Grandma baked a dozen warm cookies and set them on the rack to cool. "Do not touch until dinner," she said, and walked out to the garden.

When Max came into the kitchen, he counted the cookies. Three were gone! Max put on his detective cap and looked closely.

He saw a trail of crumbs leading to the back door. He saw a small stool pushed against the counter. He saw two muddy paw prints right beside the cookie rack.

Then Pepper the dog trotted over, wagging her tail — with a single cookie crumb stuck on the tip of her nose! "Case closed," said Max with a smile.

When the lunch bell rang, Mia reached for her shiny blue lunchbox on the shelf — but it was gone!

Three friends had packed up in a hurry: Rosa, Jack, and Ben. Jack's lunchbox was green. Ben had already finished eating and tossed his paper bag in the bin.

On the shelf, one lunchbox was left behind all by itself. The detective turned it over. On the bottom, in small letters, it said: ROSA.

"Hmm," said the detective. "I don't think anyone stole anything. I think this was a mix-up."

It was party time! A beautiful cake sat on the table. But right before the singing — the cake vanished!

There were frosting smudges leading away, and a note in secret code. Three suspects were near: a hungry puppy, a little cousin (who was asleep), and Uncle Theo (who was outside the whole time).

The bite mark in the cake was very low — too low for a standing person to reach. And there were small muddy paw prints on the floor.