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It rained all night on Clover Lane. Morning comes with shiny puddles and mud. Muddy footprints point backwards past each door. Ruby zips her mustard-yellow raincoat. Ruby, Jay, and Biscuit stop and stare.
The cousins run a tiny detective club. Their base is Ruby's garden shed. Ruby carries her green clue notebook. Jay wears his magnifying glass on string. Biscuit trots in a tiny scarf.
The footprints make a long, strange trail. Each print points the wrong way. Ruby sketches the shapes in her notebook. Jay measures them carefully with string. Jay's glasses slide down his nose.
They search for where prints begin. Ruby spots the first clear print. It sits right by the bus stop. Clue one starts at the bus stop. Jay ties string from that spot.
The cousins follow the line along houses. The heels press deeper than toes. Each step looks smooth and sliding. The feet look small, not big.
Mr. Pell, the postman, walks by. His boots are big and very muddy. Jay checks the prints against those boots. The shapes do not match at all. Mr. Pell smiles and carries on.
A silver whistle shines near a hedge. Ruby spots it beside wet leaves. She cleans it with a tissue. Jay blows softly. It peeps. Clue two is a dropped whistle.
Biscuit sniffs for snacks near a puddle. His nose bumps a soggy paper. He digs and pulls out a flyer. It says Dance Class, Learn to Slide. Biscuit looks very proud.
Ruby lines up their three clues. Bus stop start. A whistle. A dance flyer. Someone practices before the school bus arrives.
Jay tries a slow backwards step. He slides his feet on wet grass. Ruby watches the toes and heels. The toes slide. The heels press. The prints look the same.
The trail leads toward Lena's blue gate. Lena is their teenage neighbor. She steps out with a school bag. Ruby waves and shows the whistle. Lena blushes and laughs a little.
Lena practiced early today before school. She worked on a backwards slide step. She wants the moonwalk for the talent show. A silver whistle dropped from her bag.
Ruby points to the bus stop start. Lena nods. The pavement there is smooth. Lena started there and used sliding steps home. She says the mud created the magic.
Neighbors gather along Clover Lane. Lena shows the moonwalk for everyone. Her feet glide. Mud splashes happily. Mr. Pell claps under his black umbrella. Ruby and Jay cheer for Lena.
The mystery now makes perfect sense. Backwards prints come from a moonwalk. Heels press. Toes slide back. Ruby grins and closes her notebook. Biscuit wagged all the way home.
Back at the shed, the cousins celebrate. Ruby pins the solved case card to cork board. Jay lists the three clues in a notebook. Biscuit gets a biscuit for helping.
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