Free Cam Jansen and the Sports Day Mysteries by David A. Adler Page A

the oat bran muffins,” Eric said. “He says they are good for him.”
    Just then two old women hurried out of Zelda’s.
    “They’re coming this way,” Danny said.
    Four other people hurried out of Zelda’s. They went the other way.
    Eric said, “There must be trouble at Zelda’s.”
    “Maybe the sprinkles are fighting,” Danny said. “Maybe they’re jumping off the cupcakes.”
    “This isn’t funny,” Beth told him. “Those women look scared.”

CHAPTER TWO
    Eric said, “Maybe there’s a fire at Zelda’s. Fires are scary.”
    Cam watched the front of Zelda’s. She wondered if anyone else would leave the store.
    “The two women are coming this way,” Beth said. “Let’s ask them what happened.”
    They were walking slower now. One was tall and thin. The other was short and heavy. They walked past Ms. Benson and the children at the front of the line.
    The larger woman stopped by the bank. She leaned against the wall. She put her hand to her heart.
    “I have to rest,” she said.
    The thin woman stopped, too.
    “Hello,” Mr. Pace said to them. “Are you okay?”
    The thin woman looked at her friend. “I’m okay,” she said. “Sadie, are you okay?”
    “Yes, Martha,” the woman named Sadie said.
    “What happened at Zelda’s?” Beth asked.
    Cam looked away from the front of the bakery. She wanted to hear what happened at Zelda’s.
    “It was horrible,” Martha told Beth. “‘Give me your money.’ That’s what he said.”
    “That’s what who said?” Beth asked.
    “The man with the floppy red hat said that,” Martha answered. “He sounded angry.”
    “He talked real fast. I think he was in a hurry,” Sadie said. “I think maybe he was on his way to his job. Maybe he didn’t want to be late.”
    Martha shook her head and said, “You’re wrong, Sadie. That was his job. He’s a thief.”
    “What else was he wearing?” Eric asked.
    “He wore that big red floppy hat, an old blue jacket, blue jeans, blue sneakers, and large sunglasses,” Martha answered. “We saw his clothing, but we didn’t see his face. The hat and sunglasses hid it.”
    “That’s right,” Sadie said. “He also had something green with a wire attached in his ear. I think it was an earphone.”
    Martha said, “I think he was listening to music.”
    Cam closed her eyes. She said, “Click!”
    “I saw him,” Cam said with her eyes still closed. “Just after you ran out of Zelda’s, he left, too. He went the other way.”
    Cam opened her eyes.
    “Hey,” Danny said. “We’re going that way. Maybe we’ll see him.”
    Sadie stepped away from the wall. She took a deep breath and said, “I feel better now.”
    “If we see a man in a big floppy red hat,” Danny’s father said, “we’ll call the police. I brought along a cell phone.”

    “He took only three dollars from me,” Sadie said. “That’s because I take along only as much money as I need. I was buying a loaf of bread, so I just needed three dollars.”
    “He took more from me,” Martha said. “He took lots more money and my gold bracelet.” She wiped away a tear. “My children gave me that bracelet for Mother’s Day.”
    “We have to go to the park,” Mr. Pace said.

    Sadie told Martha, “You’ll buy another bracelet. Your children will never know the one they gave you was stolen.”
    “But I’ll know,” Martha said.
    “Let’s go,” Mr. Pace told Danny and the others.
    “My friend Cam Jansen will catch the thief,” Eric told the two women. “She’s a great detective. She’ll get your bracelet and money back, too.”
    “Let’s go,” Danny’s father said again.
    “Yes,” Mrs. Wayne added. “Let’s go.”
    Cam, Danny, and Beth followed Mr. Pace and Mrs. Wayne.
    Eric waited until the others were a few steps ahead. Then he whispered to the women, “Don’t worry. Cam is amazing. She’ll get your things back.”
    Sadie took a small card from her purse. She wrote on it. “This is my telephone number. Call me