The Missing Mask

     The Disco Elephante carefully removed his kaleidoscope umbrella hat and folded it under one arm. Having been born and raised on Mystery Island, he was used to rain but not the chilly kind like in Neopia Central. The hat had been one of his earliest purchases other than the disco upon his arrival in the city.

     Tito, his Tuceet, clucked quietly to himself, the sound echoing in the large empty space. The rest of the disco's staff wouldn't arrive until later. Until then, it was just the two of them. Dylan had learned to enjoy the quiet because it never lasted long. He crossed the large dance floor with his naturally broad stride. The Elephante was about to head up the stairs to his office when he stopped in his tracks.

     "What?" His eye had just caught the interior of the sound booth, where he spent a good deal of his time. Except that the Savanna Elephante Mask knockoff that took pride of place on the wall was gone.

     He hurried into the booth to inspect it but no, the mask hadn't fallen to the floor. It was well and truly gone!

     "Oh no!" Dylan exclaimed, lifting his trunk to his forehead. "The mask has been stolen!" He leaned against the wall, in shock and confusion.

     The mask wasn't very valuable or attractive. However, it had strong sentimental value to Dylan because one of his younger sisters had given it to him just months ago for his birthday. In fact, while it wasn't pretty to look at, the large, garish mask had grown on him. He would never think to get rid of it and it was safe from thieves because, well, who else would possibly want it? Dylan was determined to find out.

     Over the years he had heard mention of a socialite detective named Toxi Cable. It took little at all to get directions to her mansion and he quickly made his way there. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door, silently hoping that she would be willing and able to help him.

     The door opened, seemingly by itself, and Dylan was startled to see a Mutant Meepit staring up at him with big yellow eyes. Had this tiny creature opened the door somehow? He shook his head to clear such a silly thought. The Meepit scampered down the hallway and then paused and turned back. He realized this was his cue to follow.

     The Meepit led him inside a home office. There, the acclaimed Pirate Draik detective stood beside her bookcase. She wore a turquoise and lavender dress with an elegant blond wig.

     "I don't believe we've ever met," she said. "My name is Toxi Cable."

     "Hello, Toxi. I'm Dylan Hollins."

     "I'd love to think you're here to invite me to your delightful discotheque, which I've heard so much about, but I suspect you have something more serious on your mind."

     Dylan smiled at the compliment and launched into his speech. "A Savanna Elephante Mask was stolen from my disco. But I just can't understand why. It isn't fashionable. I'm not even sure a thief could resell it! Who would want it?"

     "Why would someone steal an item of no value?" Toxi considered. "Well, tell me, what makes the mask valuable to you?"

     "It was a birthday gift from my sister. I've grown quite fond of it."

     "I see. If I can solve your mystery, would you grant me free entry to your disco for the next year?"

     "If you can recover my mask, I'll give you a lifetime membership!"

     Toxi grinned and shook his hand. "Then we have a deal. All right, let me explain my process. I want to spend this evening with you at the disco, from opening to closing. I'd like to meet and speak with your regular clients, employees, family, and anyone who frequently attends the disco. I understand the importance of maintaining an image, and I will take care not to make anyone uncomfortable or disrupt your business. I see you look a bit uneasy."

     Dylan kept his eyes on the hardwood floor. "You mentioned my employees and my family. I doubt any of them could have stolen my mask. They all knew how much it meant to me. Not that I want to accuse one of my customers."

     "You have a kind heart, and you want to believe the best in people. That's a good thing. I know it can be upsetting to consider everyone a suspect, but remember, everyone is also a potential witness or source of information. Maybe someone spilt coffee on the mask and secretly sent it away for cleaning."

     Dylan nodded. "You're right. There could be a very innocent explanation."

     "Now, as we head over to the disco, tell me, when was the last time you saw your mask and who had access to the disco during the time when it went missing?"

     "Well..." Dylan rubbed his trunk in thought for a moment. "I saw it last night during the start of the night but didn't have any reason to check it out before I left around midnight. However, you can talk to my DJ from last night and he should be able to fill you in as the mask is kept in my sound booth." He looked over at the detective. "As for a list of guests, employees and family, I can get you the details once we get to the disco as the list for my family and employees alone ranges to at least a dozen."

