Okay, so I'm writing this because Sandfire Kat kinda give up and I volunteered to take over. So bear with me because I'm not accustomed to writing mystery. But I love this movie as a kid (and I still do.) So creit goes to Sandfire Kat and Great mouse detecive is not mine to begun with so enjoy!
The night was dark and stormy, the icy rain pelting down in thick torrents, splashing onto the ground with the melodic sound that seemed to be amplified in the darkness that hung over the town. Children ran into their houses with gleeful shrieks, making a point to jump into every puddle they could manage on their way inside.
A hunched figure ran through the haze of rain, slipping and stumbling as he went. In his hands, he gripped a fairly large stack of papers, trying his best not to get them wet as he ran forward. In front of him, his house lied neatly, the soft glow of the light from inside seeming quite welcoming as he skidded to a stop, sopping wet by now.
Reaching out, he gripped the doorknob tightly, pushing the door open wide as he stepped inside. At once, heat washed over the mouse, a fire going already in the hearth as he shut the door behind him. Startled by the noise, a figure stood up from the armchair, turning to look at him curiously. "What happened, Basil?" Dr. Dawson asked, looking over the detective's haggard appearance.
A smile spread over Basil's face as he held out the slightly damp pages for the doctor to see. "We have a case!" He cheered loudly.
Blinking, Dr. Dawson took the papers from Basil's hands, squinting slightly as he looked down at the blurred words on the page. As his eyes flashed back and forth across the page, his eyes widened, looking up quickly at Basil with confusion. "Murderers'?" He asked, in pure disbelief. "In a high school?"
"Yes, Doctor." Basil said firmly, his hands clasping behind his back as he spoke. "Status shows that students in that very school are being killed, police finding their bodies in alleyways and on the side of the road. The murderer hasn't been found so far, they are utterly clueless on who it could possibly be." He glanced over at his friend, a familiar glint flashing through his eyes as he finished. "That's where we come in."
"And what do you think about all of it?" Dawson asked. "You don't think that it could possibly be…" He trailed off, never the one to go around and think such thoughts. When it came to children, Dawson always had a soft spot for them. But the doctor was almost positive that Basil also had the same weakness, showing quite obviously in the case with Olivia six years ago. The doctor just couldn't even consider the fact that a student would be doing such things.
Basil seemed to have already thought about what Dawson was about to say though, starting another bad habit- pacing. "I've considered that." The detective said thoughtfully, his eyes on the ground as his face creased with thought. "After all, age never did stop Ratigan." The brown mouse paused, glancing over to the mantel at the large yellow bell seated on top of the wooden heath. But he shook his head roughly, continuing in his small, measured steps. "I suppose we'll just have to go there first thing in the morning, it's actually not that far from here."
"And then what?" Dawson asked, puzzled. "It's not as if we can come right out and announce that we suspect their students of the killings. And we wouldn't be able to follow the children and watch them all morning."
"No, but we can take them in for questioning." Basil sighed shortly, stopping in his tracks as he looked over at Dawson. "Maybe we can even-" He broke off as a loud shout cut him off, Mrs. Judson rushing into the room like it was on fire. Basil blinked as she came to a stop in front of him, obviously cross as she glared sharply at Basil, tapping her foot on the ground, arms crossed over her chest. "…What?" Basil asked innocently.
"What do you mean, What!" Mrs. Judson hollered. "Just look at what you're doing!"
"I'm not doing anything!" Basil snapped, folding his hands over his chest indignantly.
"You're dripping all over my floor!" Mrs. Judson retorted, jabbing her finger down at the damp spot on the rug Basil was currently standing on. The mouse blinked, looking down and becoming quiet. The housekeeper heaved a large sigh. "It's late, I'm going to bed." She glanced outside at the pitch-dark night that had settled over the town of London. "I would suggest you do the same, Basil, but I know you wont."
Dawson looked over at the detective as Mrs. Judson turned on her heel and went away to her own room. "Should I meet you here tomorrow?" The doctor asked, turning and shrugging on his coat. Basil cleared his throat, "The school starts at 7:15, I suggest you get here early, Doctor. I wouldn't want to miss when it first starts."
•٠·˙ •٠·˙ •٠·˙ •٠·˙ •٠·˙ •٠·˙ •٠·˙ •٠·˙
"I want to thank you again for coming, things have gotten really hectic here." The principal sighed tiredly, Basil walking alongside her as she spoke, eyes watching the crowd of students filed past them to their first hour. "Everybody has gotten quite terrified about their own safety. Parents are thinking about moving…" She sighed once more, looking over helplessly at the detective. "I just want everything to be solved."
"And that is precisely why we are here." Basil assured her quickly, leaning over and elbowing Dawson in the side roughly, his partner looking as if he were about to fall asleep where he stood. "If you could just give us a copy of your schedule for each grade and let us look around the school for any possible clues to this, that would be appreciated."
The principal blinked, confused. "You think…that something might help you HERE?"
"Just trying to fit the pieces together." Basil smiled easily. "My partner and I planned it all before we came today, you just have to give us clearance to look around for a while. I assure you- the sooner you let me work, the sooner I'll be able solve this case."
"…Alright." She murmured skeptically, eyeing the detective as she cleared her throat. "I'll just go get the schedule, I don't know whether we have one with all of the grades on it, but I'll give you one of each." She then turned, walking briskly into the office, leaving Basil and Dawson to stand in the halls among the teenagers, looking very out of place.
"Step Two, Dawson." Basil muttered, looking at the doctor out of the corner of his eye. "We have to find out what grade has the most deaths. That it the one we need to keep a close watch on." His eyes narrowed as two teenage boys shoved past him, knocking into him as they went. "…I always hated high school Dawson. Worst four years of my life." He growled.
