Story 25: The Case of the Glowing Specter
Scarborough, England, August 1st, 1913
The town of Scarborough on the north coast of England was settling down as the sun had set. At the residence of the Sullivan sisters, which also served as their school, the three women mice were having a private celebration of sorts.
Not only were they celebrating the birthday of their friends, John and Leana Basil, they were also prepped to open their dancing school for the residents of Scarborough within a few days.
"Ready to pop another!" Lizzy shouts, opening a second bottle of champagne, but her sisters, her husband, Auguste and a few other guests, including their friends, Otis the octopus, Gavin the frog and Rufus the lizard did not protest.
"Really wish John and Leana were here," Kitty said, filling her flute glass, despite that this was her third glass of alcohol.
"I think they would not want to be around you when you're drunk," Jodie, her older sister warns. Jodie and Lizzy were twins, but the three of them looked like they were triplets. Kitty was roughly two years younger than her sisters, although their physical features never really changed in the past 16 years.
Kitty looks at the photograph she had of the twins, John and Leana Basil, they were her best friends as they helped her and her sisters fulfill their dreams of securing a place for their dancing school.
"We will be seeing you in a day or two," Kitty said and was about to take a swig of her champagne when the lights began to flicker and then go out.
"Oi, what gives?!" Gavin shouts and Auguste lights a torch. He leaves the room to find the fuse box in the building, but then, an eerie glow illuminates the room from outside.
"WHAT THE?!" one of the guests shouts and then, the glass window shatters. The three Sullivan sisters take cover, as well as their guests, but the glow from outside disappears and the lights go back on. Otis, Gavin and Rufus rush outside, but the specter was long gone.
"What was that?" Auguste asks, but the sisters notice a brick on the floor; there was a note attached to it.
Kitty dares herself to open the note and reads it.
"Leave Scarborough immediately or face the consequences!"
The three sisters hurdle around each other; this was the third time that someone had threatened them, but this time was a little different. They thought that a ghost had visited them this time.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
The train station in Scarborough was busy with holiday travelers, the few who wish to take in the summer holiday before autumn was set to begin in September. The famous mouse detective, Elliott Basil and his family, including their friends had arrived to partake in the grand opening of the Sullivan sisters' dancing school. Basil decided to invite his siblings and their families to Scarborough to meet the Sullivan sisters and celebrate the opening of their school.
It was set to open on the 8th, a Friday and the twins, John and Leana wanted to spend time with their good friend, Kitty Sullivan and her sisters, Jodie and Lizzy. The twins did have a grand birthday with their relatives, the Flavershams up in Linlithgow, they were excited to receive more gifts from their friends that lived in Scarborough.
Their deceased relatives also hosted a grand birthday celebration for the twins in the Heaven realm, where they received new toys that their grandfather, Hiriam had made.
"I suggest we host a grand party for daddy on his birthday," Leana tells her grandparents and friends before departing from the Heaven realm.
"That is a splendid idea, but I do know for a fact that your father doesn't celebrate his birthday," Henry warns, but his student gives him a glare.
"That was before I met Olivia," Basil said and his former mentor was surprised at first, but looks at his student's wife. It was true that Basil didn't take a moment to think about his birthday, but Olivia opened his heart to it when she came back into his life.
In the present, as the family was on the way to their summer home, John was teasing his sister with his new toy, a mechanical strongman or a strong-mouse that he received from his grandfather. The toy showed off its muscles, but Leana was annoyed by it.
"John," their mother, Olivia scolds her son, "Please don't tease your sister like that."
"But it's the best toy I've ever received!" John protests, but his father stands next to his wife, and looks at his son with a scolding face.
"You heard your mother, don't tease Leana like that," Basil insists and the boy mouse frowns as he puts away the toy in his pocket. On the morning of their birthday, the twins discovered their presents from their deceased loved ones, having somehow transferred from the Heaven realm to the mortal world.
Leana was having fun with her new stuffed toy of a female mouse wearing a lovely princess outfit. She did ask her grandparents for a 'comfy companion' of sorts while she slept or read her books aloud.
John also received a type writer, which he was eager to use to create new stories that were floating around in his mind, urging him to type it all down before they went away.
"Mr. Basil!" a voice calls out and they notice the Finley family rushing up to meet them. "Welcome back good friends," Patrick said and they exchange hugs.
"Mom! You have to tell them!" Louie pleads and his mother, Charlotte pats the top of his head.
"Tell us what?" Leana asks and Charlotte chuckles, then rubs her stomach in a tender manner. "Oh! You're going to be a big brother?!" the girl mouse asks her good friend, Louie who smiles.
"Oh my goodness! Congratulations!" Basil and Olivia exclaim and give the Finleys' another round of hugs. "When are you due?!" Basil asks, excitedly, but his wife calms him down.
"Well your son said either late March or early April, and Patrick's birthday is on April 4th, so we're hoping the baby will come then," Charlotte answers and their friends were elated.
"Mom, dad and Louie here believe it will be a girl," Matthew said, but his young brother hits him in the shoulder.
"I would like to have a baby sister, plus the name mom picked really sounds nice," Louie said and the twins ask for the name. "Honora, or 'woman of honor', sounds like a warrior name doesn't it?"
"Honora, that's a beautiful name," Basil said and both Patrick and Charlotte smile.
"Oh, Basil, we received a call from the Sullivan sisters this morning," Patrick said and continues, "They are in urgent need of your help, but they want you to go to their school as there was an incident last night."
"Incident? Are they all right?" Olivia asks and Patrick assures them that the Sullivan sisters were all right.
"Did they mention anything during the telephone call?" Basil asks, but Patrick shakes his head.
"Not much, except that they encountered something like a 'glowing specter' outside the window," he answers and that got the family's interest.
"Well, we'll take a detour and go straight the school," the detective replies and has the Finleys lead the way to the residence of the Sullivan sisters. The walk didn't take long and they notice a few rodents repairing a broken window.
"John! Leana!" a female voice calls out and the twins turn to see their beloved friend, Kitty rushing up to them. She puts down the basket of food she took to the market and the twins jump into her open arms.
"Kitty! Are you okay? Mr. Finley said that you saw a specter last night," John said and Kitty takes a moment.
"Well, I do want to discuss something with your father once we're inside," she insists and shows them inside. The space they walked into was empty, apart from a few mirrors mounted on the walls.
"This is going to be one of our dancing rooms," Kitty said and shows them up a set of stairs behind a door. It lead to the private quarters, which served as the sisters' residence with separate bedrooms.
There were some old vintage posters mounted on the walls in the living room, some of them were of different theater productions from around the world, mostly from Paris. Lizzy and Jodie were happy to see the Basil family, but Jodie was elated to see Dawson.
"My dear, I heard you had a fright last night," Dawson said and Jodie begins to shake a bit.
"Indeed it was frightening," she replies and Lizzy's husband, Auguste brings in a tray of tea and beignets, the signature pastry of his home city, New Orleans. "But we believe the specter is of a living rodent, one that has been sending threats to us," Jodie adds and Dawson was surprised.
"Threats?" Basil asks and Kitty produces a plain wooden box. In it contained the brick that was thrown through the window last night with the note attached. There were two other notes.
The first read
If you wish to survive, leave Scarborough and don't look back.
The second said
You refused to listen the first warning. Consider this as strike two. Leave Scarborough at once!
Basil looks at the recent note and looks at the three Sullivan sisters. "When did you receive the first note?" he asks.
"Sunday, July 27th, someone slipped it under the door during the night," Lizzy replies and her sisters nodded.
"We thought it was a joke, but then three days later, on the 30th, someone pushed Jodie from behind, nearly breaking her wrist and we received the second note that night," Kitty explains and Dawson checks Jodie's wrist, but she assured him that she only received some scrapes.
"Then last night, we were hosting a party in celebration for these two," Jodie said, referring to John and Leana's birthday, and explains of the lights going out, then seeing an ominous glow outside the dancing room window. Then the brick was thrown, breaking the glass, but the specter was gone.
"Do you think it was Pitivo?" John asks Kitty, who shakes her head.
"We haven't ran into him since that time at the carnival," she replies. Kitty and her sisters were aware of the run-away horse incident as Pitivo startled the horse and took the Basil family and their friends, Dawson and Lulu for a wild ride. Olivia had summoned some magic to stop the horse, but passed out as she used too much. Luckily, she and her unborn baby survived the ordeal, but Basil was furious at the rat for putting his wife and children, including the unborn baby in grave danger.
