Ye Olde Detective Agency

[Xazinon]

"Get your onions! Fresh, delicious onions here!"

"Porcelain cats.. all sizes and varieties! You can never have too many cats, folks!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, what a deal I have for you! For the next 30 minutes, there will be 40% off on all purchases! Here at Rob's Waxed Fruit Emporium, you never go hungry for bargains!"

In this bustling portrait of inner-city life, two figures stand out as they traverse the crowded walkways. One of them seems full of the zest for life, peering eagerly into all the shop windows, pointing at this or that. His companion has a deceptively turtle-like appearance and also appears relatively happy, trundling along the street, occasionally hitting his friend on the ankle with a whiteboard to refocus his attention away from something particularly shiny and back onto their intended destination. Their erratic passage along the street halts for a moment as the smaller figure stops suddenly. The taller one, noticing his plight, reaches down and peculiarly turns a key embedded in the side of his companion, whereupon he starts moving again and they continue upon their way.

Finally, they come to a stop further down the street at a nondescript glass door, and the taller figure fishes a key out of his pocket and holds it aloft triumphantly. His companion spins around in excitement and nudges his leg, urging him to unlock the door. Grinning, the tall one slips the key in the lock and opens the door, and the two slip inside, closing the door behind them.

The taller one looks around, sighs happily and grins.



"Ah, home sweet home! A bit dusty though... that cleaning robot we hired hasn't been doing her job, Watson!"

Watson gets out his trusty marker and scribbles on his whiteboard.

"UHH.. XAZ.. WE NEVER HIRED A CLEANING ROBOT. THE JETSONS WERE THE ONES WHO HAD A ROBOT MAID."

Xaz thinks for a moment.

"Ah yes, I think you're right Watson! I don't suppose we had a dinosaur for a pet like them, did we?"

"NO, JUST A WIND UP TURTLE. AND THAT WAS THE FLINTSTONES, NOT THE JETSONS."

"The Flintstones had a wind-up turtle too? I don't remember that.. anyways, time's a wasting! Let's check out the old place!"

Xaz and Watson hurry up the stairs, leaving footprints on the dusty staircase. Opening another door, they enter a dusky looking office, and despite its dingy appearance, break into broad smiles. Watson looks at Xaz and smiles his turtely smile.

"IT'S JUST LIKE I REMEMBER IT.. I WISH TIGS WAS HERE TO SEE THIS!"

Watson's smile fades and he sighs, and Xaz adopts a wistful look.

X: "You're right, pal, it won't be the same without her. But she wouldn't want us to mope about it: she'll be with us in spirit, Watson!"

Saying this, Xaz rummages in a backpack he has brought along and pulls out three framed pictures. He puts some hooks along the wall next to the entrance to the office and hangs them up, stepping back to look at them with a smile. Watson trundles over to have a look for himself.

The first picture shows Xaz and Tigrrrl sitting at the front desk, grinning, Xaz's arm over her shoulder and Watson on the desk in front of them giving his best turtely grin. The second one shows Tigrrrl holding Watson in her hands and giving him a big kiss on his shell, with Xaz scowling good-naturedly in the background. The third picture is one of them in action, Xaz peering at a wall with a magnifying glass, Watson peering with him, and Tigrrrl beside them asking a suspect some very detective like questions.

Watson grins at these pictures and then grins at Xaz. Xaz grins back before turning to look at the pictures again.

"We'll miss you, tigs!"

Xaz moves into a side room and surveys his own desk with a smile.

"Ah, my old faithful desk! The old filing cabinet in the corner, the pretty potplant (hmm, might need a new one) the very detective-y window behind the desk complete with a venetian shade! Still, something is missing...."

Xaz frowns and fishes in his bag, pulling out something and grinning. It is, of course, a fully furnished Mr. Potato head, without which any desk would be incomplete. Placing it on his desk, he smiles, satisfied, moving back out into the main room.

"Hey, Watson old buddy! I got a surprise for you!"

Watson trundles over to look at Xaz, quizzically. Giving him a wink, Xaz fishes in his bag and pulls out a large object. Unfolding it, it turns out to be a desk, just the right size for a wind up turtle. Searching the bag again, Xaz grins and pulls out a miniature Mr. Potato Head which he places on the desk.

"Tada! What do you think, pal?"

Watson scribbles enthusiastically on his whiteboard.

"WOW, MY OWN DESK? THAT IS THE BEST PRESENT EVER!"

Watson gives Xaz a huge grin. Xaz winks at him.

"No problem, you deserve it my boy! Now go back downstairs and hang this on the door will you?"

Xaz hands Watson a sign and he trundles off downstairs. Xaz looks around the office pensively.

"Not bad, not bad... I still think we could have done with some waxed fruit though, especially at those crazy prices! Still, I guess we'll make do."

