by A. J. Low
We nodded.
Officer Siva and Corporal Boey walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. James’s human butler opened the door. He looked surprised to see Officer Siva standing there.
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Officer Siva asked, frowning.
“Yes, you stopped that lady from selling me a stolen robot at the airport a few months back. I still do not appreciate being manhandled despite my obvious innocence,” the butler said, looking disgruntled. “How may I be of service today?”
“Are you James Mok’s guardian while his parents are away?” Corporal Boey asked.
“I am.”
“We need to speak to James please,” Officer Siva said.
“Master James has informed me that he wishes to speak to Samuel Tan Cher Lock before he will speak to the police,” the butler replied.
“Does Master James realise that he might be in a lot of trouble?” Officer Siva replied sternly. “He doesn’t get to give orders to the Singapore Police Force.”
“Officer Siva, I know this is completely your call, but this has been about James and me this entire time. I might be able to get more information from him than the police,” I said.
Officer Siva sighed and muttered something about primary school kids these days. Finally he said, “Okay. Fine. But you’ll still need your parents’ permission, Sherlock.”
I looked up at Mom and Dad. “Mom? Dad? Please, let me do this. He just wants to talk, and I need to end this my way.”
Mom and Dad looked at each other and nodded.
Mom bent down and kissed my forehead. “You are very brave, and you’re such a good boy. I am very proud of you.”
Dad bent down too and took my hands. He looked very serious. “Go get my stuff back, Sam. I really need it. Especially the Red Vines. I’ll make sure you get extra chicken wings the next time Mom makes nasi lemak for dinner.”
Mom pinched his arm, which made Dad yelp.
I turned to the Supper Club.
“Be careful, Samuel,” Eliza said. “He’s very crafty.”
Jimmy gave me two thumbs up and Nazhar smiled.
“You can do it, Sherlock,” Wendy said.
“Stay-focused-no-matter-how-many-warm-scones-Moran-offers-you,” Watson said.
I walked towards Officer Siva. He looked at me and put his hand on my shoulder.
“We’ll be waiting for you right here,” he said. “Just give a shout if you need me.”
“Master James is in his room on the second floor,” the butler said. Trust James to force me to climb more stairs.
I walked into the house and found myself in a wide hall. It was semi-dark, and light and shadow played on the walls. I saw a grand staircase in the middle of the hall, and multiple doors along the hallway. There was also a shallow, inflatable kiddie pool at the base of the stairs. It had been filled with water and there was a rubber ducky floating in it.
I walked up the steps and noticed a light coming from the left of the landing. I walked towards it, and straight into the room it was emanating from. James was sitting in a chair, covered with a beach towel. He was wearing a sopping bathing suit. His hair was wet, and he was flipping through a very familiar-looking notebook.
“That’s my dad’s,” I said.
“I know,” he said, still flipping through the notebook. “And from your lack of surprise, I gather you finally figured out my real plan.”
“Everything was misdirection,” I said. “You wanted to keep us busy so you could stop my dad from working on his teleportation technology. First, you stole his key card, which allowed you access to his office, and then you took his notebook and his Red Vines.”
He continued flipping through the pages. “Did you figure out why?”
“Your parents’ company,” I said. “If teleportation ever becomes a reality and financially feasible, everyone will want to send their goods in that manner. It would ruin your parents’ shipping company. Though that probably would have taken decades, at least.”
He finally looked up at me. “You want to know the best part about all of this? The part I only just figured out, after our encounter on the beach yesterday.”
“That you’re not as clever as you think you are?” I said.
He smiled. “No, that your father is not as clever as he thinks he is. It turns out he carried a one when he should have carried a two in one of his early equations.”
He chuckled slightly. “I didn’t have to do any of this. He was nowhere near creating a teleportation device and my parents’ company was completely safe.”
James closed my dad’s notebook and replaced the elastic band, then tossed it at me. “His key card and his case of Red Vines are downstairs,” he said, getting up from his chair. He took the beach towel and dried himself, though his bathing suit was still dripping. “I’ll show you where.”
He stepped past me and out of the room. I followed him out.
“I’m a bit surprised you involved Officer Siva,” he said. “I thought I had destroyed that relationship at MacRitchie.”
“That’s your biggest problem,” I said. “You don’t understand friendship. You just use people until they’re no longer useful. Just because Officer Siva thought he couldn’t trust me to work on cases any more didn’t mean he stopped being my friend.”
We started walking down the steps and I saw that everybody had joined Officer Siva and Corporal Boey at the front door.
“You brought all your dumb friends and family with you, I see,” James said.
“Look,” I said, stopping him halfway down the stairs. “You can say what you want about me, but don’t say bad things about them.”
“But it’s true,” he said, his suit dripping on the steps. “You’re clearly smarter than all of them, and you’re not that smart, ergo, they’re dumb.”
“Seriously, stop it.”
“Or what?” he asked, smirking.
I shouldn’t have done it, I know. Mom says violence is never the answer, but James was just so smug, even in defeat. I pushed him, which clearly surprised him. James pushed me back.
