Mystery of the Pantomime Cat (16 page)

"Yes. We've rather fallen down on this alibi," said
Larry—and then he stopped and gave Fatty a sudden punch. "I say—I know I
We can ask Kitty, Pip's cook. She goes to the pictures every single Friday. She
told Bets so one day and I heard her. She said she'd never missed for nine
years."

"Well, I bet she missed last Friday, for the first time
then," said Fatty, gloomily. The cinema girl's cheek was still rankling.
"Anyway, we'll ask and see."

"Well, thank goodness we're not likely to run into Goon in
Pip's kitchen," said Larry.

They arrived at Pip's, and went into the kitchen. Kitty beamed at
them, especially at Fatty, whom she thought was very clever indeed.

"Kitty, could we possibly have a drink of water?" began
Fatty.

"You shall have some home-made lemonade," said Kitty.
"And would you like a snack to go with it?"

The very idea of a snack made Fatty turn pale. "No, thanks
awfully," he said. "I've just had a snack. Kitty."

"Well, do have another," said Kitty, and brought out
some small and very tempting-looking sausage-rolls. Fatty groaned and turned
away.

"Sorry, Kitty—they look marvellous—but I'm too full of snacks
to risk another."

There was a pause whilst Kitty filled lemonade-glasses.

"Did you go to the pictures last week?" said Larry.
"You always do, don't you?”

"Never missed for nine years," said Kitty proudly.
"Yes, I went on Friday, same as usual. Oooh, it was a
lovely
picture."

"What was it?" asked Fatty.

"Well, I went in at six and the news was on," said
Kitty. "Then a cartoon, you know. Made me laugh like anything. Then at
half-past six till the end of the programme there was
He Loved Her So.
Oooh,
it was
lovely.
Made me cry ever so."

"A really happy evening," said Fatty. "See any one
you know?"

Kitty considered. "No, I don't know as T did. I always get
kind of wrapped up in the picture, you know. It was a pity it broke down."

Fatty pricked up his cars. "What do you mean—broke
down?"

"Well, you know what I mean, Master Frederick," said
Kitty. "The picture sort of snaps—and stops—and there's only the screen,
and no picture. I suppose the film breaks or something."

"Did it do that a lot?” asked Fatty.

"Yes—four times," said Kitty. "All the way through,
it seemed. Just at the wrong bits too—you know, the real exciting bits! Every
one was grumbling about it."

"Pity," said Fatty, getting up. "Well, Kitty,
thanks awfully for the lemonade—and I hope you enjoy your picture
this
Friday."

"Oooh I shall," said Kitty. "It's called
Three
Broken Hearts."

"You'll weep like anything," said Fatty. "You
will
enjoy that, Kitty. It's a pity I'll be too busy to come and lend you my
hanky."

"Oh, you are a caution," said Kitty, delighted.

"Come on, Larry," said Fatty, and he pulled him out of
Kitty's kitchen. "We've learnt something there!

Now, if we can only get hold of John James and find out it
he
noticed
the breaks in the picture—which he must have done if he was there—we shall be
able to check
his
alibi all right!"

"So we shall," said Larry. "Jolly good work. But how
can we get hold of John James? We can't just walk up to him and say, 'Did you
notice the breaks in the picture, Mr. James, when you were at the cinema on
Friday?'"

"Of course we can't." said Fatty. "Gosh, it's
almost dinner-time. We'll have to do that afterwards, Larry. Can you possibly
eat any dinner? I can't."

"No, I can't—and it's hot roast pork and apple sauce
today," said Larry with a groan. "What a waste."

"Don't even
mention
roast pork," said Fatty with
a shudder. "Why did we eat so many snacks? Now my mother's going to worry
because I can't eat a thing at dinner today—take my temperature or
something!"

"What about John James?" said Larry. “How are we going
to tackle him? We don't even know where to find him. He won't be at the theatre
because there's no show this afternoon."

