The Mind Reading Chook (2 page)

Chapter 3

In between jobs, I stay in the bird yard. It's a great place! All kinds of birds rent a space. Ducks. Geese. Even a swan who teaches ballet.

The bird yard is beside the community gardens in the park. I have my own loft where I keep my gear. There's a space for my bike and the sidecar. And I can scratch around in the garden too.

When I get home, I turn on my tablet. I tap my keyboard. Not everybody talks Chook. So a tablet screen is useful for a hi-tech chook like me.

I try Chooks Anonymous. You can leave a question. Other people read it, and they leave answers if they've got any.

I write: ‘Lost sense of humour belonging to Merlin. Please contact Astrid the Mind-reading Chook' I type in my link. I hope someone leaves me a clue before three o clock.

I peck in a few messages. You've heard of e-mail. Well, I use c(hook) mail.

Then I play a few games. Later I check for Chooks Anonymous messages online. A few answers come up on screen. Oh no! They are recipes for cooking chicken! I typed Cook instead of Chook. How embarrassing.

Chapter 4

My mobile rings. I lift my wing.

‘Hi. This is Astrid.'

‘Are you the chook looking for a laugh?' The voice is scratchy, I don't like the sound of it.

‘I'm Astrid the part-time sleuth. My client has lost his sense of humour. Have you heard a lost laugh?'

‘Yes,' says the voice. ‘Last night.'

‘How do you know it belongs to Merlin?' I ask.

‘Because he was here earlier,' says the voice. ‘Last night.'

‘Where was Merlin?' I ask the voice again.

‘At the shopping centre.'

‘Which shopping centre?' I ask.

‘The one where I work.'

‘Which one is that?' There must be a million shopping centres in our area. Even a mind-reader can't always get it right.

‘I'm a security guard at the Central car park. I patrol with my dog,' says the voice.

I'm not keen on meeting his dog. Neither are my remaining tail feathers. Since Merlin ‘magic-ed' my best running shoes and lost them, I've had bare feet. Not good for a fast getaway.

‘Meet me outside the Hot Chicken Shop in ten minutes and I'll show you where I saw Merlin.' He gives the map reference number. He hangs up before I can change the meeting place. ‘Not there!' I mutter.

The Hot Chicken Shop gives me the shivers. It was the last place I saw Aunty Rhoda. But the Central carpark is where I found Merlin's van. Maybe I'm getting closer to solving the mystery.

I ride my bike so I won't be late. The mobile clips on the handlebar. My comb-ring swings in the breeze. My number plate is EGGS-PERT. I like the egg theme.

At Central, I park underground. The carpark is so big. No wonder Merlin has forgotten where he left his van last night.

I case the joint. That means I have a look around the Hot Chicken Shop. I sniff around. The bins out the back have bones in them. And cardboardy boxes with grease spots. Ex-meals. Ex-chicken. My relatives!

I peck around. I see the black shoes first. Size 14 feet. I look up. Legs like tree trunks. The security guard wears a uniform. His dog is large.

‘Woof, woof, woof.' Luckily the dog is on a leash.

Quickly I flash my I.D. CARD Then I show a ‘mug shot' of Merlin. ‘Have you seen this man laugh before?'

‘That's Merlin, isn't it?' says the security guard. ‘He was in the mall yesterday afternoon. Next to the perfume stand.'

I look into his mind. There's a Merlin shape. He does know Merlin.

‘So what sort of chook are you?' asks the security guard.

‘I'm an English Sussex. See. I'm white with a black collar.'

‘Rufus has a collar.'

I'm glad about that. Rufus is pulling on the leash. He's pulling away from the security guard and towards me. I'm NOT glad about that.

Rufus takes a lunge forward. I move, FAST!

Chapter 5

Every detective story has a chase. And this is mine.

I squawk and run! Rufus follows me. I feel his hot breath behind me. My tail feathers quiver.

The long passageway of the mall is ahead. It's crowded with traders' stalls. I pant. I need my runners. Rufus is gaining. ‘Woof, woof, woof.' That dog can bark and run at the same time!

I jump a bucket of roses and my wing touches a thorn. ‘Ow!' I nearly lose my mobile.

Rufus hits a pile of cans and they roll everywhere. I sniff and keep fluttering. One stall has after-shave, perfume and powder. I read the labels as I fly past.

Remember, Stop! and Forget.

A girl squirts perfume samples for customers. I sniff, but it's too dangerous to stay. I don't want to be part of a guard dog's snack attack.

I run under the perfume stand. Barking, Rufus follows me. He crashes into a leg of the stand. It falls over. Bottles fall over.

The perfume girl squirts me, ‘This perfume is Remember,' she calls as I fly past. ‘Yesterday, our special was the after-shave ‘Forget'.

