Level 6

Level 6

The Lemonade Detectives

The Mystery of the Missing Money 1 The Mystery of
Going into Business the Missing Money 1
Going into Business

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
H ey, Henry! Come out here!”
Henry looked out the window and saw his
cousin waving at him from the sidewalk in front
of his house. Maggie was nine years old and
lived next door. Her mom and Henry’s mom were
sisters.
“What do you want?” Henry called down to
Maggie. “I’m busy.”
He glanced at his computer. He’d just finished
lunch, and now he was playing his favorite game,
1 2
Puzzle Pirates. All he had to do was solve one
more puzzle, and he would reach Level Ten.
“Just come down here!” Maggie yelled again.
Henry sighed. He was two years older than
Maggie, but that didn’t stop her from bossing him
around. His best friend, Cole, always told him that
he should just ignore her. But Maggie was usually
so loud and dramatic, she was hard to ignore!
Henry turned off his computer and headed
outside.
 Maggie was waiting for him and holding a Maggie was very artistic. She’d drawn a glass
handmade cardboard sign. of lemonade below the words. It looked so realistic
“Look at this,” she said. “Isn’t it awesome?” that it made Henry thirsty.
The sign read: “Great sign,” Henry said. “Maybe I’ll buy a
cup.”
MAGGIE’S LEMONADE STAND “You won’t have to,” Maggie said. “You’ll get
ONE CUP: 25 cents your lemonade for free.”
TWO CUPS: 45 cents Henry was instantly suspicious. If Maggie was
BELLTOWN’S
MINSK BEST BEVERAGE! running a lemonade stand to make money, why
would she give away the lemonade for free?
3 4
 “What do you mean?” he asked.
She grinned. “You’ll get it for free because
you’re an employee,” she said. “I hereby hire you
to help me with my lemonade stand.”
Henry rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding me?”
he said. “Lemonade stands are for babies.”
Maggie scowled. “No, they’re not!”
“Yes, they are,” Henry said. “Why do you want
to do something like that anyway?”
“Mom and Dad said I can take horseback-
5 6
riding lessons if I pay half of the cost myself,”
Maggie explained. “I figured I could make lots
of money selling lemonade while it’s hot out. I’ll
switch to hot chocolate when the weather turns
cold.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Henry said.
“So you’ll help?” Maggie looked excited.
“Nope,” Henry said.
Maggie tried to change his mind. She promised
him all the free lemonade he could drink. Then she
told him he could have 10 percent of the profits.
Henry just shook his head. “No, thanks,” he
said. “Good luck with your new business. I’m
going to Cole’s.”
He walked over to Cole’s house on the next
block. The two of them played soccer for a while
in Cole’s yard. Then they headed back to Henry’s
house to play Puzzle Pirates. On the way they
passed Maggie’s lemonade stand.
The stand was a table set up on the sidewalk in
7 8
front of Maggie’s house. Two teenage girls were
standing nearby sipping lemonade from paper
cups. A boy with a skateboard was chugging his
lemonade. A little boy clung to his mother’s hand
while she leaned against the table and talked on
her cell phone.
Maggie was nearby chatting with a kid named
Nathan and his little sister, Nora. It looked as if
Nathan and Nora had just returned from the local
swimming pool. Their bathing suits were still wet.
 When Maggie spotted Henry and Cole coming,
she hurried to meet them. “Want some lemonade?”
she asked. “It’s a dollar per cup.”
“A dollar?” Henry said. “I thought you were
charging 25 cents.”
“Yeah!” Cole pointed to the sign. “It’s written
right there. See?”
Maggie tossed her head. “That’s the price for
normal people. Rotten cousins and their friends get
charged extra.”
9 10
“Fine. I wasn’t thirsty anyway,” Henry said,
rolling his eyes. “Come on, Cole. We have plenty
of soda at my house.”
They started to walk away. But Maggie ran
after them.
“Stop. I was just kidding,” she said. “I’ll sell
you lemonade for fifty cents per cup.” When the
boys kept walking, she tried again. “Okay, okay!
Twenty cents. That’s my special price for cousins
and friends of cousins.”
 “You have a deal,” Cole said, turning around. She opened the cashbox on her table to put the
Henry and Cole headed back to the lemonade boys’ money away. When she looked inside the
stand. Maggie poured them each a cup of box, she gasped.
lemonade. Henry fished some change out of his “Oh no!” she cried. “My money is gone!”
pocket to pay for it.
Cole took a sip. “Hey, this lemonade is really
good!”
Maggie smiled. “It’s the best in town,” she
bragged. “Everyone says so. I’ve made a ton of
money already!”
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 Level 6
Level 6

The Lemonade Detectives

The Mystery of the Missing Money 2 The Mystery of
Where's the Cash? the Missing Money 2
Where's the Cash?

