by Erika McGann
‘Mr Manning next door …’ Lex was blushing. ‘He’s kind of old, and I think he’s getting shorter …’
‘It’s a candle,’ I said. ‘A candle gets shorter as it burns down. I’ve heard that riddle before.’
Nicholas went on.
‘And my home is made of gold, I’m not alone, I’ve friends you see, We share a branch, but there’s no tree.’
I thought for about a second and a half.
‘It’s one of those fancy branchy candlesticks with lots of candles in it. A gold one.’ I narrowed my eyes and thought back. ‘There was one on the table in the hall when we came in. Near the front door.’
‘Cass, you’re starting to scare me,’ said Nicholas.
‘I know,’ I said, being serious. ‘I’m that good.’
We were back outside for the next clue because I’d also worked that one out.
When it’s windy I get wrinkles
I get bigger when it sprinkles
From the platform, facing southwest
Take a picture of my house guest
‘How did you know?’ Lex asked as we ran around the house and across the garden to the pond.
‘The water gets ripply when it’s windy,’ I said, puffing as I ran, ‘like wrinkles. And when it rains it gets bigger, cos it’s filling up with more water.’
‘Getting kind of sick of calling you brilliant,’ said Nicholas.
‘Well don’t,’ I said. ‘You’ll be calling me that for rest of our lives.’
We arrived at the pond out of breath. Across the garden, the Na-Sa-Ji Club were also running.
‘Did you only get that one now?’ Nathan yelled. ‘We got the pond ages ago.’
‘We’re not doing them in the same order, Nathan,’ I yelled back, but he was already gone.
‘Quick,’ said Nicholas, ‘which side?’
There were two slabs of stone on either side of the pond. I took out my trusty compass and hopped onto one.
‘That way’s north,’ I said, pointing and working it out in my head. ‘So that means southwest is … it’s the other one, quick!’
Lex leapt onto the other slab and went to take a photo.
‘Wait!’ said Nicholas. ‘We’ve to take a picture of its house guest. Who’s the house guest?’
I looked into the pond. In the murky green I saw something big and orange moving around.
‘There!’ I said. ‘It’s a giant goldfish.’
‘Koi,’ said Nicholas. ‘It’s called a koi fish.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘Really? Do we care right now? Take the picture, Lex.’
Nicholas grinned. ‘Just the weather vane left.’
I’d never run so fast. I ran so fast I even kept up with Lex.
The last clue. We were on the last clue. We were going to win!
I was running so hard I felt kind of sick. When we got to the shed I felt even sicker.
‘Where is it?’ said Nicholas. ‘You said the weather vane was on top of the shed.’
‘It was,’ I said. ‘I saw it.’
‘Then where is it?’
We searched high and low. There was nothing on top of the shed. There was nothing on the grass in front of the shed. There was no weather vane inside the shed. The shed backed onto an overgrown field full of real crows that flew overhead and squawked at us. We searched the long grass of the field in case someone had thrown the weather vane from the roof. The crows kept squawking. It felt like they were tormenting me.
We didn’t find the weather vane.
Bianca’s team won the scavenger hunt. I explained to Graham about the weather vane.
‘Gosh, that’s only new!’ he said. ‘It’s just gone? I am sorry. Don’t know what could have happened to it.’
He apologised again and said he was leaving that photo out of the judging – we didn’t need the weather vane photo to win. But Bianca’s team still won because they had finished quicker.
‘Because we spent ages looking for the weather vane at the end!’ I cried to my mum on the way home. ‘I knew the answer to the clue so we didn’t want to give up and go back to the start without having all the photos. If we’d gotten the weather vane photo at the beginning of the hunt we would’ve finished before Bianca’s team, I know it. And she got the answer to the hardest clue from us. She cheated. We didn’t cheat at all, and we were the best team in the whole thing and we still lost!’
‘I’m sorry, pet,’ my mum said. ‘I really am. But it’s not the end of the world.’
It was the end of the world. At least that’s how it felt.
