Oliver A. Pearson, DIT

Oliver A. Pearson, DIT
The Superglue Caper

Chapter 1
I am Oliver A. Pearson. My name is Oliver. I prefer to be called Oliver because my full given name is a mouthful. My birth certificate says my name is Oliver Angus Pearson. Wow, what a handle to grow up with hanging around one’s neck. I actually prefer Oliver followed by the initials DIT when I sign my name. The initials stand for Detective In Training. I currently am an amateur, unpaid, slapdash snoop. However, when I am on a case, I refer to myself as a detective. I intend to pursue a career as a professional investigator. I am ahead of myself here. I need to inform my readers more about my personal attributes and human qualities.
I am an eleven year old male. I was born at the local hospital April 1, 2000. Yes, I know and I have heard plenty of jokes about the day I was born! Currently I am of average height and weight for my age. My dad says I will end up over six feet in height and the other side of 200 pounds in weight. For now, I have to be satisfied with normal and average. I, unfortunately have fire engine red hair to go with my green eyes. I have heard abundant jokes about my hair. For my mysterious emerald eyes, mom tells me I am going to be a lady killer. I keep telling her she’s nuts as well as very prejudiced when describing her son.
I attend Ipswich middle school. There I am happy to say I am surrounded by many good friends. Among them are Specs Lacy, Knuckles Masterson, Roz Shanski and Toots Lott. We have all been good friends since our elementary school days. At middle school, all of us are involved with science club and the math club. We spend a lot of time together however; we each have different likes and dislikes. The most fun we have had together is when yours truly gets involved with his detective work. This activity does not happen all the time, but often enough to keep things interesting for all of us.
More often than not, we just hang out and have a good time. I cannot say that any of our group is pushy, arrogant or bossy. We are enjoying the time that we had together at middle school. What is really fun is when I am drawn into some investigation. To date I have not found an investigative opportunity that was not enjoyable. I never run into anything that is dangerous. I never involve my friends in anything that would put them in harm's way.
To date, I have been fortunate enough to have been involved in at least one or two mysteries a year since I was in fourth grade. I have solved each investigation. More times than not, I have involved all of my good friends. They are always more than willing to participate in my mystery investigations. Each and every case, took the time and efforts of all of us. That is what has made it so much fun.

















Chapter 2
Mr. Donald Bain’s Discovery
Mr. Donald Bain is a science teacher at Ipswich Middle School. He is a conscientious teacher. He is a hard grader, but he is fair. He is a very strict disciplinarian. For the most part, I get along with Mr. Bain, as do all my friends. However, there are a few in school that just seem to rub Mr. Bain the wrong way. They are the ones who are rewarded with the fury of his discipline.
Mr. Bain's class is always organized. He prefers to have the students perform experiments at their tables. As for me, I am very lucky. I have Toots Lott as a lab partner. As a partners, I do all the deductive thinking she keeps notes takes charge of cleanup. It works for both of us as we are A students in science class.
One morning Mr. Bain arrived at his classroom. He had shown up well before most students had arrived at school. As usual, he prepared the room for the latest experiment. Having achieved this effort he sat behind his desk. He attempted to pick up his great book. To his amazement, it would not leave the top of his desk. He tried several times to pick up the grade book. He had no success after numerous attempts. His grade book was attached to his desk. He had not a clue as to how this result had developed. This was the first incident in the Superglue Caper.

It should be noted here that Mr. Bain was unable to even open his grade book. At first, the teacher felt that this was just a practical joke. He was willing to live with this one incident. However, in the days to come was in for more surprises. The very next day the science teacher discovered he could not open his file cabinet. He went through the same procedures to open the cabinet that he had previously with the grade book. He was unsuccessful in opening the file cabinet. Frustration was starting to set in with Mr. Bain. The following morning it was his coffee cup that had been secured to his desktop. It had been fastened firmly to the desk.
Not wanting to arouse suspicion among his students, Mr. Bain made no mention of the grade book, the file cabinet or coffee cup. He had the good sense to ask me, Oliver Pearson, to stay after school that day. He knew I was a DIT. I have science class the first period each day. Mr. Bain chose not to explain his request. It left me to ponder as to what Mr. Bain wanted to chat about. I was curious about why Mr. Bain had scheduled a meeting. I was somewhat concerned as to what might take place at the meeting.
         All my classes came and went that day. Nothing significant happened. I did get to meet with Toots a couple of times. We chatted about a little of this and that, but, nothing was mentioned about my meeting with Mr. Bain. I preferred to keep it that way. I never like to let the cat out of the bag until I had learned all the facts.
As requested I stopped by Mr. Bain's room at the end of the school day. It took him a very short time to explain to me the predicament that included his grade book, his file cabinet and his coffee cup. It took me but a moment to check out all three items. I did a bit of scraping around the coffee cup and was almost positive superglue had been used as the adhesive. This is when Mr. Hadabaugh suggested that I do some investigative work on my own outside of the classroom. He asked if I would keep the investigation to myself. He did not want to draw any unwarranted attention to himself or me. I agreed and set off for home. On the way, I began devising a plan of action for this investigation.




