"Here, kitties," Henry said. "Fetch!"
He tossed a cat toy across the family room.
Two kittens ran over and pounced on it.
Henry laughed as the tiny cats batted the toy under the sofa.
Henry was at his aunt and uncle's house.
They lived next door to him and his parents.
It was a nice summer day, and the two families were having a barbecue in the backyard.
"The kittens are cute, Ellen," Henry's mother said as she picked up a plate of hot dogs in the kitchen.
Henry's aunt Ellen sighed. "Yes, they are," she said.
"But they get into everything! I'll be glad when they're a little older."
One of the kittens started rolling on the rug.
The other one jumped onto the sofa. Henry smiled as he watched them.
They were really playful! The kittens belonged to his cousin Maggie.
She was nine years old, two years younger than Henry.
"Should we head outside?" Henry's father asked.
"I could start grilling the food while we wait for Uncle Bruce and Maggie to get home."
Henry's father and Uncle Bruce both loved to cook on Uncle Bruce's fancy grill.
Whenever the families had a barbecue together, the two dads did most of the cooking.
"Good idea," Henry told his father. "I'm hungry!"
"Henry, would you please put the kittens in Maggie's room before we go outside?" Aunt Ellen asked.
"They can't get into too much trouble there.
All her clothes are already covered in cat hair!"
"Sure," Henry said. He scooped up one kitten in each hand.
They wriggled and meowed, trying to escape.
But soon they were safely shut inside Maggie's bedroom.
Henry headed outside.
His parents and Aunt Ellen were setting food on the picnic table.
They were having hot dogs and hamburgers, corn on the cob, and Henry's favorite—watermelon.
"I hope Maggie gets home from her riding lesson soon," Henry's father said as he walked over to the grill.
"I want some of her delicious lemonade."
"Watch out, Dad," Henry joked. "She'll probably charge you 25 cents per cup!"
Everyone chuckled.
Maggie had started a lemonade stand a few weeks ago to earn money for horseback-riding lessons.
Her parents had told her they would pay half the lesson fees if she paid the other half herself.
"I wonder what's taking them so long," Aunt Ellen said, looking at her watch.
"Bruce left to pick Maggie up from the barn almost an hour ago.
They should be home by now."
"Uh-oh," Henry's dad joked.
"Sounds like a mystery for The Lemonade Detectives!"
Henry grinned.
A few weeks ago, Maggie, Henry, and their friend, Cole, had started The Lemonade Detective agency.
They'd already solved quite a few cases.
Some cases were interesting, like figuring out who'd dumped frogs into the town pool.
Other cases were kind of boring, like finding people's lost keys or library books.
But so far The Lemonade Detectives had solved them all.
They were even making money, which was helping to pay for Maggie's horseback-riding lessons.
"That's not much of a mystery, Dad," Henry said.
"We already know that Maggie loves being at the barn.
We also know that she's really talkative.
She's probably giving Uncle Bruce a tour and making him meet all the horses before they leave."
"But I thought this was her third riding lesson," Henry's father said.
"Hasn't Uncle Bruce been to the barn before?"
"Yes," Henry replied with a shrug.
"But that wouldn't stop Maggie from dragging him all over the place!"
Aunt Ellen smiled. "Good detective work, Henry," she said.
"If you're right, will we owe you five dollars for your detective fee?"
"No," Henry said with a laugh. "I'll give you the family discount.
Just don't tell Maggie!"
"It's nice that Maggie is enjoying her lessons," Henry's father said.
"She worked so hard to earn the money for them."
"Yes, she's definitely enjoying them," Aunt Ellen said.
"I think she'd move into the barn if we'd let her!"
Henry grinned. "It's easy to imagine Maggie sleeping in a stall like a horse," he said.
"But I can't imagine her eating hay. She doesn't even like salad!"
Just then the back door swung open.
Maggie came stomping into the backyard, still dressed in her riding clothes.
Her face was bright red, and she did not look happy.
"There's a rotten thief at the barn!" she cried. She pointed at Henry.
"And I need the other Lemonade Detectives to help me figure out who it is!"