Chapter Six

“Mrs. Robinson,” I said, “you have a mystery on your hands, and I’m going to solve it.”

Connor stepped on my toe.

“I mean—we’re going to solve it.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” asked Mom.

“First thing we need to do is go to the scene of the crime.”

Connor yanked on my sleeve. “But there’s no crime. There’s only a missing key.”

“I know that.” Brothers. They’re such work! “But all P.I.s say that to start a case.”

“Oh.” Connor nodded. “Okay.”

“I can’t go,” said Mrs. Robinson. “I have to wait for the locksmith.”

Yes! Locksmith! That was the word for what Pete did. He opened locked doors. Because it was his job, he never got arrested. That was a pretty great kind of job. Maybe I should be a locksmith when I grow up. Then I could open the lock on Connor’s treasure chest. And I wouldn’t get into trouble, because it was my job!

“We can wait here,” said Mom. “If Pete arrives, I can phone you.”

Mrs. Robinson nodded. “Okay. Lark, what’s first?”

“We should start with your bag,” I said. “Can we please look inside?”

Mrs. Robinson nodded. We took out her wallet, a pack of gum, a travel mug, a hairbrush and her phone. But there was no key.

“I must have dropped it while I was walking,” said Mrs. Robinson. “I should’ve put it in my purse pocket.”

She looked really upset, so I patted her hand. “It’s okay. With me and Connor on the case, your key will be found. Promise.”

“Lark,” whispered Connor. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

I knew he was right, but in the P.I. book, the detective had promised the king he’d find the treasure. He called it “upping the aunty.”

“We have to find the key,” I told Connor. “I have to get more detective books. And I have to find out what ‘upping the aunty’ means.” Plus, I needed to know what happened if you upped the uncle.

We said goodbye to Mom and Halmoni. Mrs. Robinson headed toward the park, with Connor and I close behind.

I couldn’t wait to solve this case!