The Catnapping Mystery Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Little Tiger is missing!

  “Good morning,” Molly said. “We’re looking for something to do.”

  “Something exciting,” Mrs. Jansen added.

  “Good morning,” the young man said. “My name is Michael. Let’s see what I can find for you.”

  Michael turned and took a folder from the rack. “How about going up in a hot air balloon?”

  Mr. Jansen looked at the folder and said, “These balloons go pretty high up. How about something less exciting?”

  Mrs. Jansen looked at the folder and added, “And less expensive.”

  “Excuse me. Excuse me,” an old woman said. She pushed ahead of Aunt Molly. She put her hands on the desk. “Excuse me,” she said again.

  “You’re next,” Michael told her.

  The woman was very upset.

  “I can’t wait to be next,” she said. “It’s Little Tiger! It’s Little Tiger! I’m sure something terrible has happened to my Little Tiger.”

  The Cam Jansen Adventure Series

  #1 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds

  #2 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the U.F.O.

  #3 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Dinosaur Bones

  #4 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Television Dog

  #5 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Gold Coins

  #6 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball

  #7 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Circus Clown

  #8 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Monster Movie

  #9 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Carnival Prize

  #10 Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Monkey House

  #11 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Corn Popper

  #12 Cam Jansen and the Mystery of Flight 54

  #13 Cam Jansen and the Mystery at the Haunted House

  #14 Cam Jansen and the Chocolate Fudge Mystery

  #15 Cam Jansen and the Triceratops Pops Mystery

  #16 Cam Jansen and the Ghostly Mystery

  #17 Cam Jansen and the Scary Snake Mystery

  #18 Cam Jansen and the Catnapping Mystery

  #19 Cam Jansen and the Barking Treasure Mystery

  #20 Cam Jansen and the Birthday Mystery

  #21 Cam Jansen and the School Play Mystery

  #22 Cam Jansen and the First Day of School Mystery

  #23 Cam Jansen and the Tennis Trophy Mystery

  #24 Cam Jansen and the Snowy Day Mystery

  DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE YOUNG CAM JANSEN

  SERIES FOR YOUNGER READERS!

  PUFFIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Group (Canada), 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

  Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland

  (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a

  division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

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  New Delhi - 110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), Cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland,

  New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

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  Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Registered Offices: Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

  First published in the United States of America by Viking,

  a member of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1998

  Published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 2000, 2005

  Text copyright © David A. Adler, 1998 Illustrations copyright © Susanna Natti, 1998

  All rights reserved

  THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE VIKING EDITION AS FOLLOWS:

  Adler, David A.

  Cam Jansen and the catnapping mystery / David A. Adler ; illustrated by Susanna Natti.

  p. cm.—(A Cam Jansen adventure ; 18)

  Summary: While visiting Aunt Molly at a fancy downtown hotel, Cam uses her

  photographic memory to help one of the guests find her stolen luggage and

  pet cat, and to catch the thief.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-07603-3

  [1. Robbers and outlaws—Fiction. 2. Hotels, motels, etc.—Fiction. 3. Mystery and detective stories.]

  I. Natti, Susanna, ill. II. Title. III. Series: Adler, David A. Cam Jansen adventure;18.

  PZ7.A26I-5Cam 1998

  [Fic]—dc21

  97-50544 CIP AC

  RL: 1.9

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  For my great-nieces

  Rivka and Devorah

  Chapter One

  “Yuma,” Cam Jansen said. “It’s a city in Arizona.”

  “Yuma ends with an a,” Cam’s friend Eric Shelton said. “Now I have to name a place that begins with an a.”

  Cam and Eric were walking through a busy city street with Cam’s parents. They were on their way to meet Cam’s Aunt Molly. While they walked, Cam and Eric were playing Geography.

  “Atlanta,” Eric said. “That’s a city, too. It’s in Georgia.” Eric smiled. “Atlanta ends with an a. It’s our sixth a. I’ll bet you’re stuck.”

  Cam closed her eyes and said, “Click.” Cam always says, “Click” when she wants to remember something.

  “Wait! Wait!” an old man called to his dog, which tugged at its leash. But the dog ran ahead.

  The dog ran alongside Cam.

  “Stop! Stop!” the old man called.

  The dog stopped. It turned and looked at the old man. Then it turned and ran around Cam. The dog’s leash wrapped around her. And the old man bumped into her.

  Cam opened her eyes.

  “It was my fault,” the old man said. He unwrapped the dog’s leash. “And Oliver’s fault. We’re both sorry.”

  Ruff ruff! the dog barked, and ran ahead.

  “Wait, Oliver! Wait!” the old man called to the dog. But the dog didn’t wait, and the old man had to run to keep up with him.

  “Stop playing with dogs,” Mr. Jansen told Cam.

  “Dad,” Cam said and smiled. “You know I’m not playing with dogs. I’m playing Geography and I need an a.”

  Cam closed her eyes again and said, “Click.”

