The Colonel Find Outers

Mystery Of the Stolen Diamonds

Author: Nikhil Bachhawat

Chapter 1: A New Neighbour

In the little town of Peterswood, it was snowing heavily. David’s mother shouted, “Come down David, Catherine and Lily. Our new neighbour with her son has come to meet and have tea with us. Come down fast!” David, a fifteen-year-old boy, Catherine, a twelve-year-old girl and Lily, a sweet girl of eight years came rushing down the stairs. They were very curious to know how their neighbours looked, although they had a glimpse of them through the window. The tea was lovely and the mothers chatted over the tea while the three children asked their neighbour questions. They found out his name was Rodick. He was fifteenYears old as David, and his aim was to be the greatest detective and the others too had the same aim in life.

So, they thought that they really would become fast friends. They all said that they might not have any mystery to solve in this quiet town. But they were completely wrong. They did have a nice, juicy mystery and that too the very next day.

Chapter 2: Mrs. Marple’s story of the stolen diamonds The day came to an end. They went to their homes and went to bed early. They were asleep in a few moments as they were very tired. There was a noise that nobody except Rodick’s Micky heard as the whole house was asleep. And it was only the cat mewing! Late in the morning they woke up at almost the same time. They jumped out of their beds and ran to the bathroom to change for they had to go to school. It would be the last day of school. David was too happy for words as the winter vacations would start! It would be for a long time as it had three great occasions- Easter, Christmas and New Year! They read the newspaper in a hurry as they had a feeling that there would be a mystery and suddenly Lily cried out aloud, “Hey, listen all of you, Mrs. Marple’s jewellery has been

stolen and most of them were diamonds! Whew, the thief must have been quite daring to do that! Mrs. Marple has all the sensors and burglar alarms around her house.” They decided to tell Rodick about it after school. After a few hours of impatient waiting the school bell rang! All rushed out of the school gates pell-mell. David, Catherine and Lily ran like cheetahs to their house. They changed quickly, drank the coffee which was waiting for them and rushed off to Rodick’s little shed where the would find him. They narrated the story of the stolen diamonds and were surprised that he had already read about it. So Rodick said, “So what are we waiting for? Come on Micky, let us have a walk. There’s been a burglary in our town.” Micky cocked up his ears on hearing his name, got to his feet and followed Rodick, his master, and his new friends. After they reached

there, they rang the bell. Mrs. Marple herself opened the door. She asked her unexpected visitors to sit down in the drawing room. It was neatly furnished. Rodick said, “We have heard about the robbery. Can you tell us anything about it?” Mrs. Marple said, “ There is nothing much to tell. But there are fingerprints in the wall and in the room and on the vaults.” The children straightaway went to the room and Catherine, who was a wonderful artist, drew an exact copy of the gloves and measured it, just in case. They all went around the house at the back where there were large sized footprints and as the soil was of wet clay they could even see the number of the shoe. They noted and drew the footprints in a brand new diary made for them. It was a lovely diary with the words ‘Find outer’s diary’ printed on the first page. Mrs. Marple also told them about her most precious ring which was stolen. The children were very happy with their day’s detective work and returned back home. They also looked

forward for the next day, which they thought, would be exciting. It wouldn’t just be exciting but too exciting.

Chapter 3: Search for the shoes

Next day Rodick thought it a very good idea to go to the cobbler’s. But of course the cobbler did not give any information to children. So, Rodick who had all kinds of disguises put on a tramp’s one. He also put some wrinkles on his face to make himself look a little older. He came out of the shed. The others were shocked to see a middle-aged man come out of Rodick’s shed. They did not recognize Rodick, as his make-up was superb. Then he told them that he was Rodick and he was in his favourite disguise and told them the plan. They agreed with him and immediately thought that Rodick was jolly clever. They set out from their house towards the cobbler’s shop. There they saw an old man repairing a shoe. He asked, “What do you want?” They said, “ I want to know if anyone just bought a 12 number shoe with sole. They were happy to

find that the shoe was from that very shop. But the cobbler replied in a regretful tone, “I am very sorry as I am very forgetful and I don’t remember who bought it. I know Mr. Boon, the police, wears this size shoes.” But the children could rule him out, as a police would never do a robbery but still his name went down in the list of ‘Suspicious People’. Rodick said, “You just never know who is the thief. It can be anyone from a tramp to a police.” The cobbler also said, “I know another man who wears the same shoe, Mr. Quentin. He lives in No. 12, Church Lane.”