Chapter 3
Enter the Sleuth, Oliver
That evening, I went over and over the conversation I had with Mr. Bain. Relative to this investigation, I knew the three most important areas would be means, motive and opportunity. It was obvious that the crimes were committed either before or after school was in session. As far as suspects, Ipswich Middle School had approximately 1200 students. However, this number could be reduced by quite a few. In my mind, there were at least five good suspects to pursue. These were students who were always giving teachers headaches in one form or another. The suspects would include Chip Lipscomb, Bret Hammer, Sissy Kovatch, Biff Crowl, Bumper Bangs and Boom Boom Dailey. These kids were always in the office for some minor offenses that they had committed against teachers or other students.
         Not far away and unknown to Oliver, Biff Crowl, Bumper Bangs, Bret Hammer and Boom Boom Dailey were having a meeting. They were planning a little surprise to take place at Ipswich Middle School. However, the mischief that they were planning did not include the use of superglue. Their plan was to drop a cherry bomb into one of the toilets flush the toilet and then take off until the cherry bomb exploded. They felt they had a good plan. Hopefully they could pull it off without getting caught. Finalizing their plan, they ended their meeting in each headed for their own home.
         Back at Oliver's house, the young detective was lost in thought. As far as the crimes committed against Mr. Bain, we had He had little to work with. The only clues he had at this point we are superglue, a grade book, a file cabinet and the coffee cup. The only motive that he could come up with was one of vengeance by the culprit or culprits. Obviously, who ever had pulled this caper had the means. Problem was everybody in school had access to superglue.
         This situation was very perplexing to Oliver. Since everybody at school had access to superglue, it would complicate the entire case. It seemed that Mr. Bain was the only person the culprits had aimed their mischief toward. That issue was about to change.
         That morning is Oliver's took his seat in his homeroom announcements came from the public address system. It seems the superglue caper had expanded to several more victims at the middle school. It had been reported to the office that some 15 to 20 lockers had been superglued shut. This along with the fact that two other teachers had discovered mischief in their classrooms made it obvious to superglue caper had been realized by the entire school. This case has just become more problematic for Oliver Pearson. He comprehended that he would need to call upon Toots Lott for support to solve this case.
         Oliver left a note at Toots’ locker before he headed to his first class. He knew full well that she would be more than willing to join his latest quest. Actually, he was quite pleased that he would have the opportunity to again work with the young lady, who he had held in so much respect.







                                                           





Chapter 4
Toots Joins Oliver
         I had known Toots Lott since before attending kindergarten. Our parents went to the same church. Our fathers played golf together. Our mothers belong to the same bridge club. Occasionally, our parents would go out to dinner together. It should suffice to say our families got along well together.
         Toots was now just a bit shorter than me. She had long black hair. Occasionally I would call her the Raven. She was not wild about that particular nickname, but she never complained. She was a bit fiery tempered, on occasion. I made it a habit to never cross her when she had her mind or when appeared to be in a bad mood. She has a great sense of humor. Not only can she take a joke. She is equally good at handing them out. All in all, I guess you would have to say she was a lot like one of the guys except I would never say that in front of her. More often than not, I told her I appreciated her friendship and trust.
         As mentioned earlier I had left a note on Toots’ locker that I wanted to meet with her after school. The final bell for school announcing the end of school day had rung. I went to my locker to gather my books and some homework that had been assigned. Closing my locker, I headed straight for the drugstore. It was there that I was to connect meet with Toots.
         Over the years Toots and I had become exceptionally trustworthy friends. We shared a lot of the same curiosities such as science, math, reading and various other activities after school. Like me, she was a very good student in the classroom. Most of the time, her grades were more notable than mine, but only a smidgeon. Until the last year Toots was taller than me. However, in the last six or eight months, that has all changed. All in all Toots was in fact, my very best friend.
         As scheduled, Toots and I met at the local drugstore. We sat in a booth at the very back. I did not want anybody to overhear any part of our conversation. Over the next half an hour to 45 minutes, I discussed with her all that had taken place in regard to the superglue incident, the locker incident and the atmosphere at school in general. She was in full agreement that something had to be done. However, she always looked to me to lay out a plan of attack for our investigations. We both accepted the fact that I would be the leader. However, I was always open to suggestions.
         For the moment, we knew the following about our forthcoming investigation:
1. The superglue incidents with Mr. Hadabaugh.
2. The superglue incidents with the lockers.
3. We had a list of what could be considered suspects.
4. We do not the motive for the culprits.
5. We needed to interview some of the latest victims of          the superglue culprits.
Toots and I decided that we needed to interview some of the people who had their lockers super glued. We needed to find more witnesses, but more importantly, we needed to find good hard evidence. This was highly important, before we started pointing fingers and making accusations.









