Cam Jansen and the Millionaire Mystery Read online

  “He’s still watching that small table,” Eric whispered.

  “No, he’s watching the door to the bathroom,” Cam said.

  The door to the bathroom was closed.

  “Officer Phillips and I were looking for people who were on the elevator and we found him coming out of there. When he came out, he didn’t have the coffee cup.”

  Cam looked at the man.

  “I think he hid the necklace in the cup and he hid the cup in the bathroom. He’s waiting for whoever is in there to come out. Then he’ll go in and get the necklace.”

  “I think you’re right,” Eric said.

  Eric and his mother went to find Officers Phillips and Kaplan. Cam moved closer to the bathroom. Mrs. Jansen moved closer, too.

  They heard the toilet flush. The door opened and an old woman came out.

  The man in the blue jacket hurried to the bathroom. But Cam got in there first. She closed the door and locked it.

  “Hey!” The man banged on the door. “I was waiting longer.”

  “There’s another bathroom by the stairs,” Mrs. Jansen told him.

  “No. I want to use this bathroom. I’ll wait until that girl is done.” He banged on the door again. “Let me in!”

  Cam opened the small cabinet next to the sink. She found tissues, bandages, and aspirin but no necklace. She looked in the cabinet under the sink and found rolls of toilet paper and boxes of tissues. Then she looked at the small wire trash can. It was filled with used tissues.

  Germs, Cam thought. People sneezed in those tissues.

  Cam shook the trash can.

  Knock! Knock!

  “I’ll be right out.”

  “This is Officer Phillips.”

  Cam shook the trash can again. A few tissues fell out. Beneath them was a paper coffee cup.

  “There it is,” Cam said. She reached in for the cup.

  Knock! Knock!

  “I’m almost done,” Cam called out.

  There was a paper napkin in the cup. Cam took out the napkin and there it was: Mrs. Scott’s pearl necklace.

  “I found it! I found it!” Cam called out as she opened the bathroom door. She held up the necklace.

  “That’s it!” Mrs. Scott said.

  Cam told everyone about the man in the blue jacket.

  “He was just here,” Officer Phillips said.

  She took a walkie-talkie from her belt and called Officer Kaplan. She told him to look for the man.

  “He’s probably on his way out of the building,” Mr. Scott said. “I’ll call and tell the doorman to stop him.”

  “I’ll go downstairs,” Officer Phillips said. “I’ll call for extra police.”

  Mrs. Scott put on the necklace. Her husband closed the clasps.

  “Oh, there you are!” a large man in a dark suit called out.

  He hurried to the Scotts. A man with a big camera was right behind him.

  “Thank you so much for this party and for helping us with the firehouse,” he said. “You are great friends of our city.”

  He kissed Mrs. Scott on her cheek, and the man with the camera took their picture. He grabbed Mr. Scott’s hand and shook it. The man with the camera took another picture.

  “He’s Mayor Kamen,” Mrs. Jansen whispered to Cam.

  The elevator doors opened. Officer Phillips, Officer Kaplan, and the man in the blue jacket got out. The man’s wrists were locked in handcuffs.

  “I just wanted you to see that we caught him,” Officer Kaplan told the Scotts. “He confessed.”

  “What? What did he confess?” the mayor asked.

  Mrs. Scott told him all about her necklace and how Cam had found it.

  “I helped,” Eric added.

  The mayor stretched out both his arms and declared, “You must both be rewarded.”

  He grabbed Cam’s hand and shook it. Then he shook Eric’s hand. The man with the camera took their picture.

  “You’ll each get copies of that picture. And I’ll sign them. You’ll have my signature. Isn’t that exciting?” the mayor asked.

  Cam and Eric didn’t answer.

  “You’ll get hero’s medals,” the mayor said. “I’ll give them to you at city hall. There will be lots of newspaper reporters. This story will be all over the Internet. You’ll be famous.”

  Mayor Kamen stood between Cam and Eric and smiled. The man with the camera took another picture.

  The mayor turned to the thief. “Take him to the station house and then to jail,” he told Officer Kaplan.

  Cam, Eric, and the others watched the thief and the police get on the elevator again. The doors closed.

  “Let that be a lesson to everyone,” the mayor declared. “Crime does not pay.” Then he said, “Let’s celebrate.”

  Everyone followed Mayor Kamen to a table by the windows. He took a huge piece of gooey cake and bit into it. He got icing on his nose, chin, shirt, and tie. The man with him held up his camera.

  “No,” the mayor said. “Don’t take a picture.”

  He didn’t.

  But Cam did. She looked at the messy mayor. She blinked her eyes and said, “Click!”

  A Cam Jansen Memory Game

  Take another look at the picture opposite page 1. Study it. Blink your eyes and say, “Click!” Then turn back here and answer the questions at the bottom of the page. Please, first study the picture, then look at the questions.

  1. How many people are in the picture?

  2. Is Cam smiling?

  3. Is anyone wearing a hat?

  4. Which two people in the picture are wearing pants?

  5. Is anyone wearing eyeglasses?

  6. Is Eric wearing a tie? A striped shirt? A short jacket?