Mystery of the Pantomime Cat (19 page)

"What?" said Inspector Jenks, thinking he must have
misheard. "Five
what?"

"children,
sir," said Pippin, "You know,
sir, you told me about them before I came here. One's a boy called Frederick
Trotteville."

"Oh,
really!"
said the Inspector. "That's
most interesting. So he's been working on this too, has he? Do you know what
conclusions he has come to Pippin?"

"Yes, sir, I know all about it," said Pippin.
"Er—Mr. Goon didn't want me to work with him on this case, sir,
so—er—well.. ."

"So you worked with Frederick, I suppose." said the
Inspector. "Very wise of you. Well—I'll hold things up till you
come."

He called Goon into his room. "Er, Goon," he said,
"we must wait for about twenty minutes before proceeding with anything.
Pippin has just phoned through. He's got fresh evidence."

Goon bristled like a hedgehog. "Pippin, sir? He doesn't know
a thing about this case. Not a thing. I wouldn't let him work with me on it,
he's such a turnip-head. Course, he's only been with me a little while, but
it's easy to see he's not going to be much good. Not enough brains. And a bit
too cocky, sir, if you'll excuse the slang."

"Certainly," said the Inspector. "Well, we will
wait. Pippin is bringing a man for questioning."

Goon's mouth fell open. "A man—for questioning? But we've
got
the people who did the job. What's he want to bring a man for? Who is
it?"

"And he's also bringing five children, he says." went on
the Inspector, enjoying himself very much, for he did not like the domineering,
conceited Mr. Goon. "One of them is, I believe, that clever boy—the one
who has helped us in so many mysteries—Frederick Trotteville!"

Goon opened and shut his mouth like a goldfish and for two minutes
couldn't say a single word. He went slowly purple and the Inspector looked at
him in alarm.

"You'll have a heart-attack one of these days. Goon, if you
get so angry," he said. "Surely you don't mind Frederick coming over?
You are quite sure you have solved the case yourself, and arrested the right
people—so what is there to worry about?"

"I'm not worrying," said Goon, fiercely. "That
boy—that toad—begging your pardon, sir—always interfering with the Law—always .
. ."

"Now Goon, he
helps
the Law, he doesn't interfere with
it," said the Inspector.

Goon muttered something about toads and turnip-heads, and then
subsided into deep gloom. Pippin coming—and all those dratted children. What
was
up?

Pippin duly arrived with Alec Grant, the five children, and, of
course. Buster. Goon's face grew even blacker when he saw Buster, who greeted
him with frantic joy, as if he was an old friend, tearing round his feet in a
most exasperating way.

"Ah, Frederick—so you're on the job again," said the
Inspector. "Pleased to see you. Hallo, Larry—Pip—Daisy—and here's little
Bets too. Have they turned you out of the Find-Outers yet. Bets?"

"Turned her out! I should think not," said Fatty.
"If it hadn't been for Bets we'd never have hit on the right
solution."

There was a growl from Goon at this. The Inspector turned to him.
"Ah, Goon—you also think you have hit on the right solution, don't
you?" he said. "Your two arrests are in the other room. Now—what
makes you think you have solved the case correctly. Goon? You were just about
to tell me when I got Pippin's telephone call."

"Sir, there's a confession here from Boysie Summers, the
Pantomime Cat," said Goon. "Says as clear as a pike-staff that he did
the job, with Zoe Markham to help him. This here's her handkerchief, found on
the verandah on the night of the crime—Z. for Zoe, in the corner, sir."

"Oh!" said Daisy. "That's my old hanky, Inspector!
And I put the Z in the corner, just for a joke. Didn't I, you others?"

The other four nodded at once. "It's certainly not
Zoe's," said Daisy. "She'd never have a dirty, torn old hanky like this.
I should have thought Mr. Goon would have guessed that."

Mr. Goon began to breathe heavily. "Now look here!" he
began.

"Wait, Goon," said the Inspector, picking up the
"confession". "So this is what Boysie said, is it? Bring him in,
please. Pippin. He and Zoe are in the next room. They can both come in."

Pippin went to fetch Zoe and Boysie. Zoe was in tears, and so
upset that she didn't even seem to see the five children. She went straight up
to the Inspector and tapped the "confession" he held in his hand.

"Not one word of that is true!" she said. "Not one
word!
He
forced Boysie to say things that weren't true. Look at
Boysie—can you imagine him doing a crime like that, even with my help? He's
nothing but a child, for all he's twenty-four. That policeman badgered him and
terrified him and threatened him till poor Boysie was so frightened he said
anything. Anything! It's wicked, really
wicked\"

Boysie stood beside her. The children hardly knew him, out of his
cat-skin. He did seem only a child—a child that trembled and shook and clutched
at Zoe's dress. Bets felt the tears coming into her eyes.

"Well, Miss Markham," said Inspector Jenks, "we
have here some one else for questioning. I think you know him."

