The Case of the Missing Money

The unthinkable happened.

It was so catastrophic to certain persons in this house that everything literally had to come to a screeching halt.

Even the dog felt the urgency and stopped chewing on shoes out of respect for the distressed in this home.

You see, I've mentioned before the great lengths my oldest daughter is going to in her efforts to save money for an iPOD touch.

http://webberstories.blogspot.com/2012/02/for-love-of-money.html

She's doing pretty well. It's been a couple of months and as of last week, she had a grand total of $67.36.

After all, when you charge your sisters five bucks to sleep in your bed (and your sisters have zero comprehension of money), it starts adding up. She can almost taste the victory of reaching her goal.

After dinner one night, I sent her upstairs to get a shower and get ready for bed.

This is when her universe came to a screeching halt.

She was back downstairs after less than one minute, sobbing and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It's gone! All of it! I can't find it anywhere!"

After a moment of trying to coax coherent words from her, we finally figured out that her precious iTouch funds had disappeared. We did a thorough mental review of what she'd done with it last and where she could've left it, but came up with nothing. Her money box was definitely NOT where she claimed to have left it in her wardrobe.

We searched the entire upstairs. My daughter was totally distraught. Her grief overcame her and she just had to lay down on her bed.

We came upon this, our first big clue:

Open medicine bottles. This disturbed my daughter because the coins she'd been keeping in them were definitely missing. That, however, was not in the least as concerning to me as the fact that someone in my home (and I had a good idea who) was obviously quite proficient at opening childproof medicine bottles.

Sometimes this kid is just scary. And on this particular night, she was down the road spending the night with her Nana and Papa, and was therefore unavailable for questioning.

We continued following the clues. Opening the jewelry box, we found dollar bills in two of the drawers, change stuck into the drawer for storing rings,

and this, the worst contraband so far:

Now THIS is just wrong. She absolutely knows there is to be NO nail polish in her room.

Oh, she's going down for this one, alright.

Our continued search resulted in finding more money stored in the little step stool next to the bed, scattered on the floor next to the nightstand, and in a Hello Kitty wallet.

Oh, and along the way, my little kleptomaniac picked up a few other little treasures which belong to her big sister.

Her rubber band ball

and her favorite little toy skateboards.

I think my 3-year-old really might have a problem. She just can't seem to stop herself from taking things. It's like a compulsion. Just yesterday I found a three of my bracelets, my sunglasses, and salad tongs in her room.

We may have to seek help.

In the meantime, all piggy banks and money boxes and silverware have been placed out of reach.

"I am sneaky. I have a chocolate frosting moustache. I take naps, and I have a klepto problem."