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
W ho stole my money?” Maggie yelled loudly.
“Maggie,” Henry warned, “you have to
have proof before you start accusing people of
stealing.” He looked into the cashbox that Maggie
was holding. It was completely empty.
“Are you sure you didn’t take the money out
and put it in your pocket or something?” he asked
her.
“Yeah,” Cole said. “You probably put the
money somewhere.”
1 2
“No way!” Maggie looked really upset now.
“There was a lot of cash in here five minutes
ago when Mrs. Martin paid for little Marty’s
lemonade.”
She pointed to the woman standing nearby,
who was still talking on her cell phone. The little
boy, Marty Martin, had dropped his mother’s
hand. He was staring at Maggie and banging a toy
suitcase against his knees.
“Okay,” Henry said. “Then maybe the money
blew away when you opened the box.”
“It’s not even windy today,” Maggie said.
She shook her head. “I think someone stole my
horseback-riding money. And I want to know who
it was!”
By now everyone except Mrs. Martin was
staring at her. The two teenage girls giggled and
whispered to each other. Maggie looked at them.
“Was it you two?” she asked. “Did you take
my money?”
3 4
“No,” one of the girls said. “We’re not crooks.
Come on, Jill, let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah.” Her friend giggled. “Before she
accuses us of something else!”
The two of them laughed and walked off.
Maggie glared at them, and then looked around
again.
“Maybe it was Ryan!” she said. Ryan had
finished chugging his lemonade. Now he was
jumping his skateboard on and off the curb.
 “Did you steal my money when I wasn’t
looking?” Maggie asked.
He stopped and stared at Maggie. “Dude, I
didn’t take your money. Maybe you should have
watched it better,” he said. Then he skated off
down the street.
“Hey! Get back here!” Maggie yelled. But
Ryan ignored her, skidding around the corner.
Nathan and his little sister Nora were listening
to everything. “It wasn’t me,” Nathan said before
5 6
Maggie could say anything to him. “I promise.”
“Are you sure?” Maggie said. “It had to be
someone!”
Nora poked her brother. “I think I hear
Mommy calling us,” she said.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Henry said.
“Me neither. But I’d better go check,” Nathan
said. “Come on, Nora, let’s go home.”
“No!” Nora said. She loved to argue. “I don’t
want to!”
 Nathan was used to her, so he just ignored her.
But when he rushed off toward their house, she
hurried after him.
Maggie was looking around for more possible
thieves. “Where did Mrs. Martin and Marty go?”
she asked.
“They left.” Cole pointed down the block.
Henry looked and saw Mrs. Martin wandering
away. Her cell phone was still pressed to her ear.
Little Marty was skipping along after her. not going to figure it out by yelling at everyone.”
7 8
“I don’t think you need to accuse Mrs. Martin
of being the thief,” Henry said. “She’s a police
detective, remember?”
Cole nodded. “She catches thieves—she’s not
one herself,” he said.
“Maybe you’re right.” Maggie frowned. “But
someone stole my money, and I want to know who
it was.”
“Calm down,” Henry told his cousin. “You’re
 “How else am I going to get an answer?”
Maggie asked.
“Think about it logically,” Henry said.
“Whoever took that money is a thief, which means
he or she is probably a liar too.”
“Good point,” Cole said with a nod. “Guess
you’d better say good-bye to that money, Maggie.”
Maggie scowled at him. “Be quiet, Cole!”
“She doesn’t need to give up,” Henry told his
friend. “We just need to think like detectives. I bet
9 10
if the three of us work together, we can figure out
who took the money.”
“We’re just kids,” Maggie said. “How are we
supposed to think like detectives?”
“I know!” Cole said. “I watched a mystery
movie on TV last week. The detective started by
figuring out who the suspects were.”
“We already know that,” Maggie interrupted.
“It had to be someone who was nearby when the
money disappeared.”
 Henry smiled. “See? We’re already thinking Maggie shook her head. “Nope. Just the people
like detectives,” he said. “Okay, so we know you saw.”
approximately when the money disappeared. Who Cole bit his lip. “That means the thief had to
was nearby during that time?” be someone we know.”
“You just saw them,” Maggie said. “Nathan They all looked at each other.
and Nora, Mrs. Martin and Marty, Ryan, and those “It’s someone from our very own neighborhood!”
two teenage girls. Oh, and you two of course.” said Henry.
“Nobody else stopped by before Henry and
I got here?” Cole asked. “Like a stranger or a
suspicious-looking deliveryman?”
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 Level 6
Level 6

The Lemonade Detectives

The Mystery of the Missing Money 3 The Mystery of
First on the List the Missing Money 3
First on the List