  Then she said to Eric, “I’m not stuck. I know lots of places beginning with the letter a. There’s Alaska, Arkansas, Ann Arbor, Altoona, Albany, Alton, Allentown, and Akron.”

  Cam smiled. “I have a picture in my head of a map of the United States. I’m looking at it.”

  Cam rubbed her chin and said, “Akron. It’s a big city in Ohio. Now you have to name a place that begins with an n.”

  Cam has what people call a “photographic memory.” It’s as if she has a camera in her head and pictures of just about everything she has seen. Cam says “Click” when she wants to remember something. She says it’s the sound her mental camera makes.

  Cam’s real name is Jennifer, but when people found out about her amazing memory, they began calling her “The Camera.” Soon “The Camera” w
as shortened to “Cam.”

  Cam’s eyes were still closed.

  A woman wearing a purple hat with a large brim, and carrying a large bundle, bumped into her. “Excuse me,” the woman said, as she walked past.

  “Please, open your eyes and look where you’re going,” Mrs. Jansen said to Cam.

  Cam opened her eyes.

  “This city is so exciting,” Mrs. Jansen said. “Please keep your eyes open and look at the tall buildings and all the people rushing around.”

  Cam looked up. She saw a few pigeons resting on a high ledge. She also saw a helicopter landing on the flat roof of a tall building.

  “Please help me find the Royal Hotel,” her father said. “I think it’s on the next block.”

  “Yes! Look!” Mrs. Jansen said, and pointed. “We must be near the hotel. There’s a bellhop.”

  Cam and Eric looked across the street. A man in a blue uniform with gold trim was pushing a cart loaded with luggage.

  The traffic light turned to red. Cam, Eric, and Cam’s parents waited at the corner for the traffic light to change again. While they waited, they watched the bellhop put the luggage into a green van.

  A very long white car drove past. It turned onto a circular driveway under a red canopy with gold stripes. The driveway was jammed with taxi cabs and other cars.

  “That must be the Royal,” Mr. Jansen said. “It’s the only hotel on this street.”

  The light turned green. Cam, Eric, and Cam’s parents crossed the street. They walked under the canopy. A man in a red uniform, wearing a red cap, opened a large glass door.

  “Welcome to the Royal,” he said.

  Chapter Two

  The lobby was crowded. People were standing with their luggage by the long front desk. People were sitting on chairs and couches. There was a red piano on a platform, and a woman in a long black dress was playing it.

  Mr. and Mrs. Jansen looked for Aunt Molly. Then, after a long while, Mr. Jansen called, “Molly! Molly!” He waved to a woman sitting by a large potted palm tree.

  Aunt Molly looked across the lobby, right at Cam, Eric, and Cam’s parents. Then she looked at the people sitting on the couch next to Mr. Jansen. She turned and looked at the woman playing the piano. Then she looked at the palm tree and smiled.

  “No, over here,” Mr. Jansen called as he walked toward Aunt Molly.

  Cam, Eric, and Mrs. Jansen followed him.

  “Oh, what a surprise seeing you here,” Aunt Molly said. She waved her hands in front of Mr. Jansen and said, “But I can’t talk to you right now. Someone is calling my name.”

  “That was me,” Mr. Jansen told her.

  “It was?” Molly asked. “Oh, of course it was,” she said. She hugged Mr. and Mrs. Jansen.

  “Oh, my,” she said when she looked at Cam. “You and your friend Sheldon are getting so big.”

  “Molly,” Mr. Jansen said, “his name is Eric Shelton, not Sheldon.”

  “Is that right?” Aunt Molly asked Eric.

  Eric nodded.

  Molly put her hand to her cheek, shook her head, and asked, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, he’s sure,” Mr. Jansen told her.

  “What have you planned for us?” Mrs. Jansen asked. “You said you would find something exciting for us to do.”

  “Did I?” Molly asked. “I’m a little confused. I’ve been doing so much traveling. You know,” she said to Eric, “I work for an airline. I just came from New Orleans.”

  “New Orleans!” Eric said. “That begins with an n. That’s my answer,” he told Cam. “Now you need a place that begins with an s.”

  Cam told Molly, “We’re playing Geography.”

  “That’s nice,” Molly said. “And thank you,” she told Mr. Jansen. “I had such a nice time with you today.”

  “Molly,” Mr. Jansen said very slowly. “We just got here. We haven’t done anything yet.”

  “Oh, my,” Aunt Molly said. “That’s right.” She smiled. “I am very confused today.”

  She started across the lobby. Then she turned and said, “Come with me.”

  Aunt Molly led them to a young man at one end of the front desk. Behind him was a rack with folders describing things to do in the city.

  “Good morning,” Molly said. “We’re looking for something to do.”

  “Something exciting,” Mrs. Jansen added.

  “Good morning,” the young man said. “My name is Michael. Let’s see what I can find for you.”

  Michael turned and took a folder from the rack. “How about going up in a hot air balloon?”

  Mr. Jansen looked at the folder and said, “These balloons go pretty high up. How about something less exciting?”

