Then she thought of her parents enjoying the Mehndi party and checked her watch. It was getting late and they’d told Jessica they’d come back to the party by nine o’clock. If they didn’t solve this crime soon, they never would. Zaiba’s parents would come looking for her, Poppy and Ali to take them up to bed!
Checking to make sure the coast was clear, Zaiba pressed firmly on the spot at the top of the wooden panel that hid the secret staircase. It popped open! She stepped into the gloomy passage with the others following, lighting the way with her phone torch. The panel door slid shut behind them.
Back in their secret place again, Zaiba felt a thrill of excitement. Ali wasn’t so keen. “I hope those spiders have gone to bed,” he said, his voice trembling despite the joke.
“You’ve done so well at facing your fears, Ali! You’ve come back in,” Zaiba pointed out.
“Oh yeah… I guess I am getting braver,” said Ali, his chest puffed out. He walked a little faster.
They trooped up the steps. When they reached the second floor, Zaiba once again tried to open the door, rattling the handle.
“Still locked,” she confirmed.
“Maybe it used to be a servant’s door,” Ali said. “This building goes back to the eighteenth century, you know.”
Does he know everything? Zaiba wondered.
Poppy pressed her ear to the door and closed her eyes. Zaiba could see her detective’s mind whirring and felt a flush of pride. But as she watched Poppy, Zaiba heard something too – the woeful sound of someone singing. After a few moments, Poppy began humming to herself.
“Oh no, Poppy’s gone mad up here in the dark!” Ali threw his hands up to his face in pretend dramatics.
But Zaiba could see her friend was on to something. “No, listen!” She put her finger to her lips and she and Ali listened to the faint words floating through the door. Soon Poppy was humming louder and louder, then she was singing along, until she leaped round.
“It’s Maysoon’s number one single, Dance, dance, dancing the night awayyyy!” Poppy sang. “This is Maysoon’s room. The door in there that Ali couldn’t open – this must be it! Check out the floor,” Poppy added with more confidence. “Look! You can still see the zigzag footprints.”
They bent down and studied the footprints. It was hard to tell from all the scuffmarks, but they could just make out that the zigzag footprints were heading downstairs.
“Those are Clark’s prints, perhaps from when he was heading down to the cellar to sabotage the champagne?” Zaiba said.
“Look!” Poppy said. “A new set of snakeskin footprints – those are Georgia’s. And they’re heading upstairs!”
This time Zaiba took the lead, racing up the last flight of stairs to the little attic room. They burst through the door into the room with its rows of old iron beds.
“Why would Georgia come up here?” Zaiba asked.
Zaiba began pacing the room, her mind going into overdrive. She tried to remember every single golden rule in Eden Lockett’s books to give her some kind of clue. Had Georgia come up here to hide? No, she had nothing to hide from, and besides, she was downstairs, recovering in the lobby. Maybe this was a shortcut to somewhere? But that didn’t make any sense either.
As Zaiba thought, Poppy’s eyes widened. “Oh my goodness,” she began to murmur. “Diamonds!”
Ali and Zaiba exchanged a look. “Excuse me?” Zaiba asked.
At that moment, music floated up from the party downstairs. Poppy folded her arms. “What has this whole investigation been about?”
“Er, a VIP, a runaway dog and some funny footprints?” Ali suggested.
“No!” Zaiba snapped her fingers. “The actual crime – the missing diamonds!”
Poppy grinned. They were totally on the same page.
“Right… But why would the Stevens siblings take them, and what’s that got to do with this dusty old attic?” Ali asked, a frown creasing his brow.
“Why are we here today, at the hotel?” Poppy prompted.
“Because Mum likes to torture me by forcing me to wear suits?” Ali replied.
“Because of family! We love Sam and wanted to be at her Mehndi party – we’d do anything for her. Right?” Zaiba asked.
“So that’s what Clark and Georgia are doing,” Poppy explained. “They’d do anything to help each other. Perhaps they wanted to save their parents’ hotel? What with the malfunctioning self-check-in machines and having to turn away a VIP they must be in trouble…” Her face had turned red. “And where better to hide the diamonds than a dusty old attic that no one knows exists?”
