Maya:

“What in the world…” I don’t finish my sentence. No ending is necessary, not with Wendall standing before me wearing a ski mask pulled low over his face.

“Shh!” He commands. “I can’t be seen here! It would ruin my reputation!”

“What reputation?” I mutter, but he doesn’t hear me.

The clerk looks at us kind of weird when we walk in. I don’t blame him. We must be a pretty weird trio—Wendall with his ski mask, Perry with his “Uncle Louie” ensemble, and me, well, there was nothing unusual about me aside from the fact that I was standing with these two creatures.

I walk up to the desk. “Excuse me, could you tell us anything about the Baskerville Bandits?” I ask in my politest voice. “And Uncle Louie and the Polka Dots? I understand they robbed this shop not too long ago.”

“Yeah,” the man says. “I don’t know if I can give that information out, though…”

“It’s for a school project,” I say. I’ve always prided myself on my ability to think on my feet.

“Well, in that case,” he begins.