Half Moon Investigations - Eoin Colfer [6]
‘I’m sure Bella can answer any questions you care to ask,’ said Red, grinning in anticipation of my failure.
‘Come on, Fletcher,’ said April Devereux. Her Barbie buddies did some cheerleading hops. It was nice to have somebody in my corner, even April and Co. Although I suspected that they were more anti-Sharkey than pro-Moon.
I cleared my throat and tried to sound professional. ‘So, Miss… ah… Bella. Tell me what happened. Don’t leave out any detail, however insignificant.’
Bella thought for a moment. ‘Well, I got up at seven and I was thinking about these earrings for ages, ‘cause Quinn says they’re banned.’
I interrupted her. ‘OK. You can leave out those details, stuff that only happened in your head and not in the actual world. Just tell us about the organizer.’
‘OK. It was a birthday present. Diary, phone numbers, MP3 player, everything. If someone wanted to know the time in Tokyo, all they had to do was ask.’
The crowd oohed, impressed. Bella accepted their admiration with a little royal wave.
‘So I brought it in today, for the first time. Only I forgot about it for a minute ‘cause I was worrying about the earrings. I left my bag by the wall and went off for a walk around with the girls.’
The senior girls spent a large part of their break time on walk-around. Circling the yard, searching for little kids with no fashion sense to tease.
‘So, halfway around I remembered my organizer and ran back to my bag. But I was too late; little Klepto Sharkey had already made off with it.’
‘Klepto?’ said Red, trying to sound incredulous.
‘Yes, Red. Klepto. Short for kleptomaniac. He’s a real Sharkey all right. Been stealing since he was in nappies.’
Red’s expression was more resigned than furious.
‘So maybe Roddy’s been in trouble a few times; that’s not proof of anything.’
April Devereux took a step forward from the rank of pink go-gos.
‘I saw him searching Bella’s bag. I saw him with my actual vision. That’s proof, isn’t it? I watch Law and Order, so I know. I’m a witness.’
I winced apologetically at Red. ‘That’s pretty strong. An eyewitness.’
‘So where’s the organizer?’ countered Red. ‘If he stole it a few minutes ago, where is it?’
I transferred my wince to Bella. ‘That’s pretty strong. No smoking gun.’
‘I know that, Half Moon. That’s why you’re here. You don’t think I’d be even talking to you if I didn’t need something?’
All eyes were on me again, and not in a nice oh look at that handsome young man in the shiny shoes I wonder if he’s single kind of way. It was more of a nasty if he doesn’t come up with the goods in ten seconds let’s lynch him kind of way.
I considered the facts aloud. ‘So, the organizer is missing and Herod Sharkey is the prime suspect. But if Herod did steal it, then he obviously stashed it somewhere.’
‘Herod has little hidey-holes all over town,’ said April. ‘He’s like some kind of rabbit, only one that steals stuff.’
‘This hidey-hole would have to be on the school grounds. He only had a minute before Bella confronted him. Where could he go in a minute?’
This was a question with as many answers as there were degrees on the compass. And with so many thousands of footprints tracking across the basketball court, it was impossible to isolate just one set. Unless Herod had brought something back from wherever it was he’d gone.
I still had Herod’s climbing boot in my hand. I flicked it over, studying the deep sole, hoping for a clue. I found one. The rubber was stained yellow and there were several buttercups trapped in the ridges. They were freshly ripped from the soil, with barely a trace of brown on the petals.
‘The Millennium Garden,’ I said, looking Herod straight in the face. He was suddenly pale and open-mouthed. A reaction that told me I was right, so I took off, striding towards the school garden, leaving the rest to follow.
Those few moments, during the short walk from the basketball court to the garden, were the happiest moments I was to have for some time. This was what detective work was all about. Those precious seconds when you have made a breakthrough and you are so sure