by Adam Frost
“Now how about you give me what I came for?” asked Wily. “A sample of Utopia.”
The princess shrugged. “OK, but hold your nose. Tightly.”
Wily clamped his paw over his nose.
The princess placed a wad of cloth in each of her nostrils. Then she poured a tiny amount of Utopia into a plastic bottle.
Even though he was holding his nose tightly, Wily could detect a strange, sweet smell. He felt his eyes rolling backwards. He felt his stomach lurch. He was overwhelmed with feelings of joy.
“W-wow,” he stammered.
“It doesn’t take much,” said the princess. “That’s why it can never be used.” She handed Wily the sample. “So guard this with your life.”
Wily nodded.
“And perhaps when you’ve finished Adolfo’s case, you can help me solve mine,” she added.
“What do you mean?” asked Wily.
“I had an elegant young suitor,” the princess said with a sigh. “He sent me flowers every day. Wrote me letters every week. And then two weeks ago, he vanished.”
“Who was he?” asked Wily.
“I don’t know – that’s the problem,” said the princess. “He always wore a mask. That’s why I hold these masked balls, hoping he’ll come back.”
Wily started thinking. Could the princess’s suitor and Adolfo’s thief be the same person?
“Did he ever mention Utopia?” Wily asked.
The princess frowned. “Yes. He asked if it really existed. I said it was a secret, but that we’d have no secrets once we were married.”
Wily was excited – this sounded suspicious. “Do you still have any of his letters?”
“Of course,” said the princess. She took one out of her dress. “This is the first postcard he sent me.”
Wily pulled out his magnifying glass and examined the handwriting. To my beautiful Venetian angel. That was fairly neutral, he thought. Then he looked at the postmark on the front: PISA.
Wily considered his main suspects. Rou Red Panda. Joey Weasel. Bianca Badger.
“While he wasn’t looking, I took a lock of his hair, too,” said the princess, handing the detective a tuft of hair from inside a locket.
Wily studied the lock of hair. It was black and white, like a badger’s…
“And what was his voice like?” he asked.
“Hmm, quite soft and gentle, considering he was male,” said the princess. “But that may have been because he was talking through a mask. It muffles the voice, you see.”
Wily nodded. All the clues pointed to Bianca. It looked like she had tried to get the bottle of Utopia by charming the princess. She’d disguised herself as a handsome stranger, but then the princess had said they’d have to get married and that was the end of that. Bianca had no choice but to steal the recipe from Adolfo instead.
Bianca worked for the Pisan Gazette. Why would she want the Utopia recipe?
Wily smiled and held up the perfume sample. “Thank you for this, Princess. I have what I need. Now I’ll let you get back to your party.”
Outside on the main canal, Wily hopped into a gondola.
“Train station, please,” he said to the gondolier, a pelican in a straw hat. Then he called Albert on his smartphone.
The mole’s face appeared on the screen.
“Albert, I’ve got the sample of Utopia. Can you send a messenger drone to meet me?”
“Of course,” said Albert. “It’ll be there in five minutes. Do you need any other gadgets?”
“Not yet,” said Wily. “I’m trying to keep a low profile – using trains and taxis … and gondolas.”
“What’s next?” asked Albert.
“Bianca Badger has become my main suspect,” said Wily. “So I’m going to Pisa to find her.”
“Why would a journalist want a perfume recipe?” asked Albert.
“I’m not sure yet,” said Wily. “Maybe she wants to sell it to make money. Maybe she thinks it will generate news stories and she’ll get all the exclusives.”
At that moment, the pelican raised his voice. “Sorry to interrupt, Signor,” he said, “but I think we’re being followed.”
Wily glanced over his shoulder and saw an animal in a hyena mask in the gondola behind.
“OK, Albert, gotta go,” said Wily. “Send that drone as soon as you can.”
“Shall I speed up?” asked the pelican.
“If you can,” said Wily.
The pelican nodded and started to paddle twice as hard and twice as fast. The gondola behind them sped up, too.
Wily stared at the hyena mask and tried to puzzle out who was behind it. But the animal was wearing a black cloak covering their body.
“Is this as fast as you can go?” he asked.
The pelican nodded and puffed.
“OK, then get to the Grand Canal as quickly as you can,” said Wily.
The pelican did as he was asked. But by the time they got there, the animal in the hyena mask was only a few metres behind them.
Wily looked around. There were gondolas on every side. He paid the pelican and then hopped on to another gondola.
“Sorry,” said Wily to the animals in that gondola. Then he leaped on to another gondola and then another.
The hyena started to follow.
Wily glanced over his shoulder, grabbed a gondolier’s oar then, using the oar like a pole vault, he flung himself across the water and landed in between two nanny goats in a speedboat. At the same time, he heard a buzzing noise overhead. Wily looked up and saw the drone that Albert had sent. It was a small black box with a propeller on top of it.
“How exciting,” said one of the nanny goats. “Are you being chased by the police?”
“Something like that,” said Wily, looking at the hyena, who was about to pole-vault across the water towards him.
“Leave it to us,” said the nanny goat, shifting the boat into reverse. “And we’ll save your friend, too.” She started steering the speedboat towards the hyena.
