunteers. I joined her and immediately noticed that she'd been roughed up. She had a bright pink Band-Aid on her right elbow and several bruises on her legs. While some were yellowed from healing, two in particular were dark blue. One of them had a small area where the skin was broken, and a scab had barely formed on the area.
"Fern, what are you doing here? Did my father send you?" Muffy asked, trying to appear cheerful as I sat on a cooler across from her. I put down my coffee cup and pulled out my tablet. Muffy sat up, "Oh, you just wanted to talk to me. Well I don't know anything, Fern. I just wanted to call you so Daddy would quit talking about it."
"This is a serious situation, and after going to the dealership, I want to talk to more people to hear their side of the story. Because you called, I wondered what you had to offer to the case. You said your father talks about the case continuously. Which aspects does he talk about?" I questioned.
Muffy scoffed, "The money, obviously, Fern. Gosh, you've known us since we were children. You know how much Daddy watches every dollar that goes in and out of his business or our house. All he can talk about was how they left five thousand dollars behind."
I looked up, "You mean he doesn't go on about the monetary value of the parts stuck within the closet or the cost of replacing the door?" I questioned.
"No, all he talks about is the money. He got a lock box just in case they come back, but Fern-he won't stop talking about what they left behind. It's so annoying. He's always talking about how greedy some employees can be. One lady stole two thousand dollars' worth of office supplies in just under a year from him. He harped on that for a year, but this? If you don't solve this case, he won't stop discussing this, like, ever. I'll be off at college and get calls from him if you don't help him, but I just don't think you can."
"Well, I intend to solve this case, but it will take small steps. Why don't you tell me about the troublesome employees? Do you have any names to give me?" I asked.
Muffy nodded and shifted on her cooler, "The office supplies lady was Cassandra Marcus. I think she goes by Cassie, and I know she's a student at Elwood City Community College in cosmetology. She shadowed my stylist for a little while but she was terrible. She even marred the surface of one of the sinks by mixing together chemicals. It was like she was intentionally sabotaging the place. I haven't seen her since, but I didn't see her much before anyway. The only employee I really see around is his secretary, Mara. I think her last name is Johnson but I'm not sure."
I nodded, "It's Mara Johnson. She has a name plate on her desk." Muffy shrugged off my correction and kept talking, "Well, she's everywhere around town. Sometimes I wonder if she's stalking my family. She's at every outside function, even benefit dinners that cost thousands of dollars for a seat at the event. Her family isn't rich. She started out as an intern from Elwood City Community College from their business whatever, and they just hired her on after she graduated."
I nodded and jotted down notes, listening to every word Muffy had to say. While she claimed to be of no help to me, she'd given me quite an interesting lead. Ed liked hiring college students, and I wondered who else at the dealership was from Elwood City Community College. I also wanted their employment records and access to each employee.
After leaving Muffy at Lakewood Fields, I walked home and went to my computer. I sent an email request to Ed telling him what I needed from him, and he agreed to let me come by the dealership after school to interview the staff. He would also have Mara send me the employee files I would need to investigate everyone.
While I thanked Ed for the quick response and the resources, I wondered if Mara would be reliable. I knew that anyone could be a suspect, and I also knew that information could easily be mishandled in situations like this. I would need to be careful as I proceeded forward, and I would have to be thorough if I ever wanted to solve this case.
I looked up at the classic design of the building. Though Elwood City Community College ranked low on the list of America's great educational institutions, its architecture gave the city the grand idea that this was the place for learning. The classical design mimicked some of the greatest buildings in American history, as well as ancient history, and the clean grounds of the college showed the beauty that nature could also provide.
As I stepped into the sterile building, I could hear my footsteps echo through the building, each wave of sound adding another person to my slow walk. By the time I reached my destination, it sounded as if ten people were stepping through the hallway, its marble floors glistening under the lantern-like hanging lights from above. One reflected on the glass counter as I looked down to the small secretary guarding a large desk. She was the woman guarding the entire Business Department of the school, and I knew to respect her if I had any chance of getting in to see the dean.
"May I help you, Miss?" she questioned. I noted that her name was Miranda Samford as I responded, "Hi, Miranda, I'm Fern Walters from Elwood City High School. I wanted to speak with Dean Phillips about a former student of his whose name came up in an investigation I'm doing-"
Her laugh was unexpected, and I immediately silenced myself, no knowing what could possibly be so funny about my introduction. Miranda smirked, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Look, you're not a real detective. I've had one of you before, a Muffy Crosswire."
