Cora Flash and the Diamond of Madagascar (A Cora Flash Children's Mystery, Book 1) (10 page)

"
Yes, that is correct. I was hired to protect the diamond on its journey.
"

With a smirk, Abby said,
"
Well, y
ou
didn
'
t do a very good job.
"

"
I have to agree with you, Abigail. I have failed in my efforts to ensure the diamond arrived safely in the mountains. However, I still have time to figure out exactly what happened, and apprehend the person responsible. If, however, he or she would like to confess, we can end this right now.
"

D
ead silence
echoed
in the room as everyone waited for someone to say something.

Finally
,
the nervous man with glasses spoke.
"
Oh, this is ridiculous
!
No one is going to confess. Why would someone confess?
"

"
Inspector,
"
Mrs. Bronwyn began,
"
i
f
you were not who you say you were, why should we believe you now?
Maybe you are not a real
i
nspector
, but a jewel thief pretending to be
here to
i
nsure the jewel
so we will not suspect you!
"

I had to admit
,
Mrs. Bronwyn had a point. We had n
o way of knowing if Mr. Dabruzzi was
who he said he was
.

"
I understand your concern, Mrs. Bronwyn. Perhaps this will help you to believe me.
"
He reached in his suit pocket and pulled out his wallet.
Inside
,
we
could see the glimmering reflection of the sun on his police badge. It certainly looked real to
me, and judging by the expressions everyone else had, they thought so, too
.

"
Humph,
"
grunted Mrs. Bronwyn.
"
You
could have bought that
badge at any dollar store
.
Still,
I suppose we ought to believe you if we want to get anywhere with this investigation.
"

"
Thank you, Mrs. Bronwyn.
I
knew I would have your cooperation
,
"
he said
.

Willy stepped forward.
"
Excuse me, Inspector
.
Is there anything you would like me to do? Should we stop the train or radio ahead to tell the police in
Topaz Mountain
about this?
"

"
There is no need to stop the train,
"
he replied.
"
There is nowhere to go. If anyone tried to jump of
f
a moving train, their efforts would be futile. In this part of the country, you would not last a day in the wilderness.
No, we
'
ll keep going as we
a
re
. And please do not inform
any other passengers
of this matter. There is no need for everyone to panic. I believe the diamond was specifically targeted and that we are not dealing with a common petty thief. The person responsible for stealing the
gem
knew it was on board and came specifically to find it.
"

"
But how could anyone have known?
"
asked Mrs. Bronwyn.
"
None of the newspaper articles mentioned how the diamond would be transported.
"

"
I am not sure how they knew,
"
said the
i
nspector
.
"
They were
likely
tipped off by someone who knew it would be here. Someone who works at the auction house, perhaps.
"

"
An insider!
"
I
snapped my fingers
.

"
So it would seem, Cora,
"
he replied
.

I
was beginning to get
excited;
m
y
mind
rac
ed
in every direction, trying to remember who
I
saw in the hallway and who
I
did not.
Looking around the car,
I
already had some suspicions as to
who might
have stolen the diamond, but there were too many unanswered questions.

I
glanced down at Calvin, who was now sleeping peacefully at Mrs. Bronwyn
'
s feet, unaware that he was in the midst of a world-class jewel
heist
.

"
Well then,
"
said
Inspector Dabruzzi
,
"
I think we should begin the questioning. Mr. Sloane, if you don
'
t mind, I would like to start with you. If you would care to show me your cabin and walk me through the events of this morning?
"

"
Yes
, o
f
course. Follow me.
"

The two men promptly left the
d
ining
car and proceeded to Mr. Sloane
'
s private compartment, leaving the rest of
us
behind.

"
Well,
"
said Sheila.
"
How do you like that? A jewel caper on my honeymoon!
"

"
It
'
s all so unbelievable,
"
muttered
Mrs. Bronwyn.
"
I don
'
t know how anyone could have known the diamond was on the train. It simply doesn
'
t make sense.
"

Ted held his wife’s hand.
"
Not really
.
Mrs. Bronwyn, it was you who made the connection with the diamond in the first place. You suggested in the
l
ounge
car last night that Mr. Sloane was carrying
it
in his case. If you figured it out, then anyone could have.
"

"
Oh, yes,
"
she said.
"
I suppose you are right
,
but
that was merely a guess
.
I don
'
t see how anyone could have known before getting on the train.
"

"
That part is a bit odd, isn
'
t it?
"
wondered
Sheila.

"
Well,
"
I
said,
"
Inspector Dabruzzi said the thief must have had some inside information.
"

We
sat in the car for a few minutes of silence
,
each consider
ing
how someone could have known the diamond was on the train.

"
Well
,
I
'
m going back to my cabin,
"
said the man with glasses.
"
I
'
m not going to sit around here and wait all day.
"

"
I don
'
t think you should do that, Mr. MacEvoy,
"
Willy said.
"
I think we should all stay put until the
i
nspector
comes back.
"

We all
agreed in a chorus of
“
yes,
”
which only agitated Mr. MacEvoy even more.

"
It
'
s preposterous. We can
'
t all be treated like criminals. We
'
re paying passengers
;
we should be allowed to roam freely on the train as we see fit.
"

With that, Mr. MacEvoy stood up, forcefully stuffing his handkerchief into the front pocket of his suit
,
and started for the door of the cabin.

As he passed
us
, Calvin awoke and
peered
up at Mr. MacEvoy
before
let
ting
out a faint growl.

"
You mind your own business!
"
snapped
Mr. MacEvoy.

He opened the sliding door leading to the sleeping cabins and walked right
out
, letting the door behind him close with its usual crash.