Corey spent the whole weekend thinking about fingerprints. On Sunday evening he texted Ben and Hannah to ask them to meet him at his homeroom the next morning. So on Monday morning Ben and Hannah went to their homerooms early and got permission to visit Corey’s homeroom. “Finally, we’re in the same homeroom!” Corey said happily.
“Well, for one day,” Ben said.
“It’s a start,” Corey said.
The three members of Club CSI had borrowed powders, brushes, tape, and cards from Miss Hodges. They explained to Mrs. Ramirez that they’d like to lift some fingerprints from the crime scene.
“Crime scene!” Mrs. Ramirez said. “I hadn’t really thought of it that way.”
“Has the thief returned the money?” Corey asked.
Mrs. Ramirez shook her head sadly. “I was hoping he or she would feel guilty and decide to do the right thing.”
“You haven’t called the police yet, have you?” Hannah asked.
“No,” Mrs. Ramirez said. “I’ve told Principal Inverno, but we don’t call the police for something relatively small like this, unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Well,” Ben said, “we’re not the police. But we’re hoping we can help solve this theft.”
Mrs. Ramirez thought a moment. “All right,” she said. “Let’s give it a try. I know everyone worked hard selling those magazine subscriptions, so it’d be a shame if they didn’t get to contribute all the money they raised.”
By now the other students had arrived in their homeroom. They were surprised to see Ben and Hannah up front, talking to their teacher.
“Class,” Mrs. Ramirez said. “Corey and the two other members of—” She turned to Ben. “What was the name of your club again?”
“Club CSI,” Ben answered.
Mrs. Ramirez turned back to the class. “. . . Club CSI are going to try to figure out who took the missing money. Let’s watch as they show us some of the techniques Miss Hodges has taught them in her forensic science class.”
As the whole class turned their attention to Club CSI, Ben, Hannah, and Corey felt a little uncomfortable. They hadn’t known Mrs. Ramirez was going to turn this into a demonstration!
“I hope we remember how to do this right,” Corey murmured.
“We will,” Hannah said reassuringly. “Don’t worry.”
They started with the desk. It was light beige, so they chose the black powder. As they gently brushed the handle of the desk drawer that held the metal box, fingerprints clearly popped into view. Mrs. Ramirez was impressed.
“Very professional,” she said. She invited the students to come up one by one to see the powdered fingerprints.
Throughout their investigation, Hannah took pictures with her phone.
After they’d found fingerprints with the powder, they lifted them with tape and attached them to white cards. They wrote “Desk Drawer” on the cards to show where the prints had been found.
“Now, of course, you’re going to find my fingerprints. I hope that’s not going to lead to my arrest,” said Mrs. Ramirez.
The students laughed.
Once Club CSI had gotten all the fingerprints they could off the drawer’s handle, they asked Mrs. Ramirez to open the drawer and then take out the locked box. They used different powders to find fingerprints on the padlock and the box itself.
The metal surface of the box was an excellent place to find fingerprints. So was the back of the padlock. Many of the prints were smeared (lots of people had handled the box), but several were really clear.
As they worked on powdering the prints, the team got better at it. They felt good, as though they really were professional investigators.
The kids in the class watched, fascinated. “Just like on TV,” one student murmured.
While the drawer was open, Hannah spotted something stuck in a crack between the drawer and the inside of the desk. She pulled it out.
“I think it’s a feather,” she said quietly. “Do you know where it came from?” she asked Mrs. Ramirez.
The homeroom teacher looked at the small feather. “No, I have no idea,” she said.
Ben and Corey needed help with the fingerprints, so Hannah slipped the feather into a plastic bag and then stuck it in her pocket. She didn’t want to make a big deal about the feather in front of the whole class. Everyone would probably have ideas about what it meant, and they didn’t have time for a long discussion.
After they’d gotten all the fingerprints they could from the outside of the metal box and the padlock, they asked Mrs. Ramirez to open the box. Then they carefully took out Jacob’s envelope, holding it by the edges.
“We really should have on gloves,” Hannah said.
“You’re right,” Ben agreed. “Should have thought of that.”
Paper wasn’t nearly as good as metal for holding fingerprints, but they gave it a try. Hannah brushed on the black powder. A few fingerprints were faint, but they showed up.
They lifted them with tape and put them on white cards, labeling them “Jacob Ritter’s Envelope.” Hannah included the date, too, wanting to be as professional as possible.
“Are those all the surfaces you wanted to cover?” Mrs. Ramirez asked. The club members looked at one another, then nodded.
“Now that you have all those fingerprints, what are you going to do with them?” she asked.
“Compare them,” Corey said.
“Against what?” Mrs. Ramirez asked, puzzled.
“Well,” Ben said, “we’d like to get fingerprints from everyone in your homeroom.”
“We’ve brought ink pads and note cards,” Hannah said, holding them out for Mrs. Ramirez to see.
“I see,” Mrs. Ramirez said slowly. “I don’t know.”
“It won’t take long,” Ben said. “Making fingerprints with an ink pad is much quicker than lifting a print from a surface.”
Corey turned to his classmates. “Is there anyone who doesn’t want to be fingerprinted? Of course, I’m going to be fingerprinted too.”
No one raised their hand. Corey, Ben, and Hannah had figured no one would refuse, even the thief. It would look suspicious. Of course, the thief might be nervous about being fingerprinted. They planned to watch everyone carefully to see if anyone was nervous.
But, actually, everyone seemed enthusiastic about the idea. They quickly lined up to be fingerprinted. As usual, Jean managed to be first.
As Club CSI had them roll their fingers across the ink pads and press them onto note cards, everyone seemed to be having fun. No one seemed nervous.
Ever competitive, Jacob tried to give the clearest, best fingerprint of all.
Even Mrs. Ramirez agreed to be fingerprinted.
Once they had everyone’s fingerprints on note cards and had carefully labeled them, the members of Club CSI politely thanked the students and teacher for their cooperation.
The bell rang. “Well, that was certainly an interesting start to the day,” Mrs. Ramirez said.
As the students walked out, Ben said, “What I’m really interested in are the comparisons. Do any of these cards hold the fingerprints of a thief?”