Chapter 5
The Investigation Proceeds
         The afternoon the Toots and I were to begin the interviews finally rolled around. It was our plan to interview, what we considered a high priority suspects first. This would include, Chip Lipscomb, Lips, Lawrence, Sissy Kovatch, Biff Crowl and Bumper Bangs. It had been my experience, most of the petty crimes committed at the middle school were committed by all or if you of the aforementioned suspects. This may seem like profiling, however, their past involvement in former crimes speaks for itself. Toots and I were working in conjunction with Mr. Bain at our school principal, Mr. Harlan Isaac. On behalf of the schools, each of the suspects was sent a request to show up at Mr. Hadabaugh's room for individual interviews. The interviews were scheduled for 30 to 45 minutes each. We hope this would be enough time to get the facts that we were looking for.
         Chip Lipscomb showed up about five minutes late for his interview. This was not surprising, as he was always late ruling class. I chose to interview Chip. He had always been a hard case at school. I figured it was up to me to soften him up first before I let Toots have a shot at him. He seemed very cool and collected. In the beginning he was very defensive with any and all of the questions that I asked. However, as I proceeded with my interview I could see by his body language he was becoming very uncomfortable. To me this was a good sign. It was here I chose to let Toots ask a few questions. She was very direct and got straight to the point. She even repeated a few questions that I had previously asked. I could tell she was trying to see if Chip stuck with any and all of his alibis. Two questions seemed to unnerve Chip. The first was when he was asked if he or any of his friends chewed Clove gum. The other was when he was asked to show the bottom of his shoe. It was not a match to the sample picture that Mr. Hadabaugh had given to me.
         The Next interview was to be with none other than Sissy Kovatch. By and large, Sissy projected the personality of a “tomboy.” I felt it was in the best interest to let Toots interview since Sissy. It seemed to go well. However, after 30 minutes of chat, Toots had gotten nowhere. They had a reasonable alibi for her time. She also resisted even to any depth with the questions related to the other suspects.
         Lips Lawrence was our next interviewee. Like his nickname, Lawrence’s mouth was constantly on the move. He was very outgoing, with regard to all the questions. He too had alibis for his time. It seems this was a dead-end interview.
         Biff Crowl was next on the agenda. Biff was known as one of the toughest kids to attend the middle school. It seemed he never looked for a fight, but he never steered clear of a good scrap. In my mind I did not think he was a good suspect. What few dealings I had with him, Biff did not appear to have any ill feelings toward teachers or other students. Biff was nonplussed by the interview. I knew he did not chewed gum, and he wore boots that did not have a webbed sole. As Biff left the interview I pretty much discounted him as a suspect.
         Bumper Bangs was the last of my suspects to be interviewed. We went through all the questions. He had good answers for each and every one. I discounted Bumper as a suspect.
         As I brought the interviews to a conclusion, there was a loud explosion. It came from the boy’s restroom at the end of the hall. Toots and I ran toward the noise. As we arrived, who should come out of the restroom? It was none other than Mr. Harlan Isaac. He was in the process of pulling up his boxers and his trousers. Most notable was the fact he was saturated with water from head to toe. There were no other people around to observe this embarrassing moment for Mr. Isaac. He was muttering something to himself, and I am sure it could not be repeated in public.
         Just what I needed, another bit of mischief to investigate.