"I mean if it was him, then he would've killed us while you were gone," Kitty explains and the detective nods. Pitivo was hoping to buy the building where the school was to serve as his hideout and away from nosy rodents. Basil was sure that Pitivo wanted to restore the spell book and conquer the mortal world. Thankfully, the witches Tsura and Lulu destroyed it, and the rat had nothing now, as he was stripped of his magic after the run-away horse incident.
"Well Miss Katherine, I do accept the case, that is, if you and your family desire for my help," Basil said and the three sisters were happy that their good friend would aide them in finding this mysterious specter.
"However, I do insist that my wife, Olivia remain in safe quarters at our summer home. I'm afraid that we had a scary ordeal up in Linlithgow and a doctor has ordered her not to partake in any cases until after the baby is born," Basil explains and Olivia nods in agreement, although she wanted to help her husband in whatever way she could.
"What about us, dad?" John asks and Basil looks at his two children.
"I do appreciate the help, but this time I want you to stay beside your mother during this investigation," he answers, but the twins were not happy. "I know it's disappointing, but this might be a little too dangerous than any other case we've had," he explains.
"Yes, that Pitivo fellow would certainly not show mercy this time," Dawson warns, but John pumped up his chest.
"I'm not scared," he replies and some of the adults chuckle under their breaths, including Kitty.
"I agree with your father on this," she said, patting his shoulder and he looks at her. "Why don't you help us in being our body guard and maybe help out here?" she asks and John and his sister became excited.
"I suggest we stay the night here," Basil said and everyone looks at him in surprise. "I would like to catch a glimpse of this 'glowing specter' and protect the school from any other damage that brute will inflict," he adds.
"Oh, thank you Mr. Basil," Kitty said, "But are you certain that the specter will come back?" she asks.
"We will have to wait and see. The second note said 'strike two'. Usually there's three strikes and it's over for the victim, yet I am puzzled as to why it didn't attack you last night," Basil replies and looks at the three sisters.
"Well, as Jodie mentioned we had a party last with a number of friends to celebrate John and Leana's birthday," Lizzy said and adds, "I'm thinking this specter was not strong enough to take on our friends, especially Gavin the frog."
"That was a smart thing to do, having a number of friends be with you," Basil comments and looks to Mrs. Judson and her daughter Rachel, who were in the background this whole time. "If you wish, you can go to the summer house," he tells them.
"Oh, of course, I understand that some electricians put in some work while we were gone," Mrs. Judson replies, "I would like to see it, but Mr. Basil, please take care of your family."
"I always do Mrs. Judson," the detective said and Patrick and his family volunteer to escort the two housekeepers to the 'Hill of Adventure' house.
"Can we spend the night?" Louie asks his parents and his brother got excited. Patrick and Charlotte look at their sons, then at one another.
"I suppose, but call us if something goes wrong, and we'll come get you," Patrick answers. The Finleys leave with Mrs. Judson and Rachel, promising to return to drop off the boys later in the afternoon.
The Sullivan sisters show their friends around the school; there were three rooms catered to different types of dancing, including ballroom dancing and improvised dancing. There was also an outdoor theater where the sisters would put on productions for the town.
"We plan on performing our version of the fairy-tale 'Rumpelstiltskin' on the night of the grand opening," Kitty said, which excited the twins, "And I want to ask you John if you would like to play the role of the imp Rumpelstiltskin," she adds, looking at her young friend.
"Oh really?!" John asks, but then looks at the floor, "But I've never played on stage before," he replies, yet he loved to play pretend with his family.
"Oh, we'll help you every step of the way. Usually youngsters have a hard time remembering their lines," Kitty said and looks at Leana, "And I wanted to have you as the helper who discovers the imp's identity," she tells the girl mouse, who gives a big smile.
"I'd be happy to!" Leana exclaims and then asks, "You're playing the girl who supposedly made straw into gold?"
"Yes and we decided to change the secondary villain from the king to a minister of finances," Kitty said and everyone listens to the change, "I would most certainly not marry a brute who would lock me up for three nights to spin straw into gold, even if he were a king. So, the minister of finances decides to kidnap the girl without the king's consent, as the kingdom is struggling with huge debts from a long ago war.
"When the king discovers the girl, he falls in love and sacks the minister for kidnapping her and ordering her to do an impossible task, but he doesn't ask about the gold as he suspects some 'heavenly beings' saved the girl from death. Then they marry and have a baby, but the imp comes for his payment after completing the third task. And I'm sure you know the rest," Kitty finishes.
"I like your version better," Leana comments and her parents nod.
"Yes, if a king were to mistreat a poor civilian like that, then there would riots," John said and then clears his throat. He then dances around in a circle, while chanting, "Tonight, tonight! My plans I make! Tomorrow tomorrow, the baby I take! The queen will never win the game, for Rumpelstiltskin is my name!"
The adults give an applause while laughing. "That's actually pretty good!" Olivia exclaims and her son stops for a minute, then looks at Kitty.
"Oh little imp," she begins, "This is the third and final day of our guessing game. Is your name 'Charles'?"
"No," John replies.
"'Raymond'?"
"No."
"'Percy'?"
"No, you will never win this game," John said, but then realizes something and looks at Kitty.
"Well, in that case, is your name 'Rumpelstiltskin'?" Kitty asks and John pretends to throw a tantrum.
"The devil told you!" he shouts and turns around to leave, then marches off. There was another round of applause and John and Kitty do a little bow.
"You're actually pretty good, for a beginner," Kitty comments and John gives a nervous chuckle.
"Um, who will play the king and the minister?" Leana asks, curiously.
"Rufus volunteered to play the minister as he is good with money, kind of ironic," Kitty replies and then the door opens and a tall male mouse with light brown fur steps into the room. "Oh and here's the king," she adds and walks up to the newcomer.
"John, Leana, this is a very good friend of mine, Aiden Sweeney," Kitty introduces her companion and Mr. Sweeney looks at the twins, but John's stomach drops. Mr. Sweeney was a handsome male mouse who wore a nice suit and had bright brown eyes.
"Why hello," he said, "Kitty has told me a lot about you, John and Leana Basil, right?" Mr. Sweeney asks and Leana nods, but John doesn't answer. Mr. Sweeney then bids hello to the detective and his wife.
"From the sounds of your accent, you're from Brooklyn, too?" Basil asks and Mr. Sweeney chuckles a bit.
"Yes, Kitty and I use to be an item, that is until she and her sisters left for England. My father sent me away to the most elite law school in the US, Harvard, but after spending one semester there, I wasn't happy. So I begged him to let me go to Europe, where I went to the University of Amsterdam and then finished at Birmingham," he explains and looks at Kitty.
"When I came here last month, I heard of the 'Sullivan Sisters' School of Dancing' and for some odd reason decided to see if the proprietors were related to Kitty. It was a good thing I listened to my gut as we were ecstatic to see each other, again," Mr. Sweeney finishes, but Kitty chuckles and playfully hits him in the shoulder.
"How long do you plan to stay?" Olivia asks, but then notices her son, he had a bit of a frown on his face.
"Until the end of August. I am working for a lawyer's office in Birmingham, but I had thought of moving closer to here, maybe Liverpool or Sheffield, and maybe opening a practice here," Mr. Sweeney explains.
Basil feels his wife touching his arm and he looks over to see John, he did seem jealous of Aiden Sweeney. "Do excuse me," the detective said and takes his son outside; he wanted to have a private word with him.
"John, I know that you really like Miss Kitty, but she is much older than you. She makes her own decisions in life and if she wants Mr. Sweeney to court her, than let her," Basil said to his son.
"I know, but I can't help that that he shows her more affection than I do. Kitty did say that we can still be friends," John replies.
"And one day you will show a young lady the same affection. John, I understand that Miss Kitty makes you happy, but I know that one day, a girl around your age will show up in your life. Why, if you were to meet a girl much later in life and she makes you happy, then I hope you will make her happy," Basil said and his son looks up at him.
"Even if I were be 15 years older than her? Like you and mom?" he asks and Basil nods. "You know, I'd rather fall in love with a foreign girl. I mean, mom was from Scotland, but I don't think that counts as foreign," John adds, but his father chuckles.
