My Dad, the Private Eye: Keep on Truckin'

CHAPTER 1

After Dad and I solved The Case of the Falling Star, we celebrated by getting Teen Burgers and root beer floats at A&W. Also, 'Your On the Fly Private Eye' was in demand, and we wanted a comfortable place to kick back and choose our next case!

'Your On the Fly Private Eye' was my dad, Drew Winnette's, name for his private detective company, and I, Krista Winnette, was his partner. Okay, I guess I was technically just his assistant, being only fifteen, but I figured, as long as I kept helping him solve his cases, that made me his partner.

Dad scrolled through his emails while chowing down on his burger. "Let's see... a guy suspects his neighbor of stealing peaches from his tree... a lady says she's being stalked by her neighbor's cat... a pizza place thinks its delivery guy is eating slices from all the delivery pizzas and pushing the remaining pieces back together to make it look like nothing's missing..." Dad looked up at me. "This is kind of lame stuff."

"Well, you gotta start somewhere, I guess," I said while trying to suck ice cream through my straw.

"I know. I was just hoping for, you know, something bigger, maybe a job in the movie business again. Or at least something like..." he wondered, shrugging, "embezzling or insurance fraud."

"Insurance fraud? Sounds boring."

"Yeah, but it's corporate so it would pay more."

"Ka-ching!" I said, liking where this was going.

Dad started to think about it. "I'd probably have to get one of those super zoom cameras, though..."

"Or maybe a spy camera you could hide in your hat or something," I suggested with a smile.

"I don't wear hats. I'd have to hide it in one of my shoes," Dad said, trying to envision it.

We didn't decide on Dad's next case that day. We hoped he'd get better offers soon. So, for Dad, it was back to his motel room.

And, for me, back to school.

Then next few days were tough. I have a hard time paying attention in class on normal days, what with my ADHD and OCD slowing me down, but, now, all I could think about was Dad's next case. I was so excited to find out what it was going to be. I was sure he was eventually going to get something better than stolen peaches or stalking cats.

Things weren't going very well at home, either. All I talked about was private eye stuff, and Mom got tired of hearing about all that after about twenty minutes. She also worried about me not doing my homework because, well, I wasn't doing my homework. So, I guess it was my fault, but Mom wasn't getting any easier to live with, and, as each day passed, I was getting close to the end of my rope.

And then Dad called. It had taken a few days of waiting, but he finally got offered a cool new case: Dad was hired to catch a cheating husband in the act!