I tripped on the path, side by side with my friend Kit. The sun was shining down on us, and we where walking home from a tiresome first day of school. Trisha my older sister was running up to us, and she looked like she had something important to say. Hold up, I say and put my hand in front of Kit. Did you guys hear what happened to the second grade teacher Mr. Barnes? she asks. Just as all the students exited the school, he was murdered. Kit and I gasped, because this was very unexpected. Trisha's just playing a prank on us, says Kit. This was believable, since Trisha was the queen of pranks. Did you guys even see the headline of the newspaper?! says Trisha. She puts the newspaper up in Kit and I's face. You could have made

a copy, says Kit. Like when you made that fake magazine and you told us Bruno Mars had died. Your acting suspicious, says Trisha. Maybe your the one who killed him! Kit rolls her eyes. I have a good idea to solve this problem! I say. I did actually have a solution, and I was proud. Maybe we can act as detectives and figure out the killer. Good idea! says Trisha. Ugh, Summer your really gonna believe Trisha? says Kit. Kit, I say. Will you please help us? I dunno, says Trisha. Threes a crowd. Not in this case, I say and pull Kit over to us. Kit rolls her eyes again, and we decide we'll investigate the next day. When the morning sun shines through my window, I don't hesitate to proceed with my morning routine. Once all is done, I walk to school

with Trisha and Kit. Who will we investigate first? asks Kit who has obviously lightened up to the detective thing. Maybe Ms. Chang, my teacher, says Trisha. Dibs on investigating Mr. Gordon, I say. So i'm stuck with my teacher Mrs. Case? says Kit. Great. We'll report at recess, I say as we enter the school. During lunch, I walk up to Mr. Gordon. Excuse me sir, I say. Where were you when Mr. Barnes was murdered? I was cleaning the hallway right outside the classroom, he says. When I heard gunshots, I ran away. I wrote this down on a notepad I had found the night before. Recess came, and my two partners met at a tall oak tree near were the athletic kids were playing kickball. Mrs. Case said she was grading tests, says Kit.

Ms. Chang was looking for houses in Beverly Hills, says Trisha. Mr. Gordon said he was cleaning the halls, and he heard gunshots and ran, I say. Wait, say Trisha. How was Barnes killed again. I look at my notepad. stabbed to death... my voice trails off and I think my partners have figured out a theory. If he was stabbed, there must have been someone else killed by gunshots that day, I say. Or hes the lead suspect, says Kit. How about we go interview him right now, says Trisha. She leads the way over to Mr. Gordon, who's fixing the girls jump rope. I pulled his sleeve. Yes Summer? he says. You said that you heard gunshots on the day of the murder, right? I say. Yes, he says. Well, Barnes was stabbed to death as you can see in this article, I say.

I point to where my statement is supported by proof. His smile fades and stares at us three gravely. You three are in big trouble, he says and throws the jump rope on the ground. Mr. Gordon storms over to Ms. Chang. Lily, these three students are trying to investigate Harry, he says in a angry tone. I see this takes her by no surprise, because of Trisha. Gordon, their just trying to help! She says. While Ms. Chang and Mr. Gordon are fighting, the three of us talk about the other suspects. I don't know how, but it hit all three of us at the same time, the true criminal. We rush into the school, and call the police inside the principals office. Hello officer, says Trisha. We're talking to you to report that Marlene Case is the true killer to Harry Barnes.

How? well we interviewed her, and she said she was grading tests. Trisha then hangs up after we hear police siren outside the school. A tall woman named "Judy" and a bigger and even taller man named "Buddy" walk into the school armed. We've got the rest of this under control they say, as they arrest Mrs. Case. But what about Mr. Gordon? asks Kit to the officers. We found a child Barnes was tutoring, she was the one shot by the gun, says Judy. You three are good kids, says Buddy as he drags cursing Mrs. Case out of the school.