Zaiba’s mind went into overdrive. “Hidden treasure…”
Ali caught up with their thinking and feverishly looked around the attic room.
“Poppy, did anyone tell you you’re a genius!” Zaiba cried.
But her friend was one step ahead of her, already opening and closing drawers.
“People stash their treasures away to come back for when it’s safe. Go through everything. Ali, help!” Zaiba ordered. “Quickly! Georgia didn’t come up here to hide, she came up here to hide the collar until it was safe to sneak out of the hotel. After everyone had gone, probably.”
Poppy and Ali began scurrying around the room, running from servant’s table to dresser, dragging open the stiff wooden drawers and sending up clouds of dust until—
“There!” Zaiba called out. She’d spotted the tiny glimmer of something. She ran to the drawer and pulled it all the way open. There, in the corner, something glittery poked out from under some paper.
“Roberto’s collar! And the lucky charm!” Poppy clapped her hands together and jumped up and down.
Even in the dim light of the attic room, the diamond moon and star shone and sparkled.
“We should be careful. Unlike the lead, there won’t be many fingerprints on the collar. We don’t want to smudge the criminal’s prints.”
Ali whipped a silk napkin out of his pocket that he’d been carrying snacks in. He carefully picked up the collar with the napkin before giving it to Zaiba. “Shall we hand it over to the police?”
Zaiba shook her head. “Not quite yet. After all, I’ve done the detective work.”
Ali cleared his throat loudly.
“I mean, we’ve done the detective work.” She threw her brother and best friend a grateful glance. “We should be the ones who confront the criminals, don’t you think?”
This would be the last piece of detective work, slotting everything into place. If she managed to get the brother and sister to admit to their crime, it would be case closed. Her first real case – it was like a dream come true.
Zaiba took Poppy and Ali’s hands and squeezed them. “We’ve done it. We’ve cracked the case. Now let’s get those Sneaky Stevens to confess!”
Bursting out of the hidden staircase panel and into the bright lights of the lobby, Zaiba heard a familiar voice.
“Zaiba, Ali, Poppy! What on earth have you been doing?” Jessica demanded, standing with her hands on her hips. She and Hassan no longer appeared in a party mood – both of their expressions were like thunder! She glanced at Zaiba’s outfit. Zaiba didn’t even want to think about how dirty and scruffy they looked this time.
Another figure appeared. Aunt Fouzia placed a comforting hand on Zaiba’s shoulder and squeezed. “I think Zaiba has discovered something interesting. Sam tells me you’ve been doing some investigating.”
“Investigating?” Hassan looked ready to explode. “That’s not why you’re here. We promised Sam this would be the best party ever!”
“But Dad, we’ve solved the crime!” Zaiba cried out.
“What crime?” Jessica’s expression darkened. “Mariam told me that Zaiba might have something to do with the missing diamond collar, but I thought she was just telling tales.”
Zaiba clenched her teeth. Mariam. Just when I was starting to understand that girl… Then Jessica spotted the diamond collar and charm, wrapped in the napkin in Zaiba’s hands and her eyes widened.<
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“It’s not what you think,” Zaiba said quickly. “Mariam only knows half the story!”
“Then I would like to know the full story,” a voice purred from behind the reception desk. Mr Ainsley had appeared silently from his office and was now looking intently at the collar in Zaiba’s hands.
Aunt Fouzia stepped forwards with an evidence bag, into which Zaiba dropped the collar. “Mr Ainsley, I need you to call an emergency meeting. Zaiba has something to tell everyone. This is official business.” She flipped open a sleek leather card case to reveal her official government ID.
In that moment, Zaiba loved her auntie more than ever before. Aunt Fouzia had everyone in the room under her command in a split second – she was a true top agent!
“Certainly, Agent Sharif,” Mr Ainsley responded. “Personally, I shall be very grateful indeed to have these mysterious goings-on solved once and for all. I will prepare the lounge.”
“And I’d like to know what my children have been up to when they were supposedly ‘innocently’ exploring the hotel!” their dad said. The three of them kept their heads bowed, not wanting to meet Hassan and Jessica’s stern gaze.