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
I t’s weird to think that someone from our
neighborhood is a thief,” Cole said.
“I know,” Henry agreed. “But Maggie’s money
is gone, which means that someone stole it. All we
have to do now is figure out who it was.”
“Who are the suspects again?” Cole asked.
Maggie sighed. “Weren’t you listening?” she
said. “There were only a few people close enough
to the lemonade stand to grab the money. They
were Nathan and Nora, Mrs. Martin and Marty,
1 2
Ryan, and those two teenage girls.”
“I doubt it was Nathan,” Cole said. “He’s a
nice kid.”
Henry nodded. Nathan was the same age as
him and Cole, and everyone liked him. Kids liked
him because he was always smiling and loved to
have fun.
“That little sister of his is kind of weird
though,” Maggie pointed out. “She’s always
making up crazy stories and dressing up in funny
costumes and stuff.”
“Nora is a bit strange,” Henry agreed. “But
being weird isn’t the same as being a thief. Plus
she’s only five years old. That’s pretty young to
steal money from a cashbox.”
“What about Ryan, that kid who skateboards
all the time?” Maggie said. “He’s always getting in
trouble at school.”
Ryan was three years younger than Henry.
Henry had seen him around, but he didn’t know
3 4
Ryan very well.
“What kind of trouble?” Henry asked Maggie.
She shrugged. “Mostly teachers get mad at him
for goofing off and not paying attention in class.”
“I heard he skateboarded into his neighbor’s
flowers,” Cole said. “He got in big trouble for that!”
“That doesn’t make him a thief,” Henry said.
“But he seems like a better suspect than the others.
Let’s go find him and talk to him.”
Maggie put a cover on her pitcher of lemonade
so bugs wouldn’t get in it. Then the three kids
headed down the block in the direction that Ryan
had gone.
“What are we going to say when we find him?”
Cole asked.
“I know what I want to say.” Maggie frowned.
“I want to tell him to give me back my money!
Otherwise I’ll break his skateboard in half!”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Maggie,”
Henry told her. “We’re not going to threaten Ryan.
5 6
We’re just going to ask him a few questions, like
my dad does when he’s interviewing someone.”
Henry’s father was a journalist who wrote
stories for the local newspaper. He liked to say
that his job was one part writing, one part asking
questions, and three parts listening. That was
because he spent so much time interviewing
people and listening to their answers.
“Wait. We’re going to ask Ryan a few questions?”
Cole said. “I can only think of one question: Did
you take the money?”
“Yeah,” Maggie said. “And I already asked
him that.”
Henry had just spotted Ryan up ahead. The
skateboarder was practicing kick flips. His baggy
shorts fluttered when he jumped, and his sneakers
squeaked when he landed.
“Just listen and play along,” Henry whispered
to Cole and Maggie. “I’m going to interview Ryan,
just like Dad would. We might learn something by
7 8
listening to his answers.”
The other two looked skeptical. But Henry
hurried forward.
“Hi, Ryan,” he called out. “Can I talk to you
for a second?”
Ryan finished his flip, and then rolled over to
Henry on his skateboard. “Sure, dude. What do
you want to talk about?” He grinned, shoving both
hands in his pockets.
Henry smiled back. “We’re just trying to find
out what happened to Maggie’s money. Since you
were there, we thought you might have seen who
took it.”
“Nope. Sorry.” Ryan shrugged.
“Okay,” Henry said. “Then did you see anyone
hanging around the lemonade stand? Maybe a
stranger or something?”
“I already told you there was nobody else
around, Henry,” Maggie interrupted. Then she
glared at Ryan. “I know you stole my money. Why
9 10
don’t you just admit it?”
“No way.” Ryan glared back at her. “Why
should I admit to something I didn’t do? I didn’t
take your money!”
“Well, somebody did,” Cole pointed out.
“It was probably her.” Ryan laughed and
pointed at Maggie.
“What?” Maggie screeched. “Don’t be ridiculous!
Why would I steal my own money?”
Ryan shrugged again. “How should I know?”
 Henry looked away, thinking. He still believed
that Ryan was the most likely suspect, but this
interview wasn’t going well so far. Henry tried
to think of another question. What would his dad
ask? He couldn’t think of anything. Besides he
was pretty sure that Ryan wouldn’t answer any
more questions. Not after Maggie had just accused
him of the crime again.
So how could they figure out if Ryan had done
it?
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 Level 6
Level 6

The Lemonade Detectives

The Mystery of the Missing Money 4 The Mystery of
A Tricky Test the Missing Money 4
A Tricky Test

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
A re you guys ready to stop accusing me of
stealing your money?” Ryan asked. “Because
I’m not going to stand here all day. See you later.”
Without waiting for an answer, he skated off.
He stopped about half a block away and went back
to practicing skateboarding tricks on the sidewalk.
“Well, that was a waste of time,” Cole said.
Maggie watched Ryan do a fancy flip. “I still
think he did it,” she muttered.
Henry was thinking hard. “If Ryan took that
1 2
money, there must be a way to prove it.”
“I know.” Cole cracked his knuckles. “Ryan’s
a lot smaller than us. We could hold him down and
Maggie could search him.”
“Great idea!” Maggie’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go
get him!”
“Hold on.” Henry grabbed Maggie’s arm
before she could rush down the block. “We can’t
do that.”
“Why not?” Maggie said. “He took my
money!” For a second it looked as if she were
about to cry. “I need that money for horseback-
riding lessons.”
“We don’t know for sure that he’s the thief,”
Henry reminded her. “And it’s not fair to gang up
on him. If he didn’t take your money, we’ll get in
big trouble.”
Maggie sighed. “I’m starting to think this
investigation isn’t worth it. Maybe I should just go
back to the lemonade stand and start over.”
3 4
Cole nodded. “And maybe you should put a
lock on your cashbox,” he suggested.
“Good idea,” Maggie said.
Henry couldn’t believe his ears. “You mean
you guys are ready to give up already? But we’re
only on our first suspect!”
Maggie shrugged. “Like you said, the thief is
never going to admit to it. So what’s the point?”
“There has to be a way to figure out what
happened.” Henry turned to look at Ryan.
 Ryan was still ignoring them and practicing
his skateboard tricks. He did a couple of flips, and
then jumped the skateboard off the sidewalk.
Henry stared at the shorts. He could see the
pockets open every time Ryan moved.
“If Ryan did take the money, he must have
stuck it in his pockets,” he murmured. “There’s
nowhere else he could be holding it. And he
probably didn’t have time to hide it anywhere
between then and now.”
5 6
“Good point.” Cole nodded. “Does that mean
you want to hold him down and search him after
all?”
“No. I have a better idea.”
Henry hurried off toward Ryan before Maggie
and Cole could respond. Ryan stopped skating
when he saw him coming.
“Oh, it’s you again,” he said, not sounding
very happy.
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to ask you any
more questions.” Henry smiled at the younger kid.
“Actually I was just watching you skate. You’ve
got some nice moves.”
“Thanks, dude.” Ryan looked suspicious but a
little proud too.
“So can you do some of the harder tricks?”
Henry asked. “I saw a kid from Oakview School
do some awesome tricks last weekend.”
Maggie and Cole had caught up to him by
now. “Who cares what tricks he can do?” Maggie
7 8
muttered.
“I can do tons of cool stuff,” Ryan bragged.
“Way more than anybody from Oakview.”
“I saw that kid do a handstand on his
skateboard,” Henry said. “Can you do that?”
“Sure. Watch me.” Ryan skated a short
distance away from them. Then he turned around
and headed back toward them, kicking off with
one foot to build up speed.
“Who cares if he can do a handstand?” Maggie
said.
“Shh.” Henry hushed her. “Just watch.”
As he got closer, Ryan leaned down and
grabbed the edges of the board with his hands.
A second later, he was upside down with his
legs in the air.
“Awesome!” Cole cheered, clapping. “You’re
really good.”
“Thanks.” Ryan flipped back onto his feet and
stood up. His face was red, and his pockets were
9 10
turned inside out.
“I think you lost the stuff that was in your
pockets,” Henry said. “I’ll help you pick it up.”
Henry stepped forward. A little pile of stuff lay
in the spot where Ryan had flipped himself upside
down. There was a peppermint candy, a house key,
and a couple of snail shells. Henry grabbed it all
and handed it back to Ryan. Then he said good-
bye and hurried off around the corner.
His friends followed. “What was that all
about?” Cole asked.
“Don’t you get it?” Henry smiled. “I just
proved that Ryan isn’t our thief. If he’d stolen
Maggie’s money, it would have fallen out of his
pockets along with all that other stuff.”
Cole’s eyes widened. “Whoa! You’re right!”
Maggie looked impressed too. But she didn’t
look happy.
“So now what?” she said. “If Ryan didn’t take
my money, then who did?”
11
 Level 6
Level 6

