The Crime

Tuesday afternoon 2:03 PM

In a land that’s far away,
There is a place called Beetlebay.
Down a tree-lined street you’ll see
A school that’s making history.

A concert that’s preformed each spring.
This year will have a special thing.
The fourth grade choir has planned a treat
For someone they think is really neat.

Mrs. Singer, the Beetlebay music teacher,
Has made this song a special feature.
The choir is practicing today.
The concert is just two days away.

The children like Mrs. Singer because
There’s something special that she does.
When you’ve been good and sing out strong.
You won’t be alone for very long.

A stuffed bear will keep you company.
They’re Mrs. Singer’s; she has three.
During choir practice she puts the bears,
All in a row, on a set of stairs.

Earlier today she put them there,
Carefully placing each soft bear
On the step. They looked so cute.
Then Mrs. Singer had to scoot.

Before the choir comes in to sing,
Mrs. Singer needs one more thing.
She hurried off without a care
Not thinking of each teddy bear.

When she came back, oh me, oh my,
Only two bears did she spy.
The third and most important bear,
Wasn’t sitting on the stair.

Who is around this time of day?
Who could have taken the bear away?
Mrs. Singer looked high and low.
Did she find the bear? The answer is no!

So, Mrs. Singer called Tootsie Chase.
“Tootsie, we have a missing bear case.
Can you come to the school? I need your help now.”
“Of course,” said Tootsie. “We’ll find it somehow.”

Tuesday 2:30 PM

I go by the name of Tootsie Chase,
A private detective brought in on the case
Of a missing bear. Just where did it go?
That’s what everyone wants to know.

I talked to Mrs. Singer and she
Thinks that there just happen to be
Six different suspects who might have the bear;
Who might have taken it off the stair.

I’ll talk to each and every one.
Find who took the bear and why it was done.
First, I must check my suspect list
To be sure there’s no one I may have missed.

The Suspects

Sally Dance

The great-great granddaughter of Captain Dance,
She was not in her classroom, so she had a chance
To take the bear. And her other connection
Is she has a big teddy bear collection.

Wiley Rough

He thinks he’s tough, doesn’t like teddy bears,
Especially the ones that sit on the stairs.
He likes to play tricks and have lots of fun.
So, Wiley Rough might be the one.

Scott Dance

He’s Sally’s brother. He’s younger but he
Took an interest in Beatlebay history.
“There might be a ghost in the school,” he said.
He thinks that because of a story he read.

Audrey Small

She likes all stuffed animals, especially the bears
That Mrs. Singer puts on the stairs.
She told a friend, the one she likes best
Is the bear that is missing from all the rest.

Miss Shine

A substitute teacher, the kids all adore.
In the big tote she carries she couldn’t get more
Papers and crayons and books and toys,
Which she shares with all the girls and boys.

Mr. McNeil

I met him before on the Gargoyle case,
So he has a very familiar face.
He’s the town historian and why he was there...
Is because he knows of an antique bear.

These are the suspects; I’ll talk to each one.
Solving this mystery should be lots of fun.
I have a strange feeling there’s more to this case.
This will be a challenge for Tootsie Chase.

Solving the crime

I need to talk to each suspect and see
If they know where this bear just happens to be.
I’ll carefully listen to what they say.
We’ll find that bear by the end of the day.

Oh, here comes Miss Shine and she has her tote.
I wonder what’s in it? I must make a note
To ask if she’s looked for the missing bear.
She could have stuffed the critter in there.

“Miss Shine,” I said, “Can we talk for a while?”
She said, “Not right now.” But she gave me a smile.
Then she hurried off in a mysterious way.
I must get a look in that big tote today.

I don’t think she’d take Mrs. Singer’s bear.
But, she rushes around from here to there.
She stuffs things in that tote and you never know...
If that’s where a missing stuffed bear would go.

I’ll check that tote later but right now I see
Audrey Small and she just happens to be
Getting a drink, out here in the hall.
I said, “I’m Tootsie. Hi, Audrey Small.”

She said, “I know you, you’re Tootsie Chase.
You solved the Strawberry Sneaker case.
Are you here looking for the missing bear?
I hear Mrs. Singer looked everywhere.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m here and I know you like bears.
Especially the ones that sit on the stairs.
You have a favorite, the one that was taken.
You love that bear, if I’m not mistaken.”

“I really like that bear, that’s true.
But finding it is up to you.
It could be a prank,” is what Audrey said.
As she hurried away, I shook my head.

This case baffles me, no one seems upset.
But, I’ve not talked to all of the suspects yet.
The bear is missing, but I’ll wait and see
If this really is a mystery.

I walked down the hall, spotted Sally Dance
Who was at her locker and I saw her glance
At her backpack, before she zipped it up quick.
Then she hid it inside; a very neat trick.

I said, “Sally, I hear you’ve a bear collection,
And toward each one you have great affection.
Did you happen to see Mrs. Singer’s bear?
The one that was taken from the stair.