Chapter 4: A Picnic and Mrs. Marple again.

The next day Catherine told the others, “I want a day’s break. Please can we go to the beach and have a picnic there. It’s a lovely cool day.” Rodick replied, “Oh! Sure. That’s a good idea.” So they asked their parents about their plan. They too thought it was a good one. So with baskets of food they rode their bicycles with Micky running behind them. He was happy as he would find rabbits there and he would have a good game chasing them. Once they reached there, they had a lot of fun splashing in the ice-cold water. So Micky started barking. The children looked around to see what had scared Micky and saw Mrs. Marple coming down from her house towards the beach. Suddenly, Rodick ran to change his clothes and when the others asked what had happened he wouldn’t say

anything. They too changed and followed him. They heard Rodick asking; “We forgot to ask you about the people who came to meet you on the day of the robbery.” Mrs. Marple in a surprised tone said, “Well, The milkman came and of course he could not be the thief as he did not even enter the house.” Then the postman, he too just left the letters and went off on his cycle to deliver the other letters and then, last of all, the grocer. He put the vegetables and he was the only one who really had the time to steal the jewellery. So, the children departed with the news to their house.

Chapter 5: Mr. Quentin and a surprise.

Rodick got an idea of going to Mr. Quentin’s house as a tramp and ask for shoes, which were old. He may even get those very shoes, which had made the marks at the back door of Mrs. Marple’s house. So, without telling the others he put on a disguise and became a tramp. He wore shoes, out of which his toes stuck out. And off he went to No.12, Churchlane, for a bit of work. There at Mr. Quentin’s house he saw Mr. Quentin laying on a chair, sunbathing. Rodick said, “Sorry to disturb you but I need a pair of old shoes.” So Mr. Quentin called his servant and ordered her to give him a pair of shoes. And Rodick as he had thought, got the same shoes! Out of curiosity he asked the woman, “Where did you get this shoe from?” “Oh! From the woman who lives next door. She wanted to get rid of these.” So,

Rodick took the shoes and went off to change in the park. He, as Rodick this time, went off to the woman mentioned by the servant. He hurriedly asked, “From where did you get these shoes?” She replied, “I bought it from a sale at a cobbler’s shop and gave it to Mr. Quentin.” And after a minutes silence she said, “But I know someone had stolen this pair of shoes. The shopkeeper had told me about it. And it was stolen for a complete whole week.” He thanked her and went back to his shed where he was to meet David Catherine and Lily. Micky started barking when he saw his master coming back and acted as if he had met an old, old friend again after years. The children began asking questions. Rodick told them the whole thing clearly and then played a game of Hulla- Hulla, where Red-Indians would kill imaginary animals, and they shouted like mad. And in the

evening they returned to their home. Rodick shouted to them, “Tomorrow at 10:00 am I’ll meet you in David’s shed. OK.” What could be better for the five!

Chapter 6: David’s Trick- and a brainwave.

Next morning David got up at 5:00. Just then an idea came to his mind, “Won’t it be fun to scare the others by making marks with the same shoes which the thief used.” So, immediately he took the shoes, which Rodick had left behind. Although it was big for him, he put it on and tried to make marks. It came out just as David thought. At 10:00am the three children came out to meet Rodick. There, Catherine gave a shout, “Look, those are the footprints which we saw at Mrs. Marple’s place.” She was right. Lily checked it with the drawing to make it sure. It was, no doubt, the same! Just then Rodick came into sight. They showed him the footprints. He said, “Let’s get inside the shed and think about it.” Rodick said, “No need of it, let’s climb up the tree and think. The weather is pleasant enough.”