The Lemonade Detectives

The Mystery of the Missing Money 5 The Mystery of
Suspicious Shoppers the Missing Money 5
Suspicious Shoppers

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
H enry, Maggie, and Cole stood on the sidewalk
staring at one another. They’d just proven
that Ryan hadn’t stolen Maggie’s cash. But they
weren’t any closer to solving the mystery.
“I guess we should check out some of our
other suspects,” Henry said to Maggie and Cole.
“What about those two teenage girls?” Cole
suggested. “They left the scene of the crime pretty
fast.”
Maggie nodded. “True. Plus they were
1 2
whispering together the whole time they were
at the lemonade stand, like they were planning
something.”
“Do you think they could have taken the
money when you weren’t looking?” Henry asked
her.
“Sure,” Maggie said. “I had my back to the
cashbox while I was talking to Nathan. Anyone
could have grabbed the money then.”
“Okay, let’s see if we can track down those
girls,” Henry said.
They walked back to the lemonade stand.
There was no sign of the two teenagers.
“I think they walked away in this direction,”
Cole said. He pointed down the street.
The three of them walked to the end of the
block, and then stopped.
“Which way should we go now?” Maggie
wondered.
Henry looked around and spotted Mrs. Smith
3 4
watering flowers on her front porch. She smiled
and waved when she saw them.
“Hot day, isn’t it?” she called.
“It sure is,” Henry replied politely. “Mrs.
Smith, did you happen to see two teenage girls
walk past here recently?”
“Do you mean Jill and Ashley?” Mrs. Smith
nodded. “Yes, they passed by about ten or fifteen
minutes ago. They were heading toward town.”
“Thanks,” Henry said. Then he looked at his
friends. “Come on. Let’s go.”
They walked another few blocks until they
reached Main Street. Lots of people were going in
and out of the shops and restaurants.
“How are we supposed to find those two girls
now?” Cole asked, looking around. “They could
be anywhere.”
“Not really,” Henry said. “I doubt they’re in
the dry cleaner’s or the hardware store. Teenage
girls don’t usually go to stores like that.”
5 6
“True.” Maggie was looking around too.
“And it’s the middle of the afternoon, so they’re
probably not at any of the restaurants.”
“I bet they’re in the drugstore or the bakery,”
Cole said. “Maybe we should check the bakery
first,” he added, licking his lips.
Henry grinned. He knew that Cole loved the
bakery’s doughnuts more than almost any other
food.
But Henry didn’t want to waste any time. “The
drugstore is closer,” he pointed out. “Let’s go there
first, and then we’ll look in the bakery. If they’re
not in either place, we could start checking some
of the other stores.”
The three friends headed across the street to
Herman’s Drugstore. As soon as he stepped inside,
Henry heard loud giggles.
“Listen! That sounds like them,” he whispered
to his friends.
He followed the giggling sounds to the makeup
7 8
aisle. Jill and Ashley were halfway down the aisle,
looking at a display of brightly colored nail polish
and lip gloss. They didn’t notice Henry watching
them because they were too busy grabbing stuff
from the shelves.
“This is nice,” Jill exclaimed, tossing a bottle
of sparkly nail polish in a shopping basket.
“It’s kind of expensive, isn’t it?” Ashley said.
Then she giggled. “Oops, never mind. Who cares
if it’s expensive? We have plenty of money!”
 “Yeah.” Jill giggled and reached for some lip
gloss. “I think I’ll buy this too.”
Ashley grabbed two more tubes of lip gloss.
“We might as well get a few extras. After all we
can afford it!”
“True,” her friend agreed with another loud
giggle. “After we finish here, let’s go pick out
some candy.”
“And then I want to look at the magazines,”
Ashley said.
9 10
Henry’s eyes widened. The teenagers were
acting as if they had lots of money to spend!
“I knew it! Those two did it!” Maggie said
from behind him. “They stole my money!”
Her voice was kind of loud. The two older girls
heard her and looked over.
“Hey, it’s that girl with the lemonade stand,”
Jill said. “Shouldn’t you be home squeezing
lemons or something?”
Ashley started giggling all over again.
 Maggie marched over and pointed into their
shopping basket. “Where’d you get the money to
buy all that stuff?” she demanded.
Ashley shot a look at Jill.
Jill frowned and looked down at the floor.
For a second neither of them answered.
Henry traded looks with Cole. “Is it my
imagination,” he whispered, “or are those two
acting awfully suspicious?”

