Whoops! All The Money Went Missing (A Susan Hall Mystery Book 2)

by Adele Abbott

  “Do you have it?”

  “Have what, young man?”

  “The gold map. The sketch you said you were going to do.”

  “Of course. Tobias Fotheringham is nothing if not a man of his word.” He pulled out a small sheet of paper from the pocket of his overcoat. “There you are.”

  Neil studied it. He turned it through ninety degrees, and studied it again. Then another ninety degrees, and finally back to where he had started.

  “Which way up is it supposed to be?”

  Socky sighed. “Do you see those letters on two edges of the sketch?”

  “The ‘T’ and the ‘B’?”

  “What do you think those stand for?”

  “Err—I don’t—oh, wait. Top and bottom?”

  “Very good.”

  Neil examined it for several more minutes. “I’m still not really sure I understand it.”

  Socky snatched it back, and put it onto the bed.

  “That is where we are now.” He stabbed the sketch with a ghostly finger. “And that is the top floor.”

  “Where are the stairs?”

  “I didn’t think you needed me to draw in the stairs.”

  “Sorry, right. So where is the gold?”

  “Just there.” He pointed again. “’X’ marks the spot.”

  “That must be the apartment on the front of the building. I’m not sure who lives there. And it’s behind a brick, you said?”

  “The tenth brick from the left—top row.”

  “How will I get the brick out?”

  “It’s a tight fit, but it should simply pull out.” He glanced at Neil’s skinny arms. “Provided you are strong enough.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’m stronger than I look.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Charlie and Dorothy arrived home within a few minutes of one another.

  “Do you know someone called Tara Brown?” Charlie asked Neil.

  “I don’t think so.” He grinned. “But then there have been so many ladies in my life.”

  “Give me strength.” Dorothy pretended to gag.

  “Why? Who is she?” Neil said.

  “No one. It doesn’t matter.” Charlie shrugged.

  Neil checked the biscuit tin, but it was empty. “Do either of you know who has the apartment on the top floor, at the front of the building?”

  “It’s that Basil guy. You must know him—he’s Redman’s brother.”

  Neil’s heart sank. “Are you sure?”

  “Charlie’s right.” Dorothy nodded. “He’s a real nasty piece of work. Worse than Redman, I’d say.”

  “I tried to have a conversation with him once,” Charlie said. “He didn’t want to know. He just blanked me.”

  “I see him in the morning sometimes.” Dorothy put on the kettle. “He goes to work really early—about six o’ clock. Why do you want to know, anyway?”

  Before Neil could make up a lie, Susan came through the door.

  “Are you making a cup of tea, Dorothy?” Susan said. “I’d love one, if you don’t mind.”

  Dorothy grunted, but got out another mug.

  “Any progress on the disappearing money story?” Neil asked. He wanted to steer the others away from questions about the top floor apartment.

  “I’ve spoken to the managers of the two banks concerned, and I’m now convinced that something really did happen.”

  “They’ve admitted it?”

  “No. Neither of them would discuss it, but I could tell by their reaction that I’d struck a nerve. Something definitely happened. I just have to work out what it was.”

  Chapter 11

  Dorothy’s phone rang.

  “What the—?” She had been fast asleep, and enjoying a particularly nice dream. She grabbed the phone from the bedside table, and checked the time. Six o’ clock! Was this some kind of joke? But then she spotted the caller ID. It was her mother. Something must be wrong. “Mum? What’s up? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, dear, I’m perfectly fine. I just thought I’d give you a call.”

  Dorothy lowered her head back onto the pillow. “Do you realise what time it is?”

  “I’m just about to take Babs out for her early morning walk. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  “It’s okay. What do you want?”

  “Just to say I’m coming over to Washbridge later today—to meet up with an old friend. I thought I’d drop in to see you this evening. I’m really looking forward to seeing my painting on the wall.”

  “Your painting? On the wall?”

  “You did hang it, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, of course. We put it up straight after you left.”

  “Great. Okay, then. I’ll see you later. Love you.”

  “Love you too, Mum.”

  Great! Now, she was going to have to get that painting up on the wall before her mum came over tonight.

  Wait a minute! Where was the painting? She didn’t have a clue.

  ***

  Charlie was just on his way out of the bedroom when he heard Bunty call to him.

  “Hey, big guy. Get yourself over here.”

  She had such a way with words.

  “What is it, Bunty?” He peered through the magnifying glass. “I was just about to get my breakfast.”

  “That can wait. This is way more important. Biddy wants to know when she can move in.”

  “She can’t.”

  “What do you mean, ‘she can’t’?”

  “I’m sorry, but it simply isn’t possible.” He hesitated. “Unless of course the three of you would be prepared to start paying rent?”

  “Do what?” Bunty sounded appalled. “Why should we pay?”

  “Because this is my room, and you get to live here scot-free at the moment. I’ve let it slide because there were only the two of you, but if anyone else was to join you, then I’d have to start charging. If you’re okay with that, then I—”

  “No. Stuff that for a game of soldiers. Biddy will just have to find somewhere else to live if she wants to move over here.” Bunty went back inside. Moments later, Greta stuck her head out of the window of her house, and smiled. “Thanks, Charlie.”

