Violet and the Mummy Mystery

by Harriet Whitehorn

  ‘The boys and I wouldn’t want anyone thinking that we got our jobs because of Archie,’ she replied.

  ‘But you did,’ PC Green replied, puzzled.

  Miss Beasley was saved from having to answer this by PC Green’s radio crackling into life and a cross voice saying, ‘Green, where are you?! You’re supposed to be keeping order at the dog walkers’ protest in the park. Apparently, it’s getting dangerously out of hand!’

  ‘Sorry, Sergeant, I’ll be there in a jiffy,’ he replied. ‘Right, must dash. Thank you for your co-operation, Miss Beasley.’

  Just then an alarm went off in the house. Miss Beasley gave a start and said, ‘Oh dear, not again. The alarm’s been playing up all day. If you’ll excuse me, I’d better sort it out.’

  ‘Of course,’ PC Green said. ‘You don’t want the police turning up or anything annoying like that,’ he added jokingly.

  ‘How funny you are!’ Miss Beasley said, as she ushered them out of the front door. As soon as they were gone, she ran to her laundry room and pulled back the wooden screen of pretend cupboards to reveal a bank of television screens that were linked up to the many cameras that covered the house and, most importantly, their priceless collection of artefacts.

  ‘Oh dear, who’s snooping?’ she said to herself, as she saw Rose and Dolores standing outside the entrance to the collection. She paused as she decided what to do.

  She couldn’t have them alerting PC Green now, so she would let them into the collection and deal with them once she was sure that the policeman had left. She pressed a button and the doors slid open for them. She watched as they walked into the domed room and then turned her attention back to PC Green and Art. A camera showed them walking out of the gate.

  ‘Well, that’s got them out of the way,’ she said to herself and, as Rose and Dolores walked back into the small lobby, she pressed a few more buttons. She laughed meanly. ‘Oh dear me, you do look hot – let’s cool you down,’ she said and then switched on the water and the recorded message of her beloved husband booming, ‘No mercy is shown to robbers and thieves!’

  ‘Right, stop here,’ Art said to PC Green, after they had driven a short way down the street. ‘She’ll have seen us leave on the camera.’

  ‘Okay, but I don’t know why you don’t trust her,’ PC Green said, stopping the car. ‘She seems very nice to me. But then,’ he added, in a rare moment of insight, ‘whenever I think people are nice, they’re usually crooks. Are you sure you’ll be all right looking for the others on your own?’

  Art reassured him that he would be and they said goodbye. Art walked back towards the house and, to avoid the cameras, he clambered over the railings into the park. He skirted round the high garden walls. It wasn’t easy, but eventually he found a place to climb over into Professor Fitzherbert’s garden.

  Despite the night being very dark, when Art got into the garden, he found that he could see rather well, because the ‘hill’ that Rose walked over was, in fact, the domed roof of the collection, and the ‘potholes’ were several small glass windows, out of which light was now pouring. Art immediately scooted over to them and the first thing he saw was the mummy staring right back at him.

  He rushed to the next roof light and then the next, desperately looking for Rose and Dolores. He was about to give up and look elsewhere when he reached the last roof light and saw a terrible sight. Rose and Dolores were trapped in a tiny space with water up to Dolores’s waist and Rose’s chest. He couldn’t hear them, but could tell from their expressions that they were screaming and shouting. Art looked around desperately for something he could use to smash the glass. But then he gave a gasp and froze, as he saw a figure walking across the garden towards him.

  In the tomb, Agnes was making faces at Violet and bending down as if she was trying to reach something, but Violet couldn’t work out what on earth she was doing. And then, in a flash, she realised.

  The Ratbag.

  She could see it was slightly open and Mr Ratty was poking his nose out.

  But Violet couldn’t see what use he was likely to be, or how she was supposed to open the bag with her hands and feet tied and her mouth gagged, which left her with her . . . nose? There was no way Violet was putting her nose anywhere near Mr Ratty. Perhaps she could use her chin? Since there were no other options, Violet shuffled towards him.

