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“Did it?” Bob said, taking a step inside. He didn’t smile. “Because I checked this morning too. We’ve had another breakin. Vandalism. You know what vandalism is, Madison? Theft? Burglary?”

Oscar gripped his perch tighter.“Uh-oh.” He shot Walt a panicked look. The raccoons were not gone. Operation Wait and See was turning into Operation Disaster.

“Um, yeah.” Madison gave Bob a weird look.

“What’s all this about, Bob?” Mrs. Food said, getting up from the table.

Bob smoothed the front of his shirt.“After we discovered the thefts this morning, we checked the security cameras. Looks like only one person went in last night. One.” Bob tapped his clipboard against his hand. “Seems like we’ve got a pretty clear suspect.”

“And who would that be, Bob?” Mrs. Food had a hard note in her voice.

Bob’s face was grim. “Madison.”

— 11 —

“I DID WHAT?” MADISON LOOKED outraged. “You think I vandalized the storage area?” She looked from Bob to Mrs. Food and back again.

“She did WHAT?” Butterbean yelped. “It wasn’t Madison! It was the raccoons, right, Oscar?”

“Right,” Oscar said in a low voice. “Oh, this is bad.”

Mrs. Food put her hand on Madison’s shoulder. “That’s a very serious accusation, Bob.”

Bob raised his hands defensively.“I don’t like it any more than you do. But you can take a look at the surveillance video. Madison, you were the last one to go in last night. The ONLY one to go in. There was no damage before you went in. I had just checked it myself.”

“But it wasn’t me,” Madison said. She turned to Mrs. Food, her voice pleading. “I didn’t touch anything. I just went to our storage area. I told you, everything looked fine when I left.”

“But can’t they see it was the raccoons?” Butterbean whispered.

“Those cameras, they only show the humans—isn’t that what Dunkin said?” Walt said softly. “They’re positioned too high to show the floor.”

“Right. And the raccoons wouldn’t be coming in through the door.” Oscar clicked his beak in frustration.

“I believe you, Madison,” Mrs. Food said, shooting a steely glare at Bob. “Bob, this is a mistake. Madison didn’t do this.”

“I’d love to hear an alternate explanation. I really would. Madison?” He folded his arms and waited. “Can you explain this?”

Madison shifted from foot to foot.“No? I mean… I didn’t…” Her chin started to quiver.

“Madison, why don’t you finish getting ready for school while I talk to Bob,” Mrs. Food said, patting Madison on the back. “I’ll take care of this misunderstanding.”

Madison nodded wordlessly and ran to her room.

Bob waited until Madison’s door was shut before he turned back to Mrs. Food. “Look, there is nobody who wants this to go away more than I do. But the surveillance footage is pretty clear. It has to be Madison. And the sooner she comes clean, the better.”

“She says she didn’t do it, Bob.” Mrs. Food’s voice was hard. “I have to believe her. I’ll want to see those surveillance tapes.”

“Sure, sure.” Bob rubbed his forehead. “And I admit, it’s not like her. Maybe you’ll see something I didn’t. It’s just that lady on six, she’s on the condo board, and she’s talking fines, disciplinary hearings, you name it. She’s a real piece of work.”

“Has she seen the tape yet?” Mrs. Food asked.

Bob shook his head.“Not yet. I’ve kept Madison’s name out of it for now, but I won’t be able to much longer.”

Mrs. Food looked grim.“I’ll be down to see the tapes right after Madison leaves for school.”

Bob nodded and turned to leave.

“We’ve got to get those raccoons to stop!” Butterbean said after Bob had gone. “They’re getting Madison in trouble!”

Oscar narrowed his eyes.“Oh, they’ll stop. They’ll have to. Or they’ll have to deal with me.”

Mrs. Food went downstairs to watch the surveillance tapes as soon as Madison left for school. Madison hadn’t even said goodbye to the animals when she left. She had just stared at the floor and nodded whenever Mrs. Food tried to comfort her.

When Mrs. Food came back, she had Mrs. Third Floor with her. Mrs. Third Floor was Mrs. Food’s best friend, and she said she was there for moral support. (Butterbean felt like that should be her department, since she was training to be a therapy dog, but she didn’t say anything. Mrs. Food looked like she needed all the moral support she could get.)

“So if it wasn’t Madison, who could it have been?” Mrs. Third Floor asked, sipping a cup of coffee. “There wasn’t anyone else in the video?”

“No one,” Mrs. Food said, frowning. “It was just like Bob said. No one went in after Madison. Not until Bob went in this morning.”

“Aha!” Mrs. Third Floor said triumphantly. “Maybe it was Bob!”

Mrs. Food shook her head.“No, he barely comes into the room before he leaves again. You can see him reacting to the mess.”

“Shoot,” Mrs. Third Floor said, stirring her coffee. She stared into her cup.

“I don’t see an explanation,” Mrs. Food said.

“Could it be…” Mrs. Third Floor hesitated. “I mean, it couldn’t be a ghost, could it?”