Fennymore and the Brumella (8 page)

CHAPTER 18

In which Fizzy has to cope with Dr Hourgood and an unpleasant cat

Fizzy opened one eye carefully. She could make out the blurred outlines of the furniture. A massive writing desk, a set of armchairs, a glass cabinet full of things. Where was she? Her body felt like lead and she had a horribly dry mouth.

Wearily, she closed her eye again and tried to remember. Nothing. She tried opening the eye again. Everything was still all blurred. But there, in front of her, something was moving in one of the armchairs.

‘Miaow,' went the something in such a piercing voice that Fizzy opened both eyes with the shock of it and saw an orange cat in front of her, watching her out of narrow yellow eyes.

The creature was fat. Unbelievably fat. Its fur gleamed. It looked as if it was brushed for at least two hours a day.

‘Wah,' went Fizzy in disgust. She sank back further into her squashy armchair. She hated cats.

‘Miaow, miaow, miaow,' went the cat again, this time a full tone higher.

Fizzy put her hands over her ears.

On the third miaow, the door opened and Dr Hourgood came into the room. He had a plate in his hand, and there was a sudden smell of fish.

‘Hmm,' he said.

The cat stretched its orange-striped tail stiffly in the air and moved the tip of it back and forth, purring all the time.

Fizzy nearly got sick from the smell of fish. And from the sight of this doctor, who had Fennymore's parents on his conscience, and just came waltzing in here as if nothing had happened.

He picked up the cat, stroked its fur gently and sank, cat in arms, into the armchair. He held out the plate to the cat.

Creamed herring
, thought Fizzy.
Disgusting!

‘So, Merle,' said Dr Hourgood to the monstrous animal, which had immediately started to chew voraciously. ‘You've done a good job of keeping watch.'

The animal gulped the fish greedily, burped and then rubbed itself against the doctor's legs.

Fizzy stared at his hand, which was still stroking the orange fur. It was wearing a cream-coloured glove.

And then it all came back to her. She'd been in the living room in The Bronx. Fennymore had just run into the kitchen. Hubert's wand had begun to vibrate. He'd said, ‘Oops! Work!' and dematerialised. Fizzy had put a blanket over the sleeping Fenibald and looked around the devastated room. And then there'd suddenly been this sweet smell of almonds and a hand in a cream glove had pressed a cloth over her mouth and nose.

‘You creep,' she snarled now at Dr Hourgood.

The tender look disappeared from his face as if someone had turned it off.

‘Miss Kobaldini,' he said in a tone that Fizzy knew well. It was the tone the supermarket cashier used when her mother had to put the bill on the tab again; the tone of the official at the social-housing office when she said, ‘The houses have been otherwise allocated to respectable, tax-paying citizens.'

And Fizzy knew exactly how to respond to this tone. She gave the doctor a dignified look.

‘Correct,' she said, with marked politeness. ‘And whom have I the pleasure of addressing?'

Dr Hourgood looked at her for a moment, at a loss for words. Then he twirled his moustache and said, ‘Most amusing. I see that the desperate financial situation of your clan is out of step with your manners. All the better. It'll be easier to put in the hours until evening.'

Fizzy felt like jumping up angrily, but then the cat stood up, arched her back and farted.

‘It's all right,' said Dr Hourgood, looking menacingly at Fizzy. ‘It's all right, Merle.' He stroked the cat's enormous back. ‘Our guest knows what's what.'

Fizzy gave the cat a wary look. Not only was the creature fat, but it had incredibly sharp teeth. She'd better change tack.

‘Could I please have a glass of orange juice?' she asked politely. ‘I'm terribly thirsty. And I have a headache.'

The doctor laughed mirthlessly. ‘Of course. The chloroform,' he said quietly to himself. But then he did actually get up. He went to the glass cabinet and poured Fizzy a drink.

She took a quick look around the room. There were heavy striped curtains at the windows. Everything was big and expensive-looking – the light-blue armchairs, the table, the sideboard, on which stood an enormous crystal bowl full of fruit. The cabinet was almost hidden by Dr Hourgood's body, but Fizzy could see that it contained bottles and lots of silver trophies.

The doctor noticed her looking.

‘All awards from the city,' he said, and his already enormous body swelled even more with pride. ‘Chairman of the Union of Business People, mayor for life, honorary doctorate, Executive Chairman of the Council of Rain-hat Retailers and' – he paused dramatically – ‘Honorary Member of the Sports Association.'

Fizzy gave a snort. The cat looked threatening and laid back its ears.

Dr Hourgood cleared his throat, handed her the glass and went on talking.