11
 Level 6
Level 6

The Lemonade Detectives

The Mystery of the Missing Money 6 The Mystery of
A New Lead the Missing Money 6
A New Lead

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
I t wasn’t Henry’s imagination. The two teenage
girls were definitely acting suspicious. They
grabbed their shopping basket and rushed away,
disappearing around the end of the aisle.
“Hey, wait!” Henry called after them. “Come
back here! We want to talk to you.”
He rushed after the girls, with Maggie and
Cole right behind him.
“They did it!” Maggie exclaimed. “They stole
my money! I should have known it was them!”
1 2
“Just hold on,” Henry told her over his
shoulder. “Don’t start accusing them of stealing
your money until I get a chance to ask them some
questions.”
They caught up to Jill and Ashley near the
back of the store. The two girls seemed annoyed
when they saw the younger kids coming again.
“Why are you following us around?” Ashley
demanded.
“We just wanted to say hi,” said Henry.
“Maggie likes to keep in touch with her best
customers. Right, Maggie?”
“Right,” Maggie said, glaring at the older girls.
Henry was afraid she was going to say something
rude to them. But she kept quiet.
“So you guys are doing a lot of shopping
today, huh?” Henry said, glancing into the girls’
shopping basket.
“Not really.” Jill shot a look at Ashley. “We
were just kidding around.”
3 4
“That’s right,” Ashley agreed quickly. “We’re
not really buying all this stuff. See? We’re putting
it back.”
She reached into the basket, grabbed lip gloss,
and stuck it back on the shelf. Jill did the same
thing with a pack of gum.
“That’s weird,” Cole said. “Why would you
pick up all that stuff if you weren’t planning to buy
it?”
Ashley shrugged. “I told you. We were just
goofing around, having fun.”
“That doesn’t seem like much fun to me,” Cole
commented.
“Well, playing soccer doesn’t seem like fun to
me,” Ashley snapped. “And boys do that all the
time, right?”
Cole was surprised. “What do you mean?
Soccer is a blast!”
Henry glanced over at Maggie. She was getting
that impatient look on her face again.
5 6
“You two aren’t fooling me,” she burst out.
“I know what you were doing. You were getting
ready to spend my money!”
“What are you talking about?” Jill asked.
“You know what I’m talking about!” Maggie
went on. “Someone stole the money from my
lemonade stand!”
Ashley laughed. “Oh, right. I forgot about
that.”
“You mean you never found that money?” Jill
added. “Did you ask Ryan, that kid who’s always
skateboarding? He’s a troublemaker. He crashed
into my mom’s flowers a couple of weeks ago.”
“It wasn’t Ryan. It was you two!” Maggie
insisted.
“No, it wasn’t,” Ashley said. “Why would we
need a few dollars? We already have—”
“Quiet!” Jill hissed, elbowing her friend in the
ribs.
“Oops.” Ashley had a guilty expression on
7 8
her face. Then she shrugged. “But what’s the big
deal?” she asked Jill. “We already agreed we’re
not going to use it.”
“Use what?” Henry asked, feeling confused.
What were the girls talking about?
Jill had a guilty expression too. She reached
into the shopping basket and grabbed a candy bar.
She stuck it on a nearby shelf.
“It’s nothing,” she said.
“Maybe you’d better tell us,” Cole suggested.
“Because you two are acting pretty suspicious.”
“It’s no big deal,” Ashley said. “Jill’s mother
gave us a fifty-dollar bill. We were supposed to use
it to buy sunscreen and some other stuff we need
for summer camp.”
Jill nodded. “We thought my mom wouldn’t
notice if we bought a few extra things. But I guess
we got carried away.”
“Yeah. We realized it when you guys started
asking us all those annoying questions.” Ashley
9 10
shrugged. “So thanks, I guess.”
Henry smiled. “You’re welcome,” he said.
Maggie was staring at them. “You mean you
really didn’t take my money?”
“Nope,” Jill said. “Besides we could buy a lot
more with my mom’s fifty dollars than we could
with your two or three dollars.”
“It was much more than that,” Maggie
corrected her. “That’s why I want to get it back! I
need it so I can take horseback-riding lessons.”
 “Oh. Good luck,” Ashley said. She sounded Henry and Cole looked at each other. “I guess
more sympathetic now. we know who to investigate next,” said Henry.
Jill seemed thoughtful. “I just remembered
something,” she said. “I saw that little girl Nora
grabbing something off the table while you were
busy talking to her brother. I thought she was just
getting a napkin or something, but she was pretty
close to that cashbox. And she was acting kind of
sneaky.”
“Really?” Maggie said.
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The Mystery of the Missing Money 7 The Mystery of
A Confession . . . Maybe the Missing Money 7
A Confession . . . Maybe