Chapter 6
Investigation Interruption
         Things had started to become confusing to both Toots and myself. We were knee deep into the Superglue Caper and now the explosion in the restroom. To our amazement, Bumper Bangs was caught almost immediately following the explosion. He was herded into the principal's office. There he freely admitted he had put the cherry bomb in a toilet and flushed it. It was but a short while until Principal Isaac met with Bumper behind a closed door to his office. Bumper received his punishment immediately. Several loud whacks were heard coming from the principal’s office. Shortly thereafter, a red-faced Bumper Bangs left the office. He was observed rubbing his backside gingerly. Case solved, and now Toots and I could refocus on the superglue caper.
         With little to go on we were at a standstill with our investigation. We chatted for a short time and decided to head to the drugstore. At the drugstore we would put our heads together. We would attempt to revise our plan to follow through with the investigation. We spent the better part of an hour chatting at the drugstore. Toots and I were both wondering what our next move would be. As if the light came on, Toots came up with the magic word "D'Artagnan.” What a surprise, this was to me. D'Artagnan was my ever faithful and loving Rottweiler. D’Artagnan has been part of my life since he was born just four years ago. Contrary to some myths about Rotties, Dart, as I call him, is a “love muffin” and a “lap dog.” He is loyal and protective of me to a fault. He has a 24 inch neck; he weighs in at 150 pounds with a fifty inch chest. However, and most important he’s a great detective.  In the past D'Artagnan has been very helpful in solving cases. He was abundantly reliable when I needed a sensitive nose, to aid an investigation. As Toots pointed out, superglue had a pungent odor until it dried. Upon drying it was nearly impossible for the human nose to distinguish its odor. D'Artagnan appeared to be our best resource to solve the crime.
                   D'Artagnan was more than willing to help his loving companion, and his best friend Toots. We led D'Artagnan to Mr. Hadabaugh room first. There we let him sniff around the grade book, the coffee cup and the file cabinet.  D'Artagnan fixated on the odor that remained of the superglue. D'Artagnan began to tug at his leash. He led Toots and me out the door of Mr. Hadabaugh's room. In the hall D'Artagnan focused his attention. He began smelling the floor as we passed by the student lockers. Down the hall, we went. We completed the search of one side of the hallway. D'Artagnan quickly moved to the other side and went back up the hallway. He was not particularly aggressive as he sniffed the floor. To me, this meant there was little for him to discover. We completed the first hallway. We went upstairs and went through the same procedure on the second-floor hallway. D'Artagnan discovered nothing. We then moved to the first floor of the building. Halfway down the hallway D'Artagnan began struggling harder on the leash. He seemed to have picked up the scent. He was pulling harder with each step, until we reached Mr. Kasserman’s room. Mr. Kasserman was the middle school’s Head Custodian.













Chapter 7
The Big Shocker!
                   There we were Toots and I in front of Mr. Kasserman's office. We were both dumbfounded at D'Artagnan's discovery. We looked at each other and found it hard to believe what D'Artagnan had led us to in this investigation. We had scoured most of the school attempting to find the scent trail of the superglue. We were astounded. Dart had led us to the door of the building head custodian. We didn’t know what to do next.
                   My first thought was to immediately get together with Mr. Isaac and Mr. Hadabaugh. Toots agreed with me. She suggested we needed to put together an action plan. We would share the plan with the two gentlemen. I was in favor of the suggestion. We took Dart home and then headed to the drugstore to form our action plan.
                   We put our heads together to try to make heads and tails of what Dart had led us to find. We knew for a fact that Mr. Kasserman had access to superglue on a daily basis. We knew he had opportunities to go into the teachers rooms. He regularly inspected student lockers when directed by Mr. Isaac. Those two questions answered took care of two of the big three, which included means, opportunity and motive. Toots and I racked their brains. We could not come up with a motive that would fit Mr. Kasserman. Mr. Kasserman had been the head custodian at Ipswich Middle School for as long as both of us remember. He appeared to get along with everybody, including the ornery students who we initially interviewed. He was always around to help people in need whether it was a teacher or student. Motive appeared to be beyond our comprehension.
                   Our next move was to call Mr. Isaac and Mr. Bain and set up a meeting someplace outside of the walls of the school. This took a short while to complete. The two adults agreed to meet with us tomorrow at the drugstore. Our phone calls, we shared little if any information with Mr. Isaac or Mr. Bain. We let them know that we had used Dart as a resource in our investigation.          
                   Following our phone calls I took the opportunity to walk Toots home. Over the last few years we had done this, together and the walk had become habitual for both of us. It never seemed like Toots and I were dating, at least to me. We both enjoyed our time together, which included walks and endless conversations that covered all sorts of topics.
                   It was not long before I dropped Toots at her home. I waved goodbye and headed straight for my home. I knew I had to take care of some chores and there was always the never-ending homework. On top of that my faithful companion D'Artagnan would be waiting for me. He knows I always have time for him. After I feed Dart I continually spend some time brushing him. Following this  is D'Artagnan's play session. Generally I play with D'Artagnan twice a day. He is absolutely insatiable when it is time to chase the ball. Selfishly, I must admit, those play sessions helped me clear my mind. I could concentrate on deducing solutions for any pending investigations.
         
