John, Mike, Ben and Sally have formed a detective club called the Barton Avenue Detectives. The following story is the fourth of six cases contained in this collection.

The Case Of The Stolen Wallet (part 1)

The Barton Avenue Detectives got their badges soon after the robbery at Joe's Milk Store. It had taken almost a month for Mike's father to get them made up, but everybody agreed that they were well worth waiting for. They were metal, polished to a shiny silver colour. There was a big five-pointed star outlined in gold at the centre of each with the letters B.A.D. written in gold inside it.

"I had five of them made," said Mr. Thayer. "Just in case you get a new member to join your club." He gave the extra one to John.

"These must have cost you a fortune," said Ben.

"They were a little expensive," admitted Mr. Thayer. "But you kids deserve them. You're the best detectives in the city."

Everyone grinned. How could they deny it?

The detectives all wore their badges to school on Monday morning, but since they were working undercover they pinned them on in secret places. John's was clipped to the inside of his wallet so he could flip it open the way the cops on TV do. Mike had his pinned to the inside of his windbreaker so he could flash it real quick. Sally fastened hers underneath the lapel on her jacket. Ben had his pinned to his undershirt. It bulged a little, but it was right over his heart and he told the others that it would be good protection against bullets. Everyone felt really good about having them-they made everything much more official. They were real detectives now.

At morning recess they had a meeting in the schoolyard to decide about letting in a new member.

"Who's got a nomination?" asked Mike.

"I do," said John. "I nominate Greg. I was talking to him about it before school and he said he was interested."

"You already asked him?" Sally said.

"Not exactly," explained John. "I just kind of mentioned that we were looking for another detective to join the club and he said that he'd think about it."

"Oh, brother," said Sally with a groan.

"Listen, what's wrong with Greg?" asked John. "If you ask me, he's just the kind of guy we want. He's in grade six and he knows everybody; he's captain of everything. He's just about the most popular kid in the whole school."

"That's his whole problem," said Sally. "He thinks he's a real big shot all the time. I think he's a creep."

"He is not," insisted John. "If he's a creep, then how come everybody in the school likes him so much?"

"He gives stuff away, that's why," Sally told him. "He hands out free gum and candy and he's always letting the little kids scramble for his hockey cards."

"Maybe he's just trying to be a nice guy," said John.

"Maybe he's just trying to buy some friends," Sally shot back.

"Hey, come on. He's so popular he doesn't have to buy anybody." John looked over at Mike for help.

"He seems okay to me," Mike agreed.

Sally rolled her eyes and asked Ben what he thought. Ben considered it for a moment and then shrugged. "I guess he's not so bad," he said finally. "But there may be some problems if we ask him to join our club. He's in grade six, remember. He might try to boss us around because we're only in grade five."

"You guys don't know the whole story yet," said John. "Maybe I better tell you. Greg's getting walkie-talkies."