IV. First results. "I should have protested the day heard that will!" Morris cursed. "It's been a full month, and we've heard nothing!" "Shut up!" Mary hissed at him. "Calm down, dear," Gina pulled her husband down to the divan. "If we protest, we lose our shares. And even if we win the case, we'll pay too much in court fees. Calm down." They were meeting in the Fergusholl guest hall again. In spite of Morris's anger, old Fransis was still sitting in the main chair and keeping his hand on the old lady's piggy bank. It looked like he wasn't going to release his grip as soon as Morris expected. If only they could all join forces and get their hands on that will... But Trifo, the fool, was busy enjoying his postage stamps. And Mary was playing her own game and keeping her mother away from the business at hand... "Excuse me," they heard from the doors. Everyone's head turned, to see a young mouse gentleman entering the room. Morris looked the newcomer over angrily. A detective! Fransis stood to speak. "Let me make the introductions. This is Alex McDugal, my nephew and an employee of the detective agenct 'Max & Co.'. By my request, he has started the search for Alice Fergusson. He is bringing us his report now.." "I noticed that dear Alex entered alone. Does this mean that he couldn't find anyone alive?" Mary asked in an angelically sweet voice. "As of yet, no, I haven't found anyone. But let me show you the story," The young mouse bowed to all present. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a tiny pack of papers. "As you, know, I was asked to find a missing lady..." "Lady," ironically noticed Gina. "... Alice Fergusson. I was given her name, and nothing more. No photos. Only vague hints as to where to start the search. And time was not on my side. It has been fifty years. Most mice who were alive then are now long gone and forgotten. Most, but not all. I was lucky. I found the preacher who married Alice and Vincent. After a bit of prompting, he remembered them. He remembered the address where they used to live. I didn't find the house, as it was destroyed. But I found that, in a neighboring house, lived an old mouse who still remembered them. She was white as snow, and asleep with her eyes open. But she still remembered them, what happened so long ago. She also remembered the day when both Alice and Vincent died." "What?!" Morris, Gina and Janet shouted at once. "She is... dead?" Fransis whispered. Suddenly he felt so old and tired. "Unfortunately, it's true. In 1944, their house burned down to the basement. Everyone died -- humans, birds, and mice." "Then... no one can claim the money and castle?" Mary asked softly. "Not exactly. In the year 1940, Alice had a child. A son. Geegaw, I think. His father named him, not his mother," Alex smiled. "But... do you think that he escaped alive?" Fransis asked. "At first I thought that he had died with his parents. But that old mouse told me that she had seen him after the fire. Alive. The only explanation is that Geegaw had run out of the shelter to play with his friends. She didn't know what happened to him later, but I soon found the trail again. "Around a week after the fire in the house where the Hackwrench family lived, a London Catholic shelter got a new member -- a four year old mouse boy. Geegaw Hackwrench. "I can't find any member of the shelter who was old enough to remember these days. They were mostly old people, and all died long ago. But I found notes in old journals they kept. Geegaw sure wasn't an angel. He made life in the shelter 'interesting'. He liked to play jokes, and many times was punished by being shut in a cell to 'meditate'..." Alex smiled. "He lived in this shelter for ten years. At the age of 14 he ran away. No one wanted to get him back - I think that the poor monks thanked God for removing that "devil incarnate." "Nobody knew where Geegaw went, but we can make the assumption that he made his way aboard some ship, as after a few years he reappeared -- this time, sixteen or seventeen years old, in Australia. "His next tracks occur with long intervals. Geegaw spent some time in Australia and New Zealand, then he traveled to America. He lived a half year in Hawaii, and a year or two on the West Coast. Then after break of a year or two he appeared in Africa and South America. He had by then become a successful inventor and pilot; with his plane, the "Crying Eagle", he delivered many emergency shipments. There were articles in newspapers about the famous traveler, that's why I was able to find out so much about his life. And now, the last one." Alex gave Francis a closed newspaper. "Page two, first column. I circled it," he noted. "In the year 1985, in New York, at the age of only 46 years, the great pilot, inventor and traveler - Geegaw... Hackwrench... died..." Francis read. Dropping the