‘And there'll be another honour to add to those shortly,' he whispered meaningfully, and his light eyes became even lighter for a moment. ‘An honour that is far more important than any of the others. One that will ensure that the name of Dr Rufus Hourgood will forever be enshrined in the chronicles of the city.'

Ooh, I'm dying to know
, thought Fizzy, gulping down the cool juice greedily.
Honorary Chairman of the Association of Owners of Fat Cats?

‘So, this evening, my endeavours of the last three years will finally be rewarded. It was a bitter disappointment that I found nothing in the flat of Elisabeth Grosskornschroth … but now it's all starting to come right. Your little friend will come ambling in here and hand over the necessary information on a plate, all to rescue you, you little brat.'

And then Dr Hourgood laughed so hard that his belly wobbled up and down. The cat gave him a horrified look for a moment, but then noticed Fizzy's face and nestled dutifully against its master.

‘Well, I have things to do. And so that you won't be bored in my blue salon' – he gave Fizzy a meaning look – ‘I have something for you. Merle likes this very much. Don't you?'

And with that he handed her a large silver brush.

CHAPTER 19

In which Fenibald Teabreak puts a carefully thought-out plan into action

Boris Muckenthaler had just said goodbye to Fennymore in the twilight in his front garden and now he took a deep breath. He went back into his house and shut the door. It smelt a bit musty. That must be because of his guest's socks.

It was an unbelievable story that his pupil had just served up to him. But he had the feeling that he had to take it seriously. Very seriously indeed. It wasn't just the bold handwriting of the doctor on the ransom note, but the story of the silvery grey gentleman had perplexed him. Fennymore had said that he'd seen him on the threshold of his great-aunt's flat. And at the very moment, Boris Muckenthaler had remembered quite clearly that he'd had a weird feeling, as if someone had stuffed a lump of pistachio ice-cream down his collar and it had run slowly down his back.

And then there was Beardy. Mr Teabreak. Herr Muckenthaler had never met Mr Teabreak before, but he had to admit that there was a certain resemblance between Fennymore and Beardy – as far as you could tell, considering the man's crazy beard and long hair. In any case, he wasn't just some vagabond. And this story about the invention. That made him very curious.

Herr Muckenthaler went back into his living room. Beardy had woken up and was just eating a potted plant.

‘No!' cried Herr Muckenthaler and wrenched the pot from him, but there wasn't much left of the plant. ‘Oh dear, of course you're hungry.' He made an embarrassed face. ‘Please excuse my lack of hospitality. Unfortunately the peanut brittle is finished, but I'll make you a cheese sandwich right away. You'll have to eat it on the way, though. We haven't got much time.'

That was because the plan he'd hatched demanded great precision from everyone involved. And this was how it went. While Fennymore was making his way to Dr Hourgood's villa at Uhrengasse 83 with the chocolate tin and its contents – twenty-four dust-encrusted vinegar chocolates and a large silver key – in order to ransom Fizzy, he, Boris Muckenthaler, was to deliver Fennymore's father into the custody of Frau Plüsch and then he had to go to The Bronx and find Fennymore's father's invention.

As soon as Fennymore saw the key, he'd realised that Dr Hourgood must be after the invention. He had described the day before his eighth birthday to Boris Muckenthaler. How his father had told him about the invention with which his parents were going to change the world. And how the two of them had disappeared the following day. And then the break-ins at Aunt Elsie's and at The Bronx. It all made perfect sense.

Boris Muckenthaler did not have to think for long. He'd thought immediately of the key of his own pantry, which looked remarkably like the key from the chocolate tin. So they'd simply swapped the keys.

Dr Hourgood would surely go straight to The Bronx with the key. Herr Muckenthaler and Fennymore were in agreement on that. And by the time he discovered that the key didn't fit anywhere, he, Boris Muckenthaler, had to be back at Frau Plüsch's. There they'd all meet up and together they would ring the police, so that they could catch Dr Hourgood red-handed. Because otherwise the police just wouldn't believe them.

Fenibald Teabreak munched on his cheese sandwich and made no objections to having his shoes put on.

‘Gouda, Cheddar, cheesy feet,' he crowed, a few crumbs of cheese falling out of his mouth.

‘So, Mr Teabreak,' said Herr Muckenthaler, holding his breath. He put his cord jacket on and put one of his rain hats on his guest's head. ‘Let's go.'

It had got dark by now, but the sky was clear and there wasn't as much as a tiny cloud to be seen.

‘Ah,' said Fenibald, looking up at the stars. ‘Gah.'

‘Now, this is the plan …' said Boris Muckenthaler as they set off, and he started to outline the next steps. He was sure that Beardy, although he appeared to be quite mad just at the moment, basically understood every word. ‘… and just as Dr Hourgood is searching the house …'

‘Aaaargh!' screeched Fennymore's father so loudly that Herr Muckenthaler's heart almost stopped.

