With fingerprint in hand, Jane’s car came to a complete halt outside the library entrance. From where she was parked, she had a clear view of the people entering and exiting the library.

“Wonder if the culprit still lurks here?” Jane said “I’ll get him if he dares show up.”

An inconsiderate person has been indiscriminately leaving fingerprints all over pages of new library books and Jane was determined to nab him. “Wait! Ink marks on his shirt. It must be him!”

Jane quickly got out of the car and dashed after the boy with ink marks on his shirt. He could not be more than ten years old. Jane caught up with the boy and gripped his right hand tightly. His thumb was drenched in ink, so she pulled it up and forced his fingerprint next to the one on the defaced library book. It was an exact match!

“What have you got to say for yourself?” said Jane, in a disgusted tone.

The guilty boy knew he was cornered and bawled.

Clara Mok [Singapore] is a member of SCBWI in Singapore. Clara Mok loves writing and children, so she marries her two loves in children's fiction. 

© 2008 Clara Mok. Original for CCF  (Mok grants CCF  first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).