Story 28: The Weekend Adventure
September 6th, 1913
At 221B 1/2 Baker Street, the Basil family and their good friends awoke to a cloudy day; everything seemed gray early in the morning, which was normal for London, especially in the month of September before autumn would start.
The twins, John and Leana took a moment in bed as it was Saturday, but Leana looks up at the ceiling. Her mind was replaying of the events that happened yesterday. They were rescued by Ben Whittaker, a rat who shared some physical similarities to Ratigan, the nefarious Napoleon of Crime. Ben, however, did point out that he wasn't the ugly monster who terrorized London for many years.
Both John and Leana did some calculating in their minds; Ben, as well as his bat friend, Lupus or Lope were both in their adolescence, roughly 15 or 16. It could mean Ben and Lope were born either during or after Ratigan's assassination attempt on the mouse queen in 1897.
"John, do we think we should meet Ben today?" Leana asks her brother.
"I don't see why not," he answers and they join their parents and Dawson for breakfast. Just as they were about to eat their breakfast, there was a knock at the door and Rachel goes to answer.
A tall male mouse wearing a chief inspector's uniform enters inside. "Oh, Mr. Wyatt! Welcome!" Basil said and shakes hands with his former comrade's son-in-law. "How's Polly and the little ones?" he asks. Timothy Wyatt was married to Charles Winston's daughter and they have three children together. Mr. Wyatt was still working at Scotland Yard's rodent division and made his way up the ladder, making to the rank of chief inspector.
His father-in-law, Charles Winston and Basil did agree that Timothy Wyatt would serve as a contact for the detective following Winston's early retirement, in case if any of the detective's investigations got dangerous.
"The youngest is being a bit of a rebel; doesn't like going to school, so I was kind of hoping you would talk some sense into him," Wyatt said and Basil decides to think on this. "Mr. Basil, the other reason I came here is because there's been a suspicious death at Thames Prison," he adds and asks if he could sit at the dining room table to explain the case.
Mrs. Judson brings him some tea and he takes a cheese and ham crumpet, "My word, could I have the recipe for this?" he asks the housekeeper, who chuckles. He clears his throat and looks at Basil, "The body of Alexander Earleen was found this morning in the prison's baths. He was wet and cold, but the medical examiner said he died from asphyxiation as there was no water in his lungs."
"The prisoners are locked up in the cells at what time?" Basil asks, his brain was starting to turn its gears.
"At 9 o'clock, they do not get out until 7 in the morning," Wyatt answers and the twins look at their father, who had his thinking face on.
"Mr. Wyatt," Leana said, "Do the guards do roll call?" she asks and Basil looks at his daughter with a smile.
"Yes, both in the morning and at night," Wyatt answers.
"What was the time of death, according to the medical examiner?" Basil asks.
"He placed the time of death at roughly 4 in the morning," Wyatt answers, again. Basil decides to go to Thames Prison to examine the crime scene, with Dawson coming along with him.
"I'm going to sit this one out, even though I don't want to, but with the baby and everything," Olivia said and Basil kisses his wife's forehead.
"I don't want you to go to Thames Prison, some of those brutes in there have a nasty taste for pregnant women, and I don't want to lose my temper if one tries to touch you," he replies and dresses in his Inverness cape and deerstalker hat. He looks at his children, who did not move from their seats, "Do you want to stay with your mother?" he asks.
"Um, we kinda want to go and see Milton and Winnie to practice our initiation ceremony," John said, but it was a lie; both he and Leana wanted to go see Ben Whittaker at his father's fish and chips shop. They wanted to see if the rat was up to having some fun today and invite Lope the bat if possible.
John and Leana notice that their father was staring at them with an quizzical look in his eye. "You're not planning to see that rat from yesterday? Are you?" Basil asks his children, "Listen, the way you described him last night has rattled my nerves a bit, so I want you two to stay away from him."
"But daddy, he saved us from that cat," Leana protests, but her father shakes his head.
"I strongly urge you two to not get involved with someone you don't know; Fonso did say some characters might be serial killers," Basil said.
"He did mention that we should to get to know people first," John points out, to which his mother agreed, but like her husband, she was unsure of this Ben Whittaker. "And you did say you wanted to meet him," John adds.
"I did say that, but not right now as this case needs to be settled. So please, stay here and I'll try to be home before dinner," Basil orders and he and Dawson follow Wyatt out the front door.
Olivia looks over to her children, they had looks of disappointment on their faces and she suspected that they were planning to go see Ben Whittaker. Deep down, she didn't want her children to miss out on the fun things in life as they were still pretty young, but were growing up fast.
"Mrs. Rachel!" she calls for the housekeeper. She appears from the kitchen and Olivia brings her children over, "Listen, I am a bit unsure of your new friend, but I don't want you miss an opportunity on having some fun. So, I'll let you two go meet him, but I want Mrs. Rachel here to go with you. Pretend to go to the market," she said, which made the twins really happy.
"Oh thank you mummy!" Leana exclaims and gives her mother a loving hug.
"Just promise me you will be home before dinner. I'll tell your father that you are over at the Romney's place if he gets home early," Olivia tells them, who give big smiles. She then looks up at Rachel, "I'm trusting you in keeping this between us, don't say anything to your mother or my husband," she whispers.
"Yes Ma'am," Rachel said and goes down to her room to change into her outing clothes. The twins also dress in their best clothes and brush their hair and teeth before leaving.