Now it was my turn to be surprised. I shifted my weight, "Muffy Crosswire isn't a junior detective at the school. What was she doing here?" I questioned.
"Probably asking the same questions she asked Dean Phillips then, and he wasn't pleased with a bunch of teenagers coming in to ask questions about a student he barely remembers. Look, Mara and Cassie merely came for certificate programs. They had each student one semester each, not long enough to get to know anything specific about them. Cassie's ability to mess up everything she touches didn't come up until later, and we hadn't heard Mara's name again until Muffy brought it up," Miranda explained quickly.
I nodded, "But something made you remember that Muffy had come here asking about the two of them. Why is that?" I asked, readying my pen. Miranda's eyes locked on my hand. I sighed, "Off the record," I said, putting away my notepad.
"You can tell whoever you want, but I just...I don't like be recorded," Miranda shuddered. "Okay, I remembered because of how adamant she was that Mara and Cassie were planning something together. Muffy agreed that Cassie was a screw-up, something we'd heard from a complainant not long after she graduated. The surprise was concerning Mara. She had expensive tastes with no explanation, and Muffy wanted to know more about who she was with while she was here and who she associated with afterwards. She wanted more information than we could give her, but...I could sense she was onto something. She told me what all Mara had done to convince her of this, and I believed her."
I had no idea Muffy was so persuasive, I thought, looking back to Miranda, "Can you tell me anything else about either girl?" I questioned. Miranda shook her head, and I accepted that this wasn't much of a lead, but it had provided me with something more to look into. I had no way of knowing if Mara was trustworthy or not, but knowing she lived outside of her means was enough to make her suspicious.
The piles of boxes littered the desks in the journalism classroom. I hadn't expected so many to arrive, but Mara was thorough. Pay stubs, time stamps, and everything I needed to track Crosswire Motors' financial information was inside the boxes, as well as everything I needed to know for each individual employee. She even included her own pay stubs and schedules, and she included a cheerful note inviting me to the file room at the dealership whenever she was on shift.
I was wary as I began to pick through the vast amounts of information. As the cool afternoon burned away outside, I could feel myself working my way into a corner with the boxes serving as a barricade. Despite this information being exactly what I had asked for, there was no possible way for me to make sense of the pile in front of me. Without a strategy, I would never make any discoveries, though I felt as if the answer to this entire fiasco was right in front of me.
At five o'clock sharp, Mr. Evans kicked me out of the journalism room for the day. I went home with my investigative tools and rethought out each aspect of the case. Whoever stole the keycards from Ed's safe knew about the safe, its multiple combinations, and how to get what they wanted. They were an expert on him, and if this person actually worked there, then there was only one likely suspect-Mara.
But Mara had been too thorough. Why would she so willingly give me information, even on herself? I had to dig deeper into Ed's interpersonal relationships, but when I thought about who knew him the best, flashes of Muffy entered my mind, specifically the bruises and cuts on her body at the soccer fields. Whoever caused them was angry at her, as the wounds seemed to be caused by defending herself from multiple blows.
Around eight o'clock, I decided to bite my tongue and call Muffy. Maybe if I spoke with her for just a few minutes, I would get a lead to help me make sense of the thoughts I had. After three rings, Muffy answered with a heavy sigh. I could tell I was interrupting her, and by the sound of what was going on in the background, she was at the soccer fields yet again. I quickly let her go, but I vowed to speak with her the next day.
Muffy closed her locker and jumped back in surprise, her hand clutching her chest as she looked me over. She sighed heavily and turned away, "I don't have time to talk to you today, Fern. I have to make up a test I missed yesterday because my job pulled me away from my afternoon classes-"
"That's against the volunteer rules," I said with a matter-of-fact tone. Muffy stopped and turned to face me. I stepped forward, "I've done some research on you because I noticed the wounds. Who's hurting you?"
"Fern, please, I can't talk about this here!" Muffy hissed. She nearly dragged me into an empty classroom next door. Muffy immediately sat on the teacher's desk at the front of the room, "Look, this is deeper than you should be interested in. It's like some sort of underground soccer culture thing run by a bunch of twelve-year-olds. It's ridiculous, but if I don't go along with it, they beat me up. The college girls and moms keep quitting to get away from the madness, and because they're so short-staffed, they're treating me like a student athlete instead of a volunteer, and...I'm in too deep to stop now."
