X-ray vision. Was the winning drawing his?
âEveryone take out your tickets,â Mitch went on. âThe ones with the numbers printed on them.â
Frank was already holding his ticket, number sixty-five. âWhy donât you take out your ticket?â he asked Joe.
âI donât have to,â Joe said. âI know itâs number sixty-six.â
A hush fell over the crowd as Mitch opened the envelope. He looked inside, then said into the mike, âThe winning drawing is . . . number sixty-six.â
âHuh?â Joe said. Had he heard what he thought heâd just heard? His eyes lit up as Mitch pulled a drawing from the envelope. It was his drawing!
âWay to go, Joe!â Frank said, patting Joeâs back. âWhereâs your ticket?â
Joe dug through his pockets. Where had he put his ticket?
âUm . . . I donât know.â Joe gulped.
âWhat do you mean, you donât know?â Frank cried. âYou need the number to win!â
Joe was about to panic when he remembered the pocket on the knee of his cargo pants. He reached in andâ
âHere it is!â Joe sighed with relief. He tossed his lucky claw to Frank and squeezed through the crowd to the stage.
âAnd we have our winner!â the Crawler said after matching Joeâs ticket to the numbered drawing. âWhatâs your name, big guy?â
âJoe Hardy!â Joe said into the mike.
âWell, Joe,â the Green Crawler said, âwho will you pick to march with you in the parade? You get to choose one friend or relative.â
âThat would be my brother, Frank,â Joe said. âWeâre not just brothers, weâre detectives.â
Frank smiled from the crowd. He and Joe made an awesome detective teamâeven though they were totally different. Frank was the serious, cautious type. Joe was serious tooâabout jumping into any mystery head-on!
âDetectives, huh?â The Green Crawler chuckled. âMaybe you can help me battle Mo Mantis one of these days!â
âDeal!â Joe said.
âHere you go, Joe,â Mitch said, handing Joe a big brown envelope. âThis will tell you all about the parade.â
âLike what?â Joe asked excitedly.
âLike that thereâll be a parade orientation next Saturday morning in the park at seven thirty,â Mitch said. âWeâll be blowing up the Green Crawler balloon for you to practice with.â
âThanks!â Joe said. He took the brown envelope and then ran offstage to meet Frank.
âI guess this thing was lucky!â Frank said, tossing the Crawler claw back to Joe.
Joe grinned as he stuck his claw into his back pocket. He was about to look for Chet and Iola when he saw someone else. . . .
âIsnât that Mo Mantis over there?â Joe asked.
Frank followed Joeâs gaze. Sure enough, leaning against the wall was Mo, sipping from a cup through his mask. The hand holding the cup was free of its glove.
âCool,â Frank said. âLetâs go over and say hi.â
The brothers hurried over to Mo.
âHey, Mo,â Joe said. âIâll bet youâre drinking a sinister brew thatâll make you eviler with each sip!â
Frank and Joe waited for Moâs reply. Instead, he silently glared at Joe through his mantis mask. Gulp.
âLetâs go,â Frank whispered.
âWhoa,â Joe said as they walked away. âDid you see those scary eyes?â
âAnd did you see the tattoo on his hand?â Frank asked.
âA tattoo?â Joe said. âOf what?â
âA praying mantis,â Frank replied. âWhat else?â
Chet and Iola pushed through the crowd to get to Frank and Joe.
âI canât believe you won, Joe!â Iola said.
âBelieve it, because here it is,â Joe said as he held up the brown envelope. âThe grand
Legs McNeil, Jennifer Osborne, Peter Pavia