just the ref lection of the clouds
that covered the sun. He added
this information to his notebook.
“I’ve found some good clues,”
he told James. “I need to check
some facts online. Meet me in
my office in 30 minutes.”
Evan hurried home and asked
his mom if he could borrow her
laptop. He opened the browser
and typed turtles in Northern
California. He clicked on images.
He found a photograph that
matched James’s description.
It wasona websitewrittenby
scientistswhostudyturtles.
Hefoundmorefactsona
zoowebsite.Heprintedtwo
picturesof turtlesanda pageof
informationandbroughtthem
tohisclubhouse.Hepinned
hisnotesandprintoutstothe
evidenceboard.Hestudied
theinformation.Hetapped
hispencilagainstthetable
ashethought.
Jamesshowedupearly,but
Evan was ready. “Did you find
Molly?” James asked. He was
no longer wearing pajamas.
“Not exactly,” said Evan,
“but I know where she is.”
“Is she OK?”
Evan pointed to the papers on
the wall. “Let’s look at the clues.
First, I think I know why Molly
likes your pond.”
“Why?”
“Molly is probably a Western
Pond Turtle.”
“That makes sense.”
“I also know why she stopped
sunning herself on the rock.”
“Raccoon? Coyote? She’s sick?”
A tear ran down James’s cheek.
“James, think about the
weather lately.”
“It’s colder?” James sniffed.
Evan nodded. “What do some
animals do when it’s colder?”
James thought. “Bears
hibernate. Ducks f ly south.”
“You’re on the right track,”
said Evan.
“Molly f lew south?”
“Not south,” said Evan.
“And, of course, she didn’t f ly.
It’s possible Molly is spendingthe winter in the mud at the
bottom of the pond.”
“So she’s not gone?”
“I believe your turtle will
come out in the spring,” said
Evan. “But you might not want
to call it Molly anymore.”
James opened his eyes wide.
“Someone switched Molly with
a different turtle?”
Evan pointed to the wall.
“Which picture looks more like
your turtle?”
James pointed to the one
with the pale yellow neck.
Its shell was shorter from
top to bottom. Its tail was
thicker and longer than the
other turtle’s tail. Its head
was bigger.
“That’s a male Western
Pond Turtle, James,” said Evan.
“So maybe your turtle needs a
different name!”“Let’s look at
the clues.”“Which picture
looks more like
your turtle?”