"Rachel, where do you think you are going?" they hear Mrs. Judson ask her daughter, who was in a nice looking dress that she wears when she went to the market.
"The Missus has a mission for me; she wants me to drop the children at the Romney's home and go to the market to find something to satisfy her cravings," Rachel answers, keeping her word to her employer.
"All right, but don't take all day," Mrs. Judson replies and her daughter nods. Rachel and the twins take their umbrellas as it was staring to rain.
"So where does your friend live?" Rachel asks as they walk down Baker Street.
"By Pedlar's Park, Ben says he and his father run the 'best' fish and chips shop in London," John answers and Rachel begins to think, then her face lights up.
"You mean 'Whittaker's'?" she asks and they nod. "I thought your friend's last name sounded oddly familiar. I use to go there a lot when I was pregnant with my babies. Turns out they make the best banana chips," she adds with a chuckle.
"Do you know Mr. Whittaker, the owner?" Leana asks; she was curious about Ben's father.
"I know only a little, but I did hear that his first shop was destroyed around the time of Ratigan's attempt to take over Mousedom. In fact, a lot of places and even some homes where rats made their lively hood were burned or looted around that time. It breaks my heart that some mice attack rats who have nothing to do with Ratigan or his family," Rachel explains, which made the twins feel sad, especially Leana.
They board a trolley that would take them to Pedlar's Park. A lot of humans and rodents were up and about this early in the day. The rain did seem to stop falling and the sun was starting to shine through the clouds.
Rachel points to a building that had a human restaurant, but they notice a small crowd of rodents outside 'Whittaker and Son'. It looked more like a little grocer shop, where the rodents bought various food items and order some food at the counter.
The twins stood in line for the counter, where a male rat, much older than Ben was taking customer orders. "Hmmmmm, he might be Ben's dad," John whispers to Leana, who was eager to see Ben.
"Good morning," the rat said in a cheerful tone, "What can I get you today?" he asks.
"Actually, we were wondering if Ben Whittaker is here," Leana said, which surprises the male rat. She looks at him; he had dark fur and hair, but it was not black like Ben's, but his eyes were the same shade of blue-gray like Ben's.
"And who might you be to my son?" Mr. Whittaker asks, but then there was a crash. A child had accidentally knocked down a display of boxed biscuits and some glass plates also fell, shattering on the floor. The parents started to scold their disobedient child, who was crying and Mr. Whittaker takes a broom to sweep up the mess.
This was a good distraction and Rachel urges the twins to slip into the back, while she watches Mr. Whittaker attend to the customers. John and Leana slip in the door that lead into the kitchen where the cooks made the food.
"Ben! Is that pot cleaned out yet?!" a male mouse shouts while he was attending to the frying pans on the stove.
"No! I told you that it needs to sit in soapy water overnight!" the rat calls back and the twins follow the source. They see Ben attending to a large black pot, he scrubbing the insides which was caked with some old food. They hear him humming a tune, which turns into singing. He was singing a song about what makes the world go round.
Leana then walks up to the pot, Ben's head was in it, which he couldn't see out of, therefore he didn't notice the little girl mouse. She knocks on the pot and Ben pops his head up. "Leana!" he exclaims and looks at his pudgy hands. "Oh, wish you didn't see me like this," he said and notices John. "What are you two doing here?" he asks.
"We want to come see you," Leana said, "So this is where you work with your father?"
"Yes indeed, been doing this since I was little. Pop use to take me to the skyline of this building as there is a fancy restaurant for the humans. He did get me into cooking, it actually calms my nerves sometimes and I do like to experiment with food. Unfortunately, I'm stuck back here because someone neglected to clean this pot last night," Ben explains, showing the contents of the pot to them.
Both John and Leana look at one another and back up at Ben. "There might be a better way then just soap and water," John said and asks Ben to fill the pot with water. They then take it to a burner and Leana adds some vinegar to the water, waiting for it boil. They watch as the food particles began to separate from the bottom of the pot as it boiled.
John tells Ben to dump out the water and add baking soda to the pot. When the pot was cool enough, Ben scrubs the remaining particles and the pot was clean, again. "My God! You two are brilliant!" Ben exclaims, but hushes as his co-workers look at him.
Then, there was a loud knock at the back door, and someone on the other side shouts, "BEN! REALLY NEED YOUR HELP OUT HERE!" It sounded like Lope the bat and the twins offer to open the door.
"Wait a minute!" Ben shouts, but it was already too late as the twins came face to face with a dog. The two children let out a startled cry as the dog starts to sniff at them, but also inches its muzzle into the kitchen.
"Maxie!" Ben calls out, "Back it up! Back it up!" he orders the dog and the animal obeys. The twins were now able to look at the dog; it was a small dog, much smaller than Toby with curly dark hair and brown eyes.
"Good girl Maxie," Ben said and offers the dog a treat.
"Ben, your pa ordered the biggest fish in the world," Lope said as he dismounts from the dog's back. The twins look to see a cod on the dog's back, it did look pretty big. "Oh hey kids!" the bat exclaims when he saw them.
"Stand back everyone," Ben orders as he takes the fish by the tail and pulls it off Maxie's back. Some other mice appear and help bring the fish into what look like a box, but it was cold inside.
"This should last us until the end of the year," one of the male mice said as they lock the fish up in the cold box, but Ben quickly cuts up a big filet and brings inside the kitchen. John and Leana look at Maxie, she was a strange looking dog, but she was very friendly.