paper, he looked at Alex. Silence again struck all guests. "For God's sake!" Morris suddenly jumped up. "Why are you reading us all this junk about a long-dead mouse?! To show how smart you are?" Alex smiled broadly. "Because there is another fact," he parried the attack. "Geegaw married. And he had a daughter by that marriage." "Another dead end, I suppose?" Mary sadly smiled. "Is she dead too?" "All by order." "What order!? You've been spouting junk for an hour, and you call it order?" Morris advanced toward Alex. "Silence!" Fransis shouted, half standing up from seat. "Keep your comments short and to the point, Alex. Please." Alex checked some papers. "Yes. In 1968 at Los Angeles, California, Geegaw Hackwrench married Sumio Nakashito..." "Couldn't find anything better than one of those yellow-" Morris grinned. "Sir. Do you have something to say about 'yellows'?" Alex looked at him with harsh eyes. Morris noticed foer the first time that Alex, too, has some signs of Chinese ancestry. "No... I..." he suddenly lost his nerve. "Glad to hear it. Otherwise I'd have thought I heard that something was wrong..." "No. Really, it's nothing." Alex relaxed and again checked the papers. "Yes, as I was saying... He married. But not for long. Next year Sumio died in childbirth. She had a daughter. Two or more years Geegaw stayed in one place somewhere on the West Coast. He cared about the girl, Gadget. Gadget Hackwrench." "Do you think that with the family name she also got the family craziness?" Gina whispered to Janet. Both laughed. "As Gadget grew up, Geegaw returned to his gypsy-like life. This time he had a companion -- a young and crazy mouse like himself. Some Jack Monterey. They traveled together, and had many cases in Africa, but then they suddenly parted ways. Geegaw returned to America and never left it again except for some trips to Brasilia. Monterey traveled to Europe. Then, in 1985, Geegaw died. And all tracks disappear there. No sign of Gadget. Even before this, they was hard to come by." "Maybe she died with her father?" Mary thought out loud. "I don't think so," Alex answered. "She lived alone, without traveling much. And, shortly before Geegaw died..." "Wait a sec. How did he die? I mean, he wasn't old enough to die from age?" Trifo entered the conversation for the first time. "His heart. He died in the middle of an air race. He still managed to land his airplane, but was found dead in the pilot set by the rescue squad." "How sad. But at least he may be happy - he died same way he lived..." The rest of family, shocked, turned to Trifo. But the collector again became silent and started checking a pocket-box with some stamps. "Now about the plans I have for the next few weeks. First I will post another advertisement, this time about Gadget and Monterey. I'll do this in all the newsletters I can reach. Here are some samples." "Have you seen this girl?" was written in large print. Under it was a photo of a young mouse girl. She has a pretty, simple face. Pink ears and nose, green eyes. Simple light summer dress. Golden hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Where did you get this photo?" Fransis asked. "From a technical newsletter. It had the caption: "Gadget Hackwrench Wins First Prize in International Symposium of Young Technical Minds, Lisbon, Portugal.". She really is like her father and grandfather. Crazy about technical nicknacks. I hope, now, we will be able to track her a little more easily." "She looks like Olivia. Olivia has blonde hair too," Fransis noticed. "By now we need only a little luck. As soon as I get some replies, I will bring her here," Alex ended his speech. V. Homeless II. Desiree stepped on the hard ground with mixed feelings. Of course, she was happy, as her long travel was at last safely over. But she found herself standing in the doorway to the unknown. Her bridges were burnt. Her dice were thrown. She had lost, but she would start again, up from the basement. Only this time she would work and make it more solid. Lawainee smiled sadly and moved away from the "Sea Pride". She really hated the old cargo ship's name. She left behind all of her dollar coins, the small room between the crates that she had lived in for the last month, and the "captain's" lousy grins and remarks. At last she was free from all that. Now to find... "Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" A gray mouse in dirty old jeans and a sailor shirt stepped in front of Lawainee, blocking her way off the pier. "None of your business, creep!" Lawainee showed her teeth in a grin and advanced toward the mouse blocking her way. Unfortunately, either her opponent wasn't easily frightened, or he had some help nearby, as he didn't retreat. "It IS my business! Did you pay the immigration fee?!" the sailor stood strong. "Get lost, before I prepare