Cora Flash and the Diamond of Madagascar (A Cora Flash Children's Mystery, Book 1) (17 page)

"
I see. And was there anything out of the ordinary this morning? Did anything strike you as odd?
"

"
Nothing. In fact, it was quite a boring morning. Nothing unusual happened at all. Made the juice, started to brew the coffee. Same as every other day.
"

"
And who was the first person to enter the
d
ining
car this morning?
"

"
That
'
s easy,
"
replied Willy.
"
Mr. MacEvoy. He was in the car even before eight o
'
clock.
"

"
How is that possible?
"

"
I usually unlock the door a few minutes early, around ten to eight. I know some people like their coffee as soon as they wake up, so I try to accommodate them. And it
'
s nice to sit and have coffee a few minutes before the stampede begins, you know?
"
Willy gave a little a laugh.
"
So I opened the door a few minutes before, and then left to get some of the croissants out of the fridge
.
I forgot to take them out earlier. When I
returned
, Mr. MacEvoy was already in the room. Just sitting there, all by himself.
"

"
And did he ask for anything?
"

"
He did. And now that I think of it, this is a bit strange. He asked for some sunflower seeds.
"

"
I see
.
Bird food.
"

"
Yeah. Bird food. I thought that was an awfully strange thing to request for breakfast, but
‘T
o
each his own,
’
my
d
ad
used to always say.
"

"
Did you have it?
"

"
Oh my, no, certainly not. He took an herbal tea instead. And some toast with jam. Is that important?
"

"
Probably not, no,
"
said
Dabruzzi
.
"
Was he alone for just a few minutes
,
then?
"

"
Yes, I suppose so. No more than five. I returned shortly after he sat down, and then he was soon joined by Abigail, I believe.
"

"
Willy, do you have a key to each of the compartments?
"

"
No, I do not. They lock from the inside. The only person with a key is the conductor, way up in the engine car.
He is the only person
other than the assigned passenger
who can unlock the rooms, and even then
,
only if it
’
s an emergency.
"

I
made a mental note of this trivial detail
, thinking
it might come in handy later in
my
investigation.

"
Willy, the night before the diamond disappeared, did anyone make any unusual requests?
"

"
Let me think a minute, now
.
"
Willy
paused for a bit
.
"
Nothing comes to mind, Inspector.
Mr. and Mrs. Houseman forgot to pack toothpaste, so they asked for a tube. We always keep a few extras aboard the train. People always forget something. And Mrs. Bronwyn asked for some ice cubes for Calvin to chew on
. S
he
said it
help
s
him to fall asleep. Oh, and Mr. Sloane asked for some peppermint tea. He said his stomach was unsettled.
"

"
It aids digestion,
"
offered the
i
nspector
.

"
His nerves were probably frazzled
from carrying that diamond around with him.
"

"
You are probably right
.
Thank you
,
Willy. You have been most helpful. I
'
ll probably have more questions for you later, if you don
'
t mind.
"

"
Not at all
,
Inspector,
"
he said.
"
Not at all.
"

"
This is absolutely dreadful. This whole affair, simply dreadful,
"
exclaimed Mrs. Bronwyn as she took her seat across from
Dabruzzi
.

"
I quite agree with you, Mrs. Bronwyn
.
It is all highly unfortunate.
"

"
Well, you must realize by now that nearly everyone had a chance to take that silly diamond. That corridor was on the way to the
d
ining
car. Everyone would have passed it at one point.
"

"
You are quite right, Mrs. Bronwyn
.
"

"
But, there is one thing that is bothering me. One thing I can
'
t figure out,
"
she said with a puzzled
expression
.
"
What would one do with the diamond after they stole it? It is so incredibly famous that there is no way anyone could sell it without revealing they
’
re the thief.
"

The
i
nspector
took a deep breath before formulating his response.
"
You are right on some levels, assuming the thief is an amateur. However, there are many networks all over the world that are designed for distributing stolen goods. Surely you have heard of fences?
"

"
Yes, of course, but the Diamond of Madagascar is notoriously famous
.
"

"
It is
,
yes, but for someone with
access to
a sophisticated network, it would not be difficult to find a buyer. Someone with a great sum of money and even more discretion. It was probably already sold to someone even before it was stolen.
"

"
You mean,
"
Mrs. Bronwyn interjected with great alarm
,
"
t
he
diamond
was custom ordered?
"

"
In a
ma
n
n
er of speaking, yes, you could say that.
"

"
My word
.
Simply unbelievable. The things people do.
"

"
Tell me
about your morning
, please
.
"

"
My morning? Oh goodness, it
'
s quite unremarkable
,
in fact. Let
'
s see. I woke up around
seven
, and poor Calvin needed his breakfast, so I immediately fed him to keep him from nagging me. He is so persistent when it comes to food!
"

The
i
nspector
gazed
down
at
the sleeping Norfolk Terrier. It was hard to imagine an overly active appetite from such a small dog.

"
After I fed him,
"
she continued
,
"
I took him with me to the washroom cubicle. I don
'
t generally take very long to get myself together in the morning, but the way the train rocks back and forth
plays
havoc with my makeup application. Not that I wear much, you understand, but I like to keep some secrets to myself.
"

"
I understand
.
"

"
Are you married
,
Inspector?
"

"
No
,
I am not. I was almost married, a long time ago, but that
story is for another day
.
"

"
Such a shame. Perhaps it
’
s your occupation. It
'
s a dangerous profession, and many women would be put off by someone who puts himself in peril every day.
"

"
That could have been a contributing factor
.
"

"
Oh
,
most certainly
.
I think it would have been.
"

Looking through the hole
in the tablecloth
,
I
saw
Mrs. Bronwyn
take
a sip from the glass of ice water she had in front of her. The clinking of the ice cubes alerted Calvin, whose head popped up.
"
Go back to sleep
,
my dear
.
I
t
'
s nothing.
"