  With Agnes’s encouragement and much manoeuvring, Violet found herself lying awkwardly on the floor, trying to shunt the zip along with her chin as Mr Ratty gently nudged her with his teeth. Violet tensed, waiting for him to sink his teeth in at any moment. But he resisted the temptation and, after a few attempts, she managed to slide the zip open enough for the rat to jump out. Violet quickly sat up again as she heard footsteps approaching.

  Professor Fitzherbert entered the room. ‘We will soon be leaving for Cairo, so toodle-pip,’ he said. ‘We may see you in the morning, depending on how starving those hyenas I mentioned are. Of course there are also the scorpions and snakes . . . Oh look, there’s a rat to keep you company!’ He chortled. ‘So long, girls.’

  There is nothing like talk of being eaten by hyenas to focus the mind and Agnes desperately began trying to coax Mr Ratty to chew the ropes behind her back. It looked unlikely to work at first, but after the rat had discovered that there was nothing else to eat, he began to gnaw obligingly on Agnes’s ropes. In a few minutes, they were loose enough for Agnes to slip her hands out and she was able to free her feet and pull off the gag. Agnes turned her attention to Violet and freed her too.

  ‘We must stop them before they go!’ Agnes whispered. ‘We can’t let them escape with all Nefertiti’s treasure.’

  Violet nodded. ‘We need a plan,’ she said. ‘There are three of them and only two of us. Let’s see what they’re doing.’

  Agnes looked for Mr Ratty to put him back in his bag, but he had disappeared.

  ‘Oh no!’ she cried.

  ‘He’ll turn up later,’ Violet said confidently. They had more important things to worry about than an adventurous rat.

  The girls crawled silently on their stomachs to the entrance of the tomb. Ralph and Alf were busy packing up the last of the tents. Professor Fitzherbert was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘If only one of us could drive!’ Agnes sighed in exasperation.

  ‘I can, sort of,’ Violet replied and, when Agnes looked amazed, she quickly explained about her father and godfather teaching her on their holiday in Dorset. Agnes was extremely jealous.

  ‘I’ll get them to teach you too,’ Violet said. ‘But, for now, could you distract Ralph and Alf while I try to get to the van?’

  ‘Of course,’ Agnes replied. ‘I will absolutely destroy them.’

  And before Violet could tell her to wait until they both had their backs turned, Agnes had launched herself at Ralph and Alf with a Tarzan-like war cry. Alf and Ralph did look rather taken aback as Agnes spun around them like a whirling dervish, doing her kung-fu moves.

  Wow, Violet thought, as she watched Agnes topple them like bowling skittles. She really is a lethal weapon. Violet made a dash for the car and yanked the door open, jumping into the driving seat. She turned the key in the ignition and started the engine. Remembering Johnny’s instructions, she put one foot on the brake and the other on the clutch, and then slammed it into first gear, released the handbrake and set off along the dirt track as fast as she could, speeding away from the camp. Looking in the rear-view mirror, she laughed out loud to see the twins lying on the floor, rubbing their heads in bewilderment, while Agnes danced around them, her hands and feet shooting out.

  Violet could see a road ahead of her, which she was sure was the main road back to the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. If she could just reach it then she’d be able to find her way back and alert Grand-mère or Lieutenant Khouri.

  ‘I’ve nearly done it!’ she shouted with delight.

  ‘Um no, I’m afraid you haven’t,’ a familiar voice said, and Violet froze, as Professor Fitzherbert’s face a
ppeared in the rear-view mirror. He must have been in the back of the van all along! ‘I think we’d better head straight back to camp, don’t you?’ And, reaching over her shoulder, he took the wheel and steered the van in the direction it had come from.

  They were back in a moment. Violet felt like crying with frustration and disappointment.

  The figure loomed over Art.

  ‘After all that fuss, the Sarge sent someone else! I came back to see if you’d found the others,’ PC Green said.

  Art didn’t think he had ever been so relieved to see anyone in his whole life.

  ‘Rose and Dolores are trapped down there with water pouring in!’ he cried. ‘Here, give me your truncheon and I’ll try and smash the glass.’

  PC Green gave it to him and Art began to pound on the glass. PC Green looked over his shoulder.

