The Case of the Bicycle Bandit Read online

  Ralphie finally understood. “You stole Old Rusty?!” he said, disbelieving.

  Justin nodded toward Mila and me. “Ask the detectives,” he said. “They have it all figured out.”

  Ralphie gazed happily at Old Rusty. “It was a rotten trick,” he told Justin. “Worse than the phony ghost.”

  Justin smiled. “Maybe. But you loved the ghost trick. Admit it. I make life more interesting for you guys. Besides, aren’t you happy now?”

  Ralphie smiled wide. “Thanks—thanks a whole lot. You’re the best big brother I’ve got.”

  “I’m the only big brother you’ve got, pal,” Justin said with a laugh.

  “Hold on,” Mila said to Justin. “Jigsaw saw the Snarkster pay you. How do you explain that?”

  “Pay me?” Justin asked. He shot me a look.

  “I spied on you,” I confessed. “In Snarky’s garage.”

  Justin smiled. “You’ve got guts, Jigsaw. I have to give you credit. But I’m the one who paid Snarky. Maybe you saw him give me eight dollars change.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a five and three one-dollar bills.

  Ralphie snatched the money from Justin’s hands. He handed it to me.

  “Hey!” Justin complained.

  “Hay is for horses,” Ralphie said. “But this money is for Jigsaw and Mila. They earned it.”

  Justin’s face slowly broke into a smile. “You’re right, Ralphie. I guess maybe it was a nasty trick after all. Do you forgive me?”

  “Forgive you?” Ralphie said. “This is one of the happiest days of my life!”

  He gave his brother a high five.

  The case of the bicycle bandit was solved. Ralphie was smiling again. He had Old Rusty back, which he now called “Big Blue.” And it turned out that he had a pretty terrific brother after all.

  I whispered something to Mila. She smiled. “Great idea, Jigsaw.”

  So I waved the eight dollars in the air. “Let’s celebrate with ice cream,” I said. “It’s our treat!”

  Don’t miss this special sneak peek at a brand-new, never-before-published JIGSAW JONES MYSTERY:

  The Case from

  Outer Space

  When Joey and Danika find a mysterious note tucked inside a book, all signs point to a visitor from outer space. Yikes! Can Jigsaw solve this case, when the clues are out of this world?

  Chapter

  1

  A Knock on the Door

  Call me Jones.

  Jigsaw Jones, private eye.

  I solve mysteries. For a dollar a day, I make problems go away. I’ve found stolen bicycles, lost jewelry, and missing parakeets. I’ve even tangled with dancing ghosts and haunted scarecrows.

  Mysteries can happen anywhere, at any time. One thing I’ve learned in this business is that anyone is a suspect. That includes friends, family, and a little green man from outer space.

  Go figure.

  It was a lazy Sunday morning. Outside my window, it looked like a nice spring day. The sky was blue with wispy clouds that looked like they had been painted by an artist. A swell day for a ball game. Or a mystery. Maybe both if I got lucky.

  I was standing at my dining room table, staring at a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. It was supposed to be a picture of our solar system. The sun and eight planets. But right now it was a mess. Scattered pieces lay everywhere. I scratched my head and munched on a blueberry Pop-Tart. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. As a cook, I’m pretty good with a toaster. I began working on the border, grouping all the pieces that had a flat edge. Sooner or later, I’d work my way through the planets. The rust red of Mars. The rings of Saturn. And the green tint of Neptune. I’ve never met a puzzle I couldn’t solve. That’s because I know the secret. The simple trick? Don’t give up.

  Don’t ever give up.

  My dog, Rags, leaped at the door. He barked and barked. A minute later, the doorbell rang. Ding-a-ling, ding-dong. That’s the thing about Rags. He’s faster than a doorbell. People have been coming to our house all his life. But for my dog, it’s always the most exciting thing that ever happened.

  Every single time.

  “Get the door, Worm,” my brother Billy said. He was sprawled on the couch, reading a book. Teenagers, yeesh.

  “Why me?” I complained.

  “Because I’m not doing it.”

  Billy kept reading.

  Rags kept barking.

  And the doorbell kept ringing.

  Somebody was in a hurry.

  I opened the door. Joey Pignattano and Danika Starling were standing on my stoop. We were in the same class together, room 201, with Ms. Gleason.

  “Hey, Jigsaw!” Danika waved. She bounced on her toes. The bright beads in her hair clicked and clacked.

  “Boy, am I glad to see you!” Joey exclaimed. He burst into the room. “Got any water?”

