by TOMMY DAVEY
"Oh, dear me," said Mr. Sloane, taking a seat on one of the sofas. "Oh, dear me. This is simply horrible."
"But," interjected Sheila, "you searched everyone's belongings and our seats and could not find it. So where did it go?"
"It could have been taken off the train," he replied.
"But how?" asked Abigail. "No one has left the train except for you and Mrs. Bronwyn, and you were standing beside her the whole time."
"That's right, Inspector," said Mrs. Bronwyn. "You and I were the only two people to leave. Are you suggesting someone threw the diamond off?"
"That would be lunacy!" cried Mr. MacEvoy. "To throw a diamond off a moving train, into the wilderness? It would be lost forever; no one would ever be able to find it again."
"Quite right, all of you," said the officer.
"So where is it?" demanded Mr. Sloane. "If you can't find it on the train, and it would be foolish to throw off the train, then where in the world is the diamond?"
Dabruzzi had a defeated look on his face. Everyone was depending on him for an answer, but he did not have one.
"Is it possible," said Ted, "that the diamond was smashed up into little pieces and that is why we can't find it? It has been broken into many smaller pieces?"
"Impossible," said Mr. Sloane. "You cannot cut diamonds very easily. If someone were to attempt to do that, they would discover very quickly that they were trying to do something hopeless."
"Oh," said Ted, disappointed that his theory was not possible.
"I think we should not let ourselves get carried away," said Mrs. Bronwyn. "After all, the police in Topaz Mountain will meet us when we arrive, and they will surely be able to assist in the investigation."
"Wait a minute," said Abigail. "I’m not going to go through the entire investigation again when we get to the mountains. Someone had better just speak up now. Whoever did this had better confess."
Everyone in the room began to glance at each other, wondering which person was most capable of stealing the diamond.
"I don't think anyone is going to confess that easily," said Dabruzzi. "If they would like to, please be my guest, but I doubt it."
There were still several things that I was struggling to understand. Who would lock me in a compartment? Why was there a wet spot on the carpet? How did the diamond vanish into thin air? I was not sure the wet spot had anything to do with the crime, or if being locked in a compartment was related, either, but there seemed to be too many strange occurrences to not be somehow connected to the missing jewel.
"Ladies and gentlemen," said Willy. "I’m sure you’re all getting hungry and thirsty, so if it is all right with the inspector, I am going to start serving lunch now."
"Yes," said Dabruzzi. "Of course. Please, everyone, make your way to the dining car for lunch."
The crowd slowly filed to the dining room, with Calvin naturally in the lead.
"If he could open the doors himself," said Mrs. Bronwyn, jokingly, "he would!"
Once inside the dining car, where we had spent the majority of our journey, we sat at the same tables we had occupied for breakfast.
Willy walked around carrying a large tray of glasses. He set a nice cold cup of ice water in front of each person and dropped a small menu beside the glass.
"Oh," raved Sheila with a smile. "We have a choice!"
I could not help but stare at her glass of water. There was something interesting about it, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
"Let's see," said Mrs. Bronwyn. "We have a turkey club, gazpacho, and a burger. Oh, goodness. It’s not much of a selection."
"What is gazpacho?" asked Ted.
"Cold soup, darling," replied Sheila. "You won't like it."
She was playing with her wedding ring, probably not quite used to wearing two rings on her finger. I could not help but notice the diamond ring she had on. It was nowhere near the size of the Diamond of Madagascar, but it was still a beautiful piece of jewellery.
"Cora," said Sheila. "What will you be ordering?"
I did not answer right away, for I was stuck on a thought. My many fragments of were beginning to come together. Things were starting to make sense, but my first hunch could not possibly be correct, could it? It was so unlikely, so completely crazy, that I could not possibly have figured it out. Or had I?
"Cora?" prodded Ted, looking to see what I was going to order.
I slowly peered up at the table. Ted, Sheila, and Mrs. Bronwyn were all staring at me. Even Calvin, who was sitting on Mrs. Bronwyn's lap, had his head cocked to one side, waiting for an answer.
