PROBLEM SOLVER AND ASSISTANT ADVISER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Clara Cottonwood
Clara becomes Dewey's assistant, runs office systems, challenges his reasoning, and stops him when his own family case crosses a boundary.
CLARA'S CONNECTION DRAWER • THREE BOOKS
Who knows whom.
The same person can be a sibling in one file, a client in another, a collaborator later, and the reason Dewey has to rethink the whole plan by Tuesday.
BOOK 1 • PARENT PROBLEM SOLVER
11 connections in this drawer.
Family, friends, clients, teachers, collaborators, and the people who make a case more complicated simply by being in it.
FRIENDS AND PROBLEM SOLVER CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Seraphina Johnson
Seraphina's parent problem launches Dewey's reputation and she later becomes a trusted friend and field collaborator.
CLOSE FRIENDS AND FIELD TEAM
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Colin Decker
Colin accepts inconvenience and dental risk to help Dewey investigate Don's workplace.
SON AND FATHER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Don Fairchild
Dewey understands Don's desire to run his own operation but struggles not to turn that understanding into control over his father's choices.
SON AND MOTHER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Karen Fairchild
Karen protects Dewey, worries about his safety, and reminds him that major family decisions remain adult responsibilities.
SIBLINGS
Don Fairchild ↔ Aunt Susie
Susie remembers Don's childhood interests and provides the evidence that reveals his abandoned teaching dream.
DENTIST AND EMPLOYER
Don Fairchild ↔ Dr. Bernard
Dr. Bernard employs Don, and changes at the practice contribute to the Alaska decision Dewey investigates.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Michael de la Cruz
Michael hires Dewey to understand the hidden cause beneath his mother's escalating germ fears.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Georgina
Dewey investigates Georgina's father's embarrassing behaviors and reframes the issue toward medical evaluation.
OWNER AND DOG
Seraphina Johnson ↔ Peewee
Seraphina receives Peewee, a very large friendly mastiff, near the end of the book.
OFFICE COMPANIONS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Wolfie
Wolfie is part of the office and can carry recording equipment during Dewey's operations.
BOOK 2 • TEACHER PROBLEM SOLVER
15 connections in this drawer.
Family, friends, clients, teachers, collaborators, and the people who make a case more complicated simply by being in it.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND ASSISTANT ADVISER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Clara Cottonwood
Clara remains Dewey's essential partner, processing evidence, challenging assumptions, and catching practical mistakes as the workload grows.
CLOSE FRIENDS AND COLLABORATORS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Seraphina Johnson
Seraphina helps Dewey investigate school changes, demands evidence, and co-develops the conservation campaign.
CLOSE FRIENDS AND COLLABORATORS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Colin Decker
Colin remains Dewey's close friend, drone partner, research collaborator, and co-organizer of the school policy campaign.
SON AND FATHER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Don Fairchild
Don's transition into teaching gives Dewey a new model of classroom engagement while their home relationship remains affectionate and playful.
SON AND MOTHER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Karen Fairchild
Karen manages Dewey's home life, joins family projects, and shares the family's education-centered values.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Bryan Frenchie
Bryan's complaint creates the teacher-problem category and forces Dewey to consider the client's own contribution to the classroom conflict.
STUDENT AND TEACHER
Bryan Frenchie ↔ Mrs. Décorder
Bryan and Mrs. Décorder begin in a cycle of boredom and disruption; the #takeitback exercise produces a more collaborative classroom tone without erasing either person's quirks.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ William Sanai
Dewey works with William to make Mr. Nisano experience the boredom his students feel.
STUDENT AND TEACHER
William Sanai ↔ Mr. Nisano
William experiences Mr. Nisano's Humanities class as painfully dull; the deliberate-boredom experiment prompts the teacher to change his presentation and classroom layout.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Bailey Campos
Bailey brings Dewey a teacher problem centered on escalating shark fear rather than boredom or discipline.
STUDENT AND TEACHER
Bailey Campos ↔ Brad Snow
Bailey's fear grows under Mr. Snow's shark-saturated teaching; Mr. Snow later changes the learning experience after recognizing the effect on students.
STUDENT PROBLEM SOLVER AND TEACHER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Brad Snow
Dewey researches Mr. Snow, presents shark risk information to his classes, and later recognizes the teacher's own redesigned field experience as the real resolution.
STUDENT ORGANIZER AND PRINCIPAL
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Principal Mayoral
Dewey challenges school policy through the campaign while Principal Mayoral listens to student proposals and still holds the organizers accountable for rule violations.
STUDENT AND CUSTODIAN INFORMATION SOURCE
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Shawn
Shawn's comments alert Dewey's group that larger facilities changes are coming even before the school announces them.
STUDENTS AND CONSERVATION COLLABORATORS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Olivia Portapath
Olivia challenges the campaign's treatment of the real garden and later joins Dewey and friends on the new conservation committee.
BOOK 3 • SIBLING PROBLEM SOLVER
24 connections in this drawer.