Watson, having reached the door, now faces a dilemma common to many wind up turtles... how to hang a sign on a human sized door. Using all of his turtley ingenuity, Watson manages to find a pole onto which he hooks the sign. He raises it up, and eventually manages to snag the sign around the hook on the back of the door. Returning the pole, Watson looks at the sign, gives it a satisfied nod, and goes back upstairs. The sign flutters before resting against the glass, in plain view to passers by. In bold black letters, it reads as follows:

Ye Olde Detective Agency
Xazinon
Watson

Private Eyes

Next to 'Private Eyes' in red pen, is scrawled the following:

(Well, we can't go lending out our eyes, can we? We need them for detectivey stuff!)

And a final note, under all the rest, in large red letters:

NOW BACK IN BUSINESS!

:D

[ChianaWeasley]

Chiana claps for Xaz

Bravo, my good man! :)

Mr. Potato Head, a wind up turtle with a turtley grin, lovely foreign humor

:beer:

Good job

[Fleurdelacour]

YAY! :D It's back!

Soo... What's the first mystery thing? ;)

[Xazinon]

Hehe, why thankyou Chiana, and also FleurD: ask and ye shall receive, eh? ;) :D

Hmm, I don't know what the first mystery thing shall be... depends if anyone has a case for me! If not, I'm sure I can come up with something. :)

A note to all, please don't be too intimidated or whatever by the story as it progresses to post a little something of your own... the best way for this to progress anywhere is for everyone to enjoy themselves and pitch in. Encouragement is always welcomed! :D

[Fleurdelacour]

You're welcome Xaz! :)

Right, I'll guess I'll have to come up with a case ;) I hope it doesn't bore you....



It was the dead of night. The rampant rain suddenly stopped as a young lady in a beige trenchcoat stepped out of a black taxi. Dressed in formal attire, a glitzy black cocktail dress and glittering black pumps, her face hidden by the shadow of the wide brimmed hat. The woman, was escorted only by her simple black bag. Sighing, she made her way to the imfamous "Ye Olde Detective Agency."


"This must be it." She whispered to herself. It didn't look open. There was no light on, she presumed the detectives must have gone to bed, or something silly like that... "Hello?" She tapped the window panel on the door. "Anyone here?"

The lady grunted, and slid down the wall on to the door mat, rather annoyed at the fact no one seemed to be in... "Honestly. What sort of service do you call this?! Private Eyes my arse... So bloody private they cant even open late! This is an emergency!"

The woman put her head inbetween her knees, and tried to rest, hoping to catch the detectives as they came back. Dozing off, the lady was quite unpreturbed at the fact she was being poked in the shoulder. "S'not morning yet..." She grumbled. "OH!" The lady jumped up, pulling hair out of her eyes, not looking glamourous anymore, her mascara slighty smudged, and her lipstick faded.

She faced the tall man, holding out her hand. He didn't accept. He was holding two bags and trying to get a key out of his pocket.

"I had to get some food..." He muttered, looking at the woman oddly. "Milk, bread, chocolate cake... and maybe some chocolate mousse, and apple pie... The supermarket is open twenty-four hours, and thank god!"

The woman, still in a sleepy, groggy state, only just noticed the man was having trouble getting in to his own detective agency.

"Would you like some help?" She said, now holding out her hand to take the bags.

"Erm yeah thanks." The man slid the key into the lock, and pushed the door open with a great sigh of relief. "That's better." He took the bags off the lady, and switched the light on. "The office is upstairs, I'll be with you in a second." He looked at the lady quite bewildered, the beige trenchcoat, heels, cocktail dress... Must be a murder case... He grinned to himself, excited at the idea of solving such a crime.

The lady was sitting on a seat just outside the office door. It was dark up here, she couldn't see he light switch, the only light came from the moon smiling down in her through the small window to her right. The detective ran up the stairs, a wide grin on his face.

"Right, lets get started!" He chuckled, turning the light on, and letting the lady in. He ushered her to sit in a chair infront of the desk. The lady looked around, she noticed a wind up turtle sitting at its own desk, either asleep, or in need of winding up.

The man noticed the bemused look upon the woman's face. "Ah yes, that's Watson, my assistant!"

"Your assistant?" She asked, shocked. "I thought Watson would be a short, chubby doctor... That makes you-"

"Xazinon at your service!" He pipped, pouring some water into a glass on the desk.

"I'm Ms Delacour." The woman muttered, gazing nervously at the wind-up turtle.

"French name, English accent. Like it... like it a lot..." Xaz amused himself thinking of the money he'd get if he solved this murder.

"So, Mr Xazinon? I need you and your, Watson, to, well, do what you do." Ms Delacour whispered, looking at her feet apprehensively.

"What's the problem. Don't be nervous, we're here to help." He brandished a cheesy grin at the young lady.

"Well, it was just a few hours ago, that's why I'm here now you see...Oh it was awful-" Ms Delacour broke off, she pulled out a handkercheif from her bag, and dabbed her teary eyes.

