The Ideas Pirates (4 page)

Chapter 5

Amy watched passengers going through the scanner. She looked for the Slipper Orchid man. Security staff put bags on a special checker, then they whipped coloured tape around . There was a puff of something like dust.

TV monitors were watched carefully. One screen was coloured. The other was black and white. It was like an Xray. You could see the shapes inside the bags.

‘Look!' Christopher peered behind as Dr Chung's bag went through. ‘It looks like the bone from a skeleton!'

‘The customs people didn't pull him up so it must be okay.'

But Christopher was still suspicious. He told her about the doctor's ‘orchid' message earlier. ‘That might have been a clue.'

‘To what?' Amy was more interested in the next man in line.

‘Look. What d'you notice about him?' she nudged her brother. Christopher stared .

‘Looks grubby. But he's wearing Nike joggers which cost . They don't fit with the flared trousers. Unusual black buckle on his belt. Looks like an insect-shape.'

‘His gold Rolex watch is expensive.'

‘Might be a fake. He needs a shave and a haircut. His sunglasses cover up his eyes. Remember what Gloria said. Look for something that doesn't fit. He's sweating.'

‘Singapore's hot.'

‘Yes, but he's only carrying one small bag and a video cassette. And his pants are very baggy.'

‘Baggy enough to cover up something strapped to his legs.' suggested Amy.

Edwina was strapped inside her backpack. She was a bear essential to travelling. She travelled everywhere with Amy, but hidden in a backpack not out in the open like the gnome. And Amy wasn't a wildlife smuggler. Baggy Pants put a cassette case carefully on the moving scanner.

‘Okay to put this through?'

‘Yes sir. It won't hurt your content.' The neatly dressed staff were very polite.

‘You're quite sure it won't hurt what's inside?' The man looked worried.

Amy turned sideways to read his name tag. It said SEBASTIAN someone and a lot of squiggles.

‘The cassette is very light, sir.'

‘A short movie,' muttered the man.

‘What's it about?'

‘Spiders,' muttered the man.

‘Excuse me sir, what's in your top pocket?' The security guard put his hand on Sebastion's shoulder.

‘Er ...' Sebastian didn't want to show him. His hand protected his pocket.

‘Nothing much.'

‘Could we see, please sir?'

Slowly, Sebastion pulled something out of his pocket. A small, crushproof box.

Quickly, the guard opened it.

‘Careful!' said Sebastion. ‘Don't hurt them!'

‘Them?' The guard moved more cautiously. ‘What are they?' He peered into the darkness of the box.

‘Spiders!'

‘In there?' The guard dropped the box. Christopher dived and caught it, just before it reached the ground. He held it between his two hands, just as some black legs moved out of the box and onto his arm.

‘Yuk!'

‘Careful! I had five immature spiders in there. Don't hurt them. I love spiders.'

‘Must be a spider-freak,' muttered Amy. ‘What would you do with them when you got them home?'

‘That's what I was going to ask,' muttered the guard.'

‘I keep them in my linen cupboard. I just look at them.'

‘Well, not these ones sir. We'll have to look after them for a while.' Busily the guard put the spiders into a larger container. ‘I've had a hitch hiker before but not one like this!'

‘What do you mean, “hitchhiker”?' As usual, Amy was curious.

‘Spiders get caught up on luggage and come for the ride. Usually they're outside on the baggage. They might fly from country to country without anyone realising.'

‘Is that a problem?'

‘Spiders are difficult to test. They might be carrying disease .But giving them a blood test or any other kind of test to find out, is hard.'

‘You mean their legs are too thin?' suggested Christopher.

‘Mmm. Okay ,that's fine sir. Through you go.'

Another officer watched the screen as the cassette-case passed through the scanner. Amy peered , but she couldn't quite see. The doorway beeped as Sebastian went through, so security ‘wanded him down' with the hair-dryer look-a-like. He emptied his pockets. Wallet, comb, ticket and keys.

‘Ping Ping Ping.' The wand got excited near his belt.

‘It's your belt buckle, sir.'

The electronic reader reacted to the spider buckle. Sebastian undid it. The security officer looked closely at the spider shape.

‘That's okay ,sir. It's not live. You may go.'