you under Uncle Ben's!" Lawainee hissed. "Hey, Buggy! Come here! The lady refuses to pay the fee!" the "Fee Collector" yelled, retreating from advancing Lawainee. Lawainee cursed by himself. That creep had backup. This was already turning worse. "Sure?" From the shadow between the warehouses stepped another mouse. A really big one. Not as tall as Shaka-Baka, but more muscular. Buggy tried make his face look like that of a hit man. "Did I hear right, sweetie? Did you refuse?" Buggy slowly stepped forward. Lawainee groaned. "Oh, come on, Buggy," the sailor grinned widely, noticing the girl's sigh. "I think the lady has changed her mind. Right, sweetie?" "Oh, yeah," Lawainee answered. She knelt by her backpack and pulled out a device. "At first I thought I'd leave you in peace, but now... Hands up and stand still, fools!" she yelled, aiming the device at the two robbers. "Oh, crap!" The dirty mice jumped straight up. "Do something, Buggy!" Buggy did. He took one step toward Lawainee. The girl pulled a trigger on the device. The sound was like that of a cannon blast. Lawainee hardly kept her balance. But the effect was glorious. Buggy stood with blank expression on his face, looking at a big new hole in the pier right in front of his feet. The "Fee Collecter" looked as he was ready to faint. "Now, boys, I'll give the orders here. Empty your pockets, please. Pronto!" Lawainee smiled a devilish smile. "Or my fingers might get itchy!" Buggy roared and prepared to rush Lawainee, but his companion jumped on him. "Buggy, no! Do as she says! Buggy! Buggy, she's crazy!" he spoke quickly, holding Buggy back. "All right, all right, lady! Here it is. All we have. Now, put down that gun..." Lawainee grinned, collecting the money from the unlucky robbers. "Okay, fools. Now count to two hundred, and you'll be free. But if I see you move before you finish - bang!" she made a shooting motion toward the pair. The "Collecter" gasped and started to shake like a jellyfish. Buggy peered at Lawainee. If looks could kill, she would have been reduced to ashes. But they both obeyed. Leaving the pier, Lawainee thought about how to recharge her invention in case she needed to use it again. "This is robbery!" "If you don't like it - find somewhere else to stay!" "Phew!" Lawainee frowned. "Today's inflation is a crime. No work, no food. And I need to eat, too." an aged mouse declared, considering Lawainee's wealth. "Okay, okay. I 'll stay." "Payment a month in advance. No refund if you leave before the month is up." "Is this enough?" The gray mouse with one blind eye snatched the money that Lawainee dropped on the table, and handed her a key. Lawainee dropped her sack on the bed and looked around the room. Old, small and dirty. A piece of mirror was stuck on a wall. A small hole covered by a piece of glass served as a window. It looked like it had never been opened. A white candle about ten centimeters long was there to give some light in the night. A cigar box served as wardrobe, bookcase, and cupboard. Someone had worked on it a little and added some shelves. And that was all. "Even a pig sty is cleaner," Lawainee shivered, brushing a spiderweb from the cigar box doors. She frowned, rolled up her sleeves, and started working. After four hours room was in much better condition. She had cleaned out all the junk and spiderwebs and opened the long-sealed window. Lawainee wiped the sweat off her forehead and fell onto the clean bed. So. She had arrived. She had gotten a room to stay in. And she was again out of money. VI. Deadlock. Alex again sat in a large leather chair in the Fergusholl guest hall. Fransis relaxed in a similar chair next to him. Tapping a cinder from his cigar, Alex straightened. "Oh, uncle... I'm ready to give it up... Two months have flown by like a day, without any results." "It can't be so bad, can it? I mean, you got a few hundred responses, didn't you?" "Yes. To be exact, two hundred twenty-eight letters. One third claimed that they are the girl we are looking for. Oh, uncle, I had to read through them all. Lucky you, you didn't have to do that. If they're all true, call me a pink elephant. Another third of the letters was simply crazy. Half of the rest only wanted to get money from us." "And the rest?" Alex settled himself in the chair. "Yes, there was some hope. I personally checked out over twenty possible leads. Some were simply coincidences. With a few we found out that Gadget had been there, but had left long ago. That accounted for thirteen cases. 