"Hi, your name is Maxie?" John asks the dog, who pants excitedly.
"Short for Maxine," Ben answers and washes off the fish smell, although it didn't do any good. Then, they hear some voices, the twins recognize them as Milton and Winnie's.
"Hey you two!" Milton calls out, but his eyes grew big when he saw the dog.
"She's friendly," Ben said, patting the dog's side.
"Uh, what kind of dog is she?" Winnie asks; the twins also wanted to know, too as Maxie was nothing like the other dogs they've seen in London or anywhere.
"Maxie's a mutt, meaning she is mixed with different breeds. Sad thing about mutts is that no one wants to adopt them; humans do prefer those 'pure-bred' dogs, but mutts are better than those-" "Lope, don't get upset now," Ben warns.
"Sorry," the bat said and looks at the children, "Sometimes us outcasts need to stick together," he whispers. Winnie blushes a bit, as she herself was an outcast, but was surrounded by good friends.
"Hey Ben," Milton said to the rat, "How about you show us around on Maxie?"
"Oh, I like that," Lope replies, "Do some crazy wild ride through Pedlar's Park, it's always fun."
"I'm not sure, pa has me on cooking duty and I should-" "We'll only be an hour or so," Lope cuts in, "Besides, it's nearing your lunch break right?" the bat asks. Ben looks at his friend and then at the children, they did seem interested in exploring Pedlar's Park with Maxie.
"I suppose a quick run through Pedlar's Park will do some good. I have been meaning to stop and visit the new crepe stand," Ben said and steps inside the shop for a minute. He returns wearing a new shirt and a book in hand.
"What's that, Ben?" Leana asks.
"It's my father's book on Maxie, he insists I take it whenever I ride with Maxie, but never bothered to read it," Ben answers and places the book in a bag around Maxie's neck.
"Maxie has her own book?" John asks with a bit of a chuckle.
"Well my pa sort of adopted Maxie, feeds her and provides her a place to stay at night. So he wrote all these rules about her, but she's just an animal," Ben replies, but Leana didn't see Maxie as just an animal.
"She is a cutie, she does remind me of Toto from 'The Wizard of Oz' books," Winnie said and her brother chuckles a bit. "Mama read us those books when we got sick two winters ago. I tried to persuade Papa to adopt a dog like Toto, but he said that most small dogs hunt rodents like us," she explains.
"She does look the illustrations of Toto, but he is depicted as either a Cairn Terrier or possibly a Yorkshire Terrier," Milton said, then they climb on Maxie's back.
"All right Maxie, lets head on out of here," Ben tells the dog, who barks and runs at high speed. The children hold onto the dog's back, but Leana holds onto Ben's waist. He lets out a laugh, "You're not scared, are you?!" he calls out.
"NO!" she replies, although she was a little afraid of falling off the dog. Maxie then runs passed a much bigger, but older dog. There was an elderly mouse lady on the dog's back and she looked surprised when the little dog ran by her.
"Out of the way, slow poke!" Lope shouts and makes faces at the mouse lady on the old dog. She yells after them, but it was difficult to make out the words.
"Lope, that was not very nice," Ben said, but the bat chuckles a bit. "That lady was really ticked," Ben adds, although his friend still chuckles under his breath.
"You better watch out, Lope, she might give you an earful if we see her, again," John warns, but Lope doesn't listen.
Ben then commands Maxie to slow down a bit, they entered the walkway of Pedlar's Park. It was a small park, compared to Hyde Park, but there were many humans walking around and a few food vendors.
Maxie was commanded to avoid being seen by the humans as Ben didn't want to attract attention. They locate a rodent food vendor, who was selling French crepes that Ben mentioned earlier.
"Ben, would they sell crepes that are not sweet?" Leana asks the rat as he dismounts.
"You don't like sweets?" he replies and she nods, "That's weird for someone your age to not like sweets. Anyway, yes they have savory crepes; I do recommend the ham, cheese and mushroom crepe," he adds and tells the other three children that they could choose whatever they wanted.
Leana does try the ham, cheese and mushroom crepe, with Ben getting the same, but John and their friends get sweet tasting crepes. "So yummy," Winnie comments on her berries and cream crepe.
After they finish eating the crepes, they get back on Maxie and Lope suggests, "Lets go off road! It's a lot of fun!" Ben thinks about this, Leana could tell that he didn't want to get in trouble with his father, who needed him at the shop.
"All right," the rat replies and commands the little dog to run into the thick line of bushes. The dog and her passengers hit a couple of branches, but the children were laughing as it felt like a roller coaster to them.
Maxie then races pass a few humans, who let out startled cries as she jumps off a few mounds of dirt. Some human caretakers of Lambeth Palace were attending to the grounds and watch the little dog run by.
Maxie then runs into more bushes and then comes to a stop in a shady part near the palace. The dog's passengers let out exhilarated breaths and laugh a bit. "That was so fun!" Milton exclaims, "I never rode on a dog like this before!"
"Yes, it was fun," Ben comments, "But how about we get back onto the main road?"
"Oh, yes please!" Lope replies as he shakes off some leaves from his body.
"All right Maixe, let's go!" Ben commands, but the dog refuses to move. "One more time and go!" Ben commands, but Maxie still refuses to move. "Uh, Maxie?" The little mutt starts to whimper and cowers down into a ball.
"You all right girl?" Lope asks.
