Free The Dinosaur Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

Violet answered.
    Indeed, Dr. Pettibone’s office was a wreck. Rock and plaster chips lay all over the work tables and on the floor.
    Nosey raced over to a dark corner. Mr. Diggs turned on the lights.
    â€œIt’s Mr. Bones!” Benny and Soo Lee cried at the same time.
    Dr. Pettibone was hiding in the corner!
    Mrs. Diggs went over to Dr. Pettibone and put her hand on his arm. “Titus, what is it? Why are you hiding here? Did someone harm you?”
    Dr. Pettibone shook his head slowly, over and over. “I harmed myself, Emma. Please forgive me.”
    â€œWhatever do you mean, Titus?” Mr. Diggs asked.
    Dr. Pettibone sat down on one of the work stools and began to explain. “I’ve ruined everything. Everything. I only meant to introduce T. rex to the world, and instead I made a mess of things.”
    â€œYou mean you stole the bones, Titus?” Mr. Diggs asked.
    Dr. Pettibone nodded. “I thought people would appreciate the importance of this magnificent creature if something happened to it. Last week, I disarmed the remote camera so I wouldn’t be seen. Then over several nights when I said I was in Montana, I took the bones one by one. I made plaster casts for them for safekeeping inside of one of my field crates. Last night I took the bones out of their casings and reattached them to the skeleton. But then I got confused and couldn’t find the critical hinge joint to reattach the jawbone. I don’t know which block of plaster I hid it in.”
    â€œWhat a terrible thing to do, Titus,” Mrs. Diggs said. “Everyone recognized the importance of T. rex ’sdiscovery without all this fuss!”
    Just then, Dr. Skyler spoke for the first time. “Mr. and Mrs. Diggs thought I had something to do with the missing bones, Titus,” Dr. Skyler said. “I just came to apologize to you for some awful things I did do.”
    Dr. Pettibone looked more confused than ever. “What are you talking about, Eve?”
    Dr. Skyler took a deep breath. “I … I tried to delay the opening of Dino World. I’m afraid I even involved the Aldens, sabotaging their work and locking them in the planetarium. I made so much work for them at the planetarium, I knew they wouldn’t have much time to help you with your exhibit. And I …”
    Jessie faced Dr. Skyler. “Were you the person who took down all the posters we put up? We found them hidden in the storage closet.”
    At first Dr. Skyler didn’t answer. Then she put a hand on Jessie’s shoulder. “It was me. I took down every poster I could find. Please understand. It was so hard for me to see Dino World getting all the attention. I thought my planetarium would seem very dull after everyone saw Dr. Pettibone’s magnificent dinosaur and all his other fossils. I’m so sorry, particularly since you children helped me get the sky shows underway again.”
    Dr. Skyler turned to Mr. and Mrs. Diggs. “I’ve already written up a letter of resignation, Emma. Or you can fire me.”
    Dr. Pettibone looked up at Mr. and Mrs. Diggs. “Don’t fire Eve, fire me. Or I’ll make it easy for you and resign right now. I don’t know what I was thinking. My plan didn’t work in any case. Now one of the key bones I removed is actually missing.”
    The room was quiet. No one knew what to say. Then everyone heard some clinking. They turned to see Violet chiseling a plaster-covered chunk. Several large pieces fell cleanly away from a knobby-looking bone.
    â€œCould this be the last missing piece, Dr. Pettibone?” Violet asked, pointing to the fossil.
    Dr. Pettibone stood up. “Oh, my dear girl! You found the right bone. I got so confused last night, I couldn’t remember which block of plaster I’d hidden it in.”
    For the first time, Dr. Pettibone looked directly at Benny and Soo Lee. “These little detectives spotted me trying to get back into