13. And they really haunted me. Really strange things." "How?" Fransis look intrigued. "Okay, here's the one that puzzled me most. It happened four years ago, when Geegaw was still alive. He flew some cargo to South Africa with his friend Jack. You remember, I mentioned him previously? OK, Geegaw was in South Africa. Gadget, during that time, participated in a symposium at Lisbon. That's where I got that photo from, you remember. And, in the same day, at the same time, she had also been seen in South Africa, meeting with her Dad! I traveled to both places and personally questioned eyewitnesses. They swear that they saw the girl in the photo. In the same day, at the same time. There was even a record in the call-book at that airport in South Africa: "Geegaw Hackwrench, go to the information desk to meet your daughter." Can you explain that?" "Strange." "If there was only one, I could write it as an error of date. Anyway, it was four years ago. Who knows what tricks may have been played with old papers. But from 13 letters, I found 6 such occurrences! The second one happened a half year after the first one. Gadget was, at the same time, in France, at a testing lab, and in Australia, near an air race in which Geegaw was participating. And there's the third one, two days after Geegaw died. She crashed a car in Boston, and was in an ambulance for a short moment. They got her photos for the police, but she escaped before she was questioned. And at the same time she was on board the "Golden Star", a luxury ship traveling from England to America." "No one can explain why?" "There were signs that she was living on the Hawaiian islands, hiding from the world. But when I arrived I failed get any information from the natives. They all kept silent. They wouldn't even say yes or no." "It's really strange. Maybe Geegaw has two daughters?" "It's possible. And it's the only explanation I can think of that doesn't have anything to do with extraterrestrial forces. But it's a very small possibility. Gadget was born not at home, but in a clinic. Her birth certificate was written by a doctor, as was Sumio's death certificate. No chance for a twin to hide. And they hadn't had time to have another child." "Then that leaves only the "mirror" theory." Fransis smiled sadly. "Don't talk like an idiot, Dad. That's impossible." "Theoretically. Maybe they aren't exactly the same. I mean, maybe if you put them both together you could easily distinguish Gadget from, let's call her Gadget II. But one at time..." "Yeah, yeah. You're starting to sound like a science fiction writer now. Next you'll say that pigs can fly." Alex lit new cigar. Fransis sighted. "I think you need to repeat that ad in the newspaper." "Really? Uncle, I can do that. And I will, if you order me. But, uncle... I don't think we will find her. The silence in the later years can mean only one of two things - either she is dead, or she has chosen to hide from the world..." "But these leads you mentioned?" "They are scattered over all world. Do you think that the world is small? Do you realize how it has changed in the last few years? Humans say that the world is becoming smaller... Fools! It's we that have drifted further and further from each other! And all this rush for riches? Isn't it a mad dance? Maybe humans need money, but do we? Do we eat gold? Or drink jewels?" Fransis sighed heavily. Alex was right. Sometimes he himself thought that the world was slowly going crazy. But... "No, Alex. We all are same as our parents and grandparents in our deeds and misdeeds," he said slowly. "And the fact that we copy the newest human inventions does nothing to our souls. Look at Mary, for example. Do you think that if she lived in a hole in the earth, she would be less evil than now, when she uses that toy-car, travels in soft railway wagons or in airplanes, and at the age of twenty-four has traveled around the world three times? Do you want to go back to the time when we all lived in one village, and never went out into the Big World, which started somewhere past the neighbor village two miles to the north? Do you want to live in a hole that you had to dig yourself, eat raw grain, and suffer from hunger half of every year?" Alex backed down. "Life was simpler before," he stated uncertainly. "And harder. Much harder." "Okay, uncle," his nephew jumped to his feet. "I'll do as you asked. I'll post that advertisement again. Bye!" And he was gone. He had left a little too quickly to be called polite. Fransis shook his head. Maybe Alex was right? VII. Scandal. (I fear, i will newer wrote this piece. Maybe i will include it in memories of Lawainee later. Here is what it need contain - Lawainee try get a work in New Zealand, but fails. Then, to get survive, she commit a crime. Unfortunately, local gang don't like competitors, so she is forced to make a fast move-out to north lands. She thinks, she is well hidden, but as later actions show, she failed. Some mice see ad, Alex get pressed to put in previous chapter, counts two and two, and sends reply. And we get Alex running for a wrong tail (poor detective - besides his bravado, he is only beginner in business).) |