Chapter 27

S-"Many years ago,” he began, “there was more than one beaver poacher in Killiwinning. In fact, there were three. Three beaver poachers in one region is quite a lot as you can imagine and they couldn’t help but step on each other’s toes a little bit.” “Who were the other poachers?” Sarah inquired warily. “They were Euphemiana, the Sultry Scot’s father and me,” he replied. “Of course!” Betsy exclaimed with wide eyes, “Why couldn’t we see it sooner? She enslaved you and murdered the Scot’s father so that she could have the beavers all to herself!” “Well, almost. It was a warm summer many years ago that our feud over the beavers really heated up,” the butler continued, “you see, there was a very rare and beautiful beaver frolicking around the woods near Killiwinning. It was a Golden Delicious.” “Like the apple?” inquired the chief popo excitedly. “”No, like the beaver,” responded the Butler dryly, “A golden delicious beaver is the rarest of all beavers; it has a coat that is the color of pure honey. I would give my right eye just to hold one in my hands. As you might imagine we had all heard the golden delicious beaver’s mournful song at night and were ripping the woods apart looking for it. The Sultry Scot’s father got to her first skinned her expertly and had sold the pelt on the black market for thousands of pounds and ran off to Brazil to live out his days before Euphemiana even had time to blink. The jealousy of the Sultry Scot’s father’s conquest was far too much for Euph to bear and she swore that she would have her revenge.”

Chapter 26

B- "Oh Simon!" Sarah exclaimed, "I think I could just kiss you! But I won't..." then there was sort of an awkward pause before Betsy cut in to save the moment. "Well... that conversation can be continued later. Right now, Euphemiana I have a few questions for you. Namely, can you explain how you have a halberd that looks exactly like the murder weapon? Or why you carry a small vial of deathly nightgrip liquid around with you? And can you tell me of your whereabouts on the days of the crimes?" Sarah cut in now after recovering from her little outburst. "Those are all very valid questions Bets, but I think the real ringer is why would you do it Euph? That's still what I'm muddled about." Then, out of the blue the butler decided that he wanted to say something, "I can tell you that." Betsy who always got a little nervous around the butler because he still reminded her of Jack the Ripper, let Sarah talk to the butler. "If you wouldn't mind sir, would you please explain yourself?"

Chapter 25

S- “This is a knitted tea-cozy as you can see. A knitted tea-cozy that was knitted by none other than the killer herself! It’s a special tea-cozy isn’t it Euphemiana?” Betsy reached into the stitches wiggled her hand around a bit. “While it acts as an excellent disguise while creeping through the forest it also serves several other purposes.” Betsy was still struggling with the tea-cozy and people were starting to wonder if she had gone yumpy. “It is an excellent muffling tool for poor puppies about to be abandoned in the forest, wiping blood off of halberds, keeping mist off of one’s ears, and keeping tea warm too I suppose. But the most unique thing about this tea-cozy is the secret compartment knitted right into the fluff!” Just as the knittery was about to be shredded to pieces by Betsy’s persistent efforts, it there was a click and a small object rolled out from among the fluff. “Its so fluffy you see that to the ordinary person the compartment would go unnoticed. A bottle of nightgrip liquid is just about the perfect size to fit and that’s what I imagine this is.” Sarah remarked picking up the unlabeled bottle. “The first night we were here and on our way to the forest we heard some shuffling in the forest. We attributed it to a squirrel but it was really Euph. All old people shuffle you know.” The revelation session was interrupted by the slamming open of the pub door. Streaks of blinding sunlight penetrated the smokey darkness. Simon came in lugging two halberds behind him. One matching the murder weapon almost exactly except for this one didn’t have the dent in the handle and wasn’t covered in blood. The second was a great deal older but still looked venomous. “This one is Winkey and the other is Roberto--her favorites.” Simon stated matter-of-factly gesturing to the ancient weapons, “I always thought it was strange that grandmother had such a large collection of these. She told me she had a fascination with the occult which confused me because halberds don’t really have anything to do with the occult.”

.

Chapter 24

B-Simon mysteriously ran out of the room after Sarah said something about the halberd, but no one paid him much attention because he always did strange things at strange times. “I know plenty of people with halberds,” said Euph. “Oh really?” asked Betsy. “Name three!” she exclaimed. “Okay,” said Euph calmly. “Charles the Bold was killed by one…” she paused, thinking placidly. “Never mind,” said Sarah who could see that this was getting them nowhere. “We have other very incriminating evidence Euphemiana, if that even is your real name.” “Dear Euphy,” said Betsy, “it was the tea cozy that really got us going though. Do you remember?” Sarah took over now (the girls shared the revealing of the clues, it’s one of the best parts!) “When you went to the apothecary to steal the Deathly Nightgrip Liquid,you wore a tea-cozy over your head so you wouldn’t be spotted. But as you passed us on the lane you dropped it.” It was Betsy’s turn now, “That made us wonder, why in the world would a little old granny be carrying around a tea-cozy in her handbag? That’s very odd indeed.”

.

Chapter 23

B-"Well, in my younger days I was rather..." Euph trailed off. "Mrs. Kahn, I'm sorry to tell you, but we have one of your recent victims that you didn't quite finish off waiting outside the door," said Sarah. "Do you possibly recognize this little Bloodhound?" asked Betsy. Euphemiana glanced over at Poppy and seemed to really see her for the first time. A flickering of recognition passed over her face but she wiped it off before anyone but Sarah or Betsy could notice. It was enough though. "And what about this poor beaver?" asked Betsy (because as it turns out the Beaver was not dead after all! The girls found out about this shortly before the interview but didn't to mention it to the rest of the group. They thought it would be best, and more entertaining to catch Euphie off guard.) The Chief Popo carried little Dodo, the beaver, (short for Dorothea Opal) into the room and Euphie got a look of terror in her eyes. "Dagnabit..." she muttered, "I just knew these beavers would be the ruin of me!" Simon who had been sitting like a very fine gentleman during this whole exchange was just starting to realize that his grandmother was a beaver nabber (which was illegal in the greater part of Scotland) and mostly likely the Killer of Killwinning...
S-“Grandmother, what is the meaning of all this?” he inquired as surreptitiously as possible but everyone’s attention was fixed on the exchange. Euph sat resolutely with lips clenched shut. “How could you do this to us? Our family is surely ruined! All that we have worked for; all that Grandfather worked for. Gone. We will never be respectable ever again.” With that Simon slumped down in his chair head buried in his hands. “And with that all over with,” Betsy--with eyes twinkling excitedly--whispered in a very Dorcas-Lane-when-she-is-up-to-mischief kind of whisper, “we shall get back to business.” (I hope you know that I’m jealous that you get to be Dorcas Lane-esque) “Now,” Sarah said, her eyes shooting daggers at Euph for breaking poor Simon’s heart, “we know who the murderer of Killwinning is even if you won’t admit it. Please allow us to present our evidence. Firstly, the murder weapon of the Sultry Scot’s sister was a halbert. Who in the world owns a halbert? People who live in manor houses and hunt beavers do.”



and

Chapter 22

S-“We were wondering if a few of you would come in for a few questions so we can clear up a bit of fogginess surrounding some of the circumstances surrounding the recent events. No need to fret, this is purely routine,” added Betsy. The girls promptly hopped off the beaver statue and started towards the lovely pub on the corner where they were planning on conducting the interview. Sarah remembered they should probably ask the people they wanted to talk to to come too. The girls then walked resolutely towards the pub not knowing exactly what to expect from the group following behind them. As the settled around the fire in a large circle Poppy went around and sniffed everyone’s boots, letting them know that she was keeping a close eye on things, so don’t try any sneaky business. Mrs. Forrester (who the girls hadn’t met before but looked to be a lovely person), Simon’s grandmother, mother, and two sisters, the butler, the apothecary man--who had the beaver that was the dead-or-very-soon-to-be-dead-that-was-dead-and-then-wasn’t-dead-anymore-(unbeknownst-to-Betsy-and-Sarah) whose tail was flopping merrily, the chief popo, Peter, and Simon all exchanged wary glances. “You may or may not have realized this, but this is not a routine bit of questioning. It is rather a serious bit of questioning and I think that you should all know that we have a murderer in our midst. We just didn’t want to announce that before we had you all trapped in here.” announced Sarah very seriously, nodding towards the door where Poppy stood guard.
S- “As we started into the investigation of the murder of Lulu, things in this town started to get more and more muddled,” started Betsy “The clues weren’t adding up,” added Sarah, “people’s accounts of their doings and characters weren’t matching up.” “Basically,” Betsy interjected, “for most of the investigation nothing added up. Then we had a break--the beaver. Thats when everything started to come together. Poppy, the begonias, the tea cozy, the beaver, shuffling in the woods, disturbances in the dust, the fire in the cottage that nearly cost my sister and me our lives. They’re all connected! Our murderer was very sneaky and worked hard to push the notice from themselves to others. They tried especially hard to push attention onto one particular person, her grandson. Isn’t that right Euphemiana?” Euphemiana who had previously appeared to be dozing in the corner jolted up, very awake, “How would I know?” After a meaningful look from Sarah, Euphemiana’s eyes widened. “Are you insane?” she demanded, “Why would I of all people be the murderer? I can barely walk, let alone stab a young lass with a Halberd.” “Or thats what you’ve wanted people to think. In reality you are quite an accomplished beaver hunter, aren’t you Mrs. Kahn,” replied Sarah.



