The Culprits
At this point, I paused my narration long enough to organize my thoughts.
"I wish Ratigan had never turned criminal!" Henry remarked, staring at the handcuffs around his own wrists.
"No good wishing that!" Lewis argued. "We're the ones who ruined our lives! It was our decision to join his gang! We brought this on ourselves!"
"Did Bartholomew bring it upon himself?!" Henry demanded. "He only became a henchman to save his own life! Even Felicia isn't entirely guilty!"
"You're joking, right?" asked Bill. "I still have nightmares about that demonic monster!"
"She only became a villainess because that's how she was treated!"
"She made her decision; we made ours," Robert stated.
"Fidget, what do you think?" Lewis inquired.
"I believe we are all at fault," Fidget replied. "If I had never volunteered to serve Ratigan, he would never have considered the idea of employing rough characters. Mousedom would have feared one felon rather than a criminal ring. By singing about his misdeeds and obeying his commands, we encouraged him to break the law. If you think of it in that manner, we all committed the Big Ben Caper and the Tower Bridge Job. We all drowned the widows and orphans, and every time the bell rang, it was because wewere the ones claiming another victim."
Bill sighed. "I never thought I'd live to see the day Fidget turned philosophical! I can't believe him! He's the complete opposite of how he used to be under Ratigan!"
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Fidget remarked.
"I suppose you don't drink Rodent's Delight anymore!" exclaimed Henry.
"I stopped drinking about a year ago. I realized excessive alcohol was affecting my brain in a negative manner."
Lewis rolled his eyes. "Will you give it a rest? We all know you're not a proper gentleman, and that sophisticated dialect of yours is fake! You're just speaking that way to irritate the rest of us!"
"You're right about that!" Fidget replied. "Okay. If you prefer to think of it this way, I don't drink because there was really no point anymore. Happy now?"
"I think I preferred your company when you couldn't keep still for over thirty seconds and had no intelligence whatsoever," Robert stated.
Fidget put a hand over his heart. "Really? I'm deeply moved. I didn't know you cared."
"You're an idiot!" Henry exclaimed.
He laughed. "An idiot? I could be. I never denied it. But then again, I'm not the one in handcuffs right now!"
"How'd you do it?" Robert asked. "You loved committing crimes! You even begged Ratigan to let you help plan a few! You're obviously guilty, yet you escaped without even going to jail!"
"There's a pretty good story behind that," Fidget answered, "but it isn't my turn. Everyone has gathered here today to hear Basil's story, not mine."
Bill turned to me. "Whatever happened to that roommate of yours that was going to kill the three thieves before you stopped him?"
"He should have killed them!" Lewis stated. "They were stealing from him! Murder would have been justifiable!"
"Do two wrongs make a right?" Henry argued.
"No, but three lefts do," Robert pointed out.
Henry scoffed. "Easy for you to joke! Your sentence is almost over!"
"Whether murder was justifiable or not in that situation, I'm glad he didn't do it!" Bill remarked. "Remember how we used to feel every time Ratigan rang the bell and we saw one of our companions…?" He didn't finish his sentence. "I just want to know what happened to Basil's roommate. I'm curious."
"He became a dignitary," one dapper gentleman replied.
"My finest dignitary!" added the queen.
"Thank you, Your Highness." The man bowed. "It is an honor to be at Your Majesty's service."
"You?!" Lewis gasped.
The man nodded. "Yes. I have the privilege of saying I knew Basil before he became the greatest detective in all Mousedom. When I see all of you here in handcuffs, it reminds me of what I almost became instead of a dignitary."
He extended his hand. "Mr. Basil, again I thank you for stopping me that evening."
We shook as I assured him I had been glad to be of service.
"What of the three delinquents who used to steal from you?" Dawson asked. "Did you inform the police?"
"Ratigan got to them first," Henry reported. "They weren't students; they were henchmen. The professor had only been a criminal for a few months, and he was already starting to hire anyone he thought would be useful to have in his gang. These three always thought it was fun to visit universities and torment scholars. I guess you could say that was Basil's first case against Ratigan since those ruffians worked for the rat."
"And where are they now?" Mrs. Judson queried.
Bill cleared his throat. "I'm afraid they're no longer with us."
"Not many of Ratigan's men lasted too long," added Fidget. "May they all rest in peace."
"And Ratigan himself?" Lewis challenged.
"He's already gotten what he deserved," Fidget responded. "I wish I'd been there to see it, but may he also rest in peace, even if he was the world's most vicious rat."
Everyone stared at him.
"Reforming my life doesn't mean I became sentimental," Fidget explained. "Doesn't Basil have a story to tell?"