Someone wrote on the bathroom wall!

So little 7-year-old Veronica comes into my office on a serious mission.

"Someone wrote on the girls bathroom wall," she tattles.

"Oh, my," I say. "We'd better have a look."

She takes my hand and we walk across the hall to the scene of the crime. Ewww...she's got something sticky on her hand. It's pink, and now it's on me.

As I grab a paper towel, I look at her. She's got pink hands, a pink smudge on her white uniform shirt, and a suspicious pink smear on her face.

Her pink little hand points to the bathroom wall, where, finger-paint style in pink ink is splashed "I love Jose" with a big heart around it.

I investigate by inspecting the ink. "Hmm, it's still wet. That must mean someone did this very recently. Was anyone else in the bathroom when you came in?"

"No, but my friend Tamika saw it, too!" Very serious.

We walk down the hallway to her classroom to question the other witness. Tamika is anxious to tell me what she saw. She has a big pink stain on her uniform shirt. "Someone wrote on the bathroom wall!"

"Do you know who did this?"

"No, but I think someone broke Veronica's pen." I notice the remains of said pen still attached to the chain around Veronica's neck.

"We'll need to keep a lookout for the anonymous writer," I say half to the children and half to the teacher, Miss S. She shoots me a knowing smile and an appropriate look of concern to the girls.

As I step out the classroom door, I look at the little paper stars with all the children's names attached to it. Interesting. There is one labeled, "Jose."

I'm such a good investigator.