Remember tickles my beak. It curls into my memory. Squawking, I keep running. My beak smells wonderful.

Rufus is still right behind. How can I make him stop? Then I remember. Stop!

I do a sharp turn, duck under a low table and run back the way I came. My wings flutter, helping me to balance.

The perfume girl is still there. I re-read the labels, super-fast.

‘Stop!' she cries.

I nod. I grab the spray. Rufus is coming, fast. I squirt in the air. A cloud of after-shave floats over Rufus.

Will it work or not?

Then Rufus stretches out and lies down.

‘Sit,' I say in my best dog-obedience –class voice.

‘Give me back my after-shave,' shouts the girl. ‘That's the new Stop! special.'

I give it back to her. Not only have I stopped Rufus, I have also found a clue to Merlin's lost sense of humour.

‘Why did you call me about Merlin?' I ask the security guard.

Rufus is on the leash again. Perhaps it's like aromatherapy for guard dogs? He looks happy. He likes the smell.

The security guard replies, ‘I saw Merlin last night. He was working on the centre stage. So was the perfume girl. The crowd loved the doves. But the perfume girl kept spraying. The doves weren't too keen on that.'

The guard pats Rufus.

‘Which perfume was it?' I ask.

‘Forget,' says the security guard.

That stops me for a moment. Can't he remember? Then I get it. ‘Oh! That's the name of the perfume, Forget!' I say. ‘The one the girl was spraying?'

‘Yes,' the security guard nods.' She just kept spraying it into the air. The rabbit in the hat started coughing.'

‘Flopsy,' I mutter. That rabbit is always making a fuss.

‘Merlin was there for two shows, so he was sprayed a lot,' says the security guard.

‘Do you remember if he joked or laughed a lot during his act?' I ask.

The guard nods. ‘He smiled and laughed at the beginning of the first show. But by the end he was grumpy. And the rabbit was really cross. Kids were starting to leave early.'

I started to put the clues together. The perfume was called Forget. What if the spray went wrong? When I was in the Lab, those rays went wrong. Stop! worked with Rufus. What if the perfume affected Merlin in some way? Perhaps Merlin ‘forgets' to find things funny when he's been sprayed. Perhaps that's how he lost his sense of humour?

‘Thanks for your help,' I say to the security guard. I leave quickly and ride home. I can feel an egg coming on. Eggs are my ideas. I'm careful about where I leave them.

At home, I check for messages. Chooks Anonymous is quiet. Only one email about Rent-a-Nest. I feel a bit uncomfortable.

Then an egg arrives.

Eggs-actly on time!

Chapter 6

‘I hear you've been running around like a headless chook,' says Flopsy, wiggling her ears.

For such a beautiful bunny, Flopsy is so rude. A rabbit like her doesn't think. Her words hurt. ‘Running around like a headless chook': I can see that in my mind. That picture worries me even more than chicken recipes online.

‘Have you found Merlin's sense of humour?' asks grumpy Flopsy. ‘It's nearly time for the magic show, isn't it? I can't remember what time he starts today.'

‘Remember' was the clue. Maybe my idea was wrong? The guard said Flopsy got sprayed too. But Flopsy was just the same: grumpy before and after she was sprayed with Forget. She hasn't lost her sense of humour because she never had one. But what if she's forgotten something else?

‘If you're not careful, Merlin will sell you at the bird auction,' threatens Flopsy. ‘But I've forgotten which day it's on.'

Ah! Another clue. Has Flopsy forgotten days and times? Maybe the Forget spray did something different to her?

Chapter 7

Other people have a memory. Merlin has a forget-ory. Get it? That's the hole I saw in his mind last time I looked.

I try to look into Flopsy's mind.

‘Do you have a forget-ory?' I ask.

‘What's that?' demands Flopsy.

‘It's the opposite of a memory. Where you lose things ... like Merlin's.'

‘How would I know what I haven't got?' says Flopsy crossly.

As she pushes me away. I try to read Flopsy's cotton-woolly mind. Inside Flopsy's head are white clouds. Sometimes they quickly change to thunder clouds. Her mind is full of complaints that she knits together. She's a cloud-knitter.

‘Go away, Astrid.' She says. ‘Leave me alone.'

‘Hurry up,' Merlin bustles into the room. ‘We have to go to work.' He is still not smiling . But he has unglued and fixed his magic wand. He's wearing his cape with the secret pockets.

I look into Merlin's mind again. He's thinking about the bird auction. Why? Perhaps Flopsy is right. Perhaps he is going to sell his birds. That means us. I'll have to hurry.

I pull out my mobile. I hit information. I get a recorded message. I need the number of the Perfume shop in the mall. Would the Remember perfume do the trick? I hope they take credit cards.

Then I tap into Chooks Anonymous. I need hi-tech help.