Sebastian looked very relieved. He collected his cassette-case and cradled it in his arms. Amy watched him. It was unusual for someone to be so careful with a cassette.

Still talking, Winston hurried up with his attendant. Furtively he dropped something in the bin.

Then he saw the airlines forbidden goods display in the glass case and stopped. ‘Cool! Ace spider!'

‘You just missed some of his little cousins,' Christopher explained.

Amy peered at the aerosol sprays, lighters and matches. Amongst the forbidden goods , the model of a spider with black hairy legs looked scary.

‘I'm going to shoot it,' said Christopher.

Winston misunderstood. ‘Don't do that! Oh...' Then he saw the camera.

Amy hoped that photo wouldn't turn out, but Christopher had read the instructions now, so she didn't think much of her chances.

‘I've got a spider.' Winston reached into his bum-bag and found his wallet.

He pulled out a photo. ‘Look. This is Tammy.'

It was one of those family photos. Mum,Dad, two kids and the family pet.

Only the pet was a bit hard to see. Amy could see Winston's hand stretched out to the camera. But she couldn't see what was on it. She pushed back her glasses.

‘See. This is a close-up!'

Winston flipped on to the next photo.

‘What sort is it?'

‘Tarantula.'

‘Yuk!'

There on a giant hand was a giant spider. Luckily it was just a photo.

‘This is my pet Tammy on my hand!'

‘Tammy the tarantula? How do you know it's a girl?' Amy wasn't keen on going that close. Winston shrugged.

‘How would you keep a tarantula quiet enough to smuggle on a plane ?' asked Christopher.

‘Bang it on the head with a towel,' suggested Amy. ‘Or use your foot, hard!'

Then she looked more serious. ‘ Perhaps they spray them, or freeze them?'

‘I know about spiders.' Motor- Mouth Winston couldn't help telling her. ‘Cold blooded creatures slow down when they're cool. Then they'll stay in a crush- proof box. They don't need much oxygen.'

Then the twins realised why Sebastian had his spiders in a box. Amy was fascinated. ‘Would smugglers need to put the tarantula to sleep?'

‘Not really. Cold blooded creatures don't need much oxygen. Sometimes collectors just wrap them in a box. The cooler it is, the less the spider moves.'

‘You know a lot about spiders.' Christopher said admiringly. ‘Should have been here five minutes ago. They found some baby spiders in a box on the guy called Sebastian.'

‘That's not fair! They wouldn't let me bring MY pet on holiday.'

The security man overheard Winston. He said. ‘ Lots of people keep pet spiders. Then they want to bring them on holiday and get upset when they can't. We don't understand enough yet about spiders' diseases and how they spread. Even with designer pets!'

On the other side of the scanner, Baggy Pants seemed to be listening as he collected his cassette and bag.

‘Like us and Tammy.' said Winston crossly. ‘What about colour coordinated pets then? Are they banned too?'

‘Do some owners really like to have colour coordinated pets'

Was Winston joking? Amy wasn't sure. After all, she changed her clip-on glasses frames to match her T shirts. Now she was pink, while earlier she'd been rainbow.

‘Designer pets. That's how some spiders are treated now in the States!' Winston was getting wound up on a favourite subject: ANYTHING HE knew about!

‘Are you joking? Does that mean the owners design the pet?' Christopher said thoughtfully.' What about stripy spiders? Or red and white gnomes.'

They all laughed but Amy squirmed. Which pet would design an owner with a matching Motor Mouth? A frog? Or a cocky?

‘Singapore's hot. Maybe a spider would wake up and move around here? Even with the air conditioning.'

Amy shuddered and then pretended she hadn't as Christopher nudged her.

‘There's the scanner guy.'

Big Ben wore white loafers and those light pants you can wash overnight. As the big man picked up his bag, he dropped something. The film canister rolled under the seat. Christopher bent over and picked it up. He went to give it back to the man but, at that moment ,he elbowed past and Amy screamed.

A real spider ran across the floor.

‘Ahhhhh.' Then she was mad at herself for giving in to a fear girls were supposed to have. But she really didn't like spiders!

‘Another hitchhiker,' said the security man. ‘ Caught on someone's bag.'

He went to stamp on it, but Baggy Pants Sebastian turned, raced back through the scanner doorway and stopped him.