"Quite." Dawson yawned, not entirely on the same page as Basil as he blinked tiredly.
"Here you are." Basil jumped as he turned, the principal standing beside him once more. She held out her hand, four pieces of paper clenched in her hand. "This is which bell signals the end of the grades. If you want to ask some children questions like you mentioned before, you'd best do it during passing period. If the kids end up being late, if you could just…escort them back to their room, they wont be marked absent."
Basil blinked, reaching over and taking the papers from the white mouse gently. "Thank you very much, I'll be sure to do that." He promised, flashing her a smile. "Well, Dawson." He turned back to his partner. "We'd better get started."
Giving a small nod to the woman, he turned and started away, walking in careful, deliberate steps as he looked around. Dawson cleared his throat, beginning to wake up, it seemed. "So what are we looking for, again?" He yawned.
"We're going to go to the library." He said, looking over his shoulder at his friend. "Where we can look at the school records without disturbance." He reached into his coat, withdrawing a large amount of newspaper clippings. "And then match their name and grade to those who were killed."
Killed. The word still made Dawson flinch. Death was worse enough on its own, it didn't need to cut a child's life in half. Steeling himself, he sighed, looking around at the empty hall with confusion. "Where did everyone go? Wasn't this place packed a few minutes ago?"
As if to answer him, a shrill bell rang overhead. Looking down at the crisp papers in his hand, Basil smiled. "Class has started. That makes everything all the more easier." He said firmly. "Come on, Dawson, the sooner we start, the sooner we get out of this place."
"But Basil, wait!" Dawson cried, stopping Basil in his tracks as the detective looked back at him, irritated. "What is it?" He asked, looking around for something that would have set off his partner. But what he saw made him narrow his eyes slightly.
Down the long corridor, sat a group of girls, laughing and giggling together loudly. It seemed to be closer to shouting, as he thought about it. At once, Basil's eyes drilled into the middle of the group, catching sight of a small girl, her figure hunched and eyes downcast as the group laughed. At once he knew they weren't friends.
"C'mon, Dawson." Basil sighed, marching down the hall quickly. The doctor blinked, looking after him in slight shock for a moment, then recovered as he smiled. He knew it. Jumping, the slightly pudgy doctor quickened his pace, trailing after his friend as he looked at the scene anxiously.
"Hey!" Basil called out, mentally cursing himself for getting involved with this. His eyes widened as the girls ignored him rudely, one of them darting forward and pushing the girl from before over, a loud smack sounding as the undersized girl landed on the ground. "HEY." Basil yelled loudly, catching their attention this time as they all whirled around, eyes widening guilty as they realized they were being watched.
Basil came to a stop in front of the group, looking at them all sternly. The girl pushed herself up from the ground, looking up at him, looking as if she were about to say something. But she stopped as her eyes landed on him, her jaw going slack.
"What were you doing?" Basil demanded the girls in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest. One of the girls, a black-furred mouse, spoke up from where she stood. "Well…she fell…and we were trying to help her up-"
"You know that's not what happened! What fool do you take me for?" Basil snapped, the girl wincing as she shrank back. A small murmuring started in the group, words of who Basil was, the detective sent here about the murders. This fact subdued the group entirely. Looking hard at each of them, Basil jabbed his finger forward, away from the girl who still sat on the ground. "Get to class." He ordered. "Now. The bell already rang. If I knew your names, I'd report you to the principal, but since I don't, I'll let you go on ahead."
Without needing a second thought, the teenagers raced away in separate directions, not waiting for Basil to change his mind as he glared after them. "This was why I hated high school." Basil sighed to Dawson. "Too many…people like that." He sniffed disdainfully, pausing for a moment before looking down at the girl.
She was small, looking like she should be in middle school or 5th grade. Round, blue eyes stared up widely at him, soft brown fur looking almost feathery, downy and soft. Basil blinked, reaching out and offering her his hand. "Terribly sorry, Miss." He smiled. "Maybe you-" He was but off as the girl grabbed his hand tightly, pulling herself up and falling forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as he hugged him, nearly cutting off all of his air.
"Is it really you?" She asked, Basil going rigid as she clung to him. "I can't believe it's you, I've missed you so much!" He looked over at Dawson, confused. But the doctor seemed just as lost as he was, his brow creased as he mouthed to the detective. 'Do you know her?' But Basil shook his head once, eyes widening.
"Uh- Dear?" Dawson tried, but the girl only whirled around, turning her hug to the smaller man. "And it's you! I've missed you BOTH!"
"I'm sorry." Basil said, the girl blinking as she turned over to him, confusion taking on her face as he went on. "But- I don't have any recollection of meeting you before." Hurt flashed through the girl's eyes as she ducked her head. "You don't remember me?" She asked softly. "How could you forget?"
Basil was silent for a moment, staring curiously at her. He had to admit, something was awfully familiar about her. The small height, the soft fur, the bright eyes, all the way down to the childish voice. Basil never really forgot a face, maybe once or twice he had. But he always remembered them at the last moment.
A thought wriggled itself in his head, the detective tilting his head as he tried to fit the name to this girl. It was about a one in a million chance. Basil had made himself see reason, that he'd never see her again. But certainly this girl pointed to being the very same. After all, there wasn't anybody else she could possibly be. But the very thought of her being…in high school now…
"Olivia?" He whispered in disbelief, eyes wide as a slow smile spread over the girl's face.
Once again, the girl went forward, hugging the detective more tighter than before. "I knew you'd remember."