The Case of the Girl with the Long Face

Summary
Fern's been feeling low and no one can figure out why. Luckily, Buster Baxter is on the case! He'll leave no stone unturned, no lead unexplored, no ice cream uneaten...

Plot
George comes to Buster's room on a rainy day and explains that Fern hasn't smiled in a week. Buster plans to take the case after dinner. Buster has been spying on Fern all day while taking notes on the tape recorder until Mr. Ratburn takes it away until the end of the school day. Then Buster goes to the ice cream shop and argues with Brain until the tape recorder beeps. Brain explains to Buster that she saw Fern argue with Muffy the other day. So she questions Muffy and she explains that she saw Fern sport a lavender bow and argues with her. She offers bows to take to Fern, but Fern rejects them. So Buster and George watch for her and she comes out, only to be chased by someone. Buster and George chase him, only to find out it's the Grey Dove. He explains that he didn't upset Fern and that if he did, he would send her an apology note, which gave Buster one more idea. He put an apology note on her locker. Fern found it and goes to thank someone with Buster and George following her. Fern goes to Mr. Ratburn who notices Buster and George. They tried to run, but they tripped over a water-filled bucket. Later, Fern and them were walking home with Fern explaining why she was miserable. Then the rain stopped. Buster continued alone, glum. Brain invites him to ice cream, finishing the episode.

Major

 * Buster Baxter
 * The Brain
 * Fern Walters
 * George Lundgren
 * The Grey Dove (Binky Barnes)
 * Maria Pappas
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Nigel Ratburn
 * Big Kid 1

Minor

 * Arthur Read

Cameo

 * Bailey
 * Francine Frensky
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Paige Turner
 * Rattles
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong

Episode connections

 * Buster had previously worked as a detective in "", "", "The Butler Did... What?", and "To Eat or Not to Eat".