Cassie walked into the house and dropped her backpack near the door, as was her custom. She was quickly greeted by her dog Fifi, who lapped up the attention she quickly received from Cassie. "Have you been a good girl? Yes you have," Cassie cooed and laughed as Fifi rolled over on her back in response. Cassie mounted the stairs to her room, which was her safe haven when other things went wrong. She plopped on her soft, queen sized bed and picked up her tv remote. The tv cut straight to the news, indicating her brother Joey had been watching tv in her room, again. "Want some family fun time?" the news reporter asked, "then drag your kids along to Finley Brother's travelling carnival!" Cassie sat up, watching with rapt attention. To a small town girl, a carnival was a big event! "Only 2 dollars per person, and lots of games and food for everyone! And, don't forget to attend the special magic show that's included when you purchase your ticket!" Cassie was sold immediately. She quickly called up her friends and they planned to head there tomorrow bright and early. Hey, they never said you couldn't bring friends to replace family, right?
The next morning, Cassie skipped out on breakfast. She could already smell those consession stand hotdogs, nachos with cheese, and a super burpy soda. She put on her best jump suit and sneakers, braided her hair into one large braid, and pedalled to Hambridge Park, where Liz and Rion where waiting. "Geez, Cass. What took you so long?" Rion whined. "Look, just because you walk out of the house with a bed-head doesn't mean everyone does," and Cassie gestured to Rion's messy hair, which was practically crying for a comb. After getting themselves together, they all pedalled down to the carnival, which was bustling with people. As they got to the entrance, Cassie drank in the splendor of the scene. The large rides, all of the people lined up for some popcorn, people playing games, it was amazing! Then, she saw that one idiot get on the tilt a whirl after eating some nachos. As the ride began, she saw his face turn a nasty green, and Cassie decided she wouldn't watch for the imminent outcome. Cassie, Rion, and Liz sauntered over to the ticket master and paid the entrance fee, then moved through the throng on anxious people into the carnival. And they thouoght it was busy outside! "Hey, we should go to the Magic Show first," Rion suggested. "I hear its about to start. Then, once that's over, we can go and ride some rides." Cassie and Liz nodded in agreement, and after much trouble of finding the place, they made it to a large tent. The tree of them managed to squeeze into a seat made for two, and watched intently as a woman dressed as a magician came to the stage. "For my first act, I will make a person disappear!" The crowd ooh-ed and ahh-ed as she brought out a large coffin-like case. "And, for my first victim...I-i mean, volunteer, I will have our own chairman, Micheals!" The crowd applauded as a man of about 20 stepped forward. "Did she say, victim?" Rion whispered to Cassie, which she nodded in response. It was apparent no one noticed her little "mistake", but Cassie's worry increased as the door to the coffin containing Owen was securely bolted. Cassie watched breathlessly as Mary (that's her name, btw) waved her wand and said some soft of gibberish and a few things could be heard in the coffin. "Abraca-" Mary was cut short as the coffin shot open and the crowd gasped as there was no one inside. "W-what happened?" Mary stammered. "T-this wasn't supposed to happen!" She tried to appear paniced, but one could tell she wasn't at all shaken. In a frenzy of panic, she waved her wand around as if she actually HAD powers, causing the crowd to stampede away from the tent, screaming in horror, thinking they might disappear as well. "What in the world happened back there?" Liz exclaimed as they watched police rush to the scene. "I dunno, Liz," Cassie sighed. To get their minds off of that little mishap, Rion decided they could rides a couple rides. Even after riding the ferris wheel, bumper cars, and watching Rion throw up his nacho supreme, Cassie still couldn't shake the feeling that something was way out of place about that magician. That whole "victim" word jumble has Cassie worried that she might have really meant it! That evening, Cassie was curled up in front of the tv watching the news, hoping that Channel 81 would cover the disappearance. "Today, there was a peculiar mishap at the Finley Brother's carnival." Cassie perked up a little.
"Magic Mary,as her stage name is, was in the midst of one of her most famous magic tricks, The Disappearing Coffin. Her volunteer was Owen Micheals, the chairman of the whole event. But something went wrong as the magic trick was under-way. It seems that has disappeared and many fear it wasn't apart of the act. The police will continue to investigate. Magic Mary has refused a comment at this time. In other news..." Cassie was shocked. It was supposed to be a simple trick and now it's on the news! And to top it all off, she herself was a witness to the whole thing! Even though Magic Mary seemed concerned, Cassie detected foul play. was in charge of the funding for Finley Brother's. Maybe he was kidnapped. Cassie's mouth dropped open. Kidnapped! At a carnival? This is insane! Cassie shook her head to rid herself of the thought. Perhaps it was just a simple mistake, Cassie was sure the police would do all they could to find . If they didnt, it would make Finley's Brother's look really bad and be under scrutiny of the public eye. Letting the main person who played a part in Finley Brother's funding had disappeared. On their grounds at that! Cassie sighed. What a mess. Cassie sulked over to the telephone beside her bed and picked it up, but she hesitated, unsure of who to call. "I know! I'll call Nancy, she will know what to do." With that thought, she dialed Nancy's number and was soon in contact with her sleuthing cousin. "Hello?" the familiar voice said. "Hey, Nancy," Cassie smiled happily. "Oh, Cassie! How are you?" Nancy asked. Cassie sighed and retold the whole story about the carnival, and as soon as she finished, Nancy exclaimed, "you have to investigate!" "Nancy, I'm not like you," Cassie sighed. "It is your civic duty to find out. And, don't you DARE say that you aren't smart enough," Nancy said. "Your insight on my cases, had I called you sooner, would have easily solved my mysteries in a flash." They were silent for a minute. "Alright, I will see what I can do," Cassie said finally, smiling, hearing Nancy do a victory dance on the other side of a phone. "If you need some help, don't hesitate to call!" After a few minutes more of talking, they hung up their phones. Cassie plopped on her bed and smiled happily. It seems like she got her wish after all! Her next step was to figure out who would help her solve this mystery, and she chose Rion and Cassie of course. Even though he never applied himself to school, Rion was very smart when he wanted to be. Liz was the model of good conduct and was always at the top of the class, and even though Rion admired her for being at the top, he never had the slightest desire to immitate her. After setting up their plans for tomorrow, Cassie closed out her day with a light heart.