‘Spiders are beautiful creatures. Let it go!' He tried to pick it up but the spider ran out of sight under the seats.

Amy tried to link “spiders”with “beautiful” in her head but it didn't quite work.

‘You must go back inside now sir,' said the security officer. ‘You've been passed through security. You were in the sterile area. We'll look after the spider. Quarantine will find it.'

Baggy Pants Sebastian looked really upset. Amy knew how he felt. She wasn't keen on a spider running around either.

But the security scanner line had to keep moving. There were so many passengers.

‘Hurry up.' Next came Big Ben .

With a slight accent, he asked,' Will my cassette be okay to go through the scanner? It won't wipe the content will it? I'd like to show my family where we went.'

‘That'll be fine sir. Was this your first visit to Singapore sir?'

‘Er. no.'

The official looked closely at the passport. ‘You've been here several times sir. About three times a year over the past few years, on the way to Australia.'

‘Er yes. We're a hobby group... a sort of club.' Big Ben looked worried, as if he had said too much.

‘What type of club, sir?' The Singapore security man sounded as though he was just being friendly.

But his eyes watched the man closely.

‘Er ... a naturalists' club.'

‘A nudist club sir?'

Amy giggled. She knew what nudist meant. People who went swimming without any bathers.

‘No,' said Big Ben quickly. ‘We're lovers of nature...bird watchers.'

‘Is that why you had that map in the scanner-photocopier?' asked Christopher.

‘Oh!' The big man turned around and recognised Christopher. He looked annoyed and sounded upset. ‘Have you looked closely at our map?'

‘Er, yes,' admitted Christopher. ‘So did my sister.'

‘I see. Well, so long as no-one else did.' He strode through the security barrier.

Winston had been listening. ‘What's he on about?'

‘He might have thanked you.' Amy was cross. ‘Do you remember all the places on it?'

‘I memorised where the crosses were.' Christopher had a picture mind.

Sometimes that was useful for an airport sleuth. But he'd also forgotten to return that film canister. He slipped it in his pocket with his spare roll. He'd return it later, during the flight. Going for a walk around the plane looking for Big Ben would be something to do to help fill in the time.

Chapter 6

On the shiny floor, just ahead of Amy, was a passport. On the cover was Singapore in gold print. The pages fluttered open. Was it a joke? Had someone stuck it down, like a fake coin? No, it wasn't April 1st. Amy bent down and picked it up. The passport wasn't stuck, it was real.

A passport was very, very important. How could anyone be so careless?

Amy opened the cover. Inside was the photo of the owner. The face was familiar. Amy recognised her. On the next pages were the dates and place stamps of lots of countries. This passport owner had been in America, France and Australia in just one year. A frequent traveller! But where was she now?

Amy looked up.

Just ahead, Fifi was going into the LADIES again, this time near their Gateway 8 Lounge. Amy followed her. ‘Excuse me!' From the back Fifi looked like a gently swaying number eight shape. Her arms were spread around bags, the gnome and a jacket.

‘You dropped your passport!' called Amy handing it to her.

‘Oh, I'm carrying too many things. Thank you, darlingk.' As Fifi stretched out her hand to take the passport, she dropped the gnome.

Her bag was open, it slowly dropped and everything fell onto the floor.

‘Oh no!' said Fifi. In the flurry, she dropped her passport again. The gnome fell too. Like the good netballer she was, Amy made a move and grabbed the gnome by the nose , but it slipped, fell, rolled and ...

Expecting the plaster gnome to shatter, Amy waited for the ‘crack!' . But the gnome just lay on the floor, a white bit showing on its left foot as a slight chip fell off. Amy touched the chip. The gnome wobbled on its side, its face grinning as if it were playing a joke.

‘Oh no. My poor gnome. You'll need a bandaid! That's an idea. T shirts with bandaids!' Fifi bent awkwardly to pick up the gnome.

‘Is that how you get new designs?' Amy wondered if super glue might fix the chip. She had some in HER bag. Ever since she nearly stuck to the seat, she'd stopped carrying it in her back jeans pocket. ‘Would you like some of my super glue?'

‘No. No. No. Every disaster is the beginning of something new,' beamed Fifi. ‘My gnome is still special, even with a chip missing.'

