The Petpet Detectives: Case of the Kidnapped Kadoatie: Part Six

     In the living room, Tom and the four of us began to search for the missing Kadoatie. The mystery had been solved-the kidnapper found, but the Petpet was still undiscovered… and of course, our job wasn't finished until the Petpet was relocated.

     Despite the missing Kadoatie fact, my mind was racing with the events that just occurred: it was Tim all along! What a case! I thought to myself, smiling in triumph. A week's worth of detective work and the thief had been captured! I was feeling as relaxed as someone enjoying a Mystery Island vacation. I grinned to myself.

     Damien came in from the kitchen, "Any luck?"

     "Not at all," I said, the Mystery-Island-vacation smile sliding off my face.

     The royal Aisha frowned. The look on his face told me that he was losing hope. He asked Tom if he was sure Jasmine was in the house.

     "She was here," Tom assured the group, "I don't see why Tim would've moved her."

     I started upstairs-Luna was the only one searching up there. A long narrow hallway was in front of me. I opened the first door to the right. Seeing pictures of the yellow Chias hanging on the walls, I figured this must be Tim and Tom's room. Or at least Tom's room for now-Tim wouldn't be using it for a while. There were two Wooden Beds and matching nightstands.

     I began my search by pulling out a few large drawers of the dresser. Who knows where Jasmine could be? I pulled open the cabinet below and sifted through the contents inside.

     There were dozens of stacked copies of The Neopian Times, each issue beginning with 134. But something was wrong with them-sure they were a little dusty and wrinkled, but someone had clipped out a bunch of articles from the front few pages. I took a deep breath as I realized what had been snipped out:

     All of Lance's articles were gone.

     When Luna came in, I showed her.

     "Wow," she uttered softly, "Tim must have been really jealous to do something like that…"

     "Yeah. Come on, let's try looking downstairs again."

     After thirty minutes had passed, we started to lose hope.

     But them a faint noise came from the living room. My ears perked up. I listened again. The noise came from the empty fireplace-a soft but very sure,

     "Mew!"

     "Did you hear that?" I asked.

     "What?" Luna asked quickly.

     "That noise," I said, "Charlie did you--?"

     "Mew!"

     Without waiting for a response, I hurried over to the spot and pulled back the chained curtains. Inside a very small cage was a creature entirely black. If it wasn't for the nametag that read "Jasmine" I would have mistook her for someone else.

     "Jasmine!" I exclaimed, sliding the cage out of the chimney.

     "My goodness!" Luna yelled, "She's completely covered in soot!" She took the Kadoatie out of the cage and tried to brush her off, "Oh, you poor thing…"

     I let out an enormous sigh of relief. Case closed! Luna frantically brushed the soot off Jasmine's fur and it began to turn white again.

     "A good hiding spot, I'll admit," stated Tom. "What are we going to do about Tim? We can't just leave him tied up in the basement!"

     "I'll have someone come and fetch him," I said. "We have to get Jasmine back to Lance. We can probably still make it before sundown."

     You should know us by now-famous for hasty exits! The four of us dashed out, Luna carrying Jasmine's cage with the petpet in it. And, one again, she and Damien boosted themselves onto my back, I called,

     "Nice meeting you, Tom. See you around!"

     And with that we launched through the air.

     The wind whipped against my face and I lowered my beak slightly to avoid it. The sky was streaked with orange, red and pink as the sun started to set. We glided effortlessly over housetops, buildings, trees, and Neopians out for an evening stroll.

     With one flap of my powerful white wings, we soared over Winding Wood Drive and landed swiftly in front of Lance's house.

     The cage rattled under Luna's arm. Jasmine meowed again.

     Lance must have seen us in the window because he rushed out of the house and scooped Jasmine from the cage.

     "Oh, thank goodness!" He exclaimed, hugging his petpet. The Draik then turned to us, "How on Neopia did you find her?"

