"Alright what's the plan?" Nick asked. We swerved between traffic as we raced towards the museum.
"We have to catch him before he gets away with the Yacht but we can't see him. How do you catch something you can't see?"
"Lick a public doorknob."
"Nick!"
"You make him visible?"
"How? He's not going to do it just cause we asked nicely," I said, "Maybe we could throw some flour or something at him?"
"Got any flour?"
"What do I look like? A baker?"
"A little,"
"NICK!"
"We'll just have to improvise," Said Nick as we pulled to a grinding stop. We jumped out of the car and raced to the museum entrance.
"Police business!" I shouted as we barreled past the bewildered yak selling tickets at the door. We turned the corner and made our way to the Ruby Yacht exhibit on display in the back. It was almost nine at this point and the museum was closing soon. Hardly anyone was left in the museum besides me, Nick, and that slimy gecko. As we made our way into the room, I sighed with relief. The shiny trinket was still sitting in its glass case. I turned to Nick. "I'll stand guard while you go find something to coat the chameleon with."
Nick protested. "I'm not leaving you alone again! What if he comes back while I'm gone?"
"I'm a big girl Nick! I can handle myself!"
"Like you did this morning?"
"Just hurry up and find something!" Nick signed and left, running and stopping every now and again to look for something to use.
I turned my attention back on the yacht, gleaming enticingly. I could see why the chameleon wanted to steal it. With its eccentric patterns and fine craftsmanship, it was truly a sight to behold.
"Pretty isn't it?" Whispered a familiar voice. I turned around and was once again met with a blow to the head. But fortunately, this time I was ready for it. I didn't have enough time to duck completely, but I did manage to twist in a way so that the chameleon only grazed my left cheek. Quick as a whip, I took out my pepper spray and started spraying wildly about. When I heard the cry of pain, I knew I had found my mark.
"Miserable rodent! I should have gotten rid of you when I had the chance! No matter. I'll deal with you quickly and then make off with my prize before your partner rounds the corner!" With that I heard the sound of glass breaking. I turned around in time to see the yacht float in midair before being placed on the bench by the door. I had to think. What was the chameleon's weakness? Everyone had one. Rabbits are short. Giraffes are big. Wolves can't resist a good howl. Nick loved getting the last word. Wait. That's it! Nick!
"That's why you waited!" I cried to the seemingly empty room. "I wondered why you waited for Nick to leave before kidnapping me. You wouldn't have had to worry about cops following you around anymore. But you waited! And just now! You waited until Nick left and you said you needed to kill me before he gets back! Something about Nick scares you!"
"Ha! That fool? I'm more worried of this bench than that incompetent buffoon!" The chameleon chuckled. But I wasn't fooled. There was something a little bit too forced about the laugh to convince me. Now I just had to think. What is it that Nick could do that I couldn't? It had to be obvious. He didn't know Nick that well so it must have been something he'd done while we were all in the room together back at the Junebug house. What had he done? He kicked down the door. He teased me about Noser. He'd called in that ridiculous description. He complained about the smell. How did any of that make him a difficult foe?
My thinking was cut short when a whistling of air told me it was time to duck. I rolled out of the way just in time. With a crash, the vase behind me was knocked over by an invisible force and shattered on the floor. Obviously the chameleon was having a hard time fighting with an eye full of pepper spray. This helped me to stall for time, but it didn't tell me anything about how to stop chameleon. Even if Nick had come in right then, what would I have told him? That he needed to use a special power only he knew about to catch an invisible killer? He was just a sarcastic fox.
"That's it!" I yelled triumphantly. "Nick's a fox! He's a predator! He doesn't need to see you to catch you! He can smell you out!" I turned over to the door. "Nick! I need you to come back here and..." I was cut off by a large shove that sent me cascading into a display of old civil war memorabilia. Uniforms, canteens, frying pans, and models came crashing down on top of me.
"You should know better than to scream your whereabouts while someone's looking for you," said the chameleon. "I may have been blinded with spray but I'm not deaf!" I heard him make his way closer and closer to me. I sat up, picking up a frying pan and holding it, ready for a fight. "Nice weapon!" Commented the chameleon, "Now riddle me this. How ya gonna hit me? You're no predator, that's for sure."
"You're right. I'm not a predator," I agreed, "I don't have a good sense of smell to find you. But I have something better. Something that only I have!" With that I turned around and swung my frying pan as hard as I could at thin air. CRACK. One very bruised and very unconscious lizard materialized in front of me. "Good hearing." I bent down, pulled the criminal's hands behind his back and cuffed him. "You know, for someone who says mammals are self centered, you sure don't know much about them," I commented. I was just picking him up when...SHOOP! I was bathed, literally bathed, with a neon light. I blinked for a minute, rubbing my eyes and trying to adjust to the now burning bright light coming from me and the unconscious criminal. There stood Nick, holding a now empty bucket with the most smug grin I've ever seen.
"I've saved you again!" He said proudly, pointing at the lizard. "Look! Now we can always see him! You're welcome!"
"Did you just dowse me in pink glitter?" I yelled, spitting a few flakes of it out of my mouth.
"It was for the greater good," he said sweetly. "Besides, I always said pink was your color." His grin earned him a face full of glitter. "Hey!"
"Why didn't you use something else?"
"This was all I could find in the gift shop," he smirked. "What are you gonna do?"
"I'm going to kill you is what I'm going to do!" I screamed. "I have to talk to the press like this!"
Coral Coney Cop Catches Clever Chameleon Criminal Carrying Crimson Craft
I was never a big fan of newspapers but this was beyond embarrassing. As I sipped my coffee I kept reading. It seemed that the "Pretty Coral Pink Coney" had caught the lizard trying to steal from the museum and she, along with her partner Nick, had seen him put behind bars. "Anything good in there?" Asked Nick, sipping his drink.
"Nothing but how I look in Coral pink," I growled.
"Oh for the millionth time, I'm sorry," he said. "It was an honest mistake."
"Yeah," I muttered, "I can tell by your stupid grin!" I was spared more remarks by the radio crackling to life.
"Calling all cars! We have a 23-19 in progress!"
"We're on it!" Nick grabbed his coat and ran to the car. Sighing, I put the cash down on the table and ran after him.