"Was it a murder?" Xaz asked, looking intently at Ms Delacour.

"God no! I'd go to the police with something like that!" Xaz sat back in his chair.

"I see..." He scribbled out 'MURDER' on the form he was filling out.

"Well, I was at a party, a cocktail/dinner party with some friends. Oh it was a marvelous affair, there were balloons, party poppers, decorations. It was my friend's birthday you see. Well, I bought her the most wonderful gift! A yellow art deco vase with a beautifyl rose design emblazoned upon it. Oh I wanted it for myself... However, I gave the gift to her, and she was positivley delighted! She thought it would match her parlour room, oh it was a grand gift indeed! Getting to the point, I then looked in the mirror whilst in the Little Girls Room, and noticed... My eyebrows were GONE!" At this, Ms Delacour pulled off her hat, golden curls falling around her face. Xaz noticed, her eyebrows were indeed gone.

To Be continued....

[Xazinon]

OT: Ooooh, a case! Wonderful! :D

********


Xaz studies Ms.Delacour's face intently, nodding to himself. He swivels in his chair and gazes out his window at the rain pelting down outside, looking pensive. Ms Delacour watches him, biting her lip, hoping he will accept the case.

"Mr. Xazinon? Do you... think you can help me?"

Xaz swings his chair back around to look at her, quite a serious look on his face.

"Ms. Delacour, I always feared this day would come. I mean, you get your murders, your unexplained disappearances, your stakeouts: difficult of course, but you know what you're in for. The academy trains you for these kind of things, but eyebrows..."

Ms. Delacour, puzzled, looks around his office in vain for any sign of a certificate proving that he graduated from any sort of academy. Xazinon, unperturbed, continues.

"Eyebrows are the ones we all dread.. it takes a cunning and devious mind of the highest order to be a successful eyebrow snatcher. It will take all of our intelligence and ingenuity to find this scoundrel, but I promise you, your eyebrows shall be returned to you!"

Ms. Delacour lets out a relieved sigh, glad that they will help, but somewhat unnerved at the prospect of them having to use their intelligence and ingenuity to to do. She reaches over the desk and clasps his hand thankfully.

"Oh, THANKYOU, Mr. Xazinon! I knew I could rely on Ye Olde Detective Agency! I simply don't know if I could go on without my eyebrows!"

Xaz looks puzzled.

"You knew you could rely on us? I wonder who is perpetrating such outlandish rumours! Oh well, never mind... we have more important things to worry about! An eyebrow bandit is on the loose!"

Xaz leans past Ms. Delacour to speak to Watson.

"Watson! Come in here, buddy! We have a case!"

When after a few seconds Watson still hasn't appeared, Xaz gives Ms. Delacour a sheepish look.

"Er, excuse me for a moment won't you, Ms. Delacour?"

Xaz hurries over to Watson's desk and winds him a few times, whereby they both come scurrying back to Xaz's desk.

X: "Watson my boy, we have a case!"

W: "WHAT IS IT? MURDER?"

Xaz looks at Watson gravely.

X: "Worse than that, my friend. Eyebrows."

Watson looks back at Xaz, worriedly, before looking at Ms. Delacour with great concern.

W: "I'M SO SORRY, MISS.. IT'S A HORRIBLY CRIME AND WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO HELP."

Xaz takes a glance at a notepad in front of him and taps it with his pen.

"Right! Okay, let's get cracking! We'll of course need to ask you a few questions... about the party, people who might have a vendetta against you, a description of your eyebrows, usual stuff. We're also going to need to fingerprint your forehead.. standard procedure. Have you disturbed the scene of the crime since you noticed the theft?"

Ms. Delacour looks at him strangely and a little worriedly.

"Well.. it's my forehead... er, I had my hat on, and of course it was raining, so I can't say for sure whether it has been disturbed terribly or not."

Xaz sighs and taps his fingers together.

"Ah, this case will be trickier than I thought! This thief is cunning alright, real cunning...."

Ms. Delacour looks from Watson to Xaz, who both have thoughtful looks upon their face, and knows that if anyone can help her, it is these two. Suddenly, Xaz grins at her.

"Still, no harm in checking anyways huh? Close your eyes please, Ms. Delacour."

Ms. Delacour closes her eyes just in time to prevent getting fingerprint powder in them as Xaz throws some on her face. He looks at her, grinning, and rubs his hands together.

"Ah, it's good to be back eh Watson?"

Watson grins back and passes Xaz a magnifying glass.

"IT CERTAINLY IS, XAZ."

To Be Continued...

[Fleurdelacour]

Ms. Delacour sneezed as some of the fingerprint powder got up her nose.

"Can you find anything?" Ms Delacour asked, opening her eyes and surveying Xazinon with anticipation.

"It's difficult..." He muttered, Watson gave Xaz concerned look.