"I know that you want to see the world, much like your mother. As Tsura said, nothing is set in stone, so there is a good possibility that you will meet and fall in love with a girl from a faraway land," Basil said and John smiles a bit.
"Do you think I will travel the world as either a boxer or an author?" he asks his father.
"Either one will definitely work, doing both will be better. Writers usually travel for leisure time, but boxers I understand travel to competitions, even abroad. It's your choice really, so whatever path you choose, we'll support you," Basil replies and his son jumps into his arms to give him a squeezing hug. "Gracious! You're pretty strong!" Basil exclaims and gives him a slightly hard hug, he really didn't want to hurt John.
"C'mon!" John demands, confusing Basil for a moment, "You've got to be stronger than that!" the little boy mouse exclaims. Basil decides to give John a more stronger hold on him, nearly cracking his son's back.
"Oh, maybe a little too much," the detective said, but John laughs. They return inside the school, where John joins in discussing about the play on opening night. That evening, Otis the octopus, Gavin the frog and Rufus the lizard decided to drop in for a visit.
"We've heard you were in town!" Gavin exclaims and the twins give them a cheerful hug. "Kitty did tell you about the specter?" he asks and the detective nods.
"I want to ask the three of you, did you see anything unusual, besides the strange phantom," Basil asks the three friends.
"Actually," Otis the octopus replies, "I did notice that the "ghost" left glowing footprints. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to collect them and they must've washed away in the early morning rain," he explains.
"Glowing footprints?" Olivia asks and turns to her husband, who was deeply thinking about this. "That sounds like some phosphorescence material was used, don't you think Elliott?"
"Most definitely," he replies, then turns back at the group of friends. "Can you fully describe the specter? Was it glowing from head to toe?" he asks.
"Sorry, we couldn't really tell," Rufus replies, "When the lights went out, the glow from the "phantom" took us by surprise and didn't fully examine its entire body."
The gears in Basil's brain were still turning and his two children were also thinking. When the Finelys dropped off their sons, the detective suggests of hosting a small dinner party, where they ordered the finest food in town and it would be prepared by the town's best cooks. Bottles of champagne and wine were open, but the children and Olivia settle for seltzer water.
"Oh I can't wait for Christmas," Jodie said, mostly to Dawson, "I think you should come visit in the winter, even though the storms are bad here, but it is so peaceful and quiet here," she tells him.
"Hmmmm, sounds like my kind of place to stay, that is when I retire. Still don't know when as I want to be sure that these two and their new sibling will stay out of trouble," Dawson replies, referring to the twins, but they roll their eyes.
"Dawson," Basil said to his partner, "I appreciate your concern for my children, but as Olivia mentioned-"
"I know Basil, children need to experience some danger in order to know what fear is like," the doctor replies, having remembered what his partner told him some time ago. "However, I think you put them in serious death-defying situations at times. Why, I remember when you took them on a rather horrifying case and they were still infants. I thought my heart would burst out of my chest at that time," he adds and Olivia stands next to him.
"Well Dawson, we really haven't experienced some death-defying cases lately, but Elliott is fiercely protective of the twins. Why you remember that night when we came home from Linlithgow after they were born," Olivia said and the memory strings up in their minds.
"Yes, I do recall Basil being this-" He stops when the lights suddenly go out, plunging the room into darkness. They realized that the sun had set earlier and everyone grabs a blunt object to use for protection.
"Keep your eyes open," Basil urges everyone in the room. Then, they hear a rattling noise; the windows and their shutters were rattling when a gust of wind came in from the sea.
The detective pulls out a pistol from his pocket and fills the chamber with bullets. "Elliott," he hears Olivia, she did sound afraid, but he knew she was afraid for what might happen to him or their children.
"It'll be all right," he assures her and walks up to the front door. He opens it to reveal the empty street; there was no human or rodent roaming about at this time of night, which he thought it was abnormal as it was still the summer season in Scarborough. An eerie mist had come in from the sea along with the wind.
"No one out here," Rufus said, taking a peek outside. "Maybe the power went out because of the wind, happens sometimes. No ghost tonight!" he cheers, but John looks ahead and then points his finger ahead.
"There it is! I see it!" he calls out and everyone looks in the direction he was pointing at. Rufus lets out a cry of fright and runs back inside as he saw what John was talking about. In the middle of the street, there stood the specter, its body giving off a ghoulish light and they hear it growling.
Basil takes a few steps out, placing himself in front of his friends and family, with the pistol in his hand. "You there!" he calls out, "We were having a wonderful time before you showed up!"
"We would like for you to leave! You're scaring our guests!" Mr. Sweeney shouts from behind Basil. The specter, however, lets out even more growls and stares at the group of friends.
Basil then takes aim at the intruder, cocking back the trigger on the pistol, although his hands were starting to shake. "Leave before I reach the number ten!" he warns and starts to countdown, "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9-"
Then, the specter turns around and runs off down a dark alley. The mist then vanishes and the wind was calm once more. Just as the lights turn back on, John and Leana rush out into the street, laughing excitedly, but they stop.
"Dad! Come look at this!" John shouts and the detective comes to their side. On the cobblestone ground, there were specks of powder that gave off a glow, similar to the one from the phantom.
Basil takes over his handkerchief and takes some of the substance, although some got on his fingers. He takes a sniff and lets his children take a whiff. "Garlic?" John asks.
"Wait a minute," Leana said, "Daddy, I did read that grind up bones usually give off a garlic smell if not stored properly," she explains and her brother looks at her in shock.
"That's grind up bone?" he asks and their father nods.
"Now, there's bound to be something else in this phosphorus," the detective replies, then leads his children back inside the school. He places the handkerchief in his pocket, then collects his coat and deerstalker hat.
"Dawson, come along with me, we'll follow those footprints to see where they go," Basil tells his friend and then turns to the others, "I would appreciate some volunteers to come with me, but I want the children to stay here," he said.
Otis and Rufus step forward with their weapons, then Mr. Sweeney and Kitty decide to go with them. They were given torches to light their way in the darkened night. Olivia and the twins urge Basil to be observant in his surroundings and to come back unharmed.
"We will be back before sunrise, I'm sure," he said and leans into Olivia's ear, "Tell the others I'm sorry, but looks like I might not get the chance to visit them tonight." She understood and they share a quick kiss. "Now let's get hurry, we don't have a moment to lose," Basil said and the group leaves the school.
They follow the specks of faintly illuminated phosphorous, they were losing their potency and Basil suspected that the 'specter's' aura had lost its strength, which would probably explain why it ran off.
The fog was eerie, it almost felt like being surrounded by ghosts, especially this late at night. "Mr. Basil," Otis said, pointing up ahead, "That there is the abandoned pharmacy shop." The building they see was boarded up, a sign on the front door said 'CONDEMNED'.
"How long has this place been empty?" Dawson asks, but no one knew the answer.
"It's been like that since we've moved here," Otis replies and Kitty nods in agreement. Basil examines the condition of the exterior, the wooden boards appeared to rotting due to years of rain and fog, and notices a small opening, roughly big enough for a rodent or small creature to fit through.
Before going in, Basil takes a whiff of the cool night air, it was mixed with the sea air, but he could smell something that reminded him of death. "Is there a crematorium around here?" he asks the others.
"No, the closest is about ten miles outside of town," Otis answers and Basil was stumped about this. He could smell the recent burning of flesh and he decides to take look inside the abandoned building, with the others following.
The light from the torches helped the group in finding their way around the pharmacy shop. They notice that there was a dusting of the glowing phosphorus near a table that had a cabinet at the bottom. The door to it was open and Basil shines the light in to reveal different containers of chemicals and even poisons.
"What in the world is this place?" Dawson asks his good friend, "I've never seen a pharmacy be stocked with these kinds of chemicals." Basil looks at the various containers, some had very lethal amounts of poisons, including arsenic, antimony, and even nitrogen.
"I'm thinking that this use to be a chemistry lab," Basil replies and shines his torch up to the top of the table, revealing broken beakers and various instruments used in chemistry.
"Mr. Basil," Rufus said, pointing to a door that had some words, but all spelled backwards.
"DO NO ENTER," Basil reads the backward message. "Makes sense for a pharmacy that would have a lab like this. I believe there was an incident here that resulted in this place being condemned."