  Mrs. Jansen looked at the folder and added, “And less expensive.”

  “Excuse me. Excuse me,” an old woman said. She pushed ahead of Aunt Molly. She put her hands on the desk. “Excuse me,” she said again.

  “You’re next,” Michael told her.

  The woman was very upset.

  “I can’t wait to be next,” she said. “It’s Little Tiger! It’s Little Tiger! I’m sure something terrible has happened to my Little Tiger.”

  Chapter Three

  “You have a tiger?” Eric asked.

  Mrs. Jansen patted the woman’s hand and said, “Just take a deep breath and tell us what happened.”

  The woman took a deep breath.

  “Did you hear that?” Eric whispered to Cam. “She has a tiger.”

  “Maybe it’s one of those toy stuffed animals,” Cam whispered.

  “Oh, no,” the woman said and took another breath. “My Little Tiger is real. And she’s such a dear. I take her everywhere.”

  “This is exciting,” Mrs. Jansen said.

  “I came to the hotel,” the woman told Michael. “I arrived by taxi. The circle drive in front was filled with cars. The driver said, ‘I can’t get in there. How about I leave you off here?’”

  The woman put her hand to her chest and took another deep breath.

  Then she said, “Well, he didn’t even wait for me to answer. He stopped the car and got out. He opened the trunk and took out my luggage. There I was, standing on the sidewalk with two big suitcases and my Little Tiger. I couldn’t carry all that!”

  The woman turned and said to Aunt Molly, “Those bags are heavy.”

  Molly nodded. “I try to get everything into one suitcase. And it has wheels.”

  “Well,” the woman said. “I was lucky. A nice young man, a bellhop, came to the sidewalk and said, ‘I’ll take that.’

  “I wasn’t sure pets are allowed in the hotel. The bellhop said he would take everything straight to my room. So I gave him Little Tiger, too.

  “Well, I’ve waited in my room for a long time and he hasn’t brought me my Little Tiger, and he hasn’t brought me my bags. I’m worried.”

  “Don’t worry,” Michael told her. He rang a bell. “We’ll find your luggage.”

  A bellhop rushed to the front desk. On the front of his red uniform was a badge with the name “Greg” on it.

  He looked around. Then he asked Michael, “Who needs help with luggage?”

  “A while ago, this woman gave her luggage to one of the bellhops,” Michael said. “She’s still waiting for it.”

  Greg took out a small pad and asked the woman, “What’s your name and room number?”

  “My name is Mrs. Esther Wright,” the woman told him. “That’s Wright with a w. I’m in room 613.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Greg said.

  “Oh, this is so exciting,” Molly said. “Imagine, a real tiger loose in a big hotel.”

  “Aren’t you afraid your tiger will bite you?” Eric asked.

  “Oh, no,” Esther Wright answered. “My Little Tiger is such a sweet and gentle little cat.”

  “Little cat!” Cam, Eric, Mr. and Mrs. Jansen, Aunt Molly, and Michael all said.

  “Tigers are not little cats,” Eric told Mrs. Wright. “Tigers are big cats.”
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  “Well,” Esther Wright said. She held her hands about one foot apart and said, “She’s only about this big.”

  She laughed. “She’s not a real tiger. She’s a cat. She has stripes, so I named her Little Tiger.”

  “Oh,” Eric said.

  They all waited by Michael’s end of the desk. They watched Greg talk to the other bellhops. Then Greg went into a room behind the front desk. He came out a short while later and walked quickly to Esther Wright.

  “I checked with my boss, the bell captain,” he told her. “Then I checked the luggage room. I couldn’t find your things.”

  Chapter Four

  “What!” Mrs. Wright cried out. “My Little Tiger is gone! And all my clothing and jewelry!”

  “I didn’t say they were gone,” Greg told her quickly. “I said I didn’t find them.”

  “I think they’re gone,” Cam whispered.

  “Don’t worry,” Molly told Esther Wright. “I’ve lost my luggage lots of times. Once, I bought a newspaper and chewing gum in an airport. I left my suitcase by one of the magazine racks. I think that was in San Diego.”

  “San Diego,” Cam whispered to Eric. “That begins with an s and that’s my answer. Now you need a place that begins with an o.”

  “Um,” Eric said.

  “I didn’t lose my Little Tiger or my luggage,” Esther Wright declared. “I gave them to a bellhop.”

  “Well,” Greg said. “Maybe the bellhop took everything to the wrong room.”

  Greg looked across the lobby. Then he said, “This is a big hotel. We have a lot of bellhops here. Do you know the name of the one who took your things?”

  “No,” Mrs. Wright said, and looked around. “But when I see him, I’ll know him.”

  Greg said, “Please, come with me.”

  Cam, Eric, and the others watched Esther Wright and Greg walk to the bellhop’s desk. Greg’s boss was sitting behind the desk. Two other bellhops were standing there. Esther Wright looked at them both and shook her head. Neither one had taken her luggage.