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

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D o you really think Nora took the money?”
Cole asked.
“I don’t know,” Henry said. “She’s just a little
kid. And she has always seemed pretty honest to
me. Remember? She even told the bus driver that
his hairpiece looked fake.”
Cole laughed. “I almost forgot about that,” he
said. “Good thing the bus driver has a sense of
humor!”
Maggie was several steps ahead of them. She
1 2
was in such a hurry to reach Nathan and Nora’s
house that she was almost jogging.
“Hurry up!” she called over her shoulder.
“I want to get my money back and open up my
lemonade stand again.”
Henry walked a little faster until he caught up
with Maggie. “I wonder why Nora would steal
your money,” he said. “She seems pretty young to
do something like that.”
“That’s true.” Cole had caught up by then too.
“It’s hard to believe that Nora suddenly decided
to rob Maggie’s lemonade stand all by herself.”
He looked worried. “I just thought of something.
What if Nora and Nathan were in cahoots?”
“In cahoots?” Maggie echoed. “What the heck
does that mean?”
“I heard it on that detective movie I saw on
TV,” Cole said. “When someone’s in cahoots, it
means they’re working together.”
Henry nodded. “I see what you mean. If
3 4
Nathan and Nora were in cahoots, then Nathan
could have distracted Maggie on purpose by
talking to her. He kept her distracted long enough
for Nora to grab the money out of the cashbox.
Then once they got away, the two of them could
have split the cash between them.”
Maggie’s eyes widened. “Do you really think
that’s what happened?”
“No,” Henry said. “I don’t think Nathan is like
that.”
 “Yeah, I don’t either,” Cole agreed. “Maybe
it was just Nora after all. We already know she’s
a weird kid. Nathan says she acts sneaky and
secretive all the time. Maybe she’s a thief too.”
“Maybe.” Henry still had a hard time believing
Nora was the culprit. Something was bugging
him about the whole situation, though he couldn’t
figure out what it was. Then again those teenage
girls had seen Nora grab something off the table.
That definitely made the little girl seem guilty.
5 6
Besides they were almost out of suspects.
Soon they were turning the corner onto Nathan
and Nora’s street. From halfway down the block,
they spotted Nora talking and laughing with
another girl.
“Looks like Nora has a friend over,” Cole
commented.
“I don’t care,” Maggie said. “I’m going to get
my money back.”
“Slow down.” Henry grabbed her by the arm.
“You can’t just march up to her and demand your
money back.”
“Oh yeah? Says who?” Maggie said.
“Think about it,” Henry said. “We already
know that Nora likes to argue. If you accuse her of
being the thief, she’ll just argue, whether she did it
or not.”
“Well, what else can I do?” asked Maggie.
“She and her friend haven’t seen us yet. Let’s
hide and spy on them for a little while,” Henry
7 8
suggested.
“Yeah. Like a stakeout!” Cole grinned. “The
detectives in that mystery movie did that. They sat
in their car in front of a suspect’s house all night!”
“I don’t want to sit around here all night.”
Maggie still sounded a little grumpy. But she
followed the boys as they tiptoed behind a hedge
that ran along the side of the yard.
The three of them crouched down behind the
hedge. They could see Nora and her friend through
the branches, but the little girls couldn’t see them.
“What are they doing?” Cole whispered.
Henry watched the two little girls. Nora was
holding a stick in one hand. The other girl had a
crown made of vines on her head.
“It looks like they’re playing princesses,”
Maggie whispered.
Nora and her friend still didn’t see them. The
friend was picking dandelions to weave into her
crown.
9 10
“I am the prettiest princess in all the land,” she
said with a giggle.
“So what? I’m the richest princess in all the
world!” Nora cried. “I have more jewels than all
the other princesses!”
That was all Maggie needed to hear. “Give it
back!” she hollered, jumping out from behind the
hedge. “You took what’s mine, and I want it back
right now!”
Nora and her friend glanced up in surprise.
 The friend looked confused—and a little
scared.
But Nora instantly burst into tears. “I’m
sorry!” she sobbed. “I didn’t mean to take it!”

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The Lemonade Detectives

The Mystery of the Missing Money 8 The Mystery of
Now What? the Missing Money 8
Now What?

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
W ow,” Cole said as Nora started crying even
harder. “It looks like we just solved the
mystery.”
“Yeah,” Henry agreed.
“So my funny feeling was wrong,” he thought.
He’d been convinced that Nora was too little to be
the thief. But now, here she was, confessing to the
crime.
“I’m sorry, Maggie!” Nora blurted out between
sobs. “I didn’t think you’d mind if I took it.”
1 2
“You didn’t think I’d mind?” Maggie echoed in
disbelief. “Are you crazy? Why wouldn’t I mind?
You took my money!”
“Huh?” Nora blinked and sniffled. “What
money?”
“The money you grabbed from the cashbox,”
Cole said. “Those two older girls saw you take it.”
Henry was starting to get that funny feeling
again. “Wait,” he said. “The girls didn’t say that.
They just said they saw Nora grabbing something
from the table and looking sneaky. What did you
take, Nora?”
“None of your business,” Nora said. She
wasn’t crying anymore. Now she was starting to
look stubborn.
Henry stared at her. Something about this
didn’t make sense. He just wished he could figure
out what it was.
“You’d better tell me right now, Nora!”
Maggie exclaimed.
3 4
“You can’t make me,” Nora yelled back.
“Yeah!” Nora’s friend added. “You can’t order
her around. She’s a princess!”
Just then Nathan hurried out of the house.
“What’s going on out here?” he asked.
“Hi, Nathan,” Henry said. “We were just talking
to your sister.”
“No, they weren’t!” Nora started to cry again.
“They were trying to drag me off to jail!”
“What?” Now Nathan looked really confused.
 “She’s exaggerating,” Maggie said. “We were
just trying to get my money back. Nora stole it!”
Nathan shook his head. “Nora didn’t take that
money.”
“Yeah!” Nora stuck out her tongue at Maggie.
“I didn’t take your money.”
“Yes, you did!” Maggie said. “You just
confessed, remember?”
“No way.” Nora looked stubborn again. “I
didn’t take any money. All I took was an extra cup
5 6
of lemonade!”
Everyone looked surprised. “Extra lemonade?”
Cole said.
“Oh . . .” Henry nodded. “That must be what
those teenage girls saw her doing. Nora wasn’t
sneaking around to steal the money. She was just
sneaking some extra lemonade.”
“How do we know she didn’t do both things?
She just admitted that she’s a lemonade thief,”
Maggie said. “She might be a money thief too!”
 “Come on, Maggie,” Nathan said. “Nora might
be sneaky enough to grab some extra lemonade.
But she wouldn’t steal your cash.”
“Maybe not on her own,” Maggie said,
glancing from Nora to Nathan and then back
again. got greedy.”
Nathan folded his arms across his chest. “What
do you mean?” he asked.
“Cole was right. It was probably all your
idea!” Maggie burst out.
7 8
“Wait, I didn’t say that!” Cole chimed in.
Maggie didn’t pay any attention to him.
She was still staring at Nathan. “You two were
wandering past and saw that I was making tons of
money at my lemonade stand,” she said. “So you
She narrowed her eyes and looked around.
Henry could tell she was pausing to make her
story sound more dramatic.
It was definitely a dramatic story. But Henry
still wasn’t convinced that it was true. That funny
feeling inside him was stronger than ever, and he
needed time to think about it.
“Maggie . . . ,” he started to say.
“That’s when you made your plan,” Maggie
went on, glaring at Nathan and ignoring Henry.
“You walked over and bought some lemonade for
yourself and Nora. You even borrowed money
from Mrs. Martin to pay for it!”
“They did?” Henry was surprised. He hadn’t
9 10
known that.
Maggie was still staring at Nathan. “Then you
started talking to me, distracting me on purpose.
That gave your sneaky little sister time to grab
the money out of the cashbox while my back was
turned. Then all she had to do was hide it and
pretend she didn’t know anything. I think she—”
“Hold on, Maggie,” Henry interrupted. “I just
realized something. Nora couldn’t have taken your
money.”
 Maggie, Cole, Nathan, and even Nora all couldn’t hide it because she had nowhere to put
turned to stare at him. it. Remember? Nora and Nathan stopped by the
“What are you talking about, Henry?” Maggie lemonade stand on their way home from the
said. “Of course she did! Who else could have swimming pool. All they had on were their bathing
done it?” suits!”
“I don’t know.” Henry shrugged. “But it wasn’t
Nora. You said it yourself. All she had to do was
hide that money after she took it.”
“Right,” Maggie said. “So?”
“So don’t you see?” Henry continued. “She
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The Mystery of the Missing Money 9 The Mystery of
The Last Suspect the Missing Money 9
The Last Suspect

