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Short stories: The dollhouse mystery

the dollhouse as a favor to him. But, I've always been very careful to put everything back just the way she likes it. You know how neat and clean Nana is. She could spot a small piece of dust from across the room!" I had to smile in agreement.

When the doorbell rang and everyone gathered in the hallway, I thought I'd try a little experiment. The detective walked in, and as introductions were being made, I said, rather loudly, "Here's the dollhouse, Mr. Officer. I'm sure you'll need to inspect it very carefully."

As I began to lift the entire dollhouse up from its perch, Henry lurched forward, trying to stop me and yelled, "You better put that down! It's extremely fragile!"

"Thank you, young man, but I can handle things from here," the detective said kindly.

The setting sun peeked through the blinds on the parlor windows, and had momentarily fallen upon the underside of the dollhouse when I lifted it.

"Detective, I think this case has already solved itself," I said confidently.

*

Everyone looked confused. I looked at Henry and said, "Henry, I think we both know what's been going on. If you want to explain it in your own words, here's your chance."

"Henry?" Nana Rose looked at Henry, waiting for him to speak.

"It's not MY fault. If you and dad weren't so selfish, none of this never would have happened!"

"What do you mean, son?" Nana asked, looking sad and worried.

"I always knew you and dad weren't telling me something. I knew we had to have more money than you let on. When dad died, you said nothing about any money. Every time I try to ask you about it, you just politely change the subject or make some lame statement about money not buying happiness. Why don't you let ME decide that for myself?" At this point, Henry's anger was boiling.

"Henry, son, your father just wanted...."

"Just wanted what?! I know about the gold, mother," Henry said sarcastically.

"What gold?"

"I think I can answer that, Nana," I said. I walked back to the dollhouse and lifted it up once again. This time, everyone had the opportunity to see that under the dollhouse, a small hole had been cut in the base of the house. Several small nuggets of fake gold were glued inside the hole.

"I had forgotten all about that," Nana Rose said, smiling, seeming to forget what was going on. "My sister and I were pretending that we were pirates searching for buried treasure one day, and we put those little nuggets underneath the house."

"But everything in the dollhouse is an exact copy of this house. There is gold under


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Short stories: The dollhouse mystery

  • 1 of 36

    by Sara Stone

    The Copycat House
    (formatted to Marketplace specifications; tested and approved by 3 Middle-School children)

    Suspects:

    H enry
    Harriet
    Jim
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    by Michelle Raiche

    The dollhouse mystery

    Suspect:s : Mr . Partridge,Jenny

    Somewhere, in a large city at the end of a strreet, there was

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    by Carolyn Lanier

    I vaguely remember grandpa, much less the long hours each day he spent in his work shop.
    I wasn't quite five when grandpa

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    by Jim Bessey

    MURDER, OVER A DOLLHOUSE

    Suspects:

    M r. Hanlyn, the husband
    Kerry Wood, the neighbor
    A random burglar?
    The UPS driver, not named



    "Murder,

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  • 5 of 36

    by Tamara Ponama

    Title: The Dollhouse and the Sweet Potato Plant, A Children's Mystery

    Suspects: Blinky, the wide-eyed cat; Grandma Maribelle,

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