07 The Case of the Troublesome Toilet

The Case of the Troublesome Tailet The rest of Saturday, and all day Sunday, Judy and her fellow junior detectives biked all over the neighborhood in search of a dark green van. They saw black vans, blue vans, brown vans, maroon vans, but not one single green van with Toilet Emergency written on its side and driven by chicken-eating guys with pointy ears. On Monday morning, she, Judy Moody, was in a mood. A why-can't-I-solve-a-mystery mood. Then came a clue, when she least expected it. Judy was doodling paw prints with her Grouchy pencil through Mr. Todd's talk about

Healthy Habits when out of the blue, the principal came on the loudspeaker and said three magic words. "Girls and boys, I'm afraid we have a bit of toilet trouble in the third-fourth wing. We had an emergency this morning when a pipe burst and flooded the girls' bathroom. The plumbers are here to fix the problem, but we ask that you use the bathrooms by the library until further notice." Toilet! Emergency! Plumbers! Those three words were music to Judy's ears. She craned her neck to look out into the parking lot. That's when she saw it: a dark green van, parked right across from the entrance to the school! Judy took out her notebook and wrote SOS in red lipstick. She held it up for Frank and Rocky

to see. Her hand shot up. "Mr. Todd, I have to go. Bad. And Rocky and Frank have to go, too." The whole class cracked up. Frank turned beet- red. "To the bathroom, I mean." Jessica Finch raised her hand. "Mayday! Mayday! I have to go, too." Jessica Finch was just being a big fat copycat. What a Fink-Face. "Tell you what," said Mr. Todd. "Let's all take a quick bathroom break." Eagle-Eye Moody was back on the case. Judy, Rocky, and Frank rushed out the door and down the hall. They did not head for the bathroom by the library. They headed straight for the girls' room with the busted toilet. On their way, they ran smack-dab into Agent Stink. "Stink, the girls' bathroom is broken and the bad-guy plumbers are here fixing it. No lie!"

Judy told him. "Judy saw the van parked outside," said Frank. "It's green, just like the one at Speedy Market." "Mr. Chips could be right here right now!" said Rocky. "This is big, Stink. And we only have five minutes. Be our lookout while we check out the bathroom." "What? You can't go in there. There might be exploding toilets! Or bad guys! They could tie you up. Or give you a major flushie or something." "A flushie?" asked Judy. "That's when they stick your head in the toilet... and flush!" Frank whispered. "Rule Number One, Stink: Don't be afraid of

flushies." Judy reached in her pocket and pulled out her SOS lipstick. "If anything happens, I'll write SOS on the mirror. Besides, I've got backup. Agent Rock and Agent Pearl are going in with me." "I'm not going in the girls' room," Rocky and Frank said at the same time. "We've got to," said Judy. "For Mr. Chips!" "Hurry up," said Stink, glancing up and down the hall. "Just yell 'Toilet paper' if you get in trouble." Judy ducked under the yellow DO NOT CROSS tape. Her heart beat in her throat as she tiptoed inside. Rocky and Frank followed close behind. "Hey, it's pink!" Rocky whispered. "And the girls have soap," said Frank. "Shh!" said Judy. The place was quiet. Too

quiet. A door from one of the stalls leaned against the sink. "Who's there?" she asked, holding her breath. She held out her Grouchy pencil for protection. She inched closer to the far end of the bathroom and poked her head around the corner of the last stall.