I nodded softly and pulled out my smartphone, "Just tell me everything and I can help you. Please, Muffy, I'm listening intently, and I want to help you and your father get through this difficult time."
Muffy sighed, "The Tibble Twins are having a birthday bash at the dealership next Sunday. Be there and I can hide you in the staff lounge. They're...They're going to use the keycards to get to the parts. Someone told them that's where we keep everything special, and they made me get them the cards. They needed both to get in because the mechanic's just isn't working right, so I took both and gave it to them. But I wasn't a willing participant."
"I believe you, but we have to put a stop to this. I'll meet you behind the dealership early Sunday morning. Is seven-thirty alright?" I asked. Muffy decided that seven sharp was best, and I agreed to meet her there. We parted ways then, and I wondered if Muffy could hold out for the several between now and Sunday.
The dealership's windows were fogged over as the sun attempted to rise in the eastern sky. Tall lights illuminated even the back lot of the dealership as Muffy arrived on a small bicycle. She hid it behind a dumpster before joining me at a back service entrance. Three large boxes lay stacked beside the door. Muffy pushed them to the side with her foot, grunting with effort as she slipped a key into the door. Within seconds, Muffy had gotten us into the dealership and led me to a staff lounge.
"The Twins and their grandmother will be here in an hour to get the party together. Daddy will come in around ten-thirty to help them get the catering supplies, then he's going to leave the dealership to them. I had to lie to him, Fern. He has no idea what these little terrors are capable of," Muffy said with a fearful expression.
I had no choice but to sit silently inside the quiet room. Muffy disappeared, leaving me there alone with just my detective equipment to keep me company. I pulled up my tablet and found the party invitation online. The Tibble Twins had made it public to everyone on their social media page, where several of their friends had left positive RSVPs on their wall. With so many kids coming to the special dealership-themed party, Fern wondered what they wanted with the keycards in the first place. What did they think was in the locked closet holding those luxury car parts? Most importantly, what would they actually find once they opened it up?
Several long hours passed, but soon the dealership was filled with loud children. I rubbed my ears as the party's noise reached its peak. The sounds of screams, squeaking shoes, and silly laughter compounded into a major headache for me, but I knew that I was here for a reason. Around noon, I heard it happen. Several of the children got quiet at once as Mrs. Tibble stepped out to escort another child and parent from the dealership.
In her absence, the boys put their theory to the test, announcing loudly that they were going to get the gold. No one questioned them, which told me that they knew what "gold" translated to without asking again. I looked to a computer screen and watched the boys approach the locked door using security camera footage. They slipped one keycard into the door's lock, but it didn't work at first. The light remained red until they swiped the second card. In an instant, the door beeped and clicked open.
"Heh-heh, boys, we're in!" Tommy announced, stepping through the door at the same time as his twin. The rest of the boys piled in, blocking my view of the room, but I could tell that something was wrong with their findings.
"There's no gold in here!" one kid complained, and another added, "Yeah! You said there'd be video games and money in here!"
"But-But, there was supposed to be!" Timmy hissed, "Tommy you told me that Rattles said there'd be gold in here! He told you himself because he'd worked here and seen it!"
"He must've lied to me. There's nothing in here," Tommy growled, kicking a shelf and hissing in pain. The other kids laughed at him, causing a commotion loud enough to get Mrs. Tibble's attention. When she found the children in the supply room, she immediately ended the party. Kids were sent home, but the twins were sat in Mr. Crosswire's office. Their grandmother had made them nervous, and they immediately confessed to getting the keycards, though they refused to say how they got them.
Before Ed could arrive, I left my hiding place and entered the office. I announced to them that I was Fern Walters, junior detective for Elwood City High School, which only made the twins more nervous. When Ed Crosswire entered with his serious expression and luxury suit, the boys wondered if they were done for. They immediately told Ed what had happened and swore they hadn't taken anything, but their story fell on semi-deaf ears. Ed heard what they had said, but neither twin admitted where the cards had come from.
"Fern, I believe you've been investigating this for me. Well, who got access to my safe and stole those cards from my mechanic and me?" Ed demanded.
