Star League 5 (3 page)

I can't believe what I'm hearing. I know straight away that the voice is Aunt Petunia's, but why would she say such a terrible thing? I notice the door is slightly ajar, and I press my face up against it to peer in.

Aunt Petunia is sitting at her dressing table, talking to someone I can't quite see. I can tell it's a man, but his face is covered in shadows.

‘How annoying!' says Aunt Petunia crossly. ‘That wretched monkey made me look bad in front of my audience when he wouldn't wear my collar. And look at this!' she says, stretching out one arm. ‘He got fur all over my favourite sweater. Yuck! I hate animals, all of them!'

I can't believe that this is the sweet little old
lady I was talking to just a moment ago!

‘Don't worry, Aunt Petunia,' says the man in a deep voice. ‘Soon our plan will be in effect. Then we won't have to deal with any more disobedient animals.' I try to lean in closer to get a glimpse of his face when someone taps me on the shoulder.

‘There you are!'

I spin around to find that it's only Jay with the others behind him.

‘Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,' he says. ‘What are you doing here?'

I quickly put my finger to my lips, but it's too late. I hear footsteps and Aunt Petunia flings the door open.

‘Hello, sweeties! How lovely to see you all again so soon. And you've brought your darling monkey too!' She smiles, but I'm not falling for it this time.

‘Drop the nice act, Aunt Petunia,' I say, pushing past her. ‘Who were you talking to just then?'

The others gasp. ‘Leigh, my sensors indicate
that you are being 92 per cent more rude than is acceptable,' says Sam.

‘You should apologise!' hisses Roger. But I'm too busy searching Aunt Petunia's room for the other person to worry about apologies.

Suddenly Sweetpea the gorilla is by my side, looming over me. His cold eyes glare into mine. I gulp. A gorilla that size is not someone you want to mess with.

‘I don't know what you're talking about, dear,' Aunt Petunia smiles. ‘There's nobody else here. Sometimes I talk to myself. You start to get a bit batty in your old age.'

‘It's a convincing act, but I heard what you said about hating animals,' I say. Then an idea strikes me. ‘You've got something to do with the missing animals, haven't you?'

‘Missing animals?' asks Aunt Petunia with a puzzled frown. ‘Whatever are you talking about, sweetie?'

Jay steps up and whispers in my ear. ‘Uh, actually, Leigh, that's why we came to find you. We've got a lead in the case.'

‘What?'

Asuka pulls me aside so Aunt Petunia can't overhear what we're saying. ‘We've just had a report come in that a prize iguana has been stolen from someone's home.'

‘It couldn't have been Aunt Petunia. She was here the whole time,' says Connor.

‘But she was talking to someone in here,' I say in frustration. ‘Whoever she's working with could have done it.' I turn back to the old lady. ‘Who's your partner in crime, Aunt Petunia?'

‘I promise there's nobody else in here besides me and Sweetpea,' says Aunt Petunia. ‘See for yourselves!'

I search the room from top to bottom, but finally I have to admit she's right.

‘You have to believe me,' I say to the others.
‘Chu heard it too. Tell them, Chu!'

‘Leigh's telling the truth. Aunt Petunia is definitely up to something!' he says.

I smile in satisfaction. The others will have to believe me now. But then I see the confused looks on their faces and I remember that they can't understand a word Chu is saying.

‘It's okay, dear, we all make mistakes sometimes,' says Aunt Petunia kindly. The others nod in agreement, which makes me so frustrated I want to scream.

Instead I push past them and head for the door. ‘Fine. Let's go check out the stolen iguana and get to the bottom of this!'

‘And then we can expose Aunt Petunia for the fraud she is,' mutters Chu.

We head over to the house that reported the stolen iguana. On the way I try to convince the others about Aunt Petunia, but they still won't believe me. At first I'm angry and frustrated, but then I realise that I'd have a hard time believing it too if I hadn't heard it with my own ears. Aunt Petunia plays the part of the sweet little old lady perfectly.

And then there's the matter of how she managed to steal the iguana if she was at the studio. I shake my head. Something's not adding up, but I'm determined to figure it out.

We ring the doorbell and a man answers. He's dressed in a white labcoat, and his eyes are puffy and red-rimmed as if he's been crying. He takes one
look at us and bursts into tears.

‘Oh! I thought you might've been Fluffy!' he wails. He pulls out a handkerchief and blows his nose loudly.

‘Fluffy?' I ask.

‘According to the case file, that's his missing iguana,' says Connor.

‘How could an iguana ring a doorbell?' whispers Roger, but the man overhears.

‘Fluffy is a very intelligent iguana! Oh, please, you must get him back!' The man starts to wail again.

‘Please, calm down!' says Jay. ‘Don't worry, we're doing our best to get Fluffy back, Mr, uh …'

‘It's Doctor, actually. Dr Frederick Finnegan,' he says, sticking out a hand for Jay to shake. Jay takes one look at the doctor's outstretched hand, which is still clutching the sopping handkerchief, and glances at us for help.

