The First Clue

Suki was eleven, and she wanted to be a detective. On Tuesday, she got her chance. Her blue bicycle was gone from outside the corner shop.

She did not cry. She took out her notebook. This was a crime, and she would solve it.

First, she talked to the shopkeeper. “Did you see my bike?” she asked.

The shopkeeper said he was busy all morning. He said he saw nothing. But Suki noticed something on the floor by the door: a wet tyre track. It was raining earlier, so the bike was here recently. That was her first clue.

Next, she found a small note near the shop. It said only three words: “Back by six.” Suki could not tell who had written it. Her heart was beating fast. A real case, at last.