The Case of the Missing Pooch

Transcription

W hodunnit ?
Sketch Artist Rendering of Moxie
The Case of the Missing Pooch
Mrs. Abigail Winchell’s prize pit bull is missing. She looked all over for
Moxie. But, the dog has not been found. So, Mrs. Winchell called for help.
Police detectives talked to suspects. They also found evidence. Yet, they
could not solve the case. Even so, they still wrote a report of their findings
during the weeklong investigation. As a private sleuth, you will read this
file. You are to use it to succeed where the cops failed. It’s your task to
uncover the clues in text and figure out whodunnit.
© Mason Education – 660L
POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL REPORT
Winchell Investigation: Day 1
Early this morning, my partner and I went to 1105 Baxter Drive. We were
seeing to a call about a missing dog. Abigail Winchell is the owner of the
home and the dog—Moxie. She looked frazzled, but spoke clearly. Mrs.
Winchell said Moxie had been gone since 7:30 PM Saturday night. It was
then that she saw the pooch wasn’t in the backyard. So, Mrs. Winchell
searched all over. But, she could not find Moxie. We made our own search
of the grounds. Likewise, we did not turn up the pit bull. Mrs. Winchell
says that Moxie never strays far from the house. She also says the dog is
scared of traffic. Moxie could have gone into front yard. But, it’s not likely
she went near the road. Mrs. Winchell has also checked the local animal
shelter each day for the dog.
As our talk went on, Mrs. Winchell took us to where Moxie slept. It was a
screened porch on the mansion’s south side. There were dishes for food
and water, a puffy pillow, and play toys on the floor. Officer Billings saw
specks of soil on the pillow. We kept a sample for testing. Moxie’s food
dish was upside down. A few of the chunks were smashed. Someone likely
stepped on them. This could mean a struggle took place.
To end, we asked Mrs. Winchell to name people who may want to harm
Moxie. We wanted to know who had access to her property on Saturday
too. Her gardener, Herbert Ellis, was working. He was caring for the thorny
rose bushes. She says he has been angry about Moxie digging up plants.
Also, Mrs. Winchell lets a neighbor, Delia Kelley, take nature walks on the
grounds. Mrs. Kelley was bitten by Moxie on one of these treks. Ouch.
Mrs. Winchell’s chef, Ricky Vargas, cooked her meal that evening. He has
not liked that Moxie stole food from his kitchen in the past. He wants the
dog to be leashed. But, Mrs. Winchell refuses. Lastly, Mrs. Winchell’s son,
Dalton Winchell III, was going to have dinner with his mom that night. Yet,
he didn’t show up. Mrs. Winchell tells us he cancelled at the last second.
She feels her son is jealous of Moxie. “Dalton thinks I give Moxie too much
of my time,” said Mrs. Winchell.
Gregory Baskin, First Sergeant
Today, First Sergeant Baskin and I spoke with the suspects in this case.
Each person had access to the Winchell property when Moxie was last
seen. At 10:51 AM, we met Ricky Vargas. He said the dog had, in fact,
stolen food from his kitchen. He is not fond of Moxie. He calls her a “dirty
animal.” Yet, he says he never speaks like that to Mrs. Winchell. So, he
asked that we not tell her about it. Mr. Vargas talked a lot about his job. It
seems he does the grocery shopping for Mrs. Winchell. She would pay him
back later. We asked Mr. Vargas if he saw Moxie on Saturday. “Yes,” he
said, “but not after the gardener left.” After our talk, Mr. Vargas made us
lunch. Meatball sandwiches. Super tasty. There are stains on my shirt.
At 12:32 PM, we knocked on Delia Kelley’s front door. When we told her
why we were there, she slammed the door. We will give her the rest of the
day to cool down. We hope she will talk in the morning. If not, she will be
taken into custody.
Just after 2:10 PM, we found Dalton Winchell III. He was playing tennis on
courts at his house. First Sergeant Baskin won the first set, and then lost
the next two sets. Only then would Mr. Winchell talk about his mother. He
says dinner with his mom was cancelled so he could work late. He had
nothing else to say. Mr. Winchell works at Winchell Enterprises. We are
checking out his alibi for that night.
