Half Moon Investigations - Eoin Colfer [20]
When I arrived, April and Co. were running an unlicensed soft-drinks stand.
‘You’re selling this cola for ten cents a can?’ I asked.
‘That’s right, Half Moon. Do you want one?’
‘I suppose. But where do you get the cola?’
April googled her eyes. ‘From the supermarket fridge, duh.’
I was trying to get this straight. ‘So you buy the cola for fifty cents a can in the supermarket, and you’re selling it for ten.’
April spoke clearly, seeing as I was obviously a moron. ‘Yes, Fletcher, but we don’t use our own money to buy it.’ She handed me a can of cola. ‘That’s ten cents, please.’
All I had on me was my ten-euro wages.
‘I only have a ten.’
April plucked it from my fingers. ‘That’s OK. I can break it.’
And break it she did, into the largest amount of coins possible.
I took out my notebook and deposited enough change in my pockets to put a strain on my belt.
‘So, are you girls in some kind of gang?’
April, May and their half-dozen friends were all wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan Les Jeunes Étudiantes. The shirts were pink and had unicorns frolicking around the script.
April seemed delighted to be asked about the group.
‘We certainly are. Ready, girls?’
The others nodded enthusiastically, then skipped into a ragged straight line. They pointed their toes, placing hands on their hips. All they needed was pom-poms and I could be at an American football game.
‘Call us Les Jeunes Étudiantes,’ said April, as though introducing a Shakespearian play. ‘We find certain things très intéressantes.’
I winced. Dodgy French rhymes.
‘Pop stars and fashion.
‘Movie premieres.
‘Who’s on the red carpet.
‘Make-up and hair.’
The other girls acted out every subject. ‘Pop stars’ was singing into an imaginary microphone. ‘Fashion’ was a model’s pose. You get the picture.
I tried to say something nice. ‘Hey, that’s great. You’re really… organized.’
April made no effort to be nice back. ‘I wouldn’t expect someone from Continentia Nerdia to understand, Half Moon. We’re not the kind of people you would normally be allowed to hang around with. Why don’t you just ask your little questions and get on with your job?’
I was only too glad to get down to business.
‘Firstly, are you absolutely sure the hair sample was stolen?’
April poured cola into a paper cup and stirred it with her finger. ‘As sure as I can be, Half Moon. I mean, I had it locked in the strongbox in our Wendy house, and next thing I know it’s missing. Maybe the dog ate it.’
There was a little long-haired terrier skipping around April’s shoes. It was obvious from his little pink sweater that he was indeed April’s dog. The only non-cute thing about the dog was the way he bared his teeth at me. I hadn’t been having much luck with dogs.
‘Do you think he might have?’
‘No.’
This was going to be a tough interview.
‘Did you notice anything else missing?’
May spoke for the first time. She didn’t seem as enthusiastic about this investigation as April. ‘Listen, Fletcher, I know April has a bee in her bonnet about the Shona hair thing, and I know you have an entire swarm of bees in your bonnet about the detective thing. But it’s a kids’ game, OK?’
I was used to resistance. People don’t like to share with detectives.
‘So there was nothing else missing?’
‘No. Nothing.’
I turned to her friends. ‘So, none of you had something stolen? Or maybe something broken? Something so ridiculous that you thought it must be some kind of accident.’
The third girl in line, Mercedes Sharp, raised her hand as though I was her headmaster.
‘Well, I lost something last night. I thought I lost it, you know, but maybe…’
April glared at her friend. ‘Come on, Mercedes. You’ve been moaning on about this minidisc all morning. This is my investigation. I’ve already paid Fletcher.’
Mercedes returned April’s glare, then continued with her story. ‘I have, I