Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 "I hope your foot gets better fast," Dink said. "Thanks, and I hope you find the skeleton," Mr. Palmer said. The kids left and walked toward their room.

"We must've figured something wrong," Josh said. "One of these people has to be the perp." "The perp?" Dink said. Josh grinned. "Yeah, you know, the guy that did it." "So if it wasn't anyone on this list, who was it?" Ruth Rose asked. "That footprint didn't get there by magic." "I wonder if it could be a trick footprint," Dink said. "What do you mean?" Josh asked. "I read a story once about some kids who made fake bear tracks to fool their parents," Dink said. "They taped some rolled-up socks onto an old rake. Then they stamped 'bear' tracks in the snow all around their house." "But why would the skeleton snatcher leave a fake footprint?" Ruth Rose asked. Dink shrugged. "Why would anyone steal the school skeleton in the first place?" "Well, whoever did it is pretty mean," Josh grumbled. "Playing tricks on innocent kids isn't nice!" Dink and Ruth Rose burst out laughing. They were still giggling as they got close to their room.

"Wait a sec, I want to put this drawing away," Josh said. "STOP!" Ruth Rose shouted as Josh stepped up to his locker. "DON'T MOVE!" "What!" Josh gasped, smacking his chest with one hand. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" "Look what you almost stepped on!" Ruth Rose pointed to a circle of white powder on the floor. In the center of the circle was a footprint. It was a very familiar footprint. Ruth Rose grabbed Josh's footprint sketch from his hand and knelt next to the new print. "Check it out, guys," she said. Dink and Josh bent down for a closer look. It was a left footprint with a zigzag pattern. When Ruth Rose placed Josh's drawing on the floor, the two footprints were identical.

"Oh my gosh!" Josh cried. "The skeleton snatcher was here!" Just then Mrs. Eagle popped her head through the door. "What's going on?" she asked. Ruth Rose pointed at the footprint. "Look, Mrs. Eagle." "He's back!" Josh said. "And he came right to your locker," Dink added, grinning. "The zombie is after you!" "No way!" Josh argued. "See, the footprint is halfway between my locker and yours."

"Maybe he stole something from one of your lockers," Ruth Rose said. Mrs. Eagle knelt and put her finger in the white stuff. Then she lifted her finger to her nose. "Hmm," she said. "This smells like talcum powder. Why don't you boys open your lockers?" "You go first," Josh told Dink. "Okay," Dink said. "Since you're such a scaredy-cat." "Am not." "Are too." "Boys," Mrs. Eagle said. Dink pulled open his locker door. His jacket hung on a hook. On the shelf, his books were neatly arranged. His lunch bag sat on top of his books. "Nothing's missing," Dink said. "Now you, Josh." "No problem," Josh said, flipping up the latch on his locker door. His jacket hung on the hook. His books were stacked on the shelf. His brownbag lunch was perched on the books. But in front of the lunch bag was a twisted piece of white paper.

"What's that?" Josh asked. "I didn't put that there." Dink leaned close and whispered, "Maybe it's a note from the snatcher!" "Yeah, right," Josh said, grabbing the paper twist. "Hey, there's something inside!" When Josh untwisted the paper, a metal object fell onto the floor. But Dink, Josh, Ruth Rose, and their teacher were all staring at the paper in Josh's hand. It was a drawing of a smiling skeleton. Someone had sketched a big "2" in the center of its forehead. Mrs. Eagle bent down and picked up what had fallen. "How odd," she said, showing the kids a shiny key.