Cora Flash and the Diamond of Madagascar (A Cora Flash Children's Mystery, Book 1) (11 page)

"
I can
'
t believe him,
"
said Sheila.
"
Why is he in such a hurry to get back to his
seat
?
"

"
Maybe he needs to hide the diamond before the cop searches
his stuff
,
"
suggested
Abby.

The others looked at her as they considered her theory.

"
Hey,
I
'
m just sayin
'
.
"

In the hallway, Mr. MacEvoy was determined to get to his
seat
without
Inspector Dabruzzi
noticing him.
We could see him through the glass door as he attempted to creep
to his things
.
Unfortunately, just as he thought he was safely past the door
of Mr.
Sloane
'
s compartment
,
Dabruzzi
jumped
out
t
o confront him.

"
Mr. MacEvoy, sir. Where are you going?
"

Thankfully, we not only could see the conversation, we could hear it too, although I admit it was a bit muffled.

"
I
'
m going to my
seat
, that
'
s where
.
And I ask that you please get out of my way.
"

"
Mr. MacEvoy, I think it
’
s imperative that you stay in the
d
ining
car with the others
.
I
'
ll just be a few minutes longer
.
I
'
m almost finished searching Mr. Sloane
'
s room.
"

"
Inspector,
"
he said.
"
I must voice my objections at your confining all of us together.
Now
,
I have done nothing wrong, and I insist I be allowed to go back to my
seat
. I
'
m very up
set and would like to rest
.
"

"
I
'
m sure we all would like to
rest
, but until we determine the whereabouts of the diamond, there will be very little rest for us.
"

Mr. MacEvoy didn
'
t quite know what to say in response to
that
.
He
seemed to know
a law enforcement agent had more authority than anyone else on the train, and
saw
little point in arguing.

"
Fine
.
I will join the others, but I am most displeased.
"

Mr. MacEvoy spun on his heels and strode back to
join us
,
no doubt
preparing what to say
so as
to not look embarrassed
in front of all of us
.

"
Well,
"
he
said as he opened the door
,
"
The
i
nspector
and I decided it would be best
for me
to stay in the room with all of you. In the interest of justice, I suggested I stay here until the investigation is complete.
"

He
strode
back to the seat he
had been
sitting in just a few minutes earlier and
hunkered
down.

"
I knew you wouldn
'
t get far
,
"
said Abby with a smirk.

"
Ladies and gentlemen,
"
said Inspector Dabruzzi
,
"
I have completed my search of Mr. Sloane
'
s compartment and have determined that the diamond is indeed missing.
"

"
And one of you took it!
"
interjected Mr. Sloane.

"
That is not what I said
.
"

"
But it must be true, Inspector,
"
said Sheila.
"
You said so your
self.
No one else from the front of the train had come back yet, and Willy said no one went past the first
section
after the sleeper car, so it had to be someone here.
"

"
That
'
s right,
"
added Ted.
"
That is what you said.
"

Inspector Dabruzzi took a deep breath and stepped
closer to the center of the room
.
"
I think we must all remain calm.
As the expression says, calm heads prevail
.
Now that I have verified the diamond is missing
—
"

"
Stolen!
"
interjected
Mr. Sloane.

"
Now that I have verified the diamond is missing, I will begin my investigation.
I am going to conduct a thorough search of
the other
compartments and the seating area."

Abigail frowned.
"You're going to look through my stuff?"

"Yes, I am
.
But let me assure you that I will conduct my business with the utmost discretion. I will simply look for clues related to the crime at hand. Anything else in your belongings will be held in the strictest confidence."

"I don't know how I feel about this," said Mr. MacEvoy.

Mrs. Bronwyn
had
a sly smile on her face.
"Do you have something to hide?"

"No, I certainly do not!" she snapped back.

"Then let the
i
nspector
conduct his business," Mr. MacEvoy replied. "If it's the only
chance we have
to figure this out, then stay out of his way."

The officer held up a hand for silence.
"During the time I am searching,
I ask that you all remain here."

The room fell
quiet
as we watched
him
exit the car and make his way to the sleeping compartment to begin his search.

Mrs. Bronwyn sat at a table by the window, staring out at the passing landscape. Willy
stood beside her
, an expression of concentration creasing his lips and forehead
.

"I wonder if he will find anything," wondered Willy aloud.

I asked,
"What if he doesn't find anything?"

"I suppose that’s possible," replied Mrs. Bronwyn.

"Oh," said Mr. MacEvoy quite nervously. "I hope he doesn't mess everything up. I am very careful about how I pack my bags, and would be
terribly
upset if things were out of place."

"I'm sure he will be careful, sir," I said, trying to calm him down. "He is a professional,
after all
."

"There are several books in my bags, rare ornithology
novels
that I should have taken out. They are first editions, including the only known copy of
The Spotted Pilkington and You
!
by Georgia Lennox. It took me years to find that book, and now the
i
nspector
is going to ruin it! Oh!"

I was worried Mr. MacEvoy would have a breakdown, right there in front of
us
. There were many things I was prepared to deal with, but an adult male crying on my shoulder was not one of them. "Mr. MacEvoy," I said. "I'm sure Inspector Dabruzzi will not damage your book. He will probably not even touch it."

"Oh,
I hope you
’
re right. It was so hard to find, so very, very hard to find."

"
Aaarrrrggggg,
"
cried Calvin from below the table.

"
Oh, my dear,
"
said Mrs. Bronwyn.
"
What is upsetting you so much?
"

The pup
was lying flat on his stomach with his front paws stretched in front of him, staring up at Mrs. Bronwyn with big brown eyes.

"
Your dog is making
quite
a noise,
"
grumbled Mr. MacEvoy.

"
I can certainly hear that
,
you old fool. He needs a walk, I’m afraid
.
We’re supposed to be stopping in Pecan River soon. That is where I had planned to take him for a short walk on the platform.
"