         












Chapter 8
Little Gained, a Plan is Hatched
         It was almost 4:30 P.M. before Mr. Isaac and Mr. Bain arrived at the Lawrence Pharmacy & Drugstore. Toots and I had arrived earlier. We all sat in the back of the drugstore. We wanted our privacy. This was serious business for all of us. We needed to get to the bottom of the Superglue Caper. Toots and I shared the information we had gathered. We explained we had been through the entire building twice and found no evidence. We described how we invited D'Artagnan to become part of the investigation. We illuminated further how D'Artagnan had sniffed every square foot of Ipswich Middle School. We told the two gentlemen that we did everything twice. We discovered nothing new on the second examination. Following both searches of the building, we ended up at Mr. Kasserman's room. We knew that we had no right or permission to search Mr. Kasserman's private office. We aimed to obtain permission and follow up with a complete search of his office. Toots, and I both felt that it was important not make accusations about Mr. Kasserman without rock solid proof.
         To say the least, we totally amazed the gentlemen. We all sat there for a short time shaking our heads. We knew we had to get to the bottom of this investigation. But the big question still remained. What was the motive? After several moments of silence we put her heads together to formulate a plan of action. Mr. Isaac said that he would call Mr. Kasserman into the office the next day. It would then be Toots, Mr. Bain and my responsibility to make a thorough search of Mr. Kasserman's office. It was our hope we could find evidence so we could conclude our investigation.
         The following day, the plan came off as planned. To our amazement we found no definitive evidence that would implicate Mr. Kasserman. The three of us were very disappointed. We completed the search in just under 30 minutes. We all headed for Mr. Isaac’s office. On the way to the principal’s office We passed Mr. Kasserman in the hallway returning toward his office. He seemed none the wiser for our deception.
         All of us went in to Mr. Isaac’s office. He shut the door. We all took a seat. The three of his described in detail what took place in search of Mr. Kasserman's office. Mr. Isaac was just as befuddled as we were for the lack of any solid evidence. The room became very quiet at this point. We all exchanged glances. We seemed to be stumped. Alas, a light switch on in my mind. I had a great idea for our next move. It was my opinion that we bait a deception for the superglue culprit. Everyone agreed that this might be the last chance to discover the perpetrator of the superglue crimes. I spoke up and said that I would come up with a plan. I would call everybody that evening. At that time I would explain the deceptive details of my plan.

















Chapter 9
The Tale, Hook, Line and Surprise?
         That night at home I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling. I was trying very hard to evaluate all possibilities to solve this case. I kept reminding myself of the big three on every case. There has to be motive, means and opportunity. Toots and I, with the help of D'Artagnan, had come up with means and opportunity. We were stuck in the mud for finding a motive. It just did not make sense.
         Still frustrated, I devised a plan in my mind. To me it seemed very basic. There would be a tale, this would be followed by a hook. The final stage would include slipping a line around the culprit and reeling him. I would have to get the approval of Mr. Isaac to set the effect my plan. I knew he was ready for some peace and quiet at school. This should not take much time to set in motion.
         As far as the tale as I explained to Mr. Isaac we would let the gossip mill generate itself. The tale would be about forgiveness if the culprit came forward within 48 hours. If not then there would be a heavy price to be paid when the culprit was seized.
         It was my observation that once the rumor mill generated activity, we would post a message on the central bulletin board. The message would recap the same message. However, at the bottom of the message there would be a post script. The PS would infer that enough clues have been found to support an accusation. It seemed that a piece of evidence had been left behind in Mr. Hadabaugh's room. Of course this was a lie. But, if it helped catch the culprit, so much the better.
         My thinking here was the hook would be too much of the temptation for the culprit. He or she would return to the scene of the original crime. They would be intent on getting rid of any and all evidence that may have remained. In my mind this plan was a good one. If it caught the perpetrator everyone would be delighted.
         The next morning I arrived at school early. It was my intention to set down with Mr. Isaac to explain my plan. If he gave me the go-ahead I would get the rumor started immediately. I would talk to Toots to see if she would construct a message for the message board. I was positive Toots would willing to make any contribution to help solve the case.
         I was very pleased when Mr. Isaac gave me the go-ahead for my plan. I put the word out to Specs Lacy, Knuckles Masterson and Roz Shanski that I needed to meet with them before they went home. I knew I could count on these three to get the rumor spread throughout the school.
         The last part of the plan would unfold in Mr. Bain's room. I checked back with Mr. Isaac and he was in full agreement that Mr. Bain and yours truly would hide in Mr. Bain's room the evening. Toot’s message was to be placed on the bulletin board before school dismissal that day.
         If the plan worked, the Superglue Caper would be solved. The villain would be captured. Life would return to normal at Ipswich Middle School.          










