Winning BIG, a little love story for all ages

by Judith Keim

  Theodore clenched his paws. “What’s so funny? They might shut down the hotel, and then we’ll all be out in the alley. The Winston gives us a decent place to live and work. Without it, where would we be?”

  Bandit’s laughter came to an abrupt stop. His expression turned serious. “Like, man, I didn’t know anything about The Winston shutting down. I wasn’t trying to kill anyone, just make ’em sick. That’s all.”

  Theodore’s legs folded. He plopped down in a chair opposite Bandit. “You’re the one who made Juliet and Zanna sick?”

  Lila put her fists on her hips and glared at Bandit. “Just what did you do to her?”

  Bandit held up a paw in defense. “Whoa! I didn’t say anything about Zanna! Why would I want to harm her? My human loves her. You heard him. He asked her to marry him!”

  Theodore glared at him. “You’d better tell us exactly what’s going on, Bandit! This is serious.”

  “Okay, Ted. Here’s how it is. You know how pushy Juliet is, right? I overheard her and Sam talking. Sam was about to give in to her demands that she be given the starring role opposite Rocky. He even set up a television interview for her. I couldn’t let that happen. Right, Lila?”

  Lila was in on it? Theodore turned to her. Her white furry cheeks were highlighted in bright red. “You knew about this?”

  “No, no, no. I told Bandit how much Zanna liked Rocky and how I hoped they’d get together. I even ...”

  Theodore turned away from her, not even letting her finish. It was one more instance of Lila and Bandit being a team and leaving him out. “Go on, Bandit. Tell me the rest.”

  “See, it’s like I had to do something. Rocky got real mad when he found out Juliet might take Zanna’s place. He said it might mean the end of his career because no one would believe he was in love with Juliet, that even he couldn’t act that well.”

  “So what did you do? Poison Juliet?” Theodore could barely keep his temper in control.

  “Yo, man! I didn’t poison her! I just put a little Ipecac in her sleeping pills. That stuff doesn’t kill you; it just makes you throw up.”

  Lila clasped her cheeks with her paws. “Oh, no! I wanted Zanna to be the star, but not like this.”

  Theodore narrowed his eyes at Bandit. “You say you did nothing to Zanna, but why did you attack Cynthia?”

  Bandit’s jaw dropped. “Whoa! I so did not do that! Why would I?”

  “Someone knocked her out. We have to find answers or we may all be out on the street.”

  “What about Maurice?” said Bandit. “There might be a whole lot more to him than a round belly.”

  Theodore nodded thoughtfully. Maurice seemed harmless, but detectives knew that sometimes the people who seemed the most innocent were the ones who did all the dirty deeds.

  “Let’s go find him,” said Lila.

  Theodore shook his head. “You stay here with Bandit. I’ll go by myself.”

  Lila’s adorable pink eyes showed her hurt. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “No, uh, yeah, I thought the two of you might want to be alone,” stammered Theodore, surprised by her reaction.

  “Alone with Bandit? No way. I’m going with you and that’s that,” Lila announced. “We detectives have to stick together.”

  Bandit waved them away. “See you later. I’ve got something I have to do.”

  “You’d better not be up to any more trouble,” warned Theodore. “C’mon, Lila, we have to hurry. It’s almost lunch time, and I want to speak to Maurice before then.”

  Theodore headed up the pipes.

  “Do you know where we’re going?” asked Lila, hurrying to keep pace with him.

  Theodore nodded. “Sam Horner is right next door to Juliet. That’s where Maurice probably is.” He scampered through the tangle of pipes as fast as he could. Catching suspects off guard was sometimes how detectives got confessions.

  When they reached the outside of Sam’s room, Theodore pointed to a large round hole. “Look! Maurice has made it easy for us.”

  Theodore entered the hole and found himself in the living room of Sam’s suite. Lila came up behind him. “Wow! This is even bigger than Juliet’s suite!”

  A dining room table set with two place settings sat at one end of the room. Above it, hung a crystal chandelier. The glass dangling from the fixture sparkled in the sunlight that shone through the sliding glass doors that led to a balcony along the length of the room. Rainbows formed by the crystals danced in the air. Theodore sucked in his breath. It was beautiful.

