"Goodbye, New York!" I pressed my face against the window, saying goodbye to friends and family... and everything I have ever known.

    My name is Gracia Parks. I'm a well-known detective in Brooklyn, New York. I solve most of my mysteries, like the time my friend Alysha lost her homework. It was obvious one of her pets stole it. She actually has three dogs, four cats, two birds, five bunnies, seven chickens, and two squirrels. She doesn't live in New York, if you're wondering.

    However, I also sometimes fail to solve some of my mysteries correctly, like the time when I attempted to uncover the reason why Ms. Brittle's newly bought flowers kept getting destroyed. Despite my attempts to gather clues by asking her a few questions, she rudely asked me to leave. Eventually, I discovered that it was due to the rain.

Anyways, it was May 20th when we arrived in Colorado. That very day, I met Tom Moore, who was the most irritating boy in the whole world.

    The moment we met, we had a big argument about me being the best kid detective in the whole world. Our parents had to drag us away home.

    "Gracia Parks, never do that again!" my mom said sternly. 

    "He's so annoying!" I moaned. 

    "It's not very Christ-like of you to argue with someone whom you just met," my dad told me.                     

    "Amen," my mom said.

    I was having dinner when someone knocked on the door that evening. "Why, hello, Thomas," my mother said to the boy. 

    "Please, I prefer Tom," Tom replied, glancing at me. "May I talk to you alone, please?"

    "Certainly," my dad said, giving me a wink. "We'll be back, Gracia."

    "So, what did he say?" I asked when my parents returned.

    "He apologized for arguing with you and wondered if you could help him solve a mystery."

    "A mystery!?" I exclaimed with excitement. "What kind?"

    ''He has a missing cat. Her name's Ginger. She has orange fur and green eyes. She's five years old, and she's been lost for three days.''

    ''Yay!'' I shouted. I was so happy to solve a new mystery... even if the mystery was from that irritating kid.

    ''I'll solve it right away,'' I told myself. ''I'll prove myself to that Moore Kid.

Bright and early the next morning, I set out to the treehouse that I had discovered the day before. I wanted to sort out what I knew about Tom's cat so far. 

    "Umm... honey?" my mom called me. "How about going to the Moore place for more clues?"

    "Well... I guess I want to solve the mystery as soon as possible before my birthday tomorrow," I told my mom and left the house to go next door.

    Tom Moore was sitting on the fence, looking around. 

    "Hi, Tom," I said a little grumpily.

    "Hi, Gracia. I'm sorry for getting upset with you yesterday. I really want to find my cat."

    I was speechless. ''Well... alright. And I'll try to help 

you the best I can.''

    Tom grinned. ''Thanks.''

                                            ***

    ''First question- what were you doing before you discovered Ginger disappeared.''

   ''First question- how old are you?''

    I groaned. ''Eight. Now...?''

    ''I'm ten,'' Tom said.

    ''TOM! Answer the question!''

    ''I was gardening,'' Tom replied.

    I almost laughed. Tom? Gardening?

     ''It's a good pay from my neighbor,'' Tom said,