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

      "I didn't know anyone but the monster could hear it!" I replied.

      We ran into another hallway, hoping to lose our pursuers. Our efforts were in vain when we heard them shouting behind us. If only Jane was here -- she would know how to lose them.

      Wait, wasn't the one who yelped Jane? It sounded like her. Korbat's do have sensitive hearing and could hear some stuff other Neopets couldn't. Maybe I could use this the whistle to find her.

      With that thought in mind, I blew into the whistle.

      "Janet, blowing that whistle is what got us into this situation in the first place," Kell informed.

      I sighed. "I know that. And it's going to get us out of it."

      I continued to blow the silent whistle. I could hear Jane. We were getting close. Thankfully, we got rid of the thieves when we spotted her (who was apparently with Corbin).

      "Seriously, what is that?" Jane whined.

      "I keep telling you, I don't hear anything," Corbin responded.

      "Hey Jane!" I called. The two looked at Kell and I, who were quickly approaching. "Glad we found you."

      Jane quickly walked to me and nervously said, "Janet, I'm so glad you're here. I keep hearing this high-pitched sound and I don't know what it is!"

      So this was how the monster reacted, basically. No wonder he was mad. I thought I should show her what was going on. I took out the Warf Whistle and blow into it. She covered her ears and yelped again. Once I stopped, she looked at the tool.

      "A Warf Whistle?" Jane asked. "That's what was making me go nuts?"

      I nodded. "And the monster."

      She snatched the whistle from my hand and examined it. While she was looking at it, Corbin asked, "Why do you two look exhausted?"

      "Janet thought it was a good idea to blow the whistle while we were eavesdropping on the thieves," Kell answered.

      "I didn't know Jane could hear it!" I defended. "I didn't think anyone but the monster could hear it."

      A set of footsteps ran towards us. As it got closer, we saw it was Natia. She seemed worried, scared, and confident at the same time -- also exhausted, she was panting pretty hard. I wondered what was going on in her head.

      "Hey guys, do any of you guys do you know why there are two broken gates in one of the hallways?" she asked. Broken gates? That surely wasn't good. The only gates that were possibly in Town Hall were the ones that Jane and I set up as a trap, and Kell and I used that to catch the monster that was chasing us.

      "Gates? There aren't any gates in Town Hall," Corbin answered.

      "Well, except for..." Jane added. She glared at Kell and I like we did something wrong.

      "We were being chased by a Puppyblew that was three times bigger than us. What were we supposed to do?" I asked.

      "It really doesn't matter, as long as we catch it," Kell continued.

      "Same for Malkus and the Meerca brothers." I took the Warf Whistle from Jane. "There are two things that we can't let them have. This whistle and the necklace." Corbin and Jane gained nervous looks. I didn't have to be smart to tell that something was wrong. They didn't want to tell us, so I just had to ask them. "Is something wrong?"

      "Sort of," Jane said reluctantly. "We... don't know where the necklace went. It's very possible that they have it."

      My eyes grew wide. No, this could not be happening. The necklace couldn't have disappeared.

      "You're joking, right?" I asked the Korbat.

      She shook her head. "When the monster came into the ballroom and the frenzy started, it was very hard to keep an eye on it and the necklace. When everyone finally left, it was gone."

      I buried my head in my hands. "Oh, Mr. Camden will not be happy. We're so fired."

      "Wait, do you mean that really shiny necklace that was on display?" Natia asked. Everyone looked at her.

      "What else?" Corbin asked back.

      She placed her hand into her pocket and slightly pulled out something. Though I could barely see it, it shone like the sun. Once the Aisha was sure weren't watched, she pulled it out.

      It was the Necklace of Melia.

      "I took it during the chaos. You know, just in case," she explained as she handed it to me.

      "Oh, thank goodness," Jane and I sighed at the same time.

      "I'll take that," Kell said as he took the necklace from me.

      "Why? It doesn't match your eyes," I teased. Natia chuckled.

      "Ha ha, very funny," he said sarcastically. "I don't think you can properly take care of it."

      I leered at him. He rolled his eyes in response. Then I said, "Sure, if the thieves come after us, I won't be the one they'll be after."

      "Janet, you know the point is that the thieves don't find us. We're all on the same side," Jane informed.

      Yeah, you should try being in my shoes. It didn't take a genius to see that Kell and I didn't get along. This guy kept on criticizing every little thing I do like it was my fault! Like I wanted to get caught. Like I wanted to catch the monster that way. He was just--... Urgh!

      "Now what do we do?" Corbin asked.

      "That is a very good question," said Natia perkily. "I have no idea what to do."

      "Shocker," I whisper to myself. Jane apparently heard what I said and slightly shoved me.

      "Ooh, I came up with a good way to find the monster!" Natia suddenly said. Why did I feel like it was a bad idea? Turned out that I was right. Natia took the Warf Whistle and then, you guessed it, blew into it.