"Is she hurt?" Winnie asks, but there was no obvious signs of injury. Ben and Lope try their best to get Maxie moving, but she steadfastly refuses.
"Don't know what's wrong with her," Ben said, taking a few exhausted breaths. He then turns to his friend, "Lope, go back to the shop and..." he lets out a groan, "Get my pa."
"Yeah, we're in for an earful," Lope replies and takes flight, "Be back shortly!" he calls out and flies away.
"In the meantime, I bet we can find a clue in Maxie's book about her strange behavior," Winnie suggests, in which Leana agrees. Ben, John and Milton, however, did not like to read, so the girls look through the pages.
"Hey, how about we talk the little things about us? Like our birthdays, where we were born and such?" John suggests and they, including the girls nod. "So my sister and I were born on August 1st, 1908 in our mom's birthplace of Linlithgow," John said and that delights their friends.
"Oh, that's in between Glasgow and Edinburgh," Milton replies.
"Yeah, they're actually more than a half hour journey from Linlithgow. Kind of like the half-way point for both cities," John answers and Milton goes next.
"I was born on October 30th, 1908 at my aunt and uncle's place in Reading," he said and John gives a jealous stare.
"You were born before All Hallow's Eve? You're so lucky," he groans, but his sister Leana gives him a scolding look.
"Well, I will be more than happy to invite you two to a costume party this year, we'll have plenty of spooks and sweets," Milton said, using a creepy tone at the end and moves his fingers and gives a growl, trying to act like a scary monster.
The others laugh at this and Winnie goes next, "I was born on March 23rd, also in 1908, so I'm roughly a few months older than you three. I was adopted by Milton's parents a week later after...after my mother died," she explains and that took Ben by surprise.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, it's no wonder you wanted the locket back," the rat said and she looks up at him with a little smile. The children wait for Ben to tell them his background.
"I was born on February 21st, 1898, here in London, and I've lost my mother, too at childbirth," Ben answers and the children were shocked, but also sad to hear this. However, Leana was thinking deep about Ben's birth date; he would've been conceived around the time of Ratigan's attempt to take over Mousedom, but she decides to stop thinking. Ben had a father, Mr. Whittaker and he did say he was not related to the monster who raped and tormented children.
"You know, it's a good thing to have loving adults, like your parents Mr. Milton who took in your sister and you certainly treat her like one," Ben said and the mouse boy and rat girl smile.
Leana and Winnie look back at the book and they see something that gets their brains going. "The reason Maxie refuses to move is a sign that a predator is close, either a large dog or-" A twig snaps, causing the others to look around.
"Uh, hello?" John calls out, "What else does it say?" he asks his sister, Leana.
She quickly flips through the pages and finds an illustrated picture, "It's a fox," she answers, but suddenly, they hear a bark and a fox emerges from behind a bush with a few more following behind.
"GET BACK!" Ben yells at the foxes, who growl. The rat urges the children to get on Maxie, while he takes a stance against the foxes, despite being bigger than him. He throws a punch at one who leapt at them, causing it to yelp in pain, but that got the other foxes agitated.
"Leana! Winnie! Is there a way to get out of this?!" John shouts and the girls flip through the pages.
"Here we go!" Winnie exclaims, "When Maxie is in danger, you got to sit on her back and yell at the top of your lungs!" She stops and urges Ben to get on the dog's back, then she yells, "MAXIE! TIME TO SKEDADDLE!"
The little dog then leaps up and runs as fast as she could, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. The foxes were surprised, but then start to run after the mutt.
"EAT OUR DUST SLOWPOKES!" John shouts, but the foxes were getting close. "What else does that book say?!" he asks, frantically.
Winnie takes a quick read, "We need to find a crowd of humans!" she answers and Ben takes command of Maxie, urging her to go back to the Lambeth Palace grounds. The little dog jumps through the bushes, where the groundskeepers were still maintaining the greenery.
"WHAT THE?!" one human shouts when he sees the foxes going after the dog.
"QUICK! GET SOME SHOVELS!" another shouts and they chase after the foxes.
"YOU LEAVE THAT POOR DOG ALONE!" a third demands, shovel raised above his head. The shouts had caught the attention of other humans, including a few who were walking larger dogs and they took part in the chase.
The foxes stop dead in their tracks when a few large dogs were released by their owners. They turn around and flee towards safety. Maxie stops to take a moment to pant, but Ben and the children watch as the humans gather around, collecting the dogs who chased after the foxes.
"Now I know foxes eat rodents, but I'm afraid those ones will eat our dogs or attack a child," one of the human dog walkers said.
"They most certainly will go after smaller dogs. I suggest we form a hunting party and kill those foxes," one of the groundskeepers replies and a few human men volunteer to hunt for the foxes.
"Where's that little dog?" a human woman asks, "I hope it didn't get hurt."
"Did you see how fast it was going? Little thing was a sprinter," her husband replies with a bit of a chuckle, "I'm sure it's fine, but I do want to find it." The human couple walk around a bit, wanting to locate Maxie, but Ben commands her to leave the park.
"Maxie, you're the most brilliant dog in the world," Ben said to Maxie, who barks. "Let's go home," he suggests, but they notice the older dog they saw earlier and Maxie runs up to it.
On the dog's back was the elderly mouse woman and Lope was also there. "Lope?" the children ask.
