The Candy Caper Case Read online

  Mack nodded. “It’s a candy cane!”

  7 Alley Oops!

  Mack and Redd rushed outside. They looked up Beach Street. They looked down Beach Street.

  But for the first time that day, Candy Cat was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where did he go?” asked Mack.

  “Time for a bird’s eye view,” said Redd. He fluttered high in the air.

  “I see them!” Redd cried. “They’re in the alley next to the corner store!”

  Mack bounded over. Redd followed.

  Hidden in the alley, Candy Cat was busy packing up his cart.

  And he wasn’t alone. The sweet lady from the photo was there as well. She clutched a bulging handbag.

  “Leaving so soon?” asked Mack, stepping into the alley. Redd fluttered over and perched on the cart.

  “Sorry, we’re closed,” said Candy Cat.

  “We’re in a bit of a rush, dearie,” said the lady.

  “Then I’ll get right to the point,” said Mack. “I’m Mack Rhino, Private Eye, and I’ve had my eye on you.”

  The lady’s sweet expression suddenly turned into a sourpuss.

  “Come on, Candy Cat,” she said. “Leave the cart behind. Let’s beat it!”

  She tossed her cane to the side.

  And the cat burglars took off sprinting down the alley.

  “They’re getting away, Boss!” cried Redd.

  Mack stepped over to the candy cart. “Hmm, what should I try first?”

  “Is now really the time for sweets, Boss?” asked Redd.

  Mack grabbed a handful of jumbo gumballs.

  He took aim down the alley. He swung his arm back smoothly. He followed through.

  And he bowled a perfect strike.

  Candy Cat went splat.

  The sweet lady tumbled.

  Her handbag went flying.

  “Hey, look what the cat let out of the bag!” said Redd.

  Scattered on the ground were the real seashells, real dollar bills, real coins, and real jewelry.

  Mack picked up a ring with a gleaming red stone. He gave it a big lick.

  “Yuck.” He smiled. “Not cherry.”

  “It was almost a perfect plan,” said Redd. “Who would ever suspect a sweet old lady?”

  He flew over and pecked at the strands of her puffy white hair. “Just as I thought! Cotton candy!”

  “And we almost got away with the goods,” Candy Cat hissed.

  “But you didn’t,” said Mack. “Because I’m Mack Rhino, Private Eye. For cases sweet or sticky, I’m your guy. Or… rhino.”

  Redd snapped one final photo.

  8 Sweet Success

  The team gathered at the Coral Cove Bowling Alley for bowling night.

  Everyone wore their lucky striped bowling shirts and matching shoes.

  Mack brought the bowling balls for himself and Redd. One jumbo. One mini.

  Queenie brought chocolate cupcakes. Terry brought Banana Supremes.

  Redd arrived with a paper bag from the corner store.

  “This is for you,” he said to Mack.

  Mack reached into the bag.

  “Chocolate milk!”

  Mack took out his notebook. He added one final check.

  Get more chocolate milk. √

  “And take a look at this, Boss,” said Redd. He held up the Beach Street Gazette evening edition. “They printed my photo!”

  Redd’s photo appeared with the headline: “Candy Cat Burglars Foiled!”

  “I guess you could say they were caught ‘Redd-handed,’ ” said Queenie.

  Mack Rhino, Private Eye, smiled. He could finally wrap up Case #101—The Candy Caper Case.

  “There’s just one thing,” said Terry. “Whatever happened to all the candy?”

  Word List

  brisk (BRISK): Busy and active

  bulging (BUL•jing): Bursting or swollen

  chirped (CHERPT): Said excitedly

  confections (kun•FECK•shuns): Fancy candies or sweets

  display (di•SPLAY): A setup that is eye-catching for the viewer

  exhibit (egg•ZIH•bit): A show or presentation, often in a museum

  expression (ex•PRESH•un): The look on someone’s face showing emotion

  familiar (fuh•MILL•yer): Well known

  foiled (FOY•uld): Stopped

  haywire (HAY•why•er): Out of order or out of control

  high-pitched (hi•PICHT): Screeching or shrill

  humming (HUH•ming): Busy and lively

  misshapen (miss•SHAPE•in): Not having the right shape; distorted

  piercing (PEER•sing): Very loud and high-pitched

  precisely (preh•SISE•lee): Exactly

  pushcart (PUSH•kart): A cart moved by hand and used to sell things

  replacing (ree•PLAY•sing): Taking the place of something else

  scrolled (SKROLD): Flipped or moved through words or pictures

  sprinting (SPRIN•ting): Running quickly

  valuables (VAL•yoo•uh•bulls): Expensive things

  Questions

  1. At the beginning of the story, Mack gets a strange phone call. Who is calling? What else does Mack hear?

  2. Why are Terry Berry’s Smoothie Shack and Queenie’s Cupcake Shop so quiet today? Where are all the customers?

  3. What do the museum, the bank, and the jewelry shop have in common? What happened in all three places?

  4. What does Mack notice about the seashell near the display light in Redd’s photograph? How does this help him to solve the mystery?

  5. Redd likes to take photos with his new camera. Do you like to take pictures? What kinds of things do you like to take pictures of?

  More from this Series

  The Big Race Lace Case

  Athena & the Island…

  Chocolate Challenge

  Geeger the Robot Goes to…

  More from the Authors

  Whooooo Done It?

  Bright Lights, Big…

  About the Authors

  PAUL DUBOIS JACOBS & JENNIFER SWENDER are the coauthors of many picture books, including My Subway Ride and Fire Drill, as well as the Animal Inn chapter book series. Jennifer’s middlegrade novel Solving for M is a Junior Library Guild selection and forthcoming audiobook. Paul has also written four books with musician Pete Seeger, including Abiyoyo Returns and The Deaf Musicians, winner of the ALA’s Schneider Family Book Award. Paul and Jennifer live in Massachusetts surrounded by squirrels, bunnies, owls, wild turkeys, foxes, and deer. But so far, no rhinos. Please visit them at JacobsAndSwender.com.

  Aladdin Quix

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Paul-Dubois-Jacobs

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Jennifer-Swender

  Read more ALADDIN QUIX books!

  By Stephanie Calmenson

  Our Principal Is a Frog!

  Our Principal Is a Wolf!

  Our Principal’s in His Underwear!

  Our Principal Breaks a Spell!

  A Miss Mallard Mystery

  By Robert Quackenbush

  Dig to Disaster

  Texas Trail to Calamity

  Express Train to Trouble

  Stairway to Doom

  Bicycle to Treachery

  Gondola to Danger

  Surfboard to Peril

  Taxi to Intrigue

  Cable Car to Catastrophe

  Dogsled to Dread

  Stage Door to Terror

  Little Goddess Girls

  By Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

  Book 1: Athena & the Magic Land

  Book 2: Persephone & the Giant Flowers

  Book 3: Aphrodite & the Gold Apple

  Mack Rhino, Private Eye

  Book 1: The Big Race Lace Case

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names,
characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN QUIX

  Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin QUIX paperback edition May 2020

  Text copyright © 2020 by Jennifer Swender and Paul DuBois Jacobs

  Illustrations copyright © 2020 by Karl West

  Also available in an Aladdin QUIX hardcover edition.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  ALADDIN and the related marks and colophon are registered trademarks of

  Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau

  at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Book designed by Tiara Iandiorio

  The illustrations for this book were rendered digitally.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2019955565

  ISBN 978-1-5344-4116-3 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-4115-6 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-5344-4117-0 (eBook)