      "Natia!" everyone yelled. We no longer cared if the thieves heard us -- the monster would lead them to us anyway.

      "It won't be long until the monster--" Kell began. He was interrupted by the very familiar howl that we had been hearing. The howl was followed by a trampling sound. That wasn't good.

      "Let's get out of here!" I shouted.

      I really didn't need to say that -- I could say "Let's stay here like sitting Mallards" and they would run faster than two Poogles in the middle of a Poogle Race if a creature they didn't know was coming towards them. While I followed them, I kept my eyes open for any trap that Jane and I set up a couple days ago. Now would be a really bad time for us to spring one on one of us.

      It wasn't long until Jane saw one. I saw it only seconds after she did. This one just might work (I really hoped it did, anyway). This one was just a simple, really big net. We had to step on a certain tile to activate it. Oh wait, I just found a hole in our plan.

      We had no idea what tile to step on.

      Because of this far from perfect plan, Jane and I had to go all Mortog-style on every single tile in the hallway. It. Was. Torture! Finally, Jane jumps on the right tile to activate it. Once I heard the slight sound that it makes when it becomes activated, Jane and I made a run for it. Thank Fyora that the monster became trapped in the net.

      The others ran ahead of us, so we decided to go after them. There was a problem with that -- we didn't know where they ran. Jane and I ended up just walking blindly until something made us do otherwise.

      That something was the sound of footsteps running towards us.

      It couldn't be Kell, Corbin, or Natia. It didn't sound like it, either -- it sounded heavier. There was no doubt that it was Malkus. Jane and I reacted immediately and ran as fast as we could away, trying to lose the Skeith that was behind us.

      The two of us ran into a stairwell and went up the (many) stairs. We really hoped that there was something that could help us there. Why didn't we have the time to set any traps in the upper area? I could kick myself for forgetting that crucial detail. Oh, we were in a world of trouble at this point.

      At the top of the stairs, there wasn't a room, but a trap door. Jane and I didn't know what was on the other side (and really didn't care). We went through that door hastily. Turned out it didn't lead to a room.

      It led to the top of the tower.

      Corbin, Kell, and Natia were here already. In front of them were both Meerouladen and Heermeedjet. Before Malkus could join the party, Jane flew off to who knows where. Once she was out of sight, Malkus burst through the trap door.

      "Give us the necklace," the Skeith ordered sharply.

      "What makes you think we have it?" I asked. "To be honest, we lost track of it. Maybe somebody took it during the chaos that you caused."

      I glanced over at my friends. They knew I was lying through my teeth. Hopefully, they'd play along with my story.

      "It's true," Corbin informed. "The case was empty the first time we saw it after the chaos."

      "Was that really necessary, anyway? Yes, it's easy to make the monster do it, but it's not the best idea," Kell went on. I tried really hard not to smile.

      "Wait, doesn't Kell have the necklace?" Natia asked. There went our only story that had the potential of keeping us alive.

      "Natia!" the monster hunters and I yelled.

      "I repeat, give us the necklace. You don't want me to take it from you, do you?" Malkus said.

      Oh, Mr. Camden wouldn't be happy to hear that the Necklace of Melia was taken. Just as Kell revealed the necklace, five certain words came from the bottom of Town Hall.

      "We have the building surrounded!"

      I was never so happy to hear those words.

      "Well, if you weren't so bad at your jobs, we wouldn't have to take the case," I said as I walked away from the police chief that was scolding me. They often tried to find any reason to hate on J².

      "We aren't bad at our jobs," the yellow Chia argued.

      "Really? I saw you fast asleep in front of the Hidden Tower last month."

      The yellow Chia turned red in the cheeks and walked off. Pretty often, I won the (many) arguments that the police chief and I had. It was because I was often right. They were bad at their jobs -- and i mean really bad.

      I walked into Mr. Camden's office. Along with the silver Yurble, there was Jane, Natia, Kell, and Corbin. My first instinct was to stand next to Jane.

      "How'd the talk with the police chief go?" Corbin asked.

      "Same as every talk we have," I answered.

      Both Kell and Corbin gained confused looks. They didn't know of every single argument we have.

      "Please don't tell me you said--" Jane began.

      "I did, and you know they're bad at their jobs," I interrupted.

      Natia then bursted out into laughter. She knew about my conversations with him, but that made her laugh every time. Under her cackling, I heard Mr. Camden chuckle a little.

      "The necklace is safe, correct?" the mayor asked.

      I quickly took the necklace from Kell and handed it to the Yurble. I didn't need to look to see the Wocky giving me a leer. Ignoring it, I said, "Here you go, Mr. Camden."

      With a hint of worry in his look, he took the necklace and replied, "Thank you, Janet." With that, he left the room.

      "Janet, did we ever take out the traps?" Jane asked me. Before I could reply, all of us heard Mr. Camden yelp. All of us wince.

      After that, I said, "Something tells me we didn't."

The End