"KIDS!" he exclaims and jumps on Maxie's back, "Oh thank goodness! This woman is driving me crazy!" The elderly mouse woman laughs a bit as she heard what the bat said. "She offered me a ride back to the shop, but I think she's getting back at me for what I did earlier. Her dog is so slow and she's been singing crazy songs the whole time," he adds.
"Serves you right," Ben replies and apologizes to the elderly mouse, "Thank you for your assistance."
"Bye darlings," the female mouse said and looks at Lope, "Next time young fellow, show some respect for the elderly." She then gives a crack of the leash on the dog, lets out a "YEE-HAW!" as the dog runs off at high speed, leaving a trail of dust behind.
"She played me!" Lope shouts, but then laughs, "A good play at that."
The children laugh with him, "I hope I'll be that adventurous when I'm at that age," Winnie replies and Ben commands Maxie to return to the fish and chips shop.
"Hey, um, Lope, how come you're up and about in the day light? You're suppose to sleep when it's light, right?" Milton asks and the twins were also curious.
"It's the weekend, but yeah, it's unusual for bats like me to be up and about. However, I like fish market day, when Ben's pop sends me to get his order of fish. The one today was the biggest we got in a long time," Lope explains and then lets out a yawn, "Ben, do you mind if I crash at your place for a few hours?" he asks.
"You know you're always welcome," the rat replies and turns to the children, "You lot are always welcome to come back to the shop. I actually had a lot of fun, but I still want to get to know you."
"Oh, us too," Leana said and her cheeks turn a bit red when Ben smiles at her.
"I do hope to meet your folks sometime," Ben adds as Maxie walks to the back entrance of the rodent fish and chips shop. Ben asks for the book that Winnie still had in her hands, "I actually want to read this now. There's a lot about Maxie that I should've learned about a long time ago."
Then they hear the shouts of a woman, "JOHN?! LEANA?!" It was Mrs. Rachel, the twins did leave her behind without telling her.
"BEN!" Mr. Whittaker shouts and marshes up to him, "Where in God's name did you go?!" he demands.
"I'm really sorry Pa, but we had a situation in the park. I didn't mean to take Maxie without your permission, again. I just wanted to show my new friends here around and-" Mr. Whittaker holds up a hand, stopping Ben from talking.
He looks at the children, but stares at John and Leana for a long moment. "You're the Basil twins? The detective's children?" he asks and they nod. A look of shock forms on Mr. Whittaker and turns to Ben, "You go inside, I want to speak to you," he said.
"But what about-" "NOW!" Mr. Whittaker snaps at Ben, who obeys and gives a little wave of his hand to the children, who wave back.
"I'm really sorry about this Mrs. Fitzgerald, but I can assure you I will get this taken care of," Mr. Whittaker said to the Basil's housekeeper.
"Oh, please don't punish Ben!" Leana pleads. The rat looks down at her, "We wanted to have some fun today and-"
"Young lady, this is a family matter, and I don't want any of you to get involved," Mr. Whittaker insists and looks at Lope, "I bet you also had something to do with this. I want you to go, I'll be calling your folks shortly."
"Yes sir," Lope replies and bids the children farewell before flying away.
Rachel leads the children away from the shop; Milton and Winnie bid a goodbye and looked forward to seeing their friends at school on Monday. "Be sure to practice for the initiation ceremony!" Milton calls to the twins as they parted ways.
Back inside the fish and chips shop, Mr. Whittaker takes Ben to their private quarters, away from their customers. Mr. Whittaker made a quick telephone call to Lope's parents, who were not thrilled of the events earlier and told the rat they would be having a talk with Lope. He then looks at Ben, who looks at the floor; he was prepared for the lecture."What you did was irresponsible!" Mr. Whittaker shouts at his son.
"I know, I shouldn't have taken Maxie out, like I did many times-" "That's not what I mean!" the older rat snaps at Ben. This confuses Ben for a moment and he looks at his father, who looked a bit afraid.
"Pa, I swear those kids didn't get hurt," Ben said, "We had a bit of a fright, but everything is good now." Mr. Whittaker looks at his son in the eye.
"You solemnly swear you didn't hurt those children?" he asks, which surprises Ben.
"What? No, I didn't," Ben answers and Mr. Whittaker takes a deep breath. Ben could see that his father was troubled about something, he wasn't sure what though. Mr. Whittaker takes a seat and produces a telegram. "What's that?" Ben asks.
"A message from that naval school you always thought of getting into. For some reason, they decided to accept you, a little late, but they said they want you to come and start the semester there," Mr. Whittaker answers and Ben reads it through.
"Are they serious?" Ben asks, with a hint of excitement. "When we will be going?" he asks, again.
"There's a train that leaves a 5 this evening. I do need to make a call to Mr. and Mrs. Shenton, you remember them?" Mr. Whittaker replies.
"Yes, they are practically my godparents, but haven't seen them in years. I will be staying with them?" Ben asks and his father nods. "I do want to make a quick call to Baker Street, tell my-"
"You will do no such thing!" Mr. Whittaker cuts in, which startles Ben and his father says in a calmer voice, "I don't want you to see those children, again, especially the Basil twins."
"What? But Pa, they're my friends. I actually had-" "I forbid it!" Mr. Whittaker shouts, "In fact, I don't want you to make any friends with youngsters."
Ben was confused; he never seen his father act like this and he wanted to know why. "Pa, why can't I see them, again?" he asks, but Mr. Whittaker doesn't answer. "Tell me, dammit!" Ben curses, it was a way to get his father's attention.
