The Case of the Circus Murder

XII

At ten to six that evening, Daisy and I came up with a plan together and we're arguing over who should do it.

"I'm sorry, Daisy, but I think Uncle Felix would believe it more if I did it." I pointed out.

"Hazel Wong - well, yes, you have a point." Daisy admitted.

"I mean, I'm probably a bit better when it comes to making people believe me." I argued.

"Yes, but I can do it just as well." Daisy fired back. I remembered her making Alexander side with her and felt slightly sick to my stomach. "Anyway, I am rather good at acting."

"Quit it, you two." said Lavinia, tossing her shoes next to her bed and walking over to us. "Hazel, you have a point, but I personally think it would make more sense for Daisy to barge into her Uncle's room."

Daisy and I both laughed and I said, "You make a point, Lavinia. Go on then, Daisy."

I feel I must quickly explain our plan. You see, Daisy had not thought about dinner when she stated the time of the next meeting, so we had written little notes and slipped them under Alexander and George's and Amelia's doors. The one for Alexander and George was written in morse code, translating to an urgent message asking Alexander to persuade his grandmother to let them eat early, whereas Amelia's was a polite note asking her father if Amelia could eat dinner early so that she could meet up with us. The note was signed 'Amelia's new friends, Daisy W. and Hazel W.'.

I rushed out of my room with Daisy, and she used her key to open the door. She shut and locked it behind her, leaving me to press my ear to the door and listen.

"Oh, Uncle Felix!" I could hear Daisy exclaim. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Daisy had overdone it.

"What it is, Daisy?" came Uncle Felix's amused-sounding reply.

"I'm terribly... terribly hungry."

"And what do you want me to do about it? Daisy, it's far too early for dinner, but there are some of those cheap biscuits. You know, the ones that you get in hotel rooms."

"Oh, no. They are awfully cheap. Uncle, I'm sorry, but I'm really hungry. I hardly ate any lunch."

"That's your fau- Daisy, you ate all of your lunch. Is this some sort of prank?"

Daisy sighed. "I'm sorry, Uncle. You're right, as always."

I got a sudden jolt. Would Daisy give us away?

"It's just, when I was in Hazel and Lavinia's room with some of our others friends, I said that we could meet up at six, but I forgot about dinner. We could all eat together!"

"Ah, I see. Then yes, you can. You can go now, actually, I want to finish this book."

I giggled as Daisy walked out. She saw me laughing and grinned.

"I was spiffing, wasn't I?"

"It's not that!" I laughed.

"Well, what it is?" asked Daisy impatiently.

"You and Uncle Felix are far too similar."

"We are not! Give me five reasons."

"One, you're both tall. Two, you both have golden hair. Three, you're both stubborn. Four, you're both intelligent. Five, you both know codes."

"Argh!" exclaimed Daisy as she realised the truth. "Give me a sixth!"

"You're both detectives."  I said promptly, grinning. "If you want a seventh, you both love reading, particularly crime novels."