Hi! I am Mel Walker and I am 16 years old. I have always wanted to be a detective like my father, but he says I am not responsible enough. Can you believe it? I have a German shepherd named Ivy, who sleeps in my room every day even though my mum tells me not to bring her in. One night, my family and I had just finished dinner and were playing chess. Little did I know that I was about to land my first detective case! When I looked out the window, I saw two ghostly red eyes. Ivy started growling, but I was not sure whether it was out of fright or anger. I told my mother about the scary eyes, but she laughed and said that my eyes must be playing tricks on me. I laughed nervously and agreed with my mother, but I knew what I had seen. When everyone was asleep, I went outside to investigate with Ivy by my side. When I reached the garage, I turned on my flashlight. Two red eyes stared back at me from behind my father’s old motorbike. The eyes belonged to a strange, old woman. She smiled at me eerily. Ivy struggled to get away, but I had a strong grip on her leash. I rushed back into the house, with Ivy following suit.

The next day, when I came down for breakfast, my father was staring at the newspaper with his mouth open. “What’s wrong, Dad?” worried, I asked him. My father, still speechless, passed me the newspaper. The newspaper headline read:

“Nine year old boy feared dead Last night, a nine year old boy was passing by the deserted mansion on 10 Elmwood Hollow Street. He went inside the mansion and hasn’t been seen since then. There have been reports of an old woman being seen inside the mansion. Police officials have filed a report for the missing boy.”

“This must be the same woman I saw outside my house yesterday,” I said to myself. “May I have the newspaper, Dad?” I asked politely.

“Sure, honey,” replied Dad.

In the afternoon, I got a chance to go out hunting for clues. My mum wanted me to run an errand at the grocery store, so I jumped at the opportunity. I quickly got ready and told mum that I was heading out with Ivy.

I walked all the way to 10 Elmwood Hollow Street. As I reached the mansion, I felt goose bumps on my skin. Ivy was also getting restless. I knocked on the huge, black door, but there was no answer. I turned the door knob, and crept inside the mansion.

It was so dark, I could barely see. As I reached in my bag for a flashlight, I saw the same woman I had seen in the garage yesterday. She had dozed off on the sofa in the living room. In the dim glow of the lamp, I saw a golden haired boy, huddled up in a corner of the living room, with his hands tied.

I quickly crept up to the boy and started unfastening the rope around his hands. Suddenly, the door banged shut and the woman woke up with a grunt. I looked here and there in panic.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on a vase nearby. I picked it up, and as the old woman pointed her bony fingers at me, I threw the vase at her. The woman plopped down on the floor. I grabbed the boy quickly and rushed out the front door. I did not look back until I had neared my house.

My mother was working in the kitchen. When she saw me, her mouth flew open. “Wh… who is that?” mum asked, pointing towards the boy beside me. I told her the whole story. My mother called the police immediately.

Later, I found out that the boy who was kidnapped was called Fred Rogers. He told the police that the old woman was, in fact, a witch who was trying to catch young children from the neighbourhood. She was caught by the police and put in jail.

And so, this was the first case I worked on and I like to call it “My first mystery”.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 10th, 2021