The Case of the Missing Money
Last Wednesday started out as a pretty normal day. I woke up moments before I needed to go to school, and slept through Channel 1. First and second period were rather uneventful, and the morning passed with ease. As usual, I went to band third period. Mr. Mattern seemed very aggravated during band (and I was sure that it wasn't only because of the saxes being so sharp!) After class, I went into his office to chat.
"Hey, Mr. Mattern! How's it going?" Mr. Mattern looked up at me and grimaced.
"Not so good, AnnieŠ"
"Yeah, those saxes can get really frustrating, huh?" I said.
"Oh no. That's the least of my worries today."
"What? The trombone didn't sound THAT bad, Mr. Mattern!" I said with a laugh.
"Again, not really the issue today," replied Mr. Mattern. "Something of mine has gone missing."
Knowing that Mr. Mattern was an avid collector of many things, I thought that it could've been something he had just brought in to show us. "Is it that Mad magazine you just got?"
Mr. Mattern got a strange look on his face and dove under his desk. I heard him ruffle some papers, and then he came back up with a half smile. "Not that. Just wanted to check!"
"Oh." I said with confusion, still having no idea what was wrong.
Mr. Mattern sighed deeply and started to tell me what happened. "I brought in some money this morning."
"Oh! Well you usually have some right Mattern? Hahaha." I laughed as I said this, but he didn't and continued talking.
"This was twenty one-hundred dollar bills. That's $2,000!!! You know how I love showing you kids that kind of thing, so I was planning on showing them to you. So I came into my office after second period to see that they were still in my briefcase. THEY WEREN'T!"
"Oh my gosh, Mr. Mattern! I can't believe that! Have you spoken to officer Bowmen?"
"WellŠ no. It would be a major insurance breech to have $2,000 in cash at school, so I'd rather not point it out to him or the rest of the faculty."
"Well then how do you plan on getting it back, with the person who took it?"
"I don't knowŠ I just don't know."
Just then, one of the kids in my guitar class walked in, so we stopped talking about it.
***
Guitar class went by pretty quickly and afterwards, while everyone was at lunch, I spoke to Mr. Mattern again. He said he still had no idea, but that he needed to work it out before the end of the day. I sat down and asked him a few things.
"So you brought it in and left it in your briefcase which was in your office?"
"Yes. I stayed in there until announcements and everything. Then I took my other guitar class outside, but I locked my office as well as the band room. We came back in, and I unlocked both the band room and my office, but I stayed in my office until the bell rang. During passing period, I went into the guitar room to straighten out the mess first period left."
"Hmmmmm," I said, taking all of this in. "So someone could have gone into your office between first and second period?"
"YesŠ I suppose so."
"Okay. So now we need to know who would've known about the money. Did you tell anyone about it?"
"No, not anyone! I wanted it to be a surprise."
"WellŠ Could anyone have seen you put it away?"
Mr. Mattern was deep in thought, as though replaying the morning's events in his head. After a minute or so, he answered. "Sara Stewart was in my office this morning. She could've seen the envelope when I pulled some papers out of my briefcase. I didn't make a point to hide it, but I don't remember her looking specificallyŠ But that's not like Sara at all! She had come in to show me her new tenor."
"Oh! Sure, Teloola. She showed it to me today too! It's a gorgeous horn! She said it cost around thirteen hundred! But I just don't see Wilkie, uh, I mean Sara doing that."
"You're right. It's not like her at all," said Mr. Mattern as he scratched his head.
"Do you think that it would hurt to talk to her?" I asked, thinking she might be able to shed some light on the situation.
"WellŠ I'm not sure. I guess that there isn't any harm in trying though! Would you go get her for me?"
"Sure, Mr. Mattern," I replied as I headed towards the door.
***
In a matter of minutes we were back in Mattern's office. I hadn't told Sara what it was about, but she seemed nervous.
"SaraŠ" Mr. Mattern began.
"I TOOK IT MR. MATTERN! I DIDN'T KNOW HOW I WAS GOING TO PAY FOR TELOOLA AND I SAW ALL THAT MONEY AND I JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!! I'm so sorry. I let you down." Sara looked down at the ground and Mr. Mattern and I stared at each other, very confused.
"What exactly did you take, Sara?" I wasn't quite sure why Mr. Mattern asked that, but Sara's answer surprised me hugely!
"Your money, Mr. Mattern! I took your money! And I feel awful, because now it's gone forever!"
"Gone forever?" said Mr. Mattern and I at the very same time.
"Yes! Forever! I didn't know what to do with the money once I had taken it, so I just decided to burn it! Get rid of it! I took some isopropyl alcohol from Mr. Brugge's room and used this lighter! I BURNT IT ALL UP!"
I was surprised by Sara's honesty, so I began to wonder. "Where did you burn it Sara?" I asked.
"Out back, near some portablesŠ Look!" As she said this, she dumped a bag of burnt up things onto Mr. Mattern's desk.
Mr. Mattern looked shocked and didn't say anything as he ran his hands through the scraps. Just then, something clicked.
"Sara, what did you light the money up with?"
"A lighter. I took it from Mr. Brugge with the alcohol."
"Do you happen to have it with you?" Mr. Mattern looked at me like I was crazy. What did it matter what lighter she used?
"Ummm. No, I don't think I have it with me. I think I put it back," said Sara. I couldn't help but notice she was getting even more nervous.
"I know for a fact Mr. Brugge only uses butane lighters!" I said, suddenly getting very excited.
Finally, Mr. Mattern looked up, and said, "Why on earth would it matter whether or not she used a butane lighter! Don't you get it? This is $2,000 burnt to a crisp! Sitting here on my desk! LOOK!"
"No, No, Mr. Mattern! That can't be your money! Sara said she used isopropyl alcohol and a butane lighter. Because a dollar bill is made up of cotton and linen, both organic materials, it's impossible for her to have burned up your money!"
"WhatŠ?" said a bewildered Mr. Mattern.
"Isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol, is organic. Butane, the gas in the lighter Sara claimed she used, is also organic. Again, the dollar bill is made up of organic materials. That means that the bill will not catch fire when soaked in isopropyl alcohol and lit with a butane lighter! Sara's lying!"
Sara looked pale as a sheet, and Mr. Mattern began to smile. "So my money isn't burnt up?"
"No! In fact, I bet I could tell you where your money is right now!" I looked over at Sara and noticed how tightly she was clutching her sax case. "Sara, can I see Teloola's case please?"
"Bu-ButŠ" stuttered Sara.
"Give Annie the case Sara. NOW," said Mr. Mattern with such authority no one could protest.
She handed it over reluctantly, turning whiter by the second. I opened the case and handed the horn to Mr. Mattern. I lifted out the velour lining, to reveal twenty one-hundred dollar bills!!!
Mr. Mattern was ecstatic, and Sara looked like she needed a medic.
"How did youŠ How could youŠ" mumbled Sara.
"Oh, very easily!" I replied with a smile. Yesterday, you showed me Teloola and her brand new case. You even showed me that the velour would lift out for a 'secret compartment' of sorts. You also told me that you needed to find somewhere that you could get 13 hundred dollars to pay it off. I didn't put two and two together until Mr. Mattern said you could have seen the money. I guess I should leave you guys alone now. I have science in a few minutes. See you around SaraŠ"