  “I would invite you inside, Joey,” I said, “but you beat me to it.”

  Danika smiled.

  “I ate half a bag of Jolly Ranchers this morning,” Joey announced. “Now my tongue feels super weird!”

  “That’s not good for your teeth,” I said.

  Joey looked worried. “My tongue isn’t good for my teeth? Are you sure? They both live inside my mouth.”

  “Never mind,” I said.

  “Pipe down, guys!” Billy complained. “I’m reading here.”

  “Come into the kitchen,” I told Joey and Danika. “We’ll get fewer complaints. Besides, I’ve got grape juice. It’s on the house.”

  “On the house?” Joey asked. “Is it safe?”

  I blinked. “What?”

  “You keep grape juice on your roof?” Joey asked.

  Danika gave Joey a friendly shove. “Jigsaw said ‘on the house.’ He means it’s free, Joey,” she said, laughing.

  Joey pushed back his glasses with an index finger. “Free? In that case, I’ll take a big glass.”

  Chapter

  2

  One Small Problem

  I poured three glasses of grape juice.

  “Got any snacks?” Joey asked. “Cookies? Chips? Corn dogs? Crackers?”

  “Corn dogs?” I repeated. “Seriously?”

  “Oh, they are delicious,” Joey said. “I ate six yesterday. Or was that last week? I forget.”

  Danika shook her head and giggled. Joey always made her laugh.

  I set out a bowl of chips.

  Joey pounced like a football player on a fumble. He was a skinny guy, but he ate like a rhinoceros.

  “So what’s up?” I asked.

  “We found a note,” Danika began.

  “Aliens are coming,” Joey interrupted. He chomped on a fistful of potato chips.

  I waited for Joey to stop chewing. It took a while. Hum-dee-dum, dee-dum-dum. I finally asked, “What do you mean, aliens?”

  “Aliens, Jigsaw!” he exclaimed. “Little green men from Mars—from the stars—from outer space!”

  Thank you for reading this FEIWEL AND FRIENDS book.

  The Friends who made

  The Case of the

  Bicycle Bandit

  possible are:

  Jean Feiwel, Publisher

  Liz Szabla, Associate Publisher

  Rich Deas, Senior Creative Director

  Holly West, Editor

  Alexei Esikoff, Senior Managing Editor

  Raymond Ernesto Colón, Senior Production Manager

  Anna Roberto, Editor

  Christine Barcellona, Editor

  Kat Brzozowski, Editor

  Emily Settle, Administrative Assistant

  Anna Poon, Assistant Editor

  Follow us on Facebook or visit us online at mackids.com.

  OUR BOOKS ARE FRIENDS FOR LIFE.

  Read more Jigsaw Jones Mysteries by James Preller

  The Case from Outer Space—New!

  The Case of the Smelly Sneaker

  The Case of the Bicycle Bandit

  The Case of the Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost

  The Case of the Mummy Mystery


  The Case of the Best Pet Ever

  The Case of the Buried Treasure

  The Case of the Disappearing Dinosaur

  The Case of the Million-Dollar Mystery

  About the Author

  James Preller is the author of numerous books, including the acclaimed novels The Fall, Bystander, and Six Innings, and the Scary Tales and Jigsaw Jones series. He travels throughout the country visiting classrooms and book festivals. He lives in Delmar, New York, with his wife and their children.

  Visit him at jamespreller.com, or sign up for email updates here.

  Thank you for buying this

  Feiwel and Friends ebook.

  To receive special offers, bonus content,

  and info on new releases and other great reads,

  sign up for our newsletters.

  Or visit us online at

  us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

  For email updates on the author, click here.

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Chapter 1  Old Rusty

  Chapter 2  The Scene of the Crime

  Chapter 3  Witnesses

  Chapter 4  Suspect on Wheels

  Chapter 5  Justin

  Chapter 6  Art Class

  Chapter 7  Geetha and Mr. Pickles

  Chapter 8  The Hooded Rider

  Chapter 9  The Stakeout

  Chapter 10  Trapped!

  Chapter 11  Confess!

  Chapter 12  Big Blue

  Teaser

  Other Books By James Preller

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2001 by James Preller

  Art used with permission from Scholastic

  A Feiwel and Friends Book

  An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC

  175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

  mackids.com

  All rights reserved.

  Illustrations by Jamie Smith

  Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

  Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].

  First Feiwel and Friends edition 2017

  eBook edition August 2017

  Originally published by Scholastic in 2001

  eISBN 978-1-250-11083-1