"Don't you dare curse at me like that!" Mr. Whittaker said in an angry tone.
"Then answer me!" Ben said, using the same angry voice like before.
"It's for your own good," Mr. Whittaker answers, but Ben thought it wasn't a good enough answer. "Benjamin, you will not understand this, but I'm doing this to protect you," his father adds.
"Protect me from what? Please stop talking in riddles," Ben demands. Mr. Whittaker lets out a sigh, but then turns around, preparing to head to the shop. Ben grabs his father from behind and forces him to face him, "Tell me!" he shouts.
"When you are older, I'll tell you," Mr. Whittaker answers, "Now pack your things, I'll take you to the station later." Ben decides to let this go; Mr. Whittaker was a secretive, but very stubborn rat. Ben did love his father as he was his rock and he didn't want there to be a falling out between them, but Ben was still confused as to why his father forbade him to see the Basil twins, again.
The telephone rings and Ben answers it, "Whittaker residence."
"Hey buddy!" Lope said, "Listen, I'm sorry, but my folks are sending me to Aunt Camille's place. They said I'm punished until Christmas, so might not see you for a while."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, but Aunt Camille is pretty sweet, isn't she?" Ben asks, but hears Lope scoff.
"She's also a...well you know when a youngster in my family gets in trouble? She likes to enforce strict procedures, which means I'll be doing a lot of chores while also going to school," Lope answers, "Anyway, what about you? What's your punishment?"
"Um," Ben mutters, he wasn't sure how to explain this to his friend, but he decides to tell him in full, "I'm going to the naval academy in Portsmouth. They accepted me, rather late, but I told you that I always wanted to go a naval school since I was small."
"The Victoria Naval Academy for Rodents? Damn! That's great buddy!" Lope exclaims, but Ben lets out a sigh.
"But pa told me that I'm forbidden to see the Basil twins, again," the rat replies.
"What? Did he say why?" Lope asks, but Ben tells him that his father didn't give a good answer.
"He said it was for my own good, still don't know what he means, but he is being secretive for some reason," Ben adds and decides to finish the call, "Listen, I have some packing to do. I'm leaving for the station for the five o'clock train. I'll miss you Lope, stay out of trouble."
"Same here buddy, take care of yourself," the bat said before disconnecting. Ben goes up to his bedroom, putting a large luggage bag on his bed and looks through his clothes and other belongings. Mr. and Mrs. Shenton would probably have enough clothes for him as they did have a son who is grown up and living abroad somewhere.
Since he was small, Ben was always fascinated by water travel and even the naval boats he and his father would see while on holiday down at the southern coast of England. He begged his father to let him go and be educated at a naval academy, in which Mr. Whittaker decided to let him apply this year, but a few other naval schools rejected him earlier in the summer.
Ben sent a rather whole-hearted letter to the newly built Victoria Naval Academy for Rodents in Portsmouth, stating that it was his dream to be out on the water. He mentioned that protecting the waters around England was crucial to protect the country from invaders. The telegram he read stated that the academy apologized for the late response as the school was finishing a few things over the summer, although it took a bit longer to finish, but they had accepted him.
Now, however, Ben wasn't sure if he was ready to leave, as he made new friends and didn't want to part ways with them just yet. He goes to his desk and takes out a slip of paper and begins to write a letter.
()()()()()()()()()()()
Meanwhile at Baker Street, Rachel and the Basil twins walk through the door. The two of them spoke of the wild adventure they had in Pedlar's Park, which sent a shiver down the housekeeper's spine. "Rachel?!" Mrs. Judson calls out and appears from behind the kitchen door. "Where in Heaven's name have you been?" she demands.
"I'm sorry, but time slipped away," Rachel said, just as the front door opens and the detective and his partner step in.
"Hello children!" Basil exclaims and his son and daughter jump into his arms.
"Did you catch the killer?" Leana asks. Basil, while shedding his coat and hat and putting on his robe, tells his family that the dead criminal, Alexander Earleen made a few enemies at Thames Prison. Earleen had a reputation in pushing the guards to their limits, in which, three of them decide to teach him a lesson by submerging his head in a bathtub full of hot water.
However, one of the officers "accidentally" choke him to death while holding him down. The three officers decided to leave Earleen's body in the prison's baths and swore to keep quiet on their involvement.
"I find it ironic as they will now be serving time in the same prison," Basil said and starts tuning his violin.
"It's a shame that those officers couldn't keep it together with some unruly prisoners," Dawson replies.
"Well, they deserve to be punished," Olivia said, "I honestly don't like it when someone bullies individuals to the breaking point, but murder is not the answer." She then looks at her children, she did want to know what kind of fun they had today.
Before anyone could say anything else, Mrs. Judson lets out a shriek, "WHAT?!" The elderly mouse then pulls her daughter into the living room, looking at the confused spectators. "Tell them what you told me!" Mrs. Judson orders Rachel.
"Tell us what?" Olivia asks, although she wondered if this had anything to do with this mysterious Ben Whittaker.
"I'm very sorry children," Rachel said, her eyes looking at the floor and then looks at her employers, "I took your children to see this Mr. Benjamin Whittaker," she begins, but Basil stops her.
"You two went to see this Ben Whittaker?! Even though I told you not to!" he nearly shouts at the twins, who were now afraid of him. Olivia stands in front of her husband and lets out a sigh.
"It's really my fault, Elliott," she said, "I let them go and see their friend as they were upset when you told them not to."
