The only thing tougher than a New York summer
is a New York summer that keeps on going right into fall.
After a while, everyone gives up on looking nice,
and they start to look like a bunch of melty candles.
Which, for me, makes spying way easier
'cause people are always at home trying to cool off.
It's too bad that cats can't turn their tails into propellers like in cartoons,
because they could use them like fans.
It sure is hot outside, Mrs. Robinson.
Yes, it is, Mr. Robinson.
How do the Robinsons manage to stay so boring?
They must practice.
I wished I could go home and stand one inch away from our air conditioner…
but I had a new stop on my spy route that I had to keep an eye on.
They were the Garcia family,
and my decision to spy on them during that bizarre heat wave
got all of us caught up in a bizarre crime wave.
I just wanna be You just wanna be
We just wanna be
I am gonna be who I wanna be
My autonomy
No, I won't cut my hair
And I'll wear whatever
I like it when I get to be myself
I don't wanna be You don't wanna be
We don't wanna be told what to do
Since adding the Garcias to my spy route,
I've learned a lot about them.
They just moved to the States from Cuba
and bought a deli on the first floor of their building.
And even though I couldn't understand anything they said,
they seemed pretty normal.
- Jorge! -¡Sí!
Mr. and Mrs. Garcia yelled at each other from opposite sides of the room
instead of just going to each other and talking,
which was about as parent-y as parents get.
They had a teenage daughter
who thought she was a way better singer than she really was.
Mi, mi, mi
And they loved watching $10,000 Tower every evening after closing the deli.
This is $10,000 Tower!
Yes!
So all pretty normal, right?
Wrong.
'Cause every night at the exact time the game show started,
their son, Carlos, mysteriously disappeared.
This called for a little spy visit to his store to look for crucial clues.
Where did Carlos go every night?
I didn't have a clue.
-Hey, America. It's tower time. - It's tower time!
It's tower time.
It's tower time!
Ideas for where Carlos might go:
Number one,
maybe he pumps iron,
so he can lift all those boxes of oranges at the deli.
Number two…
Mi
Maybe Carlos hates his sister's singing so much,
he stands outside Mr. Withers's apartment
to hear the cats sing something more in tune.
Number three.
Or maybe…
And let's welcome our newest contestant,
Carlos Garcia.
Carlos, what would you do with $10,000?
I'd move to Siberia, Johnny.
He's training to win $10,000 Tower so he can move super far away,
-to never hear his sister sing again. -La, la, la, mi
I was determined to find out where this Carlos was going.
We interrupt this program to bring you a breaking news bulletin.
The Bodega Burglar has hit another deli on the Upper East Side of Manhattan,
this time striking Joe's 80th Street Deli this afternoon.
A Bodega Burglar? Interesting.
This is the third robbery this week.
Bobby's Bodega and the East Side Deli have also fallen victim.
Police say the thief enters bodegas and delis in broad daylight
and steals the keys before returning at night to rob them.
He is described as a small adult male and should be considered dangerous.
Jorge…
Something interesting always seems to happen when the streetlights go on,
reminding me it's time to go home.
Carlos?
What just happened?
He was spying on you?
Yep. He was spying on me.
Wait. Weren't you spying on him and his family first?
That's different, Sport.
I'm a writer.
I spy, because to be a writer,
I've got to know everything and see every--
All right, everyone, pick up a ball and get dodging!
Remember to follow through. And go!
So what are you gonna do, Harriet?
Well, first, I gotta figure out what Carlos was writing down about me.
What? Writing about you?
You're out, Pinky Whitehead!
Wait. He's not just spying on you, he's writing about you?
Again, exactly what Harriet was doing to him.
We need to focus on this, Harriet.
Initiate intentional out.
My gut! My gut. I'm hit.
I'm out! I'm out!
Tell my brother he's dumb.
What are you guys doing down there?
Emergency intentional out, Sport.
We got big stuff to discuss.
Man.
But I'm walloping this game.
Good follow-through, Sport!
See?
Fine.
Ouch. I'm out.
Couldn't this Carlos guy just want to make a new friend?
He did just move here.
Probably doesn't know anybody at his new school.
No way. I asked him what he wanted, and he looked at me like this…
and ran off.
Not "I need a friend" behavior.
Good point.
Wait, don't you guys see?
Watching you, moved here from "another country,"
speaks other languages.
Carlos is…
An international spy.
I was gonna say a shape-shifting vampire from Transylvania.
Okay, fine. International spy sounds more likely.
By the end of school,
all I could think about was the fact that an international spy might be after me.
Now I've got you!
But why?
Did I see something I shouldn't have?
If only I knew what he was writing, I'd know what I was up against.
That's when I realized.
If I was going to find any clues about Carlos's interest in me,
I had to infiltrate Carlos's lair.
Janie, you're in Spanish this semester, right?
Yes, indeed-y. I speak it perfectly.
Excellent. I need both of you to help me.
- What is it? - We're in.
Janie, you distract the parents.
Wait for my signal.
Sport, prepare for phase two.
And ready…
Go.
Oh, no.
There. The paper.
That's what he was writing on.
We have to get it.
You distract him, and I'll grab it.
Hello.
Hey, how much are those penny candies?
A penny.
Okay. Interesting.
And how much are those penny candies?
Also a penny.
All right.
There it is.
Hey. Watch where you're going.
Sorry.
And how about those?
They're a penny. They're all a penny.
Except the million-dollar bar. Those are a quarter.
Okay.
Well, can I look at them?
Seriously?
Fine. Watch my keys.
