Curse of the Werebottom

Chapter 13

Thump! The following morning Larry landed at the bottom of the stairs after managing to clear four steps. Not bad, but not too good either, he thought. But a fair achievement considering the disappointing end to yesterday's events. He wondered how a mystery could present itself so well to him on one day, before fading away to next to nothing within the short space of time of twenty four hours. Perhaps it was such things that actually made them mysterious he mused, as he walked through the hall and laid on the sofa, automatically grabbing the remote control and switching on the television.

"Not so fast, lazy boy," his dad swept into the room and scooped the remote control out of his hand and quickly turned the television back off. "Let's start the day right, and that means breakfast with your handsome papa and your lovely mama! Good food with good company will prepare you for anything that the day has to offer." Larry grinned and followed his dad as he left the room and returned to the kitchen. His dad always took some time off work when he and Harriet were off school for the holidays. He was a mobile mechanic and was able to book in jobs at times and on days that suited him, so that he could spend as much time as possible with them both.

There was a knock at the door, which Harriet answered as she came down the stairs to join her family for breakfast. She invited in Eddie and Max and led them into the kitchen. They greeted Larry and his dad a good morning before eagerly accepting Larry's dad's generous offer of a fried egg and cheese sandwich. "It sounds a little weird," grinned Larry's dad as he scooped the melted sandwich from the grill to their plates, "but it tastes fantastic, even better with a little ketchup for sweetness."

There was a second knock at the door and Larry started to get up from his breakfast to answer before his dad stopped him. "I'll get it son," he said, "eat up and enjoy." The children continued to eat, but all very quietly as they naturally wondered who else would be calling so early.

They heard their dad answer the door and then greet the local community police officers, PC Jakeson and PC Gabriel. "Apologies for disturbing so early Mr Davidson," PC Jakeson said in his loud and commanding voice. "We're here on a hunch because we think that you just might be able to help us identify a vehicle that could relate to a terrible incident that occurred last night at the Italian place on the high street."

"It was a terrible thing that happened," continued PC Gabriel, "Five victims but lots of other casualties. The chief is wondering if it should be treated as an assault, a burglary, attempted murder or all three!" PC Gabriel was a little younger than PC Jakeson but both men were strong, fit and able policemen who both looked like if they needed to detain or arrest anyone, they would be more than capable of doing so. They were also bright young men and would always go to extra lengths to serve and protect the town in which they lived.

As they relayed all the events that had happened in Roberto's restaurant to Larry's dad, the children practically stopped breathing so that they could hear every word. "We were thinking Mr Davidson," explained PC Gabriel, "It must have taken a vehicle to smash through those fire doors like that, and with Mrs Miggles mentioning a 'strange reg' very distinctly before she passed out, we believe that perhaps that could help us trace and identify the vehicle and hopefully, the vehicle's owner too. That rounded, peach coloured vehicle with a distinctive or strange registration number sounds like quite an individual vehicle if you ask us. We wondered if you has happened across or even worked on such a vehicle in some professional context within the motor trade?"

The children's mouths hung open in disbelief as the police officers enquired if Mr Davidson had observed or worked upon any vehicles with a 'strange registration number' over the last few weeks. Mr Davidson paused and thought long and hard. Unfortunately, nothing sprang to mind, but he did say that he kept records of every car that he ever worked on including the registration number. He promised he would have a look through them and call the officers if there was anything that could be classed as 'strange' or suspicious'.

Larry, Eddie and Max shared a knowing glance at each other. Harriet pushed her half eaten sandwich away from her. "That's breakfast over for me I'm afraid," she said. "That delightful story has killed my appetite stone dead." She left the table and retreated back to her room.

To add to the confusion Larry's mum returned from her final night shift of the week at the hospital looking drained and exhausted. She kissed her husband on the cheek and ruffled Larry's hair as she walked past him, straight for the kettle to make herself a well-earned cup of tea.

"It happened again." She stated to her husband as he returned to the kitchen. "More people ill and more people being sick. There were five more victims admitted last night who are all literally scared stiff and frozen solid. Even the most experienced doctors can't seem to figure out exactly why they are all coloured lime green!"