The Thanksgiving Mystery: Mystery Template

Section 1: Suspects

1. Betty

2. Peter
3. Hazel
4. Beverly

Section 2: Who's The Turkey?

"Hey, what's going on here?" Aunt Ivory hollered from the bedroom. She was starting to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner, just as a loud crash resounded throughout the whole house. She ran to the dining room, took one look and turned pale. "My God! Who on earth would have done this?"

Crystal, her niece, poked her head through the doorway and held back her tears. "Oh, no! I cannot believe this!"

Gramps, who was getting old and arthritic, limped into the dining room and asked, "What's all the noise?"

Spot, their lab retriever, headed out the open door, chasing after who ever it was that had just taken off. 

Aunt Ivory and Crystal could see someone racing down the street on a bicycle. It appeared to be teenager wearing a baseball cap, blue jeans, white runners and a t-shirt.

"Aunt Ivory, I will find out who did this!" Crystal said, running out the door and down the street. "Hey you," she hollered. "Come back here!"

It was too late as the culprit had already disappeared. As the bike turned the corner, Crystal glimpsed a flicker of light. "That was a reflection from the mirror on the bike's handlebars."

"I hope that was not, Peter," she thought to herself.

Peter was a disabled, but smart young man, who had just started to attend Crystal's school. "It couldn't possibly be him."

She spotted him sitting in the window of his home across the street and waved at him. He did not wave back and quickly disappeared.

Hazel, another neighbor, saw her, as she quickly walked back home.

"Hey!" Crystal hollered. She did not want to upset Hazel and decided not to say anything to her.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Crystal heard Betty, a young mother, call out to her, as she walked across the street towards Hazel.

"Thanks!" Crystal called back. "If you only knew," she said silently.

"Who could have done this on Thanksgiving Day?" Crystal wondered, as she headed back into the house. "I will find the turkey. This makes me so angry!" She had just set the table for dinner. Everything had been perfect.

Now the dining room was in complete chaos. Whoever it was that had done this, had pulled the tablecloth off the table. Broken dishes, glassware and silverware were strewn all over the floor. A beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece stood upright on the floor, right in the middle of all the mess.

"Who did this?" Gramps asked, staring at the disaster in amazement. "What is that in your mouth, Spot? Hey, give me that! Don't eat it!" The dog had just picked up something from under the dining room table.

"That's a scrunchie, Gramps. All the girls wear them to tie back their pony tails," said Crystal. "But I don't have any polka dot ones," she said to herself. "May I have that Gramps, please?" She quickly stuffed it into her pocket. She knew that none of best friends ever wore polka dots. That was too girlish! She bent down to pick up the centerpiece. The flowers were still perfect, as if nothing had happened. "At least it did not break."

Together, Aunt Ivory, Gramps and Crystal began cleaning up the mess and re-setting the table.

"We are still having our Thanksgiving dinner," Crystal told them. She loved both of them so much. This was supposed to have been such a special day. She was determined that it should still be a happy Thanksgiving.

"Smart thief," Crystal said to herself, later. 

On the floor by the back door of the kitchen, she found the pumpkin pie that Aunt Ivory had just made. It appeared that Spot had licked off all the whipping cream. "That is why Spot did not bark," she said to herself.

"The thief stole a drumstick and the wishbone?" Aunt Ivory said. She was stunned as she looked at the mutilated Thanksgiving turkey, on the kitchen counter. "Nothing else?"

"My silver mustache cup is missing, too!" hollered Grandpa, from the dining room. "That thief is not going to sell that in this town! It has my great-grandfather's initials carved into the bottom of it!"

"Aunt Ivory, that was a wonderful turkey dinner, in spite of everything," said Crystal, as they were finishing their Thanksgiving dinner.

Gramps nodded in agreement. "Now young lady, you need to get ready for school tomorrow."

"We are having an antique show at two o'clock. Gramps and Aunt Ivory, would you be able to come?" Crystal asked. She was going to show the bracelet that Gramps had given Grandma, for their 50th anniversary. It was supposed to be a surprise for him. Crystal decided not to say anything, but she realized that whoever this thief was might be setting up a display too, maybe even showing her Gramp's mustache cup?

The next morning, as she walked across the school parking lot, she saw two bicycles with mirrors on them. One was an older, dark green mountain bike; the other was a brand new, girl's ten-speed.

In her classroom, on the display tables, there were all kinds of antiques. Crystal did not say anything about the missing mustache cup, but checked every display from a distance. "I wonder if I should leave my 

Grandma's bracelet on my table," Crystal thought to herself. "Maybe I should stay close by and keep an eye on it?"

"Beverly, I love your polka dots." said Crystal, a moment later, as one of her school mates appeared at her side and began to examine the bracelet. "That was my Grandma's."

Beverly was a thin girl, who did not seem to have any friends. She was wearing her hair tied in a ponytail. Normally, she wore pigtails.

"That scrunchie looks just like the one Spot found under the table," Crystal thought to herself, as she looked at Beverly's hair. She pulled it out of her pocket and held it tightly in her hand.

"Oh, look at that old silver mustache cup!"

One of the parents had spotted it right away and went over to it.

"This display is wonderful!"

Gramps jumped up from where he was sitting and limped over there, too. He waited for a moment, while they examined at it. Then, Crystal watched him pick it up and look at the bottom. She saw him nod to Aunt Ivory, who was sitting by the window and then to her. "That's it," he seemed to say silently.

"Guess what, I got a brand new bike for Thanksgiving," said Beverly.

"That is great!" replied Crystal. "How was your day otherwise?"

"It was quiet, as my mom is sick; I got the wishbone from the turkey," replied Beverly. "I am going to wish that my mom gets better."

"I am so sorry your mom is ill. Where is your antique, Beverly?" asked Crystal, looking around the room.

"Over there by your Gramps. I sure wish I had a grandpa." Beverly replied, wistfully.

"Now I know who the turkey is," thought Crystal smiling. "I will take a look at it later, Beverly. Let's go look at your new bike. Hey, did you lose this?" Crystal handed her the polka dot scrunchie that she was holding.

"You found it!" Beverly replied. "Oh, thank you so much!" 

Section 3: The Clues

1. Spot found a polka dot scrunchie under the dining room table.
2. Crystal saw a light flicker in the mirror, as the biker turned the corner.
3. A new girl's bike with a mirror is in the school parking lot. 
4. Beverly has a turkey wishbone and a matching polka dot scrunchie.