"It's the surface of my skin... I forgot to mosterise this evening-when I was little, I came home from ballet to find out house had been broken into, jewellery and heirlooms stolen, the police couldnt take fingerprints... Wrong type of wood on the jewllery box... Honestly."

"No, it's not that Ms Delacour..." Xaz looked at Watson worringly

"WHAT IS IT XAZ?"

"There are no fingerprints." Xaz said bluntly. Ms Delacour clasped her hands to her mouth and shrieked.

"No fingerprints?" She asked, her eyes widened with shock, some power fell from her eyebrows onto her lap.

"No fingerprints." Xaz bit his lip and swivveled around in his chair and gazed out the window. "What time did you arrive at your friend's house?"

"At 6pm, I'm always ontime, well my driver is at least." She answered, twiddiling her thumbs.

"When did dinner commence?" Xaz asked, still looking out the window, meanwhile Watson as scribbling all the information down.

"Oh, about 7pm I should think, oh it was a marvellous affair..." Ms Delacour reconciled, smiling serenely, Watson shook his head at the woman.

"7pm... I see. How long did it last, and how long was the gift giving and reciving?

"Dinner lasted two hours with cocktails at the end. Simply divine... We then moved into the Parlor Room, and the lights went out, so-"

"AHA!" Xaz yelled, jumping up from his chair. He spun around and leaned into Ms Delacour. "Whoever stole your eyebrows was in the room with you, and didn't use their hands, or had gloves on..."

"Well, I didnt acutally feel anyone removing my eyebrows, just noticed about half an hour later that they'd vanished." Ms Delacour let out a wimper. "I ran out after that, I told Jeeves, my driver, to bring me home. I saw your agency in the Yellow Pages, so I grabbed a hat, and came straight away!"

"And it's good you did."

"AREN'T YOU GOING TO ASK WHO WAS THERE?" Watson scrawled, shaking his head again at Xaz.

"Ah yes. Who WAS actually there?"

"Who was there... Yes... Well it was my dear friend Fleur's birthday... Oh dear... I can't remember... I think I may have been a tad bit drunk. I'm not imagining the dissipearance of my eyebrows am I?"

"No, not at all Miss." Xaz bit his lip harshly, and kicked his foot under the table.

"Drunk at dinner... I know the feeling. What did you drink, just out of interest?"

"Red wine, and Vodka shots... terrible I know... Oh and a Manhattan... I'm a terrible person." Ms Delacour turned away from the detectives and wimpered. "I cant even keep my eyebrows on..." She broke away, and wiped out her handerchief again and blew her nose.

"It's ok Ms Delacour, we'll ge to the bottom of this.

"RIGHT WE WILL! WE ALWAYS DO!"

to be continued....

[Ravenclaw]

Oh excellent! I'm never one to miss a good rollplaying game! Even though it seems that whenever I join I seem to scare everyone else away...

ANYWAYS!

Watson and Xaz reassured Ms Delacour that they would discover the devious, deceiptful eyebrow theif.

"Right, Watson! We should start on this case right away!" Xaz said and Ms Delacour's face lit up. Watson tugged on Xaz's clothing and held up his whiteboard.

"BUT FIRST..."

"Of course," Xaz said. "But first..."

"But first what?" Ms Delacour demanded. "You must find my eyebrows! I don't know how I'd live my life without them!"

"Yes, yes, of course we will... But first... LUNCH!" Xaz smacked his lips and marched out the door with Watson quickly on his tail. Ms Delacour frowned.

"Lunch??? Why, it's the middle of the night!"

"Quite the contrary, it's actually the early morning. But it's never too early for lunch!" Xaz grinned. "Hm, I wonder if there's a Subway around here. You hungry for a good sandwich Watson?"

"ACTUALLY, LET'S CHECK OUT THAT NEW DINER DOWN THE STREET. MIMI'S PLACE."

"Yeah, you know what, that's a good idea..."

"But... my eyebrows!" Ms Delacour was astounded. "How can you eat at a time like this?"

"HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT, XAZ, I HEARD THEY HAD CHEESCAKE!"

Ms Delacour paused.

"Did that little turtle just say cheesecake?"

And so, the three of them went down the street to Mimi's Place. They waited to be seated. For a long time. Finally, a young girl on rollerskates makes her way not-so-talentedly over to them.

"WOAH! WACTH OUT!" Xaz and Ms Delacour jump aside as the girl slammed into the wall behind them.

"Ow...." The young girl rubbed her head and looked up at them. "What are you staring at? Oh, right, menus. Uh... Soup of the day is Macaroni and Cheese. I recomond the, uh, cob salad. It's the only thing eatable in this joint. Other than the cheesecake."

"Macaroni and Cheese is the soup of the day? You must have really hurt your head," said Ms Delacour.

"Nope. Believe me, you'll understand when you see it. But your right, I must have damaged something because it looks like you have no eyebrows, lady!"

Ms Delacour gasped and slapped her hand to her forehead.

