‘Too right,’ Mr Bunn said. ‘That ‘orrible man Bertie fired me twenty years ago. Said I was stealing logs to put on my fire.’
‘And were you?’ Mrs Fairchild enquired.
‘Well yeah, but that’s not the point. He shouldn’t have accused me, it made me angry. I haven’t had a proper job since.’
Mrs Fairchild rolled her eyes.
‘So I did my sums and worked out that if we stole just one delivery of ingredients to your posh school, we could sell them for thousands and be set up for life.’ Mrs Bunn’s eyes gleamed as she recalled her cunning plan. ‘And it would have worked out just fine too, if you lot hadn’t stuck your big noses in,’ she snapped, looking round.
‘Take them away, officers,’ Mrs Fairchild waved her hand dismissively, turning to walk away. ‘Poor Mrs Bunsen, having a sister like that. No wonder she’s never mentioned her before.’
‘I’ll get my ingredients back,’ Marcel said happily, watching an officer unload the box from the boat. ‘I’m so happy I could cry.’
‘Well please don’t,’ Mrs Fairchild tinkled cheerfully. ‘You have to help me get these brave girls back to bed. Come on Marcel, you can tell Franco that his name has been cleared tomorrow morning.’
‘Ah, leetle Franco,’ Marcel said, springing across the beach, back to his usual self. ‘I always knew he ‘ad nothing to do with it.’ He turned to me and Arabella. ‘Girls, ‘ow can I ever repay you for ‘elping to find my food?’
‘Er, actually, Marcel, I do have one idea,’ Arabella said...
Friday, 10th February
I’m completely stuffed, Diary!
What a meal! Basically, last night, Arabella asked Marcel if he could make the BIGGEST pile of Magic Mousse in the world in order to celebrate the smugglers being caught. And he did! It was a work of art – a mound of mousse six feet high, literally dripping with glittery Italian sweets (which the police had returned during the night) and chocolatey, honeycomb yumminess. There was enough for each pupil and teacher in the whole school to have second and even third helpings. I don’t think I’ll EVER need to eat again!
Mrs Bunsen actually came up to me and Arabella and SMILED! We’d been worried that she might be cross with us for helping to catch her smuggler sister but in actual fact she kept thanking us for catching the old crook! Mrs Bunsen said her sister had always been insanely jealous of her for being able to pass exams easily and get good jobs away from the boring dump of a town they’d been brought up in. She’d become really sick of Mrs Bunn’s behaviour and was glad her sister was now locked up safely, somewhere she might actually get proper help with all her jealousy problems. Fancy that!
When we got back to our dorm this evening feeling really full but very happy, there was a notice pinned to our door. It said,
Dearest Davina and Arabella,
I’m writing to you with news of recent teaching changes. Mr Fossil, your geography teacher, will be travelling back to Ni Island next week in order to conduct some research for a book he’s writing about endangered animals. So we are lucky enough to have the famous explorer, Dr Adam Aardvark, coming to teach Geography at Egmont Exclusive Boarding School for a month! Excitingly, he’ll be bringing his collection of wild animals and birds with him for you all to study. Apparently his boa constrictor snake is ever so friendly!
Congratulations on being brave detectives once again,
Much love as always,
Mrs Fairchild
‘
Davina Dupree Suspects a Smuggler Page 4
