Free The Dinosaur Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner

a pile of straw on the floor. Chips of white plaster were scattered everywhere.
    Hand in hand, Benny and Soo Lee raced around to the other side of the dinosaur.
    â€œThe tail is back! The tail is back!” Soo Lee called out.
    The older children ran over. Soo Lee was right. Every bone on T. rex ’stail was in perfect position.
    Jessie swallowed hard before she spoke to Pete again. “Did you have anything to do with these bones, Pete?” she asked when he came down from the ladder.
    Pete Lawlor looked pale and sick. “Please let me explain. I did come in here a few times when I wasn’t supposed to, including the night you kids arrived. But I never took anything. I just liked looking at T. rex , that’s all.”

    Violet spoke in a gentle voice. “We know you wouldn’t take anything, Pete. Did you bump into the dinosaur by accident and damage it? That could happen to anybody.”
    Pete shook his head. “I know I don’t always watch where I’m going. That’s why I keep setting off the alarms. But a couple of times they went off when I had nothing to do with it. I just like seeing all the things in this museum. It gets so quiet at night, I like to go visit things. But I wouldn’t hurt a tooth on T. rex here. Honest.”
    With that, Pete gently lay the jawbone section on the straw. “When I sneaked in here this morning and saw this big bone just sitting here, I tried to reattach it before we opened. I want folks to see the real thing, But there’s still a bone missing. Until it shows up, T. rex isn’t complete.”
    â€œThat’s okay, Pete,” Henry said. “We don’t really think you had anything to do with these bones. What I can’t figure is …”
    Before Henry could finish, Pete and the Aldens heard Nosey’s nails clicking across the floor.
    â€œHere boy, here boy,” Pete said when Nosey burst into the dinosaur hall whining and panting, “I sent him around to sniff things out, but all he does is keep running back to the fossil lab.”
    â€œThat’s what Watch does when he wants to show us something,” said Benny,
    â€œNaw,” Pete said. “I already followed him upstairs. He keeps running back to the lab for no reason. There are lots of bones up there, but not the missing one.”
    â€œSometimes missing things turn up in the most obvious places,” Jessie said.
    Soo Lee and Benny ran ahead and called out to the dog. “Come on, Nosey! Come on!”
    Nosey zoomed right past the children and headed straight to the fossil lab. He sniffed at the door and wouldn’t stop whining.
    â€œWell, doggone,” Pete said. “Not again!” He pulled Nosey by the collar.
    â€œNo, let’s see what he does,” Henry said.
    â€œHe’ll keep sniffing, that’s all,” Pete said.
    Just then, the elevator door opened. Mr. and Mrs. Diggs, Mr. Alden, and Dr. Skyler stepped off the elevator.
    â€œWhy is everyone here?” Mrs. Diggs asked when she saw everyone crowded into Dr. Pettibone’s office.
    Before anyone else could answer, Pete spoke up. “Some of the missing bones are back — all the tailbones and most of the jawbone!”
    Mr. and Mrs. Diggs ran out to check the dinosaur for themselves. When they returned, they looked shocked and relieved at the same time.
    â€œIf this isn’t the most amazing thing,” Mr. Diggs said. “Every single piece is back except for the hinge joint that connects the jawbone to the …” Mr. Diggs paused and looked annoyed. “Why does Nosey keep whining at the lab door? I guess I’d better unlock it and find out.”
    â€œWhat on earth happened in here?” Mrs. Diggs cried when she stepped into the lab. “It’s been ransacked!”
    â€œWhat does ‘ransacked’ mean, Violet?” Benny asked.
    â€œIt means somebody turned everything upside down and inside out,”