"I believe the identity of the person is unimportant as long as the boys are apologetic for what they've done, and as long as they return the keycards. I have a friend who can help fix the mechanic's so it will work better," I said, smiling as Ed revealed a pleased expression. I was relieved as this deal was accepted. The keycards were returned, and Ed allowed me to take the one to Brain as long as I returned it the next morning to Mara.
With the main mystery solved, I made my way to a coffee shop Muffy frequented. I found her there in an oversized pink hoodie drinking an iced latte. She was on her phone, but she immediately looked up when I sat down across from her. I held up the broken keycard. Muffy sighed heavily, "It went terribly, didn't it? I bet they destroyed everything!"
"No, they were busted quickly by Mrs. Tibble for arguing about finding nothing. A former employee told them the room held gold, and the boys decided that a literal translation was best. They were unaware of the room's true value, but Ed has dropped everything. I'll get Brain to fix this later today, and you'll be off the hook."
"Fern, I have to tell my father what I did. Mara knows, but only because I decided to blackmail her. She never finished school. She and Cassie both only served one semester-"
I stopped her, "I went there to investigate her. I can keep her secret, and while I'm curious to know how she lives above her means, I'm going to steer clear of that mystery now that your father's business is safe. Will you be able to live with that?"
Muffy nodded, "I agree that's for the best. I just wish I hadn't let a bunch of brats take over my life. I'm done with that soccer team. If that's how they're going to treat people, then I want no part of the sport. None of us were ever like that. Even when we were fighting we were more civil," Muffy huffed.
With an agreement reach, I fulfilled my part of the bargain. Before school on Monday, I handed the envelope containing the keycard directly into Ed's hands. He was pleased and sent a letter of praise to the school. They were pleased I had helped out a member of the community, but they demanded I return the stockpile of files to Crosswire Motors at once. When the files were returned, things went back to normal, though I was eager for the next mystery to begin.
I was sitting in class at Elwood City High School when my phone buzzed violently in my pocket. I tried to ignore it, as my history teacher hated phones, but I soon could ignore the call no longer. I stepped outside almost dramatically, the teacher hot on my heels as I pulled out my phone and checked the identity of the caller. When I realized it was Ed Crosswire, I knew that something was wrong with my first case.
"Fern Walters, if you answer that call, I will give you detention," the teacher said fiercely, a glare in her eye as she stood up straight, her arms folded in front of her.
"I have no choice, Mrs. Kirkman. This is a client I'm solving a case for. Something must be desperately wrong, and—look, I'm sanctioned by the school as a junior detective. You should speak with Principal—"
"Perhaps you should," Mrs. Kirkman said, looking behind me. I slowly turned as my phone began another round of vibrations. When the principal saw me, I could tell that he wasn't pleased, but he nodded for me to take the call. Mrs. Kirkman protested, and the two stepped aside to argue the issue as I finally answered Ed's calls.
"Fern, you have to help us again. This morning, I went into the storeroom for the mechanic to get out a part. All of the parts are gone! If the box isn't empty, a lesser-valued part has been put in its place. It's a huge fiasco here, and I know you're in class right now, but you really need to come here and help me," Ed begged.
I looked up to the principal. When he turned to me, I asked the big question, "May I be excused from school to reopen an investigation? It's important and likely involves real charges. Mr. Crosswire could really use my help," I said with great importance, hoping my pleas would work.
The principal shook his head, "I'm sorry, Fern, but I have no choice but to ask you to stay here all day until school is over. While I've allowed you to be a detective, I cannot allow you free roam of this school. It sets a bad example for the other students, and I cannot let that happen."
"I understand," I nodded, turning my attention back to Ed, "I'm sorry, Mr. Crosswire, but I'm at school right now. I can come over as soon as it's over. Could you have someone pick me up at three-fifteen so I can get there quicker?" I requested.
Mr. Crosswire wasn't pleased that I couldn't come at that moment, but he agreed that Bailey could take me to the dealership on his way to take Muffy on a shopping trip to Metropolis with her friends. I would have to ride with said friends, and while I knew it would be a taxing experience, I knew it was the best way to get to Ed quickly in order to work on his case.
I looked over the storeroom with concern as Mara stood behind me. She was just as concerned as she looked over the room, explaining the situation as we looked: "We did inventory right after the party, and while there was a lot more dust than we expected on the boxes, all of the parts were legitimate and inside their designated boxes. It's only been three days, and Mr. Crosswire has assured me that no one else had access to the keycards."