‘Dr Frederick Finnegan?' asks Sam. ‘As in the
famous scientist Dr Frederick Finnegan?'

Dr Finnegan nods. ‘That's me. But you can just call me Dr Fred.'

‘Okay, Dr Fred, we need to ask you a few questions,' says Asuka, getting straight to the point. ‘Where did the intruders break in?'

‘That's the strange part,' says Fred. ‘The locks weren't forced. The only door that was open when I got back was Fluffy's iguana door.' He points to a flap set low in the back door.

‘When did you notice Fluffy was missing?' asks Roger.

‘Right after I got back from the shops. I'd been out buying Fluffy his favourite brand of berries to eat. I always buy Fluffy nothing but the best, you see. Only yesterday I bought him one of those fancy new collars everyone's talking about. I even got it in green to match his skin.'

Chu and I glance at each other. ‘That collar you got him … it wouldn't happen to be one of Aunt
Petunia's Le Nice Pets Collars, would it?'

Dr Fred nods. ‘Yes, that's right. Why?'

I chew my lip, trying to think. It could just be a coincidence, though I'm pretty sure it's not. But I've still got no idea what Aunt Petunia is up to. If she is the one kidnapping pets, why would she bother when I heard her saying how much she hates animals?

‘I guess those are all the questions we have for now,' says Jay.

‘Actually, Dr Fred,' says Sam, ‘I'm a big fan of your experiments involving long-range radio transmissions. I've read all about them in
Scientist Monthly
, and I was wondering if I could see the Super Transmitter you invented.'

Dr Fred actually brightens up for a moment. ‘Ah, a fan! Yes, I'm quite proud of my Super Transmitter. Did you know it can broadcast any radio or television signal across the whole world? It's quite an invention!' Dr Fred walks over to a
cupboard and starts rummaging around in it.

We all roll our eyes except for Sam, who looks fascinated.

‘Sam,' whispers Jay, ‘we don't really have time for …'

He's interrupted as Dr Fred lets out a loud shriek.

‘The Super Transmitter is gone!'

We all rush over to have a look. There are scratches around the cupboard door that look like they've come from small claws. Then I remember that iguanas have small claws.

‘Dr Fred, how big was your Super Transmitter?' I ask.

‘Oh, not very big,' he says distractedly. ‘About the size of a battery.'

‘Small enough for an iguana to carry in his mouth?'

‘Are you saying that you think Fluffy took the Super Transmitter?' asks Jay.

I nod. ‘Think about it. Only Fluffy could have got in or out without breaking a lock.'

Dr Fred scoffs. ‘Fluffy is no thief! He would never steal from me!'

‘Then he wasn't acting like himself,' I say.

‘Aunt Petunia said her collars help change an animal's behaviour,' Chu whispers in my ear. ‘What if that meant doing things they never normally would?'

‘Like stealing,' I mutter, and Chu nods.

We all glance up at the sound of tyres squealing outside. ‘Sounds like trouble,' says Jay. ‘We should check it out.' We leave Dr Fred and run outside just in time to see a van driving away at top speed.

‘Somebody help!'

The others don't seem to have heard the cry for help so it must be an animal. I race over to an alley beside Dr Fred's house and find a small grey and white cat miaowing in distress.

‘What's wrong?' I ask. ‘Did the people in that van hurt you?'

The little cat stares up at me with wide yellow eyes. ‘Not me! They kidnapped my friend, Scrapper! We've got to follow them!' The cat races down the street after the van. I quickly explain to
the others what has happened, and we all run off after the grey and white cat.

The cat, who tells me her name is Lana, explains the situation on the way. She and Scrapper were minding their own business when the van pulled up and two men got out.

‘I managed to get away, but they grabbed Scrapper,' yells Lana as we chase the van. ‘He fought back but they threw a collar over his neck. After that he just gave up.'

I'd bet a million dollars that the collar was a Le Nice Pets Collar and that the men in the van are working for Aunt Petunia.

Soon the van pulls up to a set of gates, which open to let it in, and then slam shut behind it. We all skid to a stop except for Lana, who slips through the bars in the fence.

‘Wait!' I yell, but she has already disappeared.

‘Great, what are we going to do now?' asks Roger.

‘I can climb the fence and knock out any
guards inside,' says Asuka.

‘Or I can just bust this gate right off its hinges,' says Connor.

‘No,' I say. ‘We need to get in without raising any suspicions. Something funny is going on behind those gates, and if they think we're onto them they might escape, or worse, hurt the animals they've kidnapped.'

I stick my hands in my pockets, trying to think of a plan, and as I do my hand brushes against something flat and round. I pull it out and discover it's a bright yellow collar – the Le Nice Pets Collar Aunt Petunia gave me back at the studio!

‘I know how we can get in,' I say with a grin.