Cora Flash and the Diamond of Madagascar (A Cora Flash Children's Mystery, Book 1) (18 page)

Calvin took
her
word for it and lowered his head back to the floor.

"
When you finished getting ready this morning
,
What did you do next?
"

"
I came straight to the
d
ining
car.
"

"
Did you pass anyone on the way?
"

"
No, I did not. I
went
straight
to breakfast
, and joined you at your table.
"

"
Was Calvin with you the whole time?
"

"
Yes,
"
she said.
"
Of course. The railroad insists I keep him with me at all times.
And besides, I could never part with him, even for a few minutes. Where he goes, I go.
"

Calvin poked his head up at that moment, curious about something on the other side of the room.
He arose from his sleeping position,
stretch
ed
into a more limber state
,
and walked to the food cart, sniffing fervently.

"
Well
,
Mrs. Bronwyn, I don
'
t think I have any more questions for you. Is there anything you can think of that I should know?
"

"
Just one thing, Inspector. You have heard the expression
,
‘It
t
akes
t
wo
to
t
ango'
?
"

"
Yes
.
Of course.
"

"
Well, I think there
’
s something to be said in that expression.
Crimes like this often require more than one person to execute. I think it is worth considering that this was a two-person job.
"

By this time, Calvin had made his way to the
d
ining
car
t
and was beginning to poke his nose around the tablecloth, interested in
me
.

"
Go away!
"
I
whispered.

Unfortunately, this did not seem to help. Calvin
'
s tail wave
d
energetically
now
that he was
aware
I
was hiding close by. It had become a game to him, if only he could figure out how to get behind the tablecloth
.

"
Are you suggesting that it was Mr. and Mrs.
Houseman
?
"

"
Oh
,
goodness, no. I mean not specifically, no. But I can
'
t rule them out, and I don
'
t think you should
,
either.
"

"
No one is ruled out at this point, Mrs. Bronwyn.
"

Calvin grabbed a corner of the tablecloth and was pull
ing
at it, determined to remove it from the cart altogether. This, he
must have
surmised, would expose
me
and he would win the game.

"
Stop that! Calvin, stop!
"
I
hissed
.

He
took no notice of
my
order and continued to pull on the tablecloth.

"
Calvin!
"
shouted Mrs. Bronwyn, finally aware of her dog
'
s mischievous behaviour.
"
Stop that right now.
"

He
released
the tablecloth and sat down in front of the cart, staring at it fixedly.

"
You would think the dog had never eaten before. He was trying to pull the food right off that tray. Such a scoundrel!
"
said Mrs.
Bronwyn
.
She took a deep breath and tried to get back on track.
"
Inspector
,
I have also noticed a certain familiarity between the porter and that young girl, Abigail.
"

"
Yes
,
I am aware of their relationship. They
have been
family friends for many years.
"

"
Well!
"
she quipped
.
"
That certainly says something, doesn
'
t it? Someone who quite possibly knew the diamond was travelling on the train and a close family friend on board to help them out, perhaps? Seems a little too convenient, if you ask me.
"

"
I shall take that under consideration,
"
said
Dabruzzi
.
"
I shall take everything under consideration. That is all for now, Mrs. Bronwyn. Thank you.
"

Mrs. Bronwyn stood up from her chair
and made her return to the
d
ining
car.

The
i
nspector
pushed the food car
t
back into the
d
ining
car and motioned for Willy.
"
Willy, you can take this now
?
I am done with it. Thank you.
"

"
You
'
re welcome,
"
he said, taking control of the cart.

"
Oh,
"
said Inspector
Dabruzzi
quietly, so only Willy could hear.
"
When she has climbed out of there
, can you ask Cora to come back to the
l
ounge
?
"

Willy
appeared
shocked and not quite sure what to say.
S
till
carefully
concealed beneath the tablecloth,
I
wondered what
I
had done to give
my
self away.

"
Yes
,
sir
.
I
'
m sure she
'
ll be right in.
"

Willy had stealthily taken the food
cart
and pushed it well out of
s
ight
and into the food preparation area.
At that time, I
was able to climb out undetected and slip out into the main part of the
d
ining
car.

"
Cora,
"
called Dabruzzi.
"
Would you mind coming in next?
"

"
Sure thing, Inspector,
"
I
replied, heading toward the connecting door. Just as
I
was about to enter the
l
ounge
,
Calvin bounded over like a gazelle.

"
Why don
'
t you leave Calvin with me for a bit?
"
I
asked Mrs. Bronwyn.
"
I can watch him.
"

"
Well
, h
e does seem to be quite taken with you. I suppose that would be okay with me if the
i
nspector
doesn’t
mind.
"

"
That is fine with me,
"
he said.
"
I quite like the extra company.
"

"
Then it
'
s settled!
Calvin can stay with me.
"

The dog
curled up
at my feet as I took a
seat across from
Dabruzzi
.

"
How did you know?
"
I began
.

"
It is my job to know
.
I am a detective, Ms. Flash. If I cannot detect a little girl hiding on a beverage cart, then I will certainly not be able to unmask a jewel theft,
will
I?
"

"
I hope you
'
re not mad at me,
"
I
said sheepishly.
"
I just wanted to know what everyone had to say.
"