She fumbled in her bag, found a bandaid and put it over the chip. ‘There! What d'you think?'

‘Here,' said Amy in a friendly way, picking up the Singapore passport. ‘You don't want to lose this or that'd be a disaster. You'd never get back into the country.'

Mum would not be impressed by Fifi's travelling habits. Mum made the twins wear their documents on leather straps around their necks. Amy felt for her leather bag. She pulled at the leather string. HER passport was still there! And her other money was safe in her bum- bag.

‘Thanks again,' said Fifi rearranging her things. ‘I've lost my orchid pink lipstick.'

More orchids! Amy decided Fifi couldn't be a smuggler. She was too disorganised! And yet she ran a good fashion business, or so she said. Earlier, she'd explained to Amy about the high costs of designs.

‘Did you start your business in Singapore? Were you born here? ‘

Fifi shook her head. ‘My Dad came from one of the Pacific Islands, but my mother was French. They met in Singapore when he was working here. Our family is a bit of a mixture. I'm lucky to belong to different places at the same time.'

‘That's like us.' Amy explained about the twins' family. ‘Mum was born in Singapore but Dad comes from Australia. Now they work all over the place.' Amy gave up trying to explain their frequent flying family.

She held open the door to the LADIES, so Fifi could go in without dropping anything else. In the LADIES there were rows of combs, toothbrushes and paste for sale. You put money in the top, pressed the right button and then what you wanted fell out the bottom. Amy fiddled with the toothbrush button. Click. A toothbrush fell out. ‘

Ace!' Amy caught it. Someone must have left money in the machine by accident. That reminded her of the nature lover and the photocopier. Perhaps he'd made a mistake and left extra money inside. That's why Christopher found the extra copy of the map. At the basins, Fifi was touching-up her make-up. Now the gnome sat on the ledge next to the mirror.

From this angle, it looked like two gnomes. Fifi looked double sized too.

‘I started out as a model. I was very thin then.' Fifi smiled at her reflection in the mirror. ‘I modelled on the catwalks of Paris. But then I married Gunter. He was a German chef. Gunter cooked his favourites for me. Like pancakes and strudel and noodles. And I ate them. I was very happy. I got bigger and bigger. So I started a small business selling unusual T shirts for large ladies ... and men.

Fifi's T shirts became world famous. Now I've got a problem.' Fifi patted the gnome as if he were a live pet.

Better than a designer spider or a pet rock, thought Amy. But not much!

‘Is the problem something to do with pirates?' Amy collected answers as well as badges, stickers and telephone cards.

‘Pirates? Yes. Thieves have been stealing my T- shirts,' said Fifi over her shoulder.

‘Where from?' Amy imagined a thief outside a factory filling a get-a-way car with T shirts.

‘My head.' Fifi's wrinkles changed on her plump face. ‘Idea pirates have been copying my designs.'

Amy was alert now. ‘ Copying what? The shape or the colour?'

‘My slogans. And my special features. Zips. Hidden pockets for carrying valuables. Perfumed shirts.

They make Fake-Fifis. My designs are smuggled into other countries. They sell them, pretending they have my permission. They don't. Now I am going to stop them!' Fifi outlined her mouth in pink lipstick. Then she squirted clouds of perfume. Amy sniffed ,then sneezed.' Achooo.'

Fifi smelt like a flower.

‘Sorry darlingk. This is my favourite perfume.'

Amy squinted at the label on the bottle. Something ORCHID.

‘Is your perfume called Slipper Orchid?'

‘No. It's called FIFI ORCHID.' Would you like some?' Fifi pointed the sprayer at Amy who didn't duck in time. ‘ Now you will smell like me, darlingk.'

‘How will you stop the ideas pirates?' Amy wondered if she meant Jason as one of the ‘them'.

‘You'll find out on this flight! Trademark owners , like me, put up security with Customs to protect our trademarks. I hold the Fifi T- shirts trademark. So if someone fakes my clothes and tries to smuggle them without paying duty, then Customs are interested. So am I. Customs tell me about the smugglers. They hold the goods and I can take the smugglers to court.'

‘Is that why you're on this flight?' asked Amy. Jason, the mobile -phone caller with all the shirts in his bag. Could he be an ideas thief?

