Ray's Karate Kid Journey Part III

Chapter 4: A Sticky Situation

There was a sticky substance in the counter, but it's rather transparent. No one was able to see it. If you were in this situation, you might be caught in a trap just as the fly was caught in a fly paper.

"I just saw a man with a black cap and a black jacket! He also wears dark green shirt with dark blue pants and he's wearing white rubber shoes. And that man is smoking cigarettes!" Luke told them.

"Whoever he is, he must pay the penalty," said Jonathan.

"I think you have a point there, Jonathan. Smoking is illegal," said Diona.

"I'm assuming the man you just saw was the thief, right?" Ray asked Luke.

"I think so. I think he went—" Luke pointed at the bus nearby them. Right in Ray's northwest corner. "—that way."

During the rest of the discussion, Ray began thinking on who the thief is. He started piecing things together about what he had heard during the case of the missing coffee beans. When he got to the part where he learned that the real culprit smokes cigarettes, he had a bad feeling about this culprit. A really bad one.

Before he could point anything else out, Rodd snapped him out of trance, "I think we should split up. We'll all look for the thief. Half of us will get our leads in American Boulevard while the other half will follow the thief to where he's going."

"That's a great idea, Rodd!" said Diona happily.

"So who will go to American Boulevard?" Ray asked his father.

"Since we have our van and Luke knew where the thief goes, I think I'll take you and Diona to American Boulevard," said Rodd.

"And we'll follow the thief to where he's going," said Jonathan.

"Exactly. Now, come on. Let's finish up our lunch. Then, we'll do our plan," said Rodd as the quintet went back to the table they were sitting on.

During lunch, Ray was still thinking of who the thief should be. A bad feeling shot through him again as he thought about the last part where the real culprit smokes cigarettes. He started recapping the traits he'd heard from the others in order to find the real culprit.

Traits of a real culprit behind the stolen coffee beans:

1. Has a black cap bought from American Boulevard
2. Wears a black jacket
3. Wears a dark green shirt, dark blue jeans and white rubber shoes
4. Smokes cigarettes

As Ray thought of little information, a sudden question popped in his head.

"Did you get any other details for the looks of the thief?" he asked Luke.

"If I'm not mistaken, I think I briefly noticed the Nike symbol on the side of his shoes. It means his shoes come from the clothing shop called 'Nike.'"

"So we got another place to go apart from American Boulevard and whatever the other place the thief is going," said Ray.

"Yes. Detective work can be difficult and tough especially when it comes to solving cases."

"Okay. Thanks for giving me information."

"Anytime, Ray. Anytime."

With that being said, they continued finishing their lunches. In silence.

Soon, Ray was the first to finish his lunch. Now, he got to spend the rest of his time with himself while waiting for the others to be done. Oh, not to worry. He's still sitting in his spot for the rest of the time.

He pulled out his notebook and black ballpen from his backpack. Then, he unwrapped the strap that was locking his notebook and he opened it. After that, his thumb pushed the top of his ballpen. Then, he was able to write what's in his journal.

Traits of a real culprit behind the stolen coffee beans:

1. Has a black cap bought from American Boulevard
2. Wears a black jacket
3. Wears dark green shirt and dark blue jeans
4. Wears white Nike rubber shoes
5. Smokes cigarettes

It crossed Ray's mind to think about the invisible sticky substance that just appeared out of nowhere. He wrote down his thoughts about it in the journal before closing it. But he's not putting them back in his backpack just yet.

"Any information about the transparent sticky substance?" he asked Luke again.

"Not that much. All I know is that it was made by the culprit. We don't know where the sticky substance is coming from."

"Maybe if I take a picture of it, we'll discuss about it to see if it's considered as a clue or not."

"Do you have your camera in your bag?"

Just as Ray was about to answer, Diona cut them in. "Yes, I brought a camera just in case we need to take pictures. Sometimes on our dates, we do."

"That's good. Can you take a picture of the substance?" Luke asked her.

"I can't. It's transparent. Maybe one of you should examine it yourselves?" Diona told Luke and Jonathan in question.

Jonathan was the second one to finish just as they discussed about the invisible sticky substance. He rose from his chair and cut in the conversation,"I'll take it. I always have my scanner just in case we encounter a sticky substance or perhaps, a liquid substance."

"Go on Jonathan," Luke replied as he and Diona stood up to make way.

Jonathan walked through a way the two were making, then he went towards the counter. Ray watched as he took out the scanner and examined the sticky substance. After he scanned it, he walked back to the table and told them everything.

"Guys, this sticky substance is not made by the thief."

"Wait, really?" they asked him.

"Yes, really. It was rather made by someone else. I've briefly heard that once a chef saw the same man we saw as a thief, he accidentally threw the glass bottle of oil in the air. He caught it just in time, but the small amount of oil was thrown on the side counter. Something tells me he got the wrong oil. He just needs some concentration and quick-thinking before leaping into action."

"I agree with you on the last part. Ray is still in progress on learning this lesson," said Rodd.

"Dad, I'm fine. I know how to take care of myself," Ray told his dad.

"Of course, you do."

After eating lunch, they all made a few discussions and the final concept of the plan to have more leads and at the same time, looking for a thief. So far, Rodd, Ray and Diona will be in the van to go to the mall first where the Nike store is involved. Rodd will drop off Ray and Diona to find more leads there while he traveled to American Boulevard to do the same. Jonathan and Luke will follow where the thief is going.

And so, the plan is settled.