"I told you, the way they described him rattled my nerves," Basil replies in an angry voice, although he didn't like to get angry with his family. He turns to Rachel, who resumes her talk on the events the twins told her about in Pedlar's Park. "My God," he whispers and looks at the twins, "You two disobey me and it almost got you killed, again."
"But Ben and Maxie-" Basil holds up a finger to his son.
"I don't want you to see this Mr. Ben Whittaker, again. He's obviously a bad influence on you two," the detective orders, but that made Leana angry.
"Daddy, he saved us, why do you consider that a bad influence?" she asks and he looks at her.
"Young lady, I don't want you to do something that you will regret. In fact, I don't want you to go down the wrong path," Basil said and adds, "I don't want any of my children be locked up in prison for something vulgar. How would you feel in spending many days and nights in a cold cell?" he asks.
Leana thinks for a minute, she wanted her father to understand that Ben was not a crook and that she will not go down the path of a criminal. "Daddy, you obviously don't know Ben. Fonso said we should get to know others before-"
"NO!" Basil snaps, startling her, "You will not make any committed relationship with a low-life! Even if he did save you and your brother, I am still forbidding you from seeing this Ben Whittaker, is that clear?"
Leana stares up at her father, tears threatening to burst, but she refuses to break down. Instead, she marshes off to her room and slams the door. The atmosphere in the home had gotten thick with dread and confusion. Basil takes a seat in his chair; he suddenly felt miserable for talking to his daughter like that.
"Oh I'm such an idiot," he said and his wife places her hands on his shoulders.
"Elliott, maybe we should meet this Ben Whittaker," she suggests and he looks at her. "If we do see him in person, then maybe we can put this whole thing to rest. If Whittaker is not Ratigan, then it's all right, we don't have anything to worry about."
Basil lets out a sigh; surely meeting this Ben Whittaker would put his mind at ease. He wanted to be sure that Ratigan was truly dead or see if Whittaker was a relative of the rat.
"Yes, you're right, it will put some unanswered questions to rest and it'll be an honest mistake for thinking this Ben Whittaker as Ratigan," Basil said and retrieves his coat and hat once more.
"John, where's this shop?" Olivia asks her son, as she takes off her robe and places a flowered hat on her head. John, however, points out that Rachel knew the location better. She tells them where it was and the couple leave the house with a basket as Basil thought of cheering Leana up with some fish and chips.
They board a trolley that would take to the shop, but Olivia needed some help getting up to the rodent's compartment. A few male rodents offer to help and Olivia settles in a seat. "How much time left?" a female mouse asks the couple.
Basil calculates for a minute, Olivia was 24 weeks, but his wife beats him to it. "About 18 weeks," she answers and the crowd gives out awes.
"A Christmas baby! Congratulations!" a few call out and they thank them. The trolley stops in front of the building where the 'Whittaker and Son' fish and chips shop would be. The same male rodents offer to help Olivia, again, and she thanks them, again.
"Having cravings?" another female mouse shouts to them, but a few rodents chuckle. "Whittaker makes the best fried food in all of London!" the female mouse calls out and the trolley moves, again.
Basil and Olivia notice a small crowd of humans outside the restaurant as it was nearing dinner time. They also noticed a small crowd of rodents outside the rodent quarters of the building, where the shop was.
They enter inside and walk up to the counter, where a male mouse greets them. "What can I get you? A lot of pregnant females always crave our steak pies and even the fish and chips," he said with a chuckle.
"Actually, we're here to see Mr. Benjamin Whittaker, is he available?" Basil asks, but the male mouse stares at him in confusion.
"Are you friends of his?" he asks, but then looks at the detective, "Wait a minute, you're Mr. Basil of Baker," he said and Basil nods. "So sorry, didn't recognize you; when you see a lot of rodents it's hard to keep your memory functions working. You're little kiddies were here earlier, caused a bit of a ruckus," he chuckles.
"Just kidding," the male mouse quickly adds, then looks up at the clock. "I'm sorry, but Ben's pa took him to Portsmouth, the train left at 5."
"Portsmouth?" Basil asks.
"Ben got accepted to the new Victoria Naval Academy for Rodents, but they were late in sending a correspondence. Ben always wanted to go to a naval school since he was small; I bet he'll be watching the English Channel for invaders, if any do come," the male mouse explains, but then pulls out an envelope. "Ben did tell me to give your kids this, he did want to say goodbye to them. It's hard to tell if he will come home for winter holiday," he adds as Basil takes the envelope.
It was written out to 'John and Leana Basil'. The detective thought of opening it, but he decided to give it to his children once they were home. Basil and Olivia decide to order some fish and chips and a steak pie. Olivia also orders some banana chips.
"Ah, that's a best seller for pregnant rodents, too," the employee said and sends in their order to the kitchen.
"Uh, do you mind if I ask you about the Whittakers?" Basil asks and the employee looks behind the detective, no customers came to the counter.
"Mr. Orson Whittaker is not much of a talker, but he did suffer a lot of losses. From what I can recall, his first shop was destroyed by looters some time after Ratigan's attempt to kill the mouse queen; in fact, there was a lot of looting or burnings on rat owned businesses after the failed assassination plot," he begins and Basil and Olivia look at one another. After the case in 1897, many honest working rats lost their homes or businesses to fires set by mice, forcing many to leave London or having a difficult time securing new jobs. Basil hated the fact that many mice saw innocent rats as the 'brethren' of Ratigan and discriminate them for no legitimate reason.