  ‘Blimey, it doesn’t look much fun in there, does it?’

  Art wasn’t listening. As hard as he tried to break the glass, he didn’t even make the smallest crack.

  ‘Hmm, toughened glass,’ PC Green said.

  Art threw down the truncheon in frustration. ‘We’ll have to try and stop the water another way.’

  ‘Why don’t I go and tell Miss Beasley that she’s got a plumbing issue – perhaps it’s a blocked drain? Look, I can see her in her laundry room,’ PC Green said, pointing to a window. ‘She’s got a lot of televisions in there. Do you think she watches them while she’s doing the washing? What a good idea . . .’

  Art was about to tell PC Green to stop being so utterly stupid and that it was Miss Beasley who was trying to drown poor Rose and Dolores, but then he realised that she must be controlling the water from that room and a plan formed in his mind.

  ‘No, don’t tell her she’s got plumbing problems. Go and tell her that there’s an emergency about Professor Fitzherbert.’

  PC Green looked puzzled. ‘But there isn’t.’

  ‘I know, but I need you to distract her.’

  PC Green opened his mouth to object, but Art cut him off.

  ‘Please, just trust me! Ring the doorbell until Miss Beasley answers and then keep her talking as long as you can, while I break into the laundry room and turn the water off.’

  Art picked up the truncheon and ran towards the house, dodging from bush to bush, to avoid being seen. He crouched beneath the window sill of the laundry, so that he could see Miss Beasley, but she couldn’t see him. Art heard the doorbell ring; at first Miss Beasley ignored it and then PC Green shouted through the letterbox.

  ‘Miss Beasley, I know you’re in there! It’s an emergency – it’s about Professor Fitzherbert!’

  Miss Beasley hesitated and then went to answer the door.

  That was the moment Art had been waiting for. Using the truncheon, he smashed a pane of glass, which, to his relief, broke easily, and opened the window, climbing into the room.

  An array of levers and buttons greeted him, none of which were labelled. He began to press them all in the hope that one would stop the water.

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Miss Beasley’s furious face appeared in the doorway. ‘Stop it this instant!’ She grabbed Art’s hands and wrenched them away from the buttons.

  ‘I’m trying to release my friends before they drown!’ he shouted at her.

  ‘Thieves deserve to drown!’ Miss Beasley cried.

  ‘You’re the thief, not them! You and Professor Fitzherbert stole the mummy from the museum in the first place.’

  ‘Nonsense, we just removed it to our private collection so that it could be looked after properly.’

  ‘I’m not sure the police would see it that way, madam,’ PC Green said sternly, climbing in through the open window. Miss Beasley had slammed the door in his face when it became clear to her that there was no emergency with Professor Fitzherbert.

  ‘Now, please release this young man and shut off the water.’ PC Green started to press the buttons too.

  ‘NO!’ Miss Beasley hissed, launching herself at PC Green like a furious cat. There was a brief tussle and Miss Beasley sent PC Green flying across the room. As he fell to the floor, his hands reached out to grab what they could and he pulled hard on a lever. There was a sound of gushing water outside and shouts of relief from Dolores and Rose.

  The two of them appeared at the window, looking wet and bedraggled, and Miss Beasley looked like she would explode with fury.

  ‘Right, Miss Beasley,’ PC Green said, unlocking his handcuffs. ‘I think you’d better come with me, don’t you?’

  ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, you two! Can’t you even cope with a little girl?’ Professor Fitzherbert roared when he found Ralph and Alf rubbing their wounds.

  Agnes had disappeared.

  ‘Well, there’s no time to worry about her now – we need to leave for Cairo this minute! Get into the van while I tie this one up again,’ he said, gesturing to Violet. He picked up some ropes and tied her wrists so tightly that it made Violet wince. ‘Into the back of the van with you. We’ll have to dump you somewhere along the way.’

  Just as he was about to shove Violet in, there was a clatter of hooves and in cantered Grand-mère, looking rather magnificent, followed by Agnes and Ahmed and Lieutenant Khouri on the other donkeys.

  ‘Ha!’ Violet said triumphantly to Professor Fitzherbert, as she struggled to get free from him.