"I knew I should have worn a hat."

"You know," said the girl, rubbing her head as she warily got to her feet. "There was a girl in here a couple of hours ago asking people if they knew anyone who needed a fresh pair of eyebrows. Maybe you should look her up."

Watson tugged on Xaz's pantleg again.

"XAZ, THAT MIGHT BE A CLUE!"

"You think?" Xaz said to his little assistent. "Alright! Ma'am--"

"Miss." The girl corrected with a grin.

"Miss. Who made that soupy Mac and Cheese?"

"Mr. Xazinon, I think Watson meant the eyebrow seller," Ms. Delacour pointed out.

"Oh right," Xaz smiled. "I was going to ask about that next. Miss, did you catch the name of that woman?"

"Can't say that I did," the waitress replied. "But she ordered the Soup of the Day."

"What's your name, Miss, for future reference."

"They call me clumsy here... At least I thought it was a catchy nickname, I guess they're just making fun of me... Uh, the name's Raven. Raven Claw. I work here durring the day, hold a singing job at the night club down the street at night, and on weekends I do police work over at the stolen goods department at the headquarters down on Main. A girl like me needs a couple of jobs to get by, what with four kids to look after."

"Four kids???" Ms Delacour gaped. "You're too young! And not even married!"

"No, ma'am, not kids as in children, kids as in goats. Like, baby goats."

"Goats, huh?" Xaz looked pensive.

"WE'LL KEEP IN TOUCH," Watson scribbled. "WE SHOULD REALLY LOOK INTO THIS EYEBROW DEALER..."

[Xazinon]

Hi Ravenclaw! Nice to see you! Hehe, you're not scaring me off! :wave: :)

************

Xaz, Watson and Miss Delacour walk out of the diner and back into the early morning streets. Miss Delacour is holding a hand over her forehead and looking around furtively, while Xaz and Watson carry on a somewhat animated discussion, Xaz sipping something out a cup that smells suspiciously like macaroni and cheese.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE EATING THAT MACARONI AND CHEESE SOUP."

"It's necessary, Watson: we have to try and get into the head of this eyebrow dealer. By eating the soup I could gain valuable insight into her psychology."

"BUT.. YOU HAD THREE HELPINGS!"

Xaz smiles sheepishly at Watson and sips at the cup.

"Well, I had to, yknow, make sure of the valuable insight! It's actually rather delicious too, which shows what you know, you doubting turtle you!"

Watson sighs and shrugs in that manner unique to the wind up turtle fraternity as Xaz sips at his soup.

"WELL, AT LEAST THE CHEESCAKE WAS NICE... WAIT A MINUTE..."

Watson stops suddenly to look at Xaz, who stops sipping at the soup to look at Watson, puzzled. Miss Delacour casts glances at them both, rather irritably, wanting to get out of the public streets in case she is seen by anyone else with no eyebrows.

"XAZ.. IT'S DELICIOUS, YOU SAY?"

"Oh, certainly! You wouldn't have thought so, but it's really quite lovely!"

"CAN I AND MISS DELACOUR HAVE A SIP? I WANT TO TEST SOMETHING..."

"Well... I suppose so."

Xaz hands the cup to Miss Delacour who nervously takes a sip, before looking bemused and licking her lips.

"He's right.. it's quite nice! How strange!"

She passes the cup down to Watson, who takes a sip of his own. She then leans over to whisper in Xaz's ear.

"Pssst.. how does he do that anyway? He's a wind up turtle... "

Xaz gives her a puzzled look.

"Yes? And?"

Miss Delacour sighs and shrugs.

"Oh, just forget it. As long as you get my eyebrows back, you can be as strange as you like."

Watson having finished his sip, makes a note on the whiteboard and holds it up for them to see.

"YES. JUST AS I SUSPECTED, DELICIOUS. I THINK THERE IS MORE TO THIS SOUP THAN MEETS THE EYE!"

Miss Delacour gasps appropriately, if a little overdramatically. Xaz grins.

"Really? Ooh, wow, sounds exciting! What do you think it is? Extra cheese? Sun dried tomato? Old car tyres?"

"ER... I WAS THINKING MORE ALONG THE LINES OF THE SOUP BEING USED AS PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL EYEBROW RING TO SOMEHOW PASS MESSAGES AMONGST THE VARIOUS NEFARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE EYEBROW TRADE, BUT POSSIBLY, XAZ."

Xaz giggles.

"Haha! Eyebrow ring! Good one, buddy!"

Watson sighs. Miss Delacour, having looked very thoughtful since Watson's statement, now starts to nod.

"I think Watson is right... I mean, Macaroni and Cheese Soup as a special, who would ever order that? It must be a part of some code!"

Xaz gives her a scowl.

"Hey, who are the detectives here, anyways? Hmph, amateurs!"

Xaz picks up his soup and takes a sip, sulkily. Watson raps his on the ankle and he yelps.

