case in California

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been in California. Do you know what i was doing there? I bet you don't need three guesses. I was solving another case! You know How Mrs.Hopson was gone? Well, I found the ring, and we were so excited Mom decided to let me fly over to California where Mrs.Hopson was and deliver the ring straight to her all by myself! When I got there, Mrs.Hopson was so excited! She said i could stay with her until she returned here which would take about two more weeks. I couldn't believe I was going to stay! I didn't know I would, so all I packed was a pair of pajamas, and an extra set of clothes. So I got to go shopping! We went shopping right after I got there and then, BOOM! It happened. Someone was robbing the grocery store right across the street from where we were! I could not believe it! Luckily I was wearing my running shoes because I took off after him! I could see he had a car because he took out his keys. I saw which one he was eying and as soon as he unlocked the car, I jumped into the back seat, over the back seat, and into the trunk. I hid myself under a blanket and it was a good thing too. When he got in the car he threw the bag of money into the trunk and it landed right on top of me. It hurt! Then he takes off, I remove my blanket and look out the back window, careful that he doesn't see me and... Oh man! Sorry, I have to go to my grandma's. We're helping with something. Bye!

The ring is found

Ha ha! I found the ring! Yes! I should have known! You know how I didn't look in the dirty clothes basket the other day, big mistake. Let me go back to the beginning though. I went again to the Hopson house and just sat there. That's right, i sat in the middle of the bathroom thinking. Even though Mrs. Hopson was worried about her ring, she had to go on an emergency business meeting in California. Something about a bank having money troubles or something. Anyway, Zach went with her so he could watch this big football game happening there and Mr. Hopson was currently out of town visiting friends. So my family was house sitting. I was trying to remember all the things mom had told me to do:

1. Vacuum
2. Dust
3. Water the plants
4. Finish the laundry
5...

Laundry! How could I forget? I turned to go to the utility room. To get there from the bathroom, you have to go down this hallway that has about a million doors leading to it, into the living room, and there it is, on the right. I went in and started the drier. Now, being a detective you have to be alert. If even the slightest thing isn't normal, you should check it out. So that's what I did. The thing that wasn't normal was the drier. It was making this weird clinking noise. I stopped the drier, took out all the clothes, searched the pockets and everything, but nothing was there. I started the drier back up and it started again! This time I took out all the clothes and started the drier without them. Again I heard the clinking. Then I remeber that mom had mentioned it was an old drier, so sometimes it didn't respond. Even so, I checked all through that drier, I climbed inside and looked in every corner of that thing. Then I found the place where all the dirt and lint and stuff goes when it comes off the clothes. I looked at it and saw something shiny. It was the ring! Then it all played out in my mind:

Mrs. Hopson had put her ring beside the clothes, but too close. It was so close that the clothes covered most of it. So when she put her clothes in the dirty clothes basket, she had accidently put the ring in there too. So then she took the basket and dumped it into the washer. The ring hadn't made any noise then because it was buried in the clothes and had nothing to bang against, but when she put it in the drier, it had more room to bounce around in and found it's way the lint catcher, where it got stuck and I found it! Wow! I had just solved a real live case! I was so excited I couldn't wait to start another!

More clues

I went back to the house and did some more investigating. I have some more clues no thanks to those policeman. They probably smudged all the fingerprints! Anyway, let me tell you what happened:

Okay, I rang the doorbell, and this time Zach, Mrs. Hopson's 18 year old son, answers the door. He took me to the bathroom, and I started looking around. I looked in all the drawers, and observed every inch of everything in there, except for the clothes Mrs. Hopson had put in her dirty clothes basket by the sink. I did look in her jewelry box though. I found two braclets, five necklaces, and just about a million rings! I searched every inch of that room, but found nothing. There was no sign of a break in, but some people are careful not to leave their tracks. Then it accured to me. What if the ring had fallen into the drain of the sink! With permission and supervision, I opened the pipes and examined. It wasn't anywhere in there, but then again, I couldn't see much. I gave up for that day. I had a busy day earlier, cleaning the house, going to a friend's house, trying to find the ring. I'm hoping to find it tomorrw.

Watching the Police

Okay, I went back to the Hopson house. I noticed the police cars as I was taking a walk and decided to walk in their front yard. Actually, I was spying on the Hopson house from the top of a tree in our front yard and before the police even got to her house I climbed out of the tree, and took cover under a bush below the window of the crime scene (the bathroom). I had already picked that spot out last night so I could listen in on the conversations. I had been there 5 minutes and was starting to get bored already when I heard a very interesting conversation.

Policeman: So what did you do before you took a shower?

Mrs. Hopson: Well, I got my clothes out and carried them to the bathroom, I took off my ring and laid it down beside the clothes, and took my shower.

Policeman: Are you sure you set it down beside the clothes?

Mrs. Hopson: As sure as I am wearing blue jeans.

Policeman: Mrs. Hopson, you are wearing Khaki.

Mrs. Hopson: Umm.. Yes well.

That was all I got to hear because a policeman found me and told me it wasn't polite to listen on people's conversations. I told him I was playing hide and go seek, but he wouldn't buy it. So this means I have to go again tomorrow to Mrs. Hopson's house. Oh, boy.

Update on the Hopson house

Sorry I haven't written in so long. I got grounded. Not for being in the Hopsons' house though. Let me go back to the beginning.

I rode my bike what would have taken me 35 steps to the Hopson household. I rang the doorbell at exactly 9:04 on the dot. Mrs. Hopson answered the door and let me inside. I asked her to take me to the last place she saw her ring. She took me to the bathroom and pointed to the counter. She said, "I put my ring right there before I took my shower. I took a fifteen minute shower, or was it 10, anyway. When I got out of the shower, my ring was gone!" I thought this over a few minutes, and then I decided to act it out. I walked out of the bathroom and then back in. On my left was a shower with a clear glass door, but had a texture so you couldn't see through. Next to it was the toilet with a blue fuzzy lid cover. Then, directly in front of you was the counter with two sinks and 8 drawers. First thing I did was "take off" my ring and set it down on the counter. Then I stepped into the shower, but left the door open and didn't turn on the shower. We waited there 15 minutes and nothing happened. "Well, thank you for trying Aly," Mrs. Hopson said sadly, "but I don't think you are going to find it." "But I'm not even finished!" I tried to explain, but Mrs. Hopson cut me off. "I have somewhere to go and so you need to leave. The police will be here tomorrow and they will search." And so that was that. How did I get grounded? I snuck right back into the house after she left of course. Just like any good detective would do. And you know what, she had forgotten her purse, came back to get it, found me, called my mom and got me grounded. I have to go now before Chad, my little brother, catches me on the computer. Bye!

meet me!

Hi! My name is Aly, short for Alyssa, and I am a detective! That's right. I solve mysteries. I already have my first case. Mrs. Hopson, our next door neighbor, has just lost her ring. Not just any ring though, no, no. It's her wedding ring! That's right. The most precious ring you can ever get in adulthood. Mrs. Hopson thinks someone might have stolen it since there have been reports or burglary in the neighboring city. I'm going to check it out tomorrow. Mrs. Hopson doesn't see how a little girl can solve a case like this, and I don't either, but since I'm a big girl, I can handle these things. Mrs. Hopson is calling the police, but they won't be able to come until the day after tomorrow. They have been helping the other city search for the criminals. Oops! Gotta go! Mom is coming and she thinks I'm doing my homework. Bye!! Oh, Hi, mom!