"Of course!" I yelled. "I've figured it out!"
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"Cora?" asked Mrs. Bronwyn. "Whatever do you mean?"
I stood and walked over to Inspector Dabruzzi, who had not taken his seat and was standing at the back of the car, surveying the room.
"Inspector, I need to talk to you."
"Yes, of course. What is it?"
"I think I know what happened to the diamond. Or at least, part of what happened."
"What do you mean?"
"Yes," interrupted Mr. Sloane. "What do you mean?"
By this time, everyone in the car was watching me with great interest. They had heard my exclamation and were curious to see what I was talking about.
I realized I was not going to simply be able to tell the inspector what happened, that I would need to address everyone.
"Well," I began, "I could not figure out how someone was able to get into Mr. Sloane's compartment to take the diamond. It would be too difficult for anyone to slip into the car, take the gem, and then slip out again with Mr. Sloane standing right there. The cabins are very small, so this would be very difficult."
"Are you suggesting it was a child?" Mr. MacEvoy asked.
"Since I am the only child here, I don't think I would be accuse myself!" I exclaimed.
"Then a teenager," he said, motioning to Abigail.
"I am not a teenager," she snapped.
"No, not her either," I clarified. "I don't think there is any person on this train who actually stole the diamond."
Everyone in the room started laughing, or remarking on the silliness of my conclusion.
"Cora," said the cop, trying to help me. "We know someone took the diamond. You can't say no one took it when we know it has disappeared."
"That is not what I said, Inspector. I said no person took the diamond. I don't think it was taken by a person."
The other passengers looked at each other, obviously confused. I needed to explain myself or I was going to lose the room.
"I think it was taken by someone who could get into the room quickly and get out again without being noticed. I think it was taken by...Calvin!"
"What?" exclaimed most everyone in the room, most noticeably Mrs. Bronwyn.
Dabruzzi took a step forward. "What do you mean?"
"I think Calvin stole the diamond," I said.
"What would a dog want with a diamond?" asked Mr. MacEvoy. "To put it on his collar?"
"Earlier today, I was locked in a cabin; someone jammed the door so I could not get out. And while I was I there—"
"Wait a second, please," interrupted Dabruzzi. "You were locked in a compartment?"
"Yes, but it's fine, Abby and Willy got me out. Anyway, while I was in the room, I could not help but notice a wet spot on the carpet. At first, I thought Calvin was not able to wait long enough to have his bathroom break, but when I checked the colour of the liquid, I discovered it was clear."
"Like water?" asked Sheila.
"Like water," I confirmed. "But not just regular water. Melted ice."
"Ice?" said Ted.
"Yes, ice. I’ve noticed that Calvin has a special fondness for ice cubes. Mrs. Bronwyn asked for some last night, saying he likes to chew on them before bed."
"That's right, she did," said Willy.
"Well, what if he doesn't really like to chew them at all? Maybe the ice cubes were for some other p
urpose?" I proposed.
"What does this have to do with the diamond?" demanded Mr. Sloane.
"Everything, sir," I said. "Ice cubes may not look like anything else to us but to a puppy dog, they would look like—"
"A diamond!" exclaimed Sheila. "So, you think Calvin ran into Mr. Sloane's cabin, picked up the diamond, and then ran out to give it to someone?"
"Yes, I do."
"This is preposterous," said Mrs. Bronwyn. "You’re suggesting my dog is a jewel thief? Do you know how ridiculous you sound?"
"No, Mrs. Bronwyn," I said. "I’m not suggesting Calvin is the jewel thief, I’m suggesting you are."
She let out an uncomfortable laugh before looking at Dabruzzi. "Inspector, can you please tell this girl she is being foolish?"
"Cora," said the inspector, ignoring Mrs. Bronwyn's request. "How does that explain the wet spot on the carpet?"
"Last night, when I went to sleep, I noticed Mrs. Bronwyn and Calvin were not in their seats. I guessed they were in the washroom, but now I think they were in that empty compartment, practicing the theft with the cup of ice cubes Willy had given her earlier."