  He gave her the thumbs up.

  ***

  By the time Dorothy had showered and dressed, the other flatmates were all up and about.

  “Hey everyone! Does anybody know where my mum’s painting is?”

  “The masterpiece?” Neil grinned.

  “Shut it, Neil! She’s coming over this evening, and said she was looking forward to seeing it, but I don’t know where it is. Any ideas?”

  The others shrugged.

  “Great! She’ll kill me if it isn’t on the wall.”

  “Give me five minutes, and a few crayons, and I’ll knock up a copy for you,” Neil said. “She’ll never know the difference.”

  Dorothy let him know what she thought of his comment with a hand gesture.

  “We’ll help you look for it.” Susan volunteered. “Won’t we, guys?”

  “Sure,” Charlie said straight away.

  “I still think it would be easier to draw one from scratch,” Neil said, but he began to search the apartment along with the others.

  Thirty minutes later, they still hadn’t found it.

  “I’m sorry, Dorothy,” Susan said. “I have to get off to work now.”

  “Me too.” Charlie followed her to the door.

  Dorothy checked her watch. “Can you give me a lift in, Neil?”

  “Not today, sorry. I’m not going in until later.”

  “Will you keep looking for the painting, then?”

  “Sure. No problem.”

  Neil waited until the others had left, and then said under his breath, “Stuff the ugly painting.” He had other, more important matters on his mind. Like the crock of gold that was waiting for him on the top floor.

  ***

  Neil had to get inside that top-floor apartment, somehow. Of all the people who could have lived
there, it had to be Redman’s brother. If what Charlie and Dorothy had said was true, Neil couldn’t afford to get caught by him, or he’d be on the wrong end of a beating, and quite probably out on the street—courtesy of Redman.

  According to Dorothy, Basil went to work early during the week, but Neil could hear noises coming from inside, as he stood in front of the door. It would be just his luck if Basil was taking a day’s holiday. Neil was just about to give it up as a bad job when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Heavy footsteps. Neil ducked out of the fire escape, which was directly opposite Basil’s apartment.

  Moments later, Redman appeared at Basil’s door.

  “Come on! You’re late,” Redman boomed. “You were meant to be down ten minutes ago.”

  “I’ll be down in five.” Came a voice from inside.

  “You’d better be or I’ll leave without you.”

  As soon as Redman had started down the stairs, Neil cast the ‘invisible’ spell. It would only give him thirty minutes of invisibility, but that should be more than enough to enable him to get the gold and get out again.

  As soon as Basil came out of his apartment, Neil ducked quickly inside before the door closed. He was in! Now, to find the gold.

  Socky had said it was the tenth brick from the left, on the top row. Neil counted: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. It was too high for him to reach, so he pulled over a chair. As soon as he took hold of the brick, he could feel it had a certain amount of give. The difficult part was getting a grip on it, but after several unsuccessful attempts, it moved. Eureka! Once he’d managed to slide it forward a few inches, he was able to get a much better grip. The brick finally came free from the wall, and Neil placed it on a sheet of newspaper so as not to mark the carpet. The gap where the brick had been was just big enough to slide his hand inside.

  Bingo! His fingers brushed against something metal; a tin of some kind. It wasn’t very big, but then Neil supposed it didn’t need to be. Even a small amount of gold would be worth a fortune. The tin was certainly heavy—that had to be a good sign.

  Neil replaced the brick, picked up the newspaper, and shook the dust into the bin. He had just put the chair back when the door opened. He started to panic, but then realised he was still invisible. Whoever it was, wouldn’t be able to see him.

  But they would be able to see the tin in his hands!

  He quickly put it down on the floor behind the sofa.

  Basil walked in, mumbling under his breath. “Stupid wallet!”

  Neil checked his watch. Another five minutes, and the invisibility would have worn off. He was a dead man.

  Basil pulled open one drawer after another.

  There were only two minutes to go before the invisibility wore off. Oh, well. Goodbye world—nice knowing you.

  “There you are!” Basil grabbed his wallet, and disappeared out of the door.

  Not a moment too soon because Neil was now visible again.

  He gave it a couple of minutes, and then let himself out. Moments later, he was back in his own apartment.

  “The tin is locked!” he said.

  “Of course it’s locked.” Socky took it from him. “You don’t think I would have trusted you with it otherwise, do you?”

  “Have you got the key?”

  “Of course. I’ve had it with me for more than a century, waiting for this very moment.”

  “It isn’t as big as I’d expected.”

  “It’s big enough. Your share will be worth more than you can spend in a lifetime.”

  Neil seriously doubted that; he had big plans.

  Socky took a rusty key from his pocket, slid it into the lock, and opened the tin.

  “No!” Socky screamed.

  Inside was a single brick. But not a gold brick. Wedged next to it was a sheet of paper, which Neil pulled out, and read aloud, “Greetings Tobias, if you somehow manage to come back from the dead, I do offer you my sincerest apologies. I assumed you would no longer have a use for the gold, so took it for myself. I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that I put it to good use: Fine women and even finer wine. Your friend, Cuthbert Cherry.”