“Hey, you two,” Officer Siva said, taking a step toward us, “None of that.”
But we were already in the middle of a shoving match. Suddenly, James slipped on a wet patch on the steps. He grabbed me, and we both tumbled down the steps.
It felt like it happened in slow motion. I saw us fall down the steps, and I heard my sister scream, “CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER-LOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOCK!”
We landed in the inflatable kiddie pool with a great splash. I got up sputtering.
“My name is Sherlock,” I said. “Also, why do you have a kiddie pool at the base of your stairs?”
James got up sputtering too. “I don’t know how to swim, but I like playing with my rubber ducky,” he said. “The bath just doesn’t feel the same.”
“What is the meaning of all this?” a man with a British accent shouted.
I looked past everyone gathered in the hall as they turned around and saw Uncle Henry and Auntie Jane.
“Hello Daddy, hello Mummy,” James said. “Everything you’re about to hear is true.”
“You’re finally ready to give up?” I asked.
“I know when I’m beat,” James said, struggling.
“That’s because Sherlock Sam is Singapore’s Greatest Kid Detective!” Jimmy shouted.
“Even-when-splashing-water-everywhere,” Watson said.
James’s ducky squeaked.
* * *
James’s parents had not been happy at all with what James had been doing, but he was still their son, and they still loved him very much. They made a deal with Officer Siva to avoid any prosecution for James’s various crimes, which included breaking and entering, theft, kidnapping, and whatever faking your own disappearance fell under. James would be sent to a very strict boarding school in London for troubled boys, where he would learn how to be a responsible member of society. Uncle Henry also insisted that Moran be given to me. I promp
tly removed his obedience chip and allowed him to choose for himself where he wanted to go. As he didn’t really know anybody else, he decided to stay with me. I was looking forward to investigating his ability to serve food at a moment’s notice.
We made Eliza an official member of the Supper Club, which meant she couldn’t bully us any more. She said she still thought we were nerds, but now she was a nerd with us. Mom later told me that Eliza’s parents were going through a difficult time and that it was likely they were going to get a divorce. I didn’t quite understand what that meant and Mom explained that it meant that Eliza’s parents wouldn’t be living in the same house any more. Or even the same country, maybe. Mom said that we needed to be there for Eliza if she needed us. I realised that this might have been why Eliza had sometimes seemed so mean. Maybe that meanness had been a disguise for her sadness. That made me glad that Eliza was now an official member of the Supper Club—we always looked after each other no matter what.
I told Dad what James had said about his equations, and a few days later, after checking through his notebook, he was sad to see James had been right. But he quickly cheered himself up and simply said, “Back to the drawing board.” He actually looked excited at the prospect of trying to solve the puzzle of teleportation despite all the setbacks. I had a lot to learn from my dad about determination. Dad was also really pleased that his Red Vines had been recovered from James’s room with not a bag opened. He actually cooed and cuddled them once Officer Siva released them to us.
On his last day of school before being shipped off to London, James sat at our table after classes had ended. “May I speak with you privately?” he asked me.
“You can speak with us privately,” I said.
He looked at all of us and said, “Moran, you look good. I hope he’s treating you well.”
“He is, Master James, thank you for asking,” Moran replied, well-mannered as ever.
“Remember-he-is-no-longer-your-master,” Watson said. “And-I-hope-that-‘thank-you’-was-sarcastic.”
“I also hope to master ‘irony’ soon, Master Watson,” Moran said. “As opposed to ironing, which I’m already quite adept at.”
I had hoped Moran’s politeness would rub off on Watson, but I was afraid the opposite was actually happening.
“We’re quite busy, James,” Eliza said. “So say what you want to say, or go away.”
“I just wanted to thank Sherlock,” James said. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“What?” I said.
“You helped me fulfil my master plan,” he said.
“No he didn’t,” Wendy said. “He helped stop your master plan.”
“Oh, that whole thing about your dad’s teleportation device,” he said. “That wasn’t my plan. Even if your father had not got his equation wrong, it would still be decades, possibly centuries, before it would have become commercially viable. You said so yourself, Sherlock.”
“But you got caught!” Jimmy said.
“Yeah, you’re being shipped off to London,” Nazhar said.
James smiled wide. “Yes, poor me. I have to go back to London where I can have proper tea and biscuits, and not remain in this place that has never had a season beyond unbearably hot and humid. And those incredibly strict teachers at the boarding school will certainly be too smart for me to run rings around.”
My jaw dropped.
“I will admit I had not counted on my parents also taking away Moran, but no matter,” James continued. “I can always build another robot servant.”
“Why didn’t you just ask your parents to move back?” I asked. “I’m sure they would have done it.”
“I’m sure they would have done it, too,” James said. “But then they would have come with me. This way, I’m going back alone, and I can do whatever I want when I get there.”
We were dumbfounded, even Watson. James had played us expertly.
“Again, thank you all, but especially you, Sherlock.” James got up from the table. “I expect our paths will never cross again, but if they do, just remember that I am as clever as I think am and probably more besides. I will always win whatever game we play. Toodle-oo.”
He walked away, whistling a jaunty tune.