"And that left the wet spot on the carpet?" asked Ted.
"I think so," I said.
"This is very interesting," said the officer. "Very, very interesting."
"I think this is all getting a bit out of hand," Mrs. Bronwyn said. "I am an old lady on my way to visit my sister in the mountains. All of this diamond nonsense has nothing to do with me. I am the one who told you I suspected the diamond was on the train in the first place! Why would I do that if I planned to steal it?"
"Because," said Ted. "Then you would be certain everyone on the train knew about the diamond, to confuse things and provide more suspects on the case."
"Inspector, please," she pleaded, turning to him. "I am getting terribly upset over this. Can you please put an end to it?"
"I think I know how we can settle this," I said.
To prove my theory, I reached into the glass of ice water Willy had placed on my table moments before. I pulled out an ice cube and held it in my hand.
"If I'm right," I said. "This should prove it."
I tossed the slippery ice cube to the back of the car. Everyone watched in great confusion.
"Ruff!" barked Calvin, jumping from Mrs. Bronwyn's lap. He tore to the back of the room, quickly catching the stray ice cube in his mouth as it slid along the floor. He bounded back on all fours to where Mrs. Bronwyn was sitting, but instead of chewing it as everyone thought he would, he deposited it into Mrs. Bronwyn's lap, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Well I'll be...," said Mr. Sloane.
"I think I've had enough of this," declared Mrs. Bronwyn as she reached into her bag and produced a gun. "Everyone needs to stay where they are or I’ll shoot!"
CHAPTER TWENTY
A collective gasp erupted from the dining car as everyone was suddenly faced with the weapon.
"Mrs. Bronwyn," said Dabruzzi, "please put that away."
"Be quiet, Inspector!" she yelled. "I think everyone needs to move over there!"
She motioned for everyone in the car to move to one side of the room so she could see us all at the same time. Calvin, completely unaware of the excitement at hand, stayed by her side.
"Let's make sure you don't get into any more trouble," she said, reattaching Calvin's leash to his collar.
"Mrs. Bronwyn," said Sheila, "this must be a mistake. You could not possibly be responsible for this."
"I'm afraid she was right, Mrs. Houseman. I have been training Calvin for several weeks to carry out this theft for me. It worked perfectly in every detail. No one suspected anything, but I knew she was starting to figure it out." Mrs. Bronwyn glared at me.
"That is why I locked you in that room," she continued. "I wanted to keep you out of the way before you figured it out and found your self in trouble. But it looks like trouble found you."
Mr. Sloane could not help but ask what was on everyone's mind. "But where is the diamond?"
Mrs. Bronwyn let out a laugh. "It’s not on the train; that much is certain."
"Oh, goodness, no," said Mr. Sloane. "You threw it off the train."
"No, I certainly did not. I wouldn't be so foolish as to throw a priceless diamond off a train! No one would ever see it again! No, I made certain it was safely taken off the train."
"But how?" asked the inspector. "You never had a chance to give it to anyone. You could not have deposited the diamond anywhere!"
"No, you are correct, Inspector. I did not deposit the diamond anywhere, but you did."
"What?" cried Dabruzzi, shocked at being connected to the crime.
"Inspector!" said Mr. MacEvoy. "You were involved?"
"Certainly not! I had nothing to do with this."
"But she just said," cried Mr. Sloane, "you removed the diamond from the train!"
"But I...I...could not," he was stumbling, trying to figure out what to say to the crowd of suspicious passengers.
"In Pecan River," said Mrs. Bronwyn. "You were so kind to accompany me off the train so Calvin could do his...um...business. I'm sure you remember that."
"Yes, of course. But you did not speak or make contact with anyone!"
"Quite right," she said. "But you were so helpful to me; you even took the diamond from my hand and dropped it in a hiding spot."
"Ohhh!" exclaimed Mr. Sloane. "You are involved!"
"No," I said. "He’s not."
"But she just said she handed him the diamond and he hid it!" Mr. Sloane replied.