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
M aggie gasped. “Oh my gosh,” she said.
“You’re right, Henry! I forgot that Nathan
and Nora were only wearing bathing suits when
they stopped at the lemonade stand.”
“Me too,” Cole said. with us to the pool,” he said. “But Mrs. Martin
“But I remember now,” Maggie went on.
“Nathan dripped all over my shoes while I was
talking to him.”
“Sorry about that,” Nathan said sheepishly. “We
forgot to bring towels to the pool. Good thing it
1 2
was a hot day.”
“That’s why you had to borrow money to buy
lemonade, right?” Henry said.
Nathan nodded. “We didn’t bring anything
let us borrow enough money to buy two cups of
lemonade.”
“So you guys really didn’t take my money?”
Maggie asked. She sounded kind of disappointed.
“You said yourself there was lots of money in
your cashbox,” Cole said to Maggie. “Was there
too much for Nora to hide in her hands?”
“Definitely,” Maggie said. “There were a
bunch of dollar bills and lots of change too. Way
too much for anyone to hide in their hands.”
“I guess that proves it,” Henry said. “Nathan
and Nora couldn’t have done it.”
“Yeah,” Cole added. “Sorry we accused you
guys.”
“It’s all right,” Nathan said with a smile.
3 4
“Cool,” Henry said, glad that Nathan wasn’t
angry.
“Sorry I took the extra lemonade, Maggie,”
Nora said. “I was just really thirsty after
swimming.”
“That’s okay,” Maggie told the younger girl.
“But please remember to ask next time, okay?”
“I promise!” Nora said.
“So now what?” Cole shrugged. “Nora and
Nathan didn’t take the money. Those two teenage
girls didn’t do it either. Neither did Ryan.”
Cole stared at Henry and Maggie. They stared
back.
Henry knew they were all thinking the same
thing. “So who did it?” he asked. “We’re all out of
suspects.”
“No, we’re not,” Maggie said. “What about
Mrs. Martin? She was hanging around when the
cash went missing.”
“Mrs. Martin?” Cole said. “We already talked
5 6
about that, remember? She couldn’t be the thief.
She’s a police officer.”
Nora wasn’t paying attention anymore. She
and her friend were already back to arguing about
who was a better princess. But Nathan was still
listening to Henry and his friends.
“Not right now she isn’t,” he pointed out. “Mrs.
Martin took time off from the police force. She’s
going back to work when Marty gets a little older.”
“I forgot about that!” Maggie exclaimed.
 “Me too, but that’s not the point,” Henry said.
“Mrs. Martin is an honest person and a mother.
She wouldn’t steal money, especially not from a
kid.”
“How do we know that for sure?” Maggie said.
“What if she’s short of cash right now since she
isn’t working?”
“Don’t be silly,” Cole said. “Mr. Martin still
has a job. He’s a teacher at the college.”
“But what if he doesn’t make enough money?”
7 8
Maggie said. “They used to have two salaries to
pay the bills, and now they only have one. Plus
they have a kid who’s growing and needs stuff all
the time.” She stared around at all of them. “Maybe
they barely have enough to get by, and she’s
desperate. Desperate enough to steal any money
she can find!”
Henry sighed. “That sounds more like
something from a movie than real life, Maggie.”
“Besides I don’t think Mrs. Martin is that
desperate,” Nathan added. “She bought lemonade
for Nora and me, remember? Plus she bought two
cups for herself and one for Marty.”
“Marty?” Nora looked up suddenly at the
sound of Marty’s name. “Yuck! I don’t like Marty
Martin one bit!”
Maggie, Nathan, and Cole didn’t even look
over at her. But Henry did.
“What do you mean, Nora?” he asked. “Why
don’t you like Marty Martin?”
9 10
Nora scowled. “When my mom babysits him
at our house, he’s always grabbing my stuff and
saying it’s his,” she complained. “He even tried to
take my microphone so I couldn’t play rock star
anymore!”
“No way!” her friend cried. “That’s mean!”
Henry hardly heard the other little girl. “That’s
it!” he cried.
“That’s what?” Cole asked.
“It was that little kid, Marty Martin!” Henry
exclaimed. “He’s our thief!”
“Are you crazy?” Maggie said. “How could
Marty be the thief?”
“Yeah,” Cole agreed. “Marty is only three years
old. He doesn’t even know what money is yet!”
“It doesn’t matter.” Henry grinned, certain that
he was right this time. “He probably doesn’t know
what a microphone is either, and Nora just said
he took hers. Now come on, guys. Let’s go get
Maggie’s money back!”
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The Mystery of the Missing Money 10 The Mystery of
Case Closed the Missing Money 10
Case Closed

