There has been a shocking crime at Mary Todd Lincoln Middle School.
In a glass case in the front hall, a trophy—the trophy, the first trophy ever won in the school's lackluster competitive history—has been stolen.
Even more horrifying, an outraged Principal Van Vreeland has threatened to cancel the eighth graders' long-awaited, once-in-a-lifetime field trip to Taproot Valley unless the trophy is returned.
Self-appointed sleuth extraordinaire Bethesda Fielding is confident she'll be able to track down the culprit and save her class trip. But the clock is ticking, and unless she can solve this baffling mystery, the eighth graders will be doomed to a Week of a Thousand Quizzes instead. . . .