and

Chapter 21

S-"We MUST find out who this murderer is before anyone else gets picked off," declared Betsy resolutely as she marched off in the southerly direction. "Where are you going?" Peter asked her. "To town to solve this mystery once and for all," Betsy remarked over her shoulder. "Well it might be better if you turned approximately 145 degrees to your left because town is north-east of here" Peter informed her. "Well why didn't you say so earlier?" Betsy cried in exasperation and the whole crew set off towards town. On their way into town Betsy and Sarah started to review all of the evidence to see if they could piece any of it together. They were still thoroughly baffled but felt like they were getting to the cusp of a major revelation. This cusp was marching towards them much sooner than they thought. On the outskirts of town they came across quite a scene...
B- While they were all away trying to solve a murder and wandering around the forest and trying (but failing) to save a beaver’s life the town had decided that a fox hunt was just what everyone needed for a bit of cheering up. So everyone gussied up their horses, rounded up the hounds, and all met in the town square. Now the problem is, how does one go about having a fox hunt? But that is a question for another time. The question is now, how was Betsy going to solve this hole pickle? She didn’t have a clue either until she saw the begonia bushes that had their heads chopped off in front of the inn that she and Sarah were staying in. Then she had an idea! She should go read her journal that she kept insanely good notes in. I bet that if they read over what she had written since they had gotten to Scotland they might be able to piece this whole thing together.
S-Sadly, Betsy's notes were far too detailed for either her or Sarah to make any headway. Entries such as "seven grains of rice left on the plate of the man who ate next to us" and "twenty-three dead ants on the way up the stairs today" appeared to be a little bit excessive in hind sight. Luckily just at that moment Poppy decided it was getting a bit chilly and tugged her pink tea cozy out from under the bed and nudged Sarah's hand to let her know she needed an extra layer put on. Betsy's eyes widened when she saw the fluffy bit of knittery. "Tea cozy, begonias, dead beaver..." she muttered scrunching up her face so that she could think better. She flipped her journal to their first day in the town. "How could we have been so blind!" she cried in distress. It was right under our noses the whole time! Sarah and Betsy ran to the town square to settle this mess once and for all.
B-First the girls had to find the Popo, Simon, and Peter so they could help get everyone paying attention and also to make sure the murderer didn’t escape. “Simon,” Sarah said “I need you to make sure that no one leaves at all. Not even the head Popo!” (eyeing him suspiciously) “Of course madam,” Simon said sarcastically. (But in a good sarcastic way, not a bad sarcastic way) The girls then ran to the lovely fountain of a beaver situated in the center of the town square and clambered to the top of it, Poppy whimpered at the bottom asking with her eyes if she could pretty please come up? “Oh all right dearest,” said Betsy, “But don’t make a fuss.” The Popo, Simon, and Peter were doing their best weaving in and out of horses, hounds, children, and other various objects telling everyone to hush up and pay attention. Sarah mustered up her courage and said, but mostly yelled...“Excuse me everyone! Excuse me! I have a rather important announcement to make. For the past fortnight Betsy, Poppy, and I have been trying to solve these murderings that have been going on in your lovely little town of Kilwinning.”



and

Chapter 20

S-Poppy, being the clever sleuth she is, noticed upon entering the room a rather large leg of mutton lying on the ground next to the unconscious Apothecary Man. She immediately pounced on his sternum, gave it a few pushes and VOILA! a piece of not nearly chewed enough mutton shot out of the Apothecary Man's mouth and landed across the room in what appeared to be belladonna plant that was turning a violent shade of purple. The Apothecary Man sputtered, sat up and looked around. "What happened?" he asked dazedly. Suddenly he shot to his feet and ran to the fire shouting something about how his concoction (which was the source of the wretched smell and dastardly fog) was completely ruined."This is no time to be fussing over your dumb soup!" Betsy shouted, "We have a dead or very soon to be dead beaver here!"
B-"Oh!" exclaimed the Apothecary man (who's name turned out to be Leslie) "Let me examine the patient..." he took the dead or very soon to be dead beaver gently in his arms cradling it like a baby and laid it carefully down on the counter. He poked and prodded and mumbled something that sounded like "Mashed potatoes with salt are disgraceful." He then bustled off to his shelves of herbs and remedies, selected a small round pot and hurried back to the poor animal's side. "Those mashed potatoes..." Leslie mumbled again as he poured some of the liquid inside of the pot down the beavers throat. The group watched with baited breath for what seemed like an eternity... Then suddenly the Apothecary man said in a very loud voice, "Well that's that! He's not a very soon to be dead beaver. He's just plum darn dead." "What a shame," everyone muttered. "I suppose he's in a better place," said Betsy who had grown rather fond of the poor creature. Simon who was rather level headed because he hadn't formed any sort of attachment whatsoever to the Beaver said, "Leslie, would you be so kind as to dispose of the body for us? We would be much obliged to you," and with that he took the girls arms and marched them from the shop. But they hadn't gotten far when they heard a strange strained noise that sounded as though something was in pain. They all looked around but it was Betsy who spotted the source first. It was not anything in pain, well unless you include emotional pain, it was the Sultry Scott and he was singing. This was not any sort of song, this was a song sung for a specific purpose to a specific person. Betsy. Crap.
S-The girls couldn't understand anything the Scot was saying because it was in some ancient Gaelic dialect but Simon informed the girls that the Scot was singing of his undying love for Betsy. Betsy moaned and veered towards the left hoping that they could walk by unnoticed. The Scot was so taken up with his song that he almost didn't notice the party's brisk passing. "Hark, my love!" cried the Scot hopping from his perch atop a branch in a rather tall tree, "I have something I need to show thee!" Too bad 2.5 seconds later the Scot was convulsing on the ground, eyes wild and bile leaking out his ears. Another 3.7 seconds later the Scot was quite dead.
B-Betsy couldn't quite comprehend the situation. One second there was the Scot professing his undying love for her, at least according to Simon, and now he was unmistakably dead. She had already had quite a day, and started to cry right then and there because she couldn't think of anything else she could do. But then Poppy, sensing her distress, went and licked Betsy's hand and cuddled with her. It made Betsy feel a lot better. Sarah and Simon, seeing that Betsy was quite well attended to, were approaching the now still Scot. "I wonder what killed the poor dear," said Sarah. They inspected the whole body trying to find some sign of poisoning, but none could be found. Betsy had regained some of her strength and she started to look over by where the Scot had been singing. On the ground beneath the tree was a bouquet of her flowers. Begonia's.
S-"Begonias!" Betsy cried in surprise, "my favorite." She ran over to where they were lying in the dewy grass. Just as her fingers were about to touch them a flying torpedo of human flesh blind-sided her! Don't worry though, her ninja instincts kicked in. Instead of allowing herself to he hurled to the ground she used the momentum from the fleshy torpedo and channeled it into an epic ninja move sequence that doesn't even have a name--yes, it was that epic. After approximately 3.6 seconds the fleshy torpedo's head was in a death grip and sputtering for breath. Simon and Sarah were so enamored by the sunset that they wouldn't have even noticed the exchange if it weren't for Poppy tugging desperately at Sarah skirts. They turned around just in time to see the last 1.3 seconds of the exchange. Betsy was so enraged at her attacker that she didn't even think to see who it was. Good thing Sarah called out his name in confusion before Betsy had time to snap his neck.
B-"Peter!" cried Sarah. Betsy who was distracted by Sarah's call looked down at whose neck she was just about to break and found that it was the rather attractive man from the forest. She had no clue how Sarah knew his name, but she did. Betsy decided to still keep in in a vice-like headlock just incase he turned out to really be trying to kill her. "Excuse me Peter," said Betsy in a fairly calm voice, "but may I ask as to why you just tried to kill me? It made me feel a little uncomfortable..." Peter tried to say something but it came out more like "muffins are delectable" and that certainly is not a very good reason to try to kill someone. Betsy loosened her hold on him ever so slightly and he tried again. "Begonias.... are... poisoned....*gasp*" Well that took everyone by surprise. "What!" exclaimed Simon, "That must be how the Scot died. I wonder who was trying to kill him." "Well," said Sarah, "I would hazard a guess at whoever killed the rest of the people and the poor beaver." "Oh no! Those flowers were meant for me I think! Whoever is trying to kill off the rest of the town put us next on the list!" (Dun dun dun! To be continued...)