     They reached the disco soon enough to find others already arriving.

     Dylan ran into Alan, a striped Ixi, first. "First, I'd like to thank you for stepping into DJ last night when Niko called in sick. I heard great things about how well you did last night so it's greatly appreciated.”

     "Thanks, man. I'd love that!" Alan exclaimed with a grin.

     "Maybe we can talk later about allowing you more opportunities like that. For now, however, I'd like to introduce you to Ms Toxi Cable, a private detective I've just hired. She's here to investigate the disappearance of the savanna mask from the booth."

     "Wait, it's missing?" Alan exclaimed in disbelief. He shook his head. "I hardly left the booth last night until closing and only Blythe came by to chat when there was a free minute. When we all left for the night, the mask was right where it's always been." The Ixi cast a look over at the currently dark sound booth at the back of the disco with a furrowed brow, clearly confused by this completely surprising turn of events.

     Who would even want to steal it?

     That was the question that Toxi Cable would hopefully answer for them all.

     "That's actually good to hear," Ms Cable said with a nod. "That means we can narrow down the theft from somewhere after closing and when you arrived here earlier this afternoon. And you saw no signs of a break-in?" The Draik looked at Dylan for confirmation.

     Dylan shook his head. "None at all."

     "Then that means the theft was done by someone with a key," Ms Cable murmured.

     " Ms Cable will be here through closing. Please be as accommodating as possible while she tries to solve the case. I'll let the rest of the staff know as they come in," Dylan finished explaining the situation to Alan. He looked at the Pirate Draik. "Ms Cable, please come up to my office and I'll get that list for you.".

     The Disco Elephante led the way across the dance floor, to the door that led up a narrow flight of stairs to his office.

     "Wait, this is the sound booth, correct?" Ms Cable paused at the entrance to the sound booth. "I'd like to take a look at the scene of the crime. There may be something you might have missed or overlooked as unimportant."

     "Oh, of course," Dylan said with an acquiescing nod.

     "Thank you."

     Ms. Cable entered the sound booth, eyes sweeping across the relatively small, closed space with intense scrutiny, intent not to miss any detail.

     Not that there was much to see. The floors were clean, and the tables were clear except for the sound equipment. Toxi stepped out of the booth and motioned for Alan to join them too. The Ixi tried to look serious, but she could tell he was awed by the presence of a professional detective and eager to offer help.

     "Notice anything different from last night? Besides the missing mask." Toxi stayed silent and gave Alan time to take in the room. As the last known person to enter the crime scene, his memory might be essential to solving the case.

     "Well, someone was nice enough to empty the garbage can and clean all the old snack wrappers off the floor. I probably should have helped with that," Alan admitted.

     "So, someone was cleaning in here after you left," Toxi said. "Is that normal?"

     "Well, certainly, some nights when the waitresses have extra time, they'll do some tidying up around the club," Dylan replied. He was about to continue when Alan cut him off.

     "Oh no! Something else is missing!"

     "What?" Dylan asked, looking about the room.

     "Niko's coffee mug! You know, the one with the broken-off handle that says 'Kyrii Rule!' I think he made it in elementary school or something. It must have been the thief! Oh man, you'd better find it. Otherwise, he might blame me since I'm the last one who saw it."

     Alan left the sound booth and began to pace around the dance floor.

     "Hmm," Dylan said, "maybe someone got overzealous while cleaning and removed the mask and mug, thinking they were trash. I'm going to go check the dumpster just in case. Feel free to have a look around while I'm gone."

     "Good idea," Toxi agreed. She spotted a Pastel Zafara waitress refilling the salt and pepper containers on the tables and went over to say hello.

     Unlike Alan, Blythe didn't seem too impressed when Toxi introduced herself. Undaunted, Toxi asked, "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

     Blythe shrugged, her eyes focused on the pepper bottle. Toxi could tell she cared about doing a good job.

     She cut to the chase, not wanting to waste the busy worker's time. "Did you see the Savanna Elephante Mask yesterday?"