Fifi fumbled in her bag. ‘One reason. I've also just had a big fashion parade in Orchard Road. And I'm going to do another one in Sydney. ‘ She pulled out a spotted bow tie and put it on the gnome.' Like it?'

‘Tee-riffic” Fifi nodded.

‘Customs have had problems with fake Reeboks, fake Levi jeans and Lacoste T shirts.'

‘...and Fake Fifis?'

‘Not as well known yet. Sometimes smugglers try to take thirty or so in their suitcases. They pass them off as personal luggage.'

‘Who are the smugglers usually?'

‘Small shopkeepers. Market stall owners. There's been a bit of a run on perfume lately. Even my expensive Fifi Orchid has been copied.'

‘What can you do about it? ‘ Amy was feeling excited. ‘I'll help.'

‘A smuggler-buster?' Fifi laughed as she took off her jacket. Her Fifi T- shirt was printed in purple on pink. She was a little hard to miss.

‘What does this shirt say?' Amy pointed to the purple words.

‘There's a secret message, underneath!' said Fifi.

‘What language is it?' Amy could read some Chinese picture characters, but not these.' Is it Asian?'

‘No.' Fifi shrugged. ‘It's a secret message. And it's going to help me catch the idea pirates and their customers!'

‘Can't be secret if anyone can read it!' smiled Amy. ‘Does everybody read T- shirt chests?'

‘Yes. But not all think about them. ‘ Fifi laughed. ‘ The T- shirt thieves are in for a surprise. Could you hold my gnome, while I go to the toilet?'

‘No problem.' said Amy accepting the gnome. He felt smooth, not cuddly like Edwina. She could understand that plump Fifi plus gnome might have trouble turning around in the narrow cubicle.

Amy turned the gnome over. Instead of a hole underneath, there was a plug. Was something hidden inside? A gnome could be an excellent hiding place. What would be small enough to hide inside?

Amy tugged at the plug, but it was firmly stuck. But there was a trace of white powder around the plug. Just then, she heard the toilet flush, and Fifi emerged.

‘Thanks for looking after my gnome. I'd hate to lose him.'

Would Fifi hate to lose him or lose what was inside? Sleuth Amy was determined to find out!

‘Yuk, you smell strange,' Christopher sniffed loudly when she returned to the lounge.

‘Oh,' Amy sniffed herself. ‘It's FIFI ORCHID perfume.'

‘Smells expensive.'

Amy smiled to herself, wondering if ‘smell smugglers' existed and how they would capture a smell.

‘We've got an unexpected request, ‘ explained Gloria. ‘The police have asked us to help. 100 grams of Fentanyl Citrate has gone missing.'

‘100 grams doesn't sound very much,' said Christopher.

‘This drug is very concentrated. A hospital was sending it by air. The drug is lethal. It is three hundred times the strength of morphine.'

‘What is it used for?'

‘It's used on patients after they've had an operation. It's broken down a lot...sort of mixed with other things because it's so strong. Usually it can only be imported with the Health Department's permission. ‘

‘Why are the police so worried about it?'

‘Deaths may occur if the drug is used wrongly.'

‘You mean it's a good drug?' asked Amy.

‘Drugs aren't good or bad, it's just what people do with them.' explained Gloria.

‘When was it last seen? ‘ Sleuth Amy went into action. ‘What does it look like?'

‘The package went missing earlier today. It was being transferred from one airline to another. The

Health Department and the Australian Customs Services alerted the Federal police.' Gloria paused.

‘What does it look like? Does it have the name on the outside?' asked Christopher.

‘No. The package is quite small apparently. ‘

‘How small?'

‘Approximately 21 x 11 x 12 cm. The drug itself is a white powder. It's in a small container within the package.'

Amy wondered if that was gnome sized? ‘What do we do if we find anything?'

‘I don't think that's very likely. But you never know. Anyone with information about the drug package or about anyone connected with its disappearance is to contact this number.' Gloria fumbled in her pocket for the piece of paper with the phone number. She scribbled it down for the twins.

‘Here you are...It can't hurt for you to keep your eyes open ... once you've finished the in-flight magazine

Amy? ‘ Gloria winked. She knew Amy was a super-fast reader.'