Chapter Two

And So Starts the Search

"'Darling, I know that you can only be reading this because some unfortunate turn of events has befallen me. Do not be alarmed or upset. I will try to explain this all.

'You know how poor I was before I made my fortune. You also remember that I had a younger brother, who fell into bad company, and eventually was killed in the Pacific, just as I was starting to make my fortune.

'One day I received a package from someone who wished to remain anonymous. This was about one year after we had been married, Danielle. The note sent along with it said that my brother had entrusted the sender with the contents of the package sometime before he died. The sender wished that I would keep it. I opened the package, and to my horror recognized the stolen Eye of Diom, from the mines of India.

'Danielle, I was baffled. I had no idea what to do. I couldn't turn in the Eye to the police; they would have thought I had stolen it!'"

"Of course," Basil snorted before resuming.

"'So I did the only thing I thought I could do; I hid it.'"

Mrs. Butler gasped. "Tom behaved very strangely on our first year wedding anniversary! I remember because he put his left shoe on his right foot, and spilled red wine over his new silk cravat, and didn't even seem to notice!"

I did not see what those behaviors had to do with someone acting suspiciously, but I decided to not worry about it.

Basil continued: "'But my original hiding place just didn't feel secure enough. So I moved it to another place after only a few months. Then someone tried to take it. I moved it again. Again some attempted to take it. I became so mad with worry over it being stolen that I finally devised a most effective way to hide it.

'But whoever is after it has threatened my family. Danielle, I cannot give it to him unless it is absolutely necessary.

'I have hidden the Eye behind a trail of clues. By solving the first clue, you can go on to the next one. Eventually you will be led to the hiding place of the Eye. I am sorry I cannot explain more.

Your loving husband,

Thomas

P.S. Find Basil of Baker Street.'"

"That is excellent!" I exclaimed. Everyone looked at me rather strangely. Mrs. Butler seemed appalled. Basil and Dawson looked baffled.

"What are you talking about?" Dawson asked.

I turned to Basil. "He asked for you and here you are!"

"Yes, it's all very convenient, but this letter still confounds me," Dawson said to Basil. "It seemed like Butler knew something was going to happen to him."

"I thought so. That was most likely his reason for staying up with the children last night."

"He did?" we all asked.

"Of course. A pipe was found under one of the beds, and ashes found on the carpet and on his person. He had prepared himself for a long vigil."

"And what 'clues' is Butler talking about?" Dawson asked.

Mrs. Butler stepped forward. She held up a piece of paper. "This was with the letter. But I can make neither head nor tail of it."

"Mrs. Butler, what is written on that paper is for you alone," Basil said slowly, carefully. "I would be more than happy to help you find the Eye of Diom to save your children. You can entrust the task to Mouseland Yard, but they may try to confiscate the emerald, because it is believed to be stolen. The decision is yours."

"Mr. Basil," Mrs. Butler began, "my husband knew that you would be able to help me. I would be more than honored if you would help me now."

"Then I advise you to do a few things. First of all, do not mention any of this to anyone else you know, especially the official police force."

Mrs. Butler nodded.

"Secondly, you must also assist us. We will need your help for the durance of this case. I do not know how many clues we will have to solve, but they were meant for you. Your husband must have created them so that only you will be able to decipher them. Do you understand me?"

"Oh yes, of course. I will try my best to help you in anything at all."

"And you are fine with Dr. Dawson and Mrs. Havers' assistance?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. May I see the paper?" Basil asked.

She wordlessly handed it to him. He glanced over the page. Then his face fell.

"What is it?" I asked.

He handed the paper to me. I read aloud:

"My first is in lands and also in deeds,

My second in loch, and loam, but not in leaves,

My third is the end of knoll

My fourth is two in tolls."

My jaw dropped. "This is a clue? This is a bunch of nonsense!"

Dawson took the paper from me and reread it. "A riddle!"

"Yes." Basil seemed extremely disappointed.

"What is wrong? Can't you solve it?" I asked.

Basil looked irritated. "Megana! You know me better than that!"

"You've figured out the meaning of this riddle?" Mrs. Butler asked, stunned.

"Yes. It's very simple."

"HOW?" we all said in unison.

Basil took the paper. "It's a word riddle. We'll take it line by line. What letters are in the words 'lands' and 'deeds'?"

"D and s," Dawson said.

"Good. Now, what letters are in 'loch and loam', but not in 'leaves'?"

"L and O and in loch and loam, but... leaves has an L too," Dawson reasoned. "So that would leave... O."

"Precisely."

"'The end of knoll?' Is that the letter L?" Mrs. Butler asked.

"Very good, madam," Basil said. "And the last line?"

We all looked in stupidity at the last line. "'My fourth is two in tolls'?" I said. "Tolls?"

Basil waited a bit impatiently for several minutes for us to figure it out. Finally he blurted out, "What two letters are in the word tolls?"

"L!" Mrs. Butler exclaimed.

"Exactly." Basil took a pen and wrote on the paper D-O-L-L. "It cannot be S-O-L-L; that word does not even exist. Mrs. Butler, does your daughter have a favorite doll?"

"Yes. It's in the nursery."

"Can you go get it please?"

"Certainly."

When she had left the room, I took Basil's hand. "Why were you so disappointed when you first saw the riddle?"

Basil laughed a little. "I'm sorry Meg, but I took once glance at that riddle, and saw no challenge in it. Call it pride or whatever you will, but I was really hoping that these clues would be harder to solve."

Dawson folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at Basil. "Two children's lives are in danger, and you're upset that it will be easier to save them?" he asked in disbelief, voicing my own opinion.

"I am sorry old friend," Basil said. "I did not mean to seem so heartless."

I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Remember, these clues had to be easy enough for Mrs. Butler to solve."

Danielle Butler came back into the room with a porcelain doll. She handed it to Basil. "Rose loves this doll."

Basil took the doll. "There should be another clue in here somewhere," he said, searching it. Finally he pulled the head off the doll.

"What are you-" Mrs. Butler began.

"Aha! Here it is! The second clue!" Basil said, pulling out another piece of paper.

Meg: All right, Chappie Two is done! Now Chappie Three is next. I haven't even made a dent into that yet.

JWJ: STOP WRITING THESE STORIES!

Meg: STOP GETTING INTO THE AUTHOR'S NOTES!

JWJ: That riddle was so easy. Any moron could have solved it.

Meg: All right, what's black and white and red all over?

JWJ: A newspaper, duh!

Meg: Or... well, never mind. You'll see.