"Oww! What was that for?"

"STOP DRINKING THAT! WE NEED TO TAKE IT BACK TO THE OFFICE FOR ANALYSIS!"

"Ohh, wow, analysis!"

Xaz grins and strikes a dramatic pose.

"To the lab, fellows! Crime has met its match on this day!"

Xaz skips away down the street towards the office. Miss Delacour and Watson follow a bit more slowly, Miss Delacour looking somewhat bemused.

"Er, Watson.. you guys have a lab in that small nondescript office?"

"WELL... NOT SO MUCH A LAB AS A CHEMISTRY KIT WE BOUGHT FROM THE TOYSHOP DOWN THE STREET FOR THIRTY DOLLARS. IT'S SURPRISINGLY USEFUL!"

"Umm.. good.. I guess."

Watson grins at her. Miss Delacour grins nervously back, before looking away and adopting a rather worried look. Watson notices her look and nudges her cheerfully.

"DON'T WORRY, MISS... IT'S NOT SO MUCH THE ANALYSIS ITSELF AS THE PROCESS OF ANALYSIS. AS THIS IS A DETECTIVE STORY, SOMETHING IS BOUND TO SHOW UP, HOWEVER IMPERFECT THE EQUIPMENT IS: IT'S IMPORTANT TO THE CONTINUATION OF THE NARRATIVE."

Miss Delacour, looking relieved, breaks into a grin of her own.

"In that case.. to the lab, fellows!"

She skips up the street after Xaz, and Watson scoots a little more quickly also, eager to test the soup before Xaz mistakenly starts drinking it again.
Across the other side of the street, a man rounds the corner taking his dog for an early morning walk. Despite being caught up in preparing for a busy day's work, he cannot help but find his gaze drawn to the site of two figures skipping merrilly along the street, followed by a more diminutive turtle-like figure scooting along behind them. He blinks and checks his watch, sighing and shaking his head.

"They always come out at night, don't they? Come along, Rover."

The man tugs on his dog's lead and continues his walk, rounding the corner. Xaz by now has reached the door and is excitedly unlocking it. He stops unlocking it and turns to look to one side as if he is looking straight at a television camera.

"Analysis is an important part of detective work, kids. It's not all fun and games and chasing suspects through dark alleys and deserted warehouses. Even us detectives need help from science sometimes!"

Xaz winks at the imaginary camera and beckons Miss Delacour and Watson in, who both look nervously in the direction of Xaz's imaginary camera before going in and shutting the door. Miss Delacour looks at Watson nervously.

"Wow, the day I'm on imaginary television and I don't have my eyebrows! Do you think they would have noticed?"

Watson just looks at her and makes his way up the stairs, following an enthusiastic Xaz. Miss Delacour shrugs, straightens her hair self-consciously, and follows them.

To Be Continued...

[Ravenclaw]

Ms Delacour and Watson trundle up the stairs to Xaz's office and nearly run straight into the detective in question.

Xazinon was standing in the doorway of his office and he refused to move. Ms Delacour and Watson exchanged confused glances, but their questions were answered before they could even be asked as they heard scruffling sounds inside Xaz's office.

"Shhh," Xaz said, hearing his colleague and client behind him, "I think there's a squirril in my office."

At that, there was a sound of fluttering papers as something straightened up in the office.

"Oh please, it's not a squiril, it's a mole!" said the person in the office. Xaz frowned.

"You look like a young lady to me. Say, do I know you?"

"No, no, no, I mean, you meant to say mole, not a squiril. But I'm neither," the young lady grinned. Watson and Ms Delacour pushed Xaz so hard, he tripped over a pile of papers right in front of his door.

"Ow! Watson, I thought I told you to move those!"

"I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUNNIER IF I LEFT THEM IN A DISCRETE, YET EASY LOCATION TO BE TRIPPED UPON FOR SOME COMIC RELIEF. IT WASN'T VERY FUNNY, THOUGH," Watson wrote as Xaz got to his feet. Meanwhile, Ms Delacour was looking at the young lady in Xaz's office.

"You're that waitress from the diner! That Claw woman."

"That's right," said Raven Claw with a grin. "I'm here looking for your report, Ms. Delacour."

"Say what?" Xaz said. "What report?"

"When something goes missing, your supposed to file a report at the crime lab, otherwise you could be considered a suspect, Ms Delacour," answered Raven.

"How did you know I came here and that something was missing? And weren't you just at the diner?" Ms Delacour said.

"I was," said Raven. "But it's Saturday morning, eight o'clock now. and I work at the diner from 5:00-8:00 AM on Saturdays. Then I get to my job at the police station. I would work all night at the diner, but I had a gig last night."

The three of them stared at the woman, who was still grinning and chipper.

"Do you ever sleep???" Ms. Delacour asked. Raven giggled.

"Nevermind that," she said, "I knew something was missing and that you came to this agency when you came into the diner. As you ordered your food, I overheard you discussing the case. And I-- Hold on." As Raven was about to go on, her cell phone rang and she answered right away.