"Well, from what I understand, chemistry is pretty vital in pharmacology," Dawson replies, "Chemists need to figure out new drugs for patients and also figure out proper dosages. Yet I am still stumped by the amount of poisons here."
Basil was also puzzled by that, but he decides to take out some small bottles and puts on some gloves. "Basil, what are-" "Quiet Dawson!" his partner urges him as he collects the chemicals in the lower cabinet. He takes small amounts of the components zinc sulfide and strontium carbonate.
"I think we found the properties for our 'glowing specter'," Basil said, making sure the materials were secure in the bottles before removing the gloves.
"I don't doubt you Basil, but what about the grind up bone that you mentioned?" Dawson asks, but his friend snickers.
"It's already in those components," the detective answers, but suddenly, they hear shouts and cries. Basil realized that the others were exploring the lab or perhaps the pharmacy and were startled by something. He did think it was better that someone else be scared rather than his wife and children, but if one of their friends were to get hurt, he would blame himself.
"Kitty!" a voice calls out and the two rush to the source. They stop when a bouncing light rushes toward them; it was the specter or someone wearing clothes that belonged to the specter.
"What in the?!" Dawson shouts, just as the figure stops short of them.
"Hold it right there!" Basil demands, but the culprit turns around and flees in another direction, heading towards an opening through the pharmacy. Basil runs after the crook, with Dawson just behind him.
"Mr. Basil!" they hear Otis and Rufus, "STOP! THERE'S ROTTEN FLOORBOARDS!" one of them call out, but then, they hear Dawson cry out and Basil turns around to see his partner fall through some putrid wood in the floor.
"HELP!" the doctor calls out and Basil quickly rushes to his aid.
"I got you old chap!" the detective exclaims, but he knew that the culprit was long gone. The octopus and lizard rush to assist the detective and his friend, but notice that Kitty and Mr. Sweeney were not there.
"Miss Katherine?" Basil calls out and the others did, too. Once they got Dawson out of the hole, he examines his clothes; they were wet as he stepped into a moist part of the floorboards.
Then, they spot Kitty being carried by Mr. Sweeney, she was starting to come to as she had been knocked out. "Oh my head," she said and Basil notices a bump on her head.
"What happened?" Otis asks.
"I don't know; all I can remember is seeing a bright light coming up from behind me and..." Kitty trails off, trying to remember any other details before she blacked out.
"I think we should go," Mr. Sweeney suggests, "That felon will most certainly come back for us." Basil looks at him, quizzically; there was something unusual about Mr. Aiden Sweeney that he didn't notice until now.
"Where were you?" he asks.
"I got distracted by something, but I thought Kitty was right behind me until she cried out," Mr. Sweeney answers. Then, Dawson begins to sneeze, sniffle and cough.
"Uh oh, you better get home and into dry clothes," Otis suggests and they decided to leave the abandoned pharmacy. Basil shows them the way to his summer home as he thought it was best to not alarm anyone, especially Olivia in her state.
Mrs. Judson and Rachel were surprised when their employer brought a group of unusual characters, but they complied in attending to Dawson and Kitty. Dawson removed his wet clothes, but the cough had gotten worse during the journey home. A wooden bucket was filled with hot water to put his feet in and a warm towel was placed on Dawson's head. He was wrapped in blankets, but he was shivering like mad.
Kitty was given some ice to reduce the swelling on her head. The others helped themselves to some tea and cheese crumpets, but Basil was at work in creating the glowing phosphorus.
While he did put away his chemistry set back at Baker Street, he did keep a spare set at the 'Hill of Adventure' house, but rarely used it. He did ask Otis and Rufus for help in locating any records on who use to own the pharmacy and the lab, even though he knew it was once owned by humans.
The hours went by and before Basil looked at the clock for the first time in a while, he noticed that the sun was rising. He had missed one night of sleep for the first time in years. He wasn't exactly sure of the last time he missed a night of sleep, but his brain was urging him to complete the experiment and think of the possible culprit.
There was a knock at the front door; Basil thought it would be Otis and Rufus, but instead it was Olivia, the twins and Kitty's sisters. "Elliott?" he hears his wife call out to him. He places a protective cover on the phosphorous he created with the zinc and carbonate in the mortar. He turns around in time to see the twins rush to him, but he takes a few steps away from them.
"Please, don't touch me," he urges, "Let me remove these clothes and wash up before touching any of you."
"What happened last night?" John asks his father, but Basil assures him that he will tell them everything once he was washed up.
"And please don't touch that powder on the table or anything there for that matter," he orders and they decide to go out on the porch, wondering if the components were toxic if they breathed in the fumes.
"Oh don't worry so much, I only took a small amount and it won't kill us, although it will irritate your skin if you touch it without gloves," Basil tells them and rushes into the bathroom. He was amazed of the new bath tub that the plumbers put in, along with a shower head. In fact, he was delighted of the new electric lights that were installed while the family was away. He would have to thank the Finleys', especially Patrick for keeping things together while they were gone.
The tub was much bigger than the old one, providing him and Olivia enough room to share, that is if they want to do some foreplay. However, he did recall the doctor at St. Michael's Hospital in Linlithgow that Olivia shouldn't partake in stressful activities until after the baby was born and that she get enough sleep at night. Basil always loved being intimate with Olivia as he never formed a connection with any of the other women mice he slept with. She was different and he did like it when she got into the "mother lion" rage if he got her angry.
He stops thinking as he stands under the shower head as warm water rains over him; he did recall the time experiencing the new invention while in Paris with Olivia. It was much better than being in a tub filled with water that sometimes got dirty rather quickly.
Basil scrubs his hands and then his body clean with some soap, but he was hoping that someone would create something far better than soap. He finishes cleaning off the grim and dries himself off.
He then looks himself in the bathroom mirror; for some reason he was thinking of spending a day alone with Olivia and make love to her. Basil did like to experiment and the idea of playing around did turn him on.
"Elliott?" he hears Olivia outside the bathroom door and he opens it, but pulls her inside and shuts the door, again. "Are you all right?" she asks, placing a new set of clothes for him on the counter.
"I'm all right, just wanted to see you," Basil replies before kissing her. His heart pounds a bit as the kiss became more passionate, but he decides to pull away, which surprised Olivia.
"Are you sure you're all right?" she asks, again.
"My brain has been annoying me for a bit; mostly on what I want, which is being with you and make love to you, but I know you're suppose to get enough rest and not go through any distress," Basil answers and allows Olivia to help dress him.
"I know you want to be with me and I want to be with you, but I think it's best to figure out who would want to scare Kitty and her sisters out of their school," she suggests and Basil nods. They return to the study where the mortar containing the powder was still perched on the table.
He puts on new gloves and removes the cover. "Olivia, can you close the drapes? I want this room to be completely dark if possible," Basil asks, shutting off the lights. Olivia obeys and turns to face her husband, but looks at the powder in the mortar, which gave off a faint glow.
"Hmmmmm, not bright enough, but I believe our assailant took a much bigger amount to create that brighter luminescence," Basil said and Olivia looks at him.
"But wouldn't a larger dose be lethal for rodents like us?" she asks.
"Quite so, unless he is wearing protective gear underneath," her husband answers and opens the drapes, lighting up the room. "Olivia, this might sound strange, but I'm thinking that Kitty and her sisters would use the 'specter' incident to boost the publicity on their school," he said, which shocks her.
"Why would they do that? They are kind and they've worked so hard to get a place for their school. Plus, Kitty really loves the twins, she would never hurt them like this," Olivia explains and then, Basil begins to think.
"That's quite true," he replies and decides to check on Dawson, who was being attended to by Jodie. "How's the cough?" he asks his friend, who was still sniffling.
"Gone down, but oh, my nose," Dawson answers and Jodie offers him a bowl of soup, which he takes a few spoonfuls. "This chicken broth is really amazing. I am starting to feel some relief in fact," he said and Jodie nods.
"This is our go-to remedy for whenever one of us gets sick," she explains, "Oh I remember our mom feeding us this when we got real sick one winter, thought I was going to die because the pain in my head and throat were so bad."
Basil takes a sniff of the broth, he also notices some chunks of chicken meat and some rice mixed with some vegetables. "Hmmmm, might if we have the recipe? Could come in handy when one of us gets sick," he asks and Jodie chuckles a bit.