Everybody was curious, except, of course David. Suddenly David burst out laughing. Rodick asked, “What happened, old boy? What made you laugh?” David was just going to fall when he controlled himself and said, “Sorry, I played that trick on you all.” Everybody laughed, and Rodick said, “It was a good one too.” After that they went to have some éclairs and coffee. Suddenly Rodick said, “Wait, I think I have partly solved the mystery. Although David’s legs are small he gave us all an impression that someone with big feet must have done it. In the same way, another man must have played the same trick. And Catherine said, “So, it could have been Mr. Twig, the grocer. He too has small legs. And Lily remembering another thing which she had seen, said, “The round shaped net-like mark could have been made by his basket.” Then Rodick said in a relieved tone said,

“This mystery was like a puzzle and now the pieces are joining together. Tomorrow we will search for any clues in his basket.”

Chapter 7: Detailed investigation of Twig’s basket.

Next day, Rodick waited at the doorstep for the grocer to come. Mr. Twig came on time and gave the things to Rodick. Rodick said, “Your basket looks like ancient one.” Mr. Twig said, “It is.”“Can I see it please?”“Su-re,” Mr. Twig stammered. He was sweating fiercely. Rodick took it and saw it. The things were put on top of a white cloth. He removed it and saw a pair of gloves. They were dirty and big ones. It was not Mr. Twig’s size and the basket also had a round shaped mark below which could have been the one, which was outside Mrs. Marple’s home. Rodick thought, “I cannot catch him now. He sure to run away.” So, without any expression, he put it back and gave it to Mr. Twig. After this, he ran out to meet the other children. So with Micky at his heels, he set out for

his neighbour’s house, which was walking distance from his home. He related the events to David, Catherine and Lily and said, “ We have to tell someone whom we can trust. We will surely not tell to Boon, the village bobby. He’ll tell the chief that he has solved the mystery and he will get promotion.” David said, as the mystery is over; why not take a picnic again. School is starting again in a few days. And we may even find someone.” Although Rodick did not think they would find someone they could tell about the mystery, he agreed with David and so did the other two girls.

Chapter 8: A stranger- and search for the diamonds.

They were playing on the beach when a stranger came and asked, “Have you heard about the stolen diamonds?” His voice had a commanding power in it and immediately Lily the smallest of the find-outers took a great liking towards him. Rodick said, “Who are you?” He replied, “Don’t worry, I am not a bad one. You can even trust me with your life.” Rodick said, “ Well, actually we have solved the mystery and we are finding someone honest enough to tell the outcome of it.” The man said, “I’ll talk to the police of this village. I am not from here but still everyone knows me, can’t tell you why! You can guess.” The children told him the story. The man said, “Wow! You are a bunch of clever kids. I’ll arrange a meeting at the police station and call Mr. Twig there.” The children thanked the man and went off to Mrs.

Marple to tell her about the progress. She said, “How can I thank you children? And I have found the diamonds. It was up the pipe.” The children went and saw the pipe leaking as the diamond had cut through the outer covering! They all jumped and said, “hurray the mystery has solved. Now for tomorrow’s meeting.”

Chapter 9: The end of the mystery.

From the police station they saw the chief coming out of a car. When they could see his face clearly they were shocked to see that the chief was the stranger whom they had met the previous day! He came to them and laughed at their surprised faces and said, “Hi, how are you all?” Mr. Boon, the village policeman said, “Hello sir. Mr. Boon at you service. Do you know them sir? They poke their noses into my affairs…” Inspector Jenks interrupted, “Yes, I have met them. These clever children, here, have solved the mystery.” Mr. Boon’s face went pink. He exclaimed, “Wha-wha-what!” Jenks said, “Yes, don’t be surprised.” And then he related what the children had told him. Just as they finished they saw Mr. Twig coming in. He immediately said, “I am the thief. I wanted to collect diamonds. Jenks said, “Its good you owned up and now

I know who you are.” He picked up a photo of Mr. Twig and said, “You are Franklin F. Kennedy.” And so the police arrested him and the mystery was up! Inspector Jenks said, “You children need some treat.” And off they went to an air- conditioned bakery shop. Bye, bye Four find-outers. And bye, bye Micky, the fifth find-outer. Bye! I hope you have another mystery soon!

“ A fantastic mystery about the stolen jewellery of Mrs. Marple’s and how Rodick, David, Catherine and Lily solve it; and get yourself taken away by the mind blowing self styled mystery solvers!!”

-Nikhil Bachhawat