  “That no good, cheating lowlife!” Tobias shouted. “Just wait until I get my hands on him.”

  “Who’s Cuthbert Cherry?” Neil demanded.

  “A ne’er-do-well, if ever there was one. He passed himself off as a friend of mine, but was only in it for what he could get.”

  “He took the gold?”

  “It looks that way. There goes my whiskey and cigars, unless you can see your way clear to purchasing some for me?”

  “Are you kidding? I don’t have two pennies to rub together. And what about this stupid safe? I spent money I don’t have on this. You’ll have to refund me.”

  “With what? I don’t have a florin to my name. Oh, well, these things are sent to try us.” And with that, Socky disappeared.

  Neil stared at the tin, then at the note, and finally at the safe he’d paid for with money borrowed from the shop. If that money wasn’t repaid by the next day, he’d be in all kinds of trouble. He’d be sacked for sure, and he might even be prosecuted for embezzlement.

  What was he going to do now?

  ***

  When Dorothy arrived at the bookshop. The books on the top shelf of the Crime section were all mixed up again—just as they had been on the two previous mornings.

  “I’ve got you now,” Dorothy said out loud.

  As soon as Molly arrived, Dorothy sent her next door to ask Nobby to come around. “Tell him to bring his iPad with him, so we can view the footage.”

  Molly did as she was asked, and a few minutes later returned with Nobby in tow.

  “Someone broke in again last night,” Dorothy said. “Can you bring up the footage from the webcam?”

  “Sure, no problem.” He put the iPad down onto the desk, and within less than a minute, he’d brought up the recording made during the night.

  “Fast forward it until you see someone.” Dorothy didn’t try to hide her impatience.

  The three of them were glued to the screen as the timestamp, in the top left corner of the screen, motored on.

  “There! Stop!” Dorothy pointed.

  Nobby slowed the video to normal speed.

  On screen, someone came into view, but they had their back to the camera.

  “Who is it?” Molly said. “I can’t see their face.” She leaned closer in.

  Just then, the person on screen turned to face the camera, but they were still no wiser because the intruder was wearing a Scream mask. He was looking straight at the camera, and wagged his finger in a kind of ‘naughty, naughty’ gesture. He or she then proceeded to rearrange the books on the top shelf.

  “He knew the camera was there,” Nobby said.

  “How do you know it was a ‘he’?” Molly asked.

  “I don’t. I just assumed.”

  Molly and Dorothy continued to stare at the screen, but Nobby seemed distracted.

  “Have you seen what he’s done to the books?” Nobby had wandered down to the Crime section.

  “Of course we have,” Dorothy snapped. “That’s why we asked you to set up the camera.”

  “But have you seen what the books spell out?”

  Both women hurried over to him.

  “Look at the first letter of each title.” Nobby pointed.

  Dorothy and Molly both read the letters out loud.

  “I-L-O-V-E-D-O-T.”

  “I love Dot?”

  ***

  Susan checked to make sure there was no one else in the car park.

  “Manic?” She felt so stupid, calling out to him. Why couldn’t the creepy little man use a normal name. “Manic, are you there?”

  There was no sound. The man was frustrating on so many levels, not least because there was no easy way to contact him.

  He obviously wasn’t around that morning, so Susan started for the lifts, but then almost jumped out of her skin when the smal
l, familiar figure stepped out from behind a pillar, right in front of her.

  “You called?”

  “Couldn’t you have just answered instead of scaring me half to death?”

  “Manic is busy today. What do you want?”

  “This bank story is dead in the water.”

  “Why so? Manic’s sources are never wrong.”

  “Maybe, but there isn’t enough for me to go on. I’ve spoken to both bank managers, and I do believe that something did happen, but neither of them is willing to talk. I’m not sure where I can go from here.”

  “Manic will be in touch later today. When he contacts you, you must come straight away.”

  “Come where?”

  “Wherever Manic tells you to come.”

  Chapter 12

  Nobby had gone back to Nerd Central, leaving Molly and Dorothy still staring at the top shelf of the Crime section.

  “It looks like you have a secret admirer,” Molly said.

  “I don’t need an admirer, and especially not one who breaks into shops during the night.” She hesitated. “Wait a minute! It’s Neil! It has to be him.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Think about it. He’s a wizard, so he probably used magic to get in here. And that mask—there are tons of those in his shop. It has to be Neil. I’m going to kill him!” She started for the door.

  “Dorothy! Wait! Shouldn’t you think this through first?”

  “I don’t need to. I’m going to kill him!”

  She hurried along the street, and burst into the fancy dress shop.

  “Morning!” Fable greeted her from behind the counter.

  “Where is he?”

  “Sorry? Who?”

  “Neil. Where is he?”

  “He’s in his office at the moment. Can I help?”

  Dorothy charged towards the back of the shop.

  “He said he was busy and wasn’t to be disturbed!” Fable called after her.

  Neil was at his desk, staring into space, when she burst through the door.

  “I suppose you think it’s funny!” she yelled at him.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t play the innocent with me!”

  “I have no clue what you’re going on about, and I’m really not in the mood for guessing games this morning.”