"That's what she said," I replied. "And that’s what he did, but he did not realize he was doing it. We were all watching them outside. The only thing the inspector did was take the bag of waste Mrs. Bronwyn handed him and threw it in the garbage. That bag, along with Calvin's waste, had the diamond in it."
"Is that true?" asked Mr. Sloane. "Did you throw the diamond away with some dog poop?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Mrs. Bronwyn replied. "But don't worry, the diamond will be picked up by my accomplice and after a good, thorough wash, will be safely locked away."
"It was already in the bag when you picked up after Calvin?" asked Dabruzzi. "So you handed the bag with the diamond to me and I foolishly threw it in the waste receptacle?"
"Yes, that is exactly what happened."
"Why are you telling us this?" asked Abigail. "You’ll be arrested as soon as we arrive in Topaz Mountain."
"No, I'm afraid not," she said. "You see, you’re all going to help me tie each other up. Then I’ll step off the train in Topaz Mountain and no one will discover you’re all here until I am long gone."
We looked around in fear. Mrs. Bronwyn had a gun, and if she pointed it at us and told us to tie each other up so she could make her escape, that is exactly what we would have to do.
"Now," she continued, "Willy, please find some rope for me, or something you can all use to help me in my little task."
"Where were you hiding that gun?" asked Ted. "We all saw you empty your bag. There was no gun."
"You're right. Not then, anyhow. I had the gun safely stored away at my seat."
"But I thoroughly inspected your belongings!" cried the officer.
"Did you? Did you bother to open the bag of dog food that I had in my suitcase? Probably not. If you had, you would have found this gun, along with the diamond. I was able to retrieve both of them after you searched our belongings."
"It was there the whole time," said Mr. Sloane sadly.
I eyed the gun in Mrs. Bronwyn's hand. I had never seen one before, at least not in real life. It was shiny silver, and the handle almost matched Calvin's leash, which was tied around Mrs. Bronwyn's wrist. Then, I had a thought.
I took a few more of the remaining ice cubes from my glass and repeated my throw from only moments before. The cubes rolled across the floor, and Calvin lunged after one of the ice cubes, and this caught Mrs. Bronwyn by surprise. As the leash was in the same hand as the gun, she w
as unable to keep the weapon facing the passengers. Calvin's leash yanked her hand away and caused her to drop the weapon.
Dabruzzi, realizing he had a perfect opportunity to take control of the situation, scrambled to the floor and picked up the gun before Mrs. Bronwyn could get it.
"Hold it right there!" he yelled. "I'm afraid the tables have turned!"
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The train sounded its horn when it pulled into the train station at Topaz Mountain. At last, we had arrived!
Several police officers were standing on the platform, waiting for the machine to come to a complete stop before boarding and taking Mrs. Bronwyn away.
"I can't believe it," muttered Sheila. "I simply cannot believe that it was Mrs. Bronwyn who stole the diamond."
"I know," said Ted. "She seemed so nice. I wonder why?"
Inspector Dabruzzi came over to us and joined the conversation. "Mrs. Bronwyn is not who she says she is. Her name is actually Katherine Montclair, and she has been suspected of heading a large network of thieves all across the country. Until now, no one had ever suspected she carried out any of the thefts herself, but obviously she is quite skilled."
"Not quite skilled enough, apparently," said Katherine Montclair, otherwise known as Mrs. Bronwyn.
After the Dabruzzi picked up the gun when Calvin caused Mrs. Bronwyn to drop it, he was able to get the situation under control. He turned the gun on her and forced her to sit down in a corner of the dining car. Willy had retrieved the rope she had asked him to find, and in an ironic twist, tied her up with it to ensure she could not escape. Calvin, not realizing the seriousness of the situation, curled up at her feet and fell right to sleep.
"Inspector Dabruzzi?" called someone from the front of the car.
The voice belonged to a police officer, the first of four who had run onto the train. Willy had radioed ahead for the officers to meet them as soon as they pulled into the station.
"I am Inspector Dabruzzi."
"Very well. I am Chief Moore from the Topaz Mountain police force. I am here to apprehend the jewel thief."