She closed her locker and turned my way.
She said, “Tootsie, it’s been an interesting day.
Have you seen my brother, his name is Scott Dance?
You should talk to him if you get a chance.”

“Your backpack’s very full,” I said.
“I’d like to talk to you instead.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, “I can’t talk right now.
Just solve the mystery. I know you know how.”

Then she smiled and hurried down the hall.
Her brother is younger if I recall.
I must talk to that boy; just where can he be?
I’ll go to his classroom to look and see.

On my way, I ran into Wiley Rough.
When he smiled at me, he didn’t look tough.
“Say, Wiley,” I said, “it’s been told to me
That you don’t like stuffed bears. Mrs. Singer had three.

“Now one is missing, it can’t be found.
It seems that the bear is no where around.
You wouldn’t be pulling a stunt just to see
If Tootsie can solve a mystery?”

Wiley shrugged, “Who me? Would I take a bear?
Two bears or three bears, I really don’t care.
I have other things that I’d rather do.
Solving a mystery is up to you!”

He walked away with a grin on his face.
Something is going on in this place.
Scott Dance may have some answers, and so
Out to the playground is where I should go.

When I walked out the door, I didn’t get far
When I saw someone close the trunk of a car.
“Why, Mr. McNeil, is that you?” I said.
I saw him smile as he turned his head.

“What’s the town historian doing at school?
You work at town hall as a general rule.
Did you know there’s a missing antique bear?
Mrs. Singer can’t find it anywhere.”

He walked to the door of his car and said,
“Yes, I saw it in one of the books I read.
It might have belonged to Captain Dance
I needed to see it, to take one quick glance.

“But the bear is now missing, so I’m going to go
Back to my books and see if they show
Another picture of that antique bear.
If I find a clue, I’m willing to share.”

He smiled as he left. What was that all about?
What’s in his trunk? I need to find out.
Then I saw Scott Dance standing by a tree.
No one was with him that I could see.

There he was talking and pointing a finger.
I walked up to him; I didn’t linger.
I said, “Scott, please tell me who you’re talking to.”
As I looked down and saw some mud on his shoe.

“Hi Tootsie Chase. There just happens to be
A ghost dog named Spike who is talking to me.
Captain Dance had this dog and they lived over there
In one of the houses on Washington Square.

“This is the field where Spike used to run
He’d bury his toys in the afternoon sun.
Now Spike is mad; because as you see
There’s construction work in his territory.

“They’re enlarging our playground and digging up dirt.
There’s nothing here I thought they could hurt.
But Spike is upset and I don’t know why.
I’m really glad that you stopped by.”

“I’m sorry Scott, but I don’t see Spike.
And there’s not a ghost that I don’t like.
I’m looking for a bear,” I said.
Scott did not say a word; he just lowered his head.

I turned to go, took a step or two;
Then I turned back as I sometimes do.
I blinked my eyes and shook my head...
Scott was petting a ghost dog’s head.

Yes, I saw Spike; he was sitting there.
Could he have taken the missing bear?
As I stood there looking under the tree,
I knew who my seventh suspect would be.

This is a strange case, there aren’t many clues.
There must be something I can use
To solve this mystery and find a bear,
That doesn’t seem to be anywhere.

I decided to visit the construction site.
I’ll talk to the foreman and see if he might
Have found something while digging that might be a clue.
That’s what a private detective would do.

I walked up to the man, who said he was Jim,
Shook his hand and said I had some questions for him.
He said, “Put on a hard hat, Ms. Tootsie Chase,
Then I’ll be glad to help with your case.”

We walked and talked and looked all around,
Then I noticed a fresh, muddy hole in the ground.
It was filled with dirt, so I happened to say,
“Have you been digging over that way?”

Jim took off his hat, wiped his brow with his shirt.
“No, we stopped digging there when we found in the dirt,
An old knotted rope. We tossed it away
Over there in the woods, just yesterday.”

I smiled and said, “Thanks. You’re more help than you know.”
I knew there was somewhere I had to go.
Then I’ll sit and review the facts in this case.
I’ll solve it or my name’s not Tootsie Chase.

Let’s go over the suspects; Audrey likes bears,
Especially the ones that sit on the stairs.
Wiley likes pranks but he doesn’t like bears,
Especially the ones that sit on the stairs.

Miss Shine picks up things on the run, maybe she
Put the bear in her tote. That’s where it might be.
Or did Mr. McNeil put the antique bear
In the trunk of his car: is it really there?

Or is Sally Dance’s backpack where
Tootsie Chase will find the bear.
What did Scott tell the ghost dog under the tree?
Was it something to do with the mystery?

The ghost dog, Spike; what could he do?
Was the knotted rope really a clue?
It’s time you tried to solve the case.
See if you agree with Tootsie Chase.

Who took the bear?