As Mr Ainsley went to give some instructions to a group of waiters, Zaiba noticed a figure by the main entrance where guests’ luggage was already piled up. The figure bent to a leather suitcase and began to heave it out of the front door, moving quickly – too quickly. A corner of the suitcase bashed against the door and the waiter quietly swore to himself, kicking a foot into the doormat. Just like the person who’d kicked the champagne crates. It was Clark, trying to get away!
“Aunt Fouzia,” she whispered, fear crawling over her.
“Don’t worry, I’ve seen.” She raised her voice. “Stop him!”
Mr Ainsley whirled round and nodded at the doorman, who immediately snatched Clark’s collar and dragged him back into the hotel, delivering him to the hotel manager.
“Well done, Mr Rollings,” Mr Ainsley remarked. “What would we do without you?”
The doorman blushed with pride. That must have been the first nice thing Mr Ainsley had ever said to him.
“Now, everyone to the lounge,” Aunt Fouzia commanded, dialling a number on the reception phone. “I’m going to ring up to Maysoon and ask her to join us. She needs to hear this.”
“How do you know the phone number to her room?” Poppy asked.
Aunt Fouzia simply tapped her nose. Was there anything she didn’t know?
Everyone had gathered. The only sound that could be heard in the lounge was the ticking of the clock as a room full of people sat waiting for the truth to be revealed. Mr Ainsley and Liza were standing by the doors, in case someone tried to make a run for it. Zaiba, Ali and Poppy perched on velvet stools while Jessica and Hassan sank down on to a sofa, never once taking their eyes off the children. Sam and Tanvir had also come to listen, hoping to get some answers for the destruction of their Mehndi party. They looked just as glamorous as before, Tanvir was still in his sharp grey suit and Sam had changed into an emerald-green lengha, but their eyes were red and their faces crumpled. It had been a long day. By the time everyone had gathered it was already ten o’clock, way past their agreed bedtime!
Zaiba felt eyes burning into the back of her head and turned round. Mariam was standing at the door, watching.
“If you’ve come to gloat, Mariam, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Zaiba said.
Mariam furrowed her brow. “Actually I—”
“Zaiba isn’t in trouble.” Ali stuck his tongue out. “No thanks to you!”
A hand rested on Mariam’s shoulder. It was her mum. “Come on, Mariam, time to go,” she said, leading her away.
“But I wanted to see—” Mariam protested.
“I said, time to go!” From the look on her mum’s face, she wasn’t messing about.
Mariam sighed, looking sad. Zaiba realized that Mariam hadn’t said a word to them as they’d thrown their taunts at her. Maybe she hadn’t been here to make more trouble. Maybe she just wanted to see the conclusion to Zaiba’s investigation? She watched Mariam being led away by her mother and wondered when she’d see Mariam again – and if she was ready to be friends yet.
Jessica leaned over and placed a hand on Zaiba’s knee, speaking in a low voice. “Her mum can’t help it,” she said. “Her own mother was very strict, you know.”
Jessica was so good at guessing what Zaiba was thinking – she was the best stepmum in the world, even if she did get a bit agitated about a few cobwebs and streaks of dirt.
Zaiba smiled at her.
“I’m lucky to have you,” she said, and Jessica squeezed her knee. Without thinking, Zaiba stroked her little yellow bag where Eden Lockett’s Detective Handbook was stored, as though to reassure her ammi that she’d not forgotten her. Because she never would. Having two mums could be complicated sometimes, especially when one of them wasn’t there.
“What’s all this?” Zaiba’s thoughts were interrupted by Maysoon appearing in the room. She wore a big fluffy bathrobe and had pink ostrich-feather slippers on her tiny feet. She carried Roberto, cradling the Italian greyhound in her arms. His tail wagged wildly when he saw Zaiba and he gave a little yip of greeting. “I was in the middle of my bubble bath!”
Georgia was following close behind her, still busily answering emails on her phone. But as soon as she caught sight of Clark being held firmly by Mr Rollings, she dropped her phone and made a dash for the door.
“Not so fast, Ms Stevens, we’d like to have a word with you.” Mr Ainsley smiled, smoothly stepping forwards to block her way.