Chapter 10
Who Would Have Thought?
         The time was upon us to set the trap for the Superglue culprit. Following the end of the school day the plan was applied. Mr. Isaac, Mr. Bain, Dart and yours truly met at Hadabaugh’s science room. All of us entered the chamber. We headed into the closet. It was a tight fit. We left the door ajar so we could observe the entry door.
         I had made arrangements with Toots to shadow Mr. Kasserman until we could prove or disprove his involvement in the caper. Toots was thrilled by the opportunity to be an active participant in my new plan. I knew I could count on her to do an outstanding job.
         The next step for me was to assign my friends to follow the student suspects. Mr. Kasserman was not the only suspect in this case. We needed to know if Chip Lipscomb, Bret Hammer, Sissy Kovatch, Biff Crowl or Bumper Bangs were involved in the Superglue Caper.
         Specs Lacy would keep an eye on Chip Lipscomb. I assigned Knuckles Masterson to watch Bret Hammer. Those two had a contempt for each other. That was obvious to everyone in school. It would be Roz Shanski's job to keep an eye on Sissy Kovatch. Dash Yokum volunteered to keep these eyes peeled for Biff Crowl. Boom Boom Dailey would have the pleasure of scrutinizing Bumper Bangs.
         Everything was set now according to my plans. Mr. Kasserman, the main suspect would be accounted for. The five other probable suspects would be covered by my close friends. They would make an accounting of all the actions of the suspects for that day and evening. Perhaps it would be an “all-nighter.” With any luck, the Superglue Caper would be solved this night. I always hoped for the best. Tonight I felt, with the help of the two gentlemen and my good friends. we would get to the bottom of all the shenanigans.
         There was nothing left to do now, but to wait. Time passed slowly. Seconds seemed like minutes. Minutes seemed like hours. It had been two hours since school had been dismissed. Nothing of significance had happened. Two hours had passed. Another hour passed. And one more hour passed. All of us had invested something over five hours to my plan. All of us in the closet were getting bored with the waiting. Mr. Isaac suggested we might call off the activity for the evening.
         In an instant Dart tensed up on his leash. He started a low growl. I bent over and hushed him. He obeyed immediately. Suddenly there was a twisted click at the entry door of Mr. Hadabaugh's room. It was the sound of a key being inserted into the door lock. There was a faint snap. We heard the door knob slowly being rotated. As the door opened gradually, we heard a faint squeak of the hinges. Someone was coming through the door. We heard the footsteps. The footsteps signaled they were the visitor was heading in the direction of Mr. Bain's desk.
         Mr. Bain reached from the closet to flip the light switch on. Simultaneously, the rest of us rushed toward Mr. Hadabaugh's desk. To our surprise, there stood none other than Roscoe Emmons. In brief, Roscoe Emmons was the grandson of Mr. Kasserman. Everything made sense now. Roscoe had been in trouble all year long with Mr. Hadabaugh. Unfortunately, several students taunted Roscoe and his shortcomings in science class. It now appeared that the superglue caper was his payback for being put down in class and during school hours.
         The expression on Roscoe's face was one of guilt as well as shame. He had been caught. His game of payback had collapsed.  I was sure his grandfather would feel the shame also. Roscoe readily admitted to the pranks in Mr. Hadabaugh's classroom. He also admitted to pranking all of the lockers that had been superglued. Mr. Isaac stepped in and escorted Roscoe from the building. He told us he was going to take Roscoe home and explain everything to his parents.
         The case had been solved. It was after midnight. We were all tired. We said our goodbyes and headed home. Accompanied by D'Artagnan, I headed home. Tomorrow I would call my friends and explain to them the case had been solved.  I would schedule a meeting at the drugstore the following afternoon. At that meeting, I would praise them for their work, and thank them for their strong support. After all, Oliver A. Pearson, with their assistance, had just solved the Superglue Caper. Life is good and I can’t wait until my next investigation!