and

Chapter 19

B-The girls decided that they didn't even want to fight with the Butler by pounding on the door again so they decided that maybe there was someone in town that could help the poor dead or very soon to be dead beaver. So they set off at a very quick pace down the hill towards the town. About a minute or two into their journey Poppy started sniffy interestedly in the air. "What is it girl?" asked Sarah. "What do you smell?" Betsy was peering ahead because she thought she saw someone coming up the lane. "Sarah!" she exclaimed, "I think someone's coming!" "I do believe you are right sister," said Sarah. "Maybe that's what Poppy was sniffing." The figure very soon came into focus and it was just who the girls were wanting to see! "Simon!" Betsy shrieked, "We have just been to your house and your Butler was quite rude to us. We even told him that we had a dead or very soon to be dead beaver on our hands." He was quite close to where the were now, and he was not smiling. Betsy, who had almost completely forgotten that he was a suspect in the murder investigation became a little nervous, and she could tell that the other's were too. "What if he really is the murderer and he's coming to finish us off," she thought to herself. "At least I'm a trained ninja..."
S-She had totally forgotten that several summers prior she had gone to Korea to learn the ways of the warriors. Good thing she just remembered. She was just about to reach for her ankle dagger when Simon's expression changed to one of shock. "Sarah, Betsy? You're alive?" he gasped. I've just gone to town to tell everyone the dreadful news of what happened that day in the shack. "Yes, I'm so sorry we thwarted your plans to MURDER us!" shrieked Betsy, her inner warrior was beginning to emerge. Wait, what do you mean I tried to kill you?" asked Simon, "I never did
 anything of the sort. I think there has been a little bit of confusion. You tried to kill me. Don't think I didn't see that deathly night-grip flower so cleverly placed right in my line of stepping. So yes, I did lock you down in the cellar so that... I could figure out what to do about the fact that two supposed detectives tried to kill me. I went to talk to my grandmother about it because she is so clever you see. When I got back to the house however she was indisposed and didn't want to see anyone. I walked back to the shack only to see it in ashes." "Well then who tried to kill us?" inquired Sarah. "They'd better fess up quick or they'll get whats coming to 'em" said Betsy savagely
B-"Well I didn't notice anything around the shack when I was there," said Simon. "But then again I was distraught with grief and confusion." "Alright! How about we continue this lovely conversation later, because we have a dead or very soon to be dead beaver here!" said Betsy in as calm a voice as she could muster because this whole thing was very stressful and she just wanted a bit of breakfast. Sarah and Simon agreed that for the sake of the poor beaver, the conversation could be postponed for a minute or two, and the five started briskly down the lane. "I think we should take him to the Apothecary," said Sarah. " I bet that he would know something to cure this poor sweet creature." So they altered their course in the direction of said Apothecary...
S-Meanwhile, Poppy was looking up at Simon with adoring eyes and playfully nipping at his heels as if to say she had missed him. "Poppy," Sarah whispered exasperatedly, "That is no way to treat a suspect. You must stop immediately. We have no idea what he is capable of!" Poppy slinked to the other side of the party and they proceeded onward. The beaver's breathing began to be laborious. "I think he is holding on to his last strings of life!" cried Betsy in severe distress, "we must hasten!" They awkward group finally reached the steps of the Apothecary only to 
find the door quite locked, rather than just locked, for you see several different kinds of bolts and fasteners seemed to be engaged in the task of preventing the salvation of an innocent creature! "What to do, what to do!" Betsy fretted, "Oh wait, I have ninja skills. I forgot that several moons ago I visited the ancient land and learned the ways of master Jaedong this is fortunate indeed for if I had not traveled..." "Just get on with it!" cried Sarah in distress. "Oh, yes,
of course." said Betsy and in one swift movement the door had been cloven in two.
B-The room smelled even more peculiar than it had the first time the girls had visited, and the haze seemed to have grown thicker. "Where the devil is the Apothecary man!" shouted Betsy, who's only concern now was whether the beaver lived or died. Sarah on the other hand was rather composed as she said, "Simon, if you would be so kind as to check the back room for the Apothecary man. If he is not brought directly I think dearest Betsy will have a hernia, or some other medical disaster." Simon ran to the back room but he was not gone long before there was a loud yell. The girls quickly ran to the back room where the smell was even worse and the haze even more dense. As they looked around they spotted Simon crouched over a mass of cloth on the floor. "Oh my heavens!" exclaimed Betsy. "This is not the time for another death! We need his skills to help save the poor dead or very soon to be dead beaver!" "Curses," muttered Sarah under her breath. "Wait!" said Simon, "I think I've found a pulse! We need to get help!" but Poppy was already two steps ahead...




and

Chapter 18

S-a filthy murdering liar! Thats what he turned out to be. Sarah grabbed Betsy's hand and stomped away into the forest (this time they were careful to avoid the deadly night grip). Poppy gave the forest man a sympathetic look and sauntered after the girls. Sarah ranted on for a while about talking to strange men. Betsy was already embarrassed enough without Sarah's lecturing and soon enough sniffling sounds were emanating from her dainty nose and wetness was falling out of her radiant eyes. "Oh poo," Sarah muttered. She was about to comfort Betsy when she saw something in the dirt, a crushed bouquet begonias! “I think our murderer might be close!” she exclaimed with wide eyes, “Or at least the Begonia murderer is somewhere close.”
B-"Oh the poor dears!" said Betsy, who really rather liked flowers and was feeling especially emotional at the moment. "I don't think we can save them, but maybe we can catch the evil-doer!" But Sarah had been thinking, and the only other person they'd seen in the forest recently was the strange, yet very attractive, forest-man and what was stopping him from being the Begonia murderer! And while she was thinking about it, how did they know that he wasn't the other murderer? Because they'd already figured out that Simon was that murderer... But now she was beginning to doubt her hasty decision. "Bets, do you think that there is anyway possible for Simon not be the real murderer? I mean, what if he was just framed for it?" asked Sarah. "Well, we didn't actually see him start the fire, and he was behind both of us..." said Betsy. "We need to find Simon and the strange, but really quite attractive, forest-man! Stat!" They hurried off the way that they had come.
S-"Strange Forest-Man!" Betsy called out, "We need to speak with you for a moment if you wouldn't mind. Its awfully important." The girls went on with Betsy saying things like this for quite some time. When ever a squirrel jumped from tree to tree or a lark burst into flight she would whip around searching hopefully. "I don't think he is here anymore," Sarah finally remarked. "I guess you're right" Betsy replied in a mournful resigned tone. "We should hurry over to Simon's house to get to the bottom of this whole mess," declared Sarah. "I don't know, maybe we should keep on looking for Forest-man," said Betsy. "Well if you feel like thats the best plan of action how about you stay here and Poppy and I go to Simon's house," said Sarah.
B-"Oh goodness me no!" exclaimed Betsy. "That would be far to frightening. What if I was abducted by the Strange Forest-Man, or some other sinister thing. You wouldn't know that I was missing for a very long time and it would be quite a mess. I suppose I'll come along with you. I want to see Simon anyways." "Why do you want to see him?" inquired Sarah. "I'm not entirely sure, but I have the feeling that he knows something that will really get us to the bottom of this case!" said Betsy. "Well why didn't you say so before, Silly!" said Sarah. "Let's go!" And off they trotted in the direction of Simon's house which wasn't very far at all, only a couple of miles and the walk was pleasant. They soon reached the edge of the park and got an entirely different view of it than the first time they had approached the House on the Hill because they were coming from the back. It seemed a lot more natural with a lovely little stream and pond. But what was this? Something strange was on the ground a little ways off...
S-a dead beaver. "Oh my heavens!" cried Betsy. Who would ever do such a thing to a poor innocent creature? Sarah went over to see if it was really dead. The animal was still warm so that meant that it was either very recently dead or only barely alive. "Quick, lets take it up to Simon's house" said Sarah, "he might have the instruments we need to revive the little dear." The girls made haste towards the house, Sarah cradling the beaver in her arms and Poppy following along at their heels. When the reached the front door of the house they banged on the front door and after a moment the butler answered. "Is Simon here?" inquired Betsy in a panicky voice (which was panicky for more than one reason. One being that the beaver was dead or very soon to be dead, another that Simon, they believed, had tried to kill them, and also the Butler bore a very close resemblance to what she had always imagined Jack the Ripper would look like.) "I'm sorry" he replied in an stone-y voice, "but Simon is out for the afternoon. He had some business in town." "Well that’s not very helpful, is it?" spat Betsy, "we need to come in this instant because we have a dead or very soon to be dead beaver on our hands." "Oh, I see, well that changes things doesn't it?" remarked the Butler. He coolly turned around and shut the door in the girls faces. “That wasn’t very Christian of him,” said Sarah.



