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said Natalie. "But weren't the computers stolen from the library?"
    "Yeah."
    She grinned. "Then what say we stop and look for one of those ... what do you detectives call them? Chews? Gnus?"
    "Clues," I said.
    "Let's cruise."
    Natalie and I pushed through the heavy oak doors into the cool quiet of the library. It smelled of old books, confusion, and fancy-schmancy coffee. Cool Beans, the librarian, held the coffee. The book smell came from, no duh, the books.
    And I'm not sure where the confusion came from. (Maybe me.)
    "Hey, Cool Beans," I said.
    The hefty possum looked up from his cup of java. "What's shakin', private eyes?"
    "Nothing but the knees of the bad guys," I said.
    "Or their bellies, from laughing," said Natalie.
    Cool Beans gazed at us through his wraparound shades. "The word is, you're lookin' into some light-fingered Louies around campus."
    "Word travels fast," I said. "What can you tell us about the computer theft?"
    The possum sipped his coffee. "Happened after I split yesterday. When I dropped in to work this A.M., I found that space"—he pointed at the gap in his line of computers—"where two machines should have been."
    I strolled over to see. "And they didn't break in?"
    "Nah, those sneaky squares must have had a key."
    Natalie joined me and eyeballed the computer table. "Any clues?"
    "No muddy footprints, no bloody handkerchiefs, no bad-guy library cards," said Cool Beans.
    I shook my head. "I was afraid of that."
    "But outside the window," he said, "I did find
this.
" The possum held up something that looked like a see-through scrap of parchment.
    "Paper?" I said. "This place is lousy with it."
    "Guess again, Sherlock. Snakeskin."
    My eyes met Natalie's. "And where there's snakeskin...," I said.
    "There's snakes," she finished.
    I grinned. "Hey, great minds think alike."
    "Or as my mom says, fools seldom differ."

10. Iguana Hold Your Hand
    After talking with Cool Beans, we still had more questions than answers. But I'm used to that. The same thing happens half the time I take a test.
    Natalie and I stepped out into the bright sunshine.
    "How'd we get so many suspects?" I said, ticking them off on my fingers. "I count Mr. Mauler, Johnny Ringo, Luz Lipps, and some mystery snake."
    "So which one did it?" asked Natalie.
    "Beats me, but when I catch that thief..."
    Natalie led the way down the corridor. "Maybe we should try eliminating them one by one. Then whoever's left will be the culprit."
    "Alrighty," I said, "Time for some shadow work."
    Natalie clapped her wings together. "Oh, goodie.
I always wanted to learn how to make those little bunny rabbit shapes."
    "Not shadow puppets,
shadowing
." I gave her a look. "You know, following suspects around to see what you can find out? Dang, birdie, you still—"
    She grinned. "Gotcha! I swear, Chet, you are
so
gullible sometimes."
    "I must be," I said. "I have you for a partner."
    When we reached a crossroads, Natalie stopped. "How about if I look for Mr. Mauler?"
    "Then I'll take Luz Lipps," I said, heading down the right-hand hall. "We'll talk at the next recess."
    "Okeydokey, artichokey," she called.
    "In an hour, cauliflower," I said.
    Lunch period was disappearing faster than the last slurps of a millipede root beer float. I stepped up my pace, checking each corridor for the flying squirrel.
    And then I found her. Hugging the wall, I watched as a boy walked up to Luz. They chatted briefly and leaned close—too close. Not again!
    My face screwed up in disgust, and I turned away.
    When I looked back, the two had separated, and the boy was strolling off. Luz started toward me, her cheeks puffed out. How had she managed her gum during the lip-lock? I wondered.
    Then I realized I really didn't want to know.
    The flying squirrel stopped dead, staring right at me.
    Dang.
    Distracted, I had forgotten the first rule of shadowing: Stay hidden.
    I stepped out. "Luz, can you tell me—" I began.
    The hall monitor spun and hurried off in the other