Chapter 13

Chapter 13 NINA!" yelled all twenty-three pigs, and they rushed forward to hug her. "Ahem...," I said. Nina took off her earmuffs and they all began chattering away about celebrity gossip, nuclear physics, and hoof care products. Why is Nina always so popular? I'm the famous detective! And I don't go around eating things that don't belong to me unless they are flies. "This is not a hugging emergency. It's a THRILLING emergency! We need to solve this giant-fly problem." "OK, go ahead, solve it," said the first pig. "Yeah, we're waiting," said the second pig.

"Well, I don't have a solution yet!" I snapped. "That's why I'm here! I need some scientific information about the giant alien space fly." "Well, first of all, it's big," said the third pig. "I already knew that," I said. "REALLY big," said the fourth pig. "REALLY big," "REALLY REALLLLLLLLLY BIG," said the fifth pig. "We've never seen anything like it before!" said the sixth pig. "Well, actually, we've seen lots of flies like this before," said the seventh pig. "Just smaller," said the eighth pig.

"We've used the Computatotron 80001 to pinpoint every sighting of the giant Venus fly on this map," said the ninth pig, pulling a map from the computer's printer. "Could you please ask your goat not to eat the map?" said the tenth pig. "Thank you," said the eleventh pig. "As you can see, the giant fly is basically flying in circles around the city," said the twelfth pig. "That wouldn't be such a problem if it wasn't destroying national landmarks every time it lands," said the thirteenth pig.

BUZZZZZ... CRACK... CRASH! came a terrible noise from outside. The fourteenth pig wet his pants. "That was the Washington Monument!" said the fifteenth pig. "But why is he doing this?" said the sixteenth pig. "WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?" squealed the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth pigs together. "Big squeal," said Nina, and she put her earmuffs back on. "Brilliant!" I said.

"Really? Which one of us was brilliant?" asked all the pigs together. "The ones who asked Why? Why? Why? Why?" "Why?" "Yes, that is the correct question. I have been asking the wrong question. If you ask the wrong question, you'll never get the right answer. And if you never get the right answer, you'll never be the World's Greatest Detective." "None of us wants to be the World's Greatest Detective," said the pigs. "But I do!" I said. "And that's why I am now going to ask the right question: 'Why is the fly doing this?' If we can answer that question, then we'll know how to stop it." All the pigs squealed with excitement. "So tell us why, already," said Nina. "Er... I don't actually know why." All the pigs grumbled with disappointment.

"But I know how to find out!" All the pigs squealed with excitement. But I have to admit they didn't squeal as loud as they had before, and a couple of them left to check their email. "To solve a crime, one must think like a criminal," I told the pigs. "So in this case it will be necessary for me to think like a fly." I thought like a fly. "AHA!" I shouted. "I have solved this THRILLING mystery!" "You have?" asked the twenty-first pig. "By thinking like a fly?" asked the twenty-second pig. "Yes!" I said! "What is different about this city today? What is here now that wasn't here yesterday?" "A statue of President Horse G. Horse, with most of the mane missing?" said the twenty-third pig. "Yes!" I said. "Now, think about it from the giant fly's point of view. He sees a horse... the biggest