and

Chapter 17

B-As the girls were sleeping Poppy was taking the watch. She pretty much just loved to poke her nose out the window and smell the fresh air. And there was just something about that big moon in the sky that she just loved to look at. Howling, she thought, was overrated. It was just so much more enjoyable to look at it and contemplate life. But a noise burst her bubble of wonder, it wasn’t a large noise but very noticeable to Poppy’s sharp ears. A tiny clipping noise, like that of possibly flowers. Poppy searched the nearby hedges and found the culprit. Two figures stood by the hedgerows cutting of flowers and acting very suspicious. Poppy thought this warranted waking up the girls and whined. Both Sarah and Betsy stumbled out of bed and to the window. “What is it girl?” asked Betsy. Poppy pointed with her nose towards the figures. “Well now, that is odd,” said Sarah. “What would two people be doing cutting off flowers from hedgerows and acting very suspicious.” “Too bad we can’t see their faces,” mumbled Betsy, who was still very sleepy and not really wanting to figure it out. But after the girls had gone to bed, Sarah was troubled by the thought that both of the figures seemed very familiar, she just couldn’t put her finger on it.
S-The next morning the girls went out to investigate. All of the tops of the Begonias had been chopped off. "Well this is a bad sign" sighed Betsy. "Indeed" Sarah replied, "It appears that someone has it out for us. Perhaps we're getting a little too close for comfort to the murderer!" "Perfect!" gleamed Betsy. Poppy began sniffing intently at the mangled begonias, her ears perked up. "I think she may have the scent!" exclaimed Betsy. Poppy took off rather quickly along the path the girls had taken the other day. She veered into the forest and stopped at the base of a tree. "A clue!" exclaimed Betsy. "I don't see why we have to go through all of this trouble. We already know that Simon is the murderer. Lets go tell the Popo already," sighed Sarah leaning against a tree gazing into the sky. There was a muffled shriek. Sarah whipped around and saw a very tall man with his hand over Betsy's mouth dragging her into the forest! Poppy was crying and frantically trying to bite the man's legs off, but to no avail. Sarah would have to do some quick thinking to get themselves out of this terrible mess!
B-But Betsy was sick a tired of being the gosh dang damsel in distress! She didn't need Sarah's help, although it was always welcome, because she knew self defense perfectly well! Well, she more or less knew the gist of it. So as she was biting and kicking and screaming and punching she thought of a better idea, why not try talking her way out of it. So she wiggled her way around so that she had a better view of her captor (it always is more intimidating to people when you're looking at them) and she found that he was really quite attractive! But that was beside the point, because he was trying to kidnap her. "Excuse me," she said authoritatively, "but can you tell me why you're trying to kidnap me?" "Oh," replied her captor. "Is that what this looks like? This isn't how I wanted to start things off at all! Why do I always mess things up!?" And then he got this really quite adorable disgruntled look on his face. (C'mon! Can't I have one cute person like me? PS This is not part of the story) "So, what are you going to do with me? Or do you always kidnap girls when you like them? Or do you not like me?" asked Betsy who was quite put out with the idea of him not liking her.
S-"Well you see," he replied, "that tree that you were inspecting just so happened to have some of deathly nightgrip mushrooms at the bottom. If you had even just so slightly stepped on one of them a toxic gas would have been released and you would have been dead in minutes. You were getting awfully close to stepping on one." "Oh, I see." replied Betsy, a little disappointed, "Why didn't you just say so?" "I panicked! Dead people are so messy!" he exclaimed, "and actually we need to be really careful throughout this whole area. This is where the largest colony of the night grip resides." Betsy glanced around nervously and saw some violently purple mushrooms scattered about. She wondered how she had missed them. They seemed so dreadfully ominous now.
B-"I thank you kind sir, but I fear that I have nothing to offer you as thanks for your kind deed!" exclaimed Betsy. "Well, a kiss from a fair maiden would be thanks enough for a lowly forest-man like me," stated the man. As he stooped down, because you see, he was rather tall, Sarah burst forth from the tree's (she had been watching the whole exchange from a conveniently placed bush) and cried "Stop you fiend! Back! Do you know what you are doing!? Betsy, get away from him! You haven't even known him for more than five minutes and during three of those you thought he was kidnapping you! What about 'Don't talk to strangers'? I'm pretty sure that 'Don't kiss strangers' is an obvious one." Betsy was blushing by now because all of what Sarah has said was true, but there was just something about him that seemed like you could trust him. But look what Simon turned out to be...




and

Chapter 16

B-"Where do you think we are?" asked Betsy. "Hmm... I'm not sure," said Sarah while moving over towards the windows. She moved back the curtain and saw a rather familiar sight. It was the rose garden at the House on the Hill. “Oh my heavens! We're at Simon's house!" exclaimed Sarah. "And he just tried to kill us!" "What?! We need to get out of here!" shouted Betsy. "Well, maybe we should try to keep out voices down to not alert anyone of our presence. We need sneak out of one of these windows and try to act as nonchalant as possible while we run away as fast as we can," suggested Sarah. "I think that is a fine idea!" exclaimed Betsy, "Now, since the windows don't open we might have to throw a chair through one of them. Who wants to do the honors?"
S-Sarah picked up an old chair from the corner and heaved it out the window. There was a rather large crashing noise. The girls hoped no one would notice. The chipped off the more jagged pieces with a vase from a near by table. First Betsy jumped through and landed gracefully on the ground amidst some blooming lilies, Sarah then gently lifted Poppy through and handed her to Betsy. A sudden hollering pierced the tense silence. Sarah couldn't quite make out what all the commotion was about but she wasn't going to stay to find out. She had one leg out the window when the door burst open. There was Simon, yelling something about a terrible fire. His eyes grew very large when they saw Sarah, dress hitched to her thighs, clambering out of the widow. Sarah swung her other leg over, saluted Simon facetiously and hopped out. The girls raced across the park and into the nearby forest. They didn't stop to listen to the voices calling after them.
B-They ran towards the tree's and back to the town. They soon reached the main road and slowed to a walk, so as to not draw attention to themselves. But they were quite a sight and attracted many people gazes even without running. Betsy was covered in dirt from fainting, they both smelled like smoke, their dresses were ruined, and they were all panting rather hard. They decided that the best plan of action was to go back to the inn and change and wash up, they used the back roads just in case Simon came looking for them (he surely didn't want them spreading the news that he had just tried to kill them) They got back to the inn and lo and behold, there was someone waiting outside for them. But it wasn't Simon...
S-It was Sultry Scot! He was sitting at one of the tables outside the pub looking very worried indeed. When he saw Betsy he stood up very abruptly knocking over his mug of er... water. Betsy rushed inside and upstairs as quickly as she could in order to avoid anymore awkward situations. The Scot's shoulders drooped a bit, he heaved a manly sigh and sat back down staring at the mess he had created. Sarah couldn't help but give the poor chap a sympathetic look before collecting Poppy and ascending the stairs to the room. "You don't have to be so rude," Sarah reprimanded Betsy. "If I remember correctly you were the one that bonked his schnoz earlier this afternoon," Betsy countered. "Touche. I still have no idea what is even going on in this town though," Sarah remarked. "That makes the two of us. Maybe it will be more clear in the morning," yawned Betsy. The girls made sure that all the windows and doors were securely locked. After all you can never be too careful with ones safety. Especially in a village where a crazed madman is running loose setting fire to what ever strikes his fancy.



and

Chapter 15

B-The girls waited a minute but there was no reply from Simon. "Simon," shrieked Betsy, "this is not a laughing matter! Because in case you didn't know I am very afraid of the dark!" She gave a small scream and started to cry. But then she realized that that was not helping at all, she had one last hick and then backed up against the wall trying to not completely break down. Good thing Sarah doesn't freak out every time that someone locks her in a creepy cellar. "Simon?" she tried once more, just in case he hadn't heard the other time or something... Nope, nothing. "Alright, let's think about his logically, we know that someone was here recently so maybe there is a light or something." "Or a murderer! Just waiting for the perfect moment to strike!" shrieked Betsy, and she backed closer into the wall. Sarah searched around and eventually found something that felt like a desk. She opened a drawer and felt around, hoping that nothing deadly was hidden in it's depths. Then, as luck would have it she found a candle! And matches! She struck a match and held it to the wick of the candle...
S-A flame burst into life. The candle was a welcome juxtaposition against the oppressive darkness of the cellar. The girls inspected all the walls, which were made of roughly hewn stone. "There's no other way out," Sarah moaned. "SIMON," Betsy declared shrilly, "I know you can hear me and I think this is a rather foul joke. My high opinion of you is rapidly decreasing. I demand you let us out at once!" Silence. Footsteps. More silence. A loud crash. Broken Glass. Flames. Large hot flames. Large hot flames that eat people if they don't get out of the cellar they are trapped in. Large hot flames that eat people and leave no trace, not even ashes, when they are finished with you. "We need to get out of here, right now."
B-Betsy was screaming her guts out now! There was not way that she was going to be the one so save them. It was all up to Sarah... "Think Sarah think!" Sarah muttered to herself. But the smoke was beginning to cloud her senses. She couldn’t see, her lungs were starting to burn. And right on queue Betsy slumped to the flood in a dead faint. "Well, this is just great. Now I have a 130 pound girl to carry out of here!" But then, out of the smog Sarah hear a faithful bark! "Poppy? What is it girl?" She crawled under the majority of the smoke towards Poppy. Poppy was barking in earnest now, and whining. Sarah looked around the spot but couldn't see anything unusual. But wait! There was the scent of fresh (well fresh-er) air. She gave a shove with all her might against the wall and... Presto! A secret tunnel! She only hoped that it lead outside, not farther in. But anything was better than a burning shack. She grabbed Betsy by the ankles, snatched up the candle (which she found a little holder for, how handy) scooted Poppy inside and shut the door.
B-Write write write write write write write! With a passion! A angry fiery passion! That consumes you, not unlike the fire you were writing about when you were channeling your inner English Major...
S- But I’m not and English Major...
B-But you seemed like one...
S-It was a tunnel made of more roughly cut stone except for this time the ceiling wasn't 6 feet tall--more like 4. This led to a few problems as Sarah was heaving Betsy across the rocks trying to balance the candle and keep an eye on Poppy. Luckily Betsy woke up. Unfortunately she was still hysterical. Her eyes were wild and she stood up in a panic gasping for air as if someone had been strangling her. "What happened?" she managed to gasp out. "Well, you see," responded Sarah, "Our faithful hound managed to get us out of that mess. There was a secret passageway and Poppy found it!" "How convenient," Betsy smirked, "I guess the murderer isn't very clever after all." The girls continued to stumble down the passage way until the came to a dead end. "Great," Sarah muttered. She shoved against it and it creaked open slowly. To the girls surprise, a blithe pastoral scene wasn't before them but rather an old dusty room. An old, ornately furnished, dusty room for that matter.