I looked back to her, "I want a friend of mine to examine the cards to see if they might have been duplicated while the boys had them. I expect that whoever told them about the cards could have told them what to do with them, and if the person manipulated them, that could be who traded out these parts for counterfeit models. Either way, I do not have the knowledge to examine the cards properly. I'll need to call a classmate of mine and see if he's willing to help us."
Mara shook her head, "You can do whatever you need to do, but Ed is deeply concerned. I'm worried he's going to call the actual police. This has gotten bigger than a bunch of teenagers can handle. I'll try to convince him to keep you on for three days. Do you think that will be long enough to solve this?"
"If I get the right materials and evidence, it might only take a few hours. I need security footage, and I'll be calling my classmate and the Tibble twins. Maybe they'll be willing to talk if I threaten them with theft charges," I smirked. Mara agreed, and after allowing me to sweep the room for evidence, she gave me DVD's of the security footage I would need to look through.
I left the dealership and walked to Brain's house. He was at his front door when I arrived, his key in his lock. I couldn't tell if he was coming or going, but he stopped when he saw me. He removed his key from the door and descended the steps to greet me on the front walkway leading to his house. When he saw the small paper box I was carrying, he realized this was a business calling.
"What do you need my help with?" he questioned. I explained the situation to him, and Brain quickly led me into his house and upstairs to a spare bedroom. His scientific endeavors needed an entirely different room now that he was older and wiser, and his computer work station amazed me as I watched him analyze the keycards for me.
I shared our current hypothesis with him that the cards were duplicated. After examining a few graphs and charts, he turned to me, "I believe you are correct. There's a marker here in the coding from a local company that specializes in duplicating cards for businesses. When you look further down, they even have an explanation for the duplications they've done. Both cards were copied for an executive of Solomon and Co. in downtown Elwood City. That's a law office if my memory holds true."
I nodded, "Yes, that is a law company, but Ed uses a different law firm, Smith and Morton. I've seen their documents in what he's given me before. Do you think the person who duplicated the keycards uses Solomon and Co. while Ed uses his firm?"
"That is a very likely explanation," Brain agreed, continuing, "but I'm unsure what to make of this. Both cards have the exact same coding, but it's very hard to mirror these cards to match one another. It's a security measure to ensure that each card is individualized for the people using it. This allows the door to distinguish between different codes. You mentioned that the mechanic's card had several issues. This exact duplication explains the troubles. The door thinks his card is a fraud and kicks his card out, which leads me to believe this happened long before the twins came along. This is far bigger than something some twelve-year-olds could concoct."
I wholeheartedly agreed with Brain, "This has gotten bigger, but I don't think we should include the police. His secretary has given me three days to solve this case. Do you think you could help me look into this? I could really use your help looking at this security footage."
Brain agreed to help me, and we spent the next few hours looking at security footage together. Neither of us found anything meaningful, but neither of us were willing to give up on the case. The footage held answers for us, specifically in who accessed the room over the last few days and spent enough time there to switch out the parts. With another set of eyes on the case, I had no worries that we could solve this case quickly.
The break in the case came the next morning. Before class, Brain and I met up in Elwood City High School's open computer lab to look through the DVD's a little longer. Into the second day of footage, we noticed a man in a dark suit walking through the door, using a clear keycard to access the door. Ed's keycards were made of white plastic, not clear plastic, and the chips within the specialized card were not visible.
The man did not reappear from the room for three hours, but something was different when he did reappear. Instead of a black suit, he wore a light blue suit. The footage showed him nod towards Mara's desk before fading off in the distance. Within seconds, Mara entered the room with another clear keycard. After a few minutes, she left the room and returned to her desk as if nothing had happened.
Brain and I immediately contacted Ed Crosswire via email. We asked to meet with him directly after school, though neither of us wanted to wait that long. Ed was eager to meet with us as well, but school had to come first. We waited impatiently through our day of classes, but the afternoon made up for this excruciating time. Bailey drove us to the dealership at lightning speed. We arrived in Ed's office to see an empty dealership, causing Brain and I to exchange glances as we entered his glass-walled private office.
"Kids, I wish you could've gotten here sooner. I kicked everyone out so we could talk in peace, but this was a terrible wait. Please, tell me what you learned overnight. Did you discover who did this to my storeroom?" Ed asked frantically.