"It's actually pretty simple, some broth and boiled chicken. You can add whatever kind of noodles you want," she answers.
"Miss Judith, I want to ask you about your thoughts on Mr. Sweeney. Is he the same from the time you lived in America?" Basil asks and Jodie looks up at him in surprise.
"Well, come to think of it, he use to be quiet and sometimes likes to have a lot of time to himself. Now, he seems to be wanting to spend time with Kitty, which I haven't noticed before," she answers, then begins to think some more.
"The Mr. Sweeney you use to know, was he big on traveling?" Basil asks, but Jodie shakes her head.
"Now that you mentioned it, no, he wasn't so keen on traveling, not even going across the Atlantic. What are you getting at?" she asks, again.
"I'm trying to figure out Mr. Sweeney and perhaps put the pieces together. Last night, he neglected to take Katherine with him and she was attacked by the specter. I find it strange that someone who would care for another would not bother to check on them," Basil answers, which surprises everyone in the room.
Before anyone could say another word, there was a knock at the front door and Basil leaves the room to see Mrs. Judson bring Rufus in. "Mr. Rufus, where's Mr. Otis?" the detective asks.
"Still doing some research, don't know why though, but we found out who use to own the pharmacy. A human named Mr. Marcus Kelly, in fact he ran the chemist lab in the back of his store. His house is near Peasholm Beak in a secluded area, but from what I heard, it's been empty for about a year after Mr. Kelly died," Rufus explains and adds, "The reason his pharmacy was condemned was due to some concerns for the health of customers as well as the employees, but Mr. Kelly tried to fight the town's council about it before he passed."
"Interesting to know. I'm thinking Mr. Kelly did not practice any safety procedures in his lab. The products in that lab were not stored properly and that's probably the reason the powder from that specter smelled bad," the detective replies and steps out on the porch where the twins were with Kitty and Mr. Sweeney. Lizzy and her husband Auguste were thinking of what food to prepare on opening night.
"We definitely need a cake," John said and adds, "And maybe some beignets."
"Well, how about something not too sweet?" Leana suggests, but then adds, "Oh, how about making a dish from your home in New Orleans?"
"A very good idea," Auguste replies and he and his wife, Lizzy begin to prepare a menu. The twins notice their father and went over to hug him, which he returns with a more squeezing embrace.
"Did you two have fun last night?" he asks.
"Not really," Leana answers, "I mean most of us were afraid to fall asleep after seeing the specter, so we didn't sleep well."
"So we didn't get the chance to visit Granddaddy or the others," John whispers and Basil nods.
"I'm sure they'll understand," he replies and looks to Kitty and Mr. Sweeney, "Listen, I would appreciate your help, but Miss Katherine is no condition to go. So, Mr. Sweeney, do you mind accompanying me and Dawson? There's someone I want to visit, that is if we can locate him," he asks.
"I'd be glad to," Mr. Sweeney answers, "I do want to find the brute who attacked Kitty last night."
Kitty and her sisters decide to head back to the school in order for Kitty to get some rest and for Lizzy and Auguste to finalize the menu for opening night. Dawson was feeling a little much better thanks to the chicken soup Jodie made for him.
"Mr. Basil, do you mind if I stay here for a bit?" Rufus asks, "Just so Otis finds me and we'll be on our way."
"No I don't mind," Basil answers and he and Dawson were prepared to leave, but Mr. Sweeney makes a quick telephone call.
"Sorry, I called a friend of mine to tell him where I am," Mr. Sweeney said, but Basil wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. There was something odd about Mr. Sweeney, although he wasn't sure why.
The male mice went into town to find locations on homes for destitute rodents. Basil wanted to locate the rat Pitivo, just to be sure he wasn't part of the specter plot. He also wanted to be sure that the rat would not pose a threat to his family in the future.
Luckily, there was one place that offered homeless rodents some necessities like food and clothes, but only offer a limit amount of beds for those wanting to sleep a night. The 'Comfort House' was based in a tall building and both humans and rodents occupied the place.
Basil approaches a male assistant and asks about Pitivo without giving the name, only giving the assistant the rat's description. "Are you friends of his?" the assistant asks, but Basil shakes his head.
"He's a suspect in an investigation and we would like to have a word with him," the detective replies, but the assistant stares at him in shock.
"I'm afraid you're out of luck," he said, which confused Basil and Dawson. The assistant takes them to a room where the sick occupied and takes them to the far corner of the room. On a bed, a rat rests his head on a pillow, but much of his body was covered in gauze. He was letting out labored breaths and Basil notices that one of his legs was missing, but he does recognize him as Pitivo.
"What in the world happened to him?" Dawson asks the assistant and Basil also wanted to know.
"There was an accident some time ago, an explosion or something, and this poor rat was consumed in flames. In fact, his leg was badly broken that he couldn't walk and the doctors had to amputate the leg in order to prevent any infection. His vocal cords were badly damaged and therefore, he can't speak anymore. From the looks of him, he isn't long for this world, but he is incredibly stubborn. We're trying to locate any family, which is why I was hoping you knew him. Looks like we're going to have to send to a facility to care for him before he passes on," the assistant explains and decides to return to his duties.
Basil stares at Pitivo, his eyes were closed, but the detective was sure he was suffering from physical pain. He wanted Pitivo to suffer for the time he almost killed Basil's family with the run-away horse. The detective looks over the rat's injuries, including his amputated leg; he wouldn't be able to commit to the plot against the Sullivan sisters in this condition.
"Mr. Pitivo," Basil whispers in his ear, "I'm sure you know who I am," he adds and sees one of the rat's hands clinch into a fist, but doesn't move. "I hope you suffer for a long time; consider this as a punishment for what you've done to our friends and my family," the detective said in the rat's ear and turns around to leave.
"Who was that?" Mr. Sweeney asks.
"A brute who almost killed my family back in June," Basil said, but doesn't speak anymore. The three mice leave the shelter and locate a trolley schedule to take them to the home of Marcus Kelly by the Peasholm Beak. The trolley that would take them was due to leave very soon and they quickly jump on before it started moving.
"I'm not sure what is there to find at the house, Basil," Dawson said, but his friend had his thinking face on. Basil was thinking of Pitivo and of the burns he received, he did wonder how the incident went down. Perhaps the rat was trying to revive the magical powers he use to possess before Tsura stripped them, but he wasn't sure if the witch kept tabs on him.
The trolley comes to a stop by the park where Peasholm Beak was and the three mice jump off with a few other rodents. "I should've asked Mr. Rufus if the rodent quarters of the Kelly house is occupied," Basil said to himself.
He asks a few rodents who took care of the park of where the Kelly house. A few rodents pointed to a path that lead to a few homes, but the Kelly house was at the very end of the road.
The walk to the house took a lot of time, but they were able to reach it and locate the door to the rodent quarters. No one answered when Basil knocked at the front door. "Looks like no one's home," Dawson said, but the detective takes a peek in through the window. It was dark inside and there appeared to be no furnishings, other than a few chairs.
He notices a smokey aroma in the air, someone had a fire recently and turns the knob at the door. It was unlocked and he steps inside, with Dawson and Mr. Sweeney walking behind him.
"What are we doing Basil?" Dawson asks, but his partner hushes him.
"This place is occupied or was," the detective said in a whisper and locates the fireplace, where some pieces of wood were still smoldering. He also locates some dirty plates with specks of food that attracted some flies.
"I think the occupants will return," Basil said and heads up the stairs to where the bedrooms were. He stops in his tracks when he sees a dark figure at the end of the hallway. "Who's there?" he asks, but suddenly, the figure runs at them. Basil quickly opens a door to a room with his friend and Mr. Sweeney rushing in. The detective shuts the door, but the assailant bangs on the door and lets out unintelligible words.
"Must be a drunkard," Dawson said and Basil did agree on this as alcohol or drugs tend to affect one's use of speech The banging on the door got more violent and the lock was starting to splinter.
"Quick, through here," Mr. Sweeney suggests, opening a window and they step out, just as the door bursts open. The rodent shouts out more incoherent words, but does not follow the male mice, who were hiding behind a wall.
"Great Scott," Dawson whispers and lets out a much needed breath of air. Basil looks around the windows of the rodent quarters, but stops in his tracks when he sees a large pile of clothes in one room.
"How peculiar," he said to himself, but then, Dawson grabs his partner by the cuff of his cape.
