Previously on O.W.C.A. Academy:
Thanks to that stupid Darren Perry can't even focus on his schoolwork, which is bad timing since they're doing a project together. But maybe something mysterious and exiting can get our hero on better thoughts.
9. Elementary, My Dear Perry
"How is your case coming up?" I asked Terry by the school lockers.
"It is actually going pretty well", he said, "We have an idea about who the thief is, but we are still trying to figure out how he did it."
"Yeah, it's actually much harder than I thought it would be", I admitted. "When are you supposed to be done?"
"Tomorrow", Terry informed. "Our group is going to gather today so we can finish it."
"We've still got two days left", I told him. "It doesn't feels like much time, but according to Inspector Mars that's about the same time as the real investigation took."
"Have you come up with anything so far?" Terry asked.
"Well, we believe we can exclude at least one of the suspects, but since we haven't got much further than that we still can't guarantee it wasn't her", I told.
"Well, one of the rules in the agency's handbook does say: 'be suspicious about everything'", Terry quoted.
"Yes, and 'always keep your eyes open'", I added.
"Speaking about that, have you seen Pinky anywhere this morning?" he asked.
"No, but he should be here somewhere", I assumed and began to look around in the hallway after the little puppy.
A soft familiar barking caught our attention and we followed the sound. We found Pinky perkily leaning against someone's locker, flirting with a poodle agent.
"Sí, it's true, Master Rae did say that I am one of the quickest dogs he has ever trained", he bragged loudly.
"Hello Pinky!" I cut in.
"Oh! Hola mi amigos!" Pinky said happy.
"I think I have to go now", the poodle claimed.
"Oh, okay, but maybe we'll see each other later", Pinky said hopeful while the poodle turned around to leave. "Have a nice day, señorita!"
I noticed that Pinky dreamily kept watching her until she was out of sight.
"Well, watcha think?" he asked us hopeful.
"I think you will have to work more than that if you want to impress her", Terry said sincere.
The smile on the chihuahua's face lowered in disappointment.
"Yeah, like none of you have been checking out any chickas", he said offended.
"Actually no", I admitted, completely honest.
"Well, it is not like O.W.C.A. is crowded with platypuses for you, my friend", Terry said to me.
"No, but there are a number of turtles around here", Pinky pointed out, "like Tina the Turtle. Whatcha think of her, Terry? Huh? Huh? She ain't too shabby?"
Pinky poked indicatively with his elbow on the turtle's hard yellow plastron. Terry looked at him perplexed and frowned.
"She is a sea turtle", he pointed out low.
"Yeah, so what?" Pinky asked and shrugged.
"What do you mean 'so what'!? I am a tortoise!" Terry stated almost upset. "We are two completely different species! Besides, she is much older than I."
"Well, that's a shame", Pinky said sadly, but then he grinned a little mischievous, "'cause I think she has been checking you out."
"She has? Really!?" Terry suddenly lit up and twisted and turned his head eagerly, as if he thought that she was standing right nearby.
Both Pinky and I laughed.
"I thought you weren't interested", I teased him amused.
"I never said that", the turtle marked.
Suddenly, a black-and-white panda bear came towards us.
"Hey guys, wele we supposed to wolk on the ploject now in the molning, ol what?" he asked us a bit annoyed.
"Oh, hola Peter!" Pinky greeted him cheerful. "Yes, we're on our way."
"The othels ale alleady holding seats in one of the study looms", the bear informed.
"Oh! Great!" Pinky said. "By the way Peter, this is Perry. Perry, this is Peter, he's in our group as well."
"Oh! Well, nice to meet you!" I said kindly.
"Yeah hi", he greeted carelessly and immediately turned back to my two buddies. "Well, ale you two coming today, ol what?"
"Yes, we are coming", Terry promised.
"Well, see you later, Perry!" Pinky said to me.
"Hope you manage to solve your case!" I wished them good luck. "Bye!"
While the other three agents went their way, I decided to go and take place in the computer room, where the lesson in computer knowledge would be held. Right when I stepped into the almost empty classroom I couldn't help but to catch up something interesting.
"I tell you, it must have been one of the shorter agents around here. The size fits and we are the only ones that have access to the agency area."
"Yes, but not to the laboratories."
It was Herman the Hedgehog, who sat and conversed with a mongoose agent behind two of the computers in the room. The one at Herman's desk was showing some kind of dark video.
I got to know that Herman had taken interests in the laboratory accident and was helping out with the investigation. Ever since he openly had questioned who the unidentified creature on the surveillance camera could have been, things have been going on in my head. I had lain sleepless all night because I couldn't stop thinking about whom or what it was that had caused the incident and why. I actually found it all very exciting. After all, this was a real mystery! If I got the chance, I wouldn't miss out on the opportunity to put my bill in business.
The seat next to the spiny mammal was free so I decided to take it.
"Hi, are you talking about the laboratory accident?" I asked the sandy-beige animals.
"Um, yes, actually we do", Herman said, a bit surprised by my sudden arrival.
"Have you come up with anything yet?" I asked curious.
"Well, we are pretty sure that it wasn't you at least", the mongoose cleared out.
"Yea, 'cause you arrived here first after this so called "accident" occurred", Herman said.