Operation Scavenger Hunt
FAILED
Chapter Eight
At school the next day I had to sit next to Nathan, as usual. He grinned when I sat down.
‘You didn’t win the scavenger hunt yesterday.’
‘You didn’t win either.’
‘Yeah, but we weren’t trying to win, we were just doing it for the laugh.’
I screwed my face up. ‘You so wanted to win. I saw the three of you running across the garden like there were monsters after you. You were trying so hard to win.’
‘Nah, we were just having a laugh,’ Nathan sneered. ‘You lot were serious though. You actually thought you’d win – bet you bawled your eyes out on the way home.’
‘I did not.’ I didn’t actually cry on the way home, but I could have. I was that upset.
‘You were whining to Graham about the weather vane, I heard you.’ Nathan started making this high-pitched whiny voice. ‘That’s not fair, there was no weather vane. We should’ve won, wah-wah-wah.’
My blood began to boil, and then it hit me like a concrete block.
‘You stole the weather vane,’ I said.
‘What?’
‘You stole the weather vane – that’s where you were running to when we were at the pond; the shed. You stole the weather vane so we couldn’t win.’
Nathan rolled his eyes. ‘Oh my god, you’re such a loser. Who would bother stealing a weather vane? You probably stole it so you could whine about not winning.’
My face was pinched up so tight it was nearly hurting. ‘You made us lose the scavenger hunt. You did it on purpose. I know you did.’
Nathan laughed. ‘You should see your face – you take this stuff so seriously. You’re such a loser.’
I stared at him with his smug grin and his greasy smug hair and his smug Star Wars pencil case signed by George Lucas, and something inside me snapped. I shoved his pencil case off the table so all his stuff went flying.
‘Cass Okara!’ Suddenly Mr Freebs was standing right in front of me. ‘What has gotten into you?’
I didn’t know what to say. I stared at the floor.
‘You’re going to pick up Nathan’s things,’ Mr Freebs said, ‘apologise, and then you are going to tidy the classroom while everyone else is outside for break. Is that clear?’
‘Yes, Mr Freebs,’ I mumbled.
‘And?’
‘Sorry, Nathan.’
The words stuck in my throat. I slid off my chair and picked up all of Nathan’s pens – some of them had rolled halfway across the floor. Lex gave me a sympathetic look when I picked up the biro under her chair.
After school I sat in the clubhouse fuming.
‘What did you want to call it?’ asked Nicholas.
‘Operation Catch the Cheating Cheaty Cheaters,’ I said, folding my arms.
‘That’s catchy.’
‘Well, what do you wanna call it then?’
Nicholas sighed. ‘I don’t know, maybe nothing. Do we really need an operation for this, Cass? I’m gutted that we lost as well, but is it really that big a deal?’
‘Not a big deal?’ I said, my voice getting louder. ‘They cheated.’
‘But why?’ said Lex. ‘They didn’t win either.’
‘To make us lose. And maybe they thought they could win if we lost.’
Nicholas didn’t look convinced. ‘We don’t even know if they got a photo of the weather vane. Maybe they d
idn’t. Maybe it was gone by the time they got to the shed – it looked like they were heading that way when we were at the pond.’
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘That’s when they stole it.’
‘I don’t know,’ said Lex, avoiding my gaze. ‘I don’t think any of them had a bag or anything. If they stole it, where did they put it?’
‘They hid it,’ I cried, ‘obviously.’
‘I don’t know.’
I couldn’t believe the two of them. Why didn’t they care? I felt so mad at both of them.
‘When you needed money for your art class, Nicholas, we did Operation Make Loads of Money for you.’ Tears were starting to well up in my eyes, but I forced them back down. I didn’t want to cry when I was trying to make a point. ‘And Lex, when your granny was breaking into our clubhouse we didn’t get mad – we built her her own one.’
‘I know.’ Lex’s voice had gone really quiet. ‘That was really nice.’
‘Then why won’t you bother helping when it’s something that’s important to me?’