"Part-time agent Claw here.... Uh huh. Really? Wow... Yeah. Uh huh... yeah, I have her right here... Uh huh... Well, that's suspicious. Well, OK then!" And with that, she hung up.

"I'm sorry, Ms Delacour," said Raven. "But I'm going to have to take you down to the station. You've been accused of stealing a yellow art decco vase."

"That's preposterous!" Ms Delacour declared. "Why on earth would I--"

"Uh huh, lady, tell it to the judge!" Raven said as she handcuffed the woman. Xaz and Watson were baffled.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Watson declared quite viciously with his white board.

"Neither do I!" said Xaz appalled as Raven took his client away. "Ms Delacour, how could you do such a thing like that? And I thought you were decent!"

"NO, XAZ," Watson wrote, rolling his little windup eyes. "MS DELACOUR IS INNOCENT. SHE'S BEEN WITH US THE WHOLE TIME, I THINK. AND I BET YOU ANYTHING THIS IS A SETUP TO STOP HER FROM LOOKING FOR HER EYEBROWS!"

[StarGazr]

As Part-Time Agent Claw escorted Ms. Delacour out of the building, a smartly dressed woman with auburn hair secured at the nape of her neck and sunglasses on her face held the door open. "Good afternoon," she said.

"Good for you maybe," Ms. Delacour sobbed.

The young woman stared for a moment as Agent Claw stuffed the handcuffed Ms. Delacour into the back of a bright yellow VW Bug. The woman shook her head and proceeded into the building and up the stairs, tucking her sunglasses into her purse.

She knocks on the door marked Ye Olde Detective Agency and proceeds into the office before waiting for an answer.

"What did you do with the soup?" comes a voice from the back.

"Xaz?" she calls, and there is a sudden crash. "I know you're here, I saw the sign on the office door."

Fantic voices come from the back and the woman places a hand on her hip and taps her high heeled toe. "You can't get out, I know there's only one exit and I'm blocking it!"

Xaz walks out and looks the young woman up and down. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a call from you mother, Xaz," she informed him and Xaz blushed. "She said you might be in over your head with this whole detective business and she asked me to check up on you."

Watson scribbled on the white board. "Is that a..." she started and Xaz only nodded.

"YOU HAVE ME XAZ! WHY DOES YOUR MOM THINK YOU NEED A WOMAN?!" Watson wrote.

"I don't know partner," he sighed. "Watson, this is Star Gazer Star this is my partner, Watson."

"Pleasure," she mumbled. "Well, I'm under strict orders from your mummy to not leave until I have proof that you can handle yourself. And you know how your mum gets. The choice is up to you..."

Star and Xaz stared each other down....

to be continued...

[Xazinon]

Gosh, I'm really sorry it's taken me so long to reply to this... I just haven't had a chance to sit down and have a proper think about it! Okay, here goes....

*******************

Xaz and Star stare at each other until Watson whacks Xaz on the toe with his whiteboard, snapping him out of it. He blinks and looks at Watson while rubbing his ankle, muttering.

X:"I really need to start wearing shinguards.."

W:"XAZ! THIS IS INTERESTING AND ALL, BUT WE HAVE A CASE TO SOLVE! AND IN CASE YOU FORGOT, OUR CLIENT JUST GOT DRAGGED AWAY BY THE POLICE TO FACE CHARGES OF THEFT!"

X:"Right you are, buddy! To the police station, to correct this grevious miscarriage of justice!"

Star Gazer raises an eyebrow at him.

S: "Xaz, how do you know she didn't do it? I mean, she could've, right?"

X: "Rubbish! A nice girl like that? Steal? She's too pretty to resort to that! And, like Watson said earlier, she was with us the whole time, so she couldn't have!! Besides, if she's a thief then we probably won't get paid anything, and I refuse to believe that that could happen! We need the mon..."

Xaz hastily stops midsentence, remembering that Star Gazer is there to check he knows how to run a business.

X: "Er, ah, yes, not that we wouldn't do it for nothing, what with the business being a raging success and all, but it's nice to get something for our efforts!"

Xaz casts a nervous glance at Star, who looks at him suspiciously but says nothing. He hastily turns his gaze to Watson.

X: "Come on, Watson! Let's go rescue Ms Delacour!"

W: "UM, GOOD SENTIMENT XAZ, BUT WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ELSE FIRST: WE SHOULD EXAMINE THE SOUP TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS. IT MIGHT HELP IN FREEING MS. DELACOUR."

X: "Yes, of course! The soup! I'll get the chemistry set!"

Xaz darts into his office, whereafter there is a lot of rustling and banging. Finally, Xaz emerges with a scuffed box, looking triumphant.

X: "Aha! Here it is! Now, let's see if we can remember how to set it up...."

