The Return of Sherlock James

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 8:

Ciindy looked from the small pile of gold on her desk to the ring of unfriendly faces surrounding her. "I…I don't understand any of this," she stammered. "I don't know how this…how any of these things got into my book bag."

Butch pointed an accusing finger at her. "You're a gold-stealing bully!" he told Cindy. "And that's the worst kind!"

"I didn't steal anything!" Cindy shot back angrily, her voice beginning to break. "I'm innocent!"

"I dunno, Cindy," Nick said. "It's kind of cool when people think you're bad. But to actually be bad is…you know…so not bad."

"Yeah, stealing is always fun until someone loses an eye or a finger," Carl added.

Sheen looked puzzled. "Just what does that mean?"

"I don't know," Carl shrugged. "My mom just says that sort of thing whenever I do something she doesn't like. You know, like watch TV too close, or forget to return a library book, or read one of those scary comic books with the talking animals…"

"Ah, gotcha," Sheen replied, nodding in comprehension.

"If you liked the bracelet so much, why didn't you just ask if you could wear it?" Libby asked. "I could have asked my momma if you could borrow it."

"But I didn't take it, Libby!" Cindy answered, sniffling a bit. "Really I didn't! I'd never steal anything! Not from you!"

"I'm sorry, Cindy," Miss Fowl said sadly, "but under the circumstances I'm afraid I'm going to have to call in your parents. You were such a good student. Now you might even get expelled."

Cindy had been on the verge of tears and the threat of expulsion pushed her over the edge. "I didn't do anything!" she sobbed. "Why doesn't anyone believe me?"

Jimmy had been one of the few students who had not said anything to her or anyone else once the missing items had been emptied onto Cindy's desk from her book bag. Something's not right here, he thought. Cindy's a smartmouth sometimes, but I know she isn't a thief. Up to now I thought she might have been playing a prank to humiliate me but this has gone way too far. He chewed his lower lip as he tried to reason it out. I'm missing something here…something important. But what? Come on…think. Think. Think!

But watch what happens when I give it a light dose of radiation…

I wonder why someone waited until today to take it…

…I say that there's nothing wrong with being unethical…

Brain blast! Jimmy thought in excitement. I know who did…and why! But I still have to find some way to prove it. "Miss Fowl!" he called out.

Jimmy shout voice made Miss Fowl and the other students look up. Even Cindy looked up, her face stained with tears, at the tone of his voice. "What is it, Jimmy?"

"Miss Fowl, I admit that this looks bad." He reviewed the facts at hand. "Okay, really bad. But you have to admit that the evidence is purely circumstantial. After all, no one actually saw Cindy take anything. We all found out today just what misunderstandings can lead to and just how much damage they can do. Before we do anything drastic, like call in Cindy's parents or talk about disciplinary action, I think we should have a trial to sort out the facts."

Miss Fowl rubbed her chin. "That's highly unusual, Jimmy," she pointed out.

"So are a lot of other things that go on in this class," Sheen responded.

"That's true. Well…I suppose we could postpone things until we're more sure of the facts. Very well, let's proceed."

"Well, about that…" Jimmy hesitated. "Could we postpone the trial until tomorrow? I think that whoever defends Cindy will need a little time to prepare."

"But tomorrow is Saturday!" Britney objected.

"I know," Jimmy replied. "But Cindy has never done anything wrong before. I realize that this will be an imposition of sorts, but we're talking about Cindy possibly being expelled here." Cindy began crying anew at the reminder, making Jimmy wince before he went on. "This is something that would follow her for the rest of her life. Don't you want to be absolutely sure that you didn't make a mistake in condemning her? And if it were any one of you that were in her place, wouldn't you want to have a fair chance to present your case?"

Libby still looked uncertain. "I don't know," she said. "I mean, it was my momma's bracelet she took. That's pretty low."

"She's your best friend," Jimmy argued. As Libby still wavered he added, "And Carl and Sheen will be defending her."

Butch rubbed his hands. "The two stooges? Hey, I'd pay money to see that. I'm for the postponement."

"That'd be even better than My Cousin Vinnie," Nick agreed. Cindy covered her face with her hands, certain that she was doomed.

"Aren't you going to defend her, Jimmy?" Miss Fowl asked.

Jimmy looked unhappy. "No. My parents were invited to some fancy overnight dinner function by the Stritches and they want me to go along. But I should be back sometime tomorrow morning. I should be able to be her for part of the trial."

Libby shrugged. "Okay, fine. Tomorrow it is."

"Very well. All in favor of having the trial tomorrow?" asked Miss Fowl. After some murmuring everyone except Cindy raised their hand. "Don't you want to wait until tomorrow, Cindy?"

"When there's a train headed your way and you're stalled on the tracks, you might as well get it over with," was all she said.

"Well, be that as it may, I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice. I'll see everyone here tomorrow at 9:00 AM sharp. In the meantime, I'll take the missing items as evidence and lock them in my desk." Miss Fowl scooped up the incriminating items, deposited them into her desk drawer, and turned to the blackboard. "And now, let's get on with the lesson plan."