"RUN BASIL!" the doctor shouts and Basil notices a different rodent, he was holding up a pistol and begins to shoot at them.
"DRAT! I DON'T HAVE MY GUN!" the detective cries out as they, including Mr. Sweeney take shelter behind a rock. The bullets ping off the boulder, kicking up specks of dust and irritating Basil's hearing.
"Hold on!" Mr. Sweeney shouts, pulling out his own gun. He takes a peek out and shoots a few rounds at the crook. Basil peeks his head up; the rodent was running behind the house and was gone.
"Let's back home Basil," Dawson suggests.
"I agree, there's no telling if those rugged rodents have reinforcements," Mr. Sweeney replies and they make a mad dash down the road, catching a trolley that would take them back to town.
"Basil," Dawson said during the ride back, "Are you drawing up a conclusion?" he asks.
"Not quite, but I am sure that Miss Katherine and her family have nothing to do with the specter," Basil said, but his friend looks at him in surprise.
"What are you saying?" Dawson asks, again.
"At first I thought the Sullivan sisters would create a spectacle in order to boost audience at their new school, but-" "Now hold on a moment Basil," Dawson cuts in, "Jodie would never do such a thing. They came such a long way in fulfilling their dreams, but why risk it all now?"
"Scarborough is a summer destination and most of the locals, including the Finleys' send their children to boarding schools outside of town. Therefore with no crowds or no students to teach, the Sullivan sisters will probably have to close the school," Basil said, but notices a look of irritation in Dawson's eyes.
"Honestly Basil, I think you jump to conclusions before setting the facts straight," the doctor replies, rather angrily.
"Look Dawson, I know you care for Miss Judith, but she is a suspect in this investigation," Basil said, but Dawson gets angry.
"Well I hope you're wrong in suspecting her or her sisters. Jodie is a rather pleasant lady and she loves the performance arts. She would never do anything indecent such as this," he said and his friend looks at the floor; Basil didn't want to lose Dawson as he was a good associate, but he was afraid that Dawson had fallen for a vixen and perhaps a schemer.
"If I am wrong Dawson, then I will offer my heartfelt apology to you and to Miss Judith," the detective replies and they remain silent during the trip into town and back to the 'Hill of Adventure' house. It was starting to get late and the sun was descending towards the western horizon.
Mr. Sweeney decides to head back to the dancing school, but Basil notices him checking on his gun as he walked away. "Basil, what's wrong?" Dawson asks.
"I have an eerie feeling about Mr. Sweeney," he answers and begins to think back on the rodents they encountered at the Kelly house. "Dawson, did you get a good look at the rodent in the house?" he asks.
"No, but from the sounds of his voice, even though he sounded like a drunkard, his tone was if he was pleading for help," the doctor answers and Basil takes out his smoking pipe. He lets out a few puffs of smoke as they continue to walk towards their summer home.
When they reach the front door of the rodent quarters, Basil stops in his tracks when he sees that the door had been kicked open. "Good Lord! Basil look!" Dawson exclaims, pointing to a shattered window.
Basil's body grows cold as the faces of his wife and children spring up in his mind. "OLIVIA!" he calls out as he steps inside. The living room was in disarray, as if there had been a struggle and Basil sees the limp body of Rufus.
"Mr. Rufus?!" Dawson asks as the lizard starts to come to. Basil steps into the kitchen, finding Mrs. Judson and Rachel on the floor, but they were also coming to.
"What happened? Where's Olivia and the twins?" he asks the two women mice and retrieves some cold water. He also brings some ice to put on the bumps on their heads; he was going to teach the crooks a lesson on hurting elderly mice, but his main agenda was to find his family.
"These horrid looking mice came and demanded to speak with you, but I tried to them away," Mrs. Judson said, "But they kicked in the door and went-" she stops and starts to sob. "The children!" she cries and her daughter also starts to cry.
"Mr. Basil!" a voice calls from outside and the detective goes to see who it was. It was Otis and he looked winded and Basil offers him some water.
"Mr. Otis, what's going on?" Dawson asks.
"It's Miss Kitty! That Sweeney took her at gunpoint!" Otis exclaims and continues, "I saw them when I was coming from the library's archives and I followed them for a bit, but they got on a trolley. It's heading to Peasholm Beak, I'm sure of it because of the schedule!"
He stops when he sees his friend, Rufus, he had a bump on his like the housekeepers. "Rufus! Are you okay?" the octopus asks.
"Head hurts, but I think I put up a fight before being knocked out," the lizard replies, but then gasps, "Oh my..."
"What is it?" Basil asks and Rufus looks at the detective and back at Otis.
"I saw her!" he exclaims, but they were confused, "It was that waitress from the Rat Trap! She was here!" Basil looks through his memory of the night of the Flaversham case 16 years ago. He and Dawson had gone to the Rat Trap Tavern to try and locate Ratigan's hiding place.
He did recall seeing the waitress whispering in the bartender's ear, who added something to their drinks. Before Basil could warn Dawson about the drugged drinks, the doctor had finished his and acted loopy during the Sullivan sisters' number on the stage.
"And you're sure it was her?" he asks and Rufus nods.
"Mr. Basil, there's something you should know. I made a quick call to the university in Birmingham and that lawyer office Mr. Sweeney mentioned. While he did go to the school, but the lawyer's office hasn't even heard of Sweeney," Otis explains and that got the detective's attention.
Basil goes around the house, trying to locate his pistol. Luckily, it was hidden at the bottom of the drawer in the nightstand next to the bed. He puts some bullets in and puts it in his pocket.
"Otis, Rufus, send for the sheriff and tell him to send recruits to the abandoned Kelly house by Peasholm Beak," he tells and they were about to leave, when Gavin comes up the hill, panting.
"Gavin!" the two friends exclaim, but the frog collapses to his knees. He had a few bruises all over his body, he did look like he took a beating. "What happened to you?" Rufus asks his buddy.
"Some brutes showed up at the dancing school and they took Jodie and Lizzy! Auguste is all right, but I saw Mrs. Basil and the twins!" Gavin explains and Basil's heart begins to pound like mad.
"And I saw that waitress from the Rat Trap! I thought she was suppose to be in jail," Gavin adds, which surprises the others.
"I saw her, too! She came here with some nasty looking mice and took Mr. Basil's family!" Rufus said and the detective turns his friend, Dawson.
"We better go! We haven't a moment to lose!" he orders and they rush into town, locating a trolley that would take them to Peasholm Beak, but the trolleys were shutting in for the night.
"What can we do?" Dawson asks, but then, a large dog stops before them. It was a Scottish Deerhound and Dawson was elated when he realizes it was Clyde! "Oh hello old boy!" he exclaims and the dog licks him, leaving a trail of saliva on his suit.
"Clyde! Where are you?!" a human voice calls out, it was his owner. Basil realizes that Clyde would be able to take them to the Kelly house much quicker than by foot. Basil produces one of John's shirts, it would help the Deerhound in locking in the scent trail.
"Dawson, tell him that we need his immediate assistance!" he urges and Dawson does so by holding the shirt up to Clyde's nose. The dog takes a few sniffs and allows them to climb on his back and hurries off before his owner was able to catch him.
With some help, Clyde was able to locate the path the mice took earlier and runs at high speed. "That's right! Keep running old fellow!" Dawson encourages his canine friend. "Just like old times, right Basil?!" he asks, but his friend doesn't answer.
Basil was thinking of Olivia and the twins, he was hoping and praying that no harm would come to them.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Olivia was starting to come around and she hears some muffling. She opens her eyes to see her children, bound and gagged, and she notices that she was also bound and gagged.
They look around the room, it was dark, but some wood was burning in the fireplace. "Well hello there," a male voice spoke and they turn to see Mr. Sweeney, or who they thought was Mr. Sweeney.
Some mice came up from behind, dragging the Sullivan sisters, they were also bound and gagged. "Take a seat!" the male mouse with brown hair and black mustache shouts, forcing Kitty down on the floor. Her sisters were also forced down, but the gags on the mouths loosen and fall off.
"YOU!" Lizzy shouts at the male mouse and spits at him. "Let us go you rat!" she demands.
"Temper, temper," the other male mouse said and looks at Kitty, "You are a pretty thing, too bad I have to do away with you and your friends here."