We ended our work day at 5:16 PM by talking with Herbert Ellis. During
our chat, we saw scratches on the gardener’s arms. They seemed new, as
if they had been made not too long ago. He merely shrugged when we
asked him about them. Mr. Ellis quickly tried to cover the cuts with his
work gloves. But, we took the mitts as evidence. Our lab will run some
tests on them. We will see what turns up. We also asked Mr. Ellis about
Moxie. He says he did not see her on the day she went missing. This is
strange. Mrs. Winchell told us Moxie played outside often. As a gardener,
Mr. Ellis works outside all day.
Bernard Billings, Officer
Being that she was a hostile witness, I chose to question Delia Kelley. Mrs.
Kelley was taken to our station at 8:01 AM. She wore only a bathrobe and
flip-flops. From the start, Mrs. Kelley was anxious. In fact, she grew angry
when I spoke of Mrs. Winchell. To calm her down, I changed the subject. I
asked her about her nature walks. She talked openly as to how she would
take walks on the Winchell property. “It is nearly ten acres. It is very wellgroomed,” she said. Mrs. Kelley took these outings weekly. But, she is
sure that she took no such stroll the night Moxie was last seen. I asked
Mrs. Kelley why she becomes so upset at the topic of Mrs. Winchell. After
some silence, she said that they had been arguing about medical bills. She
told me Moxie had bitten her leg on a walk last month. Due to this, she
was rushed to a hospital. As Delia tells it, Mrs. Winchell agreed to pay for
the care she needed. But, Moxie’s owner has not done so. Mrs. Kelley
swears she has not set foot in Mrs. Winchell’s yard since the attack. She
fears being bitten again. I talked with staff at Happy Body Medical Center.
They said Mrs. Kelley had been treated for an animal bite. To end, I asked
Mrs. Kelley if she saw anything shifty in the area the night Moxie went
missing. “I heard the screech of tires at dusk,” she said. “When I stared
out my front window, I saw a dark car zooming away. But, I bet it was just
a dumb kid. They think it is cool to be bad drivers. They do it all the time.
You cops should do something about that!”
Milton Chambers, Senior Detective
While Mrs. Kelley was being grilled, Officer Billings and I looked inside her
house. I had a blast today. I think it is fun to sort through another person’s
stuff. Other than really bad decorating, we only found a bit of smelly,
brown stuff on the soles of her running shoes. We took a sample and gave
it to the lab. They will tell us if it matches anything at the Winchell place.
We didn’t see any other signs that Mrs. Winchell’s dog had been at the
Kelley home. The place was very clean and tidy. If Mrs. Kelley has Moxie,
she’s got the dog elsewhere.
This case is coming together. Today we got test results back and looked at
some evidence. Our crime lab says there are specks of soil on the work
gloves of Herbert Ellis. The dirt matches soil found on Moxie’s pillow. We
think this is a key to the case. But, we can’t be certain.
Next, we watched a lot of video footage. It came from security cameras at
Winchell Enterprises. We did this to check Mr. Winchell’s alibi for the night
he skipped dinner with his mom. It checks out for the most part. He was at
work, just like he said. Yet, there is a half hour he is not seen on camera.
Not only that, but this is right before Moxie went missing. He claims to
have been in the bathroom at work this whole time. “I ate way too many
mega tacos for lunch at Tacopalooza,” said Mr. Winchell. Tacopalooza is
the world’s biggest taco festival. I think Officer Billings and I will go next
year. But, for now, let’s get back to the case. We wanted to know how
long it would take Mr. Winchell to drive from work, to his mom’s house,
and return. We did it in 43 minutes, 57 seconds. We went the speed limit.
Mr. Winchell drives a black, Z-Coupe sports car. The security footage for
the parking lot at his work is missing. So, we can’t tell when Mr. Winchell’s
car arrived or left. He is trying to find that footage for us.
The tests also came back on Delia Kelley’s shoes. The brown gunk on the
soles is dog food. Yet, we can’t tell if it is Moxie’s brand. The sample was
too smashed. We called Mrs. Kelley to ask her how dog food got on her
shoes. After a while, she spoke of a fight between her and Mrs. Winchell.