     "When we saw the footprints in your yard, we recognized them as Chia prints," Luna explained, "and when we got to Tim and Tom's house, Tim tried to trick us into believing that Tom was the kidnapper. But we found the mud on his feet from where he delivered the threatening note to you."

     "You mean…" Lance's face filled with shock, "Tim did this? But-but-," he sputtered, "I've known Tim for years! He and Tom were two of my closest friends!"

     "Well, you didn't know as much about him as you thought," I said, raising my eyebrows.

     "No, I," Lance broke off, "I guess not. But I just have one question-why?"

     "Simple-Tim was jealous," he pointed to the countless Neopian Times trophies on the shelf across the room, "He figured that if the most important thing was taken from you-he'd have a better chance of getting his articles in because you would've stopped writing them."

     We all stood in silence for a moment, knowing that this must be a very odd moment for Lance. But then he turned cheerful,

     "On a happier note, thank you so much for bringing Jasmine back to me. In fact, I have something for you. Come inside,"

     The four of us modestly stepped inside Lance's Neohome. Simeon, the Quiggle butler, returned from Lance's instructions and handed us a sack full of Neopoints.

     "Thank you," I said graciously, "but this amount of Neopoints really isn't necessary…"

     "Nonsense." Lance declared, "I can't show you how much gratitude I have. Thank you for your persistence and patience. I've already had dinner, but would you like some dessert? My chef just made a Blueberry Deluxe Cake this morning, if you'd like a slice…"

     We accepted the invitation. After all of our hard work, we at least deserved some cake.

     Luna went to help the butler carry in more of the cake. She paused after she took a slice from him, "You know, I'm sorry I barged in on you when you were in Lance's room the other day."

     "Not a problem," the Quiggle said, "you were just doing your job."

     Luna smiled then said timidly, "If this doesn't sound too nosy… what were you looking for anyway?"

     "Master Lance requested that I find something of his."

     "Ah," said Luna, feeling a little embarrassed. She wanted to ask what, but that would be pushing it too far. After all, he didn't really answer her question. "I see. I kind of took it the wrong way and put you on our suspect list…but I guess you were just doing your job."

     The Quiggle laughed, and it was the first time Luna heard it. It was a very pleasant laugh, not as stiff as his personality.

     Back in the dining room, Simeon served the Blueberry Deluxe Cake to us on white plates and gave us each a fork. I cut off the tip and popped it into my mouth. I decided that it was the best I've ever tasted.

     "Case closed," I said to myself, wiping a blueberry off my beak, "another mystery solved by The Petpet Detectives!"

Three days later

     It was late in the afternoon; Lance and Jasmine were sitting by the fireplace. The warmth of the flames made them both feel very safe and cozy. Jasmine was curled up into a ball on her owner's lap and Lance was reading a copy of The Neopian Times. The headline, an article he had written, was called 'Petpet Detectives Solve Another Case!' Lance had insisted that it was to be put in the next issue.

     Lance sighed with happiness-Jasmine was back and everything was perfect! No more worrying that she would be gone the next morning when he woke up! Lance took a sip of his hot cup of Borovan and leaned back in the Gold Velvet Chair.

     "Master Lance?"

     The Draik turned his head. Simeon was in the kitchen doorway, holding a small envelope, "A letter came for you this afternoon."

      He handed it to Lance who thanked him. The Draik slit it open with his claw and pulled out a piece of thick paper. He unfolded it to read the paragraph:

      Dear Lance,

      Thank you again for your generous amount of Neopoints given to us for relocating your Kadoatie. We glad that you and Jasmine are together again. We'd also like to thank you for putting in a good word for us in The Neopian Times. If you ever need us in the future, don't hesitate to drop us a Neomail or just stop by to say hello. Hope to see you around.

Sincerely,

~T.PP.D

The End

Author's Note: Thanks to my Mom who edited the story, and to all of the Neopians who read it! Please Neomail me with comments-- I love feedback! :) -playmobil_is_my_life