Within moments, we showed him the footage. Ed's head fell as he saw Mara enter the room, but I noted that the man's entering of the room did not alarm Ed as much as I expected. I thought the man would at least look familiar to him, but when our showing was over and I questioned him on the man's identity, he had nothing to offer us, but he knew that Mara could give him the answers.
"Wait," I said before I realized I had even said it. Ed looked up to me, so I continued: "I wonder if Mara is fully involved in this. She seems eager to get the police involved because of our young age. Do you think this was a lie or do you think she really is on your side?" I questioned. Ed was trying to decide what he thought as a knock rang through the office. We turned to see Mara in street clothes outside the door.
Ed groaned, "Come in."
"Mr. Crosswire, you have to listen to me!" Mara exclaimed. Brain and I stepped back as Mara stormed the desk, "I just got a call from someone saying they impersonated me for a few days here at the office. Please, you have to believe me!" she exclaimed upon seeing that Ed was not impressed.
"Should we show her the footage?" Brain offered. Ed protested, "No, she should pack her things and leave. How dare you try to make up such a pathetic excuse. Why would someone impersonate you at your job? If you'd make up such a thing, you must know what's going on here!" Ed yelled.
But I sensed Mara was telling the truth. I followed her out of the office and to her desk. Tears streamed down her face as she slid her things into a large paper box. She was sobbing, her emotions preventing her from seeing that I had followed her. When she finally looked up and noticed I was with her, her tears stopped suddenly and a look of confusion set in on her face.
"W-W-Why are you here? Aren't you on his side?" Mara questioned with a dark tone. I shook my head; I was on the side of justice, not the person posing the investigation. Mara shook her head, "You would never believe me. I asked to meet with this woman, but she refused. She just wanted to get it off her chest, she said. I saved the number. I wrote it down, and I'm glad I did. Whoever's doing this knows how to use technology, both electronic and makeup. I took three days off last week, and I wondered why people thought I'd been here the entire time. That woman was here, and I know she helped him."
I nodded, "She did. But you need to prove to me that you don't have a keycard—"
"Why would I have a keycard? The only people who could even make sense of that room come from the service department. I don't even do the official inventory for that room. I'm over the showroom and the executives—"
I held up my hand and she stopped talking. I gestured to the office, "I want you to look at the footage and see if you recognize the suited man in the image. If you can, maybe you can keep your job."
Mara shook her head, "I don't want this job anymore. It's just not worth everything going on around here. I'm going home to my parents' house in Maine and I am never coming back to this town. I don't even want this stuff either. Here, you're a student. You should have some use for staplers and paperclips," Mara huffed, sliding the box towards me and rushing out of the showroom.
The atmosphere was too tense for this to continue. Ed was nearly incoherent with anger, and when Brain met up with me, it was clear no progress had been made. The woman in the video looked like Mara, and in Ed's eyes, she was Mara. But the man likely had nothing to do with the business itself. Discovering his identity and the true identity of the woman would be difficult, but we had to solve this case. With Mara out of the picture, the real police could be called in at any time, and I knew they would only cause trouble.
I felt stuck as evening fell across Elwood City. I had no idea where this investigation was going, and I was worried that Ed would call in the police to see what they could do. Neither Brain nor I had access to face recognition software that could help us learn the executive's identity, the key evidence we needed to break this case wide open.
As I sat in my vexation, I noticed Mara's box in my peripheral vision. A small silver item flashed at the top of the box, and I could not keep myself from it. I approached it to find a small figurine, a little fairy woman with glittering wings. I wondered where it sat on her desk, but I knew how to figure this out. I pulled out my tablet and found the pictures I'd taken from the Crosswire Motors Showroom. Mara's desk was a key place I had photographed, but none of the photographs revealed the location of the figurine. I had taken these photographs from all angles, which told me that this figurine was not there when I did my initial investigation. It had appeared later, perhaps when the imposter used Mara's desk.
I wanted to call Mara, so I looked up her number. I found it easily, but getting her to answer was a different story. The phone wasn't off, but it would not accept incoming calls either. When I remembered that she planned an escape to Maine, I figured it out—Mara was on an airplane and could not take incoming calls. So I sent her phone a text message. I told her I had a piece of evidence from her things that confirmed someone else was at her desk.