Family, friends, clients, teachers, collaborators, and the people who make a case more complicated simply by being in it.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND ASSISTANT ADVISER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Clara Cottonwood
Clara manages the office, advises Dewey, challenges his thinking, and helps him frame new sibling-problem methods while Dewey treats her as an essential partner.
OFFICE COMPANIONS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Wolfie
Dewey and Wolfie share an affectionate office relationship, with Wolfie regularly greeting, accompanying, or comforting people involved in Dewey's cases.
OLDER BROTHER YOUNGER SISTER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Emma Fairchild
Pooh Bear's repeated interruptions force Dewey to confront the same attention and boundary dynamics he is trying to solve for other siblings.
YOUNGER BROTHER OLDER SISTER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Stephanie Fairchild
Stephanie's request for space helps Dewey recognize that he can intrude on an older sibling in much the same way Pooh Bear intrudes on him.
SON AND FATHER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Don Fairchild
Don remains openly affectionate with Dewey and frequently turns routine moments into lessons about attention, habits, and responsibility.
SON AND MOTHER
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Karen Fairchild
Karen manages Dewey's household routine and retains affectionate family language and expectations around him.
CLOSE FRIENDS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Seraphina Johnson
Seraphina remains a core friend and field-team member whose original parent case is remembered as the beginning of Dewey's reputation.
BEST FRIENDS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Colin Decker
Colin remains one of Dewey's closest collaborators, including school projects and drone work, while their friendship also accommodates teasing and occasional disagreement over privacy.
FRIENDS
Seraphina Johnson ↔ Elinor Mori
Seraphina meets Elinor over winter break and quickly becomes one of the first people Elinor identifies as a friend after moving to California.
CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Elinor Mori
Dewey and Elinor begin as classmates and become comfortable members of the same close friend group.
YOUNGER BROTHER OLDER SISTER
Archie Thomas ↔ Angelica Thomas
Archie and Angelica are siblings whose technology use becomes linked across two consecutive Thomas-family cases.
SON AND MOTHER
Archie Thomas ↔ Naomi Thomas
Archie's conflict with Naomi begins around a strict electronics rule and evolves into a more collaborative relationship when she learns Minecraft from him.
DAUGHTER AND MOTHER
Angelica Thomas ↔ Naomi Thomas
Angelica experiences Naomi's online participation as intrusive and embarrassing even though Naomi sees herself as joining the family's fun.
OLDER SISTER YOUNGER BROTHER
Claire Bautista-Knickerbocker ↔ Adam Bautista-Knickerbocker
Claire and Adam begin in an intense cycle of teasing, pranks, retaliation, and intimidation. Dewey's shared-problem strategy eventually produces genuine cooperation and mutual protection.
DAUGHTER AND FATHER
Claire Bautista-Knickerbocker ↔ Mr. Bautista-Knickerbocker
Claire's father responds to household conflicts as teaching opportunities and nearly requires Claire to file a real police report about the staged bicycle theft.
SON AND FATHER
Adam Bautista-Knickerbocker ↔ Mr. Bautista-Knickerbocker
Adam's father corrects and teaches him during family conflicts and the apparent bicycle theft while recognizing Adam's attempt to help Claire.
OLDER BROTHER YOUNGER SISTER
Efren Charles Disk ↔ Louise Disk
Efren wants privacy and control of his space while Louise repeatedly seeks his attention, producing a cycle of intrusion and retaliation that Dewey identifies as the central Disk-family pattern.
CO PARENTS AND CO CLIENTS
Julie Disk ↔ Charles Disk
Julie and Charles jointly seek Dewey's help for Efren and Louise and participate together in the final consultation.
CONSULTANT AND ADULT CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Julie Disk
Julie becomes one of Dewey's first adult clients, gives him access for observation, and later responds warmly to his proposed solution.
CONSULTANT AND ADULT CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Charles Disk
Charles becomes one of Dewey's first adult clients and actively helps Dewey articulate the final solution during the follow-up consultation.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Claire Bautista-Knickerbocker
Claire is the first sibling-problem client Dewey deliberately selects after formally expanding the business; Dewey observes her household, reassures her after Adam's pranks, and builds the shared-cause plan.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Archie Thomas
Dewey coaches Archie through investigation, confession, and negotiation around the Thomas household electronics rule.
PROBLEM SOLVER AND CLIENT
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Angelica Thomas
Angelica seeks Dewey out directly after the Archie solution creates a new social-media problem for her; Dewey investigates the issue and modifies the Thomas-family solution.
TEMPORARY STAKEOUT COMPANIONS
Dewey Fairchild ↔ Pumpkin
Pumpkin joins Dewey during the Disk mudroom stakeout and becomes a brief source of comfort and company.
KEEP FOLLOWING THE STRING
Connections make the cases move.
Open a book-specific drawer for the relationship details around that story, or search Clara's cabinet when you only remember the person or problem.