Phineas has volunteered to help renovate an old house that used to belong to a family in the 1900s a few blocks away, and of course, Ferb, Isabella, Irving, and I choose to volunteer with him, as this could be fun and we always did things together.
"Now that we repainted the walls, let's move on to the basement." said Phineas.
Carrying shovels and brooms, we walk downstairs to the basement, where there is dirt and dust everywhere. We start cleaning it up, digging and dusting. A few minutes into it, Isabella notices something shocking in the dirt.
"Guys! Look what I found!" she exclaimed.
The rest of us come over to find what looked bones in the ground.
"What would a bunch of bones be doing in a basement?" Irving asked.
"Maybe someone's pet died and the owner buried it here." I suggested.
"I don't think they're animal bones, Jolie." replied Phineas, "If you look closer, they're probably more like the ribs of a person."
"Ferb, I know what we've got to do today!" he said.
"Now I can get my forensics badge!" exclaimed Isabella.
With that, we dig further around the bones we found and discover an entire skeleton. Clearly, I had been wrong, as the bones do look like those of a person's. I also find an old diary and decide to take it with us, as it may tell something about these remains.
"This is creepy, but I've got to put this in my scrapbook!" said Irving, who proceeds to take multiple pictures.
We put the bones into an old bag we find nearby in the basement and carry it with us. I am amazed at how light bones are, yet they're somehow able to support our bodies. When we finally reach Phineas and Ferb's backyard, we start emptying the bag onto a table.
"First, we need these bones to be clean. Ferb, run some hot water in the kitchen." said Phineas.
Doing as Phineas said, Ferb fills the kitchen sink with hot water, and we all put on gloves and take the bones to the sink. Candace immediately notices us while we take turns washing them until they are completely white and spotless.
"You guys are just washing dishes?" asked a confused Candace, "Well, I can't really bust you for that. Carry on."
Candace then walks away, allowing us to continue.
"If we're going to find out how this person died, we need to find out who this is. Start creating a biological profile." said Phineas.
We examine the bones and begin to find quite a few clues about this person.
"The skull shows no brow ridge and the pelvis is fairly wide and shallow. This is very likely the skeleton of a female." said Isabella.
"There aren't any wisdom teeth on the skull, yet there are lines in the long bones where they fuse with the ends. Also, the tailbone hasn't completely fused with the rest of the spine. This could be a young woman, a little older than Candace." I said.
"And look at how long this arm bone is! She must be super tall!" exclaimed Irving, "Maybe even taller than you, Jolie!"
In addition to the person's gender, age, and height, we look for any signs to how the person may have died. So far, we don't find any cut marks or fractures.
"There are no distinct cut marks and no signs of physical trauma. This skeleton is in such great shape." said Isabella.
"That is strange." replied Phineas, "It could be possible she was poisoned."
We continue examining, and suddenly, Irving finds something interesting inside the skull.
"Hey guys! Check this out!" he said, holding it in his hands.
The rest of us come over to where Irving is standing and look inside the skull.
"What could all these lines everywhere and lots of light-colored patches mean?" Irving asked.
Phineas looks closely at the strange markings and says, "It's most likely an infection in or around the brain."
"Hey guys! I found something else!" I said, bringing the diary I found earlier.
"It's a diary!" exclaimed Isabella.
Reading various pages of the diary, we find out it belonged to someone who fit all the characteristics we figured out from the skeleton. She was an 18-year-old girl who was rather tall, very poor, and had been suffering from numerous infections. The last words in the diary say that the doctor diagnosed her with something called meningitis.
"Phineas, it looks like you were right." said Isabella, "She did have an infection around her brain."
"So that explains the weird markings in the skull." Irving said.
"That is extremely sad." I said.
We put the skeleton back in the bag and carry it to a cemetery. We bury the girl's remains and mark a headstone. As we stand there, Ferb says, "We have come so far, but we've got a long way to go."