While Mara was doubtful, she played along. She requested a picture of the item, and when she received it, she took a long time to respond. When she did, she told me she had seen the item before, but it was at a law firm she had worked with in downtown Elwood City a few months previously. A man was buying a hot rod from her father that she was looking after, and the law firm made sure the deal was legitimate and ran smoothly.
I asked her the name of the firm, though I already assumed the answer. When she told me Solomon and Co. was behind her paperwork, I knew exactly where to look. This mysterious figurine had blown the case wide open.
I entered Solomon and Co.'s wide, glass doors with Officer James Kepler at my side. He was Elwood City High School's resource office, as well as my reporting officer as a junior detective for the school. He agreed to come with me to the firm in place of Ed Crosswire, who would only start trouble if things went as I planned.
The receptionist's desk was deep into the mahogany entryway, and our footsteps echoed through the vast, well-decorated room as we made the journey. When we got to the desk, I recognized Cassie immediately. Her bright blonde hair and dull smile matched the picture I'd found of her online. When she saw us, she immediately grew tense. She stuttered as she asked if she could help us, but I was confident. I told her I needed to speak with the lawyer who handled car deals and other transactions.
"Um, well, Kevin isn't in. He went on a business trip yesterday and won't return until tomorrow. Why exactly do you need to see him?" Cassie asked. We told her it was a simple meeting, but she could sense things were crumbling. She followed protocol and pulled out a form for us to fill out in order to request a meeting. She handed us a pen and pointed to an open area for us to fill out the form. It was directly in front of her, and I felt her eyes upon us as we filled out the form.
Officer Kepler filled out the form, giving me a chance to look over Cassie's desk. Small figurines littered every available surface. Underneath her computer monitor were small mushrooms of varying colors, and on top were small stuffed bears that were brown, white, black, or a mix of the colors. Next to the printer were small buildings from medieval times, and on a far desk were dozens of small figures. They were silver like the fairy I'd found, and I stepped around the desk to get a closer look. At the center of the spread was a gap that was the perfect size to contain the fairy I'd found.
"We'll expect a quick response," Officer Kepler announced, handing Cassie the form before joining me beside the desk. He was looking upwards, and it was then that I noticed a wall covered in portraits of the various lawyers in the firm. At the center of the wall was a familiar face—the suited man from the video.
"Who is that?" I questioned. Cassie was hesitant to tell us, but her answer corresponded to what I expected. The man in the photograph was the man we'd come to the law firm to see. With this confirmed, Officer Kepler and I left the office. We immediately went to the Elwood City Police Department, where we filed reports to give to a local judge. We needed arrest warrants and search warrants, but most of all, we needed the professionals.
Though I wanted to be there for this final leg of the investigation, I knew I was better off standing back and letting the professionals handle the rest. They arrested Cassie and the executive, Kevin Mitchell-Long, for various crimes relating to the stolen keycards and the swapped car parts. The investigators discovered Cassie had taken illegal steps to take Mara's identity, bringing her more charges, but it was Kevin that had the more serious charges. He had a huge ring of stolen luxury car parts to support a hotrod business he was running illegally in Mexico. Stolen parts would be transformed by his underpaid workers, and then the reformed cars would be resold in America for top-dollar.
The ring was extensive, and dealerships from all over the country came forward to confirm they too were victims of their scams. Cassie had only helped him in Elwood City, meaning more women were placed under arrest for impersonation and identity theft. And with every development of the story, anchors reiterated that it was I, a teenaged investigator, that broke the case wide open with the help of her school's resource officer.
As fall set in over the city, the case moved forward, and it was clear that this time, it was closed for good. Ed rehired Mara once he convinced her to move back to Elwood City, and life continued on for all of us. The only real change came from Muffy. She stopped her work with local youth groups, specifically any that could have a Tibble Twin lurking in their ranks. She was well aware that she came close to facing charges herself, though the twins had no idea they too almost faced charges. The copying of the keycards happened thanks to Cassie, not the twins, though we discovered later that had they kept the cards and not been caught, Cassie would not have had such an easy time gaining access to the dealership to get the parts for her mastermind, Kevin.
With everything settled, I waited patiently for my next mystery. Now that I had a major sting on my résumé, I knew that new cases would emerge very quickly from my classmates and others in the community. I just had to be persevering until that next case arrived.