She says it happened at the Winchell Mansion on a day before Moxie
vanished. Mrs. Kelley thinks she could have stepped on some dog food
then. This is strange. Mrs. Kelley said earlier that she hadn’t set foot on
Mrs. Winchell’s property since Moxie attacked her. For Mrs. Winchell’s
part, she can’t recall when or where that yelling match with Delia Kelly
took place. “There have been so many,” she said. “I think Delia got Moxie
riled-up that day. There’s no way I am giving her a dime of my money.
She’s a nasty woman.”
At 11:16 AM today, we got financial records for all suspects. Delia Kelley is
telling the truth about her money woes. She has huge medical bills from
being bitten by Moxie. Mrs. Winchell has not been making any of the
payments she said she would make. Due to this, Mrs. Kelley is angry at
Moxie’s owner. If Moxie had bitten me, and Mrs. Winchell went back on
her word, I might be too.
As for Ricky Vargas, we checked his credit card bills. Weirdly, we found a
recent purchase of dog food on there. He bought the food from Puppy
Chow Express. It is a company that delivers dog food to customers. Yet,
Vargas does not own a pet. Strange.
We have now learned that Dalton Winchell III is in major financial trouble.
He has made bad investments. He needs cash fast, or he will lose his
house. He could also lose his share of Winchell Enterprises. Debt
collectors are after him big time. Since his need for moolah is great, we
contacted Mrs. Winchell again. After all, she has a lot of money. We asked
her what motive Dalton might have for doing Moxie harm. She told us her
last will and testament gives all her wealth to Moxie. If the dog is alive
when Mrs. Winchell dies, the pooch gets everything. That would leave her
son with zilch. If he knows about this, it has to hurt.
Finally, the records of Herbert Ellis show that he is behind on payments for
his car loan. He owns a dark blue Shevy Cruzer sedan.
Bernard Billings, Officer
Tomorrow, we will move on to other cases. Our resources are stretched
too thin. We can’t keep working on a missing mutt case. Maybe a private
detective can get one of the suspects to confess. Until that happens,
Moxie’s fate will stay unknown. Poor Mrs. Winchell. Not knowing where
her dog is has to be tough.
Winchell Investigation: Case Resolution
After a private detective hassled him, Dalton Winchell III has admitted to
the crime of kidnapping his mother’s dog. This is his confession, as written
by Mr. Winchell himself.
Suspect Confession:
I, Dalton Winchell III, do hereby admit to kidnapping Moxie—my
mom’s pit bull terrier. I alone am to blame for taking the dog. On
that day, I cancelled dinner with my mom. That way, I could say I was
at work when Moxie went missing. I had tried driving a few routes to
my mother’s house over the last week. So, that night I chose the
fastest one. I made the trip from my workplace, to Moxie, and back
in under a half hour. I parked down the road. This was so mother
would not see a car out front. Moxie and I get along well. So, she
didn’t make a peep when I jumped the hedges in the backyard. I tied
a leash to her collar, led her past a rear gate, and walked her to my
car. Then, I drove back to Winchell Enterprises. Taking Moxie was
very easy to do.
After I had Moxie, I threw out her tags and collar. I had to make sure
her owner could not be found. In the morning, I took her to a shelter
in the next county. I knew my mom would not check if Moxie had
been picked up as a stray that far away. The Unloved Pets Animal
Shelter is where you can find Moxie. I don’t think she would have a
new home yet. Please know that I don’t always do such bad things. I
really don’t! I was just so upset to find out I had been written out of
the family estate. I did not react well to learning I would inherit
nothing when my mom dies. I mean, who leaves so much money to a
dog instead of her own son? Still, I apologize for my actions. Mother!
Please forgive me! Please!
Dalton Winchell III
Detective Notes
WHODUNNIT?
Most Likely Suspect
Confidence Scale
1. Of the potential suspects listed in the text for this
case, which one do you feel is the most likely to
be responsible for the mystery?
5. On the following scale, make a selection to rate
how confident you are that you have selected the
correct suspect responsible for the mystery.
2. Why? Use specific details from the text to support
your suspicions.
A
Absolutely, positively certain.
B
Almost completely sure.
C
Somewhat confident.
D
A little unsure.
E
Really doubting myself.
F
Not confident at all.
Detective Polling
6. How many of your fellow detectives chose each
of the possible suspects as being responsible for
the mystery? Have your teacher poll your sleuth
peers to obtain this data.
Least Likely Suspect
3. Of the potential suspects listed in the text for this
case, which one do you feel is the least likely to
be responsible for the mystery?
