The Scrutiny Busters and the Cracksman:

The sun shone brightly, bathing three girls in pure and radiant golden light. With their backs resting against a tree, Eleanor, Isabella, and Liviana tucked into sandwiches while sipping on orange juice in Liviana’s garden. Just as they finished up the last of their sandwiches, a sleek and posh car drove up the driveway.

“Oh no!” groaned Eleanor. “Mum’s here already! I told her I wouldn’t need her to pick me up until 8.”

A short woman emerged from the car, adjusting her glasses to get a better look at the three girls. She smiled brightly and began to approach them.

“Hey girls!” said Mrs. Charles, Eleanor’s mother.

“Good morning, Mrs. Charles!” chorused the girls.

“Ellie, we have to go home now. Something has come up, and it's urgent," she stated, gesturing to Eleanor towards the car.

"Sure, Mum,” she said, waving ruefully at the girls as she got up. “Bye guys.”

Eleanor and Mrs. Charles walked off, leaving the remaining two girls alone together. They decided to make tea, and they chatted quietly as they drank. Shortly afterwards, Isabella rose from her spot.

“Thanks for the tea, Liv. I’d best be off now,” she noted, giving her friend a small hug before leaving.

***

When Isabella had left, Liviana stood up to head inside. She couldn’t help but notice a black car parked outside her house—definitely not Isabella’s car. Inside the car, she spotted a clean-shaven man with coal-black eyes and long, unkempt hair. His eyes shifted downward the instant Liviana glanced at him, and she gave him a frown. She quickly crouched down and gathered her teacups and garbage before heading to her house. She opened the door, only to find her two elder twin brothers, Logan and Lucas, standing in front of her, their faces serious-looking like bodyguards.

“What?” she urged indignantly.

“Where in the world have you been? You know that we’re in charge while mom is with Granny and dad’s gone to work. And no need to take that tone on me, missy!” Lucas said testily, while Logan’s eyebrows shot off towards his hair.

“Pity.” Liviana mumbled with a smirk, making her way to the staircase.

***

The following morning, Liviana woke up early, ate breakfast, and got into her car to head to school. She reached school early, finding that she still had 15 minutes before assembly. She walked towards her locker to find her books and, surprisingly, found that Eleanor and Isabella were already there. They looked at her with wide eyes, as if they were about to burst. As soon as Liviana greeted them, they erupted into a loud chatter, overlapping over each other.

“Woah, woah, calm down! Whatever’s the matter?!” Liviana shouted over them, getting the girls to quiet down and look at her warily.

“You explain, Ellie. After all, it happened at your house,” suggested Isabella.

"Thanks, Isa,” smiled Eleanor. “Let me explain, Liv. When my mom picked me up from your house yesterday, we had to go to one of her friend’s houses. While my mom was getting ready, she couldn’t find her golden necklace—the one she adored. Well, she searched the whole house, but she still couldn’t find it. Then she realised some of her other things were missing too. She’s furious, my mom. So, I was thinking, ” Eleanor trailed off and started speaking in a whisper. “What if the Scrutiny Busters do something about it?”

"Of course we can, Ellie!” squealed Liviana, “and we will get it back. Won’t we, Isa?”

“Yes, a mystery at last—the only thing I’ve been waiting for all my life,” Isabella grinned. “Don’t worry, Ellie, us three will crack this case.”

***

After a long day, school finished, and all of them gathered at Eleanor’s house to investigate further.

“Hey guys, look here; I found some fingerprints!” yelled Liviana, who was observing a drawer with her magnifying glass.

“Well done, Liv! This’ll make sure we catch that thief!” Isabella high-fived Liviana enthusiastically, and Eleanor began to look closely at the fingerprints.

“We should take these to the police,” she suggested.

And so, that evening, all three of them went to their local police station to show them their fingerprints. Eleanor explained her mother’s situation as a police officer named Officer Hawkins listened intently.

“Don’t worry, girls. Me and my team will test these and see if we can identify the thief,” said Officer Hawkins, taking the finger prints the girls had collected.

***

The next morning, as the three girls sat at Eleanor’s house, they received a call from Officer Hawkins.

“Good morning, Eleanor,” he said, as soon as she answered his call.

“Good morning, Officer. Have you identified the thief yet?” Eleanor asked eagerly.

"Yes, we have, actually. The prints you brought to us belong to a man named John Austin,” answered Officer Hawkins.

Sitting beside Eleanor, Isabella turned pale. The smile dropped from her face as she gasped.

“What!? John…. I can’t believe it! He’s been our assistant since I was a little girl,” Isabella said, watching as Eleanor and Liviana slapped their hands over their mouths.

“Right. We have interviewed him, and he appears to have some of the jewellery on him. He’s being held here behind bars until further notice,” said Officer Hawkins grimly.

***

That evening, the three girls started to make their way back to the station to retrieve the stolen jewellery that was found on John. While they were walking, Liviana remembered the car she had seen a couple days prior and began to grow suspicious.

“Hey girls… I just remembered something,” said Liviana, nudging Isabella on the shoulder. “When you both left my house on Tuesday, I was getting up to go inside, and I saw a black car parked outside my house. There was a man sitting inside, staring at me.”

“Liv, what! Why didn’t you mention it before? Did you see who it was? What did he look like, Liv?” Eleanor asked many questions, and Liviana tried her best to keep up.

“Well, I only got a glimpse of him, but he had loads of matted hair, black eyes, and he was clean-shaven,” recalled Liviana.

“Liv, that’s John,” confirmed Isabella.

“Well, we’re nearly here. Let's see what Officer Hawkins thinks about this,” butted Eleanor.

They reached the police station and stepped inside, following Officer Hawkins to his office. Once they had settled in, Liviana told the officer all about the car and her sighting of John.

“He was planning another robbery, was he? Well, he wasn’t very clever this time. He’ll learn his lesson soon enough,'' Officer Hawkins remarked. “Well, thank you for the help, girls. I trust you’ll be ready to help me in the future, won’t you?”

The girls looked at each other and grinned, sharing nods in agreement. They didn’t know it then, but their adventures were far from over.

Written by: Marlee Potter
Edited by: Daphne Clarke
Proofread by: Lily