The Case of the Digital Deception (Volume 5) (Club CSI) - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ellie O’Ryan loves chocolate almost as much as she loves writing books for kids. She is the author of more than 300 books for children and has a secret chocolate stash hidden in her office for late-night writing sessions. Ellie lives in North Carolina with her husband, two kids, three cats, and one dog. 

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The Case of the Digital Deception

Chapter 1

It was an ordinary Tuesday morning at Woodlands Junior High and Corey had one thing on his mind: lunch. He couldn’t help it. The smell of spices and warm food wafted through the hallways, making his stomach growl. Corey was so focused on lunch, he didn’t even notice when his friends Ben and Hannah turned and walked into Miss Hodges’s classroom and he kept going straight—toward the cafeteria!

“Uh, Corey?” Ben called to him from the doorway. “We still have another period until lunchtime.”

Corey turned around and grinned sheepishly. He was so hungry that he almost forgot about his favorite class, forensic science with Miss Hodges. But he wasn’t all that embarrassed. If anyone knew how much Corey loved lunch, it was Ben. Along with Hannah, he and Ben had been best friends since elementary school. And now they were something else, too—members of Club CSI.

It all started when a new science teacher, Miss Hodges, came to Woodlands. Her forensic science class was so fascinating that it had inspired Ben, Corey, and Hannah to start Club CSI. With Miss Hodges as their advisor, the best friends had decided to use what they learned in class to investigate the mysteries and crimes that sometimes happened at their school.

When Corey and Ben entered the classroom, Hannah was already sitting at her desk. “Glad you’re joining us, Corey,” she teased. “It’s going to be a fun class. I think we’re starting a new unit today.”

“I can’t wait,” said Ben. “Any idea what it’s about?”

Hannah shook her head. So far, Miss Hodges had taught her class about securing a crime scene, handwriting and shoeprint analysis, fingerprinting techniques, and many other tools of a crime-scene investigator, but Club CSI had already realized that the more they knew about forensic science, the more there was to learn.

Miss Hodges strode into the room just as the bell rang. All the students quieted down as she stood in the front of the class.

“Let’s jump right in, shall we?” Miss Hodges began. “I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the process of interviewing suspects. So I thought we’d start a unit on behavioral science, which, for our purposes, can be defined as the study of human behavior through observation.”

Miss Hodges paused so everyone could write down the definition.

“Behavioral science is extremely important for Crime Scene Investigators, especially when they’re conducting interviews of suspects and witnesses,” Miss Hodges said. “We’ll spend today’s class talking about what CSIs look for during an interview.”

Under his desk, Corey did a secret fist-pump. During Club CSI’s past investigations, he’d started taking the lead in interviews—and he loved it. Corey was so friendly and easygoing that people really opened up to him. He loved the challenge of asking just the right questions in just the right way. Corey hoped he’d become an even better investigator after learning about how CSIs interview people.

“You all know that one of the most essential elements of the job is interviewing potential suspects,” Miss Hodges continued. “During these interviews, investigators can’t just rely on the suspect’s answers. They must also observe the suspect’s behavior during the questioning. In other words, investigators are paying attention to what the suspect says—and how he or she says it.”

Miss Hodges wrote “body language” on the board.

“Who can tell me what body language is?” Miss Hodges asked.

Hannah raised her hand first. “It’s a way you can communicate without talking,” she explained. “Like, if you cross your arms, your body language might make you look mean or unfriendly.”

“Good,” Miss Hodges said. “And there are some actions or mannerisms that are associated with lying. Now, I’m going to need two volunteers.” A bunch of hands shot into the air. “Let’s have . . . Ricky . . . and Charlie. Boys, let’s step into the hallway.”

A few moments later Miss Hodges returned, with Ricky and Charlie following her. “We’re going to do a little experiment,” she announced. “Ricky and Charlie will be the suspects. One of them will tell the truth, and the other will answer every question with a lie. The rest of the class will be the investigators. You can ask Charlie and Ricky all about themselves. During the questioning, I want you to observe them very carefully—and then we’ll talk about your observations.”

Corey jumped right in. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Green,” Charlie replied.

“Uh, red,” Ricky said.

“And what’s your favorite food?” Ben asked.

“That’s a tough one,” Charlie said. “Tacos, I guess.”

Ricky licked his lips. “Stew.”

“What’s your favorite sport?” asked Katie.

“Hockey,” Charlie answered.

“Baseball. Definitely,” Ricky said, after glancing out the window to where the gym class was playing a game.

One by one, each student in the class had a chance to ask the “suspects” a question. But Corey had more questions than anyone. His eyes never left Charlie and Ricky, not even when he scribbled notes.

“Okay, I think those are enough questions for now,” Miss Hodges finally said. “Who would like to tell the class about their observations? Corey, you took a lot of notes.”

Corey nodded vigorously. “I think Ricky was lying!” he said in a rush.

“Wait a minute. Are you calling me a liar?” Ricky shot back. “What proof do you have?”

Hannah noticed right away that Ricky’s eyes were twinkling, like he was enjoying himself.

Corey didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, I think I have proof,” he said, staring at his notebook. “It’s all . . . right . . . here . . . . Hang on a second . . . . ”

The class waited expectantly while Corey peered at his notes. Finally, he looked up. “Sorry. I’m having a little trouble reading my own writing!” he said.

Everyone cracked up; even Miss Hodges smiled. “That’s okay, Corey. Do you remember what Ricky said that made you think he was lying?” she asked.

“It wasn’t really anything he said,” Corey told her. “But—here it is—every time he answered, Ricky did something weird. Like, he glanced out the window four times, he said ‘uh’ or ‘um’ nine times, and he licked his lips fourteen times before he spoke. But Charlie wasn’t doing any of those things.”

“Excellent observations, Corey!” Miss Hodges exclaimed. “Those are all physical signs that someone might be lying. For example, people often say ‘um’ to buy time to think up a lie, or they’ll glance around looking for inspiration.” She turned to Corey. “Were there any answers, however, in particular that made you think Ricky was lying?”
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