Janet and Jane: The Case of the Rattled Witnesses - Part Five

      "You're welcome. No charge," Swolthy replied. "Think of it as our pay. Just catch those thieves."

      As I leave the (remains of the) shop, I quickly said, "We will. Thank you." When I finished, I ran after my friends, who decided to go ahead. They got dressed up as well.

      "You. Owe. Me. Big," Jane said in an annoyed voice.

      "Come on, you look nice," Corbin informed.

      "I. Hate. Dresses. And. Skirts," was the Korbat's response. It was true -- she hated anything remotely fancy. Jane was a tomboy and if she had to wear something like that, she absolutely had to -- like tonight.

      "It's only for the night, and you know it's the only way for us to fit in," I stated.

      "What if we get caught?" Jane asked me. "We don't have an invitation. Oh, and what if Malkus finds us? Then we'd be in even more trouble, if such a thing existed."

      "That's why we have the masks." I placed the mask that was on my forehead over my face. "Nobody will know who's who."

      "Well, then how will we know we're talking to the right Neopets?" Natia asked.

      Everyone rolled their eyes. Natia had a tendency to be quite dense.

      "We will know who's who because we know how each other's dressed," I explained slowly. Once she looked like she understood, I took the lead of the small group. "Here's my plan for getting in. Jane and I know of an area that is pretty isolated. Nobody will notice us and once we're in, we'll fit in."

      "And you're sure this will work?" Kell asked. I knew what he was thinking.

      "I'm sure. If you're unsure, why don't you think up a plan?" I retorted. He remained silent. After a few seconds, I said, "I thought so."

      I gave him a smug stare. I knew he had nothing. Yes, I could have thought up a better plan, but this was the best I could do in a short notice. To be honest, I was lucky I came up with this.

      As I took the lead when the Town Hall, I began to hear something. I thought nothing of it at the time, but as I got closer, I realized that it was more serious than I thought. I quickly led everyone to a part of the perimeter where we were out of sight, but I could still hear what was going on.

      "And you are sure that they won't notice a five hundred pound Puppyblew being snuck in?" one asked. Oh no. It's Hermeedjet!

      The gruff voice that I knew was Malkus then said, "I told you a hundred times now. This area is the most remote there is. Nobody will even know its here until I give the signal."

      Signal? Now that was new. That was about all I needed. I picked up a nearby rock and throw it into a far away bush. When I knew the three were distracted, I led my group away. Once we were a good distance away, I began to discuss my plan (that I just made up) as we searched for a (safe) way inside.

      "Alright, once we're in, we need to be careful. There are some traps where we're going in," I informed.

      "How would you know that?" Corbin asked.

      I really didn't give a real answer. "It was precautions."

      "Janet," Kell began. "Why would you ever do that?"

      Of course he asked that. I rolled my eyes. "Mr. Camden wanted us to make sure that the necklace was safe."

      "And a few simple traps will stop some thieves?"

      "Oh, I don't know. Wanna try one out?"

      "Janet, stop," Jane ordered.

      Instead of continuing, I listened to Jane (for once). I led the four to the back door. I carefully opened the door and we walked. When we (miraculously) avoid the traps and make it to the ballroom, we fan out.

      The Necklace of Melia was on a podium with a glass case and a spotlight on it. A lot of Neopets were talking and dancing and all sorts of stuff around it. If Malkus and the Meerca brothers are in here already, there's no way I could spot them immediately.

      "The signal. The signal," I heard through the hundreds of voices I'm surrounded by. It was even in a whisper. I quickly darted my eyes around the room to see two Meercas in a corner of the room. One is holding a sliver of metal. Nearby is a Skeith watching them.

      I found them.

      The one with the sliver of metal put it in his mouth and I think he blew into it. I didn't know, I didn't hear anything. That is, until I heard the same howl that I heard the other day. After everyone heard that, the three began to leave. There was no way I was going to let them leave.

      So I went after them.

      They knew I was going after them. They went from a leisurely stroll to winning a race. I did eventually lose them. Now what? I just walked around the hallways.