‘We do,’ Nicholas said, getting angry too. ‘We do all the time. Just cos we don’t want to look like whingers doesn’t mean we don’t care.’
‘Whingers?!’
‘Cass, you spent ages giving out to Graham after we lost, it was really embarrassing. Just let it go. Everyone will think we’re just whining cos we lost.’
It felt like the tears were going to explode out of my face.
‘Then don’t bother!’ I shouted. ‘You’re the whiner. You’re always whining cos you’re so selfish. I hate you!’
I stormed out of the clubhouse, slamming the door so hard behind me that I heard the walls shake.
The tears were streaming down my face as I marched down the laneway. I wiped them away before I got to my house.
I was in a really bad mood when we sat down to dinner. Dad had made akara, which is my second favourite dinner after lasagne (as long as he doesn’t make them too spicy), but I was too upset to like them.
‘They’re too hot,’ I grumbled, pushing the fried bean balls around my plate. ‘You put too many chillis in them.’
‘I only put a couple of chillis in the whole batter, Cass,’ Dad replied, ‘and I left out most of the seeds.’
‘They’re still too hot.’
My dad turned back to his dinner and sighed loudly out of his nose, which is what he does when he’s done arguing with me. Mum tried instead.
‘Just eat some bread with them, pet. Do you want some mayonnaise?’
‘I don’t like mayonnaise!’
I do like mayonnaise. Mum knows that, so she stopped arguing with me as well.
After sitting there for a while with my arms folded, I got annoyed that no-one was getting mad that I wasn’t eating my dinner.
‘They’re too hot! I don’t like them when they’re too hot!’
‘Cass, that’s enough,’ my mum said. ‘Go to your room.’
I stood up and stomped out of the kitchen. Then I stomped up the stairs, into my bedroom and slammed the door.
I flopped onto my bed feeling very sorry for myself. Mr Freebs was mad me. Lex and Nicholas were mad at me. Now my parents were mad at me. I bet Pippi and Ade, the annoying baby twins, would have been mad at me too if they hadn’t been too busy throwing their dinner at each other (my parents never give out to them for that – two-year-olds get away with anything).
I was so angry and upset it was like there was a balloon swelling up in my chest and I didn’t know how to let it out.
A little while later my mum came up to my room. Even though I was being kind of bold, she was nice to me. Somehow that made the balloon get bigger and bigger until finally it burst and I bawled my eyes out.
‘I know you’re upset about the scavenger hunt, sweetheart,’ my mum said, wrapping me in a big hug.
‘Lex and Nicholas are mad at me,’ I said, sniffing. ‘And Mr Freebs gave out to me at school.’
My mum hugged me tighter. ‘I’m sure Mr Freebs won’t be mad tomorrow,’ she said. ‘And Lex and Nicholas won’t stay mad either. This will all blow over soon, pet, I promise. I bet you a plate of your dad’s akara that you’ll feel much better in the morning.’
She gave me a sneaky look when she said that, and I gave her one back.
‘No way – there’s too many chillis in them.’
‘Cheeky,’ my mum said, and she tickled me until I squealed and rolled off the bed.
Chapter Nine
My mum was right.
In the morning I got up, washed my face, narrowed my eyes and gave myself a good glare in the mirror.
This was not how a genius detective handled things – yelling at her friends and giving out to everyone. I was still angry, but I was going to put that anger to good use.
‘Hey, Cass.’ Lex looked at me as if I was going to pounce like a lion when I saw her at school. ‘I’m really sorry about yesterday.’
‘No, I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Can we still be friends?’
‘Of course!’
‘Oh, good.’ Nicholas had appeared behind me. ‘I was afraid that fight would go on for ages.’
‘I’m sorry, Nicholas,’ I said firmly, so he’d know I was serious. ‘I shouldn’t have shouted–’
‘Never mind that, I’m sorry too. Are we going to investigate the weather vane thing or what?’
‘Seriously?’ I said.
‘Yeah,’ said Nicholas. ‘You were right. This is important to you, and that means we have to help. Clubhouse Rule number ten.’