We remained speechless for quite some time, until Jimmy finally said, “I really don’t like him.”
“So, we didn’t win?” Nazhar asked.
“He can say whatever he wants,” Eliza said, “but we solved all his mysteries, and he’s going away. We won’t have to see him any more. I would consider that a win.”
“Eliza’s right,” Wendy said. “Maybe this was his plan all along, but who cares? We’ll never have to deal with him again.”
They were right, of course, but it really bugged me that I hadn’t seen this coming at all. It meant I wasn’t as clever as I thought I was, and that I would need to improve my deductive skills. But like Dad, I knew I was up for the challenge!
We walked out of school and saw Mom and Dad outside with the parked Space Wagon. We were all going to join Mom at her molecular gastronomy class today and learn how to make shrimp foam, which sounded weird, but Mom assured me tasted delicious. I was also looking forward to learning more about chemistry from Mom! That knowledge was sure to come in handy for future cases. Mom also bought Wendy a magazine that explained how art and chemistry had a long history of cooperation. It was all really fascinating.
We were waving at them when Officer Siva suddenly pulled up in his police cruiser.
“Sherlock!” he shouted. “I have an important phone call for you!”
We all ran up to him, the Supper Club from one end and Mom and Dad from the other.
“Here you go,” Officer Siva said, handing me the phone.
I put it on speaker and said, “Hello?”
“Am I speaking to Sherlock Sam?” It was a lady’s voice, and she had a French accent.
“Yes, you are,” I said.
“Is your Supper Club there?” she asked.
“We-are-not-his-Supper-Club,” Watson said. “We-are-all-the-Supper-Club-together.”
“Fantastique,” she said. “I am Inspector Geneviève Lestrade from Interpol, and I need your help to solve a case.”
GLOSSARY
Changi Beach Park—One of the oldest coastal parks in Singapore. It is a popular destination for swimming, cycling, jogging and having picnics by the sea.
Cheng Teng—A popular sweet, soup-like dessert that consists of dried longan, barley, lotus seeds and white fungus, among other ingredients. It can be eaten cold or hot.
Chinese Gardens—Built in 1975 and designed by renowned Taiwanese architect Professor Yuen-chen Yu, the Chinese Gardens was modelled after the imperial style of architecture from the Sung dynasty period. A very popular location to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival.
DOS—An acronym for Disk Operating System, DOS refers to multiple, closely-related computer operating systems that were used in PC compatible devices between 1981 and 1995. They are still partially used even today. If you don’t understand, ask an old person.
Ecogarden—Located in the Science Centre, the Ecogarden is an outdoor laboratory that contains a diverse mix of plants, animals and insects that are mostly left to grow and exist without interference. There are many interesting things to do there, like climb the treehouse, explore the mini-rubber plantation and investigate the culinary gardens!
Eureka—Reportedly, the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes exclaimed “Eureka!” when he was in a bath and noticed that the water level rose when he submerged himself in it. He suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced had to be equal to the volume of the portion of his body that he had submerged. That made him realise that the volume of irregular objects could be precisely measured. The word “Eureka” comes from the Ancient Greek word heúreka which means “I have found it”.
Fibonacci Sequence—Named after the famous Italian mathematician, Leonardo Bonacci, who was also known as Fibonacci. It is a series o
f numbers where the next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it.
For example: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...
The 2 is made by adding 1+1, the 3 is made by adding 2+1 and so on.
When the Fibonacci Sequence is formed into a spiral using squares with the lengths equal to the numbers in the sequence, it forms the Golden Spiral. This is a naturally occurring phenomena and can be found in something as small as a snail’s shell to something as big as the galaxy!
Interpol—Interpol is the short form of the International Criminal Police Organisation and was formed to facilitate international police cooperation. Singapore has been an official member of Interpol since 1 October 1968.
Japanese Gardens—The Japanese Gardens are also known as Seiwaen and are based on the designs of Japanese gardens from the Muromachi period (1392 – 1568) to the Momoyama period (1568 – 1615), which used Zen concepts. The gardens are supposed to instill an overall sense of peace and tranquility, that is, right up until Sherlock Sam, Watson and the Supper Club invade!
Lost—A television series that ran from 2004-2010 and focused on a group of plane crash survivors that were stranded on a mysterious island. One of the riddles of the island was a string of numbers that kept appearing.
Molecular gastronomy—The term was coined in 1988 by Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti and French chemist Herve. It is a part of food science that investigates physical and chemical reactions and the transformations that ingredients undergo when cooked. Now you can cook in your very own kitchen using molecular gastronomy!
Nantah Arch—Nantah is the abbreviated name of Nanyang University that existed in Singapore from 1956 to 1980. It was merged with the University of Singapore in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore. There are actually two Nantah Arches. The original arch was built in October 1954 and still stands at Jurong West Street 93, where the original Nanyang University was located. That arch was declared a national monument in December 1998. A replica arch was built in 1995 and now stands in the Yunnan Garden in the Chinese Heritage Centre at Nanyang Technological University. This is the arch that Sherlock Sam visited!