and

Chapter 14

S-”Poppy!!" Betsy screamed, for after all Poppy is her best friend in the world. Excepting Sarah of course. They all ran off in the direction from whence the howl had come from. "No no no no!" cried Betsy. Tears were streaming down both hers and Sarah's cheeks as they imagined the worst. Half eaten by a pack of rabid wolves, stomped on by a moose, or even dog-napped! Everyone was yelling Poppy's name by then, but then it occurred to Sarah that how on earth would they hear her if she replied, or if her attacker snuck off! "Everybody stop yelling!" cried Sarah, "I have a plan. We yell Poppy's in unison and then listen very closely. If you hear anything at all, a whine, a twig breaking, anything alert the group! Ok, ready, set, 'POPPY!!'" They all listened their very hardest, and then out of the silence, the faintest little whimper was heard. The whimper of a poor, scared, hurt little bloodhound.
B-The girls ran through a clearing and into some underbrush. There, in a nest of thistles, was Poppy. She was tangled up and her little legs just weren't strong enough to pull free. The girls untangled her as carefully as they could. She was scratched up a little bit and very frightened. After the girls had comforted her for a bit though she was better and wanted to be put down. Once on the ground she got a very determined look on her little puppy face and set off into the woods. "Poppy! Come back. We've only just found you." Betsy said in exasperation The girls took off after her to be sure not to lose her again.
S-So they ran off into the woods. Euphemania was lagging behind a bit and mumbled something about going back and sitting in the rose garden. Little Poppy trotted on ahead sniffing all the while. "Do you think she found a clue?" Betsy whispered to Sarah. "I definitely think she's on to something." So they put their trust in a little bloodhound and go deeper and deeper into the woods. Suddenly Betsy looks around her and says "Either I'm having deja vous, or I've been here before." "Yes!" exclaimed Sarah, "Look! There's the hollow tree we jumped over on our walk with Poppy and right over there... Is the creepy abandoned house." And just as Sarah said this Poppy with her determined puppy face ran right inside. "Oh no, I don't like that house at all!" Betsy muttered, who is not afraid to admit that she can be a pansy at times. "It's so creepy and ominous." But putting her fears aside, she followed Sarah and Simon in to the dilapidated house, not knowing what awaited them.
S-The door creaked open--the hinges sticking a bit from disuse. Dust was already starting to cover up their foot prints from their visit. Poppy was running to a corner and scratching at the floor. "Thats our smart pup!" declared Sarah, "She really has found a clue." The girls walked over and saw a hole in the floorboard, a hole that was just the right size for a finger. Sarah reached down and stuck her finger in and pulled up. "A trapdoor!" exclaimed Betsy in surprise! "Oh Poppy, you are such a clever hound!" The girls made their way down the ladder carefully to investigate. Suddenly, it felt as if all the happiness had gone from the world. The room was suddenly dark, the girls breath became frosty. "DEMENTORS!" wept in a heart wrenching cry Betsy, "THEY'VE FOUND US AND NOW THEY ARE GOING TO SUCK OUT OUR SOULS!!!!!" "Don't be silly Betsy, they trapdoor must have just accidentally shut." said Sarah diplomatically, "Excuse me, Simon, would you mind opening the door?"



and

Chapter 13

S-Wait... I'm confused. What was going on in our minds and who else is in the vicinity?
B-Well, pretty much everything that Simon said to you. And the Sultry Scott is being creepy and stalking me where ever I go. So he's about 25 yards from where we are... I thought you would catch on.
B-Unless you want Simon to really have said that to you... But I thought you might not like that.
S-Oh, that makes a lot more sense. I guess I was just really confused... I was pretty sure it was the Sultry Scott but then I was feeling confused so I figured I'd ask about that too...
S-"Oh, yes very fine indeed," Simon replied. The walked along for a while longer and then sat down on a bench near the path. Sarah stared at the sky because she didn't know what else to do. Then, in the clouds she saw something very strange--a sea turtle. Well, it was a cloud sea turtle, but still, what a peculiar animal to be in the clouds she thought. Before she could ponder it more, a streak of long manly hair and plaid blurred past in Betsy's direction. "Not again," Sarah moaned. She stood up and started off in the same direction. Someone had to save Betsy from him and it certainly wouldn't be frail old Euphemiana. Simon caught up to Sarah."What is going on? And who is that?" "Well you see," Sarah said over her shoulder because she was hurrying, "the Sultry Scot has fallen in love with my sister." "Oh, I see" replied Simon. By this time they had caught up with the Scot who was attempting to grab Betsy's hand. Before anyone could blink the Scot was on the ground with a bloodied nose and Sarah daintily rubbing her knuckles where they had come into contact with a certain someone.
B-"Oh beautiful execution Sarah!" exclaimed Betsy. "I must say that was an expertly placed punch," agreed Simon. Euphemaina just stood smiling blithely and pulled her large fur coat more firmly around her to keep the chill air out. Betsy looked down in pity, with a little bit of disgust, at the Scot but didn't feel to bad for him because her hand was just gaining back it's circulation. The group continued on it's merry way, and the new topic of discussion was how to protect Betsy from the Scot. "I can take care of myself!" said Betsy indignantly. "Dearest, I'm not sure that you can. I mean, you seem a little overwhelmed by all this attention so your defensive skills just aren't what they normally are," stated Sarah matter of factly. "Ok, fine. Simon, would you like to be our male presence around town to stem the flow of attacks on me?" inquired Betsy. "I would consider it an honor!" laughed Simon because apparently he thought this all was very amusing. It was just at this moment that Betsy noticed Poppy was MIA!!
S-"Poppy" cried Betsy, "my dearest friend is gone, now I am alone in the world." "I thought I was your dearest friend" Sarah remarked. "Well yes, but Poppy is my other dearest friend." Everyone spread out began searching the park, calling Poppy's name. She was no where in sight. Even Euphemiana was poking around in the bushes muttering her name. After about three quarters of an hour of searching nothing had come up. They decided the best plan of action would be to contact the Popo and since they were all at a beloved comrade's funeral Simon set of to town to get them in person. This was a matter of life and death! Sarah eventually Poppy's ribbon caught in a bush. Near by there were paw prints everywhere. "A sure sign a a struggle" sniffed Betsy, "she is surely eaten by the wolves by now. Poor dear." Just as these words escaped her lips a sweet, innocent howl pierced the air.

and

Chapter 12

B-So they rushed back to the hotel to change into their cute new dresses! After they deemed themselves presentable for an encounter with nobility they set off. It was another pleasant walk to the House on the Hill, Poppy sniffed happily and didn't seem to mind the bow tied around her neck too much. They got to the drive which was lined with lovely tree's, there were willows, and oaks, and maple's, and birch, and almost any other kind of tree that you could think of. They came around a little bend and then they saw the house! It was lovely, an old english manor house that looks just like this!