  ‘Not so fast, young lady, you haven’t won yet,’ he replied, holding her in a vice-like grip.

  ‘Professor!’ Grand-mère roared. ‘Untie my granddaughter this instant!’

  ‘Monsieur, I demand to see what is in that van!’ Lieutenant Khouri cried.

  Professor Fitzherbert put on his most charming voice. ‘Sir, my dear lady—’ he began.

  ‘Don’t you “my dear lady” me!’ Grand-mère bellowed. ‘Release Violet immediately!’

  ‘Yes, let me go, you horrible man!’ Violet shouted at him, trying to kick his ankles.

  But Professor Fitzherbert held her tight.

  ‘I’m afraid that Violet stays with me,’ he said in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘Now, just let us leave and no one will get hurt.’ And he started to drag a furious, squirming Violet towards the van.

  ‘Unhand that child!’ Lieutenant Khouri cried, reaching for his gun.

  Professor Fitzherbert laughed. ‘What are you going to do? Shoot me? I don’t think so; you might hit this poor little girl. Face it, you’ve lost. Goodbye!’

  They had nearly reached the van and, despite her ferocious struggling, Violet felt as if there was no escape, when suddenly something leaped through the air, landing on the Professor’s face.

  ‘AARGH!’ Professor Fitzherbert cried, as Mr Ratty fastened his two front teeth firmly round the Professor’s long, elegant nose.

  Delighted, Violet elbowed him hard in the ribs and the Professor let go of her as he tried to pull Mr Ratty off, screaming in pain. Violet ran away as fast as she could, but, before anyone could stop her, Agnes sprinted towards the Professor.

  ‘Don’t you hurt my rat!! I am a lethal weapon!’ she cried, taking hold of his jacket and pushing him over.

  Ralph and Alf, seeing what was going on, sped off in the van, spraying everyone in a cloud of sand.

  ‘Do not worry, they will not get very far,’ Lieutenant Khouri said, and then spoke quickly into his radio.

  Professor Fitzherbert lay on the floor, still grappling with Mr Ratty.

  ‘Let go of my rat, you brute!’ Agnes cried, kicking him.

  Mr Ratty decided he had had enough of Professor Fitzherbert’s nose, and gave his fingers a quick nip to get him to loosen his grip, then jumped into Agnes’s hands.

  ‘Oh, you good boy!’ she said, stroking him before she put him back in the Ratbag.

  Quick as a flash, Lieutenant Khouri ran over and before the Professor knew what had happened he was in handcuffs.

  ‘Oh dear, Professor Fitzherbert,’ Violet said gleefully. ‘It looks like you’re the one who has lost now.’

  After
/>   Six months later, Rose, Violet, Art and Agnes stood proudly to one side of the large blue ribbon that would soon be cut to signal the opening of the British Museum’s new blockbuster exhibition, ‘The Lost Treasure of Queen Nefertiti’. It was already a sell-out and camera crews from all over the world were there to film the great event.

  Despite Ralph and Alf trying to make a quick getaway with the treasure, Lieutenant Khouri’s colleagues had caught up with the van before they reached Cairo. Along with Miss Beasley and Professor Fitzherbert, they had stood trial in London for stealing the mummy and in Cairo for excavating Nefertiti’s tomb without permission. Found guilty on all counts, they had been sent to prison for a very long time. The newspapers were full of the story, and Mr Ratty was the star.

  At the exhibition opening, Matilde, Professor Petit, Benedict, Camille, Grand-mère, PC Green, Dee Dee and Dolores were all in the audience. Mona, whom Violet and Agnes had met in the Valley of the Kings, had decided that she would like to spend a few years in London, so had applied to be the new Head of the Museum when Professor Fitzherbert was sent to jail, and much to everyone’s delight she had been appointed. The even better news was that Mona and Professor Petit got on like a house on fire. Poor Professor Petit had been very upset to discover that Miss Beasley was, in fact, Mrs Fitzherbert and also found it very hard when Matilde got lots of attention for being responsible for finding Nefertiti’s tomb. But working with Mona was definitely helping him feel much better. And now, as part of the opening, Mona was giving a wonderful speech.