Li’l LMP in “Grandmother Clock?”

PART 1: MYSTERIOUS PHONE CALL

“Another tough day in the 5th grade!” exclaimed Eric as he dropped his rucksack on the living room floor.

“Now, Eric, you know what I’ve said about leaving your things around the house,” Mrs. Haugen warned from the kitchen.

“You’re right. I don’t want to leave a mess everywhere I go. It isn’t nice, and I’m not a Messy Martin!” Eric picked up his rucksack and ran it up to his room where it belonged. When he came back down, his mother was on the phone talking in a serious, hushed voice.

“Okay, I’ll tell him,” she said, and hung up.

“What’s wrong, Mom? You look so serious!” he said, sitting down at the kitchen table with a tall glass of milk he poured for himself.

“I am serious, Eric. Grandma Rubin’s house has been burglarized,” she said with a sad look that said she was sad.

“Oh no! Not Grandma Rubin, Brad Rubin’s grandmother! Why would anyone want to burglarize that nice old lady in a wheelchair?” Eric said worriedly. “I was just at her house yesterday helping weed her garden and clean her garage! Everything seemed fine then! Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, but it seems that someone broke a window and stole a prized heirloom clock of hers,” Mrs. Haugen explained.

Eric scrunched up his face. “Is that all they did?” he asked.

“That’s what she said,” said Mrs. Haugen.

“A burglar who breaks a window and only takes an old clock? That doesn’t make any sense!” Eric gulped down the last of his milk and wiped off his mouth with his sleeve. He rinsed off his glass and set it in the sink drainer. “I’m gonna get Ryan and visit Grandma Rubin and find out what REALLY happened!”

Mrs. Haugen looked concerned. “Eric, I don’t want you and Ryan getting into trouble again, like you did when Mr. Blonde’s house caught fire.”

“But Mom, don’t you remember? Ryan and I figured out that Mr. Koss from the real estate company set the fire so Mr. Blonde would sell the land to build a strip mall! We solved the case AND wrote a song about it!” Eric protested.

“Yes, but you almost got suspended!” she reminded him. “You can solve all the mysteries you want, just as long as it doesn’t interfere with your schoolwork.”

“I know. Anyway, we don’t even know yet if there IS a mystery. But if there is a mystery, LMP is on the case, solving mysteries and writing and performing rock songs! That's why we always say, the 'M' in LMP is for Mystery!”

Mrs. Haugen shook her head and smiled proudly as Eric bounded out of his house and skateboarded to the Bassler residence two streets down. Inside, Ryan was putting the finishing touches on their new hit single, “Gym Jam.” Little did Ryan know when he heard the doorbell ring that another mystery was in store for LMP...

TO BE CONTINUED...