Professor Layton and the Search for the Missing

Chapter four

Liz hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep until she opened her eyes and noticed that the sun was just beginning to rise. She noticed that her face had been resting against her hand, as she had been looking out the window and began to doze off.

Looking at the Professor, she saw that he was smiling.

"Nice to see you're awake, Elizabeth." He said, but continued to look at the road. "Did you sleep well?"

"My apologies, Professor." Liz said. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, really, I didn't."

"No need for an apology." The Professor answered. "When someone is tired, it's good for them to sleep."

"Aren't you tired, Professor, what with all that you've been through today?"

"Yes, I will admit that I am." He said. "But we have a long drive ahead of us if we want to make it to St. Mystere by noon, even."

"St. Mystere..." Liz said, thinking. "That's the town where Luke said that you went to find the golden apple."

"You're correct." The Professor answered. "And there aren't many places for miles where we crashed. St. Mystere would be the best lead to go on, and the place to start searching for Don Paolo."

"Don Paolo?" Asked Liz. "You mean Mr. I-am-supposedly-Layton's-enemy-and-I-tried-to-kill-him-and-Luke-with-a-runaway-Ferris-wheel Don Paolo?"

The Professor laughed a bit and nodded. "Yes, it would seem that we're talking about the same man."

"But why are we going to look for Don Paolo? I thought that we were looking for Luke." Liz said.

"We are, however, Don Paolo is the one who took Luke. If we find Don Paolo, we find Luke. Besides, we know that the late Baron's friend, Bruno, has a hidden workshop in the tower in the middle of the village. That's most likely where he's hiding out. And he most likely has Luke with him."

"That makes sense." Liz said, and continued to look out the window.

"Elizabeth." The Professor said, and Liz turned back towards him.

"Sir?"

"I just couldn't help but notice that your father called you something else back at the house. A sort of nickname?"

"Liz?" She asked, and the Professor nodded. "Yes, that's my nickname. It's what Luke and my father call me, kind of like an informal name."

"Ah." The professor said. "Would you prefer me to refer to you as Liz?"

She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me. Whatever is easier for you." The Professor nodded.

"I've noticed you and Luke have a very similar appearance, and quite similar personalities, as well."

Liz laughed a bit. "I suppose Luke and I just like the comfort and style of similar clothing." She answered. "No offense to other girls, but I'd much rather wear a green skirt and blue sweater than a pink frilly dress."

The Professor smiled. "Quite the adventurer attitude, Liz, like your brother." She nodded.

"I suppose you could say that." Liz shrugged again. "I'm known to be more shy, whilst Luke isn't afraid to speak what he thinks."

"Yes, you would be right about that." The professor laughed. "He's very vocal about what he thinks at times."

"That's one of the major things that separates us, Professor." Liz answered.

"If you don't mind me asking, Liz," The Professor began. "Which one of you is older?"

"Our father taught us a puzzle to remember which one of us is older." Liz answered. "Would you like to hear it, or would you like me to just tell you?" She asked.

A crazy sort of smile spread across the Professor's face when Liz mentioned the word, "puzzle."

"I do have a love of puzzles." The Professor said. "Fire away."

"Well, Luke mentioned that you two solve quite a few puzzles on your journeys, so let's call this puzzle number one: Who is older? It's not too difficult, so I suppose that it would be...20 picarats, give or take."

The Professor nodded, and Liz began to tell him her puzzle.

"Luke and I are twins, but we weren't born on the same day. One of us was born three minutes before Saturday, while the other was born three minutes later on that Saturday. Now, if one of us was born at 11:57 P.M. on Friday, then which one of us was born at 12:03 A.M.?"

The Professor sat in his seat for a solid few seconds, completely silent and obviously thinking.

After a few moments, he finally said, "Neither."

"That would be...correct, Professor." Liz answered. "I technically said that Luke and I are three minutes apart. If one of us was born at 11:57, and the other was born at 12:03, that would be six minutes apart. Just because I said one of us was born three minutes before Saturday, it doesn't mean that you need to add three more minutes to that. If one of us was born at 11:57, which is three minutes before the next day, then it means that the other one was born three minutes later, at midnight exactly."

"But...how does that puzzle help you remember who is older? That didn't answer my question at all."

"It's the A.M. and P.M. part that Luke and I remember. It's a coincidence that our middle names correspond with the time we were born. I, being the older of us two, was born at 11:57 P.M. the 'P' part corresponds to my middle name, Prudence. Whilst Luke was born at 12:00 A.M. the next day. The 'A' corresponds to his middle name, August. That's how the puzzle sort of helps us remember."

"Hmm..." The Professor said to himself. "Interesting. Well, Miss Liz, it's a big pleasure to be able to go look for my apprentice with you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Professor." Liz said, turning to the window. As she looked at the sunrise, she whispered to herself, "I just hope we find Luke before anything happens."