Pinky Bloom and the Case of the Missing Kiddush Cup Read online

  I explained, “When we ate here two weeks ago, Mr. Federman was about to smuggle the cup out of the restaurant inside a takeout container. When there was all that commotion with the mouse, I accidentally grabbed Mr. Federman’s takeout container instead of Avi’s.”

  “Pinky, what about Mrs. Mazer?” Mom asked. “What did she have to do with the burglary?”

  “Nothing! She was just trying to put the restaurant out of business so she could expand her bakery into this space. That’s why she brought in a mouse, set off the smoke alarm, and put those awful fortunes in the fortune cookies she made for the restaurant.”

  Suddenly a voice behind me said, “Can I get you something to drink, bubeleh?”

  I looked up and saw Madame Olga. She had a pad and pencil in her hand. The restaurant’s new server was waiting to take our order!

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Nu?” Madame Olga said, looking around at our surprised faces. “A psychic can’t have a second job?”

  I thought it was great to have a psychic waitress. This way she already knew that I didn’t like brussels sprouts.

  After we were done eating, Madame Olga brought us our fortune cookies. “Here, darlings, these are from a new bakery. Not like the ones from Mazer’s.”

  “What’s going to happen to Mrs. Mazer?” Avi asked. “Did Officer Joe put her in jail?”

  “My parents decided not to press charges,” Lucy said. “Mrs. Mazer said that she’s sorry for all the trouble she caused and that she’s going to open a new bakery in Queens. Now my parents are planning to buy the old bakery building and expand the restaurant.”

  “Read your fortunes already,” Madame Olga said. “Let’s see if they’re so good they’ll put me out of business.”

  Avi went first. He cleared his throat. “A new pet will come into your life. Yes! That means I’m getting one of Oy Vey’s kittens!”

  Dad rolled his eyes. “We’ll see about that,” he said under his breath.

  Next, Mom read her fortune. “Laughter is the music of a happy heart.” She looked around the table. “That’s very true. And my heart is very happy tonight.”

  My dad read his fortune. “Be thankful, for riches will soon be yours. That’s a great one,” he declared. “Now I only hope it comes true.”

  Then it was Grandma Phyllis’s turn. “Your return home will be delayed. That’s amazing,” she said. “Who knew I was planning to stay in Brooklyn a little longer?”

  Oh no, I thought. Now I’ll be stuck with Avi in my room forever!

  “Okay, Pinky bubeleh,” Madame Olga said. “Let’s hear your fortune.”

  I pulled the slip of paper out from my fortune cookie and read, “Excitement and intrigue follow wherever you go.”

  I liked the sound of that. Sooner or later someone will need my help, and I, Penina “Pinky” Bloom, Brooklyn’s greatest kid detective, will get to solve another case.

  When we got home from the restaurant, I ran into my room. D.J. was prowling around on my desk.

  I watched as he lifted his paw and pressed the alarm button on my clock. “You’re a rascally cat!” I scolded him.

  I thought for a minute. Then I went to find Avi. “Um, I have something to tell you,” I said. “I guess it was D.J. who set off my alarm a few days ago—not you. Sorry I blamed you for it.”

  “That’s okay, Pinky. I knew you wouldn’t be mad at me forever.”

  I guess having a little brother isn’t so bad after all.

  About the Author

  Judy Press studied fine arts at Syracuse University and earned a masters in art education from the University of Pittsburgh. She is the creator of a dozen award-winning children’s art activity books and early reader chapter books. A grandmother to ten, Press lives in Pittsburgh.

  About the Illustrator

  Originally from Ireland, Erica-Jane Waters credits her imagination to her childhood there and its wealth of folklore and fairy tales. She has been writing and illustrating children’s books for over twenty years and uses a mixture of traditional techniques and digital work to create her art. Waters lives in a 370-year-old tumbledown cottage in deepest, darkest Northamptonshire in England with her husband and two children.

 

 

  Judy Press, Pinky Bloom and the Case of the Missing Kiddush Cup

 

 

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