Too Many Clues
Mira's birthday was on Saturday. It was Wednesday now. Mira's parents had been whispering in the kitchen for three weeks.
Mira had been trying very, very hard not to investigate.
But Mira was a detective. She could not help noticing.
She had noticed:
— a parcel arrived two weeks ago, from a place that sounded like it sold things to do with horses
— Mama looked at her shoes a lot lately, in a measuring way
— there was a calendar note that said *Riding lesson: Saturday morning?* in Papa's handwriting
Mira loved horses. She had wanted to ride one for as long as she could remember.
She was almost certain her parents had booked her a riding lesson for her birthday.
She was so certain that she could not stop thinking about it.
She wrote in her notebook:
*Case 10: My Own Birthday.*
She wrote three clues. Then she crossed them out, slowly, one by one.
She did not want to know.
She had wanted to be surprised. Solving the case meant ruining the surprise.
This was a new problem.