68 pages 2 hours read

Elise Broach

Masterpiece

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008

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Chapters 31-35Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 31 Summary: “Breaking and Entering”

James walks briskly to the apartment complex at the address, impressing Marvin with his speed. Not knowing what Marvin knows, he presses the call button for the unit on the label. When no one answers, James tries several more buttons, and eventually someone lets him in. James and Marvin trek through the building until they find the apartment on the label. James knocks, joking that there better not be a criminal inside. Marvin knows he could crawl under the door, but he wants to find a way to get James in. Marvin reaches for the doorknob, and James tests it to show it’s locked.

Marvin crawls onto the knob when James touches it. Marvin recalls that his great-aunt Mildred taught the family about picking locks, but Marvin didn’t realize he’d need the information and struggles to recall it. He crawls into the lock and tries pushing against the metal pieces, but he can’t move them. James remembers that he has a paperclip. He slides one end into the lock. Marvin positions the paperclip properly, and James turns it, unlocking the door.