Read chapter 1 of The Case of the Missing Turtle

Sam Hilbert skidded his bike to a stop, his  tires sliding on the slick pavement. 

“Look out!” his twin sister Emily screamed  as she swerved to miss him. 

She stopped her  bike on the grass and turned angrily toward  her brother. 

“What were you doing stopping right in  front of me like that?” she asked. 

“Come over here and you’ll see,” Sam said.  

He got off his bike and bent over to peer at  something in the grass by the sidewalk. Emily put her bike down and walked over  slowly. Her brother loved to play tricks on her,  so she was careful as she came closer. 

“It’s not a snake, is it?” Emily hated snakes. 

“Better.” 

She looked over his shoulder and smiled. It  wasn’t a snake. It was a box turtle. Emily got  down on her knees in the wet grass to examine  the turtle. It was about five inches across. Its  shell was dark brown with splotches of yellow.  The turtle was trying to slowly walk away,  but Sam put his hand in its path. The turtle  immediately ducked its head and legs into its  hard shell. 

“It’s so cute!” Emily exclaimed. “Do you think  it’s a boy turtle or a girl turtle?” 

“I don’t know,” Sam said. “It’s pretty big, so I  think it might be a male.” 

“I bet Mom or Dad would know.”

“Probably.” Sam and Emily thought their parents knew  just about everything, and if they didn’t know  something, they always made it a point to  help the kids find the information they were  looking for. 

“Should we take him home?” Sam asked. 

“Yes!” Emily answered immediately.

“Do you  think Mom and Dad will let us keep him?” 

“Maybe,” Sam said, but he didn’t sound very  sure of his answer. 

“Let’s take him home and  see what they say.” 

“I have a better idea,” Emily said. “Let’s not  say anything yet. We can keep the turtle in  the basement for a few days while we figure  out the best time to ask them.” 

“Good idea,” he agreed. 

The turtle stuck his head partway out of his  shell and gave a quick peek around. When Sam  reached his hand down, the turtle quickly  pulled his head back into the shell again. 

“It looks like he’s a little shy,” Sam said. 

“Probably scared,” Emily replied. 

“Wouldn’t  you be if a giant hand came reaching for you?” Sam laughed. 

“Yeah, I guess I would.” 

He opened his backpack and carefully placed  the turtle inside next to his binder and  lunchbox. And with that, Sam and Emily became the  parents of a box turtle. Whether or not their  parents would let them keep him was still to  be seen.