Do you recognize it? If you don't I'm sort of ashamed of you... But only mildly.
S-"Oh my! What a lovely house." Sarah exclaimed and then thought to herself "Imagine, I could have been mistress of all this..." Wait. Wrong story. The girls finished walking up the drive and were greeted near the stairs by Simon. He scratched Poppy's ears and invited them in. The front hall of the house was about as big as Sarah and Betsy's whole house. The walls were dripping with gorgeous art. Sarah could spot a Pissaro and what appeared to be a Titian but she wasn't sure just from where she was standing.
B-"What beautiful art Simon!" exclaimed Sarah. "Oh, are you an art connoisseur?" asked Simon hopefully. "I know a little..." Sarah said modestly. They then talked about all of the pieces in the front hall. Betsy was content just to look at all of them. They continued to walk through the house and finally got to the East parlor, which was tastefully decorated in earthy browns, greens, and golds. But they weren't having tea here. They were just waiting for the table to be ready outside in the garden. As they were waiting Simon's mother, grandmother, and two sisters came in.
S-One of the sisters was small and mouse-y. Poor dear. She looked pleasant enough though. The other sister was another case. She had gorgeous auburn swept into a graceful bun and piercing green eyes. Simon's mother appeared to have a severe disposition--sharp angular features, hair scraped tightly away from her face--not very pleasant. The grandmother looked a little bit crazy. All in all, Simon was the most normal one in his family.
B-But both the girls were really quite pleasant once you got to know them. The beautiful one who had the tragic name of Lucip. But fortunately you can use the nickname of Lucy, the other daughter wasn't so fortunate. She got stuck with Querd. How do you shorten that? Mostly people just called her Que, and she got used to it over time. They had delicious tea with dainty little cucumber sandwiches and a lamb chop for dear Poppy! She was in heaven. The group talked of everything from muslin, to horses, to how best to prune an apricot tree. After tea everyone but Simon's mother went into the gardens which were the talk of the county. Betsy fell in step with Simon's grandmother since she didn't get much of a chance to talk to her during tea, and she thought that she looked very interesting.
S-"Very fine weather we're having" remarked the grandmother in a croaky old person voice. "Quite" replied Betsy, "its woefully dreadful to have so many murders take place in such fine weather." "Murderer!" exclaimed the grandmother glancing around, "What are you talking about young lassie?" "Didn't you hear? There have been several murders in recent days down in the village" Betsy said. "I don't get around much, with my rheumatism and all," the Grandmother remarked. "How old are you exactly?" inquired Betsy. "87 and 7/12ths next Tuesday" the grandmother proclaimed "and proud of it. Not many people get to be that age and keep a nimble mind like mine." "Oh how lovely," remarked Betsy. They pleasantly carried on for the rest of the walk. Betsy thought it was a lovely chat and that the grandmother--whose name was Euphemiana--was a model woman of respectability indeed.
B-Meanwhile Sarah was having a lovely conversation with Simon (his sisters had gone inside for some reason or another). " Very fine weather we're having," remarked Sarah in a croaky voice. "Oh, don't talk to me about the weather!" cried Simon. "Don't you know the anguish you have caused me these past 17 hours?! I love you with a passion that burns deep within my soul. Oh dearest Sarah, tell me that you love me too? Do not torment my soul any longer!!" Of course that was all going on within the minds of Betsy and Sarah (who were both thinking about basically the same thing, we just mashed it together for convenience reasons. Little did we know that these were the exact words that someone in the vicinity was thinking, but it wasn't Simon...)






and

Chapter 11

B-The girls sat down at at a table for two so there was no way that the Scot could sit with them. But what he did was almost worse! He sat at a table a little ways away facing Betsy and just sat there staring at her. And every so often he licked his lips! Trying to ignore this fact Betsy ordered a plate of Haggis, which was one of her very favorite Scottish dishes. Ohh, the smell of sheep innards! Sarah ordered a mincemeat pie... boring! They ate their food and then thought it might be productive to ask around the bar about what people knew of the recent murders. So they moseyed on over and talked to people but didn't learn much, only that the Scot could follow Betsy very closely without actually touching her. Maybe he thought that when she was stomping on his toes "accidentally" that she was flirting with him. He really must have no common sense at all!
S-The girls decided the best plan of action would be to leave. The paid and swiftly walked through the door of the pub into the chilly outside air. The girls weren't prepared for the sudden onslaught of bitter wind so they ran as fast as the could to their room where Poppy was practically beside herself for being left out of all of the action. Poor lamb. Upon further investigation Sarah and Betsy discovered that the tulips were red and cream colored with very dark velvety centers and smelled lovely. The girls were so exhausted from the days adventures that the fell into bed and were oblivious to the world until Poppy licked their faces awake the next morning.
B-They were both a little grumpy but soon got over it. They got dressed and walked about town sightseeing and window shopping for a bit. Such quaint little shops they had! They decided that a little walk through the nearby woods was in order so Poppy could practice her sniffing, because after all she is a bloodhound! On this pleasant adventure they met all sorts of foes! Badgers, foxes, squirrels, butterflies! Oh they fun they had running and jumping over logs. But suddenly the atmosphere changed. It was right after they had jumped over a particularly large log when they spotted a very creepy looking abandoned house. It had a dead and sad feel to it, not the kind that makes you want to fix it up and make it beautiful! The kind the makes you want to run away and hide in a field of tulips. But the girls thought it might be some kind of clue. They started towards the house, Poppy sniffing the ground cautiously. They opened the creaky door...
S-The house was encrusted in cobwebs and layers of dust. They girls were about to close the door and run away when Betsy noticed some disturbance of the dust. What appeared to be footprints lead from the front door and around a dark corner. Poppy had already run in and was sniffing furiously. The girls explored the house further and didn't really find anything else of interest except for some old shears and a pie-tin with crumbs in it. The girls walked out of the house and noticed that the sun was getting rather high! They were going to be late for tea with Simon!



and

Chapter 10

B-They arrived at the Apothecary, where everything seemed to be the same as before. It smelled funny, the old man was there, and every nook and cranny was filled with some kind of something. They had a nice chat with him about murders that he'd encountered before on his wild adventures through the Highlands of Scotland. "It always seems to be the person you would least expect, it's hardly ever the person with the murderous air about them," remarked Old Man just as they were about to leave. The girls pondered this as they walked along the road towards the inn. But just then Betsy spotted something they had completely ignored before "Wait!" she shrieked. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks and turned to her left to see what Betsy was talking about. "No! How silly have we been?" The girls ran across the street, and then they stepped into the cutest little boutique that has lived on the face of the earth! There they bought a pair of adorable dresses that were just perfect for their tea tomorrow with Simon and his family. "Oh providence is smiling upon us today!"
S-The girls were so excited that they almost forgot they had a mystery to solve. So Betsy and Sarah decided the would devote the rest of the day to the case and take the next day off (keeping a wary eye of course). Sadly they didn't discover a thing. Although the did have another run in with the Sultry Scot. It's like he is following them or something... Sarah and Betsy finally decided to call it a day and headed back to the hotel. When they got into their room however the discovered something very surprising. Right there in the middle of the room was a...
B-...vase of tulips! "Oh my" said Sarah. "Who are they from?" "Is there a card," asked Betsy. "Dash!" exclaimed Sarah after searching the vase, "No such luck, we are stuck with the fate of not knowing whether they are for you or for me. Or if they delivered accidentally to our room. What a drag!" "Well, tulips do happen to be one of my favorite flowers... But I think we should share them so we don't cause some silly fight that would ruin our chances of solving the case!" said Betsy wisely. Sarah agreed, they were such good communicators, and did not caught up with silly trifles such as vases of tulips. So the girls got ready for bed, but then they remembered that they had not eaten dinner! So they grabbed the first clothes they saw and ran down the local pub. But on their way there they saw...
S-The Sultry Scot! He immediately spotted Betsy and as if a tractor beam was pulling him in. He was soon by Betsy's side remarking on what a lovely outfit she had on. Sarah looked at Betsy's outfit and laughed. She was wearing a turquoise flower print blouse, a violently red and orange plaid skirt, and her bunny slippers. Either the scot was blind or had some serious matching issues. Betsy was too busy trying to extricate her self from his grasp to notice such details. Sarah found a table, pulled Betsy along and managed to "accidentally" elbow the scot in the eye during the whole process.




and

Chapter 9

S-After a bit more chatting Simon invited Sarah to tea at his house the following afternoon. Sarah also asked if Betsy and Poppy could come along too. Simon then bowed and said goodbye until the following day and sauntered down the lane. Sarah wasn't quite sure how she felt about this most recent development in the plot but rushed off to see what Betsy and the Scot had gotten up to. Hopefully not a lot. She left them with a chaperone after all!
B-Sarah arrived in the nick of time! The Scot was trying to hold Betsy's hand while earnestly telling her about how his heart was being ripped apart not knowing whether she shared his passion! Poppy was doing her best to separate them but she was only a little dog after all, and could only do so much. Betsy was trying to resist the urge to punch him in the jaw because she knew that she was supposed to get information out of him, but the thought was tempting. But as all of these things were happening, along comes Sarah practically skipping down the road. The Scot doesn't drop poor Betsy's hand but she manages to wriggle free, with the help of Poppy biting his ankles. Sarah stops as she sees what was going on. "What are you doing!?" cried Sarah. "That is my sister, thank you very much and it doesn't look like she gave consent for you to hold her hand!" Even though she knew Betsy was supposed to get him to like her she just couldn't help herself! That's her baby sister for heavens sake!
S-Sarah was beginning to suspect the Scot was up to more than he appeared. He had a villainous look about him. He is a stone mason after all. Aren't all masons villainous? His intentions toward Betsy certainly weren't honorable. All of that hand holding for goodness sakes. People might start to get the wrong idea. After they had completely extricated Betsy from his grasp they hurried down the road. Sarah shared her exciting news that they had be invited to tea by a very respectable nobleman. Betsy then had to remind Sarah that they had a murder to solve and that they didn't have time to go gallivanting around the countryside. "Oh stop your ninnying, honestly, we need a bit of fun," Sarah retorted.
B-"It does sound rather fun, I must admit" said Betsy. Since they were going to take the afternoon off, they decided that they should make some headway on the case before then. They thought of all the people who were involved... It was a little more difficult because they didn't know the townspeople very well. They talked to the deceased Popo's wife but she didn't know anything. She couldn't think of any enemies (that weren't in jail) so she wasn't much help at all. They were rather discouraged after that, so they went to visit the nice Apothecary man to see if he had anything helpful. While they were going up the steps they passed a nice old lady who said a cheery "Halloo!" and trotted off along the lane.
S-"Who the heck was that?" Sarah laughed, "There are way too many old people in this town." The girls walked down the rest of the road towards the apothecary. Just as the approached it they saw something strange off to the side of the road. It was a powder pink tea cosy lying all by its lonesome in the dirt. That's strange. The girls picked it up and put Poppy in it because she was looking chilly and moved on towards the apothecary.





