William Arden - The Secret of the Crooked Cat

“Jiminy, maybe you’re right,” Andy said, but he still looked doubtful.

“I know I am,” Jupiter stated flatly. “The fact that the thief waited until last night to try to steal even one cat also convinces me. Because he is a member of the carnival, he had to be careful, and because he’s a member, he could afford to wait! He wanted to pick exactly the right moment to get the cats in a way that wouldn’t arouse suspicion. Only a member of the carnival could observe Andy and the trailer closely enough to feel secure in waiting for a perfect chance. Only he waited too long.”

“Too long, Jupe?” Pete asked, perplexed.

“Yes, Second. You remember that Andy said the crooked cats weren’t first prize until here in Rocky Beach? Then he gave out four cats that first night. He caught the thief by surprise. Four of the cats were gone. The thief had to move fast. He grabbed the last cat, but lost it. That made him desperate, and he resorted to risky tricks like releasing Rajah.”

“Rajah had to be taken to where Pete would see him,” Andy said eagerly. “Only someone who knew Rajah would attempt that!”

“And someone who knew Rajah was pretty safe, as Jupe said last night,” Bob declared.

“He was desperate, fellows,” Jupiter repeated, “and now he’s even more desperate. He had to place that ad in the paper to try to find the rest of the cats, either because Pete’s cat wasn’t the one he wanted or because he wants them all.”

Bob nodded now. “I guess you’re right, First But why did you say the crooked cats became valuable only in the last few days?”

“Because nothing happened for three weeks before that fire in San Mateo, Records,” Jupiter explained. “Unless that was a real accident, everything has happened quickly after that. I think that fire could have been a first attempt to get the cats. Were the crooked cats in the booth at San Mateo, Andy?”

“Some of them, I think,” Andy said. “I had them for display. I wasn’t giving them out there.”

“But, Jupe,” said Bob. “You said the thief had been waiting for his chance. If he tried to get the cats in San Mateo, doesn’t that ruin your theory?”

“Of course not,” Jupiter said, a little miffed. “I said he was waiting for a good chance. Maybe he tried in San Mateo, failed, and lay low waiting for another chance. Still, there could be some other reason for the fire. That’s one of the things we have to learn, fellows. We have to learn what is going on, and who wants those crooked cats so much.”

“How do we do that, First?” Pete asked eagerly.

Jupiter thought “You will stay here, Second. Find a place from which you can see everyone who leaves the carnival without being seen yourself.”

“Gee, do I have to stay here, Jupe?” Pete complained.

“Since I’m sure the thief is a member of the carnival,” Jupiter instructed, “he’ll have to leave to meet the people who answer his ad — unless he has a confederate. From the way he’s been acting I think he’s alone, and you may be able to spot something suspicious. Records, give Second your directional signal. I’ll keep mine for us.”

“You’re going somewhere?” Andy asked. “Can I come with you?”

“All right, Andy, but we have to hurry,” Jupiter said.

Pete cried, “Where’re you all going, Jupe?” His question bounced off the retreating backs of his friends as they ran to get their bicycles. When Jupiter had a plan of action, he rarely stopped to explain it to his fellow investigators. Pete glumly watched them disappear out of the carnival grounds. Alone in the grey late afternoon, he looked round for a place where he could hide and still see the main and side exits from the carnival. His gaze fell on the high fence of the abandoned amusement park some twenty yards outside the main gate of the carnival.

There were holes in the high fence here, and the beams of the old roller coaster jutted up above the fence. It looked like the perfect spot to watch the carnival without being seen. Pete glanced round, but no one seemed to be watching him. They were all too busy. The Second Investigator strolled casually from the carnival and across to a hole in the high old fence of the amusement park.

Checking once more to be sure he was unobserved, he slipped through the hole in the fence. Once inside, he made his way past the rickety abandoned buildings of other attractions of the once lively amusement park to the roller coaster. He climbed up inside the lattice of old beams that held up the rollercoaster tracks until he found a place from which he could see both carnival exits without being observed himself.

He sat braced among the beams, and settled down to watch the carnival some fifty yards away. He was uneasily aware of the silent gloom round him. Cold wind made the old wooden structures creak and groan in the emptiness, and the fence seemed to cut him off from the live world outside.

The ghostly roller coaster towered menacingly above him in the grey day. The fun house between where he sat and the fence was eerie, its entrance a giant painted mouth, wide and laughing. To the right, at the edge of the ocean, the tunnel of love sagged with holes in its walls. A narrow channel of sluggish water lapped at its entrance, where small boats had once waited to take lovers for rides.

Pete felt very alone in his perch. Then he became alert as a figure strode out of the main entrance of the carnival. It was a man who looked round and hurried away towards the business section of Rocky Beach. Pete stared after the retreating figure in dismay. There had been something familiar about him, but he had been wearing city clothes, and at fifty yards in the gloomy grey light Pete could not be sure!

Had it been Khan? Pete thought he had recognized the massive shoulders of the strong man, and maybe the beard. But if the man had wild hair it had been hidden under a hat, and without the black-and-gold tights Pete wasn’t sure.

Soon after, while Pete was still alert and straining to see, another man emerged from the main exit. A tall figure, once again vaguely familiar, and once again Pete wasn’t sure. Had it been The Great Ivan in his street clothes?

Pete’s heart sank as he realized the truth: at fifty yards he couldn’t really recognize the carnival performers out of their costumes! He didn’t know them well enough.

He became certain when two more men came out of the side exit. One was old, grey-haired and tall. The other was bald and middle-aged. The second man might have been the fire eater, but the first he couldn’t recognize at all.

Groaning inwardly, the Second Investigator continued to watch. As more people came out of the carnival, he realized that rehearsal times must be over. Even if he could recognize the figures, it wouldn’t mean anything. Everyone in the carnival seemed to be taking a late-afternoon break.

Finally one really familiar face and figure slipped out of the side exit — Mr Carson himself. Andy’s father hurried away towards a small car and drove off. Pete shifted on his perch and wondered if he should stay where he was or give up and try to find his friends.

While he tried to decide, the old amusement park’s wood creaked and groaned in the rising wind.

When Jupiter, Bob, and Andy rode away from the carnival, leaving Pete alone to watch, the First Investigator led them straight to the salvage yard. While Bob and Andy waited alongside their bicycles, Jupiter vanished into the mounds of junk without a word to his companions.

“What’s he doing now, Bob?” Andy asked.