The Case of the Gold Thief-Part Two
by HA

As soon as class was over, Shirley approached Rika and Katrina in the hallway. Bo and Blake tagged along with their naturally inquisitive friend.

"Well, they've gotten themselves a lot of attention," Blake said, noticing how everyone was staring at the newcomers, especially Katrina.

Shirley was positive if the other students knew the newcomers' membership in the Strangers' Club, their curiosity would extend beyond Katrina's appearance and mannerisms. The group was made up of kids dedicated to investigating all things out of the ordinary, like ghosts and aliens. Shirley encountered it recently, and together they managed to thwart ENIGMA's recent crime in Redington. She noticed how some of the members were out of the ordinary, like Katrina. Not many girls were psychics, after all. Although the Strangers vowed to work with Shirley on her cases if they had the time, she was still suspicious of them. The group had many secrets and she was determined to learn them. Bo and Blake shared her attitude, although Blake was less suspicious than Bo.

"What are they doing here at Sussex?" Bo asked the young detective in a low voice.

"I'm about to find out," Shirley said.

Before Shirley could ask, Katrina said, "All will be revealed at lunch."

Shirley nodded, deciding not to pursue the matter further until then. She reasoned she could wait and with her record, could not afford to be late for more classes. Her real motive to agree with the silver-haired girl was emotionally-based, a rarity with her. Her past experience with Katrina told her she could read minds, among other things. Privately, it creeped out the great-grandniece of Sherlock Holmes, but she managed to stay calm.

"We'll talk at lunch, then," Rika said, looking at her watch. "I need to go to my locker, then to my next class." She sighed. "Why did I get assigned a locker so far away from my classes?"

"I'd go for dumb luck," Bo said, smiling.

"I guess you're right," Rika said. She turned to Katrina. "You'll be okay on your own for one period?"

"I will manage," Katrina answered in her usual dead calm tone.

"That's good to hear," Rika said.

Before Rika could leave, Bo said, "Wait, where's Bart? He went on one of your field trips. Is he back yet?" In addition to being a Knight Foundation Scholar, Bart was the newest member of the club. Like his friends, Blake had a good idea Bart was participating in one of the club's cases.

Rika stopped. "He should be. His group came back last night."

"We haven't seen him since we got here," Blake said.

"Must be jet lag. Don't worry, he'll be fine," Rika assured him. "See you at lunch."

Shirley watched as Rika left. "Indeed," she said.

"So, what's next?" Blake asked.

Shirley saw Katrina open her locker. "We go to class and talk to them at lunch," she answered.

Bo was a little surprised at his friend's reluctance to confront the Strangers. "If you say so, Shirl."

They left Katrina at her locker. She placed her book from her previous class and started removing other books. She got what she wanted, then paused.

"Hello, Molly," the silver-haired girl said, closing her locker.

Behind her, Molly Hardy gasped. She had been watching Shirley and her friends talking with the new students. When they left, she took the opportunity to confront Katrina. Unfortunately, nothing was going according to plan. As Katrina locked the door, Molly did her best to supress her surprise.

"You have a question," the Stranger stated matter-of-factly, turning around to face Molly.

The blonde regained her composure and glared at Katrina. "Why did you say I was weak? That I was afraid of the dark a while back?" she demanded.

Katrina stared calmly into the blonde sociopath's eyes. "Because it's true."

"I'm afraid of nothing." Molly's blood was almost to full boil. "I have a lot of clout here. I control everything and everyone, you silver-haired freak. You'd better not cross me or else."

The threat failed to produce its intended effect. "You have no power," Katrina said.

Molly was furious. "You're an idiot and a fool," she said through clenched teeth.

"And you're afraid of the dark," Katrina said calmly.

"I am not!" Molly shouted, stepping closer to Katrina. "I'm strong! Strong!"

The tardy bell rang.

"You're weak," Katrina said. "Accept the truth. You still have time."

Molly could not take it anymore. "Who are you?"

Katrina met Molly's intense stare with serene eyes. "Who are you?"

"Molly?"

Molly turned around and saw Ms. Stratmann. "Ms. Stratmann, what a pleasant surprise," she said with a fake smile.

"Molly, that was the tardy bell. Why are you still here? Who were you talking to?" the headmistress asked her prized student.

"Oh, I was saying hello to one of the new students," Molly explained, gesturing behind her. "You know, Katrina Mansfield."

Ms. Stratmann looked puzzled. "Molly, no one is with you."

Molly looked behind her. Katrina was gone.

Ms. Stratmann watched as Molly searched for the silver-haired girl. "Molly, perhaps you should go to class right now. I'll explain everything to your teacher."

"But, Ms. Stratmann, I swear..."

"Go to class, Molly." The headmistress left for her office, wondering if Molly was still suffering from her earlier ordeal. ENIGMA had kidnapped her in part to get Shirley. When the young detective and her friends found her, she was a hysterical wreck. Only a visit from a renowned therapist/hypnotist restored the scheming sociopath back to normal.

Molly looked around, but she was the only one in the hallway. Frustrated, she gave up and started on her way to class. To her annoyance, Katrina's words echoed in her mind.

At lunch, Shirley and her friends ate in the cafeteria. Rika and Katrina joined them. Rika had her backpack with her.

"I see you've dared to sample some of Sussex's famous cuisine," Bo said half-jokingly. Like the others, the newcomers bought a hot lunch: chicken schnitzel, macaroni and cheese, a carton of milk, and a bowl of green Jello.

"Yep," Rika said with a smile as she and Katrina sat down.

"So what brings you to Sussex?" Shirley asked.

