-
Toby Receives the Letter
Toby Montrose, an 11-year old boy, receives a letter from Hugh Abernathy, the world's greatest detective. The letter Abernathy sends states that Abernathy must make way for another generation of investigators, and also invites the people on the street of Detective's Row to compete for the title of Best Detective. -
Period: to
Toby is Training for Hugh Abernathy's Detective Contest
Toby really wants to win that contest, so he buys something called Inspector Webster's Correspondence Course. The set of lessons teaches him a lot of things, from identifying a simple crime scene to setting a "rat trap" to catch criminals. Finally, a week before the contest, Toby meets with Hugh Abernathy to sign up for the contest. -
Toby Wants to Win, Meets Ivy
After training with Inspector Webster's Correspondence Course, Toby believes he's good enough to go and win the contest, despite his uncle's grudge against Abernathy. When the day comes, Toby travels to Coleford Manor and meets Ivy Webster (Inspector Webster). They become investigative partners and start to look for clues early. -
Hugh Abernathy Found Dead!
The games have begun! Mr. Abernathy wants to discuss something with Toby before dinner, but when Toby finds him, The World's Greatest Detective is dead! The other detectives - Miss Price, Miss March, Mr. Rackham, Julia Hartshorn, and Phillip Elwood - aren't sure how Mr. Abernathy died, but are determined to find out! -
The Investigation Starts
Toby and Ivy are already looking for evidence on who murdered Hugh Abernathy. Toby interogates Julia Hartshorn as she discovers Brandelburg Acid, a famous poison, in Mr. Abernathy's tonic. Later, Ivy interogates Phillip Elwood and suspects him. -
Phillip Elwood a Hoax?!
Toby and Ivy stay up at night because they suspect something will happen. Indeed, they find Phillip Elwood climbing out a window with a stack of papers! They catch him with their "rat trap" and discover he's not Phillip Elwood at all, but Peter Jacobson, a reporter and article writer for the news, who wanted to get news about Abernathy's death by entering as Phillip Elwood! -
The Files Are Found!
The detectives have also discovered that Hugh Abernathy's old case files are gone. Toby tries to figure out who took the files, and goes to Mrs. Webster for help. She has a gardening basket in her hand and is talking to some bystanders over the fence. When Toby takes the basket, all of Mr. Abernathy's files come spilling out, which Mrs. Webster had tried to sell! -
Abernathy's Secrets
Ivy soon discovers what happened, so Toby and Ivy bring Mrs. Webster up to the Investigatorium, their secret hideout. Mrs. Webster tells the two children about how Mr. Abernathy blackmailed them over their Gyptian artifacts, and how he's taken most of their money. When Toby and Ivy look into the files more, they find secrets about some the other detectives, like Mr. Rackham's memory loss, and how Julia Hartshorn is an escaped convict! -
Constable Trout Takes Over
After no one really figures out who committed the crime, Mr. & Mrs. Webster think that this is a job for the police. They call George P. Trout, Head Constable of the Colebridge Police Department, believes that the Webster's have "wasted their time" with the detectives. Toby's Aunt Janet even learns about it, picks up Toby, and brings him home. Eventually, all the detectives are sent home by Constable Trout! -
Period: to
Police Are Investigating
The Police are now in charge of the investigation, despite the fact that they aren't getting any farther than the detectives did. Toby finds that his uncle is suspected dead, and that he'll be off to an orphanage soon. But when Abernathy was alive, Toby had asked him to find clues on supposedly dead parents, and Mr. Abernathy did! If Toby can find those clues, he might not go to an orphanage after all! -
The Wrong Murder!
Toby travels to Detective's Row to view at Mr. Abernathy's files. He meets Ivy again, and when they get to the Abernathy's house, Mr. Peartree, Mr. Abernathy's former assistant, answers. Toby notices unusual things, like how Mr. Peartree has a coffee cup filled with cream, even though Mr. Peartree hates cream. Suddenly, it all makes sense! Mr. Abernathy poisoned the real Mr. Peartree, and made a contest out of it! Once they go to confront him, he waits . . . then pulls out a shiny silver pistol! -
The New World's Greatest Detective!
The chase is on! Toby and Ivy split up because he can't go after both of them. Hugh Abernathy eventually corners Toby and offers him this: If Toby doesn't want to go to an orphanage, than he should work as Abernathy's new assistant. But before anything else can happen, his Uncle Gabriel arrives, Hugh Abernathy is caught, and Toby and Ivy are made The World's Greatest Detectives!
