Chapter 5
I don’t think well on an empty stomach. Let’s be honest, I’m a guy: I don’t do anything well on an empty stomach. I decided to head to “Tessie’s” to think things over.
Apart from a couple of regulars that were so regular that Tessie could have insured them as “fixtures and fittings” the place was deserted. Tess looked up from the magazine she had been idly flicking through, and greeted me warmly when I arrived:
“Hiya Ben, how’s my favourite private eye?”
“I’m good Tess, how’s my favourite small businesswoman?”
She grinned:
“The usual?”
“Please. And one for yourself, and I’ll have the mixed grill, and settle my tab.”
“Ooh someone’s flush.”
“Makes a change, normally I’m a bit short.”
Tess poured us both a glass of semi-skimmed, and called my order through to the kitchen. I sat up to the bar as she found my slate and totted up several weeks of fruitless job hunting.
“Pixel said you’d got a new case. For some rich lady in the hills, who looks like a statue with no legs; though he did seem a bit confused about that last bit.”
Tessie was a diamond: tiny, bright and priceless. I’d known her since before the war, and she was one of the few people I could trust implicitly. Everyone ate at Tessie’s. She heard all the news and all the rumours, but she knew when to speak, and when to keep quiet.
“You heard of The Sapphire Collar, Tess?”
“Are you kidding me, Benjamin Barkalot?”
“Nope, lady by the name of Queen Bumble does have a full set of legs, but currently does not have said Faberge trinket, and is paying yours truly to recover it for her.”
The cook poked my order out through the hatch. I took the tray and trudged to a table, while tiny Tessie trotted there too. Was it me, or was it getting alliterative in here?
“So you got any leads?” she asked, helping herself to a bit of sausage.
I shrugged:
“The maid went missing at the same time. ‘Course it could be that she took the collar, but I’m not sure. If she did then she isn’t working alone.”
“Why not?”
“For a start, I’m getting the impression she ain’t exactly a criminal mastermind. The basket’s empty but the blanket’s still warm, if you get my meaning.
“Secondly, she can’t drive. According to the neighbours she used to catch buses into town, and believe me that ain’t easy from the hills. Bumble says Charm…”
“The maid?”
“The maid…was gone when she got up in the morning, and the buses don’t run downtown that early. OK, she could have waited for one, but that don’t seem likely: She didn’t plan this.”
“How do you know?”
“She left her savings behind. How’s she going to pay for a bus or train ticket: chip a sapphire off the collar? Besides, if she was travelling on her own even our cops should have been able to pick her up.”
Tessie picked out a bit of my bacon and chewed it thoughtfully. At this rate I’d have to give her a tab!
“So if she is working with someone, who is it? Who does she know who can fence something that pricey?”
I tried to look thoughtful whilst I chewed on a bit of fried egg. Not easy at the best of times, especially when your short on teeth and long on tongue, but I was trying to cover the fact that I hadn’t thought of that point.
“Up until a week ago, no-one; but Cashy Nova and Olivia were both at the party. She idolised both of them, and it’s possible one of them could be in it with her.”
“But you don’t think that’s likely?” Tessie knew me too well: I was worried about that blanket, and what it meant.
“Not likely, but I ought to check it out. Looks like tomorrow I take a trip up to Tinseltown and ask a few questions, do a bit of legwork.”
Just then the bell rang as the door opened, and Tess went back to greet the newcomers.
About the Dog Behind the Story
I first joined the Crush forum when I lost my first Crested, Topaz.
Tessie’s owner was one of the first people to greet me there, and perhaps because Tessie and Topaz were so similar in both appearance and personality, she and I soon became friends.
I wanted to recognize this in the story by making Tessie Ben’s oldest friend.Tessie’s story, in the words of her owner:
“We had fostered a crested in March of 2005. Before that we didn’t know anything about them. We absolutely fell in love with the breed and started searching shelter for one. at that time, there were very few around here. in august, we found a little one and her mom about 5 hours north of us. I had adopted a dog from them earlier in the year so i called the lady. She told me that Tess and her mom were given up by a breeder. Tess was the little girl’s dog. she was becoming a teenager and didn’t have time for her any more. Tess’s mom had been adopted. There was a home in Texas that wanted her but since it was August and too hot, they wouldn’t fly her. Karen, at the shelter, called them and they said they couldn’t drive up and get her so we got her. She was 8 years old when we adopted her. Since then she has been running our lives. She is 4.5 pounds and somehow manages to control everyone (2 and 4 legged alike). She will be 15 years old in June. She is in great health except for the cataract in one eye.”
This story The Case of the Sapphire Collar belongs to the original author we are sharing it with our readers with the express permission of the author. Please do not copy it in any form. The manuscript is going to be used to raise money for animal rescue as soon as drawings are completed of each of the characters. If you see this story appear anywhere other then Two Little Cavaliers please contact us so we can remedy the situation.