  Lila poked Theodore in the ribs. “There he is.” She pointed an accusing finger to the shadow beneath the table. Maurice was busy, gobbling up what Theodore suspected were the last of the crumbs from a late breakfast.

  Theodore held a finger to his lips, prepared to spring a surprise. But Lila was already marching toward Maurice, waving a finger at him. “All right, we’ve got you now.”

  Theodore rolled his eyes and hurried to catch up to her before she ruined everything.

  “What are you two doing here?” asked Maurice, licking a crumb from his lips. “This is private property. My human doesn’t like it when anyone else is here.”

  “Then why are there two place settings at the table?” scoffed Theodore. “Does he eat two meals at a time?” A good detective noticed things like that.

  Maurice’s expression turned sheepish. “He had a breakfast meeting. So what?”

  Theodore worked to keep calm under Maurice’s scornful stare. “Look, we’re not here to talk about Sam; we’re here to talk to you.”

  Maurice’s eyes widened. “Me? Why? I didn’t do anything.”

  “We think you did,” said Lila.

  Theodore held up his hand. “Please, Lila. Let me explain to Maurice exactly what’s going on.” He proceeded to tell Maurice about the general manager’s concern about the owners’ threat to close the hotel if business did not pick up. “He’s blaming it on the bad press the hotel is getting because two famous stars have taken ill. The hotel food is being blamed for it.”

  Maurice patted his stomach. “There’s nothing wrong with the hotel food. It’s among the best.”

  “We know that,” said Lila. “We’ve already found out...”

  Theodore had to shut Lila up before she ruined this investigation. He stomped on her tail.

  “SQUEEEEK!” She whipped around, holding onto her tail. “Why did you do that?”

  Theodore ignored the glare she gave him and continued. “So, Maurice, we’re talking to all the mice in the building to find out what they might have heard or seen about Zanna and Juliet getting sick. Any reason at all to think that someone might have poisoned them?”

  Theodore kept his voice light though he’d already noticed the way Maurice’s eyes had shifted away from him.

  “We ...” Lila began and stopped again when Theodore lifted his foot.

  “We believe Zanna might have been given sleeping pills. Know anything about it?”

  Maurice slowly nodded his head. “You’d better talk to Bandit. I’m pretty sure he’s involved in something nefarious. I’m positive he had something to do with Juliet being sick.”

  “We ...” Lila began and stopped when Theodore glared at her.

  “We’ll speak to him about it,” said Theodore. “But, what about you?”

  “Me? Well, I ... Well, I ...”

  Lila stomped her foot. “Just tell us!”

  Maurice sank down onto the Oriental rug and gazed up at them with a worried expression. “Well, it was like this. Zanna came in here demanding that Sam stop teasing her about the role in the movie. She either got it or she didn’t. And if she didn’t get it, Rocky promised to leave with her. I had to let her know that my human shouldn’t be treated that way. She was a nobody until Sam put her in a movie and made her a star. It was a warning. That’s all.”

  Theodore blinked with surprise.

  Lila placed her paws on her hips and faced Maurice. “My Zanna is a bigger star than Sam Horner c
ould ever make her. Don’t forget it.”

  “Star or not, she’s got to cooperate. If Sam doesn’t get this film made, it’s over for him. Then where will I be?”

  “Out on the street with the rest of us. This foolishness has to stop,” said Theodore in clipping words. He was as angry as he’d ever been. “And by the way, what were you doing in the conference room the other day?”

  “Huh? Conference room? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would I go there? Food is served in the cafeteria.”

  “Okay. No more trouble from you. Is that clear?”

  Maurice nodded. “Sorry. I was just trying to help my human out.”

  “Help yourself, don’t you mean?” snapped Lila. “No wonder there’s never any scraps left in the hotel suites for the rest of us. You eat them all. You’re supposed to share with the rest of us. C’mon, Theodore. Let’s go.”

  Just before Theodore slipped through the hole to leave, he turned around. Maurice was busily searching for scraps as if nothing bad had ever happened.