John shakes the gag off his mouth and he shouts, "Just who are you really?! I bet you're not Aiden Sweeney!" The male mouse just chuckles and looks at the boy mouse.
"Indeed I am not," he replies and removes the mask he had. The male mouse had light brown fur and hair, but the sisters gasp. "Oh you recognize me now? I am the pianist from the Rat Trap and I bet you recognize these two," he said and two mice, one male and one female step in.
"Well it's nice to see you, again, Miss Kitty," the female mouse said. She was stout with a large bosom and had a mean-looking demeanor on her face. The male mouse next to her had brown hair and a black mustache.
"Kitty, who are these rodents?" John asks his good friend.
"They use to work at the Rat Trap Tavern, that is until it was shut down and they were arrested for being affiliates to that child rapist!" Kitty replies, angrily. Olivia stares at the mice; she did remember Basil telling her of the brawl that occurred at the tavern before he and Dawson went down after Fidget in the sewers, who lead them to Ratigan's hideout.
"Why are you doing this to us?" Jodie asks the staff of the long forgotten tavern.
The waitress walks up to the sisters and features a cross face. "You and your friends got off easy, but when we were released from prison, no one would give us a job because of our former connection to Ratigan. We tried to reclaim the tavern, but the city refused to give it up, claiming it's better off closed," she explains.
"For a very good reason," Kitty whispers, but the waitress glares at her.
"We ran a rather good business, that is until that nosy detective dropped in and started the whole mess of things," the bartender said and looks at Olivia and her children. "You see, when we found out that Kitty and her sisters were living here, we figured we send them those threats, just so they would ask for Basil's assistance. The 'glowing specter' was sort of a last ditch effort to get him to come, but looks like he came at the proper time," he adds.
The pianist then produces a set of clothes that gave off an ghoulish glow, "Took a long time to get the right kind of glow. Does make it look spooky, but the protective gear underneath is a pain, according to my good friend here," he said and the bartender nods, taking out a cigar and lights it.
Olivia then realizes what the staff were planning to do, but her son shouts, "My dad is very smart! He won't let you get away with this!" His sister, Leana gives a hard nod of her head as she agreed with her brother.
"Oh, I beg to differ," the pianist said, "You see we plan of teaching your father a really painful lesson on what happens when he sticks his nose into other rodent's business."
"Why did you help Ratigan out? He raped many innocent children when he was alive," Kitty asks.
"He paid very good money for the tavern and we were living rather comfortably with the finances he gave us, so we didn't bother to turn him," the bartender answers, which sickens Olivia.
Outside the house, Clyde the Deerhound comes to a stop and the detective and his partner rush to the source of light at one of the windows. To his shock, Basil recognizes the staff from the Rat Tavern, including the bartender and waitress.
"My friends, I would like to let out my frustrations on one of our guests. 16 years behind bars was brutal," the pianist said, taking a club into his hand. The bartender picks up a fire poker.
"I'm right behind you," he said and they stare at the hostages. Leana lets out a muffled cry and John stands in front of his mother.
"Don't you dare come any closer!" he demands, but the criminal mice laugh at the boy mouse. The blood in Basil's veins started to boil, he was going to save his family from these heinous rodents. He and Dawson summon Clyde over to help break in.
"What's your pick?" the bartender asks.
"Why not all of them?" the pianist replies and they raise their weapons high above their heads, ready to strike. Suddenly, the window bursts open, glass flies everywhere and the barking of a dog was heard.
"WHAT IN THE!" one of the crooks cries out before getting hit by a piece of debris.
"Don't move you disgusting lot!" Basil shouts, holding his gun up to them and Clyde begins to snap his jaws at the crooks. Dawson hurries to untie the hostage; Kitty and her sisters take a blunt object and rush in to assist Basil.
"John! Leana! Get your mother out of here!" Basil orders, he was more concern for her and their unborn baby, but he wanted his children to avoid any injury. The twins obey and Clyde helps them to safety.
"Hello Clyde!" Leana said as they hold onto the dog's muzzle. Back inside, Basil, Dawson, and the Sullivan sisters went into full attack mode, and viciously struck the criminal mice.
Basil did not fire his gun, instead he uses the butt of the gun to knock out any of the crooks. He wanted them to go back to prison if possible. Then, he sees the pianist escape through the broken glass window, but Kitty goes after him.
Then one of the crooks trips into the burning fire; he lets out a bellowing scream and runs around the room as the flames consumed his clothes and began to leap onto the window curtains or the wooden chairs.
Basil, Dawson, Jodie and Lizzy rush through the open window, with the crooks following behind, including the one who caught fire. One of his colleagues helps him in putting out the fire, but the flames inside the house quickly spread.
The pianist was caught by Kitty as he was attempting to go after Olivia and the twins. She was fueled by a rage as she didn't want this vulgar rodent to lay a hand on her friends, who met a lot to her.
"Don't you dare touch them!" she yells and tackles the pianist from behind. They topple to the ground and the pianist tries to strike at Kitty with a knife he hid in his pocket, but she was quick. "I forget to tell you something!" Kitty said, "My aunt taught me and my sisters to be lethal on folks like you!"
She grabs at the knife in his knife and they fight for it. Olivia and the twins hear the scuffling between Kitty and the pianist, John rushes to his friend's aid and sees his father up ahead.
"DAD!" he calls out, "Help Kitty!" he pleads, but then there was a silence. Basil hurries to the spot where he heard Kitty and comes upon her and the pianist, the knife in his chest.
"Miss Katherine, are you hurt?" Basil asks, helping her to her feet. She had scratch marks on her cheek, but she was alive. Then came the sounds of whistles and a swarm of police rodents surround the crooks and the innocent civilians.
"Mr. Basil?!" the sheriff calls out and notices the dead pianist.
"Miss Katherine Sullivan was attacked, she had to defend herself from this horrid mouse," Basil said, trying his best to make sure she wouldn't get arrested for killing a mouse, even though he was a crook.
"Daddy!" he hears the voice of his daughter and turns around in time to see his two children rush up to him. They jump into his arms and they hug their father tight, but Basil looks up to see his wife and opens his to her. Olivia joins in and they breathe a much needed of relief.
The police rodents gather up the crooks, including the one who caught fire and hurry off as the human fire brigade arrived to put out the flames that consumed the old Kelly house.
John gives Kitty a cheerful hug, which she returns, but then turns her attention to some officers who were helping a male mouse, who had escaped from the burning house. She looks at him and he looks at her, "Kitty?" he said and she embraces him.
This was the real Aiden Sweeney and he looked malnourished and mistreated. He was able to explain to the police that the crooks from the Rat Trap Tavern went to him, but took him as their prisoner when they discovered he was in love with Miss Kitty. The pianist assumed his identity in order to attract attention for Basil and come to the aid of the Sullivan sisters.
The real Mr. Sweeney opens his arms to John and Leana, who embrace him and Kitty. Basil and Olivia hold each other, and then they feel the baby move about. "So fierce this one," Basil comments and moves down to Olivia's round belly to tell his unborn child, "You are a fighter, like your mother." Olivia chuckles a bit and the sheriff allows them to go home, including Kitty and her sisters. Clyde takes the mice back the Basil's summer home before returning to his owners, who were happy to see him, although they were pretty mad at him.
The family and their friends settle at the 'Hill of Adventure' house. Mrs. Judson and Rachel were ecstatic to see the Basil twins alive and safe. Mr. Sweeney was given a hot meal for the first time in weeks and Kitty offers to feed him, like Jodie did with Dawson.
"I was looking forward to finding you," Mr. Sweeney said to Kitty, "I actually never set foot in The Netherlands and I actually never went to Harvard. I went to Birmingham University for my education, but I haven't found a job at a lawyer's office as I recently graduated with my masters'," he explains.
"Good Lord, those fiends made up a lot about you," Dawson said and Kitty gives Mr. Sweeney a loving hug.
"I wish I saw the lies at first, but I was blinded by the pianist who I thought was you," she said in a tearful voice, but he gives her a warm hug.
"I will admit, I've been in love with you since we were youngsters, but I am so shy and perhaps awkward in telling you so," Mr. Sweeney replies and they share a kiss. John watches them, but does not turn away like he use when his parents had a romantic moment. Kitty did seem happy with Mr. Sweeney and he was happy for her. John did want to see Kitty be happy and he shouldn't let himself in her way of achieving it.