"I'll ring up Zoe when I get home and see if she knows where
we can get hold of him," said Fatty. "We'd better take Bets too.
She'll be feeling left out if we don't."

"Right," said Larry. "See you this afternoon
sometime."

John James and the Cinema.

Very fortunately for Fatty his mother was not in to lunch, so he
was able to eat as little as he liked without any one noticing. He was only at
the table about five minutes and then he went to ring up Zoe, hoping she was at
her sister's as usual.

She was. "Oh—hallo, Zoe," said Fatty. "I say, can
you tell me something? I want to have a talk with John James, if I can. Do you
know if he'll be anywhere about this afternoon?"

"Well—let me see," said Zoe's clear voice over the
telephone. "I did hear him say something about going across the river in
the ferry, and taking a picnic-tea up on the hill beyond. There's a marvellous
view up there, you know."

"Yes. I know," said Fatty. "Oh, good—I'll slip
across and see if I can spot him there. Do you know what time he is
going?"

Zoe didn't know. Then she told Fatty that Mr. Goon was going to
see poor Boysie again that evening. "And I heard him say that he's not
going to stand any nonsense this time—Boysie's got to 'come clean,' the horrid
fellow," said Zoe, indignantly. "As if he can make Boysie confess to
something he doesn't know anything about!"

Fatty frowned as he hung up the receiver. He was afraid that
Boysie
might
confess to the robbery, out of sheer terror and
desperation. What a dreadful thing that would be—to have him confess to
something he hadn't done—and have the real culprit go scot-free.

Fatty rang up Larry, and then Pip, telling them

of John James' plans for the afternoon. "We've got to go and
check up on his alibi," he said. "And we can only do that by
questioning
him—
to .see if he really was at the cinema on Friday night.
And as it's a smashing day, let's all take our tea and go for a picnic up on
the hill across the river, and kill two birds with one stone—enjoy ourselves,
and do a spot of detecting as well!"

The others thought this was a splendid idea. "Fatty always
thinks of such nice things," said Bets, happily. "It will be lovely
up there on the hills."

Fatty had told Pip to go and ask Kitty once more about the breaks
in the picture on Friday night, just to make sure he had got it quite right.
"Ask if she remembers
exactly
how many breaks there were, when they
came—and, if possible, the
time,
said Fatty. "Write it down, Pip,
in case you forget the details. This may be important. It looks as if John
James is our only hope now—I feel that we must count Alec Grant out, with his
alibi of over a hundred people."

The children met at the ferry at a quarter to three, laden with
picnic-bags. Pip carried a mackintosh-rug. "Mother made me," he said,
crossly. "She said the grass is still damp. You're lucky to have a mother
that doesn't fuss about things like that."

"Mine fusses about other things," said Fatty. "And
Larry's fusses about certain things too. Never mind, it's not much bother to sit
down on a rug!"

"As a matter of fact," said Bets, seriously, "I've
met one or two mothers who never fussed about their children—but, you know, I'm
sure it was because they didn't care tuppence about them. I think I'd rather
have a fussy mother, really."

"Here's the boat," said Fatty, as the ferryman came
rowing across. "I'll pay for every one. It's only tuppence each."

They got into the boat. "Rowed any one across yet this
afternoon?" asked Fatty. The boatman shook his head. "No, not yet.
Bit early."

"Then John James hasn't gone across yet," said Fatty to
the others. "Hey. Buster—don't take a header into the water, will you?”

They got across and made their way over a field and up a steep
hill to the top. Fatty chose a place from where they could see the ferry.

"We'll watch and see when the ferryman goes out," he
said. "I don't know
if
we could make out John James from here, but
I expect we could. He's so burly."

The spring sun was hot. The cowslips around nodded their yellow
heads in the breeze. It was very pleasant up there on the hill. Larry yawned
and lay down.

"You watch for J.J., you others," he said. "I'm
going to have a nap!"