     "Couldn't miss it. That mask is flashy! But it has a certain charm, you know?"

     Toxi nodded. "From what I've heard. I haven't yet seen it for myself. I can tell you're busy, but I have an important question for you. Did you or any of the other waitresses do any cleaning in the booth last night?"

     Blythe raised an eyebrow. "Who gave you the impression we had time for that last night? Maybe on a slow night, but as far as I'm concerned, if the DJs don't want to work in filth, they can take out their own trash. I'm a waitress, not a maid. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm still behind from last night."

     Toxi admired Blythe. Even though she was busy, she still did the right thing to help Dylan out. Still, Toxi had more questions than answers. Was the thief the same person who cleaned up the sound booth? What sort of robber would pause their work to take out the trash?

     Toxi was disappointed to see Dylan returning from the dumpster empty-handed but glad they could finally meet to discuss the list of suspects.

     "Come up to my office, Ms Cable and I'll draw that list up for you," Dylan invited the detective.

     The Pirate Draik followed the Disco Elephante up the stairs and entered his office. It had a window that looked out onto the dance floor though it was of course mostly quiet now.

     Dylan headed straight for his desk. "Please, take a seat while I make the list."

     Toxi took in the vibrantly coloured office. Dylan had certainly leaned into the disco decorations. She settled into the chartreuse chair across the desk from Dylan.

     The Disco Elephante scrawled a list on a blank sheet of paper with a flower pen. Once finished, he pushed the paper across the desk to Toxi. "That's everyone that works here as well as my sisters."

     Toxi's lips twitched up in a smile as she saw that the ink was green. "This is a good place to start, Mr Hollins."

      "Please, call me Dylan."

      "Then please, call me Toxi."

     The pair smiled at each other in understanding, having found comfort in the informality.

     Toxi scanned the list. Dylan had listed eight employees and three of his sisters, bringing the total up to eleven.

     The Suspects

     Luis male Disco Bruce, DJ

     Simon male Disco Kacheek, DJ

     Niko male Disco Kyrii, DJ

     Kanani male Rainbow Lutari, bartender

     Haunani female Island Kiko, bartender

     Alan male Striped Ixi, bartender/musician

     Blythe female Pastel Zafara, waitress

     Fay female Faerie Gelert, waitress

     Mona Usukigirl Usul, waitress/singer

     Barbara Pink Elephante, sister

     Emmaline Speckled Elephante, sister

     Lalanis White Elephante, sister

     "Now, I think I can already narrow this list down a bit. Which of these individuals has a key to the disco?"

     Dylan's trunk curled, perhaps in sheepishness. "Almost all of them, other than the three DJs on the list as their schedules aren't nightly like everyone else's and all of my sisters have their own keys."

     Dylan quickly put a star next to the DJs' names which dropped the total down to eight.

     "I can work with this," Toxi said with a nod. She looked up at Dylan. "How many of them do you expect to be here tonight?"

      "DJing tonight will be Simon and Niko. All of my other employees will be working tonight. As for my sisters, I can't predict if or when they'll show up."

     “Then I think that's all I need, for now. I won't take up more of your time but if I have further questions for you, will you be here in your office?"

      "I might be. More likely, I'll be out on the floor somewhere, especially if any of my sisters show up. Of course, no matter where I might be, if there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to find me. All I want is the mask to be found." Dylan frowned, eyes shifting away from Toxi. "I haven't even told Lala yet."

     Toxi's gaze softened. "I'm sure your sister will understand. It’s not like you got rid of it on purpose." The Pirate Draik straightened. "If I have anything to say about it, the mask will be returned to you as soon as possible, Dylan. Believe me on that."

     Dylan looked back at Toxi and managed a weak smile. "I do believe you'll do your best. Thank you for agreeing to this case."

      "Of course, I always love a challenge."

     The Draik detective left the Elephante's office then, list tucked carefully into her reticule for easy reference. Not that she needed it; the list wasn't that long. Spotting a mirror, she paused to check that not a hair was out of place, or a wayward wrinkle had found its way onto her attire. With a short nod of satisfaction, she headed back down the stairs. The disco was about to open, and her real work was about to begin.

To be continued…