Neighborhood Mystery

Neighborhood Mystery

Strange Cases I have seen it at the same house, at the same time, every Sunday night for the last three months. A group of individuals, some of them slim, some of them stout, most of them male, but some of them female, entering this house across the street from me. Each of them wears a similar looking uniform and carries some kind of case.

I know they are not carrying luggage. Most of the cases are too small for that. One of the cases is huge! Only some are square while others have a weird curvy shape. At 7: 00 p. m. , it is hard to see anything clearly-especially if your neighborhood does not have streetlights. Aside from the porch lights and the passing cars, I can't see much of anything in the darkness. All the people walking into the house seem to be wearing the same dark color, but down along their sides, there is a line of shiny buckles, catching flickers of light from the porch light. I wonder what it all means.

I never saw anything like this while living in Boston; but I do remember seeing strange reports on television that might help explain things. At first, I was afraid to tell anyone at school about my neighborhood mystery because I was afraid they would think I was acting strange. But then, I got up the courage to ask my friend Maria, who lives in my neighborhood, if she knew anything about the strange happenings.

I caught her in the hallway after school as she was opening her locker and reaching inside. She pulled out a small case. I froze. She turned to look at me and saw my startled face. “ What?" she exclaimed. " Haven't you seen a violin case before?" Of course, I had seen one before. After all, I was born in Boston, hometown of one of the most famous symphony orchestras in the world-the Boston Pops. My family heard them play on every Fourth of July. Last year, I counted 30 violins in that orchestra! So, yes, I've seen my share of violin cases.

In fact, my dad rented a violin to see if I would like it, but I really wanted to play the guitar. The violin, now that I think of it, came in a case just like Maria's. Maybe I was too busy thinking about the mystery to make the connection. " Did you need something?" she asked. " Never mind, " I said as I walked away confused and deep in thought . . . Who were those people with the cases? I could not be sure. The only way to know would be to solve the mystery myself-like a detective.