Copyright © 2013 by Little Fox Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
H enry and his friends said good-bye to Nathan
and Nora, and then hurried down the street
toward the Martins’ house. On the way Henry
explained how he’d realized that Marty was the
thief.
“It’s the only possibility,” he said. “We already
proved that none of our other suspects did it.
Besides it makes perfect sense.”
“It does?” Cole said.
“Sure,” Henry said. “Everyone else at the
1 2
lemonade stand was distracted, remember? Those
two teenage girls were giggling together.”
Maggie grinned. “They were probably
planning their shopping trip to the drugstore!”
“Probably,” Henry agreed. “And Ryan was
busy chugging his lemonade and doing tricks with
his skateboard.”
“And I was talking to Nathan and Nora,”
Maggie remembered.
“Even Mrs. Martin was distracted by her cell
phone,” Henry said. “While nobody was paying
attention, Marty must have grabbed the cash.”
“And then what?” Cole asked. “Like Maggie
said, there was too much money to hide in Nora’s
hands. And Marty’s hands are even smaller.”
“He didn’t need his hands,” Henry said. “He
stuffed it in that toy suitcase he was holding.”
Maggie gasped. “Henry, you’re a genius!” she
shrieked. “It’s the perfect hiding place! Why didn’t
I think of that?”
3 4
“There was no reason to remember it,” Henry
pointed out. “Little kids always have toys, right?”
“So how come you remembered?” Cole asked.
“I didn’t at first,” Henry admitted. “But when
Nora was talking about Marty, I started thinking
about him. That’s when I remembered the suitcase
and realized what must have happened.”
They had almost reached the Martins’ house.
Henry could see Mrs. Martin out in the yard with
Marty.
 She saw them coming. “We were just about to
go back to your house, Maggie!” she called out. “I
discovered something very interesting in Marty’s
suitcase.”
“You did?” Maggie hurried over. Henry and
Cole were right behind her.
Marty’s suitcase was lying open in the front
yard. Cash was spilling out of it!
“My money!” Maggie cried happily.
“So Marty was the thief,” Cole exclaimed.
5 6
Mrs. Martin smiled. “I just discovered Marty
playing with all this cash. At first I couldn’t
imagine where it came from, but then I figured
out what must have happened,” she said. “Sorry,
Maggie. Marty likes to grab everything these days.
He must have grabbed your money while I wasn’t
looking.”
“We just figured that out ourselves,” Henry
said.
“Yeah,” Cole chimed in. “Henry put together
all the clues and solved the mystery.”
“You did?” Mrs. Martin looked impressed.
“Good work, Henry. Maybe you’ll be a police
detective when you grow up.”
“It wasn’t just me,” Henry said. “These guys
helped.”
Cole grinned. “Yeah, solving mysteries is fun.
It’s sort of like solving the puzzles on the Puzzle
Pirates website, only better.”
Mrs. Martin smiled back. “Well, keep up the
7 8
good work,” she said. “Now I’d better get Marty
inside and explain to him why we don’t steal other
people’s things. It would be awfully embarrassing
to have to arrest my own son!”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Martin.” Maggie started
gathering up her money. “I won’t press charges.”
Mrs. Martin chuckled. Then she picked up
Marty and went into the house.
Maggie kept scooping up her money. Cole
watched her.
 “Aren’t you going to share some of that with
us?” he asked with a grin.
Maggie looked up. “Share my money?” she
said. “Why would I do that?”
“Usually when people solve a mystery, they
get a reward,” Cole pointed out.
Maggie didn’t say anything for a second. She
had a thoughtful look on her face.
“What’s the matter?” Henry asked her. “Are
you trying to figure out how much our reward
9 10
should be?”
“No,” Maggie said. “But I am thinking about
rewards. What if we turned the lemonade stand
into a detective agency? That might be a faster
way to earn money for my riding lessons!”
Cole laughed. “The Lemonade Detectives?” he
joked.
“Why not?” Maggie smiled. “We did a great
job solving this mystery. We could solve other
mysteries for people, and they could pay me.”
 “Pay you?” Henry said.
“Okay, okay. Pay us,” Maggie said. “You guys
could each get 10 percent of our rewards.”
Henry and Cole traded a look. Without a word
they turned and started to walk away.
“Wait!” Maggie ran after them. “I meant to say
15 percent.”
Henry and Cole kept walking.
“Fine!” Maggie sounded annoyed. “We can
split the money evenly.”
11
“That’s more like it.” Henry stopped and
turned around.
So did Cole. “If you throw in all the free lemonade
we can drink, you have yourself a deal,” he agreed.
“Okay.” Maggie nodded. “So let’s have a
cheer. Hooray for The Lemonade Detectives!”
“Hooray!”
Henry grinned. He liked the sound of The
Lemonade Detectives. “Now all we need is another
case!”
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