and

Chapter 8

B-A strange smell met their noses as the passed over the threshold. Sort of like bad eggs, mixed with grape jelly and just a hint of overripe butternut squash maybe? As they looked through the haze, which filled the whole store, they spotted a counter at the other end of the room. As they journeyed towards said counter, they passed by quite an assortment of pots and jars filled with an astonishing array of various animal organs, herbs, fungi, liquids, powders, etc. They slowly stepped up to the counter....
S-Through the haze a man started to emerge--a really old shrively man that looks sort of like the one in that pixar short--the chess one. He looked up an smiled a shrively toothless smile. " 'ow can I 'elp you you lasses?" he asked in a whistle-y voice. "Um... well you see" began Betsy, "someone died."
B-"Well now," wheezed the old man, "why are you comin' to me? Or was is one of me concoctions that did the poor soul in?" "We were just making inquires to whether you had the potion in your stocks," said Sarah, "the Deadly Nightgrip Liquid." "Oh! Was is now! Well that's very strange indeed, I do keep a small stock of that. Let me go get it." And with that the old man shuffled off into the backroom and came back a short time later with a small half empty vile of a purplish liquid. The girls were almost positive that is was the DNL but to be sure the needed a small button mushroom and a blade of crabgrass picked on a night when the moon does not shine.
S-Luckily Betsy brought that for her lunch that day. She would go hungry, but it was in the name of justice, so she didn't mind too much. As soon as the drop of DNL touched the mushroom Sarah nudged the tip of the crabgrass into the liquid. A flash of tangerine and a faint aroma of wildflowers filled the air. "Thats DNL alright." The girls stayed around and chatted with the old man because he had such charming stories about his adventurous youthful years in the wilds of Scotland surviving only on honey and locust.
B-The girls left the apothecary in good spirits. As they moseyed on down the road figuring out what their next move was going to be they ran into a certain sultry someone. Betsy tried to play her part by flirting but he was just so brooding that she didn't know what to say! He wasn't giving her much to go off of so she gave up... Sarah on the other hand wasn't awkward at all. So she exchanged civilities while Betsy tried not to meet Sultry Scot's eyes.
S-Sarah soon became impatient with the Scot's brooding ways and abruptly announced that she was late for a previous engagement and left Betsy and the Sultry Scot in hopes that a little alone time would force a confession or something. Don't worry. Poppy was there to chaperone. A few miles down the road Sarah was waltzing along gazing wistfully at the sky when she bumped into something. She was knocked to the ground and hazily gazed up at her attacker. It was a dashing nobleman who was offering her his hand. She gazed at him a moment longer and then got up herself ignoring his hand. "My apologies Miss...?" "You should be sorry, bumping into young girls like that," said Sarah, avoiding the question, "You should pay more attention next time." "Well," he replied "I am Simon Khan and its a pleasure to meet you too."
B-Now that Sarah had gotten up and brushed off her rump she got a better look at Mr. Simon Khan and saw that he was very very attractive. Even more so than Sultry Scot who got rather boring after a while. Well, after about 10 seconds. Sarah was pleased that Betsy was stuck with him, Betsy always got the short end of the stick which Sarah was fine with (I cry on the inside as I write this Sarah dearest). "Who are you in this little town?" queried Sarah. "I am the Duke of the surrounding land." "Oh really? That sounds terribly important. Where do you live?" "Oh just on the top of the highest hill in the lovely manor house." "Who lives there with you? Surely you don't live all alone!" remarked Sarah because she had seen the house on the top of the highest hill and it was far to big for just one person. "Oh my mother and father my two sister's and my lovely, sweet grand-mama." "That sounds quite nice." And they continued on in this manner while walking pleasantly down the street. Meanwhile, poor Betsy is stuck with Mr. Scott and it's getting a little awkward. Even Poppy's presence can't tone down the passion he has for Betsy. He's getting uncomfortably close and Betsy has tried all she know's how to get him to back off without physically hurting him. Her patience is wearing thin!




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Chapter 7

S-His chest shuddered with his last breath and a faint phrase that sounded something like "Darn that stinking priest" (except he said something a little more vulgar...) lingered on his blue tinted lips. Something that looked a little but like glee flashed across the Sultry Scots piercing eyes. But it might have just been shock. The girls couldn't quite tell. Everyone was quickly ushered out of the station before the crime scene could be further contaminated. Unfortunately, before the girls and Poppy made it out she decided it would be the perfect time to relieve herself, right there, in the Popo Station.
B-Which contaminated the crime scene in a little bit of a different way than is usual. But it made it so the girls could stay a little longer (No one else was going to clean that filth up!) The coroner came and took the body to the morgue. There he tested the body to be sure it really was the Deadly Nightgrip Liquid, which it was. Nobody had any idea of how someone could have given it to him. It has to be dabbed into a small incision but none could be found. Curious, very curious.
S-It could have been a VERY small incision. One not really perceptible to the naked eye. The person who administered it would have to have been sneaky and also at least marginally clever. Not clever enough to stump us though! The girls set off to investigate other aspects of the town. They were very interested in speaking with the resident apothecary to see if he carried the Deadly Nightgrip Liquid. On the way there though they ran into the Sultry Scot weeping in desperation upon the cobbled road! (His dearest sister is dead! What do you expect?)
B-Betsy thinks it is a good idea to see his take on who killed his sister. So the girls stop, along with Poppy, and ask him some questions. Sarah tried to keep him on the subject but he kept on remarking on how shiny Betsy's hair was in the sun (she hadn't washed it in 3 days) or how red her lips were. So they didn't glean much much information from Sultry Scot, except that Betsy's hair looked good even after three day's of not washing it. They continued their search around town for any sort of clue, next stop.... The Apothecary!
S-As the girls walk up the bedraggled lane towards The Apothecary the discuss their suspects. So far no one is really standing out. This could mean that the murderer vaguely knows what he is doing or has just gotten really lucky. Probably the latter from the looks of the villagers. Poppy is sniffing happily along when she suddenly points to the left. A couple of twigs cracked and the sounds of shuffling leaves emanates from the leafy emerald foliage. The girls move into action. Sarah moves to the left of the sound and Betsy to they right, they let Poppy go and she sails into the bushes after the mysterious noise.
B-The girls wait with bated breath as Poppy searched the shrubbery for their spy. They close in on where Poppy is when suddenly... Out pops a squirrel! Betsy is so shocked that she falls smack on her behind! What a disappointment. The girls gather up Poppy and continue on their way to the Apothecary
S-As the approached the crest of the next knoll, a dusty, crooked building popped into sight. The girls approached it with a bit of apprehension because it had a very foreboding feeling about it. Poppy's jovial tail started to droop. A green smoke-like could drifted sluggishly out of the chimney. "This must be the Apothecary?" Sarah whispered, hoping it wasn't. "Appears so," Betsy replied. The girls tip-toed up the creaky steps and turned the iron handle.




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Chapter 6

S-Right in the midst is the sultry scot! His smoldering eyes are wild and his muscular, work-worn hands are clenched. Out of his mouth are flying a million words of anguish in his almost unintelligible scottish brogue. Poppy is distracted by all of the new scents and sets off a sniffin'. The Popo are frantically trying to organize an investigation. Surprisingly enough they don't have a whole lot of experience in the field. Luckily they have us. Sarah discretely slipped a note into the Captain's hand. The Scot stops mid-sentence when he notices Betsy, but shakes his head as if to clear it, and resumes his tirade.
B-He goes on and on about how grieved he is of his sisters death! Stoic tears stream down his cheeks! Betsy watches on with pity, but she doesn't feel to deeply for him. Her dear husband, the love of her existence, died in WWI and she has never been quite the same since. Ever since then her only love has been for animals (because they are so wonderful) and her detective work. After the grievous news came she threw her whole life into her work. That's how she became one of the best of the best!
S-*edit* He wasn't you husband... but you were engaged.
B-Got it! That's so much more dramatic.
S-Maybe he should die from mustard gas. We could do flashbacks or something.
B-Also, I think we should be invited to tea at a creepy old manor house.
S-Suddenly the Chief Popo deciphered Sarah's cryptic note and frantically started running around with his sausage arms waving wildly with faint squawking noising floating out of his ham of a throat. With in 3.2 seconds he was seizing on the floor. Perfect. Thats what he gets for eating a high cholesterol diet. Or maybe... this is resembling a certain kind of poison that is all too familiar to the girls.
B-The Deadly Nightgrip Liquid!!!!! Made from inner most part of a weasel elbow!! They recognized the symptoms at once. There was one last thing they had to check before they could know for sure. His feet.... Now the Chief Popo was very sensitive about his feet, he had 3 extra toes and they were just all around gross. He had horrible toe fungus too. But since this was a matter of life of death the girls didn't take into account his say in the matter. They ripped of his shoes at once and lo and behold! His feet had turned a neon shade of green with puple and pink splotches. There was no mistaking the Deadly Nightgrip Liquid now, the poor Chief Popo only had moments of life left.