“No! That’s not my friend…” said Wily, as the hyena loomed closer.
Quick as a flash, the detective grabbed the drone. He took the Utopia sample out of his pocket and dropped it into the black box. Then, using the number panel on the side, he punched in the coordinates of Adolfo’s mansion and pressed a large green button. The drone shot into the air just as the hyena landed on top of him.
At least I’ll find out who the villain is, thought Wily, as he reached out and grabbed the mask. But there was nothing behind it. Instead Wily heard a loud splash. He looked into the canal and saw a dark streak in the water. With the sample of Utopia gone, the villain had decided to vanish, too.
Had it been Bianca Badger? Or someone working for her?
Wily turned to look at the nanny goats. “Can this thing get me to Pisa?” he asked.
Wily arrived in Pisa harbour the next morning. He thanked the nanny goats and headed straight for the offices of the Pisan Gazette.
“I need to speak to Bianca Badger,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” said the receptionist, “she’s not in the office at the moment.”
“Where is she, then?” said Wily.
The receptionist looked suspicious. “Who’s asking?”
Wily quickly flashed a fake ID card at the receptionist. “I work for the Italian National Lottery. Miss Badger has won a sizeable prize. But so far she hasn’t claimed it.”
The receptionist gazed at Wily. “Really? How much are we talking?”
“I can only discuss this with Miss Badger. But it’s OK – she still has sixty minutes left to claim it. Please tell her to call me at—”
“Oh, no,” the receptionist interrupted. “I’ll find her for you now. I can track her company phone using this clever gizmo on my desk.”
She tapped a number into a panel. “So … she got back from Milan yesterday. And went straight to… How strange.”
“What’s strange?” asked Wily.
“She spent the night at
the Leaning Tower.”
Five minutes later, Wily was staring at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There were tourists milling around the bottom of the tower and some at the top, enjoying the view.
The detective breathed in, trying to pick up on the scent of badger, but there were too many other smells in the air.
What was Bianca doing here? If this was her hideout, it was a strange place to choose.
Wily bought a ticket and climbed up the tower. He looked in every room and sniffed along the colonnades. No Bianca. Maybe this was a false trail. But as he walked back down the staircase, a thought struck him: Why is the tower leaning? Something underground must be causing it.
Back outside, Wily looked around carefully. Then he saw it – a patch of grass that was a different shade from the rest. He took out his magnifying glass and examined the patch more closely. It was a flap of fake grass!
Wily made sure no one was looking, then slowly lifted up the flap. Underneath there was a hole. A badger hole? There was only one way to find out.
He dived in and found himself tumbling head over heels down a dirt chute. He landed with a thump on a heap of boxes and pots.
Feeling slightly dazed, Wily stood up. He was in a large underground burrow and he seemed to be alone. He looked at the objects he had collided with.
Two tubs of black sticky stuff.
A metal box marked “Perfume recipes”.
A wooden crate full of maps.
A small safe with a timer taped to the top.
Wily started by opening the metal box, but it was empty. He looked inside the wooden crate and saw maps of Venice and Milan covered with red dots. He also found a detailed drawing of the streets around Adolfo’s house and a floorplan of Adolfo’s mansion with a cross in his bedroom.
So this was the villain’s hideout. But was Bianca the villain? He breathed in – there were lots of different scents, and one of them was definitely badger.
So where was she?
Wily picked up one of the tubs of black stuff and thought about what it might be. One was empty. One was half empty. He looked around, but there was no sign of the black stuff covering anything in the burrow.
Finally, Wily glanced at the safe. There were wires coming out of the back. He guessed that if anyone tried to open it, some kind of bomb would go off. Albert would know how to deal with it.
Wily was just getting out his phone when he heard a deep snarling voice behind him.
“Hold it right there, Wily Fox.”
Wily turned round slowly. His shoulders were tense, his teeth were clenched. Then he saw who it was and relaxed.
It was Detective Julius Hound from PSSST – the Police Spy, Sleuth and Snoop Taskforce. Next to him was Sergeant Sybil Squirrel.
Julius and Wily always seemed to end up investigating the same case. And Julius didn’t like it one bit.
“What are you doing here?” barked Julius.
“What are you doing here?” replied Wily.
“Official police business,” said Julius. “Top secret.”
“Important client business,” said Wily. “Very hush-hush.”
“Honestly, you two,” said Sybil Squirrel, “the cases must be connected. Otherwise, why would we all end up in a burrow underneath the Leaning Tower of Pisa?”
Wily grunted. Julius snarled.
“Can’t you put your egos to one side and work together for a change?” said Sybil.
Wily huffed and then said, “OK, Sybil, if you must know, I’m looking into the theft of a perfume recipe.”
Julius burst out laughing. “That sounds serious. What else has gone missing? Priceless shampoo? Precious lemon-scented wipes?”
Wily blinked, refusing to react.
“Well, we are investigating an attempted bank robbery,” said Julius. “We followed the suspects’ scent here. Three crafty scoundrels, known as the Black Paw Gang. Let’s have a look at what they’ve left behind.” He picked up one of the tubs of black stuff.