As Miss Fowl conducted class not many, especially Jimmy, were really paying attention. As with everyone else he was thinking of the trial the next day. He had not been lying when he said he would be away until tomorrow, and that concerned him. A great deal depended upon what happened between now and then, and there would no way for him to ensure that things would work out as he hoped they would. When the lunch bell finally sounded he joined with Carl and Sheen.

"Did you really want us to help defend Cindy tomorrow?" Carl asked him.

"Absolutely, Carl," said Jimmy. "You've both known her a long time and I think you'd try harder than anyone else here to make sure that things were fair."

Sheen looked thoughtful. "It's a good think I watched Ultra Lord Episode 726, 'Ultra Lord for the Defense'," he commented. "There's no substitute for sound legal training."

Jimmy nodded. "And one of the best bases for a sound defense is thorough preparation."

"Gotcha, Jimmy," Sheen assured him. "I'll be sure to have my Ultra Blaster and Sonic Resonator with me tomorrow."

Jimmy shut his eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, Sheen. I was actually thinking that maybe you should talk with Libby and find out what she remembers. You might find something that would establish that Cindy couldn't have taken the bracelet."

"That's a great idea, Jimmy. Maybe I should take her to McSpanky's and a movie this evening, too. You know, really wear her down." He sauntered off, shouting, "Hey, Libby! Wait up!"

"You do that, Sheen," Jimmy called after him. When Sheen was gone, Jimmy turned to Carl.

Carl looked expectantly at him. "What do you want me to do, Jimmy? Should I question your mom to see what she knows?"

Jimmy looked puzzled. "What would my mom know about any of this?"

Carl shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't taken her to McSpanky's or a movie yet to ask her."

Jimmy sounded exasperated. "Carl, just stay away from my mom. She doesn't know anything."

"Hey, I was just trying to help!" Carl said defensively.

Jimmy hurried to reassure him. "I know. But there's something far more important I need you to do." He looked around to make sure no one was nearby or listening. "Look, I don't know for sure what's going on, I think that maybe Sheen is behind all this."

"Sheen?" Carl looked shocked.

"Yes. I think he took those things as a prank but realized that it went too far. I think that he found Libby's bracelet and planned to claim that he found them later, but panicked and tried to put it back into her book bag when Cindy and Libby were in the gym. Unfortunately he picked the wrong book bag and put it in Cindy's by mistake."

Carl nodded. "Okay, that's possible."

"But what I'm really worried about," Jimmy went on, "is that now he's probably really scared. He may try to do something drastic."

"Like what?"
Jimmy produced a folded piece of paper from pocket. "Like maybe take this from my lab. I won't be there tonight and it would be a perfect chance for him to sneak in and get away with it. I need you to watch the clubhouse until 9:00 PM when the Ultra Lord show comes on. If he's going to try something, he'll try it then."

Carl studied the drawing carefully. "It looks like a satellite dish made out of a spaghetti strainer," he commented.

"It isn't. It's like my transmutor prototype, but I've already told Sheen that its effects are permanent. It's not quite finished, but it wouldn't be hard to finish it. When this is finished, Sheen could make all the gold he wanted and have all the money he would ever need."

"Wow," Carl breathed. "You mean he might want all that money to somehow help Cindy?"

"Maybe." Jimmy looked grim. "Or maybe what he was doing wasn't just a prank and something has really turned him evil. Either way, I need to know if he takes it. If he does, that would tell me that he really is the thief and that something is very wrong with him. Just don't try to interfere with him. It might be dangerous. And be sure you don't tell him or anyone else who might tell him. He can't know anything about this."

Carl carefully studied the drawing and nodded. "Okay, Jimmy. You can count on me."

"Thanks, Carl. Now I have to talk to Cindy. I'm going to let her use Goddard tonight to help prepare for the trial tomorrow. I'll see you after lunch."

Although no one said anything the air of expectant tension in Miss Fowl's classroom continued for the rest of the day. Jimmy in particular was on edge. Had he done the right thing? He hated to even consider that one of his friends was a thief, but the facts seemed inescapable. He also felt that what he was doing wasn't very ethical, but this was an emergency. All he could do was put his plan in motion and hope that all went as expected. If they did then everything should work out for the best. If not…well, he might have to try something more drastic.

After class he dropped off Goddard at Cindy's house to help her prepare her defense and learn about courtroom procedure, and then he and his parents drove off for the Stritches' out-of-town social function. Jimmy considered such things a waste of time, but his parents were increasingly of the opinion that he was at the age where he should learn how to in social situations. Normally he would have been bored stiff. This time, however, he had something vital and yet discreet to occupy him. Every few minutes, when conversation flagged or some proper response was not expected of him, he would glance at his wrist-comp, which showed the main workbench inside his lab. Nine o'clock came, and then ten o'clock, and nothing happened. He began to wonder if his plan had failed or had missed what he was watching for. Then, shortly before 11:00 PM, he came suddenly alert.

On the small screen of his wristcomp a hooded and cloaked figure entered the field of view and moved purposefully to the workbench. After a few seconds of deliberation, it selected one of the items on the bench, secreted it in the folds of the robe, and quickly exited again. Jimmy missed the politely irrelevant question posed to him at that moment by one of the Stritches' acquaintances and zoomed in on the workbench. He scrutinized the cluttered assortment of gadgets there and smiled in satisfaction.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed.

End of Chapter 8