The next morning I was startled out of bed by a loud ringing noise. I sat up
quickly and blinked, realising it was the phone. I jumped out of my cozy bed
and ran down the hall to the telephone near our owner's room. "Hello?" I asked,
out of breath.
"Dash475? This is Kauvara at the magic shop. Some more potion are missing!"
"All right, we'll be there in a half hour." I said good-bye and rushed back
to my room and got dressed. Brucelzy and our owner, fantasy_2001 appeared in
my doorway.
"Who was that?" Brucelzy asked.
"Kauvara. More potions are missing from her shop." I pushed past Brucelzy and
ran downstairs to put my boots on. I glanced out the window and saw that all
the snow from the previous night had disappeared and was replaced by the fresh
green grass of the oncoming spring. I opened the door and decided that I didn't
need a jacket today. I leaned against the door frame and waited for Brucelzy
to join me.
Within a few minutes, my sister and I were walking into Kauvara's shop. A bell
jingled above our heads as we stepped into the warm store. Kauvara spotted us
and hurried over.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Kauvara said. "I am starting to lose business
because of the thefts!"
We comforted her and she told us more about what had happened.
"When I opened up the shop this morning, I noticed that a whole shelf of dark
Faeries and potions had disappeared! You may take a look around and see if you
find anything that may help to catch the thief!"
I nodded and left Brucelzy with Kauvara and began my search for clues. I started
with the floor. Getting down on my paws and knees, I combed the carpet for pawprints
similar to the ones Kauvara had found before. There were none, since the snow
had disappeared.
Then, I stood up and made my way to the empty shelf where the potions and Faeries
had been taken from. I gasped when I found exactly what I was looking for. Some
black and orange hairs were lying on the top shelf. I grabbed a pair of tweezers
from our detective kit and picked up the hairs. I put them in a plastic bag
and tucked them into my pocket.
I continued to explore the shelf, but found nothing more. I turned back to
Kauvara and Brucelzy and showed them the hairs.
"Hmmm…" Brucelzy scratched her head and stared at the colourful fur in the
bag. "Those must be from a black and orange creature, which means it has to
be painted with a fire paintbrush to get that affect."
I nodded. "Now all we need to find is a pet with paws that is painted with
a fire paintbrush."
"Kauvara, what time do you go for lunch?" Brucelzy asked. I could almost see
her brain coming up with a plan as she talked.
"About twelve-thirty, and return at one."
Brucelzy thought for a minute. "All right, we'll be here at twelve-fifteen."
Kauvara agreed and thanked us again. We walked out of the shop into the warm
spring air, the bell jingling above our heads yet again.
As soon as we were off Main Street and far enough away to be out of earshot
of the shoppers, I stopped and looked at Brucelzy. "What is your plan?"
"Well, if we go back before Kauvara closes up for lunch, we could easily fix
a few devices to help us in our search for the thief. My plan is bright red
paint, it would easily show up on her dark carpet in that shop. If we put it
right inside the back door and the front door, we would be able to see the thief's
pawprints better."
"I understand. Good idea, Brucelzy. I think we have some paint in the basement."
***
When we got back to our house, Brucelzy fixed a quick lunch of sandwiches and
soup as I looked for some paint in the basement.
The dark basement of our NeoHome is very frightening, even to a detective like
myself. Spyders weave webs in the corners, a thick layer of dust covers the
floor and the stairs creak loudly like aching bones when you set foot on them.
I flipped on the light and the room slowly came into view. The old light hanging
from the ceiling was no more than a simple light bulb and it shed a dim light
onto the shapes in the room, casting spooky shadows that seemed to move within
your gaze. I quickly stepped over to the shelf and grabbed a can of red paint,
wanting to get out of there as fast as possible.
I dragged the heavy can back up to the main floor and into the kitchen. Putting
the can by the door, I sat at the table. Brucelzy poured the soup into bowls
and placed one in front of me along with a plate with a ham and cheese sandwich
on it. She sat next to me and we both ate up our lunch, glancing at the clock
every few minutes to make sure we weren't late.
After our lunch, we slipped on our shoes and I picked up the paint can, prepared
to carry it all the way to Kauvara's shop. It may not seem like a heavy item
to a normal person, but to a NeoPet it may as well weigh a hundred pounds! I
struggled to hold it up as we walked out the door on our way to Main Street.
In reaching Kauvara's shop, I dropped the paint can inside the door and leaned
against the wall, my arms throbbing from the weight. I righted myself again
and stepped over the can to the counter in which Kauvara stood behind.
Brucelzy was already telling her our plan and she was nodding slowly. "I believe
that would work, Brucelzy."
"It will, Kauvara. That thief will be turned into the Neopian Police by tomorrow!"
Brucelzy smiled confidently.
Brucelzy joined me near the door and we started to spread the paint in thick
layers over a large piece of paper as not to ruin Kauvara's dark carpet. Then
we went to the back door and did the same, unsure of which door the thief would
enter the shop.
I stood up and headed over to Kauvara. "Now all we can do is wait. Come on,
we'll treat you to lunch."
Brucelzy nodded and Kauvara put a sign on her door saying 'Gone for Lunch'
and locked up. Then we headed across the way to the Bakery.
As we entered, the Broadcaster greeted us warmly and showed us some of his
latest creations: a large Kacheek shaped donut, a Tuskaninny shaped load of
bread and a poppy seed muffin shaped like a Meerca.
We all ordered muffins and large glasses of juice and sat down next to the
window. We had a clear view of the backdoor of the magic shop. Keeping our eyes
on the door as we ate, we noticed that nothing unusual happened.
Polishing off our quick lunch, we hurried back to the magic shop to see if
the thief had stolen anything else while we were gone. As Kauvara unlocked the
door and pushed it open, bright red pawprints appeared on the floor, reflected
by the harsh light from the lamps and afternoon sunlight.
To be continued... | 