“I’ve been through everything already,” said Wily. “They’re linked to my case, not yours. A plan of Adolfo Aroma’s house, an empty box marked ‘Perfume recipes’.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” said Julius, sniffing around the safe. “And we need to bust this thing open. It could have vital evidence inside.”
“OK, but it’s clearly rigged to explode,” said Wily. “Let me call Albert – he knows how to defuse bombs.”
“I don’t need the help of a silly mole,” growled Julius. He jerked one of the wires coming out of the timer. It gave a loud beep and started counting down from ten.
Wily sighed. “That’s blown it. Come on, Sybil, let’s get out of here.”
“It’s probably just a bluff,” said Julius.
But Wily and Sybil were already scampering back up the chute.
They got out just in time. There was a muffled boom from under the Leaning Tower. Julius flew out of the burrow like a cannonball, landing with a whoompf in a nearby tree.
At the same time, the Leaning Tower lurched to the right … and came to a stop – standing straight up.
“Looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa is now just the Tower of Pisa,” said Wily.
A moaning sound came from the shops and tourist stalls around the tower. Shopkeepers were staring up at the now-vertical tower. Some of them were tearing up their postcards and others were flinging their souvenir T-shirts to the ground.
One of them was wailing, “I’m ruined!”
“Time I left,” said Wily. “Good luck, Sybil.”
The detective disappeared into a crowd of tourists and headed down an alleyway. He had to work out where to go next. Bianca – if she was the villain – hadn’t been in her hideout. And now the evidence was gone.
A moment later, his phone started to buzz. It was a video call from Adolfo. “Everything OK, Mr Fox?” the perfume maker asked.
“Having a blast,” replied Wily. “Did you get the Utopia sample?”
“Yes,” said Adolfo. “I’ve analyzed the ingredients and you’re right – it contains something very special, which could lead us to the thief.”
“What’s that?” asked Wily.
“Hai lee niffi. It’s a rare purple flower that only grows on the highest slopes of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in China,” said Adolfo.
“Sounds like that’s where I’m heading next, then,” said Wily. “And has Paulo found any more clues?”
“Ah, he’s no longer with us, I’m afraid,” said Adolfo. “Said he’d let me down … that he wasn’t cut out for a job in crime prevention, after all.”
Wily thought for a moment. “Maybe he was a bit careless, but I didn’t think he’d give up so easily. Have you found a replacement? You need to protect that Utopia sample.”
“Don’t worry, Mr Fox,” said Adolfo, “I’ve got rid of the perfume already. And I’ll advise Princess Parmigiano to do the same.”
Wily hung up and immediately put in a video call to Albert. The detective hadn’t been to China in years – not since the Case of the Seven Stuffed Pandas – and he was going to need some help.
When Albert’s face appeared on screen, Wily told him the latest developments.
“The hai lee niffi flower?” said Albert. “Never heard of it. And there’s nothing about it online. But for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, you’ll need to fly to Chengdu. I’ll make sure there are tickets and a fake passport waiting for you at Pisa airport.”
“Thanks, Albert,” said Wily.
“I’ve got a few new gadgets that might help you, too,” Albert added, his tiny eyes twinkling, “but it’s probably best to show you those in person. I’ll meet you in Chengdu. And there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Why do you have black stuff all over your face?” said Albert.
Wily rubbed his cheek with his paw. “Oh, it’s from the explosion.”
He looked at the goo on his paw.
“Hang on, it’s face paint,” he murmured. “The stuff actors us
e. Designed to stick to fur. Why would the villain need face paint?”
Perhaps he would find the answer in China.
During the flight, Wily went over the facts of the case. Bianca Badger appeared to be the obvious suspect – her quick exit from Milan, her mobile phone signal at the Leaning Tower, the scent of badger in the underground hideout. But … but … what was the black face paint for? And why hadn’t Bianca been in her hideout? Was there something obvious that he hadn’t seen yet?
“Earplugs, sir?” said a high-pitched voice above him.
“Excuse me?”
“Earplugs?” It was the flight attendant, a tall stork with bright purple lipstick. “They stop your ears popping during the flight.”
Wily took the earplugs and looked at them. They were long tubes of yellow sponge. He put them in his ears and blinked. Extraordinary. He couldn’t hear a thing.
He was about to drift off to sleep when he noticed something else. With his eyes shut and his ears blocked, he was suddenly aware of all the smells on the plane. And he smelled something that made him jump.
Adolfo.
No. Not Adolfo. Something or someone who had been at Adolfo’s launch party.
He opened his eyes and stood up in his seat.
He glanced at the animals on the flight. He saw shrews, a mongoose, six pandas, two sheep and an assortment of other animals, but nobody he recognized. He sat back down again and tried to pick up the scent once more. It was gone.
When they landed in Chengdu, Wily lingered by the baggage reclaim area, watching as the animals from his flight came through, trying to work out if any of the faces were familiar. There were the shrews, the pandas, the mongoose again, but no Bianca Badger, no Rou Red Panda and no Joey Weasel. What wasn’t he seeing?