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Chapter 5

S-The girls were just moseying along and Poppy started going ballistic. "Hm... I think this is a clue" Sarah remarked, "Lets investigate."
B- So the girls follow where Poppy leads them. Down towards the river bank, about a 2 miles from where the crime scene was. Little Poppy gets to the river bank and starts whining and trying to swim to the other side. (I've just decided that she's a blood-hound because then she can help us look for clues!) But since little Poppy was such a tiny puppy she just couldn't do it.
S-Luckily there were stepping stones just up the river that she quickly hopped across (she got her ears a tad bit wet though) and ran back down the other side of the river. She started sniffing and scratching at a muddy heap. The girls hopped across the stream and went to investigate. A corpse! "AGH! Get away from that dearest Poppy!" It seems that there has been more than one murder committed on these shores.
B-The girls immediately start looking for clues. The victim was in her mid-twenties and appeared to have been dead for 3-4 hours. The murder weapon (a lance) was about 20 yards away hastily stuffed into a hollow tree. The girls have seen most of what they want to see before involving the local Popo so the proceed to the police station with much haste. Taking dearest Poppy along, of course. She has proven to be of much worth to their efforts.
S-Things that we can deduce about the killer so far: 1. He is either really stupid or someone happened upon him soon after the murder because a 10 foot lance stuffed in a tree is really obvious. 2. He is either really obsessed with ancient Scottish/English weapons or has easy access to a huge collection of them. 3. He has some serious issues. 4. He likes to kill people by rivers, or at least dump their bodies by them.
B-I think we're off to a pretty good start! I'm going to say that he's pretty darn stupid and that he has some pretty high up connections. Whether is be family or employer or some other thing. I think this because of the murder weapons and that he thinks he can get away with such messy murders. Obviously he has the idea that someone important will back him up. So the girls are entering the Popo station with their trusty hound-dog Poppy (she is now an official member of the Stephensonia Detective Agency, we inducted her on the walk to the Popo station) The station is all a buzz because of the murder and it's only going to get crazier after they hear the bad tidings which we bring!





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Chapter 4

B-So we decided to go check out the river because it looks so cute and happy, but not a very happy sight awaits us! We find the whole village in a circle around something and the Popo trying to get everyone to get back! We decide to investigate!!
S-Of course we do. Because we are Stephensonia's greatest detectives and it is our moral duty to investigate whenever there is something in need of investigation. One minor road block however. The Sultry Scot has caught a glimpse of you.
B-Oh no! Run Betsy run! (I've decided that we're sort of narrators but we're still in the story... that is all) But she does not hear our warning! After all, there is a murder to investigate and no amount of smitten Sultry Scot's can stop her!! (or me, this is so confusing)
S-Luckily the sultry scot was still too distraught over the gruesome death of his sister to bound across the river and sweep Betsy up in his arms. We'll have to save that for another time. Plus Betsy is in the entirely wrong attire for that sort of thing. Anyways. We commence with our investigation even though we aren't technically allowed to yet. They don't even know that we are the best detectives in all of Stephensonia! "Hark! What is that noise?" Sarah cried out! "It sounds like a puppy in distress!" The girls quickly scoured the area and found a tiny baby puppy concealed in a crevice.
B-"What is such a sweet and tiny puppy doing here?" wondered Betsy aloud. Little did they know that this was the first of many clues they were to find!! PS What attire and I am in? I think any sort is appropriate for an occasion like that... And how are we going to be "technically" allowed to investigate?
S-The girls promptly adopted the poor wee pup and named her Poppy. She was wiggly and very friendly except for when they walked past the towns people near the river still shocked over the tragedy. PS. In order to "technically investigate" we first have to talk to the Popo of course! We can't just waltz around the village with out the authorities knowing! But we can't tell anyone else or else our perfect guise will be ruined.
B-So they go back into town (because they can't do anything before they talk to the Popo and they want to do that with as much secrecy as possible, which means not in front of the whole town) and find a place to stay for the next few weeks. While they are waiting for most of the hulabaloo to die down they go on a walk with their sweet Poppy.




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chapter 3

S-The sultry scot stumbles across his sister's mangled body and lets out a warrior's cry! He whipped out his Diggeridoo to alert his fellow scots of the tragedy. "Oh this day has gone much agley!"
B-How do we fit into the picture? Are we the people who figure it out? Or are we just watching this unfold like a movie?
S-We're the amazing detectives of course! We haven't been called in yet. I think the sultry scot should fall madly in love with you. It would be so dramatic because you are still pining after your lover who died in the war.
B-Oooohh! I like it. Okay where were we... Oh yes, the Popo are examining the crime scene when along comes sultry scot and then he blows his Diggeridoo. So the rest of the family comes running when they hear his Diggeridoo (each one has a different sound) wondering what all the fuss is about, but Diggeridoo's are only blown in emergencies so of course they go to check it out. Meanwhile.... We're just getting off the plane on our annual trip to Scotland.
S-When the family comes and witnesses the sultry scot's sister's mangled body and commence to do their mourning wail! The sound is so terrible that the rest of the village comes to see what all the commotion is about. Great. Now the crime scene is contaminated.
B-Yes, that does make it a little harder. But we are the great sluths of Stephensonia! We can figure out any crime. The Popo are absolutely stumped about who in their quiet little town of Kilwinning could commit such a heinous crime, they were such a peaceful community.
S-Its a good thing we're on our way to that very same once peaceful community on our annual tour of Scotland. The poor Popo and the sultry scot will have to wait a few hours longer for our arrival however.
B-Because we're going to see Nessie! But we heard about a quaint little town about 3 hours from there so we wanted to check it out. Lo and behold when we arrive we find a gruesome murder just waiting to be solved! Oh how wonderful! Where's the body?
B-JK We're taking our private jet down. I've decided the car ride would be more like 12 hours and I don't really want to drive for that long. We have a murder to investigate!
B-JK again. I've decided that since I have no clue how far it actually is we're going to drive through the beautiful Scottish country side! We don't even know about the murder yet.
S-Where would we get that kind of money? PlusWe're already almost there and we don't even know that the murder has happened yet. We are on a grand tour of Scotland remember?
B-I'm a little confused... If you didn't remember we're the rulers of our own kingdom and rulers always have private jets, they buy them with tax money! Of course I remember we're on our grand tour, we started at Loch Ness! And then we were going to the quaint town of Kilwinning.
S-Oh yes. I forgot. Anyways, by this time we've gotten to the quaint little town of Kilwinning and have discovered that all of the people seem to be missing. A mystery indeed!





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chapter 2

B-Scotland would be much better! I think if we did it in Thailand I would be reminded of that Poirot and we need to be original. So who's going to die? And do we know who the killer is yet?
S-I totally agree.  I think maybe... the sultry scot's...sister should die. No, we don't know who the killer is yet! We don't even know how she died. We have to write the story to find out.
B-Oh this is so exciting! Should we examine the crime scene now? I think it should be in a creepy corridor in the sultry scot's castle. Maybe in a hidden passage way! Behind a tapestry.
S-The sultry scot doesn't have a castle. He is a mason.
B-Well why didn't you say so? Like a stone mason?
S-Yes. Lets see. His sister was murdered down by yonder creek in the wee hours of the mornin'.
B-It was a misty mornin' and a young farmboy off to do his chores found her body lyin' there, still as stone! (you do the murder weapon)
S-A few yards off he stumbled upon and old Halberd that was a-drenched in gistnin' ruby red blood.
B-He ran off to tell the local constable what he had come across and then went about his daily business.
S-Little did the poor laddy know that he had witnessed a key clue to the crime and he didn't even know it. Our villain was after him next!
B-Run laddy, run! Are the Popo going to find the poor girls family and tell them the grievous news? It would be very dramatic.
S-PAUSE! What is a Popo?
B-They boys told me to say that. Apparently it's slang for police, and I just thought it was amusing. That is all. So the Popo need to figure out who the victim is, but then while the sultry scot is walking by the crime scene on his way home he spots his dear sister!



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the beginning of a grand adventure: chapter 1

B-MISS MARPLE IS GONE!!! And Lewis doesn't start until the 30th!!!! I was almost crying! No, I was crying! I don't know what I'm going to do with myself, where is my weekly dose of mystery going to come from???
S-Wait! Are you serious? This is the terrible! What are we to do with our lives? How will we survive with out our little Jane-y?
B-Waaaaaaaaaa! At least Lewis is coming sot of soon.... But not soon enough! We could just make up our own murder mysteries. Are we creative enough?
S-Of course we are! Lets see. How shall it start? I vote we're in Egypt.
S-Nope, correction, India! Or Thailand. Yes, Thailand will work
nicely.
B-Alrighty! Are there any rivers near Thailand? We could be on a boat like in Poirot! Or do we need to be completely original?
S-Nope I changed again... lets see. I think it should be in... SCOTLAND! And you can have a roguish, kilt wearing love interest with a sultry disposition.




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