  Lila’s eyes shone. “We’re a great detective team, huh? Did you see how easily I made him talk?”

  Theodore couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. When Lila’s face lit up like that she was ... well, totally adorable.

  “Now that we know there’s no real killer here at the hotel, the investigation is over. Right, Theodore?”

  Theodore shook his head. “Don’t forget the culprit who hit Cynthia. There’s a bad mouse among us. That’s a mystery of its own—a mystery I intend to solve.”

  Lila nodded. “Right. So we’re still a team?” Her pink eyes pleaded with him.

  Theodore sighed. “I guess so. But we have only two days left to find the guilty one.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Theodore headed back to the cafeteria with Lila. As he passed the entrance to the mouse hotel, he stopped and peered out at the doorman’s post. Beau Beady glanced over at him and gave him a triumphant grin. Theodore’s stomach curled. Beau was so busy showing off he didn’t even notice the grandmotherly mouse Theodore had helped inside earlier. Now, without Beau’s help, she teetered onto the sidewalk alone.

  “What do you want, Theodore?” said Beau. “No loitering around the entrance. You know the rules.”

  Theodore knew the rules all right, and they didn’t include being nasty to the other mice.

  “I don’t think the new doorman is very nice,” huffed Lila as they went on their way. “He acts like he owns the place.”

  Theodore nodded, but could say nothing. He’d lost his job fair and square. The doorman was expected to be at his post according to his schedule, and he’d failed miserably. If he hadn’t been caught up in solving mysteries, he’d still have his job, and his family would be safe.

  Theodore and Lila entered the cafeteria to find it abuzz with conversation.

  Bandit quickly joined them.

  “What’s happening?” asked Lila.

  “It’s the Producer. They had to call an ambulance for him. Food poisoning. Everyone is upset. A meeting of all the mice has been called.”

  The cafeteria began filling. Even Beau Beady found a place in the crowd.

  One of Theodore’s sisters rushed up to him. “Is it true, Theodore? Are we going to get kicked out of here?” A tear trickled down her furry cheek. “Where are we going to live? What will we do?”

  Theodore gave her a quick hug. “Don’t worry! We’ll find a way to end all this confusion.”

  She looked up at him with adoring eyes. “I knew you would help us.”

  Theodore drummed up an encouraging smile, but inside he wondered how the hotel could survive this latest blow.

  Lila tugged on his arm and gave him a worried look. “Theodore, you’ve got to do something! Everyone’s in a panic.”

  Theodore jumped up on a chair. “Attention, everybody! We are not about to kicked out of the hotel just yet! Instead of talk of packing up your belongings, we should be discussing ways to help the hotel.”

  “Yeah?” Beau said with a sneer, brushing a speck of dust off his uniform. “Just what are you planning to do, Theodore? You’re not even the doorman anymore.”

  “Right!” came another cry. “We’re just mice. How can we stop the humans from fighting and making a mess of things?”

  “It isn’t just the humans ...”began Lila.

  Theodore glared at her.

  Lila glanced at him, covered her mouth with her paws, and remained silent.

  Theodore didn’t want anyone to know there was a bad mouse among them, someone willing to interfere with his investigation—an investigation meant to save the hotel. Lila was the cutest mouse he’d ever seen, but without a doubt, she was the worst detective ever!

  Theodore cleared his throat. “Everyone needs to remain calm. I’ve been looking into this matter and I feel it’s important to carry on with our duties. However, under no circumstances should any of us be seen by the humans. Another investigation of the hotel kitchen is sure to follow this latest development.”

  “Why should we listen to you, Theodore?” challenged Beau.

  Grandfather walked up next to the chair and faced the crowd. “Theodore may no longer be the doorman but he’s always shown a rare sense of responsibility. Look how he’s helped keep his family together. He has no reason to mislead us. Right, Theodore?”

  Theodore nodded, but now he had two mysteries to solve, and time was running out. His mind whirled as he stepped down off the chair. Bandit and Maurice had admitted to making Juliet and Zanna sick. Who wanted Sam Horner out of the way? And who had hurt Cynthia?

