MINI
MYSTERIES
THE SUSPECTS
PENELOPE
CORZO
FLUFFY
ISABEL
© MASON EDUCATION
THE CASE OF THE MISSING CANDY
It was a rather chilly Friday evening when Doris Atwater, famous
actress, arrived home from one of her movie premiers. At once, she
noticed the front door of her residence swinging open. It hung by a
single hinge. To Doris, it appeared that someone had broken into
her place—causing quite the stir. The thespian was terrified. She
was afraid to go inside her mansion in the hills, as she didn’t know if
the intruder was still lurking on the grounds.
Understandably, Doris called the police from her cell phone.
They told her to calm down and breathe slowly. The officers who
responded to the alert brandished their guns, and rushed onto the
property. They found a bit of a mess, but no one there—aside from
Doris’ pet cat, Fluffy, resting sleepily on the living room sofa.
Doris gasped as she toured the rooms of her home. Decorative
items had been knocked over. There were slices and punctures to
her expensive furniture. Her clothing had been strewn around the
house. Sadly, many of her belongings were broken beyond repair.
The police instructed Doris to identify missing items. Sobbing,
Doris told them that only a tray of the rare candies she imports
from France were gone. The empty container was found upside
down on the floor. At first, authorities did not think much of this,
and told Doris to simply forget about the loss. But, when Doris
informed them that each piece of fruity candy was laced with real
gold, and cost more than one hundred dollars, they realized that
the theft was quite serious. So, after examining the crime scene
closely, Doris helped the police identify possible suspects.
First, there is an up-and-coming actress, Penelope Peoples, who
once rented a room from Doris. She had kept a key to the house.
Although she was reported to be still living in the area, she had
moved out some time ago. Nevertheless, Penelope was jealous of
the success Doris had achieved in film. Furthermore, Doris had
witnessed Penelope’s violent side many times, when the acting duo
still lived together under the same roof.
Next, there is Corzo Murcado—Doris’ former bodyguard. He
reportedly has a major sweet tooth. Corzo often carried candy
around in his pockets, while guarding Doris. He was fired from her
employ because he had developed a crush on the actress. Doris has
a strict rule about romance with her hired help. So, when Corzo
made his move, he had to go.
Then, there is the cat, Fluffy. One police detective theorized that
the mangy feline could have gone berserk, eaten all of the candies,
and trashed the house. As an aging, half-blind kitty, the animal’s
behavior has been increasingly erratic as of late.
Finally, suspicion turned to the sister of the victim—Isabel. She
had illegally entered Doris’ house a few times before, by way of an
unlocked window. She borrowed some of the victim's designer
clothes without formal permission. Doris had once allowed Isabel
come and go as she pleased, and use her sizeable, movie star’s
wardrobe. However, after Isabel returned a party dress with tomato
sauce stains all over its front side, Doris banned her careless sister
from the property altogether. Even so, Doris noted that Isabel has
always had a difficult time respecting boundaries. As such, she
wonders if her sister’s poor behavior continues.
WHICH SUSPECT COMMITTED THIS CRIME?
NEWS
FLASH
FORMER CELEBRITY BODYGUARD ARRESTED IN CANDY THEFT
Authorities needed a mere 48 hours to crack the robbery and home invasion
case of famous actress Doris Atwater. They have since apprehended a culprit
whom they have been referring to, rather colorfully, as The Sweet Tooth
Bandit, since the beginning of their swift investigation.
It was late Friday evening when Doris Atwater arrived home to find that her
residence had been burglarized, and many of her possessions vandalized.
The police focused initially on a handful of suspects. One of them turned out
to be the party responsible for the crime of stealing Ms. Atwater’s expensive
collection of fruity candies: Corzo Mercado—her former bodyguard.
Police investigators first considered a fellow actress who had lived with Doris
Atwater, Penelope Peoples. Yet, Penelope had moved away some time ago.
She was actually living thousands of miles away at the time, even though she
had first been reported to have still been residing in the area. Next, they
took a long look at Doris’ sister, Isabel. She had been known to invade her
sister’s home in the past. But, she always entered and left the property by
use of a window, and didn’t really have a destructive side. Then, the cops
considered Fluffy—Ms. Atwater’s pet cat. The aging feline had destroyed
things with its claws before. However, the cat was too feeble to do the kind
of destruction that occurred on the inside of the home during the burglary.
Furthermore, the cat would likely have been sick from eating such a large
amount of candy in one sitting, and there was no evidence of the animal’s
illness. Finally, police detectives focused on Corzo Mercado, as their primary
suspect. Of their possible wrongdoers, only he had the brute strength to rip
Doris Atwater’s front door from her home. He was also known to eat candy
on a frequent basis. When approached by detectives, Corzo confessed. He
cited his broken heart as the reason for his damaging burglary.
© MASON EDUCATION
Detective Notes
MINI MYSTERIES
Most Likely Suspect
Confidence Scale
1. Of the potential suspects listed in the text for this
case, which one do you feel is the most likely to
be responsible for the mystery?
5. On the following scale, make a selection to rate
how confident you are that you have selected the
correct suspect responsible for the mystery.
2. Why? Use specific details from the text to support
your suspicions.
A
Absolutely, positively certain.
B
Almost completely sure.
C
Somewhat confident.
D
A little unsure.
E
Really doubting myself.
F
Not confident at all.
Detective Polling
6. How many of your fellow detectives chose each
of the possible suspects as being responsible for
the mystery? Have your teacher poll your sleuth
peers to obtain this data.
Least Likely Suspect
3. Of the potential suspects listed in the text for this
case, which one do you feel is the least likely to
be responsible for the mystery?
7. How many of your fellow detectives agreed with
you as to the responsible suspect?
8. What number of your fellow detectives disagreed
with you as to the responsible suspect?
4. Why? Use specific details from the text to support
your suspicions.
Case Resolution
9. Read the news article that is the resolution to this
case. Was your suspicion correct?
10. Were you ultimately surprised by the resolution
to this case? Why or why not?
© Mason Education
Overview of MINI MYSTERIES:
Each Mini Mysteries exercise is a single page that your students read, and then use the details of the
text, to try to identify one of four possible suspects as being responsible for a fictional crime. Then,
after students have had ample opportunity to ponder, debate, and write about their suspicions, you
give them the case resolution in the form of a news article, to learn which suspect is the culprit!
Readability Level:
This sample of Mini Mysteries has an 830L level of readability. If you are unfamiliar with Lexile levels,
here’s a readability conversion chart that shows approximately with which grades it is best used:
Grade Level
Lexile
Guided Reading
DRA
Reading Recovery
K
BR-100L
A-B
A, 1-3
A, B, 1-3
1
0L-300L
C-I
4-16
4-16
2
150L-450L
J-M
18-28
18-20
3
300L-650L
N-P
30-38
22-24
4
450L-800L
Q-S
40
26
5
550L-900L
T-V
40-50
28
6
650L-1000L
W-Y
N/A
30
7
700L-1050L
Z
N/A
32
8
800L-1100L
Z
N/A
34
As you can see, this free sample is best utilized with students in grades 5-8. However, depending on
the ability of your students, you can still use this text in higher/lower grades too. We always stress not
putting too much weight on readability levels. They are a great starting point for selecting text for
your students. Yet, many factors will determine whether or not the text is truly readable.
Common Core Alignment:
This story and assessment addresses multiple standards in the Reading Literature strand of the Common
Core State Standards for your grade level, including RL.1 and RL.10. Yet, these materials may apply to
more. Please reference the standards directly for additional correlation.
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