Roberto barked another little excited yelp.
“I know, I know, sweetie,” Maysoon soothed him. She looked around the room with a pained expression. “Someone, please tell me what the emergency is?”
Zaiba held out the diamond collar, with the diamond charm dangling from it.
“You angel! You’ve found my lucky charm!” Maysoon cried, taking the bag. She started to hand Roberto to Georgia but Zaiba quickly called out, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Maysoon clutched Roberto closer to her chest and shot Georgia a confused glance. “Why? What’s going on?”
Georgia gave her boss a shaky smile and went to stand at the edge of the room, pressing herself against a wall. Mr Ainsley shut the door with a click, before joining Liza in front of it. There was no escaping now. Not for anyone.
Zaiba caught Aunt Fouzia’s eye and saw her encouraging smile. Now was the moment that Zaiba had been waiting her whole life for – the big reveal.
Her stomach churned a little and her hands shook. She’d never spoken in front of this many adults before. But then she remembered her ammi’s note in Eden Lockett’s Detective Handbook. She closed her eyes. Better put on my brave pants today!
Standing up in front of the captive audience, she first turned to Clark and Georgia. “Would you mind coming to the front of the room and showing everyone the bottom of your shoes?” she said in a loud clear voice.
“And why am I taking instructions from a child?” Clark scoffed.
“That child is more mature than you’ll ever be. Now do as she says,” Aunt Fouzia ordered. “Or would you rather we have the police take your shoes off for you?”
The siblings looked annoyed but lifted their feet reluctantly, revealing the snakeskin and zigzag prints.
“Great. Now, Ali, please show the room the photo you took on the hidden staircase.” Clark stiffened, a look of horror crossing his face as he realized why he’d been made to show his shoes.
“A hidden staircase! In my hotel?” Mr Ainsley seemed alarmed.
Ali ceremoniously held out his phone and walked around the guests in a slow semicircle, his nose proudly in the air.
As the phone passed Sam, she spoke up. “These footprints are the same as the soles of their shoes.”
“So what if we used a staircase?” Clark snarled.
“Yes, what exactly are you accusing us of?” Georgia remarke
d, folding her arms.
Zaiba heard her father whisper to Jessica. “It’s just like an episode of Murder, Most Red.”
She took a deep breath. “Georgia and Clark, I have reason to believe that you stole Roberto’s diamond collar.”
There was a shocked gasp from the room and Zaiba felt the hair on her arms stand up at the thrill.
“The hidden staircase leads to an attic. An attic where we found the collar and the lucky charm. Also … we believe Clark and Georgia are siblings.”
There was a screech from Maysoon. “Georgia! You told me you were an only child, just like me.” She hid her face in Roberto’s fur.
“This is ridiculous.” Clark pouted. “I won’t listen to this from a little girl.”
“If I might jump in,” came Liza’s timid voice. “Perhaps we should wait for the police to get here to begin their investigations.”
Aunt Fouzia spoke in such a crystal-clear way that the whole room froze. “Zaiba, Poppy and Ali have done all the investigating. They will lead the proceedings. Now please, no one interrupt Zaiba again.”
Liza nodded. Zaiba was slightly disappointed that the receptionist didn’t have faith in her, but her auntie definitely did.
Mr Ainsley moved to the centre of the room and stood before the grand fireplace, smoothing down his jacket. “Why were you down in the cellar earlier, Clark, when I specifically asked you to polish the glassware?”
“I‑I was checking the champagne, remember?” Clark stammered, cracking slightly under Mr Ainsley’s gaze.
“Ah yes, the champagne that popped all over the lobby this afternoon?” Zaiba said, piling on the pressure.
Small beads of sweat were forming on Clark’s brow. Georgia kept her gaze fixed firmly on her brother. Zaiba didn’t think she’d blinked once in the last thirty seconds!
“Now, Clark,” Zaiba continued. “Please tell everyone where Mr Ainsley hired you from last minute?”
“The White Hall Hotel,” Clark mumbled.
“We nearly had our Mehndi party there!” Tanvir said.
The Missing Diamonds Page 10