      As I was walking, I came across that sliver of metal one of the Meerca thieves had in the ballroom. I picked it up. It appeared to be some type of whistle. If he blew it, why didn't I hear it?

      I, because I just had to test it, wiped off the tip and blew into the whistle. I didn't hear anything. Strange. Was it broken or something? If it was, why did one of the Meerca thieves blow into it? Just in case, I pocketed the whistle and continued to walk.

      That's when I heard that same howl.

      I looked down the hallway I heard it come from. Running down the hallway and towards me was the overgrown Puppyblew. Once my nerves kicked in, I ran away as fast as I could.

      "Janet, what did you do?"

      And of course, Kell was around when I didn't want him to. He ran alongside me. I tried really hard not to roll my eyes.

      "I didn't do anything!" I shouted in response. I took out the whistle. "I just blew this whistle!"

      The Wocky snatched it from my hand. "Janet, this is a Warf Whistle!"

      "A what?"

      "I'll explain later. We just need to get away from this thing first."

      We ran into a familiar part of the building. I remembered Jane and I placed a pretty big trap around here. I really hoped that Kell and I didn't spring it. Wait, what about the monster? Could it work? Only one way to find out.

      I grabbed Kell's wrist and dragged him to a hallway (while the monster followed us). The hallway was dark -- just how it was supposed to be. Now where was that light switch?

      "Janet, I hope you know what you're doing," Kell said nervously. I guess he was running out of options. He didn't seem all snarky and smug.

      "I know what I'm doing. Trust me," I replied. I found the light switch and flipped it. The lights came on. "Now let's get out of here!"

      The bar gate Jane and I set up was beginning to lower. Thankfully, we make it out before it closed. Even more thankfully, the monster didn't. We could hear it bark, growl, and howl behind the steel bars separating us and it. Kell and I stopped in front of the trap and took a breather.

      "Told you," I panted.

      "You know that plan had almost no chance of working, right?" Kell asked.

      I glared at him. This was not the time for him to start something we couldn't finish. "I didn't hear you think up a plan."

      He held his hands up in defense. "I'm not complaining. I'm just saying."

      "Whatever." I began to walk. The yellow Neopet walked next to me. "So what about the Warf Whistle?"

      He took out the sliver of metal and handed it to me. "It's used mainly for Warfs, but it can be used on Petpets similar to it, like Doglefoxes and Puppyblews. It produces notes at a frequency that we can't hear. That's why the monster was mad."

      "Oh. Well, I didn't know!"

      "I figured."

      I rolled my eyes again. He was starting to get on my nerves. I tried my best to ignore him as we looked for someone. It could be Corbin, could be Jane, it could even be Malkus Vile for all I care. I'd rather be with anyone with him.

     Looked like I would get my wish.

      I began to hear Malkus, Hermeedjet, and Meerouladen talking (with no effort on being hidden. Seriously, it was like they wanted to get caught). I decided to find out what they were up to. I pressed myself to the wall and carefully eavesdropped on them.

      "What are you doing?" Kell asked.

      "Shh!" I quietly hissed. "I hear them. And if I was you, I'd be quiet." Thankfully, he stopped talking. Now I could listen to what was going on.

      "You lost the Warf Whistle? What if someone gets it?" Malkus screamed.

      "I know you're upset, but just listen. We really don't need it. If anyone was to blow into it, the only thing that could possibly happen is that the monster gets mad at them," Meerouladen argued.

      "Yeah. One thousand Neopoints that those detectives don't know what it is!" Hermeedjet added.

      "I guess you're right, but that is no excuse for losing a tool. Remember what happened with the crown?" Malkus asked.

      "That wasn't our fault!" Hermeedjet shouted.

      All of this trouble over a little whistle? I took out the whistle and stared at it. They really didn't have anything else to use, did they? It didn't even make a sound that we could hear. To prove my point, I blew into it.

      Well, it didn't make any sound that I could hear, but somebody did. I clearly heard a yelp of agony down the hallway. I hoped that the thieves didn't hear, but I just knew they did.

      "What now?" Kell asked.

      The thieves walked around the hallway and spotted us. "I don't know," I answered. "How about-- Run!"

To be continued...