eb93c43e214c621f9157c05b4b6a6878

“So let me get this straight,” said Harriet, interrupting the tiny mouse. “Someone lives in some castle someplace being guarded by an evil witch? Are you sure you haven’t been watching too many movies, Jack?”

“If you could just let me—”

“There’s no such thing as witches,” Brutus grunted, giving Jack a disdainful look. “Everybody knows that. Just like everyone knows there’s no such thing as castles populated with damsels in distress.”

“If I could just…”

“Look, if you got us out here to tell us some crazy story about an evil witch and a magic castle,” said Harriet, “we could just as well have stayed home.”

“Just…” Jack tried to say, but I could have told him that once Harriet got going, there was simply no stopping her.

“In fact I think that’s exactly what I’ll do,” our Persian friend said now.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Go home! It’s way too hot to sit here and listen to some nonsense story about an evil witch. Are you coming, sugar muffin?”

Brutus hesitated for a moment.“Yeah, of course,” he said finally.

“Let’s go and find some shade,” Harriet said as she started to walk away. “I’m boiling. Aren’t you boiling?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty hot,” Brutus admitted with a backward glance in my direction. He gave me a look of apology and I gave him an understanding smile in return.

“Such nonsense,” Harriet said. “Witches and haunted castles, if you please.”

“It’s true, though,” said Jack softly, once Harriet and Brutus were out of earshot. “My friend really is locked up in a castle, and she really is being guarded by an evil witch, and frankly I don’t know where else to turn, Max.” He eyed me imploringly. “Could you please help me get her out of there?”

“Where is this castle?” I asked, striking the business note. “And who is this evil witch?”

“The castle is over there,” said Jack, pointing in the general direction of the road. “And as far as her name is concerned, I’m sure I don’t know. You see, we’ve never been properly introduced. All I know is that she’s taken my friend prisoner, and she won’t let her go!”

“All right, all right,” I said, seeing the little guy’s bottom lip tremble as he was obviously in the throes of some great emotion. “We’ll see what we can do.”

“Does she have a big crooked nose, this witch of yours?” asked Dooley. “And does she have a big old hairy wart on the tip of that nose?”

“No, I don’t think so,” said Jack. “Though I’ve never studied her up close. Why, do you know her?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll tell you when we meet her,” said Dooley, giving me a wink. It was obvious he didn’t believe a word Jack was saying either, but was resigned to indulge the tiny mouse. And I have to admit I was feeling much the same way. You see, when you’re a detective of my stature, sometimes you will meet crackpots, who will want you to take on their crackpot cases, that don’t actually amount to anything much. But that’s the nature of the game, and you just have to take the bad with the good. And since I was slightly bored on this hot summer day, I felt there was no harm in tagging along with Jack, and allowing him to show us this evil castle with this evil witch. For all I knew, his friend really was in some kind of danger, and we could be instrumental in securing her release from captivity. Also, ever since Odelia had her baby, no new cases have been coming our way, and life has become a little dull, to be honest. A little very dull.

And so we set out, in Jack’s wake, in search of an adventure—any old adventure.

“What’s the name of your friend?” I asked, just by way of making conversation.

“Judy,” said Jack, with a touch of diffidence.

I studied him for a moment.“You like this Judy person, don’t you?” I finally asked, correctly diagnosing his diffidence as genuine affection.

He nodded shyly.“I like her a lot,” he confessed softly.

“Is Judy your girlfriend?” asked Dooley.

Jack gave a start.“Oh, no,” he said, then giggled nervously. “Though I don’t mind confessing that I would like her to be.” But then he quickly dismissed the thought. “She already has a boyfriend, though,” he explained. “His name is Franklin, and they’ve been an item for as long as I can remember.”

“So if Franklin is Judy’s boyfriend,” I said, “why isn’t he out here trying to get her out of the clutches of this evil witch?”

Jack shrugged.“Franklin is a very busy person. He has a lot of very important things on his mind.”

“Oh, and freeing his girlfriend isn’t one of them?” I asked, not all that impressed with this Franklin dude’s attitude. Not chivalrous, if you see what I mean. Not Romeo material.

“Franklin is the leader of the clan ever since Pa passed away. And so the responsibility of the entire family now falls on his shoulders.” He sighed. “And I can see why he’s not overly concerned about Judy. She’s been known to wander off on her own from time to time. She is what we like to call a free spirit, you see. Always taking off and going exploring. And she always come back. Only this time she didn’t. Which is why I went looking for her last night.”