The detective and his family settle down for the night, but they welcomed their friends to stay in order to recuperate. The sheriff came by the next morning to inform them that the criminal mice of the Rat Trap tavern would be sent back to jail for kidnapping and attempted murder charges.
They would face roughly 20 years in prison, perhaps more as the judge wanted them to face a grueling punishment for putting Olivia, who was pregnant, in a stressful predicament. The judge did make a comment that he hated to see pregnant female rodents be put in such situations.
Basil takes Dawson aside to offer his apologies on suspecting Kitty and her sisters, especially Jodie. Dawson forgives his friend and admits about his feelings for Jodie, but wasn't sure if he was ready to more intimate with her. Basil insists that Dawson spent more leisure time with her before deciding if he was ready for a committed relationship. Dawson takes in the advise and they share a hug.
The following few days were restful and bliss, but the Sullivan sisters, with Mr. Sweeney and the Basil twins practiced for the play of Rumpelstiltskin on opening night. Lizzy and her husband, Auguste began to prep the food for the audience that they were hoping would come, with the help of the Finley family and a few of their friends. Charlotte, however, was only able to provide a small amount of help as she was experiencing morning sickness and fatigue, much like Olivia. The two women mice were eager to meet the other's baby once they were born.
Basil's siblings arrived in Scarborough with his nieces and nephews to celebrate John and Leana's birthday, even though it was late, but they didn't mind as they received more birthday gifts. Oscar did ask his brother if he and his family could spend time at the 'Hill of Adventure' house, instead of the hotel next summer and their sisters also asked for a time to stay next year.
"We'd be glad to rent out our summer home to all of you," Olivia said, "You can pick any time of the year, not just in the summer."
"Maybe I could come up here before spring is set to start, I always wanted to spend time by the sea before the flowers bloom," Emma said and smiles at her sister-in-law.
On Friday, the crowd was much bigger than expected as the publicity on the 'glowing specter' had brought much greater attention. Kitty and her sisters do a simple cutting of the ribbon ceremony and the crowd lets out a loud cheer and many of the local children sign up for dance lessons.
Auguste and Lizzy had prepared a gumbo dish, a favorite of New Orleans and it was a hit with the rodents who attended. Charlotte loved the dish as she craved for something spicy and she asks for Auguste's recipe. When the sun went down, the audience goes to the outdoor theater where the production of Rumpelstiltskin was ready to perform.
Kitty appears on the stage, performing a rather unusual dance, but the audience was in awe of her voice. "My father is such a fool," she begins, "For he told the people he met at the tavern that I could spin straw into gold! Alas, I could not! But that did not stop the greedy minister of finances for seeking me out! What greed he had, yet he wanted to see the debts of the war of long ago be paid!"
Rufus then appears and roughly takes Kitty's hand as the scene changes to feature a painted canvas of a spindle wheel and a big pile of straw. "Make this straw into gold before sunrise, otherwise you'll lose your head!" Rufus shouts in a mighty voice.
Kitty begins to cry and then, John portraying the imp Rumpelstiltskin appears. "Dear lady, why do you cry?" he asks and Basil and Olivia try their best to contain their jittery excitement for their son.
"Oh good sir," Kitty said, "I was told by the minister to spin this straw into gold before sunrise, but I don't know how!" John looks at the canvas and back at Kitty.
"I can make all of this into gold, but what do you have to offer in return?" he asks and Kitty gives him a necklace from around her neck. The scene goes dark, but the audience hears the spinning of the spindle wheel and the lights goes back on to reveal a new canvas featuring golden spools.
Rufus returns to the stage and was ecstatic to see the gold. Then, he takes Kitty by the hand and the canvas changes to features a much bigger pile of straw. "Lets see if you can make this pile into gold! Do it before sunrise!" he orders and leaves Kitty. She cries once more and John appears once more.
"I'll be more than willing to help you, again, but what do you have to offer?" he asks. Kitty gives him the ring on her finger and the lights go dark once more, but the spindle wheel goes at it, again. The lights go back on to reveal the same painted canvas of gold.
Rufus runs back on the stage and was surprised to see the gold, but takes Kitty by the hand once more. The canvas changes to reveal an even bigger pile of straw. "Make all of this into gold and you are free to go!" he shouts and leaves her behind.
"Oh, I don't have anything to offer for the imp's help!" Kitty cries out, but then John appears.
"I will help you this one time, but in exchange for your first born child," he said, but Kitty doesn't answer as the lights go dark a third time and spindle wheel goes to work once more.
The lights illuminate to reveal the gold, but then, Mr. Sweeney portraying as the king comes on the stage. He was surprised to see the gold, but he was more surprised to see Kitty. "Oh good lady, what are you doing here?" he asks.
"Oh Your Majesty!" Kitty pleads, "Your minister of finances locked me up in this room to spin all of the straw into gold!"
The play continues on to reveal the king sacking the minister for locking up an innocent civilian, but the king does not question of how the gold came to be. He did mention that the 'angels of heaven' showed mercy to the lonely maiden and marries to girl for he was in love with her.
The play continues to feature Kitty, now playing the queen with her firstborn child, but doing her best to guess the imp's name within three days. Leana appears, portraying as the loyal maid to the queen and Kitty asks her to go into the woods to try and locate the imp and see if she could figure out his name.
Leana hides behind a tree, watching her brother John playing the imp as he dances around a fake fire while chanting, "Tonight, tonight! My plans I make! Tomorrow tomorrow, the baby I take! The queen will never win the game, for Rumpelstiltskin is my name!"
The scene then features Kitty, holding a doll in her arms like a baby, and Leana by her side. John appears and he listens to the queen's attempt to guess his name.
"Oh little imp," she begins, "This is the third and final day of our guessing game. Is your name 'Charles'?"
"No," John replies.
"'Raymond'?"
"No."
"'Percy'?"
"No, you will never win this game," John said, raising his nose high, but hears Kitty chuckle a bit.
"Well, in that case, is your name 'Rumpelstiltskin'?" Kitty asks and the audience gasps, but then laughs a bit.
"The devil told you!" John shouts and then, a plume of smoke appears and he runs off the stage. The audience then gives a loud encore and the actors, including Kitty, John and Leana appear on the stage to give bows.
Kitty and Mr. Sweeney hoist the twins up in their arms and the audience claps even louder. "You two should become actors," Kitty whispers to her friends, who smile happily and notice some flowers being thrown onto the stage.
Cake and beignets were served to the rodents who stayed after the play, but Basil and Leana decline any sweets as the little girl mouse was tired and her brother also struggles to stay awake. Basil and Olivia bid a good night to Kitty and her sisters before they went back to their summer home. Dawson, however, decides to remain behind to help clean up the night's events and spend some time with Jodie.
The 'Hill of Adventure' house's rodent quarters was cleaned up from the attack earlier and the detective puts his children to bed before settling in with his beloved wife.
"Very soon, the summer season will come to a close, but it has been rather fun this year I'll admit," Basil whispers to Olivia, who sniffles a bit, but hugs her husband tight.
"I find it hard to believe that John and Leana will be going to school and the house will be empty," she said.
"And I hate to think of leaving you alone while I attend to some cases, even though Dawson will help, but I have a feeling that he will want to retire and spend his time with Miss Judith," Basil informs her.
"He does like her, so let him pursue his path to happiness," Olivia insists and he thinks about this.
"He is a good friend and I hate to lose such a good partner," he replies, but then looks at his wife, "However, I have you and the twins, but I want them to get an education and I don't want to put the baby in danger like I did with John and Leana when they were infants. Oh, dear God, I'm going to go insane within the next few weeks," Basil said, but Olivia gives him a choking hug.
"I still want to help you in whatever way I can," she whispers, "I love you Elliott."
"And I love you Olivia," Basil replies and they succumb to the much needed embrace of sleep. They join their loved ones in the Heaven realm and spent a much lovely time with them.
From the author: Another drastic story, but I'm hoping I surprised you with a few things within this story. Please read over carefully if you missed anything because I don't want to spoil anything.
With summer coming to an end, this year has been quite a challenge with COVID-19, but I am looking forward to this year's end as 2020 has brought much heartache. I will be taking a bit of a break, but plan on creating a 'first day of school' story for our favorite twins and perhaps an investigation for Basil to solve. I always love making my readers happy!
Take care and see you soon!