He looked at Beardy, horrified. He had gone totally white, had balled his hands into fists and was staring at a big black car that was driving along the street.

Boris Muckenthaler recognised the vehicle. ‘Oh, dear,' he said. ‘The doctor's car. We really must hurry now, before …'

CHAPTER 20

In which Monbijou reappears

Monbijou slowed down and tried not to squeak so much. Why had he been so unco-operative when Fennymore had tried to oil his chain recently? A little bit of quiet would not be a bad thing right now. He cycled slowly over the cobblestones on Uhrengasse, trying to read the house numbers.

‘49, 53 …'

Not at all easy. Several of the villas had no numbers at all, or they were so overgrown with ivy that he could hardly make them out.

‘75, 89 …'

It couldn't be much further now.

A car came driving by. The headlights threw bright stripes of light over the dark street and Monbijou pressed himself, as well as he could, against the wall of the nearest house. He sank right into the undergrowth. Please don't let anybody discover him!

As luck would have it, the car drove by. Monbijou reappeared, freeing himself from ivy tendrils. He'd rather have had hay. He thought nostalgically of the delicious pile of hay that still lay untouched in the kitchen of The Bronx.

But he was on a mission. He absolutely had to help Fizzy out and speak to this cat. What a piece of luck that he had met her on the day that Aunt Elsie had died. Although he was in a pretty dicey situation just now, he almost giggled when he thought about it.

After Fennymore had disappeared into the house that day with his teacher and the neighbour, Monbijou had followed the doctor and his fat orange-striped cat. He didn't quite know why. He'd just had this feeling.

It had happened a few houses along. The doctor had knelt down on the footpath and shovelled a little heap of something into a plastic bag. He'd groaned as he worked, because he'd had to bend his stomach so much. The little heap stank horribly and obviously belonged to the cat on the lead, who was waiting half a metre away, purring.

Then the doctor had suddenly cursed and pulled off one of his cream gloves with a disgusted look.

‘Oh, Merle,' he'd wailed. ‘Now look what you've gone and done to my lovely glove.'

The cat didn't take the slightest bit of notice. As far as she was concerned, the doctor had got himself and his glove into this mess all by himself. Ranting, the doctor had stuck the glove along with the stinky stuff into the plastic bag.

‘Don't ever do that again,' he ordered, shaking the plastic bag. ‘Never do that again, or I'll tell Hubert to do the same to you as he did to Fennymore Teabreak's parents. And you know, I have him eating out of my hand.'

The cat had given a startled miaow and rubbed herself against the doctor's legs. Then she'd made herself as small as she could – as small as it was possible to be, considering her size – had lain down on the pavement and looked up at the doctor.

‘Get up, you stupid beast,' he'd yelled, yanking on the lead. ‘Otherwise I'm going to have to shampoo you again.'

Then the cat had seen Monbijou and had let out three loud, blood-curdling miaows one after another. The doctor had reacted immediately. He'd stretched his hand out, quick as lightning, towards Monbijou, shouting, ‘Spy! Bugging device! I'll show you!'

But before the doctor's big hand could get hold of him, Monbijou had scooted away with a squeal of his tyres. He'd heard enough. Now he knew for sure what he'd suspected all along. The silvery grey man, whose hideaway he had discovered years previously on one of his forays out into the wide blue yonder, had something to do with the disappearance of Regina and Fenibald Teabreak.

He'd gone immediately to the hut under the elm trees. Of course, the silvery grey man had not wanted to admit anything, and that was why he'd had to go and get Fennymore. It had been a stroke of luck to find Fennymore and Fizzy by that delicious haystack.

So then, when Dr Hourgood had shown up in The Bronx and just taken Fizzy away, Monbijou knew immediately that he had to free her. And maybe he'd be able to get hold of the fat cat and prise some more information out of her.

Suddenly he heard something. Footsteps. He hid quickly behind a neatly trimmed yew bush beside Dr Hourgood's house. The footsteps came nearer and shuffled up the porch steps. Then the doorbell rang inside the house.

Who could be paying a visit so late? Curiously, Monbijou peered out between the leaves. Fennymore was standing outside the door, a tin under his arm. He was rocking back and forth nervously.

Before Monbijou could do anything, the door opened and the enormous form of Dr Hourgood appeared. Monbijou went quickly into reverse and went around the corner into the doctor's garden. And what he saw there made him give a little leap of joy. The patio door was slightly ajar. The last thing that Monbijou heard before he slipped carefully into the house was the deep voice of the doctor.

‘Harrumph, it's about time,' he was saying to Fennymore. ‘Come in.'

And then the front door closed.