The Petpet Detectives: Case of the Runaway Raindorf - Part Two

     "Sabra?" asked Luna.

     "Detectives?" the Cybunny said softly.

     "Yes, Miss," I answered, immediately switching from my whiney mood to polite. "We're here to help relocate your Raindorf."

     "Oh, thank goodness," Sabra said, putting a paw to her heart. "Please come inside."

     I brushed the snow off my white feathers and wiped my feet on the doormat. As the three of us (Charlie was sitting on my head, of course) stepped inside, I felt a wave of heat. It made me want to curl up and fall asleep on the rug.

     The wood house was small, but cozy. A fire crackled in the stone fireplace and a Furry sofa and matching chairs were across from each other. There was a nice blue and orange rug that was lying in the doorway and a couple of lamps were on the table and shelves. The house had a warm and welcoming appearance.

     "You must be tired from hiking, please have a seat and I'll fetch you some hot Borovan." Sabra gestured towards the Furry sofa and disappeared into the kitchen while the three of us took seats. Charlie, the pea Chia, climbed down onto the armrest.

     The four of us discreetly looked around for anything that appeared unusual, but there was no trace of clues. As Sabra came into the room carrying a tray Luna pulled out the letter from her Faerie Back Pack. The Cybunny set down the tray and we all took cups of hot Borovan, thanking her.

     "Well, let's get started!" Damien began eagerly, setting down his mug on the coaster.

     "Right. According to your letter," Luna brandished the letter we received two days ago, "you came home to find the Raindorf gone and your sister collapsed on the floor?"

     "Yes," Sabra answered, taking a seat in the chair.

     I took a sip of the Borovan and sighed. After I was warmed up I turned to our client. "Where were you going?"

     "To the Slushie shop with some of my friends to get Lime Slushies. If you wait too late the Lime flavored ones are gone," said Sabra, "I told Kara that there was dinner on the table for her."

     "Your sister?"

     "Yes."

     "And when you came home…?"

     "I saw that the door was open," the striped Cybunny told me. "I was afraid-it was much too cold to have the door open and I was scared that something had happened to Kara because she would have closed the door if the wind blew it open. I came inside and Kara was on the floor wearing a jacket, like she had gone outside."

     "And that's when you noticed that Comet was missing?" Luna continued, jotting down notes on her notepad.

     "No, no, Kara was talking to me, but her voice sounded hoarse and she told me that something was wrong and Comet was gone. That's when I noticed that there was Raindorf fur all over her jacket."

     I raised my eyebrows and nodded. It was good to know that Sabra was willing to tell us anything about Comet and Kara.

     "Why didn't your sister come with you to the Slushie Shop?" Damien asked.

     "First of all Kara hates Slushies, and second of all I needed her to watch Comet."

     Pause. Luna's pen continued moving across the paper.

     "May we speak with your sister?" I asked.

     Sabra nodded and crossed into what looked like a bedroom. She returned later, followed gradually by a yellow Wocky. The Wocky shyly sat down in the remaining chair and bowed her head.

     "Kara?" Luna asked. The Wocky nodded, but didn't look up.

     I decided that we better go easy on the Wocky, since her eyes were glossy and she seemed on the verge of having a total breakdown. I introduced myself and the rest of the group.

     Gently, I asked, "Can you tell us what happened?"

     There was a moment of awkward silence, but thankfully, Kara looked up and started to answer,

     "Well, it was around dinner time when Sabra said she wanted to get a Slushie down in Happy Valley." The Wocky paused and looked up at me. I nodded and she continued, "I sat down to eat dinner and agreed to watch Comet. He was sleeping in his petpet bed," Kara motioned to the bed next to the wall, "I ate dinner and when I started to go into the other room, I felt… tired and dizzy."

     My ears perked up. Kara stopped talking, and Luna filled the silence, "And you felt this right after dinner?"

     "Yes, and when I woke up," Kara's voice cracked, "Comet wasn't in the house and the front door was open!"

     "Were you eating any different food?" I asked, "Such as something you never tried before?"

     "No…" Kara said slowly, "Just Carnupepper Soup and an Achyfi. We make the soup all of the time and I drink Achyfi every night."