But he hadn't been asleep for more than ten minutes when Fatty
prodded him in the middle. "Wake up, Larry. Can you see if that's John
James standing on the opposite side of the river, waiting for the ferry?"

Larry sat up. He had very keen eyes. He screwed them up and looked
hard. "Yes. I think it is," he said. "Let’s hope he comes this
way. I don't feel like walking miles after him."

Fortunately it
was
John James, and he
did
come that
way. The children watched him get into the boat, land on their side of the
river, and follow the same path as they had taken themselves.

"Now," said Fatty, getting up, "we'd better start
wandering about till we see where he's going to sit. Then we'll settle
somewhere near."

"How are we going to start the checking up?" asked Pip.

"I'll start it," said Fatty. "And then you can all

follow my lead, and ask innocent questions. Roll up your rug,
Pip."

The five children and Buster wandered about and picked cowslips,
keeping a sharp eye on John James, who was coming very slowly up the hill. He
found a sheltered place with a bush behind him, and lay down at full length,
his arms behind his head so that he might look down the hill towards the river.

Fatty wandered near him. "Here's a good place," he
called to the others. "We'll have the rug here." Then he turned
politely to the man near by.

"I hope we shan't disturb you if we sit just here," he
said.

"Not if you don't yell and screech," said John James.
But I don't suppose you will. You look as if you'd all been well brought up.

“I hope we have," said Fatty, and beckoned to the others. Pip
put down the rug. By this time the man was sitting up, and had put a cigarette
in his mouth. He patted himself all over and frowned.

"I suppose," he said to Fatty, "I suppose you
haven't got matches on you, by any chance? I've left mine at home."

Fatty always had every conceivable thing on him, on the principle
that you simply never knew what you might want at any time. He presented John
James with a full box of matches at once.

"Keep the whole box," said Fatty. "I'm not smoking
till I'm twenty-one!"

"Good boy," said John James. "Very sensible. Thanks,
old chap. I say—haven't I seen you before?" "Yes," said Fatty.
"We came into the back of the theatre yesterday—and you were good enough
to sign our autograph albums."

"Oh yes—now I remember you all," said John James. "Have
you come up here for a picnic?"

"Yes. We're just about to begin," said Fatty, though it
was really much too early. But the effect of the snacks was beginning to wear
off, and the lack of a midday meal was making itself felt! Fatty was more than
ready for a picnic. "Er—I suppose you wouldn't join us, sir—we've got
plenty."

"Yes, I will," said John James. "I've got some
stuff here too. We'll pool it."

It was a very nice picnic, with plenty to eat, and some of Kitty's
home-made lemonade to drink. For a short while Fatty and the others talked
about whatever came into their heads.

Then Fatty began his "checking." "What's on at the
cinema this week, Larry?" he asked.

Larry told him. "Oh no," said Fatty, that was last
week!"

"You're wrong," said John James at once. "It was
Here
Goes,
the first part of the week, and
He Loved Her So,
the second.
Both absolutely frightful."

"Really?" said Fatty. "I heard that
He Loved Her
So
was good. But I didn't see it. I suppose you did?"

"Yes. Saw it on Friday," said John James. "At
least—I
would
have seen it, but it was so boring that I fell asleep
nearly all the time!"

This remark disappointed all the Find-Outers very much indeed. If
John James slept all the time, he wouldn't have noticed the breaks in the
picture—and so they wouldn't be able to check his alibi.

"Hope you didn't snore!" said Fatty. "But I suppose
people would wake you up if you did."

"I did keep waking up," said John James. "I kept on
waking because of people talking and sounding annoyed. I don't quite know what
happened—I think the picture must have broken unexpectedly—like they do
sometimes, you know—and that made the audience fidgety and cross. But I soon
went to sleep again.

"Bad luck, to he woken up like that!" laughed Fatty.
"I hope you didn't get disturbed from your nap
too many
times!"