Chapter 4 - Little Miss Nosey Parker...
I landed with a thump and looked straight into the big blue eyes of Abigail Hartley.
She gasped and her eyes bulged with a look of great disbelief.
I was shocked to see her there and wondered if she had any idea of what I was involved in.
“Abs,” I say, trying not to sound too nervous. “What are you doing in this part of the library?”
“I want to ask you the same question!” says Abs. “I’ve been following you for the last two days and something weird is going on.” And she blurts out, “You never miss a chess game. I want to know what you are up to Sam Greene!”
“Well it’s private,” I answer quickly as I don’t want to give out any information. It is all too weird even for me and how will I explain it all to Abs?
Abs gets all offended and pouts there and then.
“Well if you won’t tell me...then I am going to tell on you!” she says crossly.
I think to myself that she is using bribery and being very childish! But what can I do, she has caught me in the middle of something I can’t explain unless I include her in the secret. I don’t want to cause a scene in the library, so I say quietly, “Okay Abs I will tell you what is happening. It is exciting and scary all at the same time. You have to promise not to say a word. You also have to leave the library right now and meet me at my house this afternoon. Pretend that we are going to study together and we are working on a project. I can’t tell you anything here. I need you to leave right now and let me follow separately, so that no one sees us leaving together.”
Abs nods, I can see she is super excited about being part of the secret that I am going to share with her.
Abigail is very bright, top of the class and a very good chess player. It is difficult to fool Abs. I will have to think very carefully about how I tell her about Gardina and the mysterious disappearance of Gazania. Perhaps it will be a good idea to have another pair of eyes and ears on the case.
I sound a bit like Uncle Bert now, referring to the problem as a case, but then this is an investigation! If Abs joins forces with me perhaps we will have a better chance of finding Gazania. We need to find her soon and we need to find who is trying to harm the land of Gardina and why.
I try to get out of the library unnoticed but Miss Sorrel is waiting for me. She glares down her nose at me as I try to pass by the desk. Her nostrils flare and I feel very uncomfortable.
She makes a loud sniff and then a sneeze and then a sniff again.
“You smell musty, dusty like a dirty garden.” She sniffs again. “Like a dry pathway in a dry garden.”
I shudder a bit and try not to look stressed. How does she know so much? It is as if she has a second sense and I don’t like the way she is sniffing me. Surely that’s not normal for a grown woman!
“’Sorry Miss Sorrel, it’s nothing,” I say quickly. “Must be some dust on my shoes.”
I dash out of the library without a backward glance and rush home so I can get there before Abigail. I want to tidy my room before she gets here, it is a mess!
A knock on the front door tells me Abs has arrived. Mom and Dad are not home yet so I run downstairs. “Hi Abs, thanks for coming over and not making a fuss today.” Abs smirks.
Our home is small but comfortable. It is not as grand as some of the other homes that the Bedford View children come from, but it is just right for our family.
I take Abs upstairs to my room where I study and have my desk.
“This is where I do my work so when my mom comes home she will be glad we are studying together and getting our homework done. I think we should tell her we are working on a project together.
Abs nods her head but I can see she just wants to hear what I have discovered in the library. “Okay Sam, spit it out, what are you up to?”
“Abs,” I say very quietly and seriously. “’What I am about to tell you has to stay between us. It is confidential. LIVES ARE AT STAKE!”
Abigail nods ever so seriously, raises her eyebrows and waits to hear more.
“You may not believe this, but I promise you, it is all true and really happened to me. There are some scary things going on and I can’t explain anything yet. I think our library is in DANGER too!”
When I see I have her undivided attention...I tell Abs about going to the land of Gardinia, through a passage of time, in a book. That’s the best way to explain what happened. Then I tell her about the wolf, the King and his castle and everything else I can remember. Suddenly it feels good to talk to someone else.
Abigail is a good listener and her eyes look sad when I say how distraught the King and Queen are at losing their daughter. “That is such a sad story Sam, we have to help!”
Finally when I tell her about the giant moths she shivers and wrinkles up her nose in disbelief.
Finally I finsih telling her everything and let out a sigh of relief. I think she is going to laugh or call me a liar or a story-teller. She does nothing like that. She looks me square in the eyes and says, “Oh Sam, this is urgent, we have to help find Princess Gazania. We need to look at all the clues and try to trace her last steps to see how she disappeared.”
“Abs I’m so relieved you believe me, I was worried you might think I had gone totally bonkers! I couldn’t have a better friend as an investigator on my team.”
“What about the library Sam?” she asks. “You said the library was in danger too. What did you mean by that?”
Abs amazes me, she doesn’t miss much. I had not told her about the library but she remembered that it was part of the problem. I explain that I am very unsure of my suspicions but they revolve around Miss Sorrel and the fact that our real librarian left without a word. I don’t like Miss Sorrel and she does not like me. I feel I have to warn Abs that I have my suspicions. If we are going to be partners in this crime investigation then we need to be honest with each other.
“’Okay Abs, it’s time to think how we can start to solve this case.”
I feel very important when I call it a crime investigation. A bit like Uncle Bert and his stories of crime scene investigations. How did he organize his team? I try to remember and to think of the hundreds of TV shows I have watched while waiting for mom and dad to come home.
“’First we need to have a board up with all the characters involved and anything we know about them. One we can add to as we get more information. Uncle Bert says every little detail is important.” I can see Abs nodding and taking all this in carefully.
“A bit like a storyboard,” she says. “We did one in class the other day before we wrote our stories. It helps with the planning.”
I can see Abs is really trying to be helpful. I have a board in my room to pin-up my favorite posters. Mom doesn’t want me to stick things on the wall or the cupboards. It will be perfect for planning and writing as we get our information. We decide to use a code for the names so if my Mom comes in and reads what we have written, she won’t know what it is about. We decide on a picture storyboard with a flower representing Gazania in the middle.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a flash as we put up all the names and picture clues of every other person or animal that is part of the investigation. I had to tell Abs the persons, animals and places that were important. She carefully made picture clues for each part of the investigation. In the end we had a board full of all sorts of characters that were from Gardinia. We knew there was a connection to the library but that connection was not clear yet.
Just as Abs was about to speak, the doorbell rang and I knew it was Uncle Bert. He comes over three times a week for a bit of supper.
“Time to go Abs,” I say. “I will let you out and see you at school tomorrow. Remember not a word about this to anyone. We need to continue this investigation on our own.”
Abigail nods and I show her out of the house. I walk back inside and see Uncle Bert sitting quietly in the lounge. His favorite TV show has not started yet.
I
walk over to him and ask a quick question about investigating a crime. “Hi Uncle Bert,” I say cheerfully. “I am doing a project on being a detective and I want to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”
“Sure,” says Uncle Bert. “As long as your mother is not here, she gets very angry if I talk about my time as a detective. She prefers to hear about the entomology in the jungle!”
Uncle Bert chuckles and I see that I have a chance to ask something that will help Abs and I, the two detectives. I tell Uncle Bert about a project we are doing together and ask him what the most important part of the investigation is.”
Uncle Bert thinks for a moment and says, “The crime scene investigation! You must go back to the scene of the crime as soon as possible and gather all the evidence that you can. Then interview anyone who had anything to do with the crime. Even if you think they are innocent – suspect everyone and dig deep for your information. Leave no stone unturned,” he says in a very serious voice.
I have a little chuckle to myself as the investigation is taking place in a garden and there will be many stones to turn and look at. What will creep out from under the stones and rocks? We will have to go back to Gardinia once more but this time with a purpose.
Crime scene investigators ready, willing and able.
Diary of a 6th Grade Spy - Book 1 - Zero to Hero Page 5