Zoe turned and saw Alec. "Alec Grant!" she said. "Did
you
do it, Alec? Alec, if you did, say so. Would you let poor Boysie be
sent
right
off his head with this, if you could help it? You hated the
manager. You always said so. Did
you
do it?"

Alec said nothing. The Inspector turned to Pippin.
"Pippin—will you say why you have brought this man here, please?"

Pippin began his tale. He told it extremely well and lucidly. It
was plain to see that P.C. Pippin would one day make a very good policeman
indeed!

The Inspector interrupted occasionally to ask a question, and
sometimes Fatty had to put a few words in too. Goon sat with his mouth open,
his eyes almost bulging out of his head.

Alec Grant looked more and more uncomfortable as time went on.
When Pippin and Fatty between them related how the children had gone to
Sheepridge and seen the different autograph in Julia's album—which Pippin
placed before the Inspector as evidence—he turned very pale.

"So you think this man here got his twin-sister to
impersonate him, whilst he slipped back to the theatre, doped Boysie, got into
the cat-skin, took up a doped cup of tea to the manager, robbed the safe, and
then pulled the skin on the sleeping Boysie again?" said Inspector Jenks.
"A most ingenious crime. We must get on to the man's twin-sister. We must
pull her in too."

"Here!" said Goon, in a strangled sort of voice. "I
can't have this. I tell you that man's not the culprit—he
didn't
do it.
Haven't I got that confession there for you to see?"

And then poor Goon got a terrible shock. "I
did
do
it!" said Alec Grant. Exactly as P.C. Pippin described it. But leave my
sister out of it,
pleasel
She knows nothing about it at all! I
telephoned her and begged her to take my place at the concert, and she did.
She's done that before when I've felt ill, and nobody has known. We're as alike
as peas. I impersonate women, as you know—and who's to know the difference if
my sister impersonates
me!
No one! Only these kids—they're too clever by
half!"

Inspector Jenks took the "confession" and tore it in
half. "There's a fire behind you, Goon," he said, in a cold voice.
"Put this in, will you?"

And Goon had to put the wonderful "confession" into the
fire and watch it burn. He wished he could

sink through the floor. He wished he was at the other end of the
world. If ever cruelty and stupidity and conceit were punished well and truly,
then they were punished now, in the person of Goon.

"I've got all the money," said Alec. "I meant to
give it back, really. It was just to give the manager a nasty shock—he's a mean
old beast. If I'd known Boysie and Zoe were arrested I'd have owned up."

"You
did
know," said Pippin, quietly. "No
good saying that now."

"Well," said the Inspector, leaning back and looking at
the children. "Well! Once more you appear to have come to our rescue, children.
I'm much obliged to you. Pippin, my congratulations—you handled this case well,
in spite of being forbidden to work with Goon. Frederick, you are incorrigible
and irrepressible—and if you place any more false clues I shall probably be
forced to arrest you! You are also a very great help, and most ingenious in
your tackling of any problem. Thanks very much!"

The Inspector beamed round at the five children and Pippin,
including Zoe and Boysie in his smile. Bets slipped her hand into his.
"You don't
really
mean you'd arrest Fatty?" she said,
anxiously. "We were all as bad as he was with those clues and things,
Inspector."

"No. I was pulling his leg," said the Inspector.
"Not that I approve of that sort of behaviour at all, you understand—very
reprehensible indeed—but I can't help feeling that what you all did later has
quite cancelled out what came before! And now, do you know what time it is? Two
o'clock. Has any one had any lunch?"

Nobody had, and the children suddenly became aware of a very
hollow feeling in their middles.

"Well, I hope you will do me the honour of lunching with me
at the Royal Hotel," said the Inspector. "I'll get some one to
telephone your families, who will no doubt be searching the countryside for you
now! And perhaps Miss Zoe would come too—and er—the Pantomime Cat?"

"Oh, thank you," said Zoe, all smiles. "Are we
quite free now?"

"Quite," said the Inspector. "Goon, take this
fellow Grant away. And wait here till I come back. I shall have a few words to
say to you."

Goon, looking like a pricked balloon, took Alec Grant away. Bets
heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, Inspector Jenks, I was
so
afraid you'd ask Mr. Goon to come out
to lunch too!"

"Not on your life!" said the Inspector. "Oh, you're
there too, Pippin. Go and get yourself a good meal in the police-station
canteen, and then come back here and write out a full report of this case for
me. And ring the children's parents, will you?"

Pippin saluted and grinned. He was very bucked with himself. He
winked at Fatty and Fatty winked back. Aha! There would be a spot of promotion
for Pippin if he went on handling cases like this.

"I've really enjoyed this mystery," said Bets, as she
sat down at a hotel table and unfolded a snowy-white napkin. "It was very,
very difficult—but it wasn't frightening at all."

"Oh yes it was—to me and Boysie," said Zoe. She filled a
glass with lemonade and held it up to the children.

"Here's to you!" she cried. "The Five
Find-Outer—and Dog!"

The Inspector raised his glass too, and grinned. "Here's to
the great detectives—who solved the insoluble and most mysterious case in their
career—the Mystery of the Pantomime Cat!"