"Orson also said that his wife died giving birth to Benjamin and he was completely broken about it for a while, but he got back up and he's been a great father as well as a friend," the employee explains and begins to think.
"He did have one sister who was kidnapped by Ratigan and kept her as his prisoner. No one knows what happened to her, although a lot of us suspect that monster killed her before he got his due. As I said, Orson is not much of a talker, so I'm might be wrong about a few things," the employee said, but Basil thanks him for his help.
Their food arrived, all wrapped in wax paper and they put it in the basket. Olivia takes the banana chips and begins to eat them, a look of delight appears in her eyes. "That lady was right, this place does serve the best fried food," she comments and Basil tries one, but doesn't like it as it was sweet.
They ride another trolley to return to Baker Street; Basil was disappointed in missing the chance to meet Ben Whittaker, although something puzzled him about Orson's missing sister. "I feel awful for Mr. Orson and Ben," Olivia said and her husband nods, but he was still thinking. "What is it?" she asks as they got close to their house.
"I just can't stop thinking about the kidnapped sister. Ratigan did kidnap a few female rodents, but I do recall some survived, although they had suffered many years of physiological trauma," he explains, then he pulls his wife close to him. "I would hate to see you suffer from that trauma if he did take that advantage," he adds, holding her tight before they resume their walk towards the safety of their home.
Once they enter through the front door, they saw Leana with her brother, John and they notice their parents. "Did you see Ben? What did you think of him?" the little girl asks; John or Dawson probably told her of Basil wanting to see the friend who saved her twice.
Basil lets out a sigh and comes down to her level. "Darling, I'm sorry, but Ben Whittaker's father took him to Portsmouth for school. He got accepted at the Victoria Naval Academy for Rodents, a new school from what I hear," the detective said and his daughter's face drops. "I know, I am deeply disappointed that we didn't get the chance to see him."
"No, I thought he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye," Leana said, but then Basil produces the envelope he got from the employee. She opens it and begins to read.
Dear John and Leana,
I am sorry for not giving a rather proper goodbye, but I should've told you earlier that it's been my dream to live out on the water. As long as I can remember, I've been always drawn to water and even the naval ships my father and I would see in Portsmouth.
With this opportunity to go to Victoria Naval Academy, I really couldn't let it up, although it is so sudden. I wish I could take the time to see you at your home before departing, but my father insisted I pack right away before the 5 o'clock train.
Just so you know, you two really turned my world upside down. It was really fun today and I will not forget this day. Hopefully, somewhere down the road, we will see each other again and I will have the opportunity to meet your folks.
You two take care of each other and take care of your friends. Stand up to wrong-doers like those Easton sisters, we need mice like you.
Keep your chins up and hope to see soon!
Big Ben
Leana finishes and smiles a bit, however, she notices some writing that was erased at the bottom, but doesn't say anything. "I hope he will come home sometime," she said to her parents.
"I hope so, too," Olivia said and they settle at the dinner table. The food was really good and John and Leana gobble down their fish and chips. "Goodness me you two!" their mother scolds her two children.
"Sorry, but it is so good," John comments and his father agreed as he took a bite of the steak pie.
"I would would to try their other foods," Dawson said, taking the last few bits of chips. Leana excuses herself from the table and closes the door to her room, she wanted to figure out the erased writing.
She turns the paper over and places some tracing paper on it; if she was lucky, the pencil's writing would still be readable, even though it would be backwards. The words began to appear when she uses a pencil to trace over the paper.
She then takes a moment to try and figure out the message, but her cheeks turn hot when she reads it. "I'll miss you most Leana," she whispers and smiles a bit. "I'll miss you, too Ben," she replies.
Out in the living room, Basil looks through some of his journals. He wondered if any of his past cases would provide a clue on Mr. Whittaker's missing sister. He stops at the entry of 'February 22nd, 1898'.
"Elliott, what is it?" Olivia asks and Basil shows her entry.
"Dawson and I were called to a crime scene where an arson supposedly happened, but there was a dead female rat inside the residence, her belly cut open," Basil said and continues, "The medical examiner did conclude she was pregnant and gave birth, however, no baby. I did suspect at first the female rat was held prisoner and her baby was stolen, but there were some stitching on her open belly.
"I thought maybe the one who delivered the baby did not want the female rat to die and was trying to save her. The medical examiner found evidence that the baby was large and would've needed a Cesarean section. Then the fire occurred, which did not touch the bedroom where the dead female rat was. The medical examiner did conclude that the cause of death was excessive postpartum bleeding," he explains and sits in his chair with the journal.
"Are you suspecting this female rat has a connection to Benjamin Whittaker?" Olivia asks, but her husband shakes his head.
"I am not entirely sure. She was never identified and the medical examiner had her body cremated," Basil answers and closes his journal. "Either this Benjamin Whittaker is related to this female rat or not, but I am just hoping this one cold case finally gets solved, although I doubt it will be anytime soon," he said, putting the journal away and takes out his violin.
The detective's brain was turning its gears with this new light to an old unsolved mystery. He still wasn't sure if Ben Whittaker was the key to this cold case, but Basil still held onto that hope.
From the author: A lot of unanswered questions here, but for a good reason, however, I don't want to spoil anything. Even though the twins barely know their new friends, they will, in time, see them again.
See you real soon everyone!