I smiled. It felt so much better not fighting with my friends.
‘No way, no more plants! I just want rocks.’
It was a gorgeous day in the Shady Oaks garden. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Unfortunately I was stuck gardening with Nathan Wall, so it felt more like a miserable, rainy afternoon when you’re bored and have nothing to do.
‘You’ve only let me put in two plants,’ I said.
‘And that’s enough.’
‘What about that big gap?’ I said, pointing. ‘It just looks empty. What are you going to put in there?’
‘More gravel.’
I sat back on my heels, took a deep breath and counted to ten in my head.
‘I’m thirsty,’ I said finally. ‘I’m going inside for a glass of water.’
I found my dad in the big sitting room. Carmella was in one of the armchairs and he was kneeling next to her, holding her hand. She looked like she’d been crying.
‘Dad?’ I said quietly, stepping into the room.
‘I don’t have time to talk today, honey,’ my dad said. ‘Carmella’s upset.’
‘What happened?’
‘My locket,’ Carmella said between sobs, grasping at her blouse where her locket should have been. ‘My Freddie.’
‘The gold one?’ I asked.
‘It’s gone missing,’ said my dad. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen her take it off, but she didn’t have it this morning. Can’t find it anywhere.’
Two carers, Mary and Lucinda, were looking under the furniture and going through all the stuff on the shelves.
‘I don’t get it,’ said Mary. ‘It’s just vanished.’
‘They stole it,’ said Carmella.
‘Who?’ I said. ‘Who stole it?’
Carmella didn’t answer. I don’t think she knew.
She’d been crying so hard her eyes looked swollen. She looked like I’d felt the night before. I knew how horrible that was.
I thought of all the times Carmella had shown me the picture of Freddie in her locket – how she never remembered that she’d shown it to me before. Maybe she’d forget she’d lost it. And then she’d notice it was gone and she’d get upset all over again. That would be terrible.
I knew what I had to do.
‘Don’t worry, Carmella,’ I said. ‘I’ll find your locket.’
The Bubble Street Gang already had one operation on the go, but we were never too b
usy to squeeze in another one.
Operation Stolen Locket
That Saturday Dad was working, and he let me, Lex and Nicholas tag along.
‘We’re going to search for Carmella’s locket,’ I told him. ‘You’ll find it quicker with more help.’
I didn’t mention that we were also planning to question the staff and residents of Shady Oaks (and possibly interrogate the more suspicious ones – that means questioning them, but without mercy).
‘We’ll have to split up,’ I whispered to Lex and Nicholas in the car, ‘and question people separately. There’s too many of them otherwise.’
‘On our own?’ said Lex.
‘Yes.’
‘But I’m not good at talking to people.’
I couldn’t argue with that, but we had no choice.
‘I’ll give you a list of the nicest people there, Lex. Me and Nicholas will tackle the tougher ones.’
‘Oh. Okay.’
She still looked worried.
It was another sunny day and, when we arrived, loads of residents were walking in the gardens.
‘Eh, we’ll stay out here for a bit, Dad,’ I said. ‘Make sure Carmella didn’t drop her locket in the garden.’
‘Good idea, honey. See you inside.’
I waited until Dad had disappeared through the doors, then turned to Lex and Nicholas.
‘Alright, Operation Stolen Locket is on. Remember, you can be polite, but don’t pull your punches.’
‘I’m not punching anybody!’ said Lex.
‘Not literally,’ said Nicholas. ‘She means don’t go too easy on them.’
‘That’s right,’ I said, gazing across the garden full of innocent-looking older people. ‘Somewhere out there is a ruthless locket thief. Everybody ready?’ Lex didn’t look ready, but there was no time to waste. ‘Get to work!’
My questioning of possible witnesses and/or suspects went very well. Edwina Barnes was sticking out as the most obvious culprit.
She smiled a lot and talked about her grandson’s brilliant exam results (note: her grandson’s exam results were not that impressive), but what made alarm bells ring in my head was the amount of jewellery she wore.