"You mean you don't think it was just an accident?" I asked interested.
"No, we've talked to all the scientist and they could all establish that the explosion didn't occurred due to any incorrect handling of unstable chemical concentrations", the mongoose told.
"Yea, it was rather caused by a big mixture of many different kinds of substances", Herman said. "They found a lot of waste products on the floor and the walls that showed indications of mixtures that hadn't been blended the day before."
To be honest, I didn't fully understand what they were talking about.
"So, uh, what do you think could have caused all that?" I asked a bit unsurely.
"Manny and I have developed a theory", Herman told, and made a nod to the mongoose, which apparently was named Manny. Then he leaned closer towards me to speak more quiet. "We suspect that one of the agents is responsible for the incident."
"You mean somebody here broke in!?" I asked astound.
Both the hedgehog and the mongoose quickly hushed at me and pointed carefully indicating at the row behind us to inform me that we weren't alone in the room.
I had been so engrossed in the case that I hadn't noticed that people had started to drop in. Embarrassed I smiled apologetically.
"Sorry!" I whispered.
"Alright, agents", the teacher said suddenly, "you can begin to start up CAD and continue with the exercises."
The sound of twenty loading computers began to buzz over the whole room. While I waited for the program to start up, I couldn't help but thoughtfully glance at my classmates. Could anyone of them possibly be the mysterious creature from the lab? We might actually have a real criminal among us…
But that can't be possible, I thought for myself. We're agents. We're here to learn how to fight criminals, not becoming ones. Why would anyone here even wanted to turn over to the evil side? It doesn't make any sense!
I sure had experienced that not every agent around here is as friendly as others, but does that really make them evil?
Sighing, I instead tried to concentrate on the CAD-exercise on the computer screen that showed a map over Danville's underground pipe systems. While I was dividing the town's water supply system and O.W.C.A.'s secret tunnel system into different layers I suddenly come to think of something. How did the thief even managed to get inside the lab in the first place? It's not like the agency skimps on the security systems. The thief must have been very clever to just barely escape the surveillance cameras.
Still though, he or she did actually get caught on film, I remembered.
I glanced over at Herman's computer, whose screen once again showed that dark video I managed to get a glimpse of earlier. He scratched his chin thoughtfully as he watched the movie.
"Have you already finished all the exercises?" I asked him quiet.
"Huh? Uh, no, I'm just… takin' a break", he said a bit abashed.
"That doesn't happen to be the tape from the surveillance camera?" I asked curious.
"Actually, it is", he said.
"Can you see the thief… or, well, the creature, on it?" I asked.
"Yea, take a look!"
He turned the screen so I could see better, and then he pressed play.
The film showed the dark laboratory room at night. Rows of tubes and oddly shaped beakers were standing on the benches. The glasses, some of them filled with liquids, reflected the little light that was in the room towards their polished surfaces.
At first I almost thought it was a still image because nothing happened, but all of a sudden one of the glasses tipped over on one of the other that fell over the next one and so on, forming some kind of domino effect through the room. A light from a flame ignited one of the wooden benches and lit up the video. The fire quickly spread out over the surface of one of the spilled fluids and made the flames grew taller. An electric spark crackled by the cables along the wall before the whole video suddenly flashed and became white. Then all that was shown was noise.
"And, yea, that's when the camera broke", Herman explained and stopped the clip.
"Um, I didn't see any living being", I said. Throughout the whole time, I had carefully watched over the slightest movement, but apart from the tipping cups and the fire, I didn't noticed anything.
"Yea, it's pretty difficult to notice it in normal light", the hedgehog told, "but if you switch over to infra-red…"
Herman restarted the clip and pressed a button that made the image become almost entirely navy blue, with exception for some red, yellow, green and purple dots. Just like before, nothing happened in the beginning, but then one of the coloured spots started to expand, and so did the others until the whole picture became more and more red and yellow.
"There!" Herman suddenly exclaimed and pointed at a curiously shaped orange stain that didn't really seem to belong to the other blothes. The small dot moved rapidly to the place where the entrance to the lab was. It stopped for a short while, probably to open the door, and then it disappeared.
"The pattern of the movement indicates that that wasn't heat radiation emitted by any of the hot liquids nor the fire", Herman said.
"No, I thought so…" I said contemplated, and rewound that particular part a number of times to look more thoroughly, both in infrared and in normal light. "You think it could have been any of our agents?"
"Yes, I've analysed the clip many times and estimated that the individual must have been less than four hands tall", the hedgehog told.
"That means it can't have been a human", I presumed.
"Nor a wild animal", Herman added. "It's highly unlikely that a such creature would have been able to open the door that easy."
"But why would anybody here even wanted to break in?" I wondered, almost franticly. "Did anything get stolen by the way?"
"Hard to say, everything in the lab was destroyed in the fire", he told. "Though, one thing that I'm interested in is how the thief managed to get inside the lab. None of the agents has access to the laboratories."
"That's what I've been wondering too", I said.
"Actually, some of them had access the day before", someone on the seat behind us remarked suddenly. It was Darren, the little eavesdropper!
"And how come you know that?" Herman asked, a little annoyed about having been overheared.
"Because I was one of them."