     "Was the Carnupepper Soup made fresh?" Damien inquired.

     "No… it was in a can. So was the Achyfi."

     "Actually," Sabra interrupted, "The Achyfi wasn't in a can. I poured it in a glass for you."

      "Oh…" Kara said, "Yeah, that's right."

      Whilst the sisters turned to glance at each other, my eyes darted towards Luna, who was sitting next to me. She was still scribbling furiously in her notebook. Damien's hat was resting in his lap and the royal Aisha's brow was furrowed in concentration. I knew what I was about to ask next was going to be a hard question. I turned to Kara.

      "And how, exactly, did you get Raindorf fur all over your jacket?"

      "I…I don't know," she whispered.

      Keeping my tone calm, I asked, "Why were you wearing the jacket in the first place?"

      "I told you I don't know!" Kara replied, her eyes brimming with tears.

      The situation was looking pretty bad. Sabra seemed to be the sensible one of the two; I had that impression from the minute we walked in. Kara, on the other paw, seemed a little whinier… perhaps that was because she knew she was the prime suspect. I turned to Luna, who asked the next question,

      "So, jumping to conclusion, the Raindorf is gone and you," Luna gestured to Sabra, "found the front door open. That can only mean that he's out roaming Terror Mountain."

      "You can find him, right?" Sabra asked hopefully.

      "We're detectives, not a search-and-rescue team," I replied honestly, "but we will try out best."

      "Thank you," the Cybunny said. "He's wearing a blue collar, if that helps."

      "That helps a lot… and I think we're about done," Luna said, "but one more thing. Besides you and Kara, are there any other Neopets who come in contact with you here?"

      "Umm… well, there's Teagen. He lives on Snowball Close, just a street over, but I don't think he would know anything…"

      Well, we'll see about that… I thought. Everyone always thought their closet friends or siblings were the innocent ones… but when the four of us boiled the case down to its bare essentials, the client started to see things much more clearly. Luna wrote the name and address as Sabra told it to her.

      "Anyone else?" Damien asked.

      "Terrak," Kara piped up, drying her eyes, "he comes and shovels snow for us. I'm not entirely sure where he lives, but he works at the Snowy Inn. It's not too far from here."

      "Great," I said, "Sounds like a good place to stay."

      Sabra gave us the directions there; we thanked her, and started back out into the cold.

     ***

      How we managed to get to the Snowy Inn was a mystery to me. My white paws were aching and I had the worst headache. I don't really remember the trip, only that Luna was racing along up ahead, searching for the Inn and I ended up carrying Damien and Charlie. On my back I just put one foot in front of the other until we were there.

      Luna checked us in; she spoke to a red Lupe behind the counter. She paid for two rooms and tossed me a silver key. There were only two stories and I dragged my feet up the stairs to 2F. Luna got lucky: she was on the first floor. My paws were cold, so I fumbled around with the lock. When I did get the door open, I collapsed inside. Damien walked past me and tossed his hat onto a nearby chair.

      There were two beds and two nightstands, one bathroom and a table with chairs. The strange thing was, the room was incredibly cold.

      "Why it is so cold in here?" I asked Damien.

      "The heater's broken. Didn't you see the sign downstairs?"

      How wonderful! I thought sarcastically. It must be negative twenty in this room and we're all just going to act like it's no big deal. Why didn't we walk to the Ski Lodge where they have HEAT? I was feeling pretty frustrated.

      "Even though the evidence points to Kara, I think Sabra is more to blame."

      "Damien, I really don't want to talk about-"

      "Come on, think about it," the royal Aisha continued, "Sabra made the dinner… what if she put something in the soup or-"

      "Please, Damien. Just go to sleep."

      "Where's Charlie?"

      I raised a massive paw and pointed in the direction of the armchair. Charlie had crawled over to it and had already fallen asleep.

      "Well, I guess we'll think about it tomorrow." Damien peeled back the sheets and crawled into one of the beds. I took the other one. It felt like sleeping on a block of ice. The only thing I wanted to do was go back home to Neopia Central and sleep in my cozy Fresh Bamboo Bed on Bracknell Road.

      "Good night."

      "I hate Terror Mountain," I grumbled.

      "What?"

      "I said good night."

To be continued…