  Theodore was pretty sure neither Lila nor Cynthia would be after Sam. And Maurice was too busy finding crumbs to get into too much trouble. So who could it be? Earlier Bandit had left him, saying he had to take care of something. Had he meant poisoning Sam?

  Bandit approached him, flung an arm around Lila, and said, “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”

  Fighting a stab of despair at the smile on Lila’s face, Theodore watched them walk away.

  Theodore’s mother approached him. “Are you okay, son? You look upset.”

  He shrugged. He couldn’t tell anyone, especially his mother, how he felt about Lila.

  She patted his back. “Remember, you’re not to mingle with the guest mice. We are just part of the hotel staff.”

  Hotel staff? He didn’t even have a job anymore. He hung his head. He had nothing to offer anyone.

  Grandfather had once told Theodore when he felt bad about himself, it was time to think of helping others. Dragging himself out of his misery at being a “nobody”, Theodore headed up to Sam Horner’s set of rooms.

  He easily crawled through the round hole Maurice had made, entered the living area of the Producer’s suite, and came to a quick stop. A loud raspy noise filled the air in noisy waves. It took a moment for Theodore to realize it was the sound of snoring.

  He entered the room on tiptoe and glanced around. The sound was coming from the dining room table.

  Theodore raced over to the table, up one of its wooden carved legs, and let out a sigh. Maurice lay on his back in the middle of a large platter of cold meats and cheeses. With each snorting breath, Maurice’s stomach rose and fell, up and down, like a beach ball riding tall ocean waves.

  Avoiding several platters of food and a large tureen of soup, Theodore hurried over to Maurice and shook him none too gently. “Wake up! Wake up! You’re putting the rest of us in danger!”

  Maurice opened his eyes and gave Theodore a blank look. “Huh?”

  “Get up right now! We need to get out of here before some human sees us!”

  Theodore tugged on Maurice’s arm, but he sank back down on the plate, almost pulling Theodore on top of him.

  The sound of someone at the door made Theodore’s pulse pound. “C’mon!” He grabbed hold of Maurice’s paws, yanked him upright, and pushed him to the edge of the table. “Jump, Maurice!”

  “I can’t ...” Maurice s
tarted to say, and went flying through the air. He landed with a thump on the soft carpet beside Theodore. “Why’d you do that?”

  “Room Service! Is anyone here?” came the call from the doorway.

  Theodore clutched one of Maurice’s paws and took off.

  “I can’t ... move ... that fast ...” Maurice’s breath came out in gasps as they sprinted across the room.

  They’d almost reached the hole in the wall when they heard a shout.

  “Look here!”

  Theodore’s heart stuttered. He turned to find two servers from the kitchen inspecting the table.

  “If I’m not mistaken, those are little paw prints,” muttered the male server. He squinted at the white tablecloth.

  “Paw prints? At The Winston Hotel? Impossible!” said the woman with him.

  “I’m not so sure ...” the man said. “We’d better take a good look around.”

  Theodore pushed Maurice into the hole in the baseboard and slid in behind him. As he peeked at the humans from inside the hole, Theodore’s mouth turned dry. If it was discovered mice had actually been in the Presidential Suite of all places, they wouldn’t even have time to pack their things before being attacked by exterminators.

  “We can’t take the time to go looking for trouble,” the woman said. “The hotel is cutting down on staff, and if we don’t do our job and get out of here in a hurry, we might be next.”

  The man nodded. “You’re right. Let’s clean up this mess and return to the kitchen. We’re due to help serve a banquet.”

  Theodore clasped his paws in prayerful thanks and turned back to Maurice, who was slumped against one of the pipes behind the wall. Anger rose in Theodore all over again. He shook a finger at Maurice.

  “If I hadn’t happened to come along when I did, you might have been discovered. Any idea how many other lives would have been destroyed by that?”

  Maurice’s tan cheeks turned dark. “I’m sorry. Honest. It’s just that I hate to see food go to waste. Know what I mean?”

  Theodore sighed. It would go to waste all right—Maurice’s waist. “I need the truth, Maurice. Did you poison the Producer?”