Xaz deposits the contents of the box onto the desk, lifting Watson up onto the desk also. Star Gazer watches, bemused, as the two start to assemble a quite fantastic array of pipes, tubes and beakers across the desk.

X: "I think this green one goes here..."
W:"WHAT ABOUT THIS BLUE ONE? WAIT, IT GOES WITH THE ORANGE I THINK..."
X: "I thought it was green tube into black pipe, and then the orange?"
W: "NO, THAT'S THE RED..."
X: "Oh, right.. where did this indigo one come from? That's new!"
W: "HMMM..."

After a good 10 minute stream of such discussion, the construction ceases, and the two give each other the thumbs up. Star Gazer looks at their rambling construction, a little concerned.

S: "Er, guys, are you sure that's right? You're not going to blow up the office or something are you?"

X: "No no, it's perfect! It takes a little trial and error, what with the Japanese instructions and all, but we've only blown up the office I think three times: that's a pretty good strike rate, I reckon!"

Star Gazer, now even more concerned, backs away slightly towards the door. Xaz grins at her.

X: "Don't worry, Star my dear, we're trained professionals! Not trained chemists, but I'm sure we're trained in something, right Watson?"

W: "YEP, DEFINITELY TRAINED IN SOMETHING!"

X(brightly): "See, nothing to worry about! Just put on these... (hands her a pair of goggles) and we'll get started!"

Star Gazer puts on her goggles and stands against the wall, as far from the chemistry set as possible. Xaz puts on a pair of goggles of his own, and Watson procures a pair of tiny turtle-sized ones and places them on his own head. Star Gazer watches, horrified but curious, as Watson passes the soup to Xaz and he pours it into one of the many beakers adorning the desk. Xaz and Watson lean up close to the set, peering carefully as various beakers bubble and hiss and strange liquids pass down different tubes. Eventually, it stops, and a little tiny piece of paper comes out of somewhere and lands in front of Watson. He looks it over, shakes his head and passes it to Xaz. Star Gazer warily creeps back over to the desk.

S: "Wh..What does it say?"

X: "Beats me, it's in Japanese. But as far as we can gather, the gist of it is that this macaroni and cheese soup has had its properties subtly changed to render the soup tasty... it could either have been done through some very clever chemistry, or possibly even.."

Xaz pauses dramatically.

X: "WITCHCRAFT!"

Star and Watson look rather unimpressed.

S(doubtfully): "Witchcraft? That's the stuff of myth and legend! Nonsense! You've been reading too much Harry Potter, Xaz."

X(disconsolately): "Yeah, maybe you're right.. I just, I dunno, felt like saying something dramatic like that."

Star Gazer pats him on the back.

S: "There there, Xaz, it's OK."

Watson shakes his head, disappointed in the outcome of the testing: he had felt sure they would find something. While doing so, his beady turtely eye catches sight of the now empty soup cup. He trundles over to it curiously and pokes his head in, before pulling it out quickly and jumping up and down on the desk excitedly. Xaz and Star Gazer look at him curiously.

X: "What's the matter buddy? Trouble at the old mill?"

Watson scowls daggers at him, and Xaz, who was grinning, abruptly stops.

X: "Hehe, sorry pal, couldn't resist!"

W: "YEAH, REAL FUNNY XAZ, HA. BUT LOOK IN THE SOUP CUP.. THERE'S SOMETHING IN THERE!"

Xaz tips the soup cup up and looks inside, Star Gazer peering over his shoulder, both of them gasping in surprise. Under the last dregs of soup, there is a symbol stamped into the base of the cup. Xaz hurriedly tips out any remaining dregs to examine the symbol more closely.

X: "It.. what is it?"
S: "Looks like a symbol."

Xaz and Watson both give her a look.

S: "Joking, joking!"

W: "It looks like.. a hippopotamus!"

X: "Yeah, with an enormous eyebrow! How strange!"

Star Gazer peers more closely at the symbol.

S: "Look guys.. there's something written here, around the edge of the symbol. I can't quite make it out.. looks like an address, or a motto, or lotto numbers or something..."

X: "Ooh ooh ooh! We need the thingy! That detective thingy... magnifying whatchamacallit.. magnifying glass! I'll get one!"

Xaz darts into his office to look for a magnifying glass, leaving Star Gazer peering at the symbol, looking puzzled. Watson trundles up close trying to peer in, but can't shake the strange feeling that he doesn't need to peer in, that he had seen this symbol before somewhere and it didn't mean anything good. Waken from this reverie by crashing sounds coming from Xaz's office, Watson shakes his little turtely head, puzzled, and returns his focus to the problem of finding a magnifying glass. They just HAD to find out what was written in the bottom of the cup.

*****************

Will the detectives find a magnifying glass and discover what is written on the symbol?

What does Watson already know about the symbol?

Will Ms Delacour manage to beat the charge of thievery laid against her by Part-Time Agent Claw?

Stay tuned to find out!!!