"Ah, taking the direct approach," Rika said.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Blake asked.

"Spying on us?" Bo asked.

Katrina started eating her lunch, leaving Rika to answer. "Well, Arthur at least needed one of us to enroll here in order to give Bart and you guys a contact with the club," she explained, keeping her voice low. "Someone to keep him posted on assignments and to keep in touch with you just in case you need our help."

"Why you two?" Bo asked.

"Most of us attend public school. Katrina is home-schooled, so she could do it. As for me, my aunt has tutors handling my education," Rika said. "She's very protective of me, so she wasn't thrilled I decided to attend an institution. On the other hand, my grandfather was supportive."

"Your grandfather?" Blake wondered.

"The man who dropped them off," Shirley said. "He's a employee of the Knight Foundation," she added, remembering the Knight Foundation limo.

"Correct, Shirley," Rika acknowledged. "He's on the board of directors and a good friend of the Knights."

"He reminds me of my grandmother," Shirley commented. "He seems active for his age."

"He is," Rika said. "He once climbed Mt. Fuji without assistance. He has the walking staff to prove it."

"He was once head of his own company," Shirley said.

Rika was amazed at Shirley's deductive skills. "That's correct, but how...?"

"His suit was made by a prominent Italian designer. I recognized the look. Only the very wealthy can afford such a suit," Shirley pointed out.

"So your grandpa once ran a company?" Bo said. "How come he's here in Canada?"

"Grandfather was once head of a major electronics company, but after a while, he felt bored and lonely." Rika paused before continuing. "You see, my parents died while I was very young, and Grandfather was the only family I had in Japan. He had his hands full with me. Although I brightened his life, he still felt lonely. He was already a big success, yet he wanted more from life. So he sold his company for a good price and we moved to Redington, where my aunt was working in the PR department for the Knight Foundation."

"Whoa," Blake said. "How much did the company sell for?"

Rika drank her milk. "Grandfather got $5,000,000 from the sale, and with his savings, we have a small fortune."

Bo whistled. "Impressive."

"Indeed," Shirley said.

Blake spotted someone familiar. A boy with brown hair and glasses walked up to the small group with a lunch tray. His uniform seemed disorderly; the tie was barely hanging on to his collar and one pants pocket stuck out. "Hey, Bart," he greeted.

"Hey, Blake, everyone," Bart James, amateur investigator of weird happenings, answered. He noticed the two newest students of Sussex Academy. "Hi, guys."

"Hi, Bart," Rika said, trying to sound cheerful.

Katrina nodded without a word.

Bart looked at Rika and Katrina. "So Arthur made you two my contacts, huh?"

"That is correct," Katrina answered.

Shirley noticed Bart's sluggish manner. "Jet lag," she concluded.

Bart yawned. "Yep. My body's still getting used to the time."

"And your clothes," Bo said, pointing to his friend's uniform. "I'm amazed Ms. Stratmann hasn't run you down for that."

"Well, I came back late last night," Bart admitted. "I slept in, and I missed my first class." He yawned again.

"Don't worry about it, Bart," Rika reassured him. "Your status as a Knight Foundation Scholar excuses you from missed classes most of the time. In fact, you really should rest today. You've been through a lot."

"Tell me about it," Bart said, taking a seat. "I'm fine, though. Really."

"Not really," Katrina said. "You need to rest."

Shirley studied her friend. "Perhaps you should get more sleep. One of us can get your assignments."

"Speaking of assignments..." Blake decided to talk about Bart's new status as a Knight Foundation Scholar and latest member of the Strangers' Club. "How was your trip?"

"Actually, I'm not really in the mood to discuss it," Bart said.

"Oh," Blake said. "Another time?"

Bart nodded and started eating his lunch. In mid-bite, he yawned again. Shirley watched him carefully and wondered what happened on his first case as a Stranger. She was sure it was not the jet lag bothering him.

"I don't blame you," Katrina told Shirley. "However, he will come around."

Shirley stared at Katrina, then returned to her lunch. She was about to eat more when she froze.

"Shirley, what's wrong?" Bo asked, looking up from his food.

"If I recall, dessert was green Jello," Shirley noted.

The others looked at Shirley. "So?" Blake asked.

Shirley pointed to her dessert. "Then how did yellow Jello get on my tray?"

Everyone looked at Shirley's Jello. It was indeed yellow.

"What the...?" Bart's eyes widened at the sight of his green Jello. At least it was green. Now it was a bright yellow, almost golden.

The same was true for all the Jello at the table. "Talk about weird," Bo remarked, poking his dessert with his spoon. It responded by wiggling.

"That's our business," Rika said, examining her Jello closely.

"Apparently we are not the only ones who are experiencing this strange phenomenon," Katrina observed, looking around the room. All the kids were staring at their now-yellow Jellos.

"Hey, what happened?"

"Whoa, cool."

"Maybe it's some new color changing Jello?"

Bart looked around the room. Suddenly, his eyes widened in surprise when they reached the exit of the cafeteria. The others, especially Shirley, did not miss this and followed his gaze. They all saw a boy with platinum-blond hair standing there. He was probably about to leave, but he seemed to be watching everything.

"No," Bart said in a low voice, sounding shocked. "It can't be..."

"Bart?" Shirley asked. She noticed the look of surprise in his eyes.

"Hey, is that a scar?" Bo asked, seeing the boy's right cheek. "Wonder how he got that. Must have been painful."

The boy smiled and waved, then exited the cafeteria. Bart rose out of his seat.

"Bart, what's wrong?" Blake asked.

Before anyone could stop him, Bart dashed after the boy.

END OF PART TWO