"He was here!" Brucelzy knelt down next to the prints and examined them.
I made my way over to the shelf, noticing that again the thief had stolen only
dark magic potions and spells as well as a few faeries. I looked closely at
the shelf and saw that more hairs had been dropped and there was a paint-covered
pawprint next to where a Faerie had been.
I took out a book on NeoPets and looked up the one pet I had a hunch was the
species of our thief. As I turned the page, a picture of a young fire Lupe looked
out at me. I examined the paws and the look of it's coloured fur and realised
that a Lupe was definitely the thief. I closed the book and went over to Kauvara
and Brucelzy.
"It's a Lupe, you guys! Painted fire!" I said anxiously.
"A Lupe, Dash?" Brucelzy asked.
"Yes, it has to be a Lupe. Look at the hairs, only Lupe's have fur with that
kind of texture. The pawprints are too big to belong to any other NeoPet. Now
we just have to find out who the Lupe is!"
Brucelzy quickly agreed. "Kauvara, close up your shop an hour early tonight.
We will be here to begin our stake-out at six."
At exactly six o'clock, Brucelzy and I arrived back at Kauvara's store, ready
to catch the thief once and for all. We spread a blanket on the floor and set
our backpacks, bursting with food, next to it, behind the counter. Brucelzy
settled down on the blanket and started to munch on a sweet as Kauvara and I
discussed our plan.
"I think that if we manage to stay awake all night, there is no way we could
miss the Lupe. They're big creatures, we would surely hear him come in."
Kauvara scratched her head and nodded. "Yes, I believe so. Just don't get
yourselves hurt, you hear?"
I smiled at her. "Do not worry, we have done this before."
Kauvara said good-bye and closed up the shop. I sat down next to Brucelzy behind
the counter and leaned against the wall, drinking a Neocola, hoping the caffeine
would keep me awake.
Four hours later, I sat bolt upright, startled out of my nap by the creaking
of the front door. Brucelzy shrieked quietly and I put my paw over her mouth,
silencing her. I crept forward and peered out from behind the counter. Sure
enough, a large shadow stood with its back to me.
I pulled Brucelzy up beside me and together we watched as a huge fire Lupe
stuffed potions and Dark Faeries into his bag. He was massive in size, bigger
than any Lupe I had ever seen. The flames on his coat licked at his body, making
him appear spooky and shadow-like.
I stepped silently out from behind the counter and stood, leaning against it.
He hadn't noticed me yet. Brucelzy stood beside me, looking frightened of the
large NeoPet.
The Lupe stuffed a few more things in his bag and grabbed a dark scroll in
his paw.
"You'd better put that back," I said loudly.
The Lupe jumped back and crashed into the shelf, dropping his bag. He looked
at us wide-eyed as the shelf fell on him. He quickly put it back up with shaking
hands and stared at us.
Brucelzy walked timidly up to him and held his paws in a tight grip behind
his back. I stepped up to him, barely reaching his large shoulders, and stared
at him coldly.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" I asked.
"I-I-I didn't mean to cause so much trouble," he stuttered.
"Well, what did you expect? You stole from Kauvara!"
"I was only trying to help my brother become the strongest pet in Neopia."
"What is your name, Lupe?" I asked, ignoring his response to my last question.
"Fireworks."
I nodded and wrote it on a piece of paper so I wouldn't forget it when I took
him to the police.
"You'd better have a good reason, Fireworks. You could be facing charges from
Kauvara and jail time." Brucelzy piped up from behind him.
Brucelzy turned Fireworks around and led him out of the magic shop's large
door. I locked it behind us and helped her lead the big Lupe to the police station
down the street.
Two and a half-hours later, Brucelzy and I collapsed in a chair in our NeoHome,
sipping hot chocolate. It was almost two o'clock in the morning, and I was tired.
Satisfied with our hard work, the last few hours of questioning and re-questioning
of ourselves and the thief had flown by quickly. Now, thinking back to the case
we had just solved, I grinned and took another sip of my cocoa.
By now, I really felt like Sherlock Holmes. A job well done, a case completed.
A thrilling feeling of success and being proud of my efforts flowed through
my exhausted body. I sighed, downed the rest of my hot chocolate and stretched
out on the couch.
It had been a long day. But we had solved Kauvara's case and become Neopian
heroes. I felt my eyes start to close and my body relax. All I could see was
darkness as I floated into a comforting, well-deserved slumber.
The End | 
