Chapter One


The New Kid

Welcome to Noble's Green, Pennsylvania—
The Safest Town on Earth!

The safest town on earth? thought Daniel. Couldn't sound lamer.

Daniel Corrigan and his family saw the sign from their car just a few miles outside town. When it came into view, Daniel's father honked the horn of their minivan as his mother clapped her hands. Of course Daniel's baby brother, Georgie, had to join in, squealing with delight while kicking his plump legs against his car seat. Georgie was only two years old and he always just assumed that everyone was clapping for him, which was usually the case. Daniel's parents clapped when Georgie smiled or spoke or even burped.

Instead of joining in the applause, Daniel just buried his nose deeper in his book. His mom warned him over and over again that reading in the car would make him sick, but he did it anyway. The Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles was one of his favorites. Daniel had a thing for detective stories, and Sherlock Holmes was the best detective ever. Period. While Daniel was completely aware that a middle-aged, pipe-smoking British sleuth was not the typical hero of the average twelve-year-old boy, peer pressure meant little to him. He liked spending his time amidst the gaslit streets and horse-drawn carriages, the dangerous arch-criminals and, of course, trusty sidekick Dr. Watson.

Daniel sometimes wished for a trusty sidekick. All he had was Georgie, who was too young to be of much help in anything. With a sidekick like Georgie, not even Holmes would have solved many crimes, thought Daniel. He would have been too busy clapping all the time.

Besides, Daniel understood something that ...