Free Cam Jansen and the Joke House Mystery by David A. Adler, Joy Allen

Chapter One
    “I’m in big trouble,” Cam Jansen’s aunt Molly said. “I remember the riddle questions, but I don’t remember the funny answers.”
    Cam, her father, Aunt Molly, and Cam’s best friend Eric Shelton were at the Joke House. Aunt Molly was there to compete in a joke-telling contest. Cam, Eric, and Mr. Jansen had come along to cheer for her.
    “I really want to win,” Aunt Molly said, “but I don’t even remember why the chicken crossed the road.”
    “Don’t worry,” Mr. Jansen told her. “When you get onstage you’ll remember everything.”
    “The winner gets the chance to tell jokeson television. If I win, I’ll be famous,” Aunt Molly said.
    Cam’s father pointed to a small table at the edge of the stage. There was a green cloth on the table that reached the floor. On top of the table was a large silver plate.
    Cam’s father told Molly, “You’ll also win that plate. It’s worth a lot of money.”
    A tall man was standing by Cam’s table. “Hi, I’m Kevin,” he said. “I’ll be your server tonight.”
    Kevin gave everyone a menu. “I’ll be back to take your orders soon.”
    Kevin went to the next table.
    Cam, Eric, and Mr. Jansen looked at their menus.

    Aunt Molly tried to remember why the chicken crossed the road.
    “I think the chicken was on its way to school. That’s why it crossed the road. Or maybe the chicken was going shopping. Whenever I go shopping, no matter where I am, I always have to cross the road. All the good stores are always across the street.”
    “It’s not the story of the chicken’s whole life. It’s just a joke,” Eric told Aunt Molly. “The chicken crossed the road to get to the other side.”
    “Oh,” Aunt Molly said. “To get to the other side. I have to remember that.”
    Cam closed her eyes. She said,
“Click!”
    “Here are some more chicken jokes,” Cam said, with her eyes still closed. “The chicken crossed the playground to get to the other slide. It crossed the amusement park to get to the other ride. And the orange stopped in the middle of the road because it ran out of juice.”
    “Hey! Those are the jokes I’m going to tell. How do you know them?” Aunt Molly asked.
    Cam opened her eyes and said, “I looked at your joke book. I have pictures in my head of every page of that book.”
    Cam has a photographic memory. It’s as if she has a camera in her head and pictures of everything she’s seen. Cam blinks her eyes and says,
“Click!”
when she wants to look at one of the pictures. Cam says,
“Click!”
is the sound her mental camera makes.
    “Do you know this one?” Eric asked. “What do you call a chicken that crosses the road, rolls in some dirt, and then crosses back again?”
    “That’s easy,” Cam said, and laughed. “That chicken is a dirty double-crosser.”
    Cam’s real name is Jennifer. When she was young, some people called her “Red,” because she has red hair. Then they found out about her amazing memory and started calling her “The Camera.” Soon “The Camera” became just Cam.
    “What would you like?” Kevin asked. He was standing by the table again.

    “I’ll have a large glass of iced tea,” Aunt Molly said.
    “I’ll have a cup of hot tea,” Mr. Jansen told Kevin.
    “I want a glass of orange juice and some cookies, please,” Cam said.
    “Me, too,” Eric told Kevin. “Juice and cookies, please.”
    A man with a long mustache curled at each end walked to the center of the stage. He stood by the microphone.
    “Welcome to the Joke House. I’m Gary Gold,” the man said. “Tonight one comedian will win a chance for fame and fortune. The winner will be invited to perform on my show,
The Gary Gold Comedy Hour.
The winner will also get a silver plate with the engraved message ‘Winner, Comedy Night at the Joke House.’ Your laughter and applausewill determine who wins. We’ll begin in just a few minutes.”

    “Fame and fortune,” Aunt Molly said. “That’s what I want. I