7. How many of your fellow detectives agreed with
you as to the responsible suspect?
8. What number of your fellow detectives disagreed
with you as to the responsible suspect?
4. Why? Use specific details from the text to support
your suspicions.
Case Resolution
9. Read the resolution to this fascinating case. Was
your suspicion correct?
10. Were you ultimately surprised by the resolution
to this case? Why or why not?
© Mason Education
INVESTIGATION DIRECTIVE
#5
Salutations, Detective!
It’s time to do your job and put this case to bed. In the space below, write
a formal letter addressed to one of the suspects that urges him or her to
confess. Use passion when forming your argument and be certain to
explain the reasons you feel this suspect is culpable.
Sincerely,
Wiley Cluefinder, Lead Case Manager
© The Whodunnit? Detective Agency
#3
Hey There, Detective!
It is time for you to determine what your fellow detectives think about the
case thus far. Poll every investigator who is reviewing this report file along
with you by asking them which suspect they think is culpable at present.
Tally up the votes every suspect gets in the space below and then figure
the percentage of your total colleagues who selected each one. This will
give you a “culpability confidence score” for all suspects in this case.
At Your Service,
Mr. E. Solver, Investigation Support Technician
#2
Hello, Detective!
What new information have you learned from reading today’s page of the
investigation report? Record any details you think might be of particular
importance in the space provided below. Then, express your opinion as to
which suspect you currently believe is the culpable party.
Yours,
Donna Gumshoe, Senior Detective
#1
Welcome, Detective!
It is with great honor that I approve your hiring to our rabblerousing team
of talented investigators. At The Whodunnit? Detective Agency, we strive
to close cases that others simply cannot. We now need your help to keep
achieving that same level of success. As one of our newest inspectors, you
will be reading the often classified files of investigations that have already
begun, but have since gone cold. Sometimes, the pages of these reports
will be released to you slowly, over the course of an entire week, and in
other instances, you’ll receive the full document, all at once. On occasion,
you will be asked to work with other detectives to solve a case. At other
points, you shall operate alone. Regardless as to the specifics of how you
dig into each case, I expect you to always examine the text very carefully,
and use that brilliant mind of yours to discover clues even the original
investigators didn’t think were important.
As you work on any case, you might receive investigation directives from
time-to-time, much like this one. When you do so, you are hereby ordered
to take them seriously, as they will only help you to succeed.
Good Sleuthing,
J. Samuel Inspectalot, Founding Detective
Overview of WHODUNNIT?:
Whodunnit? Mysteries might just be the most engaging text you ever have your students read! Each
mystery is in the form of a fictional investigation report that takes place over a one week time period. To
use these mysteries with your students, you simply give them a new page of the report to read each day
of the week (or let them read it all at the same time). Then, you then let them discuss or write about the
character they think is responsible for the crime. Finally, on the last day of the week (or when they get
done reading the report), you give them the “resolution” for the case, so that they can see if their
suspicions were correct. Your students will LOVE talking about, writing about, and strenuously debating,
what the outcome of each exciting case might be!
Readability Level:
This sample of Whodunnit? has been leveled to 660L in terms of readability. Yet, in the members'
area of the website, it is also offered at 440L, 520L, 720L, 870L, 960L, 1070L, and 1130L. If you are
unfamiliar with Lexile levels, here is a readability conversion chart that shows approximately with
which grades the sample is best used:
Grade Level
Lexile
Guided Reading
DRA
Reading Recovery
1
0L-300L
C-I
4-16
4-16
2
150L-450L
J-M
18-28
18-20
3
300L-650L
N-P
30-38
22-24
4
450L-800L
Q-S
40
26
5
550L-900L
T-V
40-50
28
6
650L-1000L
W-Y
N/A
30
7
700L-1050L
Z
N/A
32
8
800L-1100L
Z
N/A
34
Common Core Alignment:
This exercise addresses multiple standards in the Reading Literature strand of the Common Core State
Standards for your grade level, including RL.1, RL.2, RL.3, RL.6, RL.10, W.1, W.4, W.9, and W.10. Yet,
these materials may apply to more. Please reference the standards directly for additional correlation.
Access Our Entire Collection of WHODUNNIT?:
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The Case of the Missing Pooch

Transcription

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