Читать книгу The Curds and Whey Mystery - Bob Burke - Страница 9

5

Jack Has a Bright Idea

I was back in the office once more. I seemed to be spending an awful lot of time there, which was probably a good indication that the case wasn’t going too well. All my leads had turned out to be useless and – reluctant though I was to admit it – I was stumped. This case seemed to have more red herrings than a communist fishmonger and, to add insult to injury, even Edna had got one-up on me. Now, as if to mock my incompetence, I was depending on my two ‘partners’ for assistance – and that was something I never thought I’d hear myself say.

To be fair, both of them were taking the case seriously and were coming up with ideas, even if most of them were either useless or wildly impractical.

‘That is most strange,’ Basili mused when I told them about my visit to Frogg Prince Pets. ‘I would have been most certain that a vile orc person would have been belonging to Edna.’

Another vile person, I thought. ‘Well, if what she said is true then she is really out of the equation and I’ve no reason to doubt her. Her story is too easy to check out. And if he’s not Edna’s then whose is he? I thought she had the market cornered in cheap orc labour.’

‘The orc is one thing, but if it’s not Edna and it’s not that mad old woman who lives in the Shoe Hotel, then who’s doing it?’ said Jack.

‘That’s the question, isn’t it,’ I replied. ‘If we knew that, then we wouldn’t be here, would we?’

Then Basili asked the question that set the wheels spinning – or at least rotating slowly – in my mind once more.

‘Why are all those people still staying in this place?’

I know the same question had crossed my mind when I visited Miss Muffet’s earlier, but I hadn’t given it much thought since. Basili did have a point.

‘I don’t know, but it would want to be a very good reason, wouldn’t it?’

‘Indeed, many people are being most scared of spiders and they certainly would not be staying anywhere where creatures like that are in such large numbers.’

‘If I was them, I’d have moved out ages ago,’ said Jack. ‘I don’t mind creepy-crawlies, but it can’t be a lot of fun staying there with webs and stuff.’

‘That’s why I intend to go back there and talk to them. If they have a reason then I need to know what it is. Maybe then I can get some idea of who’s responsible for the spiders.’

‘Oh, yes, once more we are doing the interviews,’ exclaimed Basili, clapping his hands in excitement. ‘I love when we are talking to our suspects.’

Jack raised his hand. ‘But won’t that sort of give the game away. If they know we’re investigators, won’t they just lie to us? We won’t find anything out that way.’

‘You know Jack, you’re right. There must be another way, one that won’t make it obvious who we are.’

Jack’s hand was still in the air. ‘I’ve got a great idea, Harry.’

I doubted it, but I indicated for him to continue.

‘Remember when we were at the North Pole and we needed to get information from that bogus elf?’

I nodded. ‘Why is that relevant?’

‘Disguises.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘We could disguise ourselves as guests.’ Jack waved his arms in excitement. ‘No one would know who we are and we could mingle, talk to everyone and make them reveal something.’

I was about to point out how difficult it would be to disguise a pig, a fat ex-genie and a small boy as anything that would successfully pass muster when Basili chimed in.

‘Oh, that is a most excellent idea, young Jack. We are going undercover in a secret mission. How exciting.’

And how stupid, I thought. We’d never get away with it. We wouldn’t last ten minutes in the B&B. But the more I thought about it, the more the idea refused to go away. Maybe it could work. Our cover would have to be spectacular if we were to avoid discovery, but it might be the only way to find out what was going on. At least that was my justification when I agreed to it. In fact, I was so desperate and unable to come up with any other idea that, really, I had no choice.

‘Okay then, we’re going undercover.’ I said.

Jack jumped up and down in excitement.

‘But not you,’ I said to him. ‘It could be dangerous.’

‘Yes, but you didn’t say that when I was disguised as the elf, did you?’ His disappointment was obvious.

‘But this is much more dangerous. We won’t be able to keep our eye on you like we did then and there’s always the danger of blowing your cover.’

‘May I be making a suggestion,’ Basili interrupted.

I waved at him to continue.

‘Mr Harry and I will be talking to the guests, yes?’

I nodded.

‘Well, will we not be needing a someone to be keeping an eye on the people who are working there too?’

‘Yes,’ Jack shouted. ‘I could be in the kitchen, helping out and stuff and, at the same time, keeping my eyes open.’

It made sense and he’d probably be safe enough there. After all, what harm could come to him in a kitchen?

‘All right then team, it’s agreed. Now what shall we go as?’