Hired

January 7, 2011

[Some more comic relief armatures, this chapter's about Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose from A to Z mysteries, I'm calling them the A-Z crew for short. There's not much I have to say about them other than the fact that this was a request of my sister's… just review!]

~At Dink's House~

Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were shredding papers for Dink's pet guinea pig's cage, when an ad in the newspaper she was shredding caught Ruth Rose's attention. "Look at this." She pulled the paper out of the stack, pointing to an ad on the front.

Dink and Josh stopped shredding and turned towards her, she was wearing her usual all one color, today's was red "What is it?" Dink asked.

"Well, someone put this ad in the paper requesting a detective and with all the cases we solved maybe we could solve this one." she explained.

"I'm not so sure my mom would be so happy with it" Dink replied tentatively, then gave it another thought "Let's do it any way, we can tell her after we solve the mystery."

"What does it say?" Josh asked, trying to look over at the ad, but failing at seeing past Dink's head.

"Mystery of a lifetime! Detective wanted! High stakes and high pay! RSVP with name and title if applicable on the back of the advertisement." Ruth Rose read the ad aloud.

"That sounds odd, how are they going to get the reply?" Dink asked thought fully.

"I guess we'll find out!" Josh reached over Dink and grabbed the ad from Ruth Rose, writing his name on the back in pen, the others followed.

They waited for a few minutes wondering what would happen, then just as they were disappointedly returning to shredding papers, the door bell rung.

"Could you get it?" Dink yelled down the stairs to his younger cousin Lucy who was having a play date with Josh's twin younger brothers Brian and Bradley, and Ruth Rose's younger brother Nate.

They let me [yes my self-insert, I know she could classify as a Mary-Sue, but she's just there to move the plot along. If there's any way you think I could make her any less Mary-Sueish I'd be glad to hear, I'm just warning you] in and led me upstairs to where Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were working "Hello, I'm the person who put out the advertisement you replied to." I explained "You can just call me V.".

"Oh cool!" Ruth Rose replied, while Josh shooed the younger kids out of the room.

Dink sat there for a moment deep in thought before speaking "How did you get our reply; the paper stayed here the whole time?"

"Good observation." I replied, "When someone replies to the ad I put out, I get a warning on my cell phone with their names and the locations so I can get there quickly. I took a little while getting to you all because I was explaining the case to some other detectives."

"So we're too late?" Josh asked disappointed, the others looked disappointed too.

"No, not exactly," I replied "This case is a really big one, so I need all the detectives on the case I can get, though you three do seem a bit young for a murder mystery." I pulled their file from midair.

"I bet we can handle it!" Ruth Rose exclaimed.

"Okay… Y–"

"How did you get that file, you weren't carrying it or anything?" Dink interrupted.

"I had to fetch it from my desk." I replied, then continued "If you're all so sure, I can let you, but be careful–"

"–Why do they get to solve a big mystery but we don't?" Nate asked, walking in the room with the other kids behind him.

"They're even a bit young for this; you guys just aren't old enough to be involved in a murder mystery that is already baffling some of the greatest detectives of all time." I explained, portraying very little of the annoyance I already felt at being interrupted for the second time in a row.

"Please?" Lucy asked.

"Okay, you can join, but you have to work with your older siblings, and cousin, and listen to them, this is serious business." [I'm so responsible, allowing little children to solve murder mysteries *sarcasm mode (if you didn't catch it already*]

"Noooo!" Josh exclaimed "Why do we have to watch them."

"Because it's serious business, and everyone deserves a chance."

"I guess we should watch them." Dink agreed.

"It's settled then, you'll all be working with the slightly more experienced Boxcar Children. Basically, the case is, a group of people have been bringing myths and legends to life all over the world to some end that I have yet to discover, so I'm gathering as many detectives as I can to figure it out. So, anyways, give the Alden children a call and arrange a time to visit the sites with them, until then, here are the witness reports for you all to look through." I handed them a folder of papers with a sticky note carrying the Alden house's phone number.

"Thank you!" Ruth Rose called to me as I left.

"Good luck, and don't get hurt." I shouted back before disappearing into the Connecticut evening.