- Gotcha. -…thousand dollar tower is full of--
Hey. What are you doing?
Are you stealing?
It's the burglar!
Stop, thief!
Run!
My keys!
You!
Hey. I told you to watch where you're--
Come on. Let's get outta here.
I got it. I got it.
It's a--
Let's see it. Open it up.
It's a map.
He highlighted my entire spy route.
Janie, what does all this Spanish say?
I thought you spoke Spanish perfectly.
Yeah, I thought I did too, but, boy, I do not.
Janie!
I don't speak Spanish either, but I'm pretty sure that's about Harriet.
What? He knows my name. How does he know my name?
Carlos really is an international spy.
I must've seen something I shouldn't have on my spy route.
Maybe the Robinsons aren't boring after all.
Maybe Carlos works for them.
I have to figure out what this map says, and fast.
Maybe Mrs. Marshall, the Spanish teacher, can help you.
I think her office hours go till 4:00.
That means I've got 15 minutes.
It's been an honor, friends.
The honor was ours.
Hey! No running.
I stopped when I saw Joe's 80th Street delicatessen.
I remembered it from the news.
That was the place that got hit by the Bodega Burglar.
Suddenly, it all made sense.
Carlos works at a deli, so he would know the right times to go snatch the keys.
It's the perfect cover.
Who would expect someone who works at a bodega to rob a bodega?
Carlos isn't an international spy.
He's the Bodega Burglar.
Hey!
I wanted to run home, but I didn't want the Bodega Burglar to see where I lived,
so I just kept going.
Let's go.
- No money… - No ride.
Rats.
When you're getting chased like it's a spy movie,
you gotta lose 'em like you would in a spy movie.
Hey!
That way!
In case you're wondering,
if you're being chased by a burglar who knows you know too much,
and you know that he knows, you can run pretty fast.
Come on. Come on.
Safe.
I figured when I got to the top, I'd call the police and be hailed a hero.
The view is amazing. Wow.
But how?
Right. Two elevators.
- You. - You.
You're the Bodega Burglar.
What? No, I'm not.
Why would I be the Bodega Burglar?
You're the one who came into my family's deli,
stole my map and swiped my keys.
Swiped your keys? I didn't take your keys.
You're right. You didn't. 'Cause they were decoy keys.
What are decoy keys?
I put some old keys that don't work anymore
out in the open as bait to catch the Bodega Burglar.
- You. - Nuh-uh.
You are the Bodega Burglar,
and you started following me because you knew I was on to you.
And I have the map to prove it.
No! My evidence!
There they are.
No! Gimme!
Janie? Sport?
Sport, please.
I'm the one who speaks Spanish.
The Garcias helped us follow you.
I'm not the Bodega Burglar.
Yes, she is!
No, I'm not!
I think we missed something.
We know you're not the burglar.
You stopped the burglar.
What?
I got this.
That guy you crashed into on the way out of the deli was the thief.
He'd taken the set of keys on the counter,
the rusty old set that didn't work anymore.
After Mr. and Mrs. Garcia found Sport and me,
we called the police, locked up the store and came down to find you two.
So, wait. That means…
Police say the thief enters bodegas and delis in broad daylight
and steals the keys before returning at night to rob them.
You used your old set as decoy keys to fool the burglar.
You really did lure in the Bodega Burglar.
I get it now.
You're a genius, Carlos.
Why didn't you tell me you were a genius, Carlos?
Because you were spying on me.
Also, why were you spying on me and all these other places?
That's easy. I'm a writer.
I don't follow.
My nanny, Ole Golly, says if I wanna be a writer, I have to know everything.
And to know everything, I have to see everything.
Only way to see everything is to spy.
I spy to write.
So you're a writer. Cool.
I love to read.
Well, then, I might let you read my first novel someday.
Deal.
My mom and dad said they wanna let the news know
about how you two caught the Bodega Burglar.
You two deserve credit for what you did.
I'm a spy. Gotta keep a low profile.
Besides, you're the one who really caught him.
You had a whole plan. I just walked into it.
Wait. You guys just moved here, right?
Have you been to the top of the Empire State Building yet?
Sport and Janie and I are excellent New York city tour guides.
Oh, yeah. We know which coin-operated telescopes work
and which ones are busted and everything.
The Statue of Liberty is over there.
And there's a church down there that has a bowling alley in the basement.
The next day, the heat wave broke, the crime wave ended,
and Carlos got called a hero in the newspaper.
He even said I helped.
My friend, Harriet M. Welsch, took the Bodega Burglar down
like a runaway forklift.
I made sure he called me by my full name, "M" included.
He turned out to be one of those amazing friends you always wish for,
which we would've learned earlier if we ran away from each other less
and just, you know, talked more.
She's asking if it's good.
Yes. Super rico.
And hanging out with the Garcias improved Janie's Spanish a ton.
Clarita's singing, on the other hand, remained painfully unchanged.
The $10,000 tower
It's full of power and money
Here comes the money
The $10,000 tower It's full of power and money
Here comes the money The $10,000…
I just wanna be You just wanna be
We just wanna be
I don't wanna be You don't wanna be
We don't wanna be told what to do
And I try my best to do good In the neighborhood
I smile real nice
And I strive to tell the truth
I just wanna be You just wanna be
We just wanna be
I don't wanna be You don't wanna be
We don't wanna be told what to do
I am gonna be who I wanna be
My autonomy
I just wanna be You just wanna be
We just wanna be
No, I won't cut my